A lot of my time over the past few weeks has had me longing for the days when a computer operating system was just an operating system, software was just software, a Web browser was just a Web browser and whenever you would update a database you would always account for the potential for embedded spaces by trimming or hashing them...

Go Silko – Congrats to my good friend Adam who, as the third-generation owner of Silko Honda in Massachusetts has added Volkswagen to the family with the opening of Silko Volkswagen of Brockton. I’ve learned a lot about business and the auto industry from him, and he is now preparing for the next generation to take the auto group to the next level.

Web Transparency – When I had my Web business, and even today, the first thing people will ask about a Web site is how much one costs. Where there’s some subjectivity to it, there’s many direct correlations to design, features, functionality and their costs. My good friend Emily Brackett of Visible Logic has launched a Website Estimator tool. By selecting (and deselecting) a variety of features as well as goals for a site, you can get a good ballpark estimate of to what a first-class Web site can cost. I think this is great tool, namely because she (and others in the business) have their price-point for their services, and it’s a good way to understand if you, as the one looking for a site, is ready to move up to that level.

Take Homeschooling to New Heights – EAA, the experimental aircraft association, has launched in beta AeroEducate, an online resource for teaching kids all aspects of flight. From my own research it looks like a great and fun service to add to homeschooling or augment classroom education.

Blatant Request to Support My Kiddos Girl Scouts Troop – In addition to the annual cookie sale, my kiddo also has to sell candy and nuts as well as paper magazine subscriptions this fall. The sale is only open for a few more days, if you are so inclined. The big sale for cookies, along with its own blog post, will be posted in the beginning of the new year.

Don’t Force Me Bro – You know when you go to log into a Web site or app and they want to send you a code by email or text message? That’s called two-factor authentication, or 2FA. With increasing crime online, it’s important to have it on an account. In most all cases this is an opt-in, optional service. Big Tech behemoth Google has offered 2FA for years, and is now going to start turning 2FA on for its customers, forcing them to use it. As I have always said, keep your contact information current on all of your accounts, as who knows where Google will want to send a text message. And you can’t exactly pick up the phone to call Google either if there’s a problem.

But If It’s Dead, Why Bother? – An interesting piece in Forbes magazine online states that Cybersecurity is Dead, Now What?. When you go into it assuming your information is already out there, it changes your point-of-view on how to approach it. In my opinion, this is for the better… and perhaps don’t put it out there in the first place?

Perhaps Put It on Your Own Web Site Instead? – I share this article about yet another business in my area closing not because they are closing per se, but rather because all they had was a Facebook site. For some reason small businesses are less concerned with having their own Web site and leave it to Facebook to promote their business for them (likely at cost). With increasing numbers of people leaving that platform and the fact that you truly don’t have a direct connection to your customers (e.g. their email address), this is a contributing factor to the demise of many businesses. If you disagree, feel free to comment below.

And Can People See What You Put On The Site? – The fine people at Siteimprove, a company that offers tools, services and education around improving your Web site, have released the latest version of their Web Accessibility browser plug in. Where the concept of Web Accessibility is still nebulous for many people, if you have a Web site, make sure you at least add a title to your images to start. Trying this plugin is a good way to see if you need help with this from an expert.

What the Font – Have you ever seen a font or text style and wonder what it was called, especially so you could use it? This article talks of ways to discover the name of a font and some of the names are amusing in themselves.

Clever History Lessons – New to me is the Liberty Kids series of historical fiction cartoons on the American Revolution. These have clearly been around for a while as the late news anchor Walter Cronkite is the voice of Benjamin Franklin, and the CBS newsman left this mortal coil over a decade ago. Like any such tales, they are not completely accurate to recorded history. I like them as they give a general idea of what happened at the formation of the US, and I then fill in the blanks for my kiddos after they watch them.

Honor or Consolation – Though October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, in my travels throughout Wisconsin I have seen very little signs of this. The other day at my kiddos soccer game I noticed the lines on the field were pink, to which I positively expressed my support for it. Another parent then stated that there’s a shortage of white field paint, and many fields are using other colors to compensate. Despite this buzzkill, I still took it as a sign to support those who have and are enduring this great challenge.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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