Food & Wine: It's Finally Here!

Everyone here at Community Education, nay, everyone in town has been waiting with baited breath for the arrival of Trader Joe's. Never have I seen such excitement and rejoicing about a new grocery store, especially in a town with many food-buying options. So what is it about Trader Joe's that makes it so special?

Some would say the low prices for organic and specialty products. Others would say the tasty foods, tested by Trader Joe's employees. And many would say that the overriding reason to shop there is something called Two Buck Chuck.

From a business point of view, the store has flourished, and between 1990 and 2001 the chain quintupled in size. It's nice to know that these profits are passed on to employees, who receive benefits, a nice retirement package, and an enviable store discount.

From a historic point of view, it's nice to see the Trader Joe's revitalizing an area that was once home to Clark's, one of the original grocers of Whatcom County. Since then, Sunnyland Square has looked like a modern-day ghost town. Tomorrow, however, it will look more like a party, with marching bands, leis, and Chamber ambassadors munching on samples and celebrating the opening of the store the town has been clamoring for.

To read, about the Trader Joe's opening, click here.

To read about the Clark family grocery legacy, click here.

Community: They Can't Hang Up!

One of the worst fraud types is telemarketers who prey on senior citizens. According to the Fraud.org website nearly a third of all telemarketer fraud is targeted at seniors 60 and over. That number will increase as our population ages.

They Can't Hang Up! is a 5-step informational guide to understanding the signs of fraudulent telemarketing. It also teaches you to spot the signs that a loved one or friend is in the grips of telemarketing fraud. This clear, concise document is printable and downloadable as a .pdf so it can be shared with friends and family.

Knowledge is a powerful first step in protection.
photo byTrevor Bashnick

Click here for other elder-fraud resources

Self Discovery: Be Happy, Simplify

I am like most people. My life is cluttered. Busy calendar, piles on my desk, stuff piled around the house, and a world ruled by all this clutter.
A few months ago, I started to learn about living simply. This isn't the "run off to the woods, eat tofu, off the grid" simple living. This is a way to unclutter your life. As you simplify your life, three key trends emerge:

• More time
• More focus
• More money

The more stuff, whether paperwork, material goods, email, etc. you have, the more time and energy we spend dealing with it. Think about the last week in you life. How much time was spent cleaning stuff? Moving stuff around? Organizing stuff? fixing stuff.... amazing how much time and energy is used.

Below is a list of some websites I have been following that have a good daily stream of information about living a more simple and more productive life. Take a look. I was skeptical at first, but, with time I am creating my own more relaxed and simple life.

If you have hints or tricks about living a calmer more productive life, use the comment link at the bottom of this post to share with other readers.
Photo by StyenDesyen

• Zen Habits
• Dumb Little Man
• Productivity 501
  

Technology: iPhone or iGroan

iPhones are one of the latest and greatest gadgets in phone technology. Based on web browser technology the iPhone, and other phones like it, have features not before found on cellular technology. With the iPhone this includes access to Google maps, Yahoo weather, text messaging and access to Internet and web mail.

These are awesome features, but, when travelling internationally can cost you. These services use the Internet and are covered by your data plan you payed for with your phone service. Unfortunately, when you leave the country your plan doesn't travel with you! You can run up hundreds or even thousands of dollars of charges and there are dozens of news stories on the Internet about these outrageous charges.

Most of the features not directly related to the phone will cost you. Worse many of these features will still cost you money even even when of used because of the tendancy for many of these features to auto-update when they detect a signal.

What can you do when traveling out of country? Add a foreign data plan to your account for the month your travelling and make very sure you know what is covered. You also want to see what features you can turn off in your phone before leaving. Finally, leave your phone off when not needed. These simple steps can keep your phone from wrecking your travel.
Photo by Dave Winer

Business: Our Brains Have Evolved For Networking

A recent study by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology indicates that the reason we humans have developed bigger brains than our primate counterparts is because we needed to develop more complex social skills. The theory is that when humans began to migrate, they realized a need for developing social relationships with other tribes. Primates, on the other hand, were less nomadic, and thus had no need to develop this added neural tissue.

This fascinates me on many levels. First, it debunks the idea that our brains got bigger for the sole purpose of intelligence---for memorizing more information and learning more skills that would keep us alive. Second, it indicates to me that if we expect to be successful at forming relationships with others, we need to use the social skills that are nestled in our cortex. The conclusion: if you are a business owner, it is imperative to your "survival" that you use your brain and create relationships with other "tribes" in your area. No teacher, trainer, or motivational speaker has ever said that the best way to succeed in business is to be anti-social----now scientists and anthropologists are saying that our brains were made for it.

So how do you start communicating with neighboring tribes? You could start by attending the New Whatcom Business Conference on October 18th at the Lakeway Inn. This is a great way to combine education with networking, and all of the small business tribes will be there.

However, before you start thinking we have one up on the monkeys of this world, you should know that the study indicates that we spend way too much time gossiping to be as productive as chimpanzees. It also proved that primates were better at mind reading than humans. Maybe they should start doing all of our market research . . .


To read the article in National Geographic, click here.

To learn about the New Whatcom Business Conference, click here.

Home & Garden: Design Your House Completely Online for Free

Ran across this great website the other day. Called Floorplanner.com this site allows you to design a room or your entire house.

It has some great features like built-in measurements of items that are automatically inserted onto the floorplan as you draw and various types of furniture, doors, floors, and windows. When you are done drawing, you have a very good top-down layout of your room or house.

It was very easy to use and felt like a normal stand-alone-program and not like a traditional web-based program. This software isn't going to let you skip making a set of blue prints, but, it will show you sizes in relationship to furniture, windows, and your existing house.

The software is free to use and you can pay to have access to more online storage and features.

Floorplanner.com is a great companion to Community Education's classes on interior design and home building workshops.
Photo by achyls on flickr