Always Well Written Websites and Marketing by Jim Carr

Automatic Southwest Check-in

2010-10-13T21:06:00.000-07:00

SW Software Development, LLC, a Phoenix based software development company, has just released their automated Southwest Airlines web check-in software. The software is a free download and is to be used for passengers of Southwest Airlines desiring to use Southwest's web check-in service unattended.

After downloading and installing the software on a Windows based computer, users enter their flight details including confirmation number, passenger name, and the airport and flight times. The software can be used for a one-way or round trip. After saving these details, a task is added to the software's Scheduler tab. The user then minimizes the software, which is then left running and is accessible via the Windows taskbar.

Approximately 36 hours before the flight is scheduled to leave, an e-mail reminder is sent to the user so that the task can be canceled should the user not be taking the flight. At 24 hours before the scheduled flight, the software connects to the Southwest Airlines website from the user's computer and performs the web check-in unattended. An e-mail with the boarding pass is sent to the user. Passengers can also print boarding passes at their convenience from the Southwest Airlines website or via kiosks at the airport terminal. The software compensates for the airport time zone and daylight savings time, so users can leave the software running on their home computer while they are away.

Jim Carr, Chief Technology Officer for SW Software Development, commented, "I love Southwest Airlines, but their boarding process can be stressful, especially for those with families. You can't always be at your computer when the check-in window opens. You could do some complicated scripting yourself - our software just makes it easier for you."

MySouthwestCheckin is currently running an introductory special of $1 per check-in. This is a limited time offer.

Automatic Southwest Check-in Script/Software.

Southwest Automated Web Check-in

2010-09-08T22:43:00.000-07:00

SW Software Development, LLC, of Phoenix, Arizona, has just launched a new service to assist people in the on-line check-in process for their Southwest flights. Southwest opens up their web check-in window 24 hours before the flight departs. There's always a mad scramble to check in as soon as the window opens. Why? Because with Southwest Airlines, there are no assigned seats. If you want to get a good seat or sit with your wife and kids, you'll want to be in an early boarding group. If you're even just a few minutes late checking in, you may get a lousy boarding group.

Enter MySouthwestCheckin. You download the free software and pay a small fee on their website for each confirmation number you want to check in. Just fire up the software on your computer, enter your flight details, then minimize the software. It runs in the background, and when the window opens up, the software goes to Southwest's Web Check-in page and automatically fills out the information for you and e-mails you the boarding pass.

It couldn't be simpler!

Camelback Vista Apartments

2010-06-25T22:42:00.000-07:00

If you're looking for a great apartment in the Camelback Corridor, check out Camelback Vista Apartments. It's a family owned, gated community located about 1/2 mile south of Camelback Road in 32nd Street. The grounds are immaculate and always well maintained. There are other features as well:

All Two Bedroom Units Have Two Full Baths
Vaulted Ceilings
Individual High Efficiency A/C
Free Hot Water
Spacious Closets
Ceiling Fans

They are offering move-in specials, so give them a call today!

Phoenix Website Design

2010-06-10T23:30:00.000-07:00

One of the must frustrating things about designing a website is finding somebody who understands your business. After all, a website is really a portrait of your business - a first impression, if you will. If you don't make a good impression, visitors will happily move on to another site. One of the best in the business is Jim Carr. Trust me, this guy's good.

Jim has a lot of experience working with different types of businesses, from medical to legal to government to banking to real estate, he's seen it all. With years of experience as a systems analysts, Jim quickly finds out what your business is all about, and uses that information to create a website that will make your business even more profitable.

You can also visit Jim at his website or search for Phoenix Website Design on Google.

Craigslist Posting Service

2010-05-11T00:12:00.000-07:00

Craiglist Posting Service
A single ad on Craigslist can easily garner 200 views in a single day. The problem is that there are so many ads that after a few days, your ad might as well be gone. This is because Craigslist presents the ads in order by date. After about two days, you will get very few views for your ad. What to do?

Post to Craigslist Daily
Smart businesses pay a Craigslist Posting Service to post their ads daily. For about $50 per month you can have your ad posted seven days a week. That's easily about 1,000 to 2,000 people viewing your ad weekly. About 5% to 10% of those people will click through to your website to learn more.

Create Good Looking Ads
The ordinary ads that Craigslist creates automatically are not easy to read. They all look the same, and there's very little branding. Craigslist offers the option to create ads using a limited subset of HTML code. The best ads make use of HTML to display your information in a pleasing and easy to read manner.

If you're not posting to Craigslist every day, you should be. Get started today!

Replacing Windows

2010-04-29T22:09:00.000-07:00

Replacing windows and windshields is a job that requires attention and skill. After all, if you don't do it right, you can end up with a leaky window that will let in rain and outside air. Nobody wants that! There's a lot more to it than just slapping a little putty in there and calling it a day.

The best thing you can do is call in a professional. They have all the right tools, and chances are you don't. Why buy a tool you may only need once every five or ten years? Worse still, you may not even realize you don't have the right tools for the job and spend hours doing something that should only take a few minutes.

Handling the glass properly is a skill in itself. It's easy to accidentally break or damage the glass if you're not extremely careful. If you're already frustrated by the job at hand, it's easy to make a mistake. If you break the glass, you have to have to buy new glass. If a professional accidentally damages the glass, that's their loss, not yours.

I suggest you call Magestic Glass if you're looking for glass and window installation in Phoenix, Arizona or the surrounding areas. They have an excellent reputation and great pricing.

Hair Extensions

2010-04-16T00:52:00.000-07:00

Hair extensions are a great alternative for women who want longer hair but just can't seem to get long, thick lustrous hair on their own. One common method of getting hair extensions is to use ExtenTube. In this method extensions are put in a strand at a time with a copper tube laced with silicone to protect your natural hair.

These extensions last three to four months wtih proper care. This is the only technique (aside from weaving) in which no chemicals are required. The ExtenTube system is well-known for its stability because coloring, perming, blow-drying and ironing. This is due to the metal tubing being such a durable product. This method typically includes 125-200 strands per head.

Of course, trying to find a master hair extension stylist is not easy. There aren't a lot of them around because it requires a significant investment of time and training. One stylist I recommend is Ashley, who installs hair extensions for clients in Phoenix and Scottsdale. Her website is very informative, and she's great to work with. She uses the ExtenTube method primarily, but you can discuss other alternatives during your consultation.

Website Design and Programming

2010-04-10T02:50:00.000-07:00

Great websites help you make money. If you don't have a great website, then get one. Don't do it yourself. That's just crazy. You're good at your business, right? So hire somebody who's good at their business.

Websites need to load fast, provide useful information, and inspire confidence. Customers do their due diligence on the web before making that phone call or sending an e-mail. If they have to wait for your site to load, they go somewhere else. If they can't find answers to their questions, they hit the next site. If they stick around, it's because your site says, "You can trust me to deliver as promised."

This website design company in Phoenix can do all of that for you. Not only can they can handle the artistic and technical aspects, but Jim Carr is an excellent writer. He'll talk to you about your business and help you present it in the best light possible. It's one thing to get visitors to a site. It's quite another to get them to buy. Trust an expert!

The Appeal to my Suspension

2010-03-05T14:38:00.000-08:00

Darat is abusing is power again. Just yesterday I sent a complaint e-mail to James Randi and D.J. Grothe (President) of the JREF complaining about the abusive conduct of Jeff Wagg. I guess it took a day to filter down to Jeff and subsequently to Darat to once again kick me off the JREF. Or maybe I am paranoid, like Jeff says.

The following is the appeal I have submitted. Decide for yourself.

I appeal the following:

Edit:
http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?postid=5686812#post5686812

Infraction & Suspension:
http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=169156

The thread is about bias in closing FM threads. Darat in one of his posts in the thread in question wrote:

Well yes and no. The "yes" is the fact that someone, for example, who kept opening a thread about something they've been told not to do so would be treated differently based on the warnings they have received, but in the more general sense, it's a "no".

The text that was removed from my post was an example of [I]exactly[/I] what Darat described in the quoted paragraph. How can it be off topic for Darat to discuss it but not myself?

In my infracted post, I presented further evidence of bias in thread closures, which is exactly that the thread is about. I dealt specifically with how many threads are left open, which is a direct answer to Darat's question of "in what way" do Plumjam's statistics indicate a pattern of bias. The infraction was for Rule 11. and for the life of me I cannot see how answering Darat's question in the thread is a Rule 11 violation.

Tempe Condos for Sale

2010-03-01T01:13:00.000-08:00

Tempe Condos

If you work in Tempe, Arizona, you should live in Tempe, right? Well, these days you can find great deals on condos in Tempe, but you have to know who to ask. The Tempe Condo Experts are the best source of information around.

Seriously, when you think Tempe Condos, think Tempe Condo Experts. Do you know what a condo is? Well, simply put, when you buy a unit (often called a condo) in a condominium, you will essentially own everything from the walls inward. You will own a shared interest in the common property with all of the other homeowners. You will have the same rights to the pool and grounds as everyone else.

You will own an interest in the condominium association and with that have an obligation to pay monthly dues that will cover such things as water, sewer, garbage collection, landscaping, as well as a contribution to the reserve fund for planned maintenance projects. In many ways this is no different than owning a single family home. You pay for trash collection. You either maintain your yard yourself or pay someone else to do it. And every month you put away some money knowing that someday your roof will need replacing.

My Sanctioned Post

2010-02-01T13:49:00.000-08:00

This is the text that is simply too awful to be visible on the JREF Forums:

I can't tell if you're just wanting to prolong an argument, having difficulties with English, not paying attention, or are just not all that bright. None of those scenarios is appealing to me.

General Contractors in Phoenix

2010-01-12T12:39:00.000-08:00

If you own your home and plan to stay in it for a while, now is a great time for home improvements. There's a lot of competition among general contractors in Phoenix as well as around the country. Word on the street is that they are making bids, but homeowners are not pulling the trigger. Use this as leverage to get the best possible price for your project.

One local general contractor in Phoenixyou might want to look at is Fusion Design and Development. They list their Better Business Bureau link right on the home page, so you know they take customer service seriously. You can check out their photo gallery to see the type of work they do.

Of course, you should get bids from other contractors as well. Let them know you're doing this. If you have one contractor you prefer, give them a chance match the lowest bid. It can't hurt!

Alenara's Real Identity

2010-01-12T12:05:00.000-08:00

Ever wonder who Alenara was? You know, the breatharian from Sweden who toured Poland telling people that they could live on air? Turns out she moved moved to America to attend the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. It also turns out that Alenara has adopted a new identity - VisionFromFeeling.

Fortunately, Alenara aka VisionFromFeeling aka Anita Ikonen has come to the attention of skeptics. If you click on the link, you will find a website devoted to stopping Alenara/VFF/Anita from spreading her nonsense. Real people can and do get seriously hurt from this breatharian nonsense. Sure, you may not think so, but take a look at all the other crazy things this woman is telling people. Is this someone you would trust about anything serious?

Red Mountain Homes in Mesa, Arizona

2010-01-12T11:34:00.000-08:00

Shopping for a home is never easy. One of the first things you must decide is where you want to live. Some people "limit" their search to an entire state. Others look for homes at the city level. Still others narrow it down to a part of the city. The smart home shopper looks in specific neighborhoods!

The trick is finding a Realtor who knows the area. Many agents today realize how important it is to specialize in a few areas. It's better for their clients, and it's better for their business. Take Jaime Robinson. She recently started a website specifically for homes in the Red Mountain area of Mesa, Arizona. She has a number of hand-picked listings for the neighborhood. She's now the "go-to" agent for that area.

So, when you're looking to buy a home, think locally. Maybe you'll find a nice neighborhood like Red Mountain and never have to worry about moving again!

Tempe Condos - Sound Investment?

2009-09-23T22:53:00.000-07:00

If you are a student at ASU, you'll need a place to live somewhere in Tempe. What are your choices?

You could live in the ASU dorms. As you well know, that can be pretty expensive. It can easily run $6,000 per year for a dorm room. If you're fortunate, you get a private bathroom. If not, you're stuck sharing a public bathroom.

What happens after the school year is over? Where are you going to live then? If you're intention is to go back with your parents, then there's no additional outlay. Otherwise, you have to find a place to stay. Expect another few thousand dollars in rent. Regardless, that means moving an extra couple of times per year.

You could rent an apartment. This, too, will cost several thousand dollars per year. There are plenty of apartments in Tempe, and some are better than others. One downside of living in an apartment is that your neighbors come and go. You never know who is living next to you. And since nobody in an apartment has a vested interest in keeping it nice, things can go downhill quickly of the property manager doesn't stay on top of things.

Your best bet is probably a condominium. One of the best resources for Tempe condos near ASU are the Tempe Condo Experts. Their website explains the ins and outs of condo living. In addition to useful information about financing, they offer searchable listings for condos near ASU.

When you pay rent, you never get that money back. When you buy a condo, you're making an investment. Real estate almost always appreciates over time. A modest increase of 4% per year on a $100,000 condo is money in your pocket when you go to sell.

Condos have other advantages. The neighbors are usually homeowners, so they care about their property. Unlike the dorms, you get a real home, not just a room. And if you're looking to stay in Tempe after you graduate, your fixed rate mortgage will be the same as when buy the home. Rents for apartments will almost always increase year to year.

Anita Ikonen - Very Strange Woman

2009-08-19T21:41:00.000-07:00

A woman calling herself Vision From Feeling came to my attention several months ago. She is a wannabe psychic, human MRI, healer, ghost whisperer, and psychic, but she likes to say she's a skeptic. What a bunch of nonsense.

After a few months I realized that VisionFromFeeling (real name Anita Ikonen) was dispensing potentially dangerous advice to people based on what are probably delusions and wishful thinking. People like Sylvia Browne and others do this all the time. Nobody ever tries to stop them until they have a fan base.

So I decided to create a website to stop Anita Ikonen before she had a chance to establish herself in the woo economy. You can visit the site and read all sorts of claims she has made from smelling urine inside the body to hearing red blood cells scrape agains veins to speaking with Ben Franklin to viewing a person's internal organs.

Crazy stuff, really.

High Yield Interest Checking in Phoenix

2009-07-22T22:34:00.000-07:00

Looking for a good, high-yield checking account in this economy. There's a Phoenix bank called Bank 1440 that is offering a 5.01% checking account (up to $25,000). The requirements seem easy to meet. Yo nave to use use your debit card several times per month and set up an automatic payment/withdrawal. No big deal for someone like me.

What's with 1440 anyway? From what I understand it stands for all the minutes of the day. You can bank 24 hours a day with them. Their on-line banking software is made by Intuit - the company that makes Quicken. It's easy to use and from what I understand exports data to Quicken quite easily.

Craiglist Posting Service

2009-07-22T21:42:00.001-07:00

One of the very best methods for renting or selling real estate is through Craiglist. They offer categories for apartments, homes for sale (by broker and owner), commercial real estate and even vacation rentals.

The key, however, is to post to Craigslist every day. There are so many posts that your ad will get very few views after about a day. After the second day rolls around, no human eyes will see your ad. The problem is that most people won't take the few minutes required every day to post an ad.

One option is to pay a Craigslist Posting Service company to do it for you. Not all companies are created equal. Some specialize in trying to spam Craigslist and engage in a game of cat and mouse. Other companies, like the one above, are not interested in spamming. They follow the rules and won't risk having their accounts blocked from posting ads.

Using a company like this for making your Craigslist postings is an economical way to sell or rent real estate.

Condos in Gilbert

2009-06-13T23:40:00.000-07:00

Looking for a great place to live and work? Try Gilbert, AZ. Gilbert was established in the 1890s, but it is still a modern and attractive city. Gilbert shares the same weather as Phoenix, which is to say about 7 inches of rain and 310 sunny days per year. You gotta love that!

If you'd rather not buy a house, check out some Gilbert Condos that are currently for sale at Ikon Hayfield. It's a great place! The landscaping is gorgeous and best of all, the maintenance people handle it! Ikon Hayfield is ocated near shopping and the highways, so everything seems close by.

These condos offer four floor plans from which to choose: Two one-bedroom models and two two-bedroom models ranging from 756 square feet to over 1,000 square feet. Many units have attractive upgrades including Wilson Laminart counter tops.

If you're looking for Gilbert condos, give them a shot.

Tempe Condo Experts Review

2009-06-03T22:10:00.001-07:00

Here's a great review of the Tempe Condo Experts website. Jill and Jaime, your experts, have created a new website to help buyers and sellers of condos in Tempe, Arizona. There's lots of great information on their site.

2009-05-29T23:28:00.000-07:00

State Farm Insurance was established in 1922 as a local car insurance company. In the ensuing years it has expanded into, well, let's just way one heck of a big company. I have no doubt that part of their success has been due to their agents.

When I was growing up, my father had a solid relationship with our State Farm agent. I remember him sponsoring one of our football teams when I was very young. My father was a loyal man when it came to those who treated him well. He passed that on to his kids.

When I moved out at the age of 19, it was time for me to handle all my insurance needs on my own. Naturally, I chose the same agent that my father used. So did my two brothers. Throughout the years, even up until his death, my father stayed loyal to this agent.

However, since State Farm agents are local, I had to break my relationship and pick a new agent. So where to find a State Farm agent in Scottsdale, Arizona? It took some asking around, but I found a great agent in Mike Bengson. Like many State Farm agents, he has a solid reputation.

My relationship with State Farm is pushing 25 years now. I think that says a lot.

ASU Students - Consider Condos in Tempe

2009-05-16T23:10:00.001-07:00

Tempe, Arizona, is a great place to live, especially if you are an ASU student. One of the best options for a student is to buy a condo in Tempe. Condos, like most real estate, usually appreciate in value over time. Short term market fluctuations may affect the price, but over the years homes tend to increase in value.

By contrast money paid in rent is simply money down the drain. It's purely an expense. Living in the ASU dorms is even more expensive. Students who are serious about their future should look at Tempe condos when considering their living arrangements. There are some FHA programs that require little money down. There is also something called Kiddie Condo Loans which allow parents to help their children with the purchase.

Condos offer a number of advantages outside of the purely financial considerations. Like an apartment, the grounds are kept up by the association. Most complexes have swimming pools and other amenities. But unlike apartments, the residents are usually more stable. Because they have a financial interest and a personal interest in the complex, it's usually a more pleasant and productive place to live.

Car Insurance Explained

2009-05-16T22:54:00.000-07:00

Do you understand what car/auto insurance is all about? Are you frustrated that you pay for years and don't get anything out of it? You have to understand that insurance is, well, insurance. It's there in case something happens.

For example, your state might require that you have $50,000 in liability insurance. That way, if you're at fault in an accident, the other persons will have a guaranteed pool of $50,000 from which they can collect damages. You pay premiums to have access to that $50,000. You could get around this, of course, by putting $50,000 into the bank and taking the legal steps required for the state to accept that as insurance.

Do you have $50K you could leave in an account for years and years? Most of us don't. Even if you do, what happens if you cause an accident that requires $20K in payments to the other party? First, you're out $20K. Then you have to put another $20K back into the account to be self-insured again.

What insurance companies do is collect relatively small premiums from a large number of people. Your premiums pay for accidents caused by other people. Likewise, their premiums pay for your costs when you are at fault. If you never cause an accident, you may feel like it's money down the drain. It's not. The money was there if you needed it. Also, the premiums kept you from having to accumulate a large sum of money just for the privilege of driving.

There are a few basic types of car insurance. The linked article to the left gives a pretty good overview of these basic types. A little knowledge can go a long way.

Getting Started

2008-11-06T22:25:00.000-08:00

Finally, it's time for me to enter the world of blogging. Better late than never, eh?