Stan Leduc

If you want a good head start to writing a business letter, head over to www.businessletters.com

Many people struggle to commence writing their dream piece of work simply through a fear of writing something stupid.

The easiest way to do anything is to simply start.   No matter how it looks in the beginning it is always easier to correct a draft of something, than be constantly chastizing your mind for never have started in the first place.

I have read many books regarding how to write successfully, yet the one message above all else that helps you write successfully is simply the act of writing.

Do not judge the end piece of writing by other standards but by how it improves for you after each draft.

It’s analagous to that golf pro who reminds you not to aim directly for the pin, instead, just try and get it between the trees lining the fairways.

The art of perfection is incremental steps.  

Good luck. 

Webscript.com was sold at Sedo in the early hours of Saturday morning.

There were over 70 individual bids placed before the final price of $3,600 was attained.

Adobe Air is availabe as a Beta version from the Adobe site.    I decided to download it with the installation of Bee (a desktop blogging interface).

I’m typing this post with it to try it out and evaluate the usefulness of being able to post directly into wordpress without the need to log in via the web browser.

So far I’d have to say it is pretty cool.

Going to save it now and see how it looks. 

A collegue recently told me of a purchase they had made and frankly I was a little surprised.

BusinessLetters.com was sold on sitepoint a couple of weeks ago for USD17,000

The explanation was quite simple:

The domain was originally registered in 1999 and has never been dropped. It also receives around 3,000 visitors per month who are obviously targeting something relating to business letters. Our goal is to ensure that every visitor finds what they are looking for. The site is in need of a facelift and presentational changes which our team has started reviewing. As for value, it’s always hard to predict the absolute value a domain is worth, and in our case it was a classic case of ambivalent buyer and seller (or ideal market conditions).

The site will transfer in the next few weeks and we hope to be in a position of offering new services by the first quarter 2008.

That was pretty much the extent of our conversation, and watch this space.

Stan Leduc is reviewing opportunities to be part of the upgrade team, although it is our Policy that all work be kept confidential unless express permission is given by our clients to disclose examples and/or references to work completed.

As a freelance writer, I spend quite a bit of time researching and writing either online or using a computer of some description.

A friend of mine sent me a note the other day, telling of his frustration at being scammed out of $7,585.00 via an eBay purchase.

He had purchased an Pro Mac Apple with all the bells and whistles you would expect of a high end expensive computer.

After listening to his story there were several lessons and signals that may have prevented the substantial loss.

First of all the seller had no feedback. My friend was optimistic that even though the seller did not have any feedback they sounded genuine in the message box correspondence and therefore hoped that everything would be OK. Hope turned to despair 10 days later, when after daily excuses of why the computer had not shipped, all correspondence stopped.

He is now attempting to go through the resolution process, however the chances of eBay and PayPal being able to recover his funds are practically zero. A writer without a computer is a little like a taxicab driver without a cab……………

The reason I decided to write this post was to try and help unsuspecting and honest buyers from falling into the same trap. It would be even bettter if eBay required serial numbers of all items placed for sale over a certain value, or in the absence of serial numbers items over a certain amount could only be sold via some type of escrow management service.

Pay Pal could also help the situation by requiring verification for all accounts and not allowing fictitious registrations that lead nowhere.

Overall, I like what eBay and Pay Pal have done for online trading activities, however I do feel there is an increasing onus of responsibility to protect the majority of users who are honest, hardworking and credible.

Stories like my friends are more common than we would like to believe.

Protect yourself and make sure you do not fall victim to online scams and setups.

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Stan Leduc is a freelance writer working for private clients.

Every now and then a story cosses my desk that has a pretty powerful message attached.

The following story was drafted by an unknown author and given the tone of the story, I am sure they would not mind if I posted it here.

Feel free to copy it and send it to your friends as I’m sure the original author meant it to be.

Subject: Fw: The wooden bowl - great story

I guarantee you will remember the tale of the Wooden Bowl tomorrow,
a week from now, a month from now, a year from now.

The Wooden Bowl

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and
four-year old grandson. The old man’s hands trembled, his eyesight
was blurred,
and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table.

But the elderly grandfather’s shaky hands and failing sight made
eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he
grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth.

The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. “We
must do something about father,” said the son. “I’ve had enough of
his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.”

So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There,
Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner.
Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in
a wooden bowl!

When the family glanced in Grandfather’s direction, sometime he had
a tear in his eye as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple
had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or
spilled food.

The four-year-old watched it all in silence. One evening before
supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the
floor. He asked the child sweetly, “What are you making?”

Just as sweetly, the boy responded, “Oh, I am making a little bowl
for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up.” The
four-year-old smiled and went back to work.

The words so struck the parents so that they were speechless. Then
tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was
spoken, both knew what must be done.

That evening the husband took Grandfather’s hand and gently led him
back to the family table. For the remainder of his days he ate
every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband
nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk
spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.

On a positive note, I’ve learned that, no matter what happens,
how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better
tomorrow.

I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way
he/she handles four things: a rainy day, the elderly, lost luggage,
and tangled Christmas tree lights.

I’ve learned that, regardless of your relationship with your
parents, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life.

I’ve learned that making a “living” is not the same thing as making
a “life…”

I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.

I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s
mitt
on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.

I’ve learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you. But
if you focus on your family, your friends, the needs of others,
your work and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you.

I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I
usually make the right decision.

I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one.

I’ve learned that every day, you should reach out and touch
someone.

People love that human touch — holding hands, a warm hug, or just
a friendly pat on the back.

I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn!

I’ve learned that you should pass this on to everyone you care
about. I just did.

NOTICE AT THE END, THE DATE THE CANDLE WAS STARTED. GONNA GIVE YOU
GOOSE BUMPS.

I am not going to be the one who lets it die. I found it believable
–angels have walked beside me all my life–and they still do.

The Candle Of Love, Hope & Friendship

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This candle was lit on September, 15, 1998. Someone who loves you
has helped keep it alive by sending it to you.

Don’t let The Candle of Love, Hope and Friendship die! Pass It On
To All Of Your Friends and Everyone You Love!

Please keep this candle alive

Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don’t walk behind me,
I may not lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

Another school year begins.

The roads fill with new drivers who managed to reach the right age over the summer break (without being severly disabled by their frustrated parents).

I often find myself wondering what our children will remember of their informative years and ponder the question of my own mind in order to think like a 15 year old one more time. The answer is not that clear - the world has changed quite a bit in 30 odd years.

Surely things were easier back then? There was no Facebook, Myspace, eBay or Google to wrestle with. We had to make our own fun - right!(?).

I wondered about that some more today as my 15 year old daughter departed the driver’s side exit and gave me a kiss on the cheek “cya Dad.”

Where did the time go. A freshman in high school, a driver, a daughter - where did my little baby go?

Another school year is upon us, and whilst there are many things I do not know, the one thing that strikes me like the midnight ring in a deserted town square - it will be gone as quickly as it arrived.

Enjoy the moment.

Light is affected by different conditions.

Conditions that cause it to be reflected, deflected, refracted or absorbed.

The atmosphere being made up of many different gases and particles affects the way we see light. The earth’s atmosphere for the most part lets light rays pass through it’s orbital atmosphere uninterrupted, however a little of the red, orange and yellow is affected by air as light passes through the thinner layers of the earth’s atmosphere.

Why is the sky blue? The sky appears blue due to the affect of some light passing through the thin air atmosphere of the earth and the colors mentioned above (red, orange and yellow) affecting some of the light passing through, and therefore reflecting blue color for most of the earth to see.

At the edges of the horizen the sky appears much more pale in color due to the distance that part of the earth has to travel to reach your eyes. You are seeing less of the effect.

Me - I just thought the sky was blue because it was much prettier that way……………..