Hello readers!

So I was thinking about a blog entry today and found it hard to think of a topic with all the wind and rain battering the palm trees outside my window. How on earth am I ever going to think of a creative and informative topic in the midst of a tropical storm?

And then it hit me! Not the branch, an idea! Why not take a few minutes to remind everyone about the backup features in ACI and some general PC tips?

1. Autosave! In Report, click Options > Environment. On the right side, make sure that box is checked to Auto save every X minutes. I'd recommend anywhere between 5 to 9 minutes. One minute autosave can cause memory logjams, so I'd stay away from that.
2. Backup reports! In Report, click Options > Environment > File Management. Do you have a check next to Backup Reports To? If so, then every report you create will have a .ABK counterpart that may survive spilling diet coke in the keyboard and random power outages.
3. UPS battery backup? They're cheap and reliable and having even a 5 minute Uninterruptable Power Supply under your desk just may save your computer from those bad power flickers and power surges.
4. Tape backup / external hard drive backup on the server? If you've got a fairly large amount of data on a server, make sure your network people also have set up a good backup system for your data folders. We'd be happy to talk to them to show them how to tell where the important ACI data is.
5. CD/DVD backup is available on most PCs. This might be a good solution for a small appraisal shop without a central server. Refer to your CD burner software for how best to create a backup CD, or call us for advice.
6. Consider subscribing to an ACI online office solution such as ACI365™ which allows for account management, client contact, order generation, and other tools from anywhere you have an internet connection—perfect for conducting business on the road!

Stormatically yours,
Andy

If you've been unplugged or neck deep following the Code of Conduct, we recently returned to Floorplan country with the launch of ACI Sketch™. Some of you ACI lifers may remember good ol' LaserDraw from the days of DOS. The response to ACI Sketch has been primo and many of y'all out there in ACI-land have already jumped on board.

But before the product launch, and as part of our ACI Sketch orientation, we here in Support were challenged with a contest: Draw me a dream! Superbly sketch! Fantastically floorplan! Architecturally amaze! You're probably thinking "No big deal, just draw Barbie's Dream Mansion. You guys are ACI Support, you know what to do" but therein lies the rub: Many techs (myself included) are much more familiar with the INTEGRATION of sketch programs, as opposed to the in-and-out expertise of USING the sketch programs. I draw simple squares and make sure they come back to the report and bring over the correct Sq Ft values. Now we're going to have a contest to sketch out MC Hammer's house? Hmmm... should be interesting.

You, as appraisers and office managers and experienced users would take great delight in watching us learn some of the tips N tricks you use every day to get efficient sketches pushed out the door. There were times I wanted to eat my mouse in frustration until I did the unthinkable for a Computer Nerd; I checked the help manual! And it gets better, our Training and Documentation dept even made videos! I don't even have to READ? ALRIGHT!

(in case you're wondering, all our training vids can be found here:
http://www.aciweb.com/training/videos.aspx)

Initially I started drawing a space shuttle and a palm tree. We are in Florida, right? But I settled on a more serious design and constructed a mansion that would make Trump blush. We even had techs drawing cartoon characters (drawing arcs is so easy with ACI Sketch). By the end of the first day most of us had our ACI Sketch printouts on display in the employee lounge for judges Randy, Paula and Simon (see American Idol). Just like Idol, the competition was fierce. I challenged myself to win so I could share the glory with my fellow sketch constituents via my blog. Unfortunately my dream was not to be. One of the judges pointed out that I didn't place any doors in my MC Hammer mansion. You can't touch this!

Rectangularly yours,
Andrew

Be still, my heart!  New PC's don't have floppy disk drives! What's that all bout? Yeah, so the average appraisal doesn't even fit on a floppy anymore. So what? Yeah, floppies are hard to keep track of and go corrupt too often. Who cares? They are a part of my digital heritage! The good old days. EVERY computer should have a floppy disk, right?

It's blasphemous and preposterous. Who cares if technicians can boot Windows repair disks from CDs and jump drives. I want my good old 3.5" coffee-stained, dented metal 1.38 megs of storage floppy drive.

Ok, so I have not actually used one in a few years. But that's beside the point. Isn't it? It's a matter of principle. In fact, it's the principal principle.

Oh—hold on, it's my therapist on the other line... Let me get that and I will pick this blog up in a few mins.

Hi—I'm back. My therapist says I am hiding from the future. She says I am hanging on to the obsolete in my life. She says I need to let go of the things that have been superceded and updated. Embrace change. She also said it's time to turn off the night light, but that's a whole other issue.

How many of us have an 8 year old digital camera? You know, the one with SIXTEEN WHOLE MEGABYTES of memory on board. You may not even be using it but it sits there in the back of the drawer, cluttering your space. Who's got Street Atlas version 7 installation CDs rattling around? Or fourteen old ACI install discs? 

Who's got Win98 and is afraid to update to XP or beyond? Why do we do this? There's a level of comfort in sticking with a known evil. But there's a point where you have to clean house.

So I took a look around: I'm still hanging on to frustrating problems long gone. I'm still hanging on to bad habits that I should have outgrown. There's an ancient Zen parable (or maybe I made it up? Who knows?). Two monks were walking along a road. They approach a river, and as they are about to cross, an attractive young lady approaches as well. One of the monks, in a manner MOST unacceptable, swoops her up in his arms and carries her across the river. The other monk watches in horror as almost every vow of temptation and reservation is shattered by this intimate act. They get to the other side of the river and the young lady parts ways. The monks continue on.  Secretly, the stodgy monk is FUMING at the other.  How could he do this?  How dare he?  Finally, he can't take it anymore and says "Why, brother, did you pick that woman up and carry her?" The helpful monk looks at his angry brother and says "I set her down on the far bank... why do you carry her still?"

And then they were enlightened and Andrew took another call. Anyhow, you can see where I am going with this. It helps to clean house (mentally and stuff-wise) and set down the past, march cheerfully into the future, and keep on keepin' on.

I'm going to go throw out my old DC40. Have a good day...

Andrew

Hello! Welcome to my blog!

The powers that be offered me a little spot on our website to post my musings and thoughts on the things I see all around. I happily signed on... if any of you have ever met me, you know that getting me to talk is easy.

I hope that I can amuse you and educate you and learn from you as well. Let me tell you a bit about myself:

I have been a part of the ACI family since 1999 and I am currently a member of the Support leadership team. I love going out on the road and meeting appraisers. I love being part of the 'rent-a-nerd' program and visiting your offices to train and troubleshoot. I love speaking to you on the phone and solving problems with you and hearing your stories.

My workspace is cluttered with gadgets and sticky notes and cactuses* in pots. I have an aquarium on one side of my desk that houses the official Un-Official Tech Support Mascot, Entree the Crayfish. Entree looks like a small lobster and he provides me with countless hours of zany crustacean fun. (Maybe I need to get out more...)

My coworkers are my friends and my family. We are an eclectic group of solution-minded individuals who strive for good customer service. Every human being is a 'work in progress' and I try my hardest to help educate and enlighten the Support techs while staying open to new ideas myself. My days are filled with communication.

And that's what this blog is about. Communication. There are lots of press releases and news stories and industry articles out there. Many ways that an appraiser or tech can keep their fingers on the pulse of the industry. However, much of the information out there is the View From The Top. High ranking gov't officials. CEOs. Spokespersons for agencies. This blog is from the other end... one of the guys down on the street level. You and I communicate every day. Sometimes you get me on the phone. Sometimes you see me in the training. Sometimes I am emailing your tech with advice about your new server.

We are a community working together to solve problems and Get The Job Done Every Day and I am happy that technology today allows me to meet even more of you! I hope these blog entries will benefit you in some way... as they will undoubtedly benefit me for writing them.

Anyhow, I'm going back to work now. But it was a pleasure to type this and I look forward to many happy posts.

Bloggingly,
Andrew

* Yes, the plural is 'cacti' but 'cactuses' gets peoples' attention better.