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QR Code? Do I need one?

April 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The short answer? Why not? These little black and white graphics have been popping up everywhere and more and more people seem to be interested, so if you’ve got something interesting to embed in one, I say go ahead.

But what are they?
QR stands for “Quick Response” and they are a black and white, two dimensional graphic that you scan with your smart phone that has all kinds of information embedded in it. It could be a coupon, contact information, a URL, a location using Google Maps (very cool!) or any other data.

How do I scan them?
First you’ll need a reader app. I use QR Reader for iPhone. There’s a free version, but if you hate the ads, you can upgrade to no ads, for 99 cents.
Visit the app store for your particular smart phone and search for QR Reader and choose whichever one appeals to you. Once you have your app installed, simply open it when you find a code you’d like to scan, place it over the image and your camera will automatically scan from within the app. If you’d like to try it now, here’s a QR Code that I generated. It’s my contact information that will go directly into your phone book and a memo that tells you about a secret code for a major discount on my services.

QR Code? Do I need one?

Do I need one?
Again, why not? There very easy, free to do and they might come in handy. My favorite place so far to create them is Delivr – again… Free, easy and I like that they have the contact information option. You just fill out the information, click “generate” and you’ve got the code to embed into any page.

One Last Thing
Make sure you’ve got interesting data to embed. Whether it’s a coupon code, or promotional text, or whatever, make sure that your data is interesting, otherwise people are just going to get mad that you wasted their time.

Lots of camera phones are also able to read these. Here’s a comprehensive list and instructions for lots of phones.

Need more help with this? Want to track it? Then, please consider contacting me for a quote. I’d love to work with you!

*Reprinted from ChristineLeiser.com



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Retail Therapy

March 10, 2011 By 10 Comments

On Saturday I went to a new store in town on the recommendation of a very good friend and all I have to say is that she was so right about this store.  It’s called Retail Therapy and it’s full of gorgeous kitchen and dining appointments as well as more home kitchen gadgets than I have ever seen in one place. When I walked in I was very warmly greeted by the proprietors, and we started talking about gadgets and cooking, canning and baking.  These ladies really know their stuff and they were so friendly and helpful that I immediately felt right at home. I bought the cutest honey pot, some coasters that say “It’s Wine O’Clock” (I know!  Cute, right?), red and white striped pot holders and a red oven mitt, a bamboo salt cellar and I could have bought at least a hundred other things, but I decided that I didn’t want to blow the whole kitchen budget for the year in that one trip and I know I’ll want to go back again and again.

When Staci asked me if I’d be interested in reviewing an item in their store on ColorMePink, I jumped at the chance!  She chose this Enameled Lemon Juicer by Harold Import Co. and I was thrilled to take it home and try it out.

I’ve never used a juicer before, I usually use my hands or a reamer and I have to say that I was really surprised by the amount of juice I got using the juicer.  I had two scrawny limes that I wanted to juice for the Swiss Chard and Kale Saute.  I was shocked that I got 1/2 cup!

chardkale3 300x234 Retail Therapy

The next day I decided to juice some lemons for salad dressing and mayonnaise.

retail1 300x208 Retail Therapy

Isn’t that pretty?  I just love the color!

And, I got almost 7 oz. of juice from three medium lemons.

retail2 300x204 Retail Therapy

And there wasn’t anything left in these lemons! They’re literally turned inside out.

retail3 300x208 Retail Therapy

The juicer is very comfortable to hold and very easy to use.  I have arthritis in my hands and squeezing this was very easy, much easier than I expected. It’s  so pretty that I’ve been leaving it out on the counter.

I love the juicer and I love Retail Therapy and I’m so happy to have such a great store in Ocala.  Be sure to stop by and tell them Christine sent you!

Retail Therapy
2370 SW College Rd
Ste 102
Ocala, FL 34471

 



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Print Friendly, Events and Editorial Calendar WordPress Plugins

February 23, 2011 By 5 Comments

A couple of plugins that are not new, but that I just love are Editorial Calendar, Print Friendly, and Events Calendar.  I haven’t blogged about them but I thought I really should share just how useful and inventive they are.

Editorial Calendar is one that people have been talking about for a long time.  I was a little late to the party and I’ve only been using it for a couple of months, but I have to say it has made a world of difference.  I know, at a glance, what drafts I’ve got that need to be finished, what’s scheduled, and what’s due.  If things change, the drag and drop ability to reschedule makes things incredibly easy.  This plug-in keeps me accountable and when I see a week’s worth of blank boxes, I know it’s time to get to work!

calendar 300x131 Print Friendly, Events and Editorial Calendar WordPress Plugins

calendarplug 300x140 Print Friendly, Events and Editorial Calendar WordPress Plugins

Print Friendly – I have been trying to find a solution to the problem of people who want to print my recipes, but don’t necessarily want my header, footer and sidebars and maybe don’t even want the photographs in order to save on ink.  I’ve had a lot of different things set up for this, but nothing seemed to work for everyone, or in every browser, and one just didn’t work at all. You have the choice of sending to the printer, PDF file or email and you can delete images one at a time, and even whole paragraphs. The post URL is in small print under the post title, making it easy for the user to remember where the information came from.  This one seems to be working in all circumstances and it’s an elegant, easy solution.

printfriendly 300x133 Print Friendly, Events and Editorial Calendar WordPress Plugins

Events Calendar – This one is indispensable!  I maintain a few websites for musicians and listing their gigs and venues was quite a challenge at first.  I tried many, many, many different plug-ins and services and this one is by far, the easiest, nicest user interface.  Easy peasy and it produces a lovely calendar for the site visitor.  You have the option to add notes about the venue, performance, recurring events and even google map to the venue.  Really cool.

event1 300x125 Print Friendly, Events and Editorial Calendar WordPress Plugins

event2 300x125 Print Friendly, Events and Editorial Calendar WordPress Plugins



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Zinio Magazine Newstand and Reader for iPad

January 19, 2011 By 4 Comments

A couple of years ago, I canceled all my subscriptions to magazines.  I just couldn’t stand the idea of all that paper.  I’m not the best recycler, so I thought it would just be better if I didn’t get them. When I got my iPad, I didn’t really think about magazines, but then I found this app and I’m such a happy girl, because the truth is, I love magazines and I really missed them.

Zinio works on iPhone and iPad, but I can’t imagine trying to read a magazine in magazine format on the phone.  On the iPad however, it’s just beautiful. Sign up for a free account and when you open the app, you’re presented with three choices; “Featured”, “Library” and “Shop”.  The “Featured” option shows you categories that you can choose from to read an article from different magazines, to see if the magazine is something you’d like to purchase.  They change and add more pretty often so there’s plenty to read right away without buying a thing.  As of now you can also get a free trial subscription on some magazines.  I chose Food Network magazine and although I always enjoyed the print version, the digital version is even better!

zinio3 300x225 Zinio Magazine Newstand and Reader for iPad

In the “Library” section, you have all of your magazines.  I don’t have that many right now, I’m really trying to consciously decide what I want to spend my money on and how I want to spend my time.  (It’s a theme for me this year).  I love that if you have more than one issue, it looks like a pile of magazines as seen below in my Food Network subscription. You can search by date or title.

zinio1 300x225 Zinio Magazine Newstand and Reader for iPad

And shopping is lovely.  There is an exhaustive list of magazines to choose from and you’ll pay about what you would expect for the print version.  Like digital books, I love that you can keep your whole library at your fingertips, referring back to them if you need to.

I absolutely love that the publishers are really starting to understand the medium and I’m seeing more and more interactive content.  The simplest things, like being able to click the link in an article rather than having to write it down and actually remember that I wanted to check it out.

zinio2 300x225 Zinio Magazine Newstand and Reader for iPad

It’s easier to read too, than the print versions, giving you the same zooming ability that you have with websites and digital books.

zinio4 300x225 Zinio Magazine Newstand and Reader for iPad

Taking a closer look at the Mac Current Lineup.

zinio6 300x225 Zinio Magazine Newstand and Reader for iPad

The only problem I’ve had is that when you purchase a magazine or subscription, and you choose the “paypal” option, it goes right to credit card. I tried a few times and it just wouldn’t work, so I used a card.  Also, if there’s a way to bookmark a page in the magazine, I certainly can’t find it. All in all, it’s a great app and I’m very happy with it.



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iPeriod for the iPad

January 13, 2011 By 4 Comments

This one’s for the girls, so if you’re a little sensitive to the subject of fertility or menstrual cycles, you might want to just click away. Ok, still here? This app is a bit of a departure for me, but I downloaded it for *ahem* personal reasons and I was so impressed with it, I had to share it. I’ve been having some issues that may or may not have something to do with my age and a hormonal imbalance and I’ve been tracking my cycle on a calendar my whole life, and switched it to digital when I got my first copy of MS Outlook 24,000 years ago. I’ve since switched to iCal, but recently started to think that maybe I wanted to track a little bit more information. I did a quick search in the app store and found iPeriod Free – there is an upgraded version for $1.99 that has graphs and more options for customizing the interface, but for my needs this app did the trick. The interface is really nice, clean simple graphics, appealing colors, the opening screen shows  the date of your next expected period and how many days remaining of your cycle.

iper1 300x225 iPeriod for the iPad

The next screen is your calendar page. The green shading shows your fertile days, the pink circles your period (or your projected) days. Each day you have the opportunity to record your mood, whether or not you had cramps, how heavy the flow was, spotting, whether or not you had a “love connection”. It even tells you which day is best to do your monthly breast self exam

iper2 300x225 iPeriod for the iPad

Next is your “summary” page which includes your next expected period, average cycle length, duration, dates and any notes you might have made in previous months.

iper4 300x225 iPeriod for the iPad

In the “Next 12″ screen you can look ahead at your projected periods or your expected fertile days.

iper4 300x225 iPeriod for the iPad

In your options screen, you can set up alerts, change the appearance, back up your information, as well as other options for tracking your fertility.

iper5 300x225 iPeriod for the iPad

I found this app to be perfect for my needs and I assume that if you’re trying to get pregnant it would be helpful. I did read a review that stated it wasn’t enough for someone undergoing fertility treatments, so if that’s what you’re looking for, you might want to investigate it further with someone who knows more about that.

I’m considering the upgrade, but really only because I love graphs.



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