Snow Bird Project In the Makings

Posted on April 8, 2013 by tharrisfc

An over the road driver faces many obstacles when it comes to on time delivery, such as traffic, mainly rush hours, accidents, and construction. The weather typically is an after thought since it usually is not as frequent in change, and simply is part of the job. My focus on the weather first came from my “short lived” routine of coat – to- coast loads, with winter weather being the one sour experience when first starting out. Strangely enough, the weather is least a serious thought, as compared to rush hour and accidents, but tornados have become frequent, and winters does stop trucks when it comes to ice conditions.

Getting back to coast –to – coast…, my most remembered experience was through three mountains called the Sisters, and a white out condition that went on forever, for me and twenty one other truckers, in a convoy. the lead truck was a wide load, and the second truck stayed on the C.B. informing the other followers of the speed changes of the wide load, in hopes to preventing a collision or pile up. Time went on forever, but somehow, the convoy made it through without incident. On another experience near another mountain, Sherman, the ice was in one spot, enough to “twist” the truck in what felt like an immanent jack knife. Although the truck never jack knifed, the experience was one never forgotten, always remembered, and thought of how to avoid in the future.

It is one thing to know as you go, so you can keep managers and customers informed of delays, but I wondered if such situations could be avoided all together. Not as a company or dedicated driver, but by become an independent contractor, own the truck, and pick my loads. Knowing an incoming snow storm kept me from rolling, but for four days. I even wondered if this could somehow be avoided.

Another reason to avoid extreme weather comes from developing an “all computer” managed operation, where extreme temperatures can damage any personal computer over time. Amazingly, it took six years to be in that position of an Independent Contractor, with a truck, with the ability to choose loads and locations; during which the personal computers were affected, but never crashed or became unrecoverable.

It seems projects like this is done in stages, since like any project, it takes time to develop a plan, an understanding, and learning to rely on resources, before making it to that goal. That goes for truck driving, building computerized records and reports, and even the weather. Planning ahead on any project becomes a step to achieve, but all must “get their feet wet”, and experience what it means to be in situations, so you have the incentive to avoid them. Again, a professional driver typically does this work in stride, and survives through patience. But, from a business sense, a truck that sits, isn’t making money. So, weather to better protect the computers or keep the truck moving, learning how the weather works becomes a lesson in itself.

The next process was planning how to avoid incoming storms, learning how to see  and hear the forecasts days in advance. With the exception of one load, I was able to avoid all storms and ice forecasts, by rolling south until the storm passed, and return north in-between the storms, and the truck never was stranded. A success, but it was so much work, with very little time to sit and take time down often. I am so glad I spent my first few years comprehending the log rules when it comes to recaps and split logging. It is 2013, and I really though we were going to finish the alphabet of storm names, but it was the best test, with a success to boast about. I knew how to get out of the storms way, and even roll up and down the country in between storms. The positive resource of over the road driving is there are plenty of roads to accommodate this project.

Spring is a whole new game. Rain storms is needed, but with the changing environment, tornados seem more routine, but like winter storms, there is a smell amount of forecasting that can be planned around, when it comes to the high and low forecasted atmospheric streams and currents.

There is still two more levels to work on, that makes claim to the name, “snow bird”, and that is the extreme temperatures. The second part is similar and that is extending the period from days in advance to weeks, or base it on seasons. With spring showing its time, plan to work east to west in the upper country area may be a test to plan on for the extreme summer season. Stay tuned.

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The Durable Uses of Spreadsheets and Using Hyperlinks

Posted on April 8, 2013 by tharrisfc

There are several forms of what may be expressed as “shortcuts”. The first is the mouse shortcut. It is the basic purpose of that right button on every mouse and touchpad, listing the most commonly used available options that a user may be attempting in any given field or open window and software. It saves on clicking on the menu bar, and going through the longer list of options any given software makes available for a certain or current activity.

The Keyboard shortcuts are simply “set” or programmable key functions that involves a combination of either the “function”, “Control”, or “Alt” key, with a given character to do the same as working through the menu bar for the desired activity the user is attempting. A list of options in conjunction the the “Control” key include Ctrl+C for copy, Ctrl+P for paste, Ctrl+N for new, and so on. The same goes with the Alt key pad, and typically refers to the user giving a certain character a “shortcut” purpose. Even the function keys have a purpose both by themselves, and in some cases, in conjunction with a character.

The above concepts of “shortcuts” typically refer to the user, their computer, and any given software. But there are shortcuts used everyday, through the Internet, instead of being solely for the user. The “Hyper Text Markup Language” is the link found on almost every website, providing you with a “shortcut” to a specific file, somewhere else on a serve or computer, located anywhere in the world. It is a “Hyperlink” shortcut to a location to a file of interest, that allows us to read, download, purchase, and provide a simple click. That is the basic concept of a Hyperlink, whether a simple” Click here”, a website address, or email address; depending on the way it is presented, or typed in, it leads us to a location, with out “mapping it out” or addressing it in a form of  IP address, computer name, folder, subfolder, and then file (as an example of mapping). Still this same concept of “mapping” is available in many word documents, power presentations, spreadsheets, and other software where the developer felt the incentive to give any user a “shortcut” to a specific file or bookmark.

Still, sometime links get lost or discontinued, not only on website locations, but when a user attempts to use them in their own activities and projects, and although durable, there are rules to keep in mind when moving that file with hyperlinks around or even in the case of sharing and collaboration. Quite simply, there are guideline to follow, or once that file is moved, it will result in a broken link. Maybe one reason hyperlinks are still specific to being used as a server directed link, is due to its ability to break when used locally, or link to local files is because that loss of connection is quite expected. In some cases, it may never be a practice worth pursuing, unless you spend time learning what  keeps a hyperlink connected to its focused target.

Guarding Links in Projects

Even I realize that the use of hyperlinks can seem unpredictable, and keeping an eye and closely managing hyperlinks is a concept of “maintenance” or upkeep.  Making links on a local computer it seems perfect, until you attempt to back up, move or relocate the file to a new location. The two best software programs that keep track of mapping locations and are ideal for multiple hyperlinks is the Microsoft Word and Excel Workbook programs, still other Microsoft products, such as publisher, would need editing these links when moved, and purposely writing in a drive destination as the starting path to link to. The best plan for projects is to place the files to link to on a server; thus, any link that is a shortcut to a file typically starts with a website name, IP Address, or Server name.  For as long as the location remains a permanent destination to link to, the hyperlink can be moved from any computer, or stored on any storage device or disk. All this is true, unless you are me.

I have spent years experimenting with, and maintaining hyperlinks for many projects where the hyperlink was a planned task to linking to other files. I also found that Microsoft Excel trumps all other software when it comes to maintaining and managing hyperlinks. One unforgiving rule that must be that any spreadsheet must be parent to the files you plan to link to, in other words it shares the same location of the spreadsheet, or is stored in folders. The second most important rule (which actually is the ultimate rule), any spreadsheet that is planned to link to files should be stored in a parent folder. That parent folder is the major link to allowing the spreadsheet track the locations when the project is moved or backed up on CD or DVD.

Parent Folder Concept

The need of the parent folder can never be ignored, when attempting a project with plans to transfer it or even share it. This is a lesson learned even by me, and through personal experience. To even share the spreadsheet means copying the whole folder with the destination files, like one big bag of parts. Any other software is like “hardcoding a destination” that when the file or project is moved, the path does not accommodate the change in new location; which is why hyperlinks are typically used to server based file locations. But, it still can be done. Just keep everything in that parent folder, and know it has only worked for me with the Microsoft Excel Software program. I found that using the spreadsheet to do the work, but saving it in HTML [or web page format], keeps everything together (in the parent folder), and allows me to now free form the web page to the desired appearance. Even Microsoft front page software expects any links to an destination be a server or website destination.

There are some common suggestions that come to mind to be considered:

Decide on how important linking to other files is compared to referring others to where those files are stored, and how to get there. Most likely, it does sound nice to be able to use hyperlinks as a destination shortcut method.

Try to make all links specific to a few spreadsheets. In my case I have four separate spreadsheets, fueling, ATM, Expenses, and trip Submitting. The use is to link to receipts and scanned jobs submitted. As time passes, the more fueling, jobs, and expenses means more hyperlinks. Just don’t make it the ultimate method for any given project.

If need to recreate the links, break it into a few days, so you can track where you stopped, and will need to restart again.

Make backups often. If you do this, you may be able to retrieve the working hyperlinks from the older copy, and add the new or most recent data to it. Keep in mind, bringing back a copy means, bringing over the parent folder filled with the destination files. You might want to rename your folder to prevent writing over the whole project and losing the most recent data and location files. This way you can copy and paste the recent data over to the copied older version, and the destination files to link to as well. Then, once done, you can delete the parent folder with the lost links. It sounds like much thought and work, but losing months and years of work, or starting over is typically a huge undertaking. Waiting too long to make backups also means more work to redo.

Always check your links from time to time. This is the maintenance part of any project, and has to be done when making formulas that refer to cells of data too. If you do what id do, and simply reuse the finished spreadsheet, clearing the input data of that old project, the formulas might refer to a misleading location, especially when the new data is referenced by date. Leap years means reworking any copied template spreadsheet that is specific to date formats.

Keep in mind that when working with spreadsheet, maintenance and checking the work is part of the program. My definition of spreadsheets being a “work In Progress” all the time and every time is a concept to know and welcome the idea of paying attention to detail, formulas, and hyperlinks [Bookmarks too].

Finally, always plan on using a Parent Folder for whatever you start.

**I need to go into detail about trapping everything in a parent folder, creating the shortest path or making sure the identical path remains in a parent folder when copying or backing up.

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Another Calm Before A Storm

Posted on February 24, 2013 by tharrisfc

January 9th, 2013, I finished the Lease, and somehow fell into a state of Limbo. All the plans to look at this milestone was uncertain. I knew what I wanted to do up until that point. I think it was a period of needing it to be real. I worked, struggled, starved, and most importantly, learned with each day in the leasing period, and stayed so involved, that when it was done, my mind went blank. It took a couple of days of staying up with the basic truck related paperwork, until I would roll for another load, and typically, the practices of the past now challenge to plan rom past experiences. With plans to pick up in Crossett, Arkansas, the weather took center focus. It had to. From past experience, I have been “stuck” with a load, once for four days, because of ice and snow.

The load was picked up as the weather went from snowfall, to ice rain. The typical run of the storm was northeast, and the path strays slowly eastward. It is the only predictable pattern of the weather. So, instead f rolling with that path, I chose to run out of route, and go directly east, before seeking the corrected course northeast again, Simply put, I traveled just east of the storms path all the way to my destination. There was no time to enjoy getting another job done.  Weather forecasters were already pointing out another storm to follow. And again, a mix of snow and ice. I don’t worry of the snow, that slows me. It is the ice to shuts me down, and keeps me down.  it would take about three days to be where I was, so I as able to focus on the loads in the area or region, before looking for a load to take me south again.

Plans to take home time in January was postponed, and from January 14th, for the next four and a half weeks, it was seek a path south before the next series of storms, pick a load back north, roll with loads in the area, while focusing west to see the time frame for the next storm. Then repeat the cycle again.  It was a successful plan that derived from past years, and it does need more practice. I mean it was not perfectly planned all the time, causing me to fumble with the rules of approach I have set for myself, but the loads never froze, and they made it on time. I am till working on my spreadsheets to see if this type of winter operation is worth making my own policy to keep for winter runs. Playfully, I dub it “operation snowbird”.  Not once down with a load, and a 34 hour break planned as the reason for sitting, and not the forecasted 4-6 inches that fell in Columbus, Ohio.

In between the multiple storms, there were times I came close to the storm rolling in, and one notable storm track was the one that involved an 80 vehicle collision in the Cincinnati Interstate, and another 50+ vehicles 20 miles north. I had left a truck stop there, after a 10 hour break, just under an hour before mother nature made the white out conditions that was a factor in that mess. And now, February 24th, 2013, I get one chance to plan a rest period for the 55th Daytona 500, before tomorrows delivery to one location, pick up less that 20 miles away, and roll south before the next forecasted snow storm, with an icy mix in the middle. The plan is to be south of the ice, and settle for the band of rain that fuels the storm as it strays east.

I made it sound simple. There are a few other factors in this plan that I need to review, such as my logs, mapping of each trip, and the way the expenses could have been better handled.  I am good with “rolling recaps” when it comes to managing my log hours, but I did have issues with running over my 14 hour, once due to concerns to prevent the load from freezing, and the next, for breaking my own personal rule of using the last working or driving hour to find a place to take a break. Yeah, my own last hour safe haven rule broken. My bad.

With the Daytona already in the first 8eight laps, my time down may include laundry, paperwork catch up. It is 37°, mostly sunny, just north of Perrysburg, Ohio, and I will enjoy the race. Afterwards, its back to focusing on my projects and plans, and watch the weather, for another four straight weeks.

There is one other thing to work out this year, and that is this blog. Every attempt to keep things going has these empty periods, due to weather or work load. Somehow I have to get beyond that shortcoming, since the blog has taken on a growth of its own. More downtime thoughts, return to the spreadsheet and word projects, build up to more projects that includes maps, logs, and even some craft projects (or course, computer themed), and return to building study periods to know fuel tax rules, and other obligations, before making the truck full operated under my own Authority.

Come On, Spring!

Posted in Down Time, Truck Driving | Leave a comment

The Importance of an Alarm Clock

Posted on November 29, 2012 by tharrisfc

      When you think of an alarm clock, you simply compare it to sleep and awake. Still the bells of a school bell rings, it tells us the call period is over, at noon time, the city hall bells may ring. More to realize, there is a buzzer or bell to let you know “time is up” for so many activities in your day than just simply telling you the sleep period has concluded. Strangely enough, much of those bells and buzzers were designed for a product or schedule period we are all familiar with, and less is thought of about using it for much more. But you can and simply don’t. The idea of a set time is not to take away from other activities or events in life, and still we seek completion before retiring from a specific project and moving on to another activity.

      I have met many who have either was late for spending time on a personal computer, or simply fell asleep. If a timing alarm was used to set a segment of time to achieve as much as you could in that period, both issues would be a better remedy. This is right up there with not being imprisoned in front of a computer while it is stalled and processing. Having smaller activities and multitasking has been something to present to those who think a computer period is a “chore”, when they were designed to merge with our lifestyle, and not be a set appointment. Still many, and a majority invest time to have coffee and snacks ready and in hand, before sitting in front of the computer, rather than start it up from its power on button, and attend to another chore while it goes through a series of functions, before it needs you to interact again. When planning a project and investing time in front of a computer to work on finances and pay bills, correspond, surf for sales, or any other interests, the coffee and snack is at hand, but where is the alarm clock?

      Of course, a trip to the library or a friends house, you rarely want to bring a ticking “Big Ben” with you to set a period to end with a bell that no one else is expecting. Even empty handed, there is a timing device or program around that is much more appropriate, should you not wear watches with alarms, like me. Besides actual clock devices, you can use an outlook program, in the calendar, and setup the alarm to let you know time is up, simply by making it an appointment, and setting the alarm feature there. You really should “pencil” in the time you plan to spend on a project, and plan on going no further, when the alarm goes off. Set it fifteen minutes earlier so you can make notes about where you left off and plan to continue the next time you “pencil in” more time for the project. Now, you have a little less pressure if you plan to go as far as you can in the set time frame, leaving notes when you return to it, and that pressure is never on making up for lost time for sitting in front of it in the first place. Plus, it also puts the pressure on utilizing your time set; preventing the opportunity to fall asleep.

      Making time for the computer, should be just like when you feel hungry, or plan to do laundry. It was not to become an appointment setting device to plan on, but something included in your daily activities, and the appointment concept is to make sure it cuts you short of becoming involved in the computer, and losing your objectives you planned on in the rest of the day. A computer laptop can be put into a standby state if you need to take the laundry from the washer and put it in the dryer, and even chose to put the laptop into hibernation, while you return to the laundry to fold it. You return to the computer, and remember, set the alarm again. Whether for fifteen minutes, a half hour period, or a two hour project, the alarm set is putting the pressure on the moment, and if you still feel tired…go take a nap.

      A laptop or desktop can sit and wait for you, and not the other way around. You can even leave it on and you outlook opened, and simply check your email from time to time. Plus, if it is running (and plugged into the outlet receptacle, so not to run down your batteries), you don’t have to plan on starting it up, and any notes to take, to do list to add to, appointment to set, contact to lookup or add, and anything you might need to research, can be done as it comes to mind, and not after the computer is ready to be used. Any program can be left on. You can now setup the screen saver to save electricity for a certain period, like 45 minutes (it will go into screen saver mode when the mouse or keyboard don’t be used for that set time). You can also go into the control panel, and power setting configuration, and set the computer to go to standby or even shutdown, if not used for another set period, such as 6 hours. The computer saves the work, and closes out the program, and will shutdown. Tomorrow, you can start it up again, sign in, open your outlook, and do it all over again.

      If a little thought is put into it, an alarm ( or “cutoff” period) can be setup for you, and the computer, and should you and the computer not get together, or interact, there is always tomorrow. When planned on that way, the computer is no longer another chore, and can become part of your everyday activities.

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Spreadsheet Formats

Posted on November 4, 2012 by tharrisfc

      Everyone has their own comfort, style and design. The purpose of following my lead was just to get a feel for the common spreadsheet. The steps to formatting columns was to show you that a “cell” can be formatted individually, or in groups, by columns, and even in rows. The key was knowing how to highlight the groups of cells, or focus on each own individually. Getting back to the first Blog that started with formatting the columns, then a job number, followed by Location, address, and on and on; the whole purpose was to give you a starting point and see if you could fill in your own column blanks. I got to where I gave a basic list of columns for the date, and job; both typically in any form of service will always be the reference to go back to when looking up the work at a later date.  If your starting out, you can include other informational topics that include Delivery location, the amount of stops, a comment column to add in information that might help remember the load activity, issues, or even other references to the load.

      That first Blog was indeed left to let you decide what information to add, but if you are not sure, add what you used to write down, and make the first row of the spread sheet the title or topic of each column. If you still need a list to guide you, here is some of the following, in an outline fashion:

  • Date
  • Job Number
  • Number of stops
  • Preloaded or Live load
  • Driver Load and driver count
  • 1st location name, address, city, state, zip code, and Phone Number (all itemized in its own column)
  • Bill Of Lading Number
  • Date of Pick up
  • Time of Pick up
  • PU Reference Number
  • First, second, third, and fourth Purchase Order Numbers of the Bill of Lading (comes in handy for dedicated drivers, to have a list of the first several numbers to match with the actual bill Of Lading)
  • Number of pieces (can also be a few columns to run along side the Purchase Order Numbers, or delivery Stops
  • Weight (Again for each delivery stop)
  • Deadhead or empty estimated miles (basically the load is paid in advance by estimated miles to travel)
  • Loaded Estimated miles
  • Total Pieces (that is the sum of the individual pieces for each stop)
  • Total weight
  • Total miles (should you have listed individual estimated distance for each stop)
  • First Delivery (or can be second pickup location) Name, address, City, State, Zip Code, Telephone Number, Contact person (another idea for a column…for all stops).
  • Comments
  • Issues
  • Date of delivery
  • Time of Delivery
  • Delivery or drop number
  • Beginning miles(filled before starting the series of stops)
  • Ending miles (Filled in when the load is completed in full)
  • Total Actual Miles (Can be used to compare with the estimated miles, as to use to get into practice to find routes that lessen the distance, or even show how out of route you went).

 

      Not everything listed interests each individual person, others will want to add more information, to make sure they have information that will help identify a certain load in the future, should it need to be recalled. The last suggested item (Total Actual Miles) was not to fight with how much you should be paid, instead, a guide towards trying to find the shortest routes to come close match or even exceed the estimated miles for future trips. Remember, this is a blog to get you to design a blank spreadsheet to gather information that you can always use to refer to and even use as a future reference to any given load, location, and alike; don’t go out of your way to look to show how much miles you did against what anyone estimated…it is possible in some cases to have loads estimated where you can cut the distance, making more for less miles traveled. Remember, that estimated miles scale that might be used goes for everyone.

      Let’s get back to the spreadsheet.

      When you start out, you may not know how many stops you will have, so designing your spreadsheet for simply two stops (pick up and location), and when you have a basic idea of the number of stops, You can actually highlight the group of information from the second location of the first row, go to edit, and click copy, move the mouse to the next empty cell to the right, go to edit and click paste, and it will copy the highlighted information. Then, with a little editing (and if you copied the same data, just highlight the data, right click, and click clear content). Then you can use the topic to click each column and format the column to the desired category (i.e., Date format, currency, special (that then can format for zip codes and telephone numbers).

Creating Designed Limits

      Workbook spreadsheets do have a limit to how many cells each spreadsheet has, but the number is so high that unless you use one spreadsheet to enter every load you will do over a year or two time period, you won’t need to worry about running out of cells to use. My basic rule is to use a spreadsheet based on a specific period of time, such as every month, but since there is only three hundred and sixty five days in a year, and even with two or three loads a day, you won’t ever reach bottom. When I fuel, it never turns out to be every single day of the year, so that one spreadsheet will be used for the whole year…but never for a three five or ten year period. A Workbook can have an unlimited amount of spreadsheets, so why not make identical spreadsheet for each month, when it comes to load information. And, might as well decide on what each work book will represent, in my case, every aspect of professional driving represents every work year, and in each workbook, the spreadsheets include every monthly load period, all miles and hours driven and worked (so I can actually compare each yearly quarter or time period, and make charts of comparison, which spreadsheets and databases can do). Here is a list of a Yearly Workbook I keep:

  • Truck information (Year, Make Model, Miles it had when assigned, License plate Number, VIN, Date assigned, and Insurance Information. Later, this was information that was not going to be added to so I copied the column and data, and included it in the top of the Truck Maintenance spreadsheet)
  • Truck Maintenance
  • Permit Book Information (includes the Permit type, state it is for, and expiration date)
  • 90 day countdown of miles until the next required truck maintenance and service
  • Daily hours worked driven hours, and driven miles
  • Monthly Recaps (actually looks like the recaps table in the covers of driver’s logbooks, but mine has the columns that does the math, so I simply have to “input the daily hours”, and the formulated columns fills in the amounts).
  • Monthly Load Information
  • Yearly Load income, expense sheet (it includes columns for scale purchases, and lumper fees, but since those are reimbursed, I don’t currently use these two created columns)
  • Fueling information (includes location, amount of fuel, cost, surcharge, and surcharge total cost)
  • Yearly Miscellaneous Expenses (Used for receipted information for supplies purchased, such as straps and load locks, lights for the Trailers, additional hazardous materials placards, Cleaning supplies, and parking)
  • Yearly Truck Expenses (Oil, lights for the truck, Washer Fluid, and anything else specifically for the leased truck).
  • Weekly Per Diem (for tax purposes, and counts the days I am on the road, with a column that multiplies the days worked on the based daily per diem allowed)

      To be more specific, there is twelve spreadsheet for every month for the loads, four 90 days Countdown spreadsheets over the course of the year, twelve recap spreadsheets for each month, and basically one spreadsheet for the rest of the list, that holds my information for that year. These are my designed limits, making a spreadsheet for specific periods of my daily work day (i.e., spreadsheets for each months load are filled in when assigned, loaded, and unloaded; Fuel spreadsheet used whenever I fuel, and I carry over the amount of the surcharge total to the Load Income expense spreadsheet; All truck and trailer repairs that help recall the dates, locations, issues, and repairs at the end of the month when submitting the monthly repair report to the company, etc.). If I used one spreadsheet for everything above, not only might i use all the cell to its limit, but it would be that much harder to manage. In the way I designed my workbook, when it comes to periodically checking the expiration dates of my permits, I don’t have to just go to the permit book, and each individual spreadsheet, or the whole workbook, can be either copied into, or attached to an email to pass on information (I have never passed on a whole workbook, but like the permit information spreadsheet, and the trip submission spreadsheet, they can be sent separately in an email).

      Don’t be intimidated by what you should have or how it will look, by expecting it to  need to look a certain way. The workbook is exactly that, a book of spreadsheets that will always be a “work in progress”; always improving on its appearance, the information gathered, and how it can be used later. You have to feel comfortable designing the spreadsheets that fit your specific needs. Over time, additional columns will be added or eliminated, and how it appears will be through the person’s preference. There is only two real challenges in the beginning: Deciding what you want to have in the form of information; and, actually making it a routine and habit to add that information as it is obtained.

Posted in Spreadsheets & WorkBook | Leave a comment

The Multi – Labor Force

Posted on November 4, 2012 by tharrisfc

      Not many people understand the lifestyle of the trucking industry. They just see a big Truck or semi, going from point A to point B. It really doesn’t sound that difficult, well, unless you become one. The best way to get started is to actually go to a trucking school or university with such a course. Apply for a license, and then a job won’t happen. Along with the “Rules of the road”, there is map reading and understanding truck routes, bridge weights, underpass low clearances, parking and backing, load securement, Hills, Weather conditions, and the log rules. I have attempted to write and blog about the roles of this profession, but more for entertaining. Now, I work on a different aspect and approach, and wish to note it is not a job, but a profession, and it is not a career, but a lifestyle. It falls short of ever being declared a form of higher education, and still the work involved requires an ongoing exercise in discipline, motivation, and improvement.

      I still wish to keep the interests of the general reader, but I need to reach out to others in the field too. More likely to new generation of professionals, because, although there is an obvious difference in the seasoned senior generation, the business of transportation keeps evolving towards that higher form of education, without losing the need to build it as a lifestyle. Logistics typically referred to the Office Administration, support, and managers, but slowly it is working towards not only an understanding but a practice that every driver will be challenged to know. It won’t be simple to define “us” and “them”, as the roles of logistic may someday only be noted as “inside” or “outside” duties and roles, with technology becoming a common place in trucks, the driver inherits the role of Data Entry. And although it may seem that communication is one sided; they eyes towards mutual communication and information, shared back and forth. After all, over time, a driver knows where the delays will be (in short term periods, with regards to construction); properly communicating such location will become the eyes for those indoors. Even this evolution will reach the executive staff, for the future to successfully work.

Inner Workings Of A Business Plan

       In any size business, whether Small to Corporate, the Business Plan is the architecture structure for any Product Line or Service. Someone needs to write out the steps and process to the assembly or that approach to resolve and repair. That business plan gets better noticed to those employed as the rules, steps and procedures, all of which defines the purpose of that employing business. But a Business Plan is not just written once, and like anything, it is constantly added onto, refined, and even restructured. I can actually see the Business Plan now being the first change of focus. It used to be that the Business Plan could be the foundation to the start and success of any business or idea, but with the first real fall in this world wide economy, it now needs to be fluid, and ready to react to the next level in what has been constantly heard for decades, change. There will always be an executive role, but that role will now work on getting input that will be designed in future business plans. Charts and graphs, meetings and reports will eventually need a form of gathering data, not on a monthly basis, but as it happens. No real format of education has been developed as a school of higher education, and yet, no business can just wait. Not much in the initial designing of any business plan will change, but once the “open” sign is lit, there will be a need to adjust approaches, procedures, and resolutions throughout the future days of the business (no real off time for the bosses).

Architecture in its simplest form

      When a small business grows, in becomes many departments, needing managing, and a multiplied amount of laborers, equipment, and resources. Its those laboring employed who simply notes the steps and rules of that “Master Plan”. Managing focuses on the flow of work, and reacts to issues that become the change in the way things flow. That covers almost every department a business grows up into. Someone needs to focus on the the “results” and feedback of the operation, and through a high level management, address the undesired results, or affirm the satisfaction of those results. Somehow, the executive staff focuses on keeping that plan intact, and the vision of the product or service the defining written architecture of the business. It remains the business plan that makes one business different than its competitor.

The Laborer –  The Key and Force of Change

      The new change could not happen at a better time or milestone than to by marked in the first decade of the twenty first century. Many cities show the history of the rise and fall of businesses, only to note the new rise of business. In the last century, the focus on Assembly Line and Industrial lifestyles also welcomed in Technology. What an exciting conclusion to a Centuries history. If we know this history, which included the great depression, we knew that anyone publicly shouting “change” is only addressing what will naturally occur. What also becomes natural is insight. Weather you think of research or investigations, that word insight may be the next focus on the initial designing of future Business Plans. It has always been stated that communication is the most important part of any business. It is defined to go in only one direction. Now, it is about to be exercised in the form of exchange, where the information that once flows down the chain, needs to flow back up. The trick is receiving only the information needed, and not the noise that is included when this has been attempted in past years. The key to the results of a Business Plan has always been in the performance and production that comes from that labor force. Incentives used to be applied, such as pensions, and paid time off. Fair labor rights has been the legal specialties of many lawyers, trumped only at times by the small success stories of the Union Forces. But the ongoing results of a business has always been how the Business Plan stays together, and the laborer has been the force that leads to the cause of change, both good and a businesses devastating end.

      In the second half of the second decade, and in this twenty first century, the success story seeks a new beginning. With many businesses forced to shut down, all small and major businesses are looking for the ingredient that will design the new century’s role in business, Industry, and it’s newest player Technology. All first will start with the laborer. It has no other starting point. Over the last century, changes in securities and incentives have allowed pensions to have its place in time, and the now need to survive roll of IRA’s, 401K, and Marketing Plans are what became its focus towards one’s individual retirement plan. This had to happen. By trying to allow pensions to continue, more companies would have reached a pinnacle saturation of promised funding for those retired, and eventually would default (as some have already done). Paid time off is slowly the individuals responsibility to take time off with monies saved aside. Everything has it’s limitations, if nothing else, history has shown this to be true.

      So how to bring a new light to that key to success, may fall on bringing to light the self awareness needed to keep the future going. Responsibility, Discipline, and Accountability has always been addressed and expressed through those they were employed by. Rewards and recognitions, fines and retributions were the approaches to the much needed responsibilities and disciplines. Over time, the labor forces expected just as much rewards and recognition, as those who were fined and held accountable. Now, the search is how to let those rolls be based on the individual laborer themselves. One way this has started to become a focus is through such programs as the Lease Purchase program. With the exception of it happening at the time of an economic fall, the ability to get the individual to own a part of the role and responsibility has had mixed results. I think it has been solely based on what has already changed, and the last change is in the individual themselves. In its simplest explanation, work has become work, and the results of proper payments has not been acknowledged. In the end of that twentieth Century, a generation was allowed to play that old song of keeping up with the “Jones”, and indulge in the next new fad and frill that came along. Although a short time to exclude the word pampered and spoiled, the individual responsibility of living a life within one’s own means has become the returning basis. But we didn’t go back in time. The minimum wage did not go down. The cost of living kept up with every income increase. But everyone one knows that if business offered the ability for ownership of a labor role to the laborer, any new resistance would lead to the lose of that part of business. The key to a business Plan may be in the production of the Laborer, but the laborer don’t hold the keys. Thus the reasoning behind downsizing, and closures. So, the lease purchase program may not be the solution, but it is an ongoing avenue towards keeping the business plan together, as those who thrive for ownership work hard and sacrifice for ownership; the employment role remains in full force, and the resource to keeping production and service can be seen as a workable flow towards production. No set of employees can walk away leaving a business short handed, and no number of owners could just leave, since employment has been established from the beginning. The results still too early to weigh in on.

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Making Time To Backup Files and Records

Posted on November 4, 2012 by tharrisfc

      Some may think that ownership of a truck is a “Frill”, that supports an image a person desires to create. I won’t refute the idea, but ownership of a Commercial Vehicle is like any other small business, and no matter how beautiful, tricked up, and artful an owner makes that image, the business end is still a 24 hour, seven day a week, 365 day a year business. Any ownership of a business is the planning that goes into keep the plan in motion. A day off is a day without profit. Somehow the time not rolling has to have some investment shown. Blogging about the experience may be a variation of this relaxing time, but there has to be so much more. In a sense, you work hard, and you play hard. The effort to time down is still to build the same energy into investing your time towards the business, even when it is a day, or weekend, with no profit to be made.

      Like all businesses, records keeping an fill a day, since a ledger, budget, and inventory can fashion up a needed day of investing into, to know what you have, what you need, and how much you can do in the future. Even taking time to “tinker” with the truck, to spend that extra time to look over the machine, from bumper to bumper, will open opportunities to foreseeing troubling issues that may be repaired now, rather than when the issue becomes a breakdown. Then, it all comes back to records keeping and more planning. The only thing that seems to be at the bottom of the list is backing up those records, not only in a redundant fashion, but as a methodical one too.

      Writing about the importance of making a redundant back up system is not a new blog. In the past, I have written about making generalized copies. I stopped after realizing that constantly copying the same unchanged files is in a way excessive, but definitely redundant. If nothing else, each scheduled backup is a milestone that show what has changed, and what has not. Even I was looking to see if building a database that records all backed up information, and where that backup is stored for later retrieval, a plan to develop, but still falls short from the initial idea. Making the time to add to my time down period is even a work in progress for this writer. But I still make the effort to work towards managing that time in the future, while still focusing on my continued business development (yes, even in a truck, there can be developing stages).

      Recently, I did start pointing out to others I work with that I am not a truck driver, and make humor at being a “Computer Geek, whom so happens to have a CDL license, and now, a truck”. Still, here I sit, on one of those periods of “Time Down”, and where so much time helps in having a rest period from the highways, my time no longer is sitting and finding something to entertain myself with.  This was no easy change either. It took years to reach this period where I wake up, and start planning my “invested work day”. In a short period of time, I have a list of tasks that need to be accomplished, and time stops looking like a luxury.

      While writing this Blog on a third computer, I have the first two mini computers swapping files to build a replicated “back up” system, should one computer stop working, my work day could stop too. So, have an active replica of information is a safe guard that prevent me from shutting down to resolve issues. The next process will be backing those most important files onto an external hard drive to have an alternate plan to retrieving files “on the fly”. This process concludes with that process of burning a permanent copy of files onto DVD, and marking it as the most recent of a series of milestones. With the most recent with me, planning on putting the older files in storage, and in other locations assures that I have various places to retrieve my work, instead of it all being in one safe place.

      It sounds like so much, but without a plan in place, losing the records would be devastating, and could end my business if records cannot be presented. If I don’t invest the time today, I could be out of business tomorrow.

      I have expressed the truck as a rolling office, or cubical, since the computer is the true office, and as long as it is on, the office is where I am at. Having three mini computers held two important business planning. The first, redundancy. I already mentioned that a replica is being passed onto another. Of course that redundant computer is not just a storage area. Each computer holds a primary role. The originating mini naturally is the one that keeps the originating records, expenses, mapping, and email. The second is actually on all the time, and even though it is not the primary computer, it is the better of the three to make pc-to-phone calls, and it runs the GPS tracking software (the sole reason it is on all the time). The third mini computer is the business planning and developing machine, and the primary computer for writing articles, for blogging. It primary goal includes the visual files, such as pictures and videos. /since it is not what makes the money on a regular basis, those picture and video files are not replicated, but a small redundant backup is placed on an external hard drive, while a larger backup process is focused on going right to a DVD. Since there won’t be much changes to the original picture or video, it does not need to be a replicated process. By placing it on a DVD in its initial form, also falls along the concept of your own copyright, with dated period and time. It expresses true ownership, and may be used for profitable projects at a later date.

      I mentioned two roles of having three mini computers. The first now written in detail. The second, is not to be limited to specific computers. If on a pc to phone call, I don’t necessarily have to retrieve files and run two computers. While working with my records, I can still use the first mini computer for phone calls (but the quality of the call is not as good). By having a small replica of the most recent pictures and videos on an external hard drive, I can now begin or continue a project on any of the other two mini computers. Thus, in my planning, I am not limited to one computer for its primary roll, and I don’t have to carry three computers wherever I go. This need for more than one computer actually spawned from the first years, when I did have one computer for all aspects of personal and business. It did breakdown, and panic was my first reaction. The second, was to get to the nearest retailer, and purchase a new computer. I was on a timely load, and now time was needed not only to buy a new replacement, but to quickly install the essential programs to get rolling again.

      To be a professional Driver, keeping the truck maintained is common sense. It is the main machinery that allows you to commit to a service of moving large quantities of goods and raw materials. As a business, the computers hold an equal importance since records keeping for revenue and taxes, communication and information; are all the tools and that edge that makes a person different from the next and how they operate their business. The advantage of computers is weight. Sure everything still is done on paper for the older professionals and business owner/operators. But to maintain all the paperwork in a truck adds weight, and weight is an issue when it comes to being as light as you can, to be able to carry more of a load. The federal law only allows the common semi-truck to be no more than 80,000 lbs. Paper can add 100 lbs i a quarter year period. My 9 lbs. computer, which my files are scanned into file form holds six years of records, and complete records of my business.  That is about 2,400 lbs of paperwork,. And there is some organization. Trying to hold that much in a truck is not done. File cabinets at home, in a drawer, or on shelves (in boxes) is the traditional way. Having everything on computer makes it that much more available not only for business, but for audits and inventory. With three mini computers, two printers and scanners, a few accessories (such as mouse and wireless keyboard), and a wireless internet card combined weighs approximately 95 lbs. And in six years time, the weight will remain the same. Six more years of paperwork is 2,600 more lbs., stored somewhere.

      It is taking time for the two minis to replicate the information, and instead of passing the time in front of a television, or watching a movie, I have been passing my time with a panoramic photography project…and these blogs. At current, my interest in family and the east coast is due to the post period time of Hurricane Sandy. Not all family members are online, but with friends outside the area, making physical contact, all family members are located, and in good health. It is good to have internet connection, and being a computer geek, having all the message software helped track as many family as I could on my own. Still it looks like a week without power for some.

      I do take breaks from these projects, but it is a business. So, time away, is no work being done; less prepared for when it is time to run, or a financial issue delayed. A business is a 24 hour, 7 day a week, 365 day a year project.

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The panoramic world of pictures

Posted on November 4, 2012 by tharrisfc

      It is one thing to come up with an idea. It is another to make it a part of your day. With a tripod and a digital camera, I began this little pass time of panoramic photography. I started three weeks ago, in the attempts to capture the fall leaves, while at a truck stop, in Mahwah, New Jersey. Two weeks later, I explored the idea of attempting a 360° panoramic view, in Barry, Illinois. Both was done in four minutes time, and before my start of my work day. The first was in the morning, and the second, as the sun began to set.  I wouldn’t be able to continue with any software to “stitch” the programs, until after I had time to sit, but the effort of taking a four minute exercise was not in the activity itself, but telling myself to “just do it”.

      For the most part, time down means relaxing or “blowing off steam”. Rarely does anyone envision the purpose of passing the time by creating something. In fact, many rather enjoy knowing their part is being entertained by seeing the results a creator has done. But a picture makes a statement. It is art. And, it is a means of productively passing the time, and sharing the results. It is always fun to share a picture, the human means of freezing a place in time for all to see. Well, why not make it a challenge or goal? Software is available to help you pass the time and experiment with changing shades, themes, making watermarks, or writing a story to go with the picture. The writing allows you to express what you were feeling at the time a picture was made. Making a collogue, or even building activities in the form of letters and greeting cards are ways of self expression. The concept is to develop the imagination, that may spark other ideas. Over time and experimentation, those past activities may hold a purpose or solution to later activities that may be related to work or a social event. Instead of waiting for a needed result, by experimenting and learning to pass the time helps develop a skill or knack that may be useful when an activity is important. Of course, someone else may be hired or called upon to help you find a result. But, why not try it on your own. The reward is evident. By making something yourself and sharing it, you become noticed, for good, and sometime bad or ridicule. No matter. You get to enjoy passing the time creating something, instead of being amongst the millions of spectators waiting to be entertained.

 

       Finding a project or idea typically comes from inspiration or curiosity. Pictures and presentation is one of the most enjoyable, playful, and rewarding past times that are cost effective, since everyone has a computer and a camera. There are many free picture software to experiment with. They even come with ideas, suggestions, and help, to try out new ideas, and develop something you have never tried before. Even experimenting with a camcorder can challenge one to alter a typical picture and create a new and pleasing, and sometimes purposely capture a “troubled” result, that intrigues the viewer to take a second look. Thus, it is art. To get started, you can check out Microsoft or Apples webpage’s to seek a totally different pass time project. They give you plenty of practice downloads to experiment with. Once you find a style you wish to share, you can now invest in a software product, and a company known as ArcSoft has some good and inexpensive software of all kinds, relating to visual art, such as photography. If your more of a doodler, well the simple Paint or Draw programs are already part of you operating software. Other who find this a challenging pleasure might invest in products from Corel. If your a writer, there is a Centex webpage that will have a free software expressly for every type of writing theme, to include plays and manuscripts for screen writing. As you get better, they have a more professional version to invest into.

      Its all about self expression. Being productive with your personal time, and sharing. Who knows, even in these economical times, it may lead to a career, and it may spark a business. It all starts with an individual, and idea, practice and experimenting, and leads to visions and purpose. All this can take time. But time is something that passes whether it is utilized or not. Make art projects, turn it into a blog. Use what is available, or download a free software. Research what is available, and then, simply pass your time…and create.

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Spreadsheet Design and Purpose

Posted on November 4, 2012 by tharrisfc

      Spreadsheet have many features similar to other office software products, that allow you to interchangeably work without losing original design and purpose. You can use an office document that will still draw graphs and tables, and figures can be done the same, but a word documents primary purpose is writing. Spreadsheets are more in the form of math and image results such as graphs. It is just how you approach using a spreadsheet, and simply put, if it serves your purpose, then it is not wrong. Only in math, you need to pay attention to what cells you are building a math result from.

      Still, a spreadsheet can be used simply to list items or materials, and as you go deeper into understanding the powerful purpose of a spreadsheet, can you enjoy the purpose and the math behind it. Each cell, and if you select a group column, or row, can be formatted to do a certain format of text or math. Math in this case can be how it expresses a date, a time, currency, or numbers, with (or without) decimal places.

      Basic rule is to start out simple, and explore, research, and learn how to expand to some useful results later. A quick idea would be my fathers workbench. Above the work table, he has bins of hardware (screws, nuts, washers, etc.). If he was to use a spreadsheet to list each bin, its select sections of hardware, and the amount of each screw, nut, and washer, he would probably find a spreadsheet useful; simply for the purpose of inventory. He could later work off to the right side of his list, and in a cell build a formula that adds, and even subtracts what he takes out of the bin, knowing how much is supposed to be remaining. If he started from the beginning, he could probably create formulas based on each purchase, and come up with how much he has invested in this inventory, separately or as an entire collection. My father’s workbench is only an example. Some real time list (with math) might be an inventory of household materials (for creating an inventory for insurance claim purposes).

      In the case of my father’s workbench, I would first start out drawing each bin, or simply let each cell represent the bins across and below. Then in his own numbering system, he can number or letter the bins in the cell. To make it more visible, the spread sheet comes with draw and border tools that you may need to include below the menu bar. Once he has the bins marked in any fashion how chooses (numbers and letter were only an example), he could then start listing each bin number in the left cells (below the drawing), and to the right cell, describe what is in the bin. From here, it would be up to how detailed he wanted to get. Picture each bin having seven partitions, and in the first bin is different screws. He could actually create another spreadsheet specific to that bin, and again make lines that represent each section, and describe in detail, the type and size for screw.  Later, he could learn how to book mark the first spreadsheet, using hyperlinks, that when the cursor hovers over the cell representing the first bin, and left clicking on it, the link would bring up or go to that second spreadsheet that lists the items in that bin in detail.

      Let’s go with the idea of a house inventory list. The first spreadsheet may start with a drawing of borders that represent every room of the house (you can simply make a list of each room, but having a visual appearance is like including a map or layout). Then, lets start with the kitchen, by making a second spreadsheet specific to the kitchen, remembering later that we can bookmark by hyperlink in the first spread sheet that brings up the complete list of items and the number and amounts in the second spreadsheet.  You can also list the cost or value of each item on that second spreadsheet, and go into detail, such as the purchase date and wear. You can build a formulat that adds the total value of that room, and later, go to the first spreadsheet, and by clicking on the formula tool, simply link it to the second spreadsheets total value amount. This simply brings the total number onto the first spreadsheet, and the first spreadsheet starts becoming the summarized spreadsheet of all the values of each room identified in other spreadsheets.

      When planning to build multiple spreadsheets, a key mention is to make sure all are created and stored in the same folder. Having separate spreadsheets in other folders will work, but when it comes time to back up, or move the project to another machine or external storage device, you may be forced to recreate the bookmarks or links to the other spreadsheets. By keeping them in one folder, the folder becomes a “container” (also known as the parent to the files inside), and now when moving the folder, it carries the files inside, and the spreadsheet links are kept in tact. So, don’t just start a spreadsheet in My Documents. Give it a container, and name the folder for that project, and now create all your spreadsheets inside the folder. You can create other folders inside the parent folder, to separate other files, like pictured receipts, but the links to your now growing project all need to be contained in that parent folder to work when moved or backed up.

      Architects may look for a program specific with all the tools they would need, but even in that software, it will eventually come down to a spreadsheet built in, to do the math, such as the area of the dimensions drawn, with each line and curve. No matter what your project or purpose, when it comes to math, a spreadsheet is the tool to work with. It gives you the opportunity to draw, list, and like any software add or embed a picture taken into the spreadsheet. But its true purpose is math and graphs. The best part of a spreadsheet is once the formulas are made, and pulls numbers from other cells, if there is a change in the number of any given cell, the cell with the formula makes the new total. So, a spreadsheet is ideal for any works in progress, where the numbers may or will change.

      Where I have a spreadsheet, where I copy the total miles driven for each day, I went into detail to give me the results of the weekly total miles, the average total miles, and I did the same for total hours driven and total hour worked. From weekly, I expanded it to detail the totals by month and even quarterly. With a completed table of information, I can take those totals and build a line graph based on each moth, week, or quarter. I could also do it to express the averages. I can also compare years in a line graph. And make a series of lines for each year, getting a visual idea of what my totals were for each year. Why? To analyze patterns. If the lines are lower from January to march (or the first Quarter), I may now plan on saving money during the peek periods, where the graph lines are higher.

      In a current real time project, I am getting very close to making “pie charts” when it comes to showing my revenue, against my itemized expenses. It took time to know where I wanted to go, and the pie chart idea is an addition to all the information on various spreadsheet, all developed over time…three years (six if you want to go back to when I was developing a purpose for spreadsheets and started out aimlessly, but had fun experimenting). With three complete years of data entry, I can now experiment to get the results that I can display in various charts, used to save when it is busy, and forecast when it may slow in the future. This analyzing may also help in when I can spend, and when it is necessary to save. Yes, there is real value to spreadsheets, but it is up to the individual to explore, and eventually a direction to seeing actual results will come to light.

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It’s Based On Style

Posted on November 4, 2012 by tharrisfc

      I recall so much from my education, and the many styles of writing, whether it is a formal letter, an outline, a resume’, or simple letter. There is the greeting, the body, and the salutation in them all. It’s the style that defines their purpose, and stays with us throughout our lives. Even a newspaper or magazine has definite styles, with their columns. What also should be mentioned is what defines their purpose. Without being addressed or identified, a newspaper seems to have the formal appearance, not to distract from what it was designed to do; be informative. Magazines seek styles that are attractive, alluring, and pleasing to read. Those legal and statement letters all have a letter head, and some include the reason for the document.  Even greeting cards do their best to catch your attention, with many starting witha picture or graphic, and a statement needing to be finished. With these guidelines, we have an idea of what we want our document to look like.

      When starting a document, we used to have to keep an eye on errors, or when we lost focus, and see if we could fix the correction or simply start all over. The guideline for any document was always start with a draft. Some of us try to get it right the first time, losing the hidden meaning of a draft. The main goal to any writing is to get the thoughts down, and make that the key focus, not spacing or corrections. By trying to fix sentences or words in the process of writing the initial idea, we can lose focus or meaning, and the intent of the letter has only a general message, rather than a personality of one’s initial objective and goals. Never sell a draft short. Use it. Get what you are saying on the page, and not what you meant to say.

      From the draft, read over what you wrote, and make this the next and immediate step, since not all you wanted to write may be written after all. To wait until you have time to go back and make the formal writing, the expressions may be lost. Fragment sentences may even make no sense to you. Don’t stop with just a draft, until you looked over it and made sure everything you were meaning to say is there. In  the rewrite is when you can make the corrections. This has become my flaw when it comes to writing, and even text messaging. But a wrong letter in a word forces the reader to try to make sense out of what you are communicating. I saw this recently, in one of my own emails, where I was trying to state what was on my mind, not what was on my “wind”.  Always make time to reread. It falls along the lines of art. An artist does not display a work in progress. Take the time to reread your own form of art. Also, get into the habit of using spell check. Make everything you write important, well understood, and final; even if it is just a home made greeting card. Let it be your form of art.

      Now, you can work on the style of the letter. If you wish to have a letter head or page numbers, on most office and document programs, you can click on view, in the menu bar, and click on headers and footer. Here you can craft that letter head, to be seen on all page, or typically, just on the first page. It is in the footer that can be shown on every page, and where you desire it.  In this part of the setup, you can change fonts size and type, and even include a picture, the date or time, and even use the footer to express the meaning of the document. When you click close, the top of the “drafted” document will appear faded, but that was so you can get back to the main focus…the body of the letter. After you have finished the letter, read it again, checking out its meaning, spelling, appearance, and make the changes then.

      Finally, the margins. If you click on File, in the menu bar, you can then click on page setup, and here you can adjust the margin settings. Click save. Always click save in many aspects of your letter, from the beginning, any time you stop typing, and any time you made changes. This way your adjustments and changes are saved, giving you the opportunity to experiment, and should you make a gross error, you can close the document, without saving” it and go back and open the document you saved at the point of the last saved period. It is like approving your own work, but with steps, many steps of saving in between.

      After the margins are set, you can see a print preview on your screen, rather than printing out a page. This is supposed to save on paper. You still might find a mistake or two upon printing, but use the print preview to check its overall appearance, the margins, and the header and footer before printing. This way, if there are any mistakes, they will be far and few in between. Before sending, now wait a day or two, and reread one final time. See if it all makes sense. Check for errors, and note it’s appearance. This is your style, and the style can vary from a well written document, or something that appears to be rushed, and set to be done to simply get it out of the way.

      Even after you have finished the letter, save this file and back it up. But don’t delete it from your computer. Instead, use it now to experiment and explore. Wander through the menu bar, and check out other tools available. Experiment with every aspect of this letter, but, rename it, and put it in another folder. Mark that folder “experimentation”. This prevents you from thinking it is the finished version, and accidently printing it or sending it by email. Always be willing to explore, and experiment, but make sure it never gets confused with the submitted copy, and the one you backed up. If you should recall that file to reuse for important purpose, do one final thing; reread and proof the letter.  Never send anything until you approve it. In the meantime I’ll practice what I wrote, and prevent anyone else from wondering what is in my wind, or more on my mind.

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