While cruising the Internet, I found a heart-warming story in Carol Deckerts’ blog: Paying It Forward

LOL.  Google sent me an alert for the name “Carl Bromley” which I have set up just to see if I’m in trouble anywhere in GoogleLand.  Turns out I published a short article in 2006 which I’ve now incorporated into this blog.  Check it out if you have time… it’s cute.

http://splat.local4all.com

Wallace with a winning attitude

Who would have thought that Coach Tomlin’s decision for the on-side kick would have left JUST ENOUGH TIME on the clock for Big Ben and company to come back for the winning touchdown?  Me, that’s who!

Once in a very llllooooonnnnnnnnggggg while I get something right.  On this one,  I have two witnesses, Julie who was across the room from me and her Uncle John Koslosky who was on the phone with her during the final minutes of the game.

Yes, I too had doubts that the defense could hold Green Bay scoreless in the final 3:58.  And us with a lead that they could beat with a field goal?  I thought it needed to be a two-possession game… one for them and one for us.  Ben, thank you!  Wallace, you keep that game ball, you deserve it!  And Coach Tomlin, good call!  I never thought of the on-side kick until you called it.

(Next time, let’s just recover the ball on the onside kick and run the clock out, ok?)

I’m really surprised Neill (m12.local4all.com) hasn’t been rattling my cage about posting on my blog but he’s probably been too busy getting ready for the off-season… the canoe and kayak rental business doesn’t do too much during the winter so he and Evelyn get to kick back until after the spring thaw.

Good conversation! I was just talking with Kevin from Ferguson Glass about our online advertising to go along with his placemat ads in three of our service areas.  I called the shop (Saturday morning) and caught Susan answering the phone even though they aren’t open on Saturdays.  I had been looking at the big picture (7 Holiday placemats to print in the next 7 days) and had forgotten to email their ad proof to them.  All is well, all we have to do is add “Est. 1945″ and we’re good to go.

Kevin and I also talked about some of my favorite pages in the Local4All website.  It struck me that, once again, I was talking to an audience of one person (always a great idea in business advertising but still uses up a lot of time!).  Here’s a recap:

m12.local4all.com – map of River’s Edge Canoe & Kayak (very accurate maps for free in do-it-yourself mode, otherwise low-cost and occasionally I barter for something I need)
m18.local4all.com – in this map, the pointer is on the beach at Crooked Creek Park.  In 8 years as Race Director, I never heard of anyone getting lost finding the park and I never had to give anyone directions either!  (except to our web page)
m258.local4all.com – map for StrongLand Chamber of Commerce
16201.local4all.com – our page for Kittanning, PA
16201e.local4all.com – Kittanning area events, default is Kittanning and nearby.
cblog.local4all.com – this blog
hairbysher.local4all.com – Sherry maintains her own Local4All web page with a little bit of help from me from time to time.
b2.local4all.com – our business advertising tutorial (page 1 of 3)

More favorites that Kevin and I didn’t talk about:

placemats.local4all.com – our placemat advertising business
n2.local4all.com – an introduction to free tools for non-profits
15656.local4all.com – if you click on “More Photos”, you can see Neill in an orange kayak holding up a big fish that he caught in the Kiski River.  What a life… a kayak from your business, bait from your own Bait & Tackle business, and free tools for self-publishing on Local4All.  Life should always be so good, shouldn’t it?  In case you haven’t guessed it yet, I consider meeting Neill and Evelyn a blessing, too.

Sticky: Contrary to the views of many older citizens, the Internet CAN help families come together.  Among my 36 ‘FaceBook friends’ are 17 family members, many of them MUCH, MUCH younger than myself and, through Facebook, I’m learning more about them and they are learning about me.

Hayley thinks I’m NOT old and grumpy (haha, being online and using smileys help) and I’ve been able to chat online with my niece from NY state Kim – COOL!  (alt:  KEWL!).  Brian and Ben Fisher confirmed they are my relatives, but I already knew that.  Again, cool!

Stay tuned for my intermittent high tech ramblings and, if you know anything I don’t, please comment below.

My favs: My WordPress blog, LinkedIn, FaceBook, and Local4All maps
Dubious about: MySpace, Digg, and Microsoft (even though I’ve always been a PC user.

Sticky: Postings you find here are intended to help families come together and stick together.  Years ago, a friend who is a family counselor suggested writing down lists of “what you absolutely must have in your life” and “what is absolutely not ok” to share with a spouse or, better yet, a prospective bride or groom.  To contribute to this forum, please comment below.

I consider anyone in southwestern PA a neighbor… recently we had a phone number wrong on one of our placemats, even after proofreading by the business owner’s wife and us, too, and we want to help Allan Loveless of Loveless Tree Service make up for lost time and income.

If you have or know anyone who needs tree service within a reasonable distance from Vandergrift, let him bid on it.  He has been climbing trees with a chainsaw since the age of 14 and even trims over water with cutoffs roped down to the shoreline, not dropped in the water.

Loveless Tree Service, owned and operated by Allan Loveless 724-568-3183

To the understanding lady at the wrong phone number, thank you again for your patience and for accepting my apology.

Carl

Quality Service at a good price

I’m not sure how this headline was saved in drafts but I do have a few thoughts I want to share.

• Several years ago a local business owner said it was almost impossible to find a local graduate who could count change.  If the cash register computer didn’t calculate the amount, kids couldn’t cope.  My question:  So where are the checks and balances on people vs technology?
• Several years ago I asked a high school junior who had emailed me a few times about the subject of ’spelling’ in the Armstrong School District.  His spelling bordered on ‘atrocious’ and his reply to my ’specific’ question… if it’s not part of the PSSA test, the schools don’t care.  Remind me NOT to hire any local grads without a full spelling test beforehand.  In my opinion, a company is judged by external communications, even if it’s just posting on a blog.
• Common sense: Is it just my imagination or are more people really doing really dumb things without realizing it?  Like giving out $17 plus coins when you’ve only given them a $10 bill.  Every teacher should be well grounded in common sense as it applies to their subject material.  (and teach it!)

As a Baby Boomer, I come from a generation where spelling, vocabulary, and grammar were top shelf “you need to know these” type subjects.  I remember spelling bees in third grade where Jackie Breese, Ed Heckman, and I were in the final five.  Since then, I’ve thought about how easy it was for me to memorize words, lists, etc. but, back then, I didn’t give much thought to ‘how’.

As an older guy, it’s not as easy as it once was but there’s a method I use to make it easier.

Suppose you’re in a room with 20-30 people and there’s a definite advantage for them to notice you.  Addressing them by name during breaks WILL get their attention and create a favorable impression.  That being said, your motives need to be good up front.  Selling ice to an Eskimo is not it.  Cheating someone out of their life savings is absolutely not ok.  But let’s say you do have a valid reason to get to know people… you might be in sales or have your own business to promote.  Whatever.

What I do at the beginning of a session is note the layout of tables and chairs on a clean sheet of paper, then I jot down the first names of everyone as we introduce ourselves.  Whenever the subject material is repetitious and therefore boring, I memorize.

Tips:

1. Scan all the names on the paper and associate them with individuals and where they are seated.  Notice what they are wearing, their hair, etc. because during breaks you will most likely not be sitting still.  Try to memorize the names – name+person, name+person, name+person until you’ve covered everyone.
2. After 30 seconds, test yourself by looking around the room and seeing if you can name everyone.  Chances are you won’t but that’s ok.  You’ve done the first step.
3. After the first go-round, look at your seating chart and focus on those names and faces you didn’t remember.
4. After another 30 seconds or so, test yourself by going around the room again.  Can you remember all the names this time?  You might get them all or you might miss by one or two… either is ok, you’re above 90%.  Focus on any you miss or were unsure of.  Repeat those while, of course, listening to the speaker.
5. After a minute, check yourself again.  After you’ve done this a few times, you’ll be at 100% the majority of times you put this plan into action.  Until you’re there, reinforce the ones you’re unsure of.
6. After two minutes, test yourself again, even if you get them all right.
7. After five minutes, test again.

The key is that it takes about five minutes for thoughts and ideas to burn themselves into long-term memory instead of short-term memory.  You may have heard “Use it or lose it”… it’s true.

The steps again, briefly:

1. Memorize for 30 seconds, then test yourself.
2. Update yourself and reinforce for another 30 seconds, then test again.
3. Reinforce for one minute, then do your third test.
4. Reinforce for two minutes as needed, then test.
5. After five minutes, test again.  By this time, you should have it down pat!

Spelling and arithmetic are two skills that MUST be acquired through rote memorization so share this technique with kids, too.  Teach them “how” to memorize and why the steps are important.  You’ll only have to do it once, kids are FAST learners.

About Carl as a teacher:  I’m not, at least not in formal settings.  In High School, everyone thought I would be a teacher and I even started college with secondary Ed as my career path.  After hearing from a prof that it gets boring covering the same material year after year, I fell out of love with that idea but now I teach every chance I get.

I taught construction apprentices while I lived in California… #1 topic, safety.  I enjoy teaching computer classes, from beginner to advanced.  My ‘parent quiz’ is a form of teaching, but definitely not a lecture.  Do you know how to make a screenshot?  I use them in email all the time to show others

Thumbnail for "Accountability in Education" screen shot

what I see on my computer screen.  What they say is “a picture is worth a thousand words”.  Here’s an example, click on it if you want to read my thoughts on “Accountability in Education”.

Teaching is fun for everyone if you have the right subject material and student in the right place at the right time.

I was browsing through some of my Google Alerts this morning and stumbled on this video of Mrs. Obama in an interview.  Part of it was her about to read “Cat in the Hat” to a bunch of kids and her interaction with them was just so cool…  and the kids there knew her kids by name.

Her interaction with the interviewer was cool, too.  Check it out.  http://newsclipper.org/#74501

PS:  An afterthought… want to share this posting easily?  Use the URL “firstmom.local4all.com”.  It works over the phone, too!