Jeremy Herndon Blog

Mother is happy with the new and improved address plaque that we gave her for her birthday last week. We have been trying to convince her to start looking at alternative address plaques to replace the one that almost cost her her life last year. She was home alone one evening and started having chest pains so thankfully she was able to get to the phone and called 911. She was in such bad shape that she was having trouble talking but with all of today’s technology the emergency operator managed to get the information out of her in order to get an ambulance out and on the road to come to her rescue. But since it was dark and raining and the address signs that are out in front of her house were so old and faded that the ambulance couldn’t read the numbers and had to take extra time, when every minute counts, to turn around and try and read the darn address plaques to find the correct house.

Thank god they found her and got her up and out of there and to the E.R. so that the doctors could tend to her condition. She did have a small minor heart attack and is now having to change her lifestyle drastically and is taking several meds that the doctors have ordered. She seems to be doing much better, as long as she keeps doing what the doctors say she should be just fine for a good long time. So for her birthday we gave her a new sign, as I stated earlier, and now we all can feel a bit more comfortable and sleep a little better at night knowing that if she calls for help again that they won’t have a problem finding her in a timely fashion.

Have you noticed that the days are getting longer? Spring is definitely here, no matter what the calendar says. One of the things that I dislike the most about winter is the shorter days and longer nights. Used to be that I had to take the trash to the curb in the dark – it didn’t matter if it was the night before the trash collectors came, or the morning of – my work schedule was such that it was dark in the winter both coming and going. Our long driveway doesn’t have lights so taking the trash out in the dark was/is a pain in the neck. And letting the dogs out at night I’d always wonder if there might be a skunk or a porcupine in the yard that they might go after. Yes, I like the longer days much better.

Bridget sent me a link to a company that sells double glazing windows as an example of a website that was probably done by someone who did not speak English as their native language. Although the reader does learn some information about the history of windows and what double glazing is, the website itself is riddled with spelling and grammatical errors.

Reading the website was almost painful; it made me wonder if the person who created it was an uneducated relative of the business owner and that maybe the business owner was trying to do the creator a favor by giving him a job. If that is the case, then that is all well and good but they really should have had someone who is educated proof read it.

In this highly competitive environment of the Internet, professional websites are essential if you are going to be marketing your product on the Internet. Although some people may think that a poorly done web page is better than nothing, I would have to disagree with that. My opinion is that you would be better off putting a small “under construction” sign with limited contact information up and then take the time to do the web site the right way.

One of the things that my wife likes to do is to create customized gifts for our friends and family for birthdays and Christmas. Sometimes she will find small items of interest during the year and put them aside in the storage chest at the foot of our bed so that she can have them on hand.

Some of the things she uses are whimsical little touches, like toy sheriff’s badges with the recipient’s name on it that she uses to embellish the packaging. Other times she might find a collectible that she knows someone would like and she’ll pick that up and use that. One time she used artificial flowers in place of the bow on the package.

Sometimes she will have to wait until closer to the occasion so she can buy a food item that will remain fresh for a certain period of time. No one is going to want to get chocolates that have bloomed for a gift item, are they? Sure they taste just fine but they look strange and people don’t think that they are still good. She is always careful in the autumn to make sure to ship the baskets in plenty of time so she can get delivery before Christmas. She knows just how much people enjoy getting their gifts early. She likes to say “Better late than never, but better never late!”

For a last minute gift, often she will rely on flowers by post if she knows that the recipient is a flower aficionado. She does a pretty good job of pleasing most people with their gifts.

In my campaign to save money I’ve been thinking about replacing our exterior back door’s deadbolt lock with a remote control keyless deadbolt.  There are many times when one of the family members goes out at night and leaves lights on out by the door simply because it makes it easier for them to see the lock to insert their key to get into the house.  There are plenty of other lights around that area to help them see their way to the door.  (Those are motion sensor lights.)

I’m thinking that it would be really nice to have the remote because there are a lot of times folks have their arms full and can’t easily unlock the door with their keys.  Pushing the remote button on their keychain would let them enter the house more easily.  It would also let them into the house quicker if they felt threatened in some way.  I’ve been looking around on the Internet for price ranges and styles and it seems that they will cost about $100.  I was glad to see that some of the systems have additional remotes available so that all of our family members can have one.  Naturally these locks will also work with a key if necessary.