The Edge of Empty

AE climbed in too his travel carrier and looked up as if to say "Let's go". I guess he is ready for Ferret Fridays to get going again.

I am glad to report that tastes in Norfolk, Virginia, aren't all  unusual  as evidenced by the mecca of goodness pictured below. I know that many of you will dispute my favorite caramel colored beverage as the elixir of life. And for you and your life, that may be true. But for me, the day doesn't begin until an icy cold Coca-Cola has been opened and I have heard that beautiful  sound  that only carbonated beverages can make. (BTW, the sound even has its own  Facebook page . And just to keep the blog educational go  here  for the science behind the sound). I have always said that it is a good thing that I wasn't around back when it still had  cocaine  in the formula. There is no need to lecture me on the dangers of soda--this is my one bad habit and I have no desire to break it.

I grew up in the Deep South so I am very familiar with the strange concoctions that Southern cooks make from tomatoes. However, I have never heard of the item advertised on this sign by the restaurant Taste in Norfolk, VA. I must say that it doesn't sound like a good thing, but this recipe from Simply Recipes may change my mind. Anyone out there ever tried Tomato Pie or have a recipe to share?

After posting the picture yesterday , I decided to check out whether a mate could be purchased and introduced to "Swanee". It appears that Swanee's future is bleak since he is a Mute Swan  and many states consider mute swans to be an invasive species making it illegal to introduce them to the wild. Invasive or not, they are expensive. I found one site that sells them for $1180. So Swanee will be staying single unless a mate happens to fly by and stop in. I did read that sometimes mute swans are used to discourage Canadian Geese from sticking around. I wonder if the homeowner's association invested in a little "goose proofing."

SWM seeks SWF for lifetime monogamous relationship. Must love nature. For at least the last four years, the swan pictured below has taken up residence in a pond in our neighborhood. There is something so stately, and yet sad, about him. Knowing that swans mate for life, I have often wondered if something happened to his mate.  I also wonder how he will ever find a new mate when he is the only swan living here. Of course, like so many others who grew up in the 70's, I read  The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White . This may be why I assume that the swan is male. I have no idea, and it could just as easily be a female I suppose, but it wouldn't change that fact that he/she is alone. Although he often can be seen swimming near the Canadian Geese and the ducks that also inhabit the pond, does he feel like the ugly duckling ? With a new road that runs in a more direct path to the highway, there is no reason to drive by the pond these days. Nevertheless, I find myself taking t...

I had the opportunity to speak about alarm systems and false alarms at a self-defense workshop for women this past weekend. The event was put on by one of the members of the county board of supervisors. There were 13 speakers slotted to speak in a 2 hour period, so we only had a few minutes each. As you can imagine, each speaker had to distill their comments to the most important points. I decided to focus on the following questions: Do you need an alarm system? Take advantage of free home security survey offered by many departments Evaluate if you will actually use it Consider low-cost alternatives such as upgrading locks and lights How do you choose an alarm company? Use resources such as the Better Business Bureau Check with neighbors Don't be afraid to move away from the beginning of the alphabet Check professional associations such as ESA for members What do you need to do after install? Learn how to use the system Follow the maintenance schedule Educate al...

A young mother named Jennifer Black-Moir asked Will Wheaton to explain to her new daughter why it is awesome to be a nerd and then she put it on YouTube. Since I am a bit of a nerd and I gave  birth to an outright geek and a semi-geek, this really hit home. His response was thoughtful and lovely, and worth a few minutes if you are or love a geek/nerd/unique individual. Enjoy!

A few years ago, I took a job with a police department to become a fingerprint technician. As with many government jobs, the advertised position varied a bit from the actual position and one of my main duties was to staff the front desk of the station. Since I worked the midnight shift, there wasn't a lot of foot traffic. As time passed,  I took on many interesting duties such as calibrating alco-sensors and tasers just to keep busy.  There was still down time though, and I began reading blogs when I couldn't find any other duties. One of my favorite law enforcement related blogs was "The Chief's Corner" written by Tom Casady who was Chief of Police in Lincoln, Nebraska at the time. He has since moved on to the position of Public Safety Director and the blog has been retitled " The Director's Desk ." One of the reasons I found his blog so fascinating was that he appeared to be so technology savvy. At my station, I was the closest thing to a tech ge...

I'm sure that most readers understand by now that I spend a lot of time using CryWolf® to do my job. Without this tool, my job would be infinitely more time consuming and a lot more difficult. I am always thrilled to learn how I can use CryWolf® to be more efficient--especially when I don't have to teach myself how to do it. Needless to say, the annual CryWolf® users conference has become one of the highlights of the year for me. I truly appreciate that Public Safety Corporation (PSC) has chosen to have this training in conjunction with the False Alarm Reduction Association's (FARA) annual symposium. I have met individuals from several jurisdictions that are introduced to FARA because of this scheduling choice. It also allows jurisdictions to gain more value for the money. But enough about that, I know that you are reading to find out what is new and exciting in the world of CryWolf®. PSC announced last year that a new client section of their website would allo...

It is 6:45 am on the first day of the 2013 FARA Symposium. The schedule for this year is jam packed with sessions that sound fantastic, so I know it is going to be a good week. Yesterday, I attended the Board Meeting and the CryWolf® Users Conference which I will describe for you later. I will be heading down soon to sign in and take my contributions for the silent auction. I love this part--it is always so much fun to see what people donate. This year, I brought a Longaberger® tissue basket set and a set of wine glasses with a vacuum seal top with the county seal of my jurisdiction embossed on them. (The picture of the wine glasses was unusable and showed a bit too much of my jurisdiction and the basket picture isn't great--I will redo it later if I have a chance). I am hoping that there will be some fun stuff to bid on--the money all goes to support the FARA Institute so I will bid on something, but I prefer to buy something that I really want as opposed to just bidding on r...

Depending on how your auto process is set up in CryWolf®, it is possible under certain conditions for a process to not work exactly as planned.   This is usually because somehow we humans goof it up by not doing what we are supposed to do.   For example, when I was away for this year’s FARA symposium , the auto process routine was not run daily since my assistant was also out of the office.   This by itself was not enough to upset the auto process since we have a 7 day period to cover absences.  However, the days that it took to get caught back up on our return did exceed that limit.  (In my unit, we don't process alarms or send delinquent notices until payments and new registrations are entered).  Because auto process wasn't run, t his meant that a group of permits that should have received renewal letters, did not receive those letters. Unfortunately, since only permits that expired on one day were affected, we didn't notice immediate...

One of the great features of CryWolf® is the hints and tips that are available right in the software.  Going other places to get information and help is nice (and I do appreciate that you are stopping by my little blog), but don’t neglect the helps that are available right on your desktop.   For example, when you click the “Search” box to find an account (red arrow below),the “Search Options” pop up window opens. Two oft overlooked buttons in this window are the “Options” button (pink circle below) and the “Instructions” button (aqua circle below). When the options button is clicked, the additional search options of “Where” to search and “Type” of search appear.   As shown below, the “where” (brown box) option allows the user to search the “Main Account”, the “Responsible Party”, and “All Related Records”.   The “type” search (green box) allows a default, Soundex, or MetaPhone search.   ( The Soundex or MetaPh...

Change is good, right?  Well, not always.  The last time I updated the look of "The Edge...", I went for the dynamic views template.  I thought it would be fun for everyone to be able to choose how they wanted the blog to look.  Sounded great in theory, but it wasn't working for some. Or me for that matter if I tried to show somebody at work a post.  So, back to simple.  I hope this helps if you were having trouble.  If you have issues with this style, please let me know.  I will miss the dynamic views, but I would much rather that my readers be able to access the blog.

Sometimes, A E can break your heart with a look.

The other day, a member of my staff came upon two accounts that appeared to have the same permit number.   After review, it was discovered that one number differed by a comma--and that the permit number just happened to be the same as the house number for the alarm site.   We decided that someone must have attempted to do a search by entering the house number in the account number spot instead of the search box.   We came to this conclusion because of the comma—as you know, an address search using the house number requires that pesky comma.   Obviously, we couldn’t have two accounts with the same permit number so it was necessary to change the account number on one of the accounts. The easiest way to do this is using the “Change Account Number” option on the "Options" tab. Once in the "Change Account Number" screen, it is simple to enter the number to be changed.   CryWolf®  allows you to assign the new number or use the “Assign Next Account...

A pile of dirty clothes in your boy's room makes a comfy bed if you are a ferret. This picture pretty much sums up how I would like to spend my summer--completely relaxed. That won't happen for me, but A E Ferret is quite happy to pick up the slack in the snoozing department.

Today's pictures mark the end of a year of Ferret Fridays. When I first started sharing photos of A E Ferret, I had no long term plans so to reach a year is quite surprising.  A E Ferret has been with our family for 17 months.  I just realized that he joined us just a month after my taking the Alarm Administrator position.  It has been quite a ride. A E has been our helper and inspector every step of the way during our bathroom remodel.  Here, he is inspecting the sink plumbing shortly after the install. We wonder if he can smell the water.  After all, drains are his favorite place to get a drink.

A E Ferret doesn't miss anything that goes on in our house, and he has been in the middle of all steps in our bathroom renovation.  Here, he is inspecting the bucket and sponges after we grouted to see if we cleaned them out to his standards.

I can't  believe that two weeks have gone by without a new CryWolf® tip.  I do my best to post a new tip each week, but if work is crazy, as it has been lately,  I sometimes don't get the chance.  If you are unfamiliar with the world of blogs, it is possible to subscribe to my blog so that you are notified when something new is posted.  Using the tab on the right hand side will allow you to choose which option suits you best.  My personal preference is to use Google Reader.  This way, all the new posts from the blogs I follow are collected in one place for me to read when I have a chance. This also saves the frustration from checking a blog when nothing new is posted. Here is a simple video from Google explaining Google Reader. The other option is to use the RSS (sometimes referred to as R eally S imple   S yndication, but is technically an R DF S ite S ummary) feed which will send new posts to your email inbox. However you choose to find this ...

A E Ferret loves to help around the house.  Of course, his definition of help doesn't always match mine.  The other day, I knocked a container of oatmeal off a shelf.  A E then "helped" by rolling in it and spreading it out over the whole kitchen.  Here he is looking on and seems to be saying "I didn't do it" And, here, he is just thoroughly enjoying a good roll. They say oatmeal baths are good for itchy skin--I am not sure this is what they meant.