The Refresh Orlando Heirs

Here is the situation. A laptop comes to us with a dead hard drive. Unfortunately, the user needs some files off the dead drive. After much research on the internet and a couple of data recovery quotes we decide to try and recover the information ourselves.

Luckily for us the drive won’t spin up at all. I say luckily because the usual problem is that the circuit board on the bottom of the drive went bad. That doesn’t mean that something else isn’t the problem, but replacing the circuit board is the simplest thing to try.

The first thing needed is another hard drive. That may sound easy but it isn’t. You need an identical hard drive, and by identical I mean the same model number, part number, firmware, everything. In our case we had a Hitachi Travelstar hard drive that had three numbers to match. The important numbers were the model number, part number, and MLC number. I believe the MLC number has something to do with the firmware revision but don’t quote me on that. After speaking with Hitachi I was referred to a company called CueTech. They specialize in finding “hard to find” or obsolete computer parts. The wanted to charge between $200 and $400 for the drive, which I thought was reasonable for the work required to find one. Instead of using them I decided to search on my own and after two days, still had not found another drive for sale that met my needs. We then started looking in house for similar laptops and found one that had an identical drive. Now we were in business.

Now that we had our drive, we needed to protect ourselves because the user wanted their machine back in working order. So before we started any kind of surgery we made a ghost image of their hard drive. After waiting the 20 minutes or so for the backup to finish we began the surgery. First we removed the hard drive from the working system and laid it on a static pad with the circuit board up. We then used a T-5 Torx drive to remove the screws securing the circuit board to the hard drive. Your drive may need a different size or style of screwdriver. We then repeated the process on the bad drive. We put the circuit board from the good drive onto the dead hard drive and placed it back in the laptop. It booted! As soon as we new it worked we then setup the system to make a quick drive image. After waiting another 20 minutes we had a drive image of the bad hard drive and our data was recovered.

To finish the process we had to put the circuit board back on the original good hard drive and verify that it was working correctly. Once that was completed and the laptop returned to its owner, we installed a brand new hard drive in the system that had the original issue. The last step was to restore the drive image to the new hard drive, verify that it worked, and give the laptop back to the owner.

Gary Higbee
http://www.greatnorthcomputing.com - A community for SysAdmins and Programmers.

A hidden camera is one discreet way to assuage and alleviate concerns around your home. Parents find them especially helpful when it comes to keeping an eye on the person watching their children. But are hidden spy cams fair to those who are being watched? Do nannies have a right to know if they are being recorded?

There are many compelling arguments in favor of using a hidden spy cam to record your child’s caregiver. Few would disagree that the safety of a child comes first. However, is it really ethical to hide a small camera in order to spy on your nanny doing her job? Safety surveillance is not a black and white issue. Both parents and nannies have rights.

If you want to use a hidden camera to obtain video footage of your nanny at work, the best thing to do is tell her. A professional most likely won’t have a problem, as long you ask for her permission. Spy cams are extremely covert — it could be a teddy bear or in a house plant. You have the benefits of a hidden camera without the risk of losing a good nanny, should she find out and become upset about the use of spying.

A recent Arizona Central article raised an important point — while a parent is well within their rights to want to use a hidden spy camera to view their nanny, cameras shouldn’t replace thorough interviews and a background check. Even a good caregiver might regard the use of hidden cameras as an invasion of privacy. While you aren’t legally bound to inform your nanny, a spy camera could create a difficult situation.

Copyright © 2005 Evaluseek Publishing.

About the Author
Bob Whitehead is a successful freelance writer providing practical information and advice about video security for business, non-profit and home use. His numerous articles include tips for saving both time and money when shopping for video surveillance products; equipment reviews and reports; and other valuable insights. Learn more about CCTV cameras and CCTV systems when you visit Video-Surveillance-Guide.com today!

The aim of this article is to pass on some professional tips and suggestions on making wooden house signs so that, with the aid of visual references such as sign-makers websites (including our own) you will be able to undertake the very satisfying project of carving one in the traditional manner. Even if you don’t need one yourself wooden house signs make a fantastic present for a relation or friend and, though it may be a challenge, you will have something really special to show for the effort.

Tools required

* Mallet, chisel and gouges. For the lettering you will need a large V tool and three or four gouges between a quarter and half an inch wide with slightly differing gentle (almost flat) curves. For any carved motif you will in addition need one or two with tighter curves.

* Cramps or holding device of some kind. (for example you can screw a piece of wood to the back of your work and put that in the vice)

* Plane / sander / sandpaper for smoothing the surface and making a chamfer on the edge.

* Bandsaw / jigsaw / coping saw for cutting out curves and regular saw for straight lines.

Choosing the piece of timber

I almost always use oak as it is so durable, attractive and good to carve though anything durable and close-grained is possible, but avoid knots and wavy grain. Depending on your method of cramping the wood, you may need a piece considerably larger than the sign.

Shape of sign and style of lettering

My favourite shapes are oval, rectangular, or a rectangle with a curved top. A hump- backed-bridge shaped top provides a nice visually framed area for a motif or number while the house name goes across the bottom. Ovals often have a motif in the middle but rectangles are often best without. Take a look at some existing signs if you need inspiration.
Carving even the simplest letters is not easy so I suggest that you choose a straightforward font such as Roman capitals, or capitals and lower-case for a less formal look.

Getting ready for carving

Use a pencil for the sign layout and take great care – this bit of the job is important. You will find a centre-line useful and measure everything twice!
It is usually best to cut the shape of the sign after carving it, using the extra wood to cramp or screw the workpiece firmly and it can also be an area to practice carving before you start the real thing.

Carving the letters

1 After drawing out all the lettering use the V tool to take out a proportion of the wood staying well within the outline of each letter.

2 “Set down” vertically along the bottom of this V cut using the chisel on straight lines and suitable gouges on the curves.

3 Cut the sides of the letters with a sliding movement to finish off (this is the difficult bit!) The direction of cut is very important here or it is like stroking a cat’s fur the wrong way – the point of the tool must not go into the grain but slide on the back of it.

Carving the motif (if any)

Apart from any artistic considerations the technique is still the same; don’t dig into the grain but slide on the back of it. Some people work from a photo or existing sign and you are, of course, welcome to copy any of our motifs.
For exterior signs bold is best and round shapes are easiest – don’t try carving holly for example as the points of the leaves are very difficult.

Cutting out and smoothing-up the sign

When you are content with your carving do any smoothing to the surface while it is held firmly and then cut the outside shape of the sign. I suggest you put a chamfer on the edge with a hand-plane chisel or sandpaper.

Painting your sign and fixing it

Dark colours or white are usually most effective if you want to paint the carved letters, and metalwork or enamel paints are what I recommend. If colouring the motif I dilute the paint to let the grain show through.
If left untreated and exposed to the weather oak will turn an attractive silver grey (any paint will be unaffected) but if you want to put a finish on your sign then garden furniture oil with UV filters is a good product.
If you use screws or other metal fixings make sure they are brass as steel reacts with the tannic acid causing staining.

Good luck! All the effort will be worth it in the end because your house sign, whether professional looking or not, will certainly have great charm.

Rob Eyley has been a professional woodcarver and lettercutter for over twenty years and, together with his partner Andrew George, makes house signs and fire surrounds in Bath UK. On their website: Wooden Signs where there is more information many useful illustrations. You are welcome to copy or publish this article for free if you include this link. Sindicateable.

The first vacuum cleaner is thought to have been created in the
United States, in the mid 1800’s. Today, the vacuum cleaner is
found in just about every household in the world! It is depended
upon to keep carpets and other floors clean and free of
dirt/debris. In the time of the first vacuum cleaner, however,
things were much more different!

Since the beginning of time, we have found some way to
personalize and accessorize out living environment. For the most
part, rugs and carpeting have been the number one choice to hide
and protect original flooring. How do you think that those rugs
were cleaned in the old days? There were no motorized vacuums,
so the “Spring Cleaning” time was used to remove all of the rugs
so that they could be shaken and beaten. Usually, the
housekeeper or homeowner would use a metal or wooden rod to beat
out the dust and dirt, and then the rugs would be left to air
out.

Today, however, many of us have become accustomed to using a
motorized vacuum cleaner to do all of the hard work for us! The
motorized vacuum came to us about 1907 and has undergone major
improvements and modifications to become the vacuum that we use
today!

Now, there are many, many vacuum cleaner manufacturers on the
market. There are a ton of different vacuum models, sizes,
colors and prices associated with a vacuum cleaner. There are
many different styles, including: upright, canister, shop,
handheld, cordless, bagged, bangles, and even outdoor vacuums!
No matter what you needs your vacuum will be required to meet,
there’s a vacuum that is perfect for you! Shop online to find
the largest selection and best prices of vacuum cleaners
available!

The better a person understands software, the more flexibility there is when designing with typography especially when it comes to versals. According the Google’s dictionary, versals are the “oversized initial letters usually colored in red or blue and characterized by exaggerated curves, vertical strokes, and serifs (also called Lombardic Capitals).” To clarify, graphic designers not only have an oversized letter start out the body of text, but they make the text wrap around it too. Any given software tool can be the single answer to polishing up an awesome design. This is why graphic designers need to thoroughly understand the tools in which they work with. To get the desired professional look for their layouts, they have to thoroughly understand software tools first.

Graphic designers can learn from the stage play called “Lion King.” The play has unforgettable stunning colors and perfectly orchestrated choreography. Everything about the play was artistic and cleverly done. In addition, the music perfectly harmonized with the stage play too. Amazingly, layers and layers of information were presented harmoniously as the audience watched in admiration. From this, graphic designers can learn the importance of orchestrating and fine-tuning as they bring together all the required information for their layouts. In theory, it sounds easy, and if measuring the “Lion King” to the challenge of a layout, it is easy comparatively. At times, I wonder how I am going to organize my racing thoughts as I attempt to pull my projects together. But, I try to stay mentally organized by dividing up my ideas which helps me to organize my thoughts. Then, I methodically and strategically put it all together.

For instance, when starting a layout, I first try to pinpoint what my message is going to be and determine who is going to be my audience. Next, I start thinking about the design elements such as the heading and subheadings, the versal, graphics, and color scheme. Usually, the versal is one of the last design decisions I make for a layout. It seems that a versal to a layout is like the icing on the cake.

If you are not sure if you have made your versal correctly, show your layout to others or open up some books and magazines and make some comparisons. In fact, you should always solicit critiques and feedback from your peers. Everyone seems to see and interpret information differently, and artists should welcome feedback because of this. You’ll find with every versal you make, it’ll get easier. Nothing beats time and experience. (revised 2/14/2006)

Debbie Jensen, http://www.debjensendesigns.com

In the year 2000, I went on a mission trip to Guatemala with Wycliffe Bible Translators. It was a weeklong trip where we were able to see the results of the Bible translation work in Guatemala. Before going, my friends were telling me I was going to become a missionary. I kept telling them, “No, I’m not. I’m just going to go on mission trips during the summers when school’s out and I don’t have to teach.”

When I was in the beautiful country of Guatemala, I felt God impressing upon my heart the need for teachers in the mission field. Some families must leave the mission field because their children aren’t receiving a quality education. I didn’t want someone to leave the important work of sharing the good news of the Gospel just because I was unwilling to teach in the mission field. I was worried about having plumbing and electricity like I have at home.

As part of the trip we stopped at a house where a missionary family was living. It was a beautiful home very similar to what I might find in the United States. The only difference I could see was the water from the faucet wasn’t drinkable, but most people have bottled water delivered to their homes. It was as if God was saying to me, “A little plumbing, Jill, that’s it! You think I can’t handle that?” I didn’t want to live without electricity either. Most people also have electricity so that was also a question answered. I still didn’t want to go to a foreign country and live away from my family and friends and all that was familiar to me.

My second to last day in Guatemala, I prayed that if God wanted me to go into the foreign mission field, He would change the desires of my heart. Our final night there, we met as a group and talked about our experiences. Almost everyone was changed as a result of the week. When I spoke, I started crying as I talked about how I believed God wanted me to teach missionary kids in a foreign country. There were missionaries there who told me that teaching in the mission field would be better than teaching in the United States.

By the time I got back home, I wanted to go teach in a foreign country. I ended up in Guatemala and actually have as students some of the kids that I met on that trip. A few weeks before leaving to come to Guatemala, I was nervous and thinking, “Should I just go to El Paso, Texas instead?” There was a mission there I could go to where I could go across the border to Mexico everyday and work there. I also had a friend in El Paso and could go home easily but decided against that since I would never know what might have been if I didn’t go to Guatemala.

When I got here, there were so many blessings God had in store for me that I never even imagined or thought about. Right away, I stayed with two different families that reminded me so much of my own. They liked to play cards and board games and so did I. One of the families had kids the same ages as my nephew and nieces who liked to play outdoor games. My church family in Guatemala was a blessing to me also. They were so much like my church family at home and became my family in Guatemala. The climate was perfect, between 65 and 80 everyday of the year with very little humidity. There was fresh fruit and vegetables available inexpensively and close to where I lived as well. I

used to worry a lot before coming to Guatemala but my first year here, I remember thinking, “God was preparing a place for me in Guatemala before I even knew I was coming here and had taken care of every detail in advance. God is in control and knows exactly what He’s doing, so why worry?”

I love living in Guatemala and teaching missionary kids and don’t have a plan to return and teach in the United States although I can go there during the summer and at Christmastime and see my family and friends.

I have been a teacher/educator for 18 years. I am currently teaching high school math at a school for missionary kids in Guatemala.

One of our basic needs is to protect our goods and valuables. How many times have we wondered: is it safe to keep my jewels or money at home? Will my kids be in danger of shooting themselves if I buy myself a gun? Will I get bankrupt if a fire starts by any chance in my office?

The need for safes appeared shortly after humankind discovered money, gold and other valuables. Until 1820 they helped only against theft, but starting in the 1840s they were designed, by using so called Wilder technology, to protect effectively against fire. The burglar resisting safe was first patented in 1835 by Chubb Safes (it is believed that they were already producing them for almost 20 years).

There is a whole highly developed industry behind safes: they are usually made of metal, are designed to be fire and environmentaly resistant and are using high tech electronics, laser-cut doors or memory recall capabilities. One of the world’s largest home security providers is Sentry Safes. They offer high quality at competitive prices and in more than 70 years of being on the market they have remained faithful to the founder’s beliefs: quality, affordability and innovation.

The safes generally have two main destinations - for home or office use - and can be classified in three main types:

1) Burglary Safes – they offer protection against theft, but very little against fire. Usually they have solid metal walls and a heavy door resistant to a drilling, cutting or prying attack. Hardened resistant metals are often used to slow down attempts to break in to this safe.

2) Fire Safes – usually they are made of a thin metal double wall and have a fire-resistant insulating material between the walls. They have a minimum level of security, because they are designed to protect (especially papers) against fire. They have to maintain an internal temperature of below 200 degrees C (the point at which documents will be destroyed) .The safes provide the fire protection for either 30, 60, 90 or 120 minutes. Similar to them, but a bit more effective, there are the “Data Safes” which maintain less than 52 degrees C (the point at which data media is destroyed) and also protect against high humidity, electro magnetic contamination, etc.

3) Fire / Burglary Safes - They are generally multi-purpose safes and offer good protection both against thefts and fire. They are designed like a burglary safe, but have a secondary wall inside, which contains insulation (the material that helps maintaining a low temperature).

Usually home safes are used to prevent stealing or destruction of our family’s property: money, papers like receipts, contracts, personal and financial documents, jewels and sometimes other things which can be irreplaceable: photos, videos. For good protection of these valuables we need Fire/Burglary Safes. Usually, these safes are located in the floor or in the walls.

The wall safes demand a special framing and it is better to place them as low as possible because, in the event of a fire, the temperature is lower at ground level. They are very practical for those of us who value their possessions, but don’t want to keep them in a bank. They are easy to install and access and they do not require special modifications of the interior or the design of the house.

When we don’t have enough money to buy a professional safe it is always better to remember about diversion safes! They don’t look like the typical steel safe and, although they have no protection against fire, they can discourage a potential burglar, who hasn’t got the time to search the whole house.

We can use as diversion safe containers for soda pop, canned fruit, home cleaners, or even books. They have removable tops or bottoms so that we can put our goods in them, weight so that they appear normal when handled and most important, they are quite cheap compared to a normal safe.
We also don’t have to forget that a gun safe is the most effective way of preventing a tragic accident at home! Usually they are made of steel and the size is according to the size of the gun you want to secure. The bigger the safe is, the more it costs. But although it will cost an extra amount of money, it’s better to remember that we should diminish the risks by keeping the guns safe.

When buying a safe we have to think of its destination, how accessible it is, how many options we can get for the amount of money that we are willing to pay and how it is rated (what is its level of security against thefts, destruction). The best thing would be to hire a company that can monitor and protect your house/office and values. But when this is too expensive, safes are the next best option.

Jeff King is a technologist who writes on many consumer topics.

There’s more about locks and safes at
Safe’n'Locked

If you are trying to get ahead in you career today, you will know that the computer skills you have under your belt are what will make the difference between you moving up the ladder or down. When it comes to trying to prove your computer competency in using office applications there is no other certification path that stands out like the Microsoft Office Specialist program. With over 3 million exams now undertaken and well over 2 million Microsoft Office Specialist Certificates issued, this certification has become the one to get to prove your skills in using Microsoft Office.

One thing I have found though is that many people fail these exams first time around and there really is no reason for it. The way the Microsoft Office Specialist exam works is that you will be taken into a room and sat at a computer. On this computer you will be asked by the computer to carry out a series of tasks. Each set of tasks is designed to represent tasks you would be expected to do on a day-to-day basis.

These exams really are a good representation of what people would be expected to do on a day-to-day basis. I should say I am a little bias since I am a Microsoft Office Specialist Master Instructor and my company is a Microsoft Office Specialist Authorised Testing Centre but having trained about 4,000 to 5,000 students through my training centre in Townsville, Australia the certification exams really do represent the skills you would be expected to perform in your workplace.

There are in fact seven exams in the Microsoft Office Specialist Program and they are the Microsoft Word Core and Expert Exams, Microsoft Excel Core and Expert Exams, Microsoft Outlook Core Exam, Microsoft PowerPoint Core Exam and the Microsoft Access Core Exam. If you were a Secretary or Personal Assistant, I would expect at a minimum you would have passed the Microsoft Word Core Exam and the Microsoft Excel Core Exam. If you hold the position of a salesman, I would expect you to have the same certifications as the Personal Assistant or secretary plus the Microsoft PowerPoint Core certification and maybe the Microsoft Excel Expert Certification and Microsoft Access Core Certification.

Ok, so how do we prepare for these exams.

First of all, you need to choose how you want to study for these exams. In terms of passing these exams it doesn’t matter whether you want to do a course at a training centre, buy a self paced training program or doing the training on the Internet. Use the form of training that you feel most comfortable with. Me personally, I prefer to use self-paced training where as many of my students prefer classroom based training. Each training method has its own advantages and disadvantages. One thing to note, if you are going to go to a training centre, make sure at the very least they are a Microsoft Office Specialist Testing Centre and that they will give you a training manual and exercise disk to take home with you to keep. If the training centre doesn’t give you a manual then don’t waste your time with the course even if they might be the cheapest. In computer training, cheapest definitely does not mean the best.

Step 1. Once you have done the course or studied the Self-Paced material make sure you redo all the material within 7-days!

One mistake many people make, is thinking that they can do a two-day computer training course then walk away as an expect. If that’s what you think, than it is totally fanciful. Computer Training is like a sport, if you want to be a professional then you must train as a professional. The first step you need to do in any training regime is to go back through all the material you did in the computer training course in the first 7 days after you the finish of the course.

Studies have shown over the years, that each 7 days you don’t review your material, you will loose 50% of the material. Each week you don’t review the material you loose another 50% which means in 6 weeks or so, you will remember nothing from your course. All in all you may as well, not have done the course in the first place.

Step 2. Write a brief statement in your own words, the key terms used during your course.

The next thing you must DO! Is to write a brief statement in your own words about all the key terms you learnt during the course or in your self-paced material. One of the challenges you will have in the exam is deciphering what they are asking you to do. Sometimes, I have found the language is very difficult to understand because it is written in American English (no offence intended to my American colleagues). In one of my Microsoft Outlook Core Exams, I was certain I was going to fail the exam. The only reason I passed was by identifying the key terms in the text that related to the application and by knowing those I worked out in each question what exactly they were asking me to do.

Step 3. Practice, Practice, Practice – Get lots of Practice Exercises

The next thing you must do is to get as much practice as possible. Most training schools will have structured their material so that at the end of each topic you will have some questions to answer and also some sort of homework exercise to do that will put all the tasks together into one exercise. The key here is to practice as much as possible. Check out the internet for places where you can get lots of practical exercises or make up some of your own.

Step 4 – Do a Pre-Assessment Exam to see if you are ready.

One thing I have learnt from doing these professional exams is that they are absolutely nothing like the exams you would have undertaken at school, college or at University. My recommendation that I would make to anyone sitting computer certification exams is to purchase a pre-assessment exam for the exam you want to take. What the pre-assessment exams do is to test your skills prior to sitting the real exams. Most of the pre-assessment exams I have seen are pretty good and pretty close to the real exams. I personally recommend either the pre-assessment exams from Certiport, Transcender or Self-Test Software.

When you do the pre-assessment exam, you should score 80% or above on the first go. If you don’t, do not do what I have seen many people do, and that is to just keep doing the exam till you get all the questions right. What will happen if you do this is you will build up a memory of the questions and you end up knowing the requirements of the question without truly being able to interpret what the question is asking you to do.

Once you have done the exam once; DO NOT under any circumstances re-do that exam for 7 days. This will help stop the memory build up, of the questions.

What you MUST do once you have completed the pre-assessment exam and got a result is to look at the results of the test and find out which questions you got wrong and go back and study those areas more thoroughly. Then, after you have reviewed the material and waited 7 days, then try the pre-assessment test again.

You should in the second attempt score 90% or better. If you do achieve this then you are ready to sit the real exam. If you don’t, then you need to follow the same process again for the next 7-days.

After the third time using the same Pre-Assessment exam, I recommend people try a different pre-assessment exam before being 100% sure they will pass the exam. The more you use the same exam, the bigger risk you face in retaining that memory of questions.

Most pre-assessment exams usually come with 2 or 3 different exams to try. If after three attempts of each pre-assessment exam and you still find that you can’t pass at 80% or better, I would strongly recommend finding a mentor and also checking to make sure the training material you have purchased is covering the required material.

Step 5 – Pass the Microsoft Office Specialist Certification Exam!

Obviously once you have done this much training and practice and you have passed your pre-assessment exams you are now ready to sit the real exam. One thing to remember, Microsoft Office Specialist Exams are commercial exams and because of this, if you fail the exam, you have to pay to resit the exam. The cost to resit these exams can vary from as low as $80 US to $135 US, in many cases the prices are set by the Microsoft Office Specialist Testing Centre.

The good news is that if you have followed the steps I have outlined, I will be very surprised if you didn’t pass on your first attempt.

Step 6 – You Are Finally A Microsoft Office Specialist

The Author Chris Le Roy is a Microsoft Office Specialist Master Instructor and trains over 2000 students per year to become Microsoft Office Specialists. His company One-on-One Personal Computer Training has a range of training kits to help you prepare for the Microsoft Office Specialist Certification Exam. Chris also has a range of pre-assessment exams available for sale as well at his website at http://www.1-on-1.biz

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in
your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website. A copy
would be appreciated at bobkelly@TNI.net. Word count is 725
including guidelines and resource box. Robert A. Kelly © 2003.

Where is the Best PR Value?

by Robert A. Kelly

Wherever the fundamental premise of public relations is
practiced.

Look at what it suggests. People act on their own perception of
the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors
about which something can be done. When we create, change or
reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-
desired-action those people whose behaviors affect the organi-
zation, the public relations mission is accomplished.

What a positive message for those business, non-profit and
assoc- iation managers who don’t really understand the role
public relations can play in helping achieve their
organizational objectives. Nor, that reliance on public
relations’ fundamental premise even identifies the tools they
need to put such a plan into action.

If, sadly, you are one of those managers, here’s how you can
make up for lost time and actually boost your chances of
reaching your organizational goals.

Make the time investment needed to identify and rank, as to
their impact on your organization, those important outside
audiences whose behaviors really do help or hinder your
operations. Let’s talk about the one at the top of the list.

It’s really crucial that you know what members of that “public”
think about your organization. Obviously, you must ask them!
Interaction is really necessary if you are going to identify
percep- tions likely to lead to negative behaviors. For example,
wrong- headed beliefs, misconceptions, inaccuracies and even
rumors.

And while you’re talking to these audience members, keep an eye
or an ear on local talk show and newspaper columns for the same
signs.

The results of such opinion or perception monitoring are the
very data you need to establish your public relations goal. For
instance, neutralize that rumor, clear up that misconception or
correct the inaccuracy.

And the very same goal will stand as your behavior modification
objective so that you can measure your progress.

But here, the question always arises as to just how you will get
to that goal. You need a strategy to show you the way, and you
have three choices: create opinion/perception where there may be
none, change existing opinion or reinforce it. Fortunately your
goal will identify which strategy you should select.

Still, nothing happens until you write a truly responsive
message and transmit it to members of your target audience. You
must convince them that what you discovered in the way of
rumors, inaccuracies, misconceptions or wrong-headed beliefs is
simply not true. But do try for believability and clarity. And,
above all, make your message persuasive and compelling.

Meanwhile, a whole stable of “beasts of burden” await your
pleasure – communications tactics capable of carrying that
hard-won message direct to your audience members’ eyes and ears.
And there are scores and scores of them in that stable –
articles, interviews, newsletters, personal meetings, op-eds,
emails, speeches and brochures among many others.

Impatience always grows at this point as you wait for signs that
your public relations program is working. But that’s the signal
to once again interact with members of your target audience. The
difference the second time around is that you’re looking for
signs that their perceptions of your organization have been
altered by your message through its aggressive delivery system.
So get out there and, again, ask lots of questions.

If things aren’t moving fast enough for you, you may want to add
a few more communications tactics to the mix, as well as
increasing their frequency. Your message should also be vetted
again for factual validity and clarity.

Gradually, the perceptions, and thus behaviors of your key,
target audiences will begin moving in your direction, leaving
little doubt as to where the best PR value can be found.

I can tell you from personal experience that there is no more
satisfying moment in the practice of public relations.

end

The Wind in my Heart

Wind, where is it?

It comes, and it goes.

It makes it’s way through the leaves of a tree,

yet I am not able to see

where the wind comes from, or where it will go.

I like the way the wind makes the tree leaves sound.

It is a peaceful tone much like a gentle rain

on a cool summer night.

There is a similar wind in my heart.

It makes it’s way through my soul,

and I am fresh again.

It is the air I breathe,

and the force that gives me life.

* Note on the above poem; This poem was written years ago when I was in Seminary looking out my dorm window as the wind blowing the leaves of a tree in front of me. This was at night and very inspiring to me as I put pen and ink together in creating this poem.

The Heart’s Descent

The descent into one’s heart

reveals multiple layers

and endless paths

uncovered by grief.

Our heart is broken

experiencing the hope of spirit

through the devastation of loss

moving us into an abyss.

Often, an attempt to retrieve

what cannot be

guides our heart deeper

into a core of existence.

Where our heart yields

to what is beyond it,

awakening our soul

bathing in eternity.

Samuel Oliver, author of, “What the Dying Teach Us: Lessons on Living”

For more on this author; http://www.soulandspirit.org