• Intro
  
• Just For Website Owners & Builders - And Comments by Peg Hausman
  
• The Office Corner
  
• Giveaway Stuff
  
• Grammar Question
  
• Tech Tips by Terence Kierans - PowerPoint and Word
  
• Tech Corner
  
• Writing Corner
  
• Trivia
  
• Word of the Month - Chiaroscuro
  
• OfficEtiquette - Ruthann Clemens - Motivation, Part 2
  
• Judy's Corner
  

* Stay tuned! One of my clients, Father Joe Sica, puts in a guest appearance on ABC's "Life with Bonnie" show Friday evening, February 27. If you have an upcoming appearance on radio or TV, drop me a note.

* Gerry McGovern's article on how words come before looks in Web design is very interesting reading.

* I made a new friend recently. Got a wonderful email from Peg Hausman and I'm sharing it in the area where I usually run an article. Enjoy.

* Congratulations to Rod Ruhlman (Thailand), whose name was chosen from the monthly book drawing! Want a chance to own a Merriam- Webster's dictionary? Go to http://www.ossweb.com/freebook.html

1. WORDS COME BEFORE LOOKS IN WEB DESIGN. If you have a website, you'll want to read this superb article Gerry McGovern. http://www.gerrymcgovern.com/nt/2004/nt_2004_01_19_ad2.htm

2. FROM PEG HAUSMAN: I was referred to your site by Merry Bruns of our local electronic mailing list for DC-area publications professionals. I've enjoyed looking it over and got some good ideas from the reference lists. I hope you won't mind if I take the opportunity to recommend two of my own favorites that often get overlooked:

* MERRIAM-WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY OF ENGLISH USAGE--a fabulous resource that pulls together what respected language mavens say about various contested points vs. what usage actually is (and has been over the ages; its English quotes go back to Alfred the Great). It gives you enough info to let you decide for yourself which way to go, based on your audience, your ideology and your sense of style. Came out in 1989 but still extremely useful. I don't always totally agree with it, but in my opinion it leaves all other usage guides in the dust.

* THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY WRITER'S GUIDE TO STYLE AND USAGE--readable, intelligent, and about as comprehensive as 838 pages allows it to be. It covers some of the same ground as the Chicago manual--in less depth, but many writers don't need all Chicago's detail--along with a good deal of other material. Addresses major problems of usage, grammar and style, followed by very helpful sections on text preparation, production and printing. Came out in 1994; they're doing a revision now, I believe.

Also, the same folks (EEI) who came out with the NYPL book produced another useful volume--E-WHAT? A GUIDE TO THE QUIRKS OF NEW MEDIA STYLE AND USAGE--in 2000. I don't often have occasion to use it, but it looks pretty decent.

I don't work for or with any of these people--just have worked with writing (teaching and editing) for a long time and have found the Merriam-Webster usage guide, in particular, indispensable.

HTH and thanks for maintaining a great site. Peg Hausman

1. SMALL BUSINESS UNIVERSITY: Small Business University offers opportunities for busy professionals worldwide to learn from businesses and publishing experts throughout the United States: online. It offers a variety of teleclasses and Web conference classes in Small Business Management and Independent Publishing.
http://www.smallbusinessuniversity.com/sbu/

2. NEWSBUZZ, INC.: offers a variety of Public Relations services to individuals, businesses, and public relations professionals.
http://www.newsbuzz.com/newsbuzz/

3. QUOTATION MARKS: According to A Writer's Reference by Diana Hacker, you may use quotation marks to set off words, rather than underline them. (Underlining indicates italics.) It uses this example: The words "accept" and "except" are frequently confused.

GIVEAWAY BOOK! Subscribers are eligible to sign up to win a copy of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (11th edition) with a CD-ROM.
Sign up at http://www.ossweb.com/freebook.html

Q. When can I use phrases like "at the time that," and "at the time when," and "at present"?

A. According to Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition (5.202), these phrases are turgid (think "pompous") substitutes for "currently," "today," "now," and even "nowadays." If you MUST use one of the phrases, use "at present," since it's least suggestive of "bureaucratese."

YOU CAN SET DEFAULTS FOR AUTOSHAPES IN POWERPOINT.
If your style(s) use a specific fill color, line color, line style or shadow for each AutoShape in a presentation, you can set these attributes as AutoShape defaults. Each AutoShape you create will then automatically use these attributes.

To do this, draw and then select an AutoShape. Click the "Draw" button on the Drawing toolbar and choose "Set AutoShape Defaults". Every shape you create will use these attributes, even if you change the attributes for another AutoShape.

WORD: FINDING ALTERNATE WORDS
One of the tools incorporated in MS Word, to help improve your writing, is a full thesaurus. This tool enables you to find alternate words with the same meaning (synonyms), words with the opposite meaning (antonyms), or related words. To find a synonym:

1. Position the insertion point in the word you wish to check/change.
2. Press SHIFT+F7.
3. In the "Meanings" list, select the word meaning that is closest to your wished-for meaning of the word.
4. In the "Replace With Synonym" list, highlight a synonym for your word.
5. Click "Replace".

Terence Kierans
Cyberspace Virtual Services
tkierans@virtualservices.com.au
http://www.virtualservices.com.au/
We keep your project on the boil, while you sleep

1. LEARN HTML & CSS AT BLOOBERRY
http://www.blooberry.com/indexdot/html/index.html
http://www.blooberry.com/indexdot/css/index.html

2. CGI RESOURCES: WILLMASTER
http://mastercgi.com/

3. PUT YOUR WEB PAGES ON A DIET: CHRISTINE CHURCHILL
http://www.marketposition.com/mp-0104.htm#TWO

1. TIPS FOR INTERVIEWERS:
http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/ROHO/rohotips.html

2. TIPS FOR THOSE WRITING ORAL HISTORY:
http://www.oralhistory.org.uk/advice/
DOING ORAL HISTORY:
http://www.gcah.org/oral.html

3. NEWSBUZZ: Educational resources for small business owners and independent publishers.
http://www.newsbuzz.com/newsbuzz/

1. FREE HEARING TEST:
http://www.freehearingtest.com/core.shtml

2. FLAG OF FREEDOM CONTEST: National Geographic Explorer invites you to enter the Flag of Freedom contest, presented by the Pentagon and the U.S. Army. Write an essay of at least 100 words that answers the question: What does the American flag mean to me? Deadline: April 30, 2004. Who may enter: Legal residents of the United States (currently living within the continental U.S.) who entered grades 3-6 in the 2003-2004 school year may enter. Only one entry per person.
http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngexplorer/0401/contests/

3: FOLK DANCE ASSOCIATION:
http://www.folkdancing.org/

Main Entry: chiar·oscu·ro
Pronunciation: -'skyur-(")O, -'skur-
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -ros
Etymology: Italian, from chiaro clear, light + oscuro obscure, dark Date: 1686
1 : pictorial representation in terms of light and shade without regard to color
2 a : the arrangement or treatment of light and dark parts in a pictorial work of art b : the interplay or contrast of dissimilar qualities (as of mood or character)
3 : a 16th century woodcut technique involving the use of several blocks to print different tones of the same color; also : a print made by this technique
4 : the interplay of light and shadow on or as if on a surface
5 : the quality of being veiled or partly in shadow

*By permission. From Merriam-Webster's Collegiate(R) Dictionary at www.m-w.com by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.

Motivation Continued

What do you think of when you hear or read about a "Significant Other"? Everyone presumes it refers to a spouse or the special person associated with someone in a life situation. Few, if any, would consider your boss and working environment as the Significant Other. Here are just a few thoughts to consider:

* In a relationship both parties must contribute 100% all the time. This is true of a business. If the owner is not putting 100% into his working situation how can he expect to receive 100% from the employees? Treat Employees fairly, not equally.

* Expose your employees to new ideas and business concepts. Let them know that you are open to suggestions and are willing to learn with them.

* Expand leadership skills through Internet exposure and traditional classes. Make this available to everyone so your talent pool will grow.

* Show every person and department they are important. Try to have every employee understand the "entire business operation."

* If you as an owner of the company feel good about yourself, and you display this healthy demeanor, then others in the company will "catch" this feeling and start to feel good about themselves.

Are there any experiences you would like to share or comments you'd like to make?

Ruthann Clemens
Marketing Coordinator
Rouse Arizona Center, Phoenix, Arizona

1. FOR THE BIRDS. Recently I bought a loaf of bread that tasted exactly like sawdust (or what I perceive the taste sawdust to be). We tried making toast: it was still awful. I decided to be nice share it with my little feathered friends in our back yard. They all tried it, and finally drilled each piece out to the crust, but they refused to eat it. My offering for the birds was for the birds.

2. LOST GRANDDOG. Recently one of our Colorado granddogs, Juneau, went out for a run and didn't return. For five days family and neighbors searched the hills above and around their home. Nothing. Then my daughter emailed me: "Juneau is home! She somehow got locked in a vacant house that is nearby. The house had been vacant for quite some time, and lately there have been some workers over there and--I think--leaving the doors open. Well, Juneau must've gone in the house and they didn't know it, left, didn't come back till today then they found her!" Isn't that good news?

3. DOCTOR'S OFFICE. My husband recently had hand surgery, and as we went to the first appointment with the surgeon we spotted this clever sign in the reception area:

        If you are grouchy, irritable, or just plain mean,
        there will be a $10 charge for putting up with you.

Have a happy month! See you in March.

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