March 29, 2009

Webinar

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This week I attended my first Webinar hosted by Daniel Hayden over at UDA. The subject was ConstructionSuite/Quickbooks integration. I cannot say that I learned how to effectively manage getting the most out of the way these two programs talk to each other but I did learn that what I want to accomplish with them working in tandem is attainable. My inability to grasp the details is more due to my absolute lack of Quickbooks knowledge than to our teacher. Dan Hayden was great in more ways than one and I remain very impressed with UDA’s product and commitment to its customers. Did I mention the Webinars are free and given daily? Outstanding!

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March 28, 2009

Casting Out My Nets.

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Simultaneously I am defining Junction services and pushing out of the nest those services I feel are ready to learn to fly on their own. I am also Re-re-learning the definition of green, continuously working on my typing, reorganizing my home office, and taking big chances.
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All of my life I have been one to cast out my nets as a way of obtaining knowledge. I believe a broad base of interests demands this kind of approach from me. I used to fear the Jack of all trades master of none moniker. I would look at those who obtained degrees as the keepers of the world’s tangible knowledge base. I still read the books written by these folks but now I know that knowledge is transferrable and that it cheapens the achievements of others if we believe ourselves incapable of really learning from them. I think, in life, there are folks who learn best when looking at a single specimen of tree in a particular region at a particular moment in time and then there are those who act as hubs of information.
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One thing that is clearer to me now than ever before is that a life of gathering can indeed create a firm foundation of accrued knowledge on which to continuously build. But more importantly a lifetime, when viewed from above, can draw a map of well marked paths that lead to the places where knowledge resides.
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March 23, 2009

Services Defined: Photo Ops

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(In the Photo Ops offered by Junction Home Services the Ops stands for "Of personal space" but the imagery of “Ops” as an operation professionally and meticulously performed is appropriate as well.) - This service provides clients the opportunity to have their homes photographed in a detailed and respectful manner with an eye toward documentation. The Photo Ops I have settled on thus far are as follows:
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Walk Around: A Walk Around is a comprehensive photographic stroll around the outside of a home taking pictures of the structure from each hour on the clock face that space will allow. A Walk Around provide a detailed snapshot of the condition of the home at a particular moment in time. Clients who live at a distance but own a second home in the area might request a Walk Around be performed after a storm for insurance purposes or over the winter to stay abreast of the condition of their home. Some folks might want to have their home photographed after a remodel or at regular intervals as a historical reference.
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Walk Through: A Walk Through is the interior counterpart to the Walk Around. A Walk Through could be as detailed as the client likes but in the standard version I would start at the front door and photograph the home room by room in a logical fashion. For clients with rental properties a Walk Through could serve as proof of the homes condition prior to a renters taking possession. A Walk Through could also be valuable for any number of insurance reasons or again simply as a snapshot of a moment in time.
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Event Documentation: Client’s who are holding an event at their home might want the event photographed with a focus on the structures role in the proceedings. An example might be if a wedding were to be held at a client’s home. I might be enlisted as a secondary photographer to the actual wedding photographer to document the transformation of the home into celebratory space.
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Structural Documentation: When adding on or building a new home we are presented with a golden opportunity to photograph the hidden parts of our structures before they are enclosed. The X-ray vision provided by such documentation has no end to uses. From hanging a picture to tracking down a leaking pipe or deciding where to break through the wall for a new doorway being able to reference the interior of walls gives us much needed information. If I build your addition or home this service will be provided as a part of the package but I can also be contracted to photograph projects undertaken by others.
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Finally, I recognize that the Photo Ops are sensitive in nature. The utmost care, respect and regard for privacy will be taken when handling any photographs taken of a client’s home. I consider the access I am granted to my client’s personal space a high honor and and I will always strive to remain worthy of such a privilege.
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March 22, 2009

JunctionHaus blog to act as learning tool.

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In the last entry I revealed that JunctionHaus would be the name of our new construction service. It also will be the title of a blog on junctionhomeservices.net which will be set up in five different categories and serve as a learning tool for me as I go further into the study of the services themselves. My intent is to make the JunctionHaus blog primarily a photo blog which will store visual examples of the various systems, styles, material, elements and effects associated with the creation of shelters. I am not so much launching this blog as slowly building it. For now it is simply a test post and structure.
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The latter part of this week has seen a shift of my focus back to the website. This happened quite naturally as my studies became highly intensive on the subject of estimating. ConstructionSuite provides customizable spread sheets designed to facilitate an estimate but for the nuts and bolts I have gone to the book “Estimating Building Costs” by Wayne J. DelPico. The book is associated with RSMeans. They are a company which creates costbooks for estimating. These costbooks are available in the electronic format for Constructionsuite. In fact the program comes pre-packaged with several. Being able to reference them at home means cutting out the step of going to a supplier to price material. These costbooks are updated quarterly and represent an additional expense for upkeep. The expense is more than justified if they can be fully utilized. All of this information filled me up so I have gone to the website for an outlet. I continue to place my faith in the Great Spirit to help me to weave all of this together into a workable and beneficial business.
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(An interesting side note: In Microsoft Word the term Great Spirit auto corrects to capitalize.)
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March 18, 2009

Junction Haus

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The JHS building service will bear the mark Junction Haus. The German spelling is a tip of the hat to Passiv Haus and other unrealted endeavors of my own. The haus also helps to emphasize a world view when considering new construction. Junction, as always, symbolizes a meeting place where old and new combine. A truly smart home looks forward and back. A shelter does a two step in every resi-Dance.
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March 16, 2009

Cousin T's Tool Shed - Episode 6

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I am so excited about the party over at Margie & Edna's Basement on Wednesday I just can't think straight.
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(Why do you suppose they spell it "wednes" instead a' "wends" which is how it is pronounced? I mean I think "Wendsday" looks just fine and that is the way half the school I attended spelled it to begin with. Same thing with February might'nt it just be Febuary instead a' addin' some high falutin' R.)
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Anyway there I go again gone off track, hump day is M & E's anniversary and the special tea will flow. As the man said "you can float away to happy land on the bubbles!!!" Happy Anniversary Ladies!

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-Cousin T.
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March 15, 2009

Partner Desk

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I love the way the computer is an entry point into areas of business I had once thought were beyond my grasp. About a year ago I bought a book on estimating which really seemed to make my head spin at the time. It went up on the shelf and has come down a few times only to produce a similar dizzying effect. Then, along comes learning how to estimate in ContructionSuite and the year old investment pays off as I have somewhere, in house, to turn to expound upon the terminology needed to understand the program. This seems to happen a lot with me and it is one reason I truly do regard my computer as my partner. It excels at things I find intimidating and difficult.
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March 13, 2009

Chug

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Chug
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Chug
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Chug
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CHUG!
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Chug
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Chug
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Chug
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Bug
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Hug
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Chug
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Chug
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Shrug...
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March 11, 2009

Gantt Chart/ Harmonogram

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ConstructionSuite contains a feature for scheduling called a Gantt chart. It is a bar chart that illustrates a projects schedule by showing start and finish dates of tasks and subtasks. The first Gantt chart was not a Gantt chart at all but was called a harmonogram. That was back in 1896 when you could easily be working on your harmonogram in one room whilst in the other someone might be playing a harmonium.
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March 09, 2009

Software Junction

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I took some plunges with software this week that are aimed at making us more efficient and better able to keep an order amidst the chaos of tearing out 70 year old floors and such.
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I bought Quickbooks Contractor 2009 and Construction Suite Pro Green. These 2 programs integrate the business and financials of running a construction business. They are deep and wide programs that will take me some time to learn so I have given myself permission to take it all a reasonable pace.
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The Green information included in Construction Suite is a real snapshot of the here and now of the official side of green building.
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I also added Instant Knowledge base to help us code our photographs and Lightroom to catalog them.
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Why do all of this at once and incur such expense at such a tricky financial moment?
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Because I want to start out all of the databases together using the codes and account numbers generated by all of the major players as keywords to help me keep track of things. I am hoping to save myself and my client’s time and money later by investing time and money now.
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Plus, I think it is an excellent time to stimulate the economy.
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My posts may a little fewer and farther between on this blog for a bit as I go through the motions of learning how to juggle all of these new balls.
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All of this and their is a website to design. I am digging the challenge, dear reader.
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March 06, 2009

6 Dollars Later...

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March 04, 2009

Thrift Store Triumph

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25 cent organizational wonder!!!
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March 03, 2009

Keywording

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March 01, 2009

Now you know the rest of the story

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I would like to extend a warm welcome to “The Barge”, a new old building that has come under our care. It is called the barge because it was once a part of one. In fact running below the floor joists are the old deck. When and how it was cut off the vessel is a mystery to me but the structure looks as though it has been around since at least the thirties.
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Adobe Lightroom is rocking my world. It is very cool to be thinking in terms of a database that is searchable by keywords. I get the feeling this concept has been all around me for sometime but hadn’t sunk in. Now it has and honestly, over the last several days I have undergone some mental growing pains as I make very literal adjustments to my concept of organization.
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A fond farewell to Paul Harvey. His was a cadence I remember hearing since very young. He tried and apparently approved of every product he advertised on his show. He said he sifted through news and brought people what he thought they needed to know along with what he thought they would want to know.
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Reading The Gort Cloud.
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“Like what you do, if you don't like it, do something else.”
-Paul Harvey

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