The Edge of Empty

As I am winging my way home from the FARA Symposium. I thought you might enjoy more pictures of A E getting involved with our bathroom remodel. Last week, A E was peeking out of this hole which happens to be the drain for our shower pan after it was removed. In that photo, you can see that the hole is not much bigger than his head. We have discussed A E's affection for the drain previously.  Upon the shower pans removal, A E showed his capacity for squeezing into tight places. And then getting out again. I don't know how he does it, but he does and he is usually quite proud of himself.

I'm not in the office this week because I have been at the FARA Symposium in Albuquerque.  In preparation for being away, I wrote the post below and had it queued up to automatically go live at the appropriate time. On Monday, Public Safety Corporation(PSC) held their annual Users Conference and let me tell you that some brilliant things are on the way. If you missed the conference, you can read about some of the exciting news  here . During the meeting, they asked if there were things that users would like to see added to CryWolf®.  Of course, I have a list at the office of things I would like to see, but one thing that has been weighing heavy on my mind is how to reduce our postage costs.  This is especially critical for my unit since we have already exceeded our postage budget and there are still a few months to go this fiscal year.  In pursuit of a solution, I have been examining ways to do more correspondence through e-mail, but was in a dilemma because not all citizens have

The annual FARA symposium day two started out with a great session moderated by alarm industry folks.  This session was designed to educate public safety on what the alarm industry is doing to reduce the number of false alarms.  FARA is very fortunate that some major industry leaders are willing to get involved with its mission. Several of the panelists were board members of industry associations and actively involved in working at the national, state, and local level. There was a lot of great information provided, but one of the best things brought out was the value of Enhanced Call Verification (ECV) in reducing false alarms. If your state or locality doesn't require ECV, this is one change that can dramatically reduce false alarms. Another issue mentioned was the problem solving that industry is undertaking to combat hurdles that new technology is bringing such as the dilemma caused by alarm users disarming a system with a smart phone before the alarm company has been able to

If you are in false alarm prevention and aren't in Albuquerque, then you are missing out on a great opportunity to learn, network, and have a bit of fun. The 16th annual False Alarm Reduction Association (FARA) Symposium has begun and the fun is just beginnning. The President opened the symposium with an introduction to the Board Members and a round of applause for all of the sponsors. This was followed by a presentation of the new website and the FARA Forums by the chair of the Website Committee.  The Conference Committee announced a sneak peek of next year's  symposium in Orlando. A super presentation  by the Albuquerque Visitors Bureau gave all a bit of history and some places to see while here.  A round of Autograph Bingo gave attendees a fun way to meet other attendees and learn a bit about them. There is so much to come and I will be updating throughout the week.

One of the advantages of using the CryWolf® alarm billing software is the excellent customer service that they provide. This customer service is available on a daily basis through our rep. However, the company also extends that service with a   User's Conference held each year in conjunction with the FARA symposium .  This demonstrates their commitment to long term relationships with their customers. It also shows their commitment to FARA's mission also. At this meeting, PSC often reveals exciting updates to CryWolf® and shares tips and tricks to make using the system easier. Today's conference was no exception and there are some exciting features already available with more coming soon.  I don't want to steal their thunder, but I was told that I could mention some things. (And just between you and me, it was exciting to have PSC mention my blog and say that they liked it), One of the big changes coming this year is the new website that they will be revealing. Some o