I have the solution to BPs mess!

From what I understand, BP et al, are taking suggestions from any Tom, Dick or Harry.  With that being said, I’ve had some inspiration circa 1998:

NASA discovered that there is an asteroid roughly the size of Texas heading towards the Earth, and when it does hit the Earth, the planet itself and all of its inhabitants will be obliterated, worse, the asteroid will hit the Earth in 18 days. Unfortunately, NASA's plans to destroy the asteroid are irrelevant. That is when the U.S. military decides to use a nuclear warhead to blow the asteroid to pieces. Then, scientists decide to blow the asteroid with the warhead inside the asteroid itself. The only man to do it, is an oil driller named Harry Stamper.  Harry says he can't train men how to drill in ten days, so he brings in his own team of roughnecks to learn to become astronauts and get the job done. 

- Armageddon

Did you recognize the movie plot?  Doesn’t hurt to play Aerosmiths "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" in the background which I heard yesterday on the radio.

Loss of life is no laughing matter, and I am about to put myself out on a limb here with a controversial line of thinking, but here goes…

Don’t we have any patriotic roughnecks that we could send down in James Cameron’s private submarine to fix what a diamond drill bit can’t?

The crew might be on a suicide mission, but sacrificing a few white collar criminals with engineering backgrounds feels okay to me in order to save the rest of the Gulf.  And they don’t even have to be criminals. How about just a few bonafide heroes – willing to do whatever it takes?

Let’s take a page from J. J. Abrams wonderful screenplay:

Harry Stamper: None of you have to go. We can all just sit here on Earth, wait for this big rock to crash into it, kill everything and everybody we know. United States government just asked us to save the world. Anybody wanna say no? 
Chick: 20 years. Haven't turned you down once. Not about to start now. I'm there. 
Freddy Noonan: Guess I can't let you go up there alone. 
Bear: I'm with you. 
Oscar: Man, this is - this is historic. Guys, this is, like, deep blue hero stuff! Of course I'm in. 
Rockhound: While I don't share *his* enthusiasm, you know me. Beam me up, Scotty! 
Harry Stamper: You all right, Max? 
Max: I-I don't, I-I don't... Whatever you think. 
Harry Stamper: [to A.J] How about you? 
A.J.: I'm in. 
Harry Stamper: All right then. We go. 
Rockhound: I don't mean to be the materialistic weasel of this group, but do you think we'll get hazard pay out of this?

And don't worry Rockhound, I'm pretty sure if your mission is successful that Barack will earmark a substantial hazard pay package for you and the crew.

SCORE!

If you’ve utilized the small business association to help get your business off the ground, you may have also heard of SCORE.  For those of you that haven’t, SCORE is a nonprofit association dedicated to educating entrepreneurs and the formation, growth and success of small business nationwide.

Want a free online evaluation of your business?  Click on the Small Business Assessment.  After a quick questionnaire you will be presented with customized report with resources and topics that will interest you in your current phase of business.

The resources they provide are fantastic- suggested books, articles, and websites to review.  Also, don’t forget to check out what webinars are coming up.

If you want a little bit more interaction, you can email questions directly to business experts.  Prefer an in-person consultation? You can easily find an office in your area to set up a personal appointment.   When was the last time you were offered 24/7 mentoring advice for free?

SCORE has a proven track record of helping small businesses. Ever hear of Jelly Belly Candy Company? Vermont Teddy Bear or Vera Bradley Designs? Yep. All have used SCORE.

If you’ve worked with SCORE- we’d love to hear about your personal experience.  For the rest of my budding entrepreneurs- check out SCORE today!

Picaboo- I see you!

Hello faithful readers. I wanted to share with you a fabulous service that I recently used-Picaboo.

I don’t come from a highly religious family, so when my grandmother passed a few months ago we started planning a memorial luncheon.  After seeing a similar project created by my SIL (thank you Danielle!), I decided to create a keepsake that we could give to everyone who was traveling from all over the country to attend the event.

The result? A memorial photo book showcasing my Nana as a teenager in Scotland all the way through to great-grandmother at age 88.  My family is going to love this!

Picaboo specializes in creating high-quality photo books.  The service is fantastically simple. After a quick software download you select photos from your computer, upload and begin the creative process.  What I love more than the attractive book cover and page styles, is the attractive pricing- you won’t find this quality for this price on Kodak, Snapfish, or Shutterfly. 

But there is also a great sale ending March 31^st that you should be aware of- BOGO photo books. That is right, buy one get one free with code BGFMAR at checkout.  I made out like a bandit for my family project!

For my job-hunting readers, are you looking for a unique way for your resume to stand out?  Or how about my entrepreneurs?  Are you looking for a new way to market your business? Creating a professional portfolio book to share with prospective employers or clients is also an effective way to utilize Picaboo.   Can you imagine how well your portfolio would stand out in this dog-eat-dog world? Lots more great ideas to check out on their site. Enjoy!

Help for the technologically challenged

I’m working at my kitchen island today. I get much better light in here than I do in my home office (we’re working on that though… electrician’s numbers have been procured). From the kitchen I can hear the happy hum of my copier: Makin’ copies.

My issue? I have no idea how to scan or fax from the machine. I specifically purchased this model because it can do all these things: Fax, Print, Copy, Scan. I think it can even file my taxes (wouldn’t that be nice?)

Instead of opening the manual I’ve been patiently waiting for my husband to teach me. I’m not a complete techno-idiot. After a few lessons I was able to juggle the three remotes we have for the TV/DVD/Stereo. Just don’t ask me how to turn on the Wii or hook up our web cam. (Sorry Gma and PopPop, you’ll only see us when Kevin is home to Skype!)

Why do I refuse to read the manual? I don’t usually give up easily on things. If I were single I most certainly wouldn’t be spending $10 at FedEx/Kinkos every time I needed to fax a document.

I guess it has to do with defining roles within a relationship. I iron. He mows. I wash the clothes, he washes the car. It’s good when you have a partner who you can share responsibility with- I just don’t want to be one of those women who wakes up one day and has no idea how to balance the check book. I was after all, the one who taught my husband how to perform this function when we met in college. But, I gave up that household responsibility 10 years ago.

I’m gonna go stare down the machine for a few minutes this afternoon. I’ll let you know who comes out on top.