BBB Starts Rating Businesses With Letter Grades

The Better Business Bureau has switch to a letter grading system like thosed used in schools.  This replaces the rather vague older system of a business being either satisfactory or unsatisfactory.  

The new system takes into account sixteen variables of a business. How old the business is, the breakdown of complaints (Solved, not solved, unanswered, etc.) and many other details of the business not available before.

This new system will make it a lot easier for everyone to tell the quality of a business before we work with that business.  With the economy the way it is, this extra level of protection is appreciated and helpful.

Visit the BBB at us.bbb.org

Read the Consumerist Article about this change

Snow News: You Can't Beet the Garlic Road

Who would of thought of using garlic salt on snowy ice encased roads.  Seems road crews in Ankeny Iowa recieved a donation of 18,000 pounds of this savory seasoning.  Mixed with normal road salt, the garlic salt works just fine.

Garlic salt isn't the only food making its way onto snowy roads.  In Cincinnatti Ohio they have started using beet juice in their road de-icer mix.  Beet juice has a low freezing temperature, and doesn't harm the enviroment, the road or cars.  It's catching-on in many parts of the mid-west and seems like a good use for beets to me!

Drive safe in the snow!

photo by brungrrl (flickr)

Business: Be Different or Die!

Jonathan Fields over at the Small Business Trends blog reminded me of a simple point when running your business during a down economy. Be different or die.

It's easy to coast when everyone has money and people are spending freely. As soon as the economy goes bad, people get really tight with money. People start looking for value and uniqueness in what they are purchasing.

Is your product or service unique enough to get people to part with their money? Is what you do different enough from your competitors? Do you potential customers know the difference? These become critical questions to answer. If the answer to any of these question is less than a solid yes, you have some work to do in shoring up the foundations of your business.
picture by Jesus Solana

For help with surviving a down economy checkout our business boot camps starting in January!

Moving Day!

Community Education is moving into their new digs today. After six months of planning, a remodel, and hours of packing and cleaning, the move has started.

Like all moves, it will take us a few days to get organized again. If you call and don't get an immediate answer, leave a message! We only have a couple phones hooked up at this point.

We are now in the Foundation building behind Cruisen Coffee on the south end of the campus. Watch for our open house in January!

Computer: Whatcom's Cyber Team Conquers Bigger Schools

There is no better feeling than being a little team from a small school who out shines some of the biggest teams in the State. In April, our IT Professionals of Tomorrow team went to the first annual Pacific Rim Cyber-defense Competition taking third place beating teams from the UW and other 4-year colleges.

The competition was to see which team was better at protecting a computer network from a series of hacker attacks. Seems Corrine Sande and crew do a pretty good job of teaching students cyber-defense.

UWTV just released a short 20 minute documentary of the event. Use the link below to view. Go Orcas!
picture by Giopuo (flikr)

http://www.uwtv.org/programs/displayevent.aspx?rID=27982

ART: Pottery Class Video

Here is a bit of video from our pottery class this quarter. A little taste of what it's like to spin clay. Enjoy!

I Read it on the Internet, It's Gotta Be True....Right?

The Internet can be an amazing source of information on any imaginable topic. Except, information on the Internet is like a handful of pistachios. Pistachios are great, except for the occasional bad one, and the bad one is so bad it ruins everything else! (Eat a bad pistachio nut and you will know what I mean.)

Dumb Little Man Blog came up with a great article, Can You Trust What You Read Online, with 5 steps to knowing the legitimacy of what your are reading.

1. What's the author's purpose?
2. Who's the author?
3. Are there any citations?
4. Are examples given?
5. Does the article counter what you already know?

I really like step 5 as some people don't give themselves enough credit for what they already know. If you have learned something, just because something you read counters your knowledge, don't assume you are the one that's wrong.

The article goes into the details of each step and is also a handy guide to anyone who is thinking of writing for the web. If you want people to believe what you write, it needs to be backed up with evidence. Check it out.
picture by bourgeoisbee (flickr)

Music: An Evening With David Lanz

A sneak-peak at the wonderful class with David Lanz that was held on campus. David is a truly gifted performer. His blending of classical, new age, and rock reflects his background and the musical tastes of his audience. I truly enjoy listening to his music.

The video of David playing was not very good, so I went for some special effects. Seems the really cool red spotlights we had on the piano wreaked havoc on the video. The music in the video is pure David.

For the piano players and composers we have one more class this quarter with David. Composing With David Lanz on Friday November 7th. This workshop allows you to work with David on your own compositions! Click here for more information.

FOOD: The Willows Dinner Class and the Mystery Raspberries

We had a very successful farm tour and dinner at the Willows Inn a couple weeks ago. Seems there was one question that the chef/tour guide couldn't answer...What variety of raspberries were growing at Nettles Farm?

The answer....{insert drum roll}.... Dinkum raspberries from Cloud Mountain Nurseries near Sumas. This variety is a everbearing fruit and according to Judy at Nettles Farm they are still producing berries even as Halloween approaches. Cloud Mountain is sold out of plants at the moment, but will have some in the new year. Click here for more information.

Cooking: Quick Lessons on Caramelizing

I can sure use this lesson. Caramelizing to me usually means burning until rock solid! The Cooking Light website is feature videos and articles this month on how to carmelize properly. These helpful online videos and lessons will be important as we approach the holiday season. The Cooking Light website is a great resource for cooking information. Go take a peek!

Digital Life: Social Media Conference and Explanation

Deb Slater from KVOS conducting enterviews about social media at our conference. Also includes an interview I did with Deb, where we discussed some issues related to social media on her show. Enjoy!

Social Media Conference in Bellingham from ENW with Deb Slater on Vimeo.

Personal Finance: Some Things Are Going Right for Consumers

Meg Margo over at the Consumerist reminds us that not all news is bad for consumers in this down economy. I have to agree with Meg.

We are hit with so much negative news from the media that we forget to put it in perspective. Most of us are working, most of us are will tighten our belts and work through the downturn, and that downturns historically lead back to stronger economies.

The Consumerist article looks at ten positives during the downturn... which hopefully will help offset some of the negative news we have all been hearing. Here are the first three:

1. Oil prices have dropped 50% in three months
2. Interest rates have dropped (Ok, only works if you can find a bank that will actually lend you money.)
3. Car makers are lowering prices and interest rates... its a great time to buy a new or used car.

Click here to read article.
picture by yewenyi (flickr)

Community Education: A First Look At New Offices

Here's a quick video that takes a look at our new office space. We will be moving in December.

Yikes! Microwaving Frozen Food May Be Bad For Your Health

Microwaves and frozen foods go hand in hand. For a quick snack or a meal when the gourmet in you wants a night off, most of us use the microwave for cooking. In a Komo News report it seems the government has issued warning about microwaving.

Recently, 32 consumers in 12 states were sickened with Salmonella poisoning after eating undercooked frozen chicken dinners. Because of the way microwaves heat, they tend to leave raw and frozen foods unevenly cooked. If you don't get meats to a certain temperature, bacteria will not be killed.

Another lesson is to watch for wattage. Directions on packages are usually for a specific wattage. You may need to adjust cooking times if your microwave has less wattage or is older... over time microwaves put out less microwave energy.

Read the article. It's a great reminder that even convenience food needs to be properly cooked.
photo by Jimmy McDonald (flikr)

Cost to Drive: You May Not Want to Know

Cost2Drive goes beyond many "mileage" sites found on the web. Not only do you input your starting point and destination, you also enter the make and model of your vehicle. Cost2Drive will then figure out your gas expense based on your car and the average price of gas in each state you drive through. You also get a Google Map that shows you the route and the waypoints where gas prices were sampled.

I checked out a trip from Bellingham to Bowling Greens Kentucky, home of the Corvette Museum. the data was close, but, had a couple errors. The number of gallons was off because one state did not have fuel information. It also reports just unleaded gas prices for cars even if your car uses Supreme... my car is not exactly a fuel efficient model.

Besides those two issues, the site is fun and informative to work with. A good tool for help in planning your next road trip.

Second Chance: Another Section of Sushi Class Added

Sushi 101 was really popular this quarter. So popular, that we filled the class quickly and left a lot of people disappointed.

We have added a second session and you have another chance to take this hot class! the new class will be on Monday November 17th. Same place and time.
Image by Zeetz Jones (flikr)

Click here for more information.
Click here to register.

Clutter = Stress = Arrgrhh!

Some of you who know the "elf" behind the newsletters and website posts know I write a lot about simplicity and clutter.

I am a traditional kind of guy. I don't try to get in touch with my inner-self very often. This past year, I have been working on a simplicity drive and with that simple philosophy have made myself calmer, more productive and...wait for the inner self thing... happier because of it.

One of the tenets of simplicity is No Clutter. Clutter causes stress. It doesn't matter whether at home or work, piles of "stuff" causes stress. Your eyes are immediately drawn to piles and stuff. What the eye sees, the brain processes. If you're always processing what to do with the clutter, you can't spend time thinking about other aspects of your life.

Here's a simple example:
Why do you have a pen cup on your desk? You only need one pen at a time. Get rid of the pen cup and keep one pen handy on your desk. Your brain then doesn't have to focus on making a decision every time you reach for a pen.

A good place to start is with Carolyn Koehnline's Letting Go of Clutter Class. She is terrific at helping you with strategies of getting rid of "stuff." It is a practical class with lots of help for the harried adult.

Click here for class information

Leaf Peepers Unite!

"Leaf peeping" is a rather strange name for a very popular past time... enjoying the seasonal color changes of fall leaves.

Some places in the East, leaf peeping is a tourist industry with hotels and entire towns prepared for the hordes of tourists that show up in October. There are places out east where entire valleys change color as the countryside prepares for winter.

In Washington, we don't get quite the same effect (too many evergreens), but, it's still the season to draw, sketch, paint and point cameras at the changing leaves.

If you're looking for stunning color, take a stroll through the Whatcom Community College campus as our trees are in full change. For bigger trees and scenic shots, check out Hovander Park in Ferndale or Berthusen Park in Lynden. For the more adventerous, you might try heading out the gravel road by Bagley Creek near the end of the Mount Baker Highway.

Don't let the artistic skills you learned in our workshops go to waste!

image by Grant MacDonald (flikr)

Leave (Leaf!?) your favorite sites in the comments below.

Seth Godin: Totally Get's It

Seth Godin is one of the top Bloggers in the web universe. He blogs about business, personal productivity, and entrepreneurship. His half page blog entry today was titled Looking for a Reason to Hide discussing how people are frightened and slowing their business growth even if the financial situation is not hitting their business.

His assessment... growth is scary and for growth adverse people, there's a darn good reason for shutting down right now. In Seth's words "What a shame."

Read his article to learn more.

Business: Don't Be Scared... Hire a Boomer

I talk to lots of business people. I also talk to lots of people transitioning from their first career into there retirement/2nd career/new phase, etc of their life. Let me tell you, there is a real disconnect between the two groups.

The problem is businesses feel that hiring retired boomers will be very expensive. There sick more, they want more money, there won't be a return on the training investment... the list goes on and on.

The reality is very different. The "retired"Boomer can bring a lot of energy and experience to a small business. Boomers may only want to work part-time, but, as a group Boomers are reliable and dependable. Yes, training is an investment but lets get real. In today's job market, you are rarely going to find someone who stays ten years. You can not base your training investment on ten year outlook especially if it means over looking a huge pool of skilled employees.

If you have questions about hiring older workers, checkout our exciting Encore! class Hiring a "Boomer and Beyond" Workforce and learn the hows and why of hiring from this excellent pool of employees.
Picture by flickr

Click here for class information