"Hey, Gaston"

Welcome to HeyGaston......

2014-01-01T14:12:00.000-05:00

Musings of an Unassuming CPA Living in a Presumptuous World; Helping others with their Data, and Sharing the Entrepreneurial pursuit of Network Marketing.

Some of Life’s Acronyms

2012-04-14T20:57:00.000-04:00

Life can give us some very interesting lessons as acronyms. Below are just a few I've accumulated over the years.

PAIN - For the Pain we feel inside,

Pay
Attention
Inward
Now

DENIAL - When questioning the WHY and not getting the answer, align with your energy and do a gut check to make sure you are not in Denial

Dont
Even
Notice
I
Am
Lying

FEAR -

Optimist's definition's of FEAR

False
Evidence
Appearing
Real

Pragmatist's definition's of FEAR

Forgetting
Everything's
Already
Resolving

A Realist's definition of FEAR

F*@k
Everything
And
Run

HALT - When you are making decisions, Don't make any when you are..

Hungry
Angry
Lonely
Tired

EGO - Whatever you do, don't let your ego get in the way

Edging
God
Out

Use "THIS" not +THIS

2011-10-28T07:26:00.000-04:00

As I found out here [here at LifeHacker] Google changed the way we do searchs. Instead of using the +, use "xxx", for example;

"this" instead of +this

I've always been a huge fan of using the + to make sure certain words are Included in the search. Conveniently, the "-" (minus sign) works as well when you want to Exclude words. While my searches typically start out pretty broad, I narrow the results down by putting the "-" sign in front of the words I surely don't need. For example, I was going a search for:

how to change email signatures

and the top hits returned those about inserting signatures into Outlook. A simple change to the search to this:

how to change email signatures -outlook

Gave me what I wanted! Thanks LifeHacker for keeping me informed; Thanks Google for being awesome!

Coffee At Birkdale

2009-02-06T19:48:00.000-05:00

My good friend, Stephen Huneycutt, invited Kelly and I to be one of his "Characters of the Day" for his 365 day journey experiencing the sights, sounds, and interactions that happen during his coffee visits in Birkdale Village. Here are the Links;

Day 228 - Gaston the Numbers Guy

Day 245 - Kelly the Sweet Southern Bell

I must say, being interviewed as well as Stephen manages it was quite a treat. He helped me remember things that I'd not talked about or thought of in a long time. I drove up on a beautiful Saturday morning when the sun was bright and the traffic at Starbucks was quite heavy. Kelly joined the ranks a couple of weeks later but bucked the traditional trend of a "daytime" visit with a stop into Starbucks right before they closed and after Kelly and I hung out with Stephan and his beautiful wife, Shannon. We had drinks at Corkscrew just across the Quad from Starbucks when Stephen suggested that there was no time like the present to become another Character of the Day "COD"). So fueled with a Martini or three, Kelly went for it - I've always known she was smart!

Since our experience we've enjoyed reading the stories of the other Characters at the "Coffee at Birkdale" website, as well as taking part in one of the Coffee at Birkdale "Cast" get-togethers which featured a night of dancing and drinks at a former COD's house on the lake. We look forward to the future Cast parties that are sure to come!

Thank You Shannon & Stephen!

Don't Stop Believin' by MIT Chorallaries

2008-11-02T15:06:00.000-05:00

found this on Youtube a while back while looking for a Journey Album Cover. The MIT Glee club performs an acapella rendition of Journey's Don't Stop Believin'. Take the 4 minutes and watch the entire thing if you can - It will blow you away .......

Lyrics to " Don't Stop Believin' " by Journey

Just a small town girl

Living in a lonely world

She took the midnight train going anywhere

Just a city boy

Born and raised in South Detroit

He took the midnight train going anywhere

A singer in a smoky room

A smell of wine and cheap perfume

For a smile they can share the night

It goes on and on and on and on

{Refrain}

Strangers, waiting, up and down the boulevard

Their shadows searching in the night

Streetlight people, living just to find emotion

Hiding somewhere in the night

Working hard to get my fill

Everybody wants a thrill

Paying anything to roll the dice

Just one more time

Some will win, some will lose

Some were born to sing the blues

Oh the movie never ends

It goes on and on and on and on

{Refrain}

Don't stop believing

Hold on to that feeling

Streetlight people

XM Channel 53 - All AC/DC

2008-10-26T05:27:00.000-04:00

UPDATE - In late January of 2009, the ALL AC/DC Channel was retired by XM - it was fun while it lasted!

In the summer of 1980 my cousin Duane could not wait for July 25th that year. That morning was spent rushing to Kmart to get in line for an album release he could not quit talking about from a band I'd only casually known of. He spent an entire days pay from lawn mowing on this record whose album title you could not even make out since the completely black cover had only raised black letters for the name. Upon a closer inspection the name was made boldly clear - Back in Black, AC/DC.

I had never actually heard an entire album from start to finish since my exposure to music was hit by hit from Casey Kasem and knowing the first half of the Top 40 Countdown was a prerequisite for any rising Freshman. Nonetheless, the rest of the summer was spent listening to the album and a music style that I must say I was not all the "In" to at the time; But...... there was something about the grittier Rock with that melodic guitar and distorted sound that spoke to a burgeoning teenager in a way that only such music can.

The haunting chimes from the first note of Hells Bells; the 1-2-3-4, high-hat intro opening the title track, Back in Black; and the then soon-to-be uber popular intro to their biggest "hit", You Shook Me All Night Long sparked something in the both of us that I truly believe can only be lit once. The entire album truly was a work of art. Taken separately each song could easily stand on its own, but like chapters in a book; taking the time to actually listen to each song made the story in the lyrics come alive.

Fast forward 35 YEARS and the passion of that summer's album release MUST have been felt by more than just Duane and I. Two reason;

XM Radio has created an ENTIRE Music Channel (Channel 53) dedicated to only playing music by the band AC/DC 24/7. At first I thought the whole idea of having a channel playing nothing but one band's recordings was crazy, but - I'm already hooked.

On October 20, 2008 - AC/DC released their latest Album, Black Ice. Upon my first listen, the album seems to reach back to the roots of their early 80's feel. While I continue to absorb it, I do have to admit (in a somewhat bitter-sweet way) Back in Black and the experience of that time will continue to sit safely atop the altar of one of my favorite musical experiences.

And Finally - Major kudos to a band that has been making music almost as long as I have been alive! "Let There Be Rock"!!

Financial Crisis 101

2008-10-21T13:32:00.000-04:00

Countless journalists and bloggers have commented on the who/what/when/why of the financial crisis we find ourselves in these days. In trying to make sense of it all, I stumbled upon a compelling series of 3 videos that actually makes things easier to understand.

The videos may seem a bit long at six to ten minutes each, but the presentation doesn't get bogged down in wonky terms or over-simplify things. Also explained are collateralized debt obligations and credit default swaps in similarly easy to grasp fashion. So sit back with that adult beverage that I have a feeling is already in your hand and relax; you're in good hands!

First

Crisis explainer: Uncorking CDOs from Marketplace on Vimeo.

Second

Untangling credit default swaps from Marketplace on Vimeo.

Third (final)

The credit crisis as Antarctic expedition from Marketplace on Vimeo.

Pitchback 101

2008-08-10T05:16:00.000-04:00

Around the age of 8 or 9 my parents and I lived in a small subdivision in Woodbridge Virgina called 'Twin Cedars". The name was cleverly chosen from the two cedar trees greeting residents at the neighborhood's entrance. Looking back, the trees looked nothing like twins at all and I'm not even sure they were Cedars (then again, the recollections of my 9th year are probably a little foggy). A more appropriate name would have been "Quad Barrels Subdivision", since my most vivid memory of the entrance is the perpetual existence of those orange and white striped barrels you see near road construction. OK, enough of my rambling, on to the story.....(Kelly, bear with me...lol)

As with any 9'ish year old, I loved sports and wanted to be the next great baseball or football player. To that end, my parents were cool enough to buy me one of the "Pitchback" devices at which you throw a baseball and it kindly returns the favor to the "pitcher" (at least in theory). Having something to do in the backyard by myself was a godsend for an only child living in a neighborhood known more for its fraternal trees than its stable of baseball throwing 7 - 10 year old boys

The instructions on the box read something like; "Throw ball directly at the red target for the most accurate pitchbacks......". At this point I had to question the premise of this thing's existence. I wanted to learn to play baseball in real games. I mean, wasn't the point of being on a 'team" the fact that we could lift each other up and account for small degrees of variances in our performance. Was it not the job of the person catching the ball to move a little to the left or right if my release was 1 degree off dead center? It adds a little excitement for everyone not knowing precisely where the ball is going to come. Right? ......Ummmm....No!

So there I go, aiming at the red box and throwing what feels like perfect pitches only to have them fly in God-Only-Knows-Where directions. My mom would come out and ask how things were going and I would try to convince her that the one they got MUST be broken. To prove it, I would lumber to my throwing distance, turn around, and let fly a throw that ended up sailing into the neighbors yard. As most loving mothers would do when their child is struggling, she told me she agreed, and that I WAS a better thrower than that, and to come in and have some Tang.

That validation and thirst quencher gave me the boost I needed to throw some more and maybe try to "fix" the now confirmed broken device. And then, something magical would happen about every umpteenth throw. The pitchback would take a break from being bitchy and return to the ball to me in what seemed like an effortless exchange between two totally in-sync minds. It was a thing of beauty............................

As time has past and I've realized that there were some life lessons learned from those hours in the backyard with my new found teacher - Here are a few..................

We truly do get "back" from life, what we "pitch". Just like the ball went way over my head when I got angry to prove my point to mom, life will always kick your ass when you do things from anger, resentment, or pain.

It takes practice and experience to realize that losing your balls can come about from being lazy or being too aggressive. It can be a lazy pitch that bounces perpetually down the driveway, or a hard pitch that flies too deep into those woods that scare the hell out of you; either way - you are minus ONE ball........

That pitch that results in that perfect return IS worth the failures we endure to get there. Those moments of clarity taught in an instant, would never come about if not for all the throws that ended up in the ditch, in the woods, or in the neighbor's yard. Keep trying. Keep Playing.

The ONLY place you'll get Tang after being upset and whiny is at your Mother's. The real word doesn't work that way!

How the Stock Market Really Works

2008-07-31T11:21:00.000-04:00

Here is an 8 minute dissertation by two British pundits giving their opinion on how the stock market really works in layman's terms. They also provide insight into the subprime and mortgage meltdowns from 2007 - 2011. No offense intended with the reference to the mortgagee in Alabama. Enjoy!

My 204 Day Sablogital

2008-07-29T13:24:00.000-04:00

190 Days - That's how many days its been since my last blog post HERE. The sad part is, that wasnt REALLY a blog post at all, but a simple cut-paste post that I sometimes do when I find something interesting. So if you go back to my last "REAL" blog post HERE, its been 204 days. With 204 days to work with, what else Could You (Or Could you not) accomplish?

Make a person? NOPE - It would have to be 9 months for that (not counting the time from now till conception is achieved). I'd give up writing this thing all together if "Offspring" could have resulted from my blogosphere absence .

Learn a Language? According to the Rosetta Stone - Yeppers (at least well enough to travel). Kelly and I have toyed with the idea of going to Italy, sooo..........

Build a Website? Yes.......hey - some can do it in a day. I registered "HeyCPA.com" a while back and have every intention of publishing it this year.

Serve a Prison Sentence? Yep - and 7 months behind bars with Bubba would definitely be quite the deterrent for most people's ill intentions I would think

Write a Book? Yes...I actually did this one during the 204 days - I used Blurb to write one for Kelly and it turned out great - (Hey - I just thought of something to Blog about)

Learn an Instrument? With 7 months and a couple of hours of practice a day, Trey could be cutting hits left and right.......so that's ANOTHER thing I missed out on...lol

INSERT YOURS HERE....

Well - I could go on and on, but the point is, it is amazing how quickly time passes and how easy it is to get sidetracked from your intentions. I have some entries that I will post and possibly "backdate" on here to make them more chronologically appropriate, but let this entry serve notice to all that from Jan 7th, 2008 thru July 29, 2008, I was on a Blog Sabatical. Yeah - that's it - I wasnt being lazy or anything - I was just having "Life Experiences" so as to fill my time with a new inventory of things to write about! There you have it folks, I was on a Sablogital!

9 Words Women Use

2008-01-21T10:17:00.000-05:00

A "Translated" list of 9 words women use...

Fine - This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

Five Minutes - If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

Nothing - This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.

Go Ahead - This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!

Loud Sigh - This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to #3 for the meaning of nothing.)

That's Okay - This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

Thanks - A woman is thanking you, do not question, or Faint. Just say you're welcome.

Whatever - Is a women's way of saying F#%$ YOU!

Don't worry about it, I got it - Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking 'What's wrong?' For the woman's response refer to #3.

Send this to the men you know, to warn them about arguments they can avoid if they remember the terminology. Send this to all the women you know to give them a good laugh and to let them know that men are on to them!

Plays with Mud

2008-01-07T17:35:00.000-05:00

Kelly and I have a friend, Paula, who has her own pottery and craft business called "Plays with Mud". Her talent is amazing! We pretty much took care of Christmas this year with her work; she showed some of it to us when she and her husband invited us over one evening for a drink or three with some friends. I'm not sure if it was the alcohol, or her salesmanship, but we'd placed 4 orders within no time and felt damn good about it! In looking at how Paula's eyes LIT up when she talked about her crafts, it was obvious this was definitely one of her passions.

I wondered then, if there would ever be a point in my life that I would be so lucky to find a passion in some activity of mine that I not only could share as freely with others, but also make some money at such that people couldn't WAIT to pay me for it – she has certainly nailed both criteria. And the name – "Plays With Mud" - perfect! Granted, Paula and my wife, Kelly, name products for a living at their employer, Addison Whitney; but the name has a subtext that goes beyond any professional advantage she may have had in the art of coming up with descriptors….(I learned that term from Kelly too).

Every word in the name plays a part in conveying the message of what she does;

"Plays" – This gets us started right off the top with what we ALL want in life – To Play! She could have easily said "Works with Mud" or "Builds with Mud" or even "Creates with Mud". But none of these capture the innocence or frivolity of "Plays". Right out of the gate, we realize that this is about bringing FUN to your life and taking things that make us smile and putting them into an object that has much more of a chance at immortality than us all, and reminds us of that which we want most out of life…..to Play.

"With" – The transitory term takes us gently to the end with camaraderie and collaboration. No using "At" or "To" or "On" or any other word here that lends one to think of Control or resistance; It would be useless to try and imply that the creator does anything other than go WITH the flow of the material and take the moment she is in, to create a unique and individual piece each and every time.

"Mud" – It's dirty, it's real, it's the REAL beginning in a FLUID form that takes shape with intent, vision and effort – it's LIFE. So in analyzing Paula's name, I had to think, what would I come up with?

Well – I am going to work on that this year, but I thought I'd throw a few out there just for fun, although based on the list, it's obvious I need to leave this to the professionals!

Kisses on Kelly
Shoots with Trey
Laughs among Friends
Works on Spreadsheets
Drives a Jag
Vents at Gym
Runs on Treadmill
Shops at Harris Teeter
Dances at Villa
Plays on Guitar (alt = Piano)
Sleeps under Pillow

"Hey Gaston......"

2008-01-05T14:23:00.000-05:00

"Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post.
Edit or delete it, then start blogging!"

And with the previous sentence I finally have my "own" official website. Up till now, Wordpress.Com was "hosting" my earlier "gastondefx.wordpress" blog HERE.

As of today (Jan 5, 2008), I had successfully migrated the blog to here, a self-hosted Wordpress blog on HeyGaston.com. The idea of the URL name came from a friend of ours, so imagine my surprise when the URL was available. I tried to get "heykelly.com" for my wife, but it had been taken.

Although not to stop the Wilson tradition of documenting the crap out of everything, I've been VERY proud of my wife, as she has spent a lot of hours pimping out her Facebook and MySpace pages. In that spirit, much of my life's documenting has been occurring on Facebook. In looking at my last post on May 6, 2007, its sad I've not taken more time to write. The previous day (May 5th) WAS our wedding, so I think there is a good excuse for taking some time off to ease into our new life togehter. Nonetheless, I may "backtrack" some posts on here to maintain the integrity of the timeline. I've actually been considering doing that with events going back much further than just the gap b/w the wedding date and now. I mean, come on - if you look here (the "Censure" post), you'll see a date from 1990, a post whose timestamp was obviously adjusted from the date it was written to the date it actually occured (circa anyway). Maintaining the timeline just seems to make sense.......

OK - All for now - Check back often!

Dynamic Named Ranges in Excel

2007-05-31T17:35:00.000-04:00

When using named ranges for pivot tables (among other things), I find myself constantly having to update the area of the spreadsheet referred to by the named range. This renaming occurs as a result of my adding new raw data to the table, or editing the table's Column/Row layout. When researching possible solutions, I came across this article at Ozgrid. The gist of it is to utilize the "OFFSET" function to select the range's dynamic limits. By managing the Column and Row Count with the OFFSET function, each change to the data or the table is reflected in the range. Here is the formula to enter into the "Refers To" box of the named range setup:

=OFFSET($A$1,0,0,COUNTA($A:$A),COUNTA($1:$1))

A few things to keep in mind when using this approach;

Make sure your data is anchored at cell A1. Adjust the formula as needed if the anchoring (the upper left corner of your range) is located elsewhere.

Make sure your data range is "clean" meaning that each cell in the Header ROW and the Header COLUMN (first column) has data in it. Blank cells will result in the "COUNTA" function used above to return an erroneous number.

Delete any extraneous data below and to the left of the intended range.

The Named Range will NOT appear in the Dropdown Box right above the A1 cell that gives us quick access to select named ranges; its primary use will simply be in formulas.

Excel Phantom Links

2007-01-18T15:48:00.000-05:00

Excel may be asking you to update links when you do not even know you have any. Below is a strategy to detect links you may not be aware of:

Unhide any hidden Worksheets first. Then right click on any sheet name tab and select "Select all sheets". Now go to Edit>Find and in the Find What: box type: [*] also select Formulas from the Look in: box and click Find Next. This will find any formulae referring to another Workbook.

Go to Insert>Name>Define and scroll through the list to ensure no named ranges are referring to another Workbook.

Go to each sheet and ensure you have no linked Pictures, Charts or Controls.

Go to Edit>Links and select the file name under Source file, now click Change Source... In the "Change Links" dialog locate the Active workbook, ie the one you are in now, select it and click OK. This will force the Link to refer back to itself. If you get an error go to step 5!

Open a new Workbook, save it as any name. Create a real link to it from you problem Workbook. Now go to Edit>Links and select the file name (not the newly created file!) under Source file, again click the Change Source... button but this time select the newly created Workbook from the "Change Links" dialog and click OK. Now Save the Workbook and delete the real link you created and save

If this strategy does not work, go HERE which will give you instructions on downloading a wizard to help.

This article capsulizes best practices discussed here at www.ozgrid.com.

Touching words from the Mouths of Babes

2006-11-27T15:46:00.000-05:00

I've seen several versions of the following lists, but this one seemed to capture some of the best. I thought as we get in to the holidays, this would be a great reality check and provide a compass to point us in the direction of the real meaning of the season.

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?" The answers they gotwere broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined;

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love." Rebecca- age 8

"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth." Billy - age 4 (I love this one)

"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other." Karl - age 5

"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs." Chrissy - age 6

"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired." Terri - age 4

"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK." Danny - age 7

"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss" Emily - age 8

"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen." Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate," Nikka - age 6; (we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)

"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday." Noelle - age 7

"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well." Tommy - age 6

"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken." Elaine-age 5

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford." Chris - age 7

"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day." Mary Ann - age 4

"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones." Lauren - age 4

"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you." Karen - age 7; (what an image)

"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget." Jessica - age 8

And the final one;

Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry".

Facts Simile of Analysis

2006-10-18T22:24:00.000-04:00

When providing clients and decision makers relevant financial analysis from historic data, we have a tendency to highlight and report the aspects of the data that supports the known outcome.

Should this be the case?
What is the true goal of financial analysis?

We all "analyze" things all the time, but how should we as financial managers and decision makers use our everyday analysis to drive our business interests and decisions.

Websters defines analysis in three statements;

The separation of an intellectual or material whole into its constituent parts for individual study.

The study of such constituent parts and their interrelationships in making up a whole.

A spoken or written presentation of such study.

Leave it to Mr. Webster to give us the basics, nonetheless, and as it always seems to be, the basics in this case are where we should focus. This essay will "analyze" (no pun intended) the three statements above and relate them to financial analysis.

Breaking it Down

ESPN SportsCenter has a segment called "Breaking it Down". These are attempts by the sports analysts at explaining why one particular team won over the other. The segment basically takes a series of "freeze frames" of a game and uses a cool looking graphic to single out some particular aspect of the image.

For example, they'll show a simple series in a basketball game where one team brings the ball down the floor and takes a shot. The point ESPN makes is that just before the shot was taken, the defense was in "such 'n such" a position, and the offense was in "this 'n that" position, creating the conditions for the shot.

His analysis will attempt to highlight the positive "trend" of one team's performance over another during that series. The assertion is that sum of these individual "series" created the "whole" of the game. If the winning team's positive series outnumbers the other, then the winner can be supported be those individual performances.

It is always interesting to me how the announcer can confidently make a case in determining "Why" the team won. Upon watching the game, the reality "seems" to be that the game came down to a last second shot to undo a one point difference. If the last second shot is made, Winning Team A is regaled as heroes, while Losing Team B is accused of choking. If the opposite happens, the roles reverse.

Would the analyst have supported the "other" potential outcome if the last second shot result was reversed? Absolutely! Even though all of the events that the announcer may have highlighted on behalf of the winner in scenario A did happen, they DON’T support the result. Therefore, the analyst seeks information to support the outcome. The point here is that the outcome is NOT due to the last second shot, BUT due to the sum of the parts of ALL events, up to and including the last shot.

Using the F-Lock and restore function Keys on Microsoft keyboards

2006-10-17T18:34:00.000-04:00

My new keyboard from Microsoft, the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000, while very useful and easy to type with has one big flaw. The function keys (F1 - F12) displayed along the top of the device lose their base functionality by default.

The old functionality is replaced with "new" functions as assigned by Microsoft.

So as to not leave you on complete suspense the quick solution is to use the "F Lock" key located just to the right of the F12 key (on mine anyway).

Using this is equivalent to the"Caps Lock" for letters. Activating the F Lock key restores the original functionality of the "F" keys that we've all come to know and love.

The rub on this is that each time the computer is turned off/restarted, or the Keyboard is unplugged, the F Lock key must be pressed again to initiate its use. Good Luck!

Our Photo Shoot

2006-09-02T17:47:00.000-04:00

Kelly and I finally got to meet our friends and get some photos taken today. We've always wanted to get some "Professional" photos done by someone that didn't make us feel like we were auditioning for a low budget adult film and we finally got lucky with a friend of a friend of ours. In any case, we think the photos from the shoot turned out GREAT, (although I am sure we are a bit bias), but the most important part is WE HAD A BLAST! Check out a small slideshow we put together Here on Phanfare.

Trip to Myrtle Beach in August 2006

2006-09-01T19:47:00.000-04:00

We went to the fabulous beaches of Myrtle this past week. "Ernesto" decided to drop us a visit on our next to last day, but all of the rest were full of sunshine, eating, relaxing and simply recharging the batteries! Oh yes - And Monkeys!! Click here to go to our photo album from the week.

Deep Thoughts - Beer vs. Make-up

2006-08-30T20:30:00.000-04:00

Click on the image for a bigger view of.....HIS beer or HER make-up.

The Kenny Floyd - "....and the crowd goes WILD!..."

2006-08-29T23:24:00.000-04:00

Kenny Floyd is a local musician performing in the Charlotte region and parts of both Carolina's. Click on the image below to see a slide-show from one of our nights out to see him and featuring a song called "Flat Bed Truck" from his latest album, "Water".

His web page has a lot of great material about who he is and what he does, but in my humble opinion, seeing him wherever he is playing will be time well spent. We got some photos of him at the closest venue he plays near us is the City Tavern at Stonecrest in south Charlotte. We try our best to be there whenever he is and thoroughly enjoy every occasion. If you like *LIVE* music, love a blend of classic cover songs, improved lyrics and original material that you will catch yourself singing afterwards, watch out for him playing near you and make the trip! Here is a link to Kenny's MySpace

A Rose by any other name.....

2006-08-29T01:42:00.000-04:00

OK - it may not be the best title to this hilarious entry but CHECK THIS OUT. Kelly got an especially huge laugh at these since she works in verbal branding and reviews product and branding names to make sure they don't end up becoming the fiascoes presented.

The link is to a list of very funny website names that are REAL (try them). I think you'll see why it's so funny - but to get you started, try this one- www.penisland.net.

Once again, for the link, CLICK HERE.

Loan Amortization Calculator

2006-08-23T19:18:00.000-04:00

Below are two Excel spreadsheets which will calculate the amortization of a loan after manual entry of Purchase Price, Down Payment (nets with Purchase Price to obtain Loan amount), Interest Rate, Loan Period and Loan Start Date.

The resulting table details the amortization of the entire loan for each month of the loan’s life. Also provided, is a summary table highlighting the total cost of the loan and the cost of the purchased item (including the down payment). When you open the document using the link below, make sure you save a copy first, as the file will be “Read Only”.

The first file uses named ranges and named formulas to calculate the resulting table. Its quite interesting to review the Conditional Formating that produces the borders and cells.

Download the Loan Amortization Schedule Here

The second spreadsheet is essentially the same with the exception that no named ranges were used to create it. One added feature is a summary table that presents, by year, the loan's activity.

Download the Loan Amortization Schedule with Summary Here

Try them both out if you are unsure what you want. Enjoy!

Snakes on a Plane Philosophy

2006-08-19T22:05:00.000-04:00

Someone named "Max" left me a comment about the "Snakes on a Plane" philosophy. The post is about a year old, but with the upcoming movie release staring Samuel L. Jackson, it’s still fresh! The basic gist of the philosophy is that the term "Snakes on a Plane"= Sh*t Happens". If you’re looking for a new philosophy for the upcoming Fall season check it out!