StorMan eNews Issue #21
May 2010 Edition |
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Greetings, %%Facility name%%. Welcome to eNews issue #21 and the start of May. With about 120 days of the year already gone, it's amazing to think how quickly time has flown this year.
As well as our usual suite of regulars, we take a trip over to StorMan UK to talk to Chris about volcano's (and rabbits), and we flashback to one of our first-ever blogs. We also check up on Timm and his first week at StorMan USA.
As usual, if you have any comments, ideas or suggestions, just get in touch with me via andy@storman.com. Until next time, happy surfing! :-)
 Regards,
Andy & the StorMan Software Team
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Please be advised that StorMan Australia will be closed on Monday 3rd May for the Labour Day public holiday. During this time, our international offices will be able to provide support assistance for any queries emailed to support@storman.com.
If you require telephone assistance, please call your usual number and you will have the option to leave a voice message (our global teams will have access to this system), or just select the option to connect the call to one of our other international support offices.
As normal, 24/7 self-help is also available via myStorMan.
Thank you. |
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CDR is a StorMan acronym, which stands for Custom Designed Reports (our custom report-builder). You can find the Custom Designed Reports function on the bottom of the MoreReports menu in StorMan.
Nb. Our 'Acronym of the Month' data is often sourced from Wikipedia & various other online sources. |
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| Volcanoes and Hypnotizing Rabbits |
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Volcanoes and Hypnotizing Rabbits (by Chris at StorMan UK)
For all that read this who aren't directly involved in the UK, I'll quickly sum up what has been keeping the satirists busy since my last blog.
The volcano eruption in Iceland had closed all airspace over Europe, stranding thousands abroad... although, on a positive note it made my BBQ last Sunday a bit more peaceful (yes, we do have BBQ’s here occasionally!).
We also have a general election due in May, with lots of politicians giving their normal antics to win votes. All of the newspapers are full of exclusive stories about their private lives - all contradicting each other, of course. On a lighter note, some crazy Cornishman has been hypnotizing rabbits (not to be confused with the 200-foot pink bunny on an Italian mountainside... yes, the one you can see from space)...
Continue reading Chris's post online...
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Hi all ...and thank you all for the awesome well wishing and great send off.
I arrived early one Sunday morning Los Angeles time and what a day to start off a whirlwind first week! My first stop was Union station and whilst waiting around for the train to my new home, the LA marathon ran past.
Far too energetic for me, as I had just got off a 14 hour flight so I settled for a coffee, then grabbed some lunch at Olvera Street markets (world famous in LA) which was phenomenal to say the least after 3 meals of airline food, and the fact that it was the longest day of my life.
I left early Sunday morning, traveled for 14 hours and arrived... lo and behold... early Sunday morning! But I digress. If you ever visit, I definitely recommend this little cafe at the end that had people queuing all morning. Add a raspberry iced tea to wash down your tasty meal. I knew it would be good when I saw the locals eating there.
From here it was onto Riverside on the Amtrak train and for those of you unfamiliar with this mode of transport (especially Victorians) just imagine a cheap public transport that was on time, not full of Looney's and had comfy seats, didn't break down half way to be replaced by buses and was staffed by courteous people who actually cared how your trip was and cared that you arrived alive.
For those of you in Queensland reading this just pretend I got a limo as none of those qualities pertain to Queensland Rail (QR). Imagine how good the Reds would be if they were sponsored by Amtrak not QR (rant over, I promise).
Anyway, I had hit Riverside on time and a day ahead of Wayne, so I had a site seeing half day all to myself. After a few hours I had seen all of Riverside and had read all the plaques and was ready for a well earned nap.
The next few days were a whirlwind - but the highlight was the CSSA (Californian Self Storage Association) networking dinner. We arrived early to setup & young Erin and the glowing Brenda soon had us stretching our legs after the 2.5hr drive. It wasn't actually that far, but the traffic in L.A is as bad as they say.
They made us stretch our legs by promising us the best cupcakes in all of L.A. Luckily we made the trip which seemed only slightly shorter than the marathon a few days earlier (full credit to Erin who continually repeated "Only 2 more time over the horizon and we will be there"), but we were more worried about Brenda given her advance pregnancy status however the lure of the famous cupcake was too much...
Continue reading Timm's post online...
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Be sure to continue reading this post on our website to see additional photos!
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Have you ever wanted to visit a website to quickly look up a manual for your old video camera, or download a driver for your computer, only to find that you have to "create an account" and login?
BugMeNot comes to the rescue, by instantly providing disposable login details for any popular website that forces you to register first. There's even a Firefox add-on for it!
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| Computer Tip of the Month (Windows PC) |
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Change your clock to 24-hour format
If you check the lower right-hand corner of your computer screen, you'll likely notice your clock is displayed in standard 12-hour format. If you would prefer to use 24-hour time, here's how to change it...
1. Navigate to your Start Menu and open the Control Panel.
2. Locate the 'Region & Language' settings icon and open this section of the control panel (on some versions of Windows, this section may be entitled 'Date, Time, Language & Regional Options').
3. If you run Windows 7, set the 'Short time' and 'Long time' dropdown's to a sequence beginning with a capital H (a capital 'H' means the system will display 24-hour time and lowercase 'h' means the system will display 12 hour time). If you run another version of Windows, click the 'Customize' button instead, select the 'Time' tab and change the lowercase 'h' to a capital 'H'.
4. Click 'Apply' & 'OK' to save and close the various dialogs. Your Windows clock should now be in to 24-hour time. |
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The first video aired on MTV was "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles in 1981.
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Study this paragraph and all things in it. What is vitally wrong with it? Actually, nothing in it is wrong, but you must admit that it is most unusual. Don't just zip through it quickly, but study it scrupulously. With luck you should spot what is so particular about it and all words found in it. Can you say what it is? Tax your brains and try again. Don't miss a word or a symbol. It isn't all that difficult?
Stuck? The answer is in the next issue!
Answer to last month's brainteaser: Fill the pipe with water from your water bottle and the ball will float up to the top. |
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This month's exclusive offer for StorMan eNews readers:
Purchase six months of StorMan automated Online Backups and get a seventh month free!
Internet Backups represent one of the most cost effective add-on modules that StorMan can deliver to you, the end user. Offsite backups are, at the best of times, a problem for a lot of users.
With this in mind, StorMan has simplified this process by allowing the end user to set an offsite backup to run directly from within the software. This means that you now have the power to protect yourself against disasters such as a facility fire, computer breakdown or loss of data.
Offer valid for uptake between 1st May 2010 until 31st May 2010. Valid for eNews readers only. Upfront payment required. Valid for both new & renewing Internet Backups customers.
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| Agent Darran's Latest Gadget |
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 Hi there - I'm Darran, one of StorMan's Technical Support Agents. Each issue, I'll trawl through the deep depths of the internet to find you a funky piece of software, hardware or other interesting technological trinkets.
Key Tool
This handy key ring / key sleeve device (aka The Key Tool) features some very handy in-built tools... including a bottle opener, nail file, two screwdrivers, tweezers and wire cutters - just to name a few.
Nb. All 'Latest Gadget' information & imagery is sourced from online entities & supplier websites. StorMan generally doesn't endorse, own or test any of these products; we merely link to them as you might find them interesting for your own use... |
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This month's Facility of the Month is Safeway Self Storage, located on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. We recently caught up with Helen for a quick chat...
AP: "How long have you been with Safeway Self Storage and how long have you been using StorMan for?"
HR: "Safeway Self Storage opened their doors to the public some 10 years, 4 months and 29 days ago and I have had the pleasure of being here since its inception, now completing my '10 year probationary period' (according to the owners). StorMan came on board from day one and if there's one thing I have learnt with our software, it is the key requirement to the operation of our business."
AP: "What's your current role at Safeway and how many units do you manage?"
HR: "I manage our state-of-the-art facility, which was built in 4 stages. This allowed us to assess the needs and popular sizes as requested by our
customers. We now total 786 storage units, which are all on the ground floor!"
AP: "Other than Self Storage, what other services do you provide?"
HR: "We sell an extensive range of packing material to meet all packing needs - but we also provide something that's more emotional than physical - which is a high standard of customer service. For our customers, the bonuses of storing with us are: 24/7 access, 24/7 security monitoring on each individual unit, and a majority of units that have dry and sun-free access, thanks to our 'all-weather covered
driveways'."
AP: "Anything interesting about your area, or the building itself?"
HR: "Our facility is in an idyllic location facing onto a main arterial road but with a difference having plenty
of parking out front in our cul-de-sac with our easement to the service station providing drive-thru traffic.
All of the popular clothing factory outlets (e.g. Billabong, Rip Curl etc) are next door - which is a great draw card for exposure and public awareness!"
AP: "What do you like about StorMan?"
HR: "Without StorMan, we would not be where we are today. The importance of software cannot be under estimated as it is the engine to your office. StorMan, like us, have continued to strive with improvements to meet the ongoing growth and demands of the facilities and industry. They also provide back up support in times of need which is equally important. "
AP: "If there was one standout feature, what would you say it is?"
HR: "I would have to say StorMan's friendly service from all the team. Nothing is ever a problem for the guys and they go that extra mile to make sure they resolve your problem (with a smile I'm sure!). The other contributing factor to their service is their prompt back up support when things need that urgent attention. Perhaps the most welcomed feature was the introduction of MultiUser system, which allows multiple users to have access at any one time. StorMan continues to improve with their technology, realising the customers requests for new features. Definitely the best software out there on the market in my opinion... go StorMan!"
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Many thanks to Helen and the team at Safeway Self Storage on the Gold Coast for their time and input.
If you'd like your facility to be featured as a Facility of the Month, please email andy@storman.com and request an information pack. This is a free service to StorMan clients.
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Safeway Self Storage
Gold Coast Meter Maids
Safeway Self Storage
Lightning hitting Q1 on the Gold Coast
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This month's "Monthly funny" is of a very unusual car modification...
Have you got a joke or funny pic to send us?
Please let us know! |
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If you're a regular on our website's News & Blogs page, you'll often see some great posts from guest bloggers such as Claire (of the Self Storage Association of Australasia) and Malcolm (Westlink Consulting).
Following the success and popularity of their posts, we're excited to announce some additional guest writers coming on board in the near future. Keep an eye on our News & Blogs page and the next few issues of eNews for more details! |
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This month's flashback is to one of our first online blog posts; an article that Andy wrote way back in November 2007 about our Online Payments System, called StorPay.
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StorMan eNews is a monthly publication designed & compiled by
Andy P. + guest writers, and is ©
StorMan 2010. E&OE.
We use publicly available sources (web sites, magazines, news
clips, etc) to help write our newsletters, and provide links where
possible. All prices quoted, if any, contain GST (unless specified otherwise). |
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Please visit us online at www.storman.com/contact/ for full contact information. |
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