Use K.A.R.E.

Use  K.A.R.E.

If you’ve got an idea and are not sure what to do with it – use K.A.R.E.   Big businesses use K.A.R.E.  Any smart small business owner will use K.A.R.E.  As I write this, I realized speakers use K.A.R.E. and, in fact, anyone and everyone should use K.A.R.E. in their dealings with everyday life.  So exactly what is K.A.R.E.?

I’m sure you’ve already figured out K.A.R.E. is an acronym.  And for the sake of suspense, and keeping you engaged in reading this I’ll break the letters down 1 at a time.  Bet you saw that one coming.

 

K. = Know

Since this blog is business and consumer oriented, unless I say otherwise, I’ll point out first how each letter applies to the aforementioned groups.  For a business this means know your target consumer.  On the consumer side it equals do some homework on what you are about to buy.  The bigger the company the more research they do on knowing their target group.  They know the demographics of the end user.  Big successful companies spend beaucoup bucks on finding out information on ‘Joe and/or Josephine Consumer’.  

On the consumer side, the bigger the purchase the more you should know.  For example, when I go to the grocery store and buy a can of soup, pretty much all I really need to know is on the label and the price.  Little research required.  When I go shopping for a car it’s entirely different.  I start looking months in advance with online information and product reviews.  For me, buying a car is usually about a 6 month process.  Buying a home is an equally time consuming procedure.  Much like buying a car, we first need to decide the amenities we want in the home.  Things like a garage, how many bedrooms, how many bathrooms, kitchen size, fireplace, pool (Hey, we’re in Vegas.  A pool is a MUST.), location, etc. 

My wife is a member of ‘Toastmasters’, and before she speaks she does research so she knows her subject matter.  The quickest way to look and feel foolish is to get up in front of a group without some sort of knowledge about your subject.  

John and Jane Doe get up for the day and know they have an agenda.  Things to do, places to go, people to see.  

Wow, this know thing is everywhere!

A. = Anticipate 

Apple Inc. anticipates sales growth and revenue.  They also anticipate possible problems with the release of any new product.  All small businesses should anticipate the normal ebb and flow of sales, whether it be seasonal or otherwise.  Anticipate issues that may side track you.  Any sales person will anticipate a possible consumer objection when making a purchase.  By anticipating the objection the sales person can then pre-plan a response to overcome it.  

Consumers need to anticipate too.  Anticipate what the positives and negatives are regarding any major purchase.  When you buy a new car, anticipate a change in your insurance rate, maintenance, registration fees, etc.  That house comes with a certain amount of built in anticipation; which includes upkeep and improvements, just to name a couple.

Back to my wife and ‘Toastmasters’ – before she ever speaks she anticipates audience reaction, questions and comments.  It’s all part of preparation.

If you own a smoke detector, first aid kit, and/or fire extinguisher, you do this in anticipation that something COULD (not will) go wrong.   

Remember that John Doe I mentioned earlier.  He was driving to work today and anticipated the green light ahead of him was going to turn red.  He was right.  Meanwhile, Jane Doe anticipated John would leave her 20 bucks on the table before he left for work.  Jane anticipated incorrectly.  If John anticipated sex tonight, he’s probably going to be wrong too.  
 
 Wow, just like that k thing this anticipation thing is everywhere.

 R. = Reach 

Businesses large and small are constantly reaching for a bigger market share.  They do it by advertising, contests, surveys, the Web, Twitter, Facebook, positive reviews, and the list goes on.  Through the use of research, development, and technology, they are reaching to create a better product or service.

On the consumer side the reach is always for the best.  The best price, the best service, the best ‘bang for the buck’ (No.  Just because I live in Nevada, I am not referring to a brothel), the best overall product.  It’s a bargain hunt.

'Toastmasters’ has helped my wife improve her reach.  With each ‘Toastmasters’ project she reaches for more knowledge, better speaking skills, while, at the same time, reaching out to keep the entire audience interested and listening. 

Right now, John Doe is reaching for his cell phone.  He read what happened above and wants to apologize to Jane.  Jane is reaching too.  She’s reaching for a frying pan so she can smack some smarts in John as soon as that S.O.B. (hey, another acronym) walks through the door. 

E. = Engage 

I’m going to give you a 2 for 1 on this by doing a little entwining.

Smart businesses and smart consumers are always trying to engage each other.  The smart business does this to get consumer feedback, both positive and negative.  This is known as relationship building 101.  It makes the sale easier.   The consumer needs to engage the business in a dialog as an aid in getting the best deal possible.  Consumers need to remember, in most cases, the business has the edge in the engagement process.  They sell their product or service everyday while you may only need it on an occasion or two.  Research has shown a smart business will understand the customer much better than the reverse.  

‘Toastmasters’ is about a person becoming  better at pubic speaking.  It’s learning how to engage an audience.  It’s an engagement of constructive critiques based on performance.  It’s a positive confidence building program.

Our John Doe is now engaged in physical therapy and, as for Jane…..she’s has a court ordered engagement in anger management class.

If you had to exchange K.A.R.E. with another word it would be PLAN.  

Let me think a minute…..PLAN that would be an acronym for………………… me to work on at some other time.  

© Krystalco LLC 2013  Any publication or reuse of the information on this blog, in part or whole, without express written consent is prohibited.

Two Little Words That Cause Very Big Responses

Two Little Words That Cause Very Big Responses

In a slight departure from what I normally do here, I'm going to share with you a couple of words that can provoke an unintended response.  However, if you use them with a lot of forethought you can steer a person exactly where you want them to go.  Most of the time when these words are used there is little thought given to the process and if you carelessly toss these words about you can be headed into a very bad neighborhood.  This is especially true if the person you say them to is a fast thinker and already has the arsenal of knowledge in using these words.

WHY?

Although this is often used as a question, it is actually the opening for a debate.  When somebody asks you 'Why?' it puts you on the defensive.  It's almost accusatory in nature.  Admittedly there are times it's just a general question of curiosity.  As an example, if I tell someone I'm going to the store and the response is "Why?", they are really asking "What do you need to get?" in an abbreviated form using only one word.  If the emphasis is placed just right, the meaning of what you just read above changes to a snarky comment with "Why?"  Instead of, "What do you need to get?", it becomes "What do YOU need to get?"  Therein lies the problem with the use of the word "Why/"

Lawyers are very judicious (kind of a pun) when using the word "Why?"  They have, in many cases, thought it through and are looking for an opening to draw you into a debate that has been well thought out on their end.  I call this tactic 'Pretzelization of a Witness'.  That is a way of getting someone on the stand to answer a question so it can be twisted and turned into something it was never meant to be.  All of this is done for the benefit of blowing smoke up a juries collective butt. 

Having been on both sides of the boss/employee spectrum, I'm pretty well versed on the use of 'Why'.  Whether the boss or the employee, before I tossed that question on the table I would always try and think though all the possible answers and be prepped for whatever would come my way.  I wanted to take the conversation in the direction I wanted it and not the other way around.  

The key to using 'Why' is preparation.  Think through all of the potential answers and think them through a second time.  In getting ready to use the, as I call it, BIG W, it helps to bounce the situation off of a third neutral party.  You might consider doing a couple of bounces using two neutral parties.  A good offense is pre-active while defense is reactive.  Having preplanned how and when to use 'Why' is always the better place to be situated.

Let's say you're on the receiving end.  The quickest way to handle being asked this question is a slightly confused look, and pregnant pause followed by failing to understand the relevance of the question.  Good boxers know not to get drawn into the corner.  'Why' is the corner.  Don't go there.  Maybe a simpler way of putting this is force the person asking the question to change the question and get it away from 'Why'.  Don't get drawn into a debate that the other guy has rehearsed. 

I heard a minister once say, "God never answers the question 'Why' because He realizes it's the opening for a debate and He will not be drawn into one."  If you think about it, there is some very good logic there. 

FAIR

I really hate the use of this word.  REALLY!  This word gets used more than a $10 whore on 1/2 price day.  To use this correctly you need to understand it.  Fact is, most people THINK they understand it but don't.  After you read this you will really understand FAIR.

The use of the word 'fair' requires an established, understood, and, hopefully, written standard of practice.  Anything less than the above changes 'fair' from an accurate argument into a perceptive state.  That means what you perceive to be 'fair' can be totally different from what I perceive to be 'fair'.  When fair becomes a matter of perception it is no longer the right word for the argument.

Let me clarify this a bit.  Let's say I'm driving down the road at 50 in a 45 m.p.h. posted zone.  I get pulled over and get a ticket.  I say, 'Hey, this isn't fair,"  I lose because it is an established and written standard which can be proven.  Now let's say I'm driving next to somebody and we're both doing 50 in that same 45 place.  I get tagged for speeding and the other dude skates.  I say, "Hey, that isn't fair."  I win.  To be 'fair' in this case either my ticket is voided or dude 'B' gets tagged too.  The reason I'm correct in this case is, again, the established and written standard.  Let's call this 'provable equity'.

The use of 'fair' becomes wrong when it is 'unprovable equity'.  The word 'fair' is used often when the word 'equal' or 'equality' should be the word.

Let me give you an example of the above.  I have a cookie and 2 kids.  One of youngsters weighs 50 lbs and the other is 100 lbs.  I split the cookie down the middle and give them each 1/2.  Whoops, then the argument starts.  The lighter of the two says, "That isn't fair.  I'm smaller.  I should get more."  The heavier one says, "Hey, I should be the one getting more.  This isn't fair.  I'm bigger and use more calories."  The 'fair' argument in this case is a matter of perception and invalid because there is no established, understood and/or written standard.  The actual argument is equality and since they are getting equal pieces both kids are wrong. 

Most teenagers throw out the 'fair' argument to parents.  Most parents don't understand 'fair' and take the bait.  When parents don't know the meaning of 'fair', teens often win this debate when they really shouldn't.  Parents - learn the difference between 'fair' and 'equal'.  Keep the argument on the proper track.  As a parent if you get side railed you will soon get derailed. 

Foxnews uses the term "Fair and Balanced" and I have a problem with their use of the word 'fair' when it should be 'Equal'.  I understand that 'Fair and Balanced' has a nice sound to it.  It does.  That doesn't make it right.  Likewise, "totally destroyed" has a nice sound to it but if something is 'destroyed' the word 'totally' is unnecessary.  Maybe Foxnews should simply say "Equal, Balanced" because if something is 'Balanced' there must be a state of equilibrium, so 'Equal and Balanced' would be the equivalent of 'totally destroyed'.

And now I give you the ABSOLUTE WORST use of the word 'FAIR' I ever heard.  A commentator was talking on television about something being 'fair'.  He was wrong in using 'fair' for all of the above reasons.  At the end he made it worse by saying, "What could be more fair then that."  'More fair' is like 'totally destroyed'.  

Don't get me started about how pissed I get when I'm watching television and the reporter says, "As you can see....."
  
© Krystalco LLC 2013  Any publication or reuse of the information on this blog, in part or whole, without express written consent is prohibited.

Flu, Colds, Winter, Humidity

Flu, Colds, Winter, Humidity

If I can save you some money and help prevent you from suffering with a cold, or worse yet, the flu is it worth a few minutes of your reading time?  I hope so and I’m betting you will too.  Okay, I’m in Las Vegas and occasionally I’m willing to place a bet.

The first three items in this title go together and so does the fourth, in a very big way.  So now it’s time for me to connect the dots.

Cold winter weather keeps people indoors more and in close proximity.  So once a person gets a cold it’s much more easily spread.  A simple sneeze, a handshake, and other contact can rush a cold or the flu through a building like flood waters over a dam.  

There are the obvious preventive measures that you hear like, get a flu shot, wash your hands, etc.  Now here’s the one that gets overlooked and can make a big difference…..regulate the humidity in your home and if possible your work environment.

The biggest compound in the human body is water.  Humidity is water in the form of a vapor and our bodies should be exposed to humidity in the 30 to 50 percent range.  Have you ever got up from an 8 hour sleep with cracked lips or a nose bleed from simply blowing your nose in the winter?  If so the reason is most often being exposed to low humidity.  For this example let’s say the outside temperature is 25 F with a relative humidity (RH) of 22%.  That would make the dew point -9F.  Inside your home or office let’s bump the temperature up to 72F.  You would have to add humidity to change the dew point from what it is outside, but for now we’re not going to do that.  Here’s the result.  The RH drops down to an amazingly low 4%.  Above I gave you the range your body needs so now you understand why your nose bleeds and your lips crack on those very cold winter days and nights.  Also that static electricity spark you get from walking on carpet is a sign of low humidity.  

Breaks in the lip surface and the nose lining are a flu or cold germs best friend.  That can be the equivalent of getting an infection from an open cut.  Those nasty germs can settle in, make camp, and involve your entire body in a battle which will send you to the doctor with a fever, headache, body aches, and….oh, you get the picture.  

The solution to all of this does not need to be expensive or complicated.  Here, at the very least, is what you need to do.  Humidity the area where you sleep and, if possible, the area where you work.  Humidity in your work area may be out of your control, but some is better than none so let’s concentrate on your home.  

A whole house humidifier is ideal but can be expensive.  Since you are only using this for a few months in the winter let’s drop this down to a single room humidifier.  The cost can range from as low as $20 for a drug store steam humidifier to a couple of hundred bucks for an ultrasonic/steam unit with an automatic humidistat.  You will also need a hygrometer for measuring RH, especially with the cheap solution.  Fortunately those are inexpensive and readily available at your drugstore, Target, or Wally World.  The total cost for humidifying your bedroom can be as low as $30.  That may be less than you would spend on a trip to the doctor.  Remember your goal is to raise the humidity to right around 45%.

There is no ultimate weapon in cold or flu prevention.  The question is does this help?  I can tout you my personal statistics.  In the past 30 years I’ve had 1 major run in with the flu that put me down for a couple of days.  I’ve had 3 major colds (5 to 7 day events) and a couple of minor ones (less than 5 days).  You could say I’m exceptionally lucky and/or healthier than most people but based on other factors I think not.  When I even think I feel a cold coming on I drink lots of green tea with honey and I bulk up on vitamin C.  

I do know that with proper humidity winter nose bleeds and cracked lips will drop.  If regulating the humidity in your sleep environment helps keep you from getting a severe cold or the flu, isn’t it worth it?

© Krystalco LLC 2013  Any publication or reuse of the information on this blog, in part or whole, without express written consent is prohibited.

'WATER DEMYSTIFIED' or 'CLEARING THE AIR ABOUT WATER'

 

 ‘WATER DEMYSTIFIED’

 or

 ‘CLEARING THE AIR ABOUT WATER’

 

H2O, 2 parts hydrogen and 1 part oxygen is the combination that gives us liquid life.  Our bodies are mostly made up of it and the earth is mostly covered by it.  Today’s question is what do you really know about water?

There are more than 220 billion trillion gallons of water on the surface of this ever changing planet.  Unfortunately most of it is salt water found in the oceans.  Nature has an amazing process for desalinization of ocean water.   It’s called evaporation.  When the salt water becomes a vapor the salt is left behind so the vapor can reform as a more pure raindrop.  Of course, when that raindrop falls and if it makes its way back into the ocean it becomes salt water once again.  Every day the process continues and the earth just keeps on turning.

So much for science 101, I want to talk about the water in your home.  It is either well water or treated ‘city’ water.  Oh, I almost forgot, there are a few places where the water is actually trucked in for consumption.  I’m not sure what category that falls under.

When you boil this topic down (pun intended) there are only two areas of water that really should be of concern within your living space.  Those things are water hardness and water filtration.  They are, in fact, two very different things.  Hardness and filtration are not interchangeable topics.

Hardness

Hard water will not cause you any physical harm.  It may make your water taste strange and it also may give it an odor, but with regard to health the point is moot.  I have city water and although treated for chemicals and other crap that may cause physical and health problems, it is not treated for hardness.  Very hard water has 7.0 to 10.5 grains per gallon (GPG) of hardness.  Our city water has 19 GPG, which easily exceeds the standard of very hard water.

So if it is not a health problem do you really need to treat hard water to make it softer?  You may want to because of two other issues.  1) Calcium and Magnesium precipitate out of hard water in the form of scale.  These appear as white deposits that are left behind in the separation process.  It’s the same scale that leaves your skin feeling dry and sometimes itchy after a shower in hard water.  It’s the same scale that will eventually build up in plumbing and appliances, which can be a cause of future problems and shortened appliance life.  2) Hard water cuts into a soaps ability to lather.  It also causes soap to leave behind a sticky filmy scum.  With hard water you will need to use more soap to get the same effect of a clean wash in soft water.  

Since we’re about money savings here, hard water will cost you money.  So now the question become how do I fix it and at what cost?  A water softener is the fix and the cost will vary depending on the type and who installs it.  Figure the cost to be anywhere from $500 to 2K.  If you go much higher than the $2,000 mark you will have a hard time getting the return on your investment during the life of the softener system.  There are several types of softeners to choose from.  I’ll mention the most common here.  They are magnetic and chemical softener systems.  

Magnetic…..Although it does alter the ionization of water, which will turn hard water into SOFTER water, this is gray area technology.  It should also be noted that magnetic or electromagnetic softeners (Such as the Easy Water system) must have the water used quickly after being altered.  If the water is not used for its intended purpose it will return to its hardened state.  

Chemical…..Salt water softeners are the most economical and, contrary to what some water softener companies would have you believe, very little salt remains in the water during the softening process.  I repeat, very little salt remains with the water.  Some very expensive water softening operations would have you believe salt softeners are bad.  They will point to some areas where it is against code to install a salt water softener.  Here’s the down on dirty on the code issue.  In a few areas of California and Texas it is against the law IF you have a septic system and are not on city sewage.  This is not done because the salt in your potable water is excessive.  This is code because during the backwash process the salt will go into septic tank, which often have outflow lines and leach beds.  These leach beds COULD let the salt makes its way into an aquifer.  Notice I used the word COULD and not WILL or DOES.  This code thing is a precautionary measure and there is no hard evidence of this ever happening.  It’s an err on the side of caution thing.  Very California in nature. 

There are also Potassium water softeners.  If the salt thing really bothers you regardless of the facts, simply go potassium.  It will cost you three to five times as much in buying the potassium, but hey, it’s your choice.  

Watch the warranty on the softener you buy.  Remember you get what you pay for and this is no exception.  If you buy a $500 softener with a 5 year warranty, don’t be surprised if you are having a funeral for it in 5 or 6 years.  This is especially true in very hard water areas.  

Filtration

Filtration is the area you should really be concerned with because this CAN affect your health.  Notice, again, I said CAN and not DOES or WILL.  If you are on city water it must meet certain Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards, which removes the bad stuff down to a defined safe level.

Here’s a fun little fact.  Blind taste tests have shown some city water is favored over bottled water.  If you’re buying bottled water to drink at home you really need to ask yourself “WHY?”

If you want the ultimate in pure water for cooking and drinking then your best option is to install a Reverse Osmosis (RO) water filter under your kitchen sink.   For every gallon of RO filtered water used an additional 4 gallons are washed down the drain in the filtering process.  At an initial cost of less than $200 (Oh, you will be buying filters after the initial cost at a cost of around $30 a pop and some units use 3, 4 or 5 filters.) The water pouring out of these devices is about a pure and clean as it gets.  In fact, RO water purification systems are used in many bottled water plants.  Yep, and you can have it at home for pennies compared to what bottled water costs.  

DID YOU KNOW BOTTLED WATER COSTS MORE THAN GASOLINE?  If you pay $1 for a 16 oz. Bottle of water that makes the cost of water $8 per gallon.   I’ve seen places charging $3 a bottle or $24 a gallon for water.  I truly do understand the OCCASIONAL need to buy a bottle of water, however, I don’t understand how any sane person is willing to pay big $$$ for tap water that costs …… less than $1.50 per 1000 gallons.  (NOTE:  EPA guidelines for bottled water only apply if the water is shipped across state lines.  State guidelines apply for product produced and sold within the state.  In many states it is perfectly legal to bottle city tap water and sell it.)

Oh, for those of you that regularly buy bottled water just because you THINK it tastes better or you THINK it is better for you, I’ve got this bridge in New York that I’m selling for a real bargain price…………….

 

© Krystalco LLC 2013  Any publication or reuse of the information on this blog, in part or whole, without express written consent is prohibited.

Economic Wisdom from the Stupidity of Our Government

Learning Economic Wisdom from the Stupidity of Our Government

There’s an old saying that goes something like this; a lawyer that would represent himself has a fool for a client.  Likewise, a doctor who would operate on himself has a fool for a patient.  

The nice thing about fools is that wise people can watch their costly stupid errors and learn from them.  The wise person learns for free while the fool picks up the tab.  

In this ‘Gold Nugget of Truth’ the fools we will learn from are from both sides of the government aisle.  They are both Democrats and Republicans, and foolish beyond belief.  Of course, there is the Queen of Fools, Nancy Pelosi (D, CA) who once said, “We have to pass the bill to see what’s in it.”(Referring to Obamacare)  After making a statement of that type you really don’t need to see her brain scan to see what’s in it or not in it.  Duh. 

Politicians often have their hearts in the right place, but have their heads up their asses.  That disease is also known as ‘Craniumrectus’ and the cure for it is a ‘POPULECTOMY.’  The Populectomy got its name from the way the treatment works.  The patient suffering from Craniumrectus is pulled by the underarm area until you hear a popping sound which indicates the head is now removed from the rectum.   Since it’s a disease I invented I can also come up with any cure that suits the need.  So there.

Back in the days of the early 80’s politicians from both sides of the aisle were pushing the fact that every good hard working American should own a home.  Those well intentioned albeit stupid elected gurus encouraged banks to loosen up credit.  That encouragement gave way to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  Those government started pseudo institutions led the way for more money to loan.  Easy loans with looser qualifications were becoming the rule.  Eventually rules became so loose
that you could work at McDonalds and qualify for $400,000 home loan.  Are you starting to see the flaws in this yet?  If so, you have probably just passed the IQ of the typical Senator or Representative. 

No money down, no problem.  Give money away, print more, build more homes because our economy is expanding.  It looked that way on the surface but in reality it was a false economy. 

At some point reality must set in and it did, in the form of a real estate crash.  Our elected officials would have you believe it was the banks fault, but it was the boys and girls in Washington that encouraged and backed those loans.  So those same deluded geniuses in DC decided they needed to do something.  “Hey”, said one of ‘em, “Here’s an idea.  Let’s borrow money we don’t have.  Run up the debt.  Do some kind of ‘feel good’ rescue home loan thing, oh, and spend a trillion bucks or so on economic stimulus.  You know, green projects.  That leaves us with the ‘feel good’ home thingy and a ‘look good’ environmental thingy.”  And thusly, nearly all the lemmings in Congress voted to approve it. 

Now the Man-In-Charge, who just spent a year lying to the nation about healthcare, decided to make bad loans to green companies.  Enter Solyndra, which took around $500,000,000  in taxpayer money and then went four paws to the ceiling.  That was only the beginning.  Several other companies followed suit and some of them used inside track (questionable tactics, if you prefer) to get those wonderful, screw the taxpayer, loans.  

Ah, but the best (sarcasm) was yet to come.  Obamanation decided to loan $132,000,000 to an upstart battery company called A123 Systems.  You could also call it Solyndra Junior because it too went belly up.  Here comes the good part. You see, China holds more than a trillion bucks in U.S. debt.  Much of the money for the stimulus was borrowed from China.  China, seeing a potentially good thing, swoops down and latches on to A123 for nearly nothing.  The U.S. Taxpayers are out the 132 million and the absolute worst part is we are paying interest to China on those millions I just told you about.  Yep, they get a free U.S. company and we pay them interest.  We the people…just got screwed….AGAIN.

So what’s the message in here for you?  Well, there’s three of them.  1) Paying interest never benefits you the borrower.  But there are times, specifically when you buy a home you will need that loan which leads us to #2) Live below your means.  If you can afford a $250,000 home why not settle for something considerably less expensive.  Something you can pay off early and pay less interest on the loan.  Wow, what a novel concept.  Going into debt is NEVER something you should take lightly.  Besides ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ is so 1970’s.  3)  Think before you vote and only vote if you think.  Remember career politicians and lawyers RARELY make good Senators, Representatives or Presidents.  What we need are good common people with good common sense.  

Current office holders need not apply. 

© Krystalco LLC 2012  Any publication or reuse of the information on this blog, in part or whole, without express written consent is prohibited.