Today’s news scares us with instance after instance of large-scale data hacks gobbling up incredible amounts of information. If you are on anyone's database or have done any shopping online, you can assume somebody has taken your data at some time in the past. Even if a criminal never used your data, there is still reason for concern.  King Solomon cautioned, “A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.” (Proverbs 22:3, NLT) The best we can do is to take good precautions.

When people decide to move, most immediately put up a For Sale sign on their current home hoping to sell the property as quickly as possible. In some cases this may not be the best investment strategy.

If a family has funds for an additional down payment, they may want to consider keeping their current house and renting it. The advantage is that renters will pay off the mortgage.  Then, the property owner will end up with a property free and clear in the future. Over time, rentals generally increase their value, providing better cash flow for the homeowner. Additionally, if interest rates increase in the future; a low interest mortgage will have substantial value.

I stopped by a lunch spot for a quick meal and ordered a salad. The server carried my food in one hand and two customers’ drinks in another.  On the way to the table, she sneezed. However, she was unable to cover her mouth and sneezed directly into my salad and the two drinks. Without missing a beat, she placed my salad down in front of me and walked away. I pick up viruses easily. I could have eaten the lunch and taken a chance or asked for a new salad. I chose the latter. Let someone call me picky, but it wasn’t worth risking a cold.    

The manager wasn't happy redoing the salad, but he did. However, while waiting, I witnessed the same server coughing and sneezing in the kitchen and over other plates. 

When I was done I spoke with the manager. I asked if he felt it was a good idea to have an obviously sick person serve customers and work with food in the kitchen. He shrugged his shoulders, listened, and we both moved on. For me, I won't be going back.  If the manager didn’t care about employees sneezing over food, I couldn’t help wonder what happened in the back that you can’t see.   

Other times I have experienced sneezing cashiers, sales people who coughed into a right hand before extending it to shake mine. I offered a knuckle bump instead. 
Managers have a responsibility to insure customers are protected. Part of the protection is not to allow sick staff to serve or be in contact with customers. As we enter the cold and flu season establish a sick day policy. Insist folks stay home when ill. 

I’ve covered many elements important to effective websites in this blog.  I want to reinforce an important point.  When someone establishes a website to generate business, the website needs to target a specific audience. The more specific the targeting, the hotter the customer button will become. The business owner must identify the hot button.

I spend time vegetable gardening. While flowers are nice, if I can’t eat it; I don’t pay a lot of attention to it. The other day “Brad”, “Brad” came over and wanted to take a look at my garden. As we walked through Brad made the offhand comment, “Gee, weeds don’t seem to grow in your garden and your plants grow really well. You must be blessed with great soil.”

I explained to Brad that I spent 10-15 hours a week working in the garden. Almost every day I hunt for weeds and pull or hoe them out before they had time to grow much. The reason I didn’t have weeds wasn’t because they didn’t grow, but because I tended to them quickly.