by MODU on August 20, 2010
Did you hear about the woman who lost her job over comments made on Facebook? June Talvitie-Siple, a teacher in Massachusetts, lost her job after calling the parents of her students snobby and arrogant in comments on her Facebook page, as well as referring to her students as germ bags. Once these comments were found online, they were brought to the attention of the school district who asked her to resign.
So what does this teach you? You need to be responsible when posting online, especially if you work in public markets. Companies of many sizes know about the risk of public exposure online, and often tell their employees to practice responsible web use. This is why most companies limit the access to the internet from within their own firewalls. These actions come from the advice of reputation management services and business consultants.
When I first got online back in the early 1990s, I was too careless with my web activity. It didn’t dawn on my that putting out my name and private information could be used against me. Within a year, I would get random and threatening e-mails as well as people accessing my e-mail account. It was then that I learned the importance of controlling my information online.
Reputation management services; teach individuals and companies these lessons without making people learn them the hard way. By controlling the information you place online, and working at monitoring what others are saying about you, you can keep your reputation (as well as personal security) in check.
What does the future hold for June Talvitie-Siple? Do you think she will be able to get another job as a teacher following this? If she is smart, she will work hard to improve her image and reputation. This means not only apologizing for her comments, it means she needs to go through her posting history to edit out the comments that got her in trouble to begin with. Maybe she should look into taking advantage of the reputation management services in her area to get her life, and her future, back.
by MODU on June 15, 2010
I stumbled across an interesting website today that you might like. Reviews Local is a website that provides local business reviews from all around the country on a wide range of businesses and services. If you looking for an attorney in Tampa or a dentist in Arlington Heights, you might find useful information on this site.
One aspect of this site that I like is how the author mixes reviews of the businesses with personal experiences. For example, in the latest post on the site, the author describes his decision to become a United States citizen following the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001. That tragic day was, as the author states, “I decided that it was time I aligned myself with my adopted country and become a citizen.” He then goes on to discuss legal services that are available for immigrants who need assistance with the citizenship process, including translation services.
The only problem with the site is that it is still new. My hope is that, over time, more and more authors will register with the site and provide additional content. As a person that operates two sites and works full-time on top of that, providing constant content can be time consuming and could lead to burn-out. Hopefully, Reviews Local will stand the test of time for years to come.
by MODU on June 5, 2010
Following a failed installation of new sod by a local landscaper, I took it upon myself to rebuild a section of my yard from scratch. I started the process in 2009 by testing two separate grass seed products to see which performed the best. The two products I chose were Pennington’s Smart Patch and Scotts Turf Builder Grass Seed. In 2010, I sectioned off the troubled area of the yard and applied the grass seed with new soil, as well as worked to decrease the amount of erosion in the area by upgrading the planting bed in front of the house. The following links will walk you through the steps I took in rebuilding the lawn as well as chronicle the progress of the new seed. My hope is that this will help you in your own adventures in landscaping.
(I will continue to update this section as new pictures and steps are taken.)
Part 1: This is what the yard looked like before, during, and after installation of the sod in 2009.
Part 2: In this section, I discuss the products chosen for the test patches and show images of what the lawn looked like after application.
Part 3: The grass starts to grow.
Part 4: One month since being planted.
Part 5: Six weeks after planting.
Part 6: Two months after planting and the first snow fall of the season has come.
Part 7: After two blizzards, the snow has melted and it is time to examine the condition of the test patches.
Part 8: Applying fresh soil and seed to the yard.
by MODU on April 4, 2010
This was the first weekend where I had a chance to work on the lawn. I went to the store to buy a couple bags of soil and seed and went to work. The first thing that needed to be done was to clean the section of lawn that was to be treated. I dethatched the area using a metal garden rake; digging the combs into the soil to remove dead grass and leaves. Afterwards, I went over the area again with a leaf rake to ensure all the loose debris was removed.
Once the section was prepared, I applied the seeding soil and started working it and spreading it around. Since the first section needed the most repair, I worked in an inch of fresh seeding soil with the loosened top soil. This not only added needed soil, but also gave the seeds a lush bed to grow in.
As I worked in each new bag, I finished off the soil by going over the new patch with the leaf rake. This allowed me to create grooves parallel with the slope of the lawn. Once all the soil was worked onto the lawn, I started hand-spreading the seed over the lawn. The seed would fall into the grooves, making it easy for me to cover them up with a thin layer of soil as I dragged the leaf rake lightly over the soil.
Once I was done for the evening (as you can tell from the last two pictures), I turned on the water and let it run for an hour. This allowed the soil to absorb a lot of water to help stimulate seed germination. Now all that I need to do is keep watering this patch and begin work on the next section.
by MODU on March 28, 2010
Spring has sprung, and as such it is time to plant the grass. Over the winter, we had two blizzards that dropped over two feet of snow on the ground. In December, two feet of cold/dry snow fell, while in February we had two feet of heavy wet snow. This allowed the ground to absorb a lot of water, making the ground more friendly for me to work in.
But first, let us examine the yard and see how it fared. As you can see from the pictures below, a lot of limbs and leaves came down during the winter. There are some nearly-bare sections of the yard where I had experimented the Smart Patch grass seed. Part of this is due to the erosion caused by the melting snow. Water runoff has been one of the largest issues I’ve had in this area (as noted before).
Around the corner, the test patch of the Scotts grass seed as well as the area with the seeding soil has held up well. Definitely a sign that this is the way to proceed this spring.
by MODU on March 16, 2010
by MODU on February 13, 2010
With Spring Break coming up, and soon to be followed by Summer vacation, have you started making your plans as to where to stay? A weekend at a hotel would be nice, or maybe a week in a timeshare. But have you considered vacation rentals?
Instead of having to put up with a lot of people wandering the halls in the middle of the night (like at hotels) or restricted dates or sales pitches (like at timeshares), vacation rentals is like a home away from home. Only you have access to your place of stay, and you can find locations around the world on whatever dates you want to travel.
To find out more about the benefits of a vacation rental, Watch & Review This Funny Vacation Rental Video.
by MODU on October 31, 2009
One of the most beautiful amusement parks in the world has to be Busch Gardens at Williamsburg. Crafted with an old European theme, the park is hidden inside of a wooden parcel of land that spans a private lake. Unlike many modern theme parks, everywhere you turn, you see as many trees as you do shops and rides with intricate flower arrangements to finish off the visual buffet.
Making the park even more beautiful is visiting it during the fall. A mixture of traditional fall decorations as well as accents for Halloween makes your visit there a true treat for the eyes. Below are just a sampling of the natural beauty you can find at Busch Gardens.
The last photo is of the Loch Ness Monster roller coaster ride. The ride has two interlocking loops that straddle the lake and wooden walkway below. This gives both the riders and the pedestrians below a thrill as the cars race upside down and then uphill.
The yellow and grey of the roller coaster structure blends in well with the autumn colors of the trees that surround the ride and line the lake. As you can see from the photo (taken from the air in a sky car), the parks minimalistic approach to ride placement leaves much of the natural beauty in place for all to enjoy, making Busch Gardens one of the most beautiful parks in the world.
