Erich Stauffer

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  • LOST: The Evolution of Jack Shephard: Part 2

    From a “Man of Science” to a “Man of Faith”, Jack Shephard has ridden the pendulum for a full turn.  After competing the greatest task of his life, leading the survivors of Flight 815 to rescue, he is a man without an identity.  No longer do people look to him for his potential, they just look to him and define him by his past.  By what he has done.  By what did happen to him.  Having his identity tied up in his actions lead him to question what he had left to live for in the future, much less… the present.

    But then, a strange thing happens… he starts to think differently.  Jack wonders about Locke’s claims of destiny and providence.  He wonders if he has not mistakenly taken himself off course of a path that is much bigger than him.  Jack’s identity begins to change.  With no hope for his currently life, he changes directions, and begins to follow the opportunities laid in front of him.  Sometimes it is with passion and purpose, and other times he is simply resigned to let fate run its course.  It is nearly 180 degrees different from the Jack we first met who would barely even sleep if there was work to be done around him.

    So, as season 5 ended recently, and with only the final season remaining, where is Jack left to go?  Will he find balance somewhere in the middle?  Is it possible to be bound by fate, and still control your destiny with managing your own actions?  Will Jack ever find the answer to having a sustained, happy life?

  • How to Delete a Digg Submission

    The short answer is, you can’t.  According to Digg.com:

    We are able to edit submission titles, categories & descriptions. Contact us from the email address associated with your username and include the Digg.com URL of the submission as well as the changes you’d like to make.

    However, as stated in the section 6 of the Terms of Use, we don’t delete content unless it is in violation of our Terms of Use. Please note that un-Digging a story removes it from your profile, but not from Digg.com. Additionally, we can’t switch a submission’s thumbnail for you, but we can remove it if you’d like.

    So what are your options?

    1. Undigg it. This is irreversible. You can’t redigg something you’ve undug. This is the weakest option.
    2. Bury it. This pushes it down, but it can be promoted by someone else’s digg. Again, nothing permanent.
    3. Narc it. Turn it in for violating something in their Terms of Use.  That should be easy enough as it has many, many rules.

    Note that everything you post becomes public domain under the Creative Commons license.  This means it is not your own, other than you being one member of the public.  So, when you post things to Digg, just be aware of the long-term implications.  Post wisely!

    More > Learn what query string parameters mean.

  • 10 Effective Marketing and IT Solutions for Small Businesses

    10 ways small businesses or entrepreneurs can use their new website to expand their business – not just their online presence.

    Promote your website.

    Create social spaces on web 2.0 places like Facebook, Myspace, & Youtube. Create content that attracts visitors, then link to your site to draw traffic to the products and services you offer. Content is king so the more articles, blog posts, pictures, video, and information you post, the more people will land on your site and ultimately patronize your business. Even if you don’t decide to use these web 2.0 services, we recommend creating accounts there to reserve your brand name and prevent others from using or abusing it. An easy, but effective way to promote is to ask peers in your field or related fields to link to your site. This gives legitimacy to your website and helps boost search engine rankings. Periodically review your primary keywords. Are your customers finding you using these keywords? Adjust if necessary.

    Be the master of your domain.

    Do you have a new domain that you would like to create email addresses for different parts of your company or for your staff? Think of internal and external uses for email using your new domain including distribution lists that might benefit your business. Decide if you’d like to manage your own email or have someone else do it for you. There are hardware and software solutions for both options if your business has the need. There are also ways to use your domain to store documents safely and securely online. Make your staff more productive by sharing documents and setting up a wiki using your new domain. Create a sub-domain to install a CRM package like SugarCRM or BaseCamp or online applications like Microsoft Office Live or Google Apps. Create a sub-domain like “remote” and configure remote access to your office PC or server – get secure access to your desktop or server from anywhere, as easy as typing in a website address.

    Prepare for growth.

    Create processes for what you’ll do when you get an email from your website. Be prepared for when you get them. Decide what information you want to collect from your website using the web form, the analytics, or via phone call, and then create a privacy policy. Users may want to know how their information is collected and used online then post this privacy policy. Some online advertising programs like Google Adsense require that your site have a privacy policy posted with specific verbiage. Check with your vendors to see if they require that your site have a privacy policy. In addition to creating a privacy policy, you might want to consider creating a customer resource management (CRM) tool to store the information you collect. This can be as simple as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, Google Sites, or SugarCRM. You’ll want to know who your customers are and where they came from.

    Manage your ROI.

    Any other advertising you are doing on billboards, radio, TV, or print should be pointed back to specific, non-linked pages on your website in order to determine the ROI on those advertisement investments. Use analytics to see what pages your customers or potential customers are visiting to determine how they got there. See what pages people are entering your site through and which ones they are leaving and how long they are staying on each. This way you can adapt your website and improve performance. If you are not getting the results you desire, review your call to action to see if users are responding to it. Is it clear what the site is asking them to do? Protect your brand and know who is talking about and/or linking to your website by setting up alerts to notify you when someone writes about you online or links to your site.

    Update your marketing.

    Does your old image or brand not reflect your new website? You might need to update your branding and/or logo to match the look and feel of your new website. Update any signs, business cards, or marketing materials, especially business cards with your new website’s address. If you are promoting your business on Twitter, Facebook, or Myspace, you might consider adding these websites as well. Be discriminate, but don’t hide them either. Transparency is a hot business trend in 2009 and may continue into the future. Creating a dialog with the customer is important, but its not enough to expect them to converse with you on your website, you have to go to where your customers are. And for the most part, your customers are on social spaces like Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter.

    Keep your website fresh.

    Your website is new now, but that won’t always be the case. Customers expect a website to change its content over time. When you have news, post it to your website. When you have sales or begin selling a new product or service, post it. This will help keep your business looking fresh and alive. A general rule is to change something on your website’s home page or primary landing page at least once a month. An easy way to do this if you don’t have much news it to change out pictures or video. Content on your social spaces is more strict and should change daily. A stagnant social space can sometimes do more harm than good so make sure to keep it updated and you will reap the rewards from engaged customers and brand loyalty.

    Save money.

    You may have paid a newspaper or head hunter to help you find top talent before. Now you can use your website to collect résumé’s or post jobs online. You can also use your website to do market research testing the popularity of a product or service before you buy inventory or hire a new staff member. Use analytics and promotion to help you tease information out of the content you post. In this way you will save money from buying and promoting a failed offering until you find the one that truly has a market. Save even more if you’ve used a market research firm for this type of service in the past.

    Make money.

    This may or may not be the primary goal of your website, but you now have a platform for selling products or services directly to customers online – just as you would over a physical counter in a store. You can have the ability to accept credit cards on your site or through services like Paypal or Google Checkout. You can also use part of your website for affiliate referrals which pay you when someone signs up for something on another site. This is a form of an advertisement and if you were inclined to add that, there are options to sell space or work with major partners like Google as an additional way to generate capital for your business.

    Rethink location.

    Now that you have a website, how might you use it to expand your business’ footprint? What products or services did you not offer before because of location? You might want to reevaluate decisions you’ve made in the past in relation to your physical location. Now that you have a website which is not necessarily restricted by where it is on a map, how does that affect your business model? Does this allow you to broaden your market? Does it allow you to consider setting up a franchise or sales offices elsewhere? Taking this thought experiment to the next level, could you create premium content about how you do what you do and either offer subscription-level service to those who need the information or even write a book about it?

    About Erich Stauffer Web Design and Promotion

    At Erich Stauffer, we believe that, the keys to a successful business are organization, accountability, and execution. This is a philosophy that we not only practice internally, but expect our clients to hold us to as well. Client Service is our #1 priority, and our team of professionals will work with you to design and promote your website to achieve your vision of a successful business.

    Erich Stauffer delivers exceptional solutions for your business:

    • Professional web design to keep visitors and gain customers
    • Web promotions to attract visitors
    • Web Analytics to show a return on your investment (ROI)

    We are an Indianapolis firm serving the entire Midwest region and beyond. We offer web design and development services for all types and sizes of businesses.

    Don’t have a website yet? There’s no better time than now to invest in the future success of your business. An attractive website is a critical component of success for any business. At Erich Stauffer, we can create, update, and maintain your website. Our company also offers other valuable services such as:

    The next step is to contact our Sales Manager who will arrange a time to have an initial consultation. We look forward to discussing how to help make your vision of a successful business come to life through the power of the web. After all, “Our Business is Helping Your Business.”

    Get a free quote today!

  • Erich Stauffer Reviews “6 Website Fixes to Make Now”

    This is a review of an article originally published on Entrepreneur.com on April 28, 2009 entitled, “6 Website Fixes to Make Now,” by Mike Werling. This article is for small business owners and entrepreneurs who may or may not have a webmaster or web designer and it assumes that everyone is on the same page that every business needs a website.  Werling’s thesis is that, “Relatively minor issues can drag down your site’s effectiveness,” and that these issues could be costing your business money.  We couldn’t agree more, but lets go down the list.

    Website fix #1 is, “Increase the speed.” It’s not about streamlining your site for dial-up users anymore.  Even broadband users can enjoy a fast-loading site while other are increasingly browsing the Internet using their cell phones or PDAs, which also can have slower connections.  Werling writes that technology for tech’s sake is no longer in fashion, which is also Website Fix #3.  Even Flash, which is on 99% of all computers is not as sought after as it once was even, “just a few years ago.”  Werling quotes Ben Rushlo,  director of Keynote Consulting for Phoenix-based Keynote Systems, a service provider that improves online business performance, “People now view [Flash] as annoying. They’d rather read information.” Rushlo recommends using the smallest file sizes for images as well as putting any, “non-essential” pictures towards the bottom of the page to, “help the important information pop up quickly.”

    Website fix #2 is, “Write better product descriptions. ” This has mostly to do with e-commerce solutions and shopping cart design, but we can apply some of these suggestions to anything message you are trying to get across online, whether it be selling a product, service, or an idea.  Werling says all descriptions should be, “Succinct and filler-free.”  One of our web designers tells the story of a supervisor at a previous job declaring a, “No Fluff Zone,” for all client-facing material.  Werling agrees, but says it, “Can be difficult because, as Amy Schade says, you need to, ‘Convince [users] the product meets their needs,” but the verbiage. ‘Has to be short and descriptive.’”  Werling goes on to say that, “There’s no salesperson available on a website, so [users],  “Should be able to see a product and know what it does,’ says Schade.” A director at the Nielsen Norman Group in New York City, Schade is also co-author of the second edition of the “E-Commerce User Experience” report.

    Website Fix #3 is, “Delete tech used for the sake of tech.” This fix is sort of a combination of fixes 1 and 2.  In order to speed up a website, you get rid of slow-loading flash (Fix #1) and any fluff (Fix #2) that doesn’t really propel your website’s goal forward.  Rushlo says, “[Site owners] need to evaluate if things like music, video and 360-degree views are necessary.”  Werling writes that Schade subscribes to Rushlo’s view, “[Schade] says to beware the trendy and new. Anything business owners jump on because it is the latest and greatest has the potential to backfire, especially if entrepreneurs don’t have the resources to keep up with all of the moving parts of their sites. Things like Facebook pages and video are fun; and social networking is quickly becoming an integral part of many businesses’ marketing platforms, but business owners need to weigh a technology’s popularity against their ability to utilize it fully.”

    Website Fix #4 is, “Improve shopping cart and payment options,” but we are going to call this, “Improving the functional design of your website.” Users can be irrational.  The smallest hangup or hint of mistrust can make them change their mind on whether or not they are going to use your product or service.  Yes, shopping carts should have the same look and feel of the rest of the site, but they shouldn’t require setting up an account, for example and of course the site should be trusted and secure.  If you cannot afford a secure certificate for your website or do not want or need to setup that type of environment, Paypal is a perfectly acceptable solution that users trust.  The checkout process or any other primary aim of your website should instill confidence, not regret.  Be as transparent as you can.  Let users know how the information will be used and kept.  This is sometimes called a privacy statement.  Transparency is also a top business trend for 2009.

    Website Fix #5 is, “Use unique page titles on every page.” This is more of a SEO tip than anything, but nevertheless true.  SEO stands for search engine optimization.  It’s what you do on your site to make it more appealing to search engines like Google or Yahoo.  Page titles, what is displayed at the top of your browser window, are important and they should be different for every page.  Each page should have a different description, keywords, and H1 tag, just as a baseline.  There are many other things you can do to improve SEO, but changing the titles on your page is one of the most important.  If you use H1 tags, make sure they are only used once per page.  Use H2 or font tags for other titles on your page.  Use a Strong tag around items that are especially important.  Some CMS programs like WordPress default to using Strong instead of Bold tags.

    Website Fix #6 is, “Shorten forms.” This dovetails into Website Fix #2 and 4.  Basically,  Werling recommends removing what isn’t necessary. If you don’t need the user’s physical address, for example, don’t ask for it.  Werling writes, “Only ask for the information you really need. ” In summary, business websites should be fast-loading and fluff-free.  Give the user just enough to make a desicion. Remove anything that isn’t necessary in order to not annoy the user and improve speed.  We think this is great advice.  If you would like help making any of the above changes to your company’s website, please contact us.  Erich Stauffer is  an Indianapolis web design firm serving the entire Midwest region and beyond.  We offer web design and development services for all types and sizes of businesses.

  • The Last Ride of the Roller Blades

    Last night, an era ended. Maybe a decade too late, but my roller blades were not just out of style, but now, out of commission. A friend and I thought that it would be healthy to get out and exercise in the warm Arizona sun. She brought her roller blades over and talked about how long it had been since she had used them. 5 years? 10 years? Friends was still on the air that time, but that doesn’t narrow it down much.

    Regardless, she wasn’t sure how fast she would be and asked me to take it easy on her. As I glided backwards on the asphalt, showing my deft ability on said blades, I promised her that I would not race off ahead and leave her in my dust. In a different way that I meant it…. I was right.

    As we turned down the first street, I realized that my bearings had less grease than John Travolta’s IMDB page. Cause for alarm? Maybe to someone unskilled in the ways of the roller blade, but I was confident that I could overcome the extra friction with a little more effort and sweat on my part. I was sort of right. My friend zipped right past me with little effort at all. She looked back at me at every corner like a child would look back at a slow pedaling parent on a bike ride. I just kept plugging along, with lots of effort, and little speed and grace to show for it.

    After about a mile, I decided to sit down and examine my wheels directly. They did not look good.

    The wheels were actually hot to the touch. I nearly burned myself trying to roll them. On closer examination, the rubber on the wheels had actually begun to disintegrate!

    It wasn’t the lack of grease in my bearings at all! The straps were still functioning fine. Even the trendy “Bladerunner” brand could still be seen on the side. But this one piece of my equipment failing was enough to put me out of commission for the day, and possibly for my career.

    Have you ever felt like you are putting a great amount of effort into moving forward, you feel the energy being used up, but you aren’t making nearly the progress that you thought you would? Sometimes it can just be one thing that keeps you from moving forward and free-flowing the way that you see those around you doing it, or better. Have you taken the time to look at the inventory of your life and see if one piece is missing or damaged? Success can be that fickle…. or that close to attainment.

    For me, I won’t be blading anymore until I get the right wheels. Or maybe I should just figure out a more relevant way to exercise with speed. Any suggestions?

  • LOST: The evolution of Jack Shephard part 1

    We all know that life imitates art and art imitates life.  I am fascinated by almost all of the characters on LOST, but for me, the most complicated and interesting survivor of Flight 815 is Jack Shephard.  My spell checker tells me that this is not the correct way to spell “shepherd”.  Perhaps the creators of lost intentionally wanted “hard” to be a part of his name.  After nearly five seasons of the story unfolding, we have seen many times where Jack experiences something…. “hard”.

    The linear storyline that begins at the plane crash paints Jack as a hero and a leader right away.  Someone who takes charge and makes decisions.  A man of action.  (On a side note, it’s an interesting play on words of our site here:  man + aging + actions.)  Nobody takes a vote, but Jack is obviously the de facto leader.

    Through flashbacks, we learn how Jack has become a successful spinal surgeon.  By watching and shadowing his father, he takes on what he believes is valuable in his father, while trying to reject his father’s “weaknesses”, namely alcoholism.  Jack has a very systematic approach to growth and life.  Everything is fixable.  He sees the pieces that make up a person, or a situation, and attacks or rejects those pieces that seem bad.  In this way, he is making the WHOLE person or situation…better.

    Oddly, it is his greatest surgical triumph that leads him to a romantic relationship and marriage.  His problem with fixing Sarah, though, is that he cannot understand what he did to fix her.  She believes that he fixed her, and adores him for it.  Jack does not believe in miracles, so he does not know how to explain how she was healed.  He continues his role of “fixer” in their relationship, until there is seemingly nothing left to fix.  Their relationship peaked at its genesis.  After a few years, Jack kisses another woman and quickly confesses it to his wife, along with promises to fix their relationship, be more present with her, be a better man, etc.  But for Sarah, it is too late.  The relationship ends.

    Jack’s ability to compartmentalize things does serve him well on the island.  When he gets scared, counting to five allows him to focus in on his task and block out everything in the way of that task.  When something needs to get done, Jack does it, or finds somebody else that will.  He has the largest impact on the group as a whole, based on his actions.  Jack thrives on problems, because they give him a chance to offer solutions and execute his plan.  In life, this is particularly important, because not many people believe that a world without problems is right around the corner.

    If you can define your task, focus, and complete it, you will succeed in many things.  BUT, if you let your ability to accomplish tasks define WHO YOU ARE, then disappointment, sadness, and frustration are inevitable.  My friend Ric McClain often said that we are “human beings” not “human doings”.  It seems that Jack fell into a trap of letting his actions define who he IS.  It leads him to accomplish the main task of the survivors…getting off of the island.  What joy does this leave him with though?  An addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs.  Instead of being a leader of society, he is now a borderline sociopath.  There are no tasks to complete as big as the ones he has already completed.  His identity and foundation are shaken.

    In part 2, I would like to share my thoughts on Jack’s low point: staring down off of a bridge, contemplating ending his life with a jump.  Until then, please leave any comments about  your thoughts on Jack’s journey, or the struggle to be defined by your actions.

  • LOST: How Providence Affects Jack’s Actions

    [6:45:06 PM] Zac: no pink elephants
    [6:45:30 PM] Erich: I would define greatness as character (being the same at home and work for ex.) and legacy (leaving the world better than you found it)
    [6:45:52 PM] Zac: that’s largely as i see it as well.
    [6:46:05 PM] Zac: my spirituality is shifting like crazy
    [6:46:13 PM] Erich: Knowledge, Mind, and the Given
    [6:46:31 PM] Zac: Where is that from?
    [6:46:42 PM] Erich: http://books.google.com/books?id=PpI9qRXf57UC&pg=PA164&lpg=PA164&dq=%22no+pink+elephants%22&source=bl&ots=GQL5RcGgDu&sig=1W8KxPlvm6ysO68yzqZ7usp4yv8&hl=en&ei=omQDSse7K52ctgPpgsXjAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#PPP1,M1
    [6:46:56 PM] Erich: I did a google search for “no pink elephants” its the first hit or so
    [6:47:09 PM] Zac: holy crap!
    [6:47:17 PM] Zac: where do you think of this stuff?
    [6:47:29 PM] Zac: it’s the whole book
    [6:50:40 PM] Zac: the whole concept of good and evil challenges me
    [6:51:00 PM] Zac: like darkness is not the opposite of light, but the absence of it
    [6:51:15 PM] Zac: is evil the absence of goodness?
    [6:51:25 PM] Zac: is “satan” the absence of God?
    [6:51:48 PM] Zac: maybe we should blog about this
    [6:52:02 PM] Erich: yeah, and after watching LOST with the whole time travel thing, it makes me think about the sunday school teachers who used to tell me, every new sin you commit hurts Jesus more in the past when he had to take on all of your sin at the cross – by reducing sin NOW you can reduce His sin THEN – like time travel backwards
    [6:52:34 PM] Zac: LOST was so crazy good last night
    [6:52:38 PM] Erich: like there is no such thing as cold, just absence of heat
    [6:52:39 PM] Zac: i love Jack’s evolution
    [6:52:44 PM] Zac: exactly
    [6:53:04 PM] Zac: how can their be providence from God and providence from Satan?
    [6:53:21 PM] Zac: or is satan’s work just a lack of providence running its course?
    [6:53:46 PM] Erich: I’ve started to not like Jack this season, but last night was the first night he seemed to be an actual player this season – second from the last show no less – well I take that back – in the beginning when he was getting people to come, that was okay, I just didn’t like him on the island at the beginning – he had a bad attitude
    [6:54:18 PM] Erich: I think Satan wanted to do his own thing, so he does things, they are just not Godly
    [6:54:20 PM] Zac: yeah, he was resigned to fate, and didn’t “manage his actions”
    [6:54:25 PM] Erich: haha, yeah
    [6:54:32 PM] Zac: i feel a post coming on
    [6:55:01 PM] Erich: satan is like the guy who didn’t want to work for the boss any more and wanted to go off on his own, but there was no non-compete agreement signed, just banishment
    [6:55:30 PM] Zac: how should we go about it?
    [6:55:49 PM] Erich: defining a post?
    [6:56:21 PM] Zac: no, the mission statment
    [6:56:23 PM] Zac: or vision
    [6:56:31 PM] Zac: what do we value
    [6:56:33 PM] Zac: ?
    [6:56:37 PM] Zac: changing lives?
    [6:56:46 PM] Zac: being a source of information?
    [6:56:54 PM] Erich: oh, well…
    [6:57:07 PM] Zac: creating dialoge?
    [6:57:12 PM] Erich: what I do at work when I have to define mission statements is I do a kind of keyword query
    [6:57:34 PM] Erich: then I form sentences or a sentence from the keywords
    [6:58:09 PM] Erich: so if we had one of those keyword maps or word counters on our blog, what would it say, or more importantly, what would we want it to say
    [6:58:28 PM] Zac: right
    [6:58:49 PM] Zac: growth
    [6:59:03 PM] Erich: life
    [6:59:07 PM] Erich: managing
    [6:59:10 PM] Erich: actions
    [6:59:11 PM] Zac: self awareness
    [6:59:46 PM] Erich: purpose
    [6:59:58 PM] Erich: faith
    [6:59:59 PM] Erich: love
    [7:00:15 PM] Zac: should we mention how movies, literature, and music affect us?
    [7:00:18 PM] Zac: culture?
    [7:00:19 PM] Erich: tired sleep sleepy awake
    [7:00:22 PM] Zac: pop culture?
    [7:00:34 PM] Erich: thought subconcious concious
    [7:00:43 PM] Zac: love that
    [7:01:07 PM] Erich: yes, we we are influenced heavily by Goonies, LOST, the Matrix
    [7:01:22 PM] Erich: timing is a big one too
    [7:01:34 PM] Erich: but not sure how that fits in with our mission
    [7:01:50 PM] Erich: time
    [7:01:57 PM] Erich: legacy
    [7:02:06 PM] Erich: desire
    [7:02:23 PM] Erich: growth
    [7:02:25 PM] Erich: roi
    [7:02:36 PM] Zac: we exist to discuss the relationship between our thoughts and actions, and how by managing them we can enjoy lives filled with purpose, growth, love, and legacy.
    [7:02:42 PM] Erich: attitude
    [7:02:56 PM] Zac: tweak away
    [7:03:07 PM] Erich: okay, I’m going to hack on the verbs first
    [7:03:19 PM] Zac: please do
    [7:03:41 PM] Erich: I like to drop off the first three words at the begining too while planning.  they are always just filler.
    [7:03:54 PM] Zac: ok
    [7:04:16 PM] Zac: what do you think about “discuss”?
    [7:04:33 PM] Erich: that’s what I’m hacking off , sorry
    [7:04:43 PM] Erich: I’m thinking of replacing it with “making”
    [7:04:58 PM] Erich: or finding
    [7:04:59 PM] Zac: ok, keep going
    [7:05:04 PM] Zac: seeking?
    [7:05:07 PM] Erich: yes
    [7:05:17 PM] Erich: seeking sounds more philosophical so lets use that for now
    [7:05:23 PM] Zac: like it
    [7:06:43 PM] Erich: …seeking to define the relationship between our thoughts and our actions to learn and share how managing this relationship can allow us to live a great life.
    [7:07:05 PM] Zac: oddly, my only beef would be with “great life”
    [7:07:14 PM] Erich: yeah, that was my filler line
    [7:07:18 PM] Erich: I didn’t know how to close it
    [7:07:29 PM] Zac: can we find a similar word for relationship the second time around?
    [7:07:36 PM] Erich: yeah, you’re righ
    [7:07:44 PM] Erich: hmm…connection?
    [7:07:49 PM] Zac: amalgamation sounds so pretentious
    [7:07:52 PM] Erich: partnership?
    [7:08:04 PM] Erich: don’t know what that word amalgamous is
    [7:08:19 PM] Zac: exactly, neither do i really
    [7:08:28 PM] Zac: it’s just to make myself feel good
    [7:09:06 PM] Erich: I think it means a random allotment of stuff thats placed in a lot together, but that is what google is for, our exteriour brain
    [7:09:14 PM] Zac: yeah, partnership seems like it should apply to people more than….
    [7:09:37 PM] Erich: …seeking to define the relationship between our thoughts and our actions to learn and share how managing this relationship can allow us to live a great life.
    [7:09:41 PM] Zac: are you looking up synonms?
    [7:09:59 PM] Erich: no, but try the visual synonm generator
    [7:10:16 PM] Erich: http://www.visualthesaurus.com/
    [7:10:51 PM] Zac: alliance?
    [7:10:54 PM] Erich: state
    [7:11:16 PM] Erich: connectedness
    [7:11:26 PM] Zac: like that
    [7:11:29 PM] Zac: link?
    [7:11:38 PM] Erich: to what
    [7:11:43 PM] Zac: a zelda reference
    [7:11:47 PM] Zac: and encino man
    [7:11:57 PM] Erich: oh
    [7:12:01 PM] Zac: …seeking to define the relationship between our thoughts and our actions to learn and share how managing this link can allow us to live a great life.
    [7:12:02 PM] Erich: legend of zelda link
    [7:12:11 PM] Erich: I see, sory, forgot what we were talking about
    [7:12:17 PM] Erich: yeah, duh, link, good one.
    [7:12:30 PM] Zac: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gokttuXJME&feature=channel_page
    [7:13:00 PM] Zac: they are great.
    [7:13:06 PM] Zac: 2 and ahalf minutes
    [7:13:11 PM] Erich: I guess we do then
    [7:13:12 PM] Zac: have you seen that one?
    [7:13:22 PM] Erich: no, not this one, but that satan guy is hilarious!
    [7:13:27 PM] Zac: he really is
    [7:13:31 PM] Zac: i want him as a friend
    [7:13:47 PM] Erich: he does seem like he’d be a good friend, you’re right
    [7:14:26 PM] Zac: ok, i’m liking our statement so far
    [7:14:30 PM] Erich: “definitely for it” its hilarious that he thanks God for it
    [7:14:57 PM] Zac: let me find another one
    [7:15:03 PM] Erich: okay
    [7:16:06 PM] Zac: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDqRheBu2cg
    [7:17:40 PM] Erich: so, what is it now, …seeking to define the relationship between our thoughts and our actions to learn and share how managing this link can allow us to live a great life.
    [7:17:58 PM] Zac: how about “fulfilling life”?
    [7:18:20 PM] Erich: hmm, how about some of those adjectives we used before instead
    [7:18:34 PM] Erich: how we defined life – character, legacy
    [7:18:53 PM] Zac: life of character?
    [7:19:05 PM] Zac: life worthy of a legacy
    [7:19:10 PM] Erich: …allow us to live a life of character.
    [7:19:19 PM] Zac: yep
    [7:19:19 PM] Erich: it seems like we can’t use both though.
    [7:19:37 PM] Zac: now, the begninning
    [7:19:58 PM] Erich: …allow us to leave a legacy by living a life of character.
    [7:20:20 PM] Zac: now, that’s some poetry erich!
    [7:21:35 PM] Erich: thanks, but its almost too powerful – it overwhelms the initial purpose of the mission statement in the begining – but maybe not
    [7:22:02 PM] Erich: unless you view it like the five w’s, who what when where why how
    [7:22:14 PM] Zac: put it all together
    [7:22:17 PM] Erich: who: we are…
    [7:22:19 PM] Zac: what have we got?
    [7:22:34 PM] Erich: what: seeking to define the relationship between our thoughs and our actions
    [7:23:10 PM] Erich: why: to learn and share how
    [7:23:35 PM] Erich: how: managing this link
    [7:23:58 PM] Erich: where: in our lives.
    [7:24:40 PM] Zac: i’m pretty happy with that, although it doesn’t necessarily touch on God or providence
    [7:24:42 PM] Erich: …seeking to define the relationship between our thoughts and our actions to learn and share how managing this link can allow us to live a great life allow us to live a life of character.
    [7:24:59 PM] Zac: do we want that?
    [7:25:13 PM] Erich: …seeking to define the relationship between our thoughts and our actions to learn and share how managing this link can allow us to live a life of character.
    [7:25:15 PM] Zac: …seeking to define the relationship between our thoughts and our actions to learn and share how managing this link can allow us to live a life of character.
    [7:25:20 PM] Zac: jinx
    [7:25:21 PM] Erich: sorry, messedup the first time
    [7:25:25 PM] Erich: haha
    [7:25:33 PM] Erich: chat jinx, not sure if that counts
    [7:25:39 PM] Erich: all though its got to count for something
    [7:25:45 PM] Zac: what do you think about providence?
    [7:25:49 PM] Zac: or God?
    [7:25:55 PM] Zac: or the unexplainable?
    [7:25:55 PM] Erich: pre determination
    [7:26:03 PM] Erich: I think God exists because he does stuff
    [7:26:18 PM] Zac: i mean, in our statement
    [7:26:39 PM] Erich: when you believe he does stuff, but I guess a disbeliever would say, “you’re attributing things to God when you have previously asked God for these things”
    [7:26:45 PM] Erich: oh
    [7:27:02 PM] Zac: would a post about jack’s transformation be about his response to destiny “proving” itself?
    [7:27:08 PM] Erich: I’m not sure how providence would fit in the mission statement
    [7:27:18 PM] Zac: or would it just be about his thoughts and his new behaviours that have sprung from that?
    [7:27:27 PM] Zac: i think i may have just answered my own question
    [7:27:40 PM] Zac: if it affects our thoughts and/or actions, it is relevent
    [7:27:44 PM] Zac: we are pretty golden there
    [7:27:51 PM] Zac: like bea arthur
    [7:27:54 PM] Zac: rip
    [7:28:13 PM] Erich: well from the beginning the show has been a mirror, 180 days on the island, halway through the season, light, dark, ying yang, jack on one side, locke on the other
    [7:28:35 PM] Erich: jack is more like locke now and locke is more like jack now in the second half
    [7:29:01 PM] Zac: i know.  lock is the “leader” and jack is the “believer”
    [7:29:09 PM] Zac: it’s a beautiful, beautiful thing
    [7:29:24 PM] Zac: i am so impressed that a show of this quality exists
    [7:29:33 PM] Zac: that could be a weekly feature for the next season
    [7:29:39 PM] Erich: huh, I didn’t notice that, you’re right though.  I wonder who Jacob is.  Jacob might be a kind of metaphor for God in this conversation
    [7:29:44 PM] Zac: you and i remarking on our thoughts of an episode
    [7:29:57 PM] Zac: he is either God or the pope
    [7:29:59 PM] Zac: i think
    [7:30:12 PM] Erich: the scientist wants to kill “God” the one who unanswered things get thought by
    [7:31:48 PM] Zac: looking forward seems to be the best medicine, but wisdom comes frorm not making the same mistakes twice
    [7:32:00 PM] Zac: i think that i’m going to tweet that
    [7:32:20 PM] Erich: yeah, you done good with that tweet, son
    [7:36:03 PM] Zac: i’m so very much like john locke (first few seasons).  signs of the right path.  the island talking to him
    [7:36:45 PM] Erich: Who or what is “the island” to you? <–sounds like a blog post title
    [7:37:16 PM] Erich: and Locke has crazy woman troubles, not sure how that relates
    [7:37:18 PM] Zac: providence/God
    [7:37:28 PM] Zac: very true
    [7:37:34 PM] Zac: jack as well
    [7:37:37 PM] Zac: and sawyer
    [7:37:46 PM] Zac: and charlie
    [7:37:47 PM] Erich: that’s true too, they all have woman troubles and daddy issues
    [7:38:01 PM] Zac: i vascilate between jack and locke a lot
    [7:38:05 PM] Zac: also desmond and charlie
    [7:38:14 PM] Zac: who do you relate to?
    [7:38:28 PM] Erich: hurley’s dad, the chinese dude’s dad, jack’s dad, locke’s dad, kate’s dad
    [7:38:50 PM] Erich: who do I relate too? hurley kind of – laid back
    [7:39:21 PM] Zac: hurley is like the everyman
    [7:39:21 PM] Erich: I wish I was as cool as sawyer – Jack’s kind of a nerd – he wasn’t in season 1, but he is kind of now to me – not sure why
    [7:39:25 PM] Zac: like the audience
    [7:39:32 PM] Erich: yeah, you’re exactly right
    [7:39:50 PM] Zac: jack just got thrown out of wack and is trying to find something to hold onto
    [7:40:01 PM] Erich: that was hilarious last night when he said, “Okay, we’re from the future” since he didn’t know the president. I was cracking up, dude.
    [7:40:15 PM] Zac: man, we need to have a lost post fest
    [7:40:47 PM] Zac: ok, is our mission statement 99% done?
    [7:40:48 PM] Erich: yeah, Jack likes to fix things – for a while, the providence made fixing impossible…but now…providence has lead him to be ABLE to fix something
    [7:41:01 PM] Zac: that is a great thought!
    [7:41:13 PM] Zac: I would love to read more of your thoughts on this.
    [7:41:16 PM] Erich: yeah, that one was for free
    [7:41:53 PM] Erich: hahaha, I figured you’re going to write at least one post on Jack and the role of providence in his life, how it affects his actions.
    [7:42:27 PM] Erich: Or we could just copy this thread and post it.  It’s our blog, we can do what we want with it.
    [7:42:27 PM] Zac: i think that sounds perfect.  it can be a recurring theme in our blog
    [7:42:37 PM] Zac: hmmm
    [7:43:21 PM] Zac: yeah, do you want to edit it down and we can put it up now, with a tease for more lost related thoughts to come?
    [7:44:06 PM] Erich: Definitely a theme though.  Our primary keyword is “actions”.  How does roadblocks affect our actions – what do we do when things get in the way of our goals. How does providence affect our actions – if everything is predetermined, then why does anything matter? just two examples there.
    [7:44:19 PM] Erich: Yeah, I can post it sure.

  • Oh the Irony at SBA.GOV

    Dear Mr. Stauffer,
    Thank you for contacting the SBA Answer Desk.
    We assume that this misspelling is from the goodle webmasters, so we cannot change that, but we do appreciate the information.
    Respectfully,
    SBA Answer Desk

    From: Erich Stauffer
    Sent: Tuesday, May 05, 2009 7:53 AM
    To: SBA Answer Desk
    Subject: sba.gov web page header description misspelling of “e-newsletters”

    In searching Google for “small business”, sba.gov is the number one hit, but the description contains a misspelling.  It reads “e-newaletters”. Notice the ‘a’ instead of the ‘s’?

    This can be found and changed in the header of the web site’s code under the META tag, DESCRIPTION.  The description is what shows up under Google search results.

    Erich

    newaletter

  • Top 10 Ways to Live a Purpose-Filled Life

    [Edit: I wrote this post before I heard about Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life. Shortly afterward I found out about it and so I wanted to share a link to his book here. I’ve been listening to it on CD in the car. It’s a great book and it may change your life. 09/13/2009]

    1. Don’t Assume

    I wasn’t being very purposeful when I went to open a door that didn’t budge and ran right into it or when I went to push a shovel down into the ground and hurt my foot when it hit a rock. In both cases I was assuming the door and the shovel would act as they always had. The door would open with little effort and the shovel would slide neatly into the earth. It made me wonder, “What else am I assuming about my life?” This leads us to number 2.

    2. Ask Why

    Ask yourself why you’re doing the things you are doing. Why do you live where you live and work where you work? Why are you friends with your friends? There may be good reason, but there may also not be. If you haven’t asked yourself “Why,” before, start asking and start living a purpose-filled life. There should be a reason for everything you do. This leads us to number 3.

    3. Give Reasons

    What is the reason you are doing what you are doing? This is different then asking yourself, “Why.” For example, if you answered the question above about why you live where you live, the answer may have been, “Because it’s near where I work, there are good schools here, and it’s where I’ve always lived.” Those are all reasons, which then need analyzed, kind of like playing the 5 Why’s Game. If you’ve never played it, its simply the act of asking yourself, “Why,” four more times after the initial first, “Why.” In this way, you can find out the reason you are doing things. Lets use the response to the question as the first answer in the 5 Why’s Game.

    1. Why do you live where you live? Because it’s near where I work, there are good schools here, and it’s where I’ve always lived.
    2. Why? I don’t like a long commute, I have kids, and my family is here.
    3. Why? I have never had to drive very far to work, because I wanted them, because that is where they moved to.
    4. Why? I have never looked for jobs farther away, because my parents had them, because they found a better job here.
    5. Why? Because I’m comfortable with the job I have, because their parents had them, because this place used to be growing.

    The game doesn’t have to have three threads in it like this one did, but it gives us a glimpse into how you might then ask yourself a new question, “My relatives left their relatives and came here when this place was growing. Is there any value in staying or should I keep looking outside of where I am comfortable for my children’s sake?” This is the kind of dialogue that knowing the reasons behind something can generate.

    4. Take Ownership

    Have someone or something to tie you to this earth. This is a reason for your being. For some it is a job. For others it is their children or partner. It could be all of these things, but if you don’t have anything to build, fix, keep, protect, or improve, then you will find yourself drifting far from living a purpose-filled life. Have you ever left a job or wanted to leave your job because you felt like you weren’t needed or because you had no stake in the outcome of the business? Either you didn’t take ownership or you were not allowed to take ownership and so you withered or are withering.

    5. Exact Standards

    Set thresholds to avoid slippery slopes and compromises that you might make along the way. If you decide that you want to live a certain way, and you start to slip away from that life, what are the consequences of that? Draw a line in the sand and declare in writing what you stand for. Create a mission statement if you have to. This can guide your life just as it guides businesses everyday.

    6. Create Procedures

    A purposeful life is predictable, but has the ability to change. You may expect one thing, but if it doesn’t happen, you implement the contingency plan. You know the procedure because you created it. You are prepared. This is the difference between assuming and predicting. Predictions contain contingencies whereas assuming does not. If I go to open a door by pushing on it and assume it will open, but it doesn’t – I may hurt myself when I run into it. If I go to open a door expecting it to open, but with the contingency that it might not, I will be prepared for it not opening and be able to protect myself.

    7. Have Faith

    Believe in something greater than yourself. The universe is too big, never mind the relative enormity of the Earth, for our brains to live purposefully if we truly believe that there is no more to this life than what we can see and feel with our own eyes and ears. Your spirit, whether you believe you have one or not, will be crushed over time.

    8. Love Some

    Love someone or something. Be passionate. This is like ownership, but you can’t own another human being or the acts like gardening, playing in a band, or eating chocolate. Nothing drives the human spirit like the power of love. It is cliché to say, but true nonetheless.

    9. Leave Behind

    Live your life so as to leave something behind. In 100 years will anyone know you had ever existed? Some people write books. Some people’s legacy is their children. This is a matter of faith and procedure as you will not know what lies ahead after you are gone, but you are preparing for it. Pass on knowledge, help the downtrodden, pay it forward. These are the things that lead to a purpose-filled life.

    10. Be Purposeful

    Be intentional, exacting, reasonable, or whatever words you can think of that relate to being purposeful. If you want your life to have a purpose, if you want to leave a legacy, if you want to love more, learn more, and live more, be purposeful in all that you do. Live a purpose-filled life.