A Call to Hearts Pt2.

Ready to see the results??

Over 13000 cards were collected.  To say the results were more than the station expected is an understatement.

Here is the video of the visit.  You can click in the corner of the video to make full screen.  The second video on the player is the "stuffing" party for the cards into bags.



This is a REALLY bad photo..  The video is better.

Again THANK YOU ALL for your help.

Derrick

An effort to get organized?

I am "trying" to get my office in some sort of sorted chaos of late.  One of my issues is tracking my in/outgoing mail.  Yea, yea and those pesky monthly reminders I now own a home.

With that, while I was attending this years "what more crap can I bring home" show I sought out a vendor I have been eyeing for YEARS.  This would be the NEAT company.

I don't know if many of you are familiar with their products.  They basically have 2 different types of scanners.

The NEAT Receipt. This unit is self powered (USB) and highly portable.  However only does simplex scanning (one sided).

The other is the NEAT Desk.  This is the one I bought.  See that tray there with the different sizes.  It's setup for letter, receipts and business cards.  It does duplex scanning at 24 pages a minute.  The tray comes out to scan up to 50 pages at a time.

I went with big brother mainly because I really didn't see where I would be hauling a scanner around with me in the first place and I like the sheet/duplex ability.

The real kicker though is the software that comes with it.  I could have bought the software separately, but it only works with a few high end scanners and this was a more economical solution.  The software reads ALL of the data on a page and organizes the documents for you.

Now one of the MAIN reasons I bought this thing is I can now scan all of my mail.  In and out to keep track of conversations AND be able to read them on my iPad when I'm out so I'm not carrying all of the  mail I'm responding to in my bag.  I am always afraid of loosing something (nothing yet and I don't want there to be a first time).

This thing will also handle card stock :)  I can even scan my postcards!

So it arrives tomorrow.  I have 30 days to run it through it's paces and believe me I will..

Let you know how the first weekend goes.. Can't wait to get rid of the other paper in my life.  I need the space to store my letters :)

Now on to fun stuff.  You remember that little thing I wrote about last week?  Crapfest?  Well I have a chance to get back to San Francisco next weekend for another trade show.  IF (big if), I manage to be able to go and gather more crap, I will be adding it to the pile for distribution.  The show is the San Francisco International Gift and Decor Show.  So keep hoping I can afford to get out of town next weekend..

Derrick

And the Man in Black returns..

Hello I'm Johnny Cash..  Well OK not me but this dude below.

Mr. Cash (sans Nine Inch Nails) will be making his debut on June 6th.  Ooo what fun I will have with this one.  Did some one say giveaway coming??  Hmmm   Anyone...

Crapfest 2013 is coming!!

That's right.  It's that time of year again when I unload some of the crap I have laying around my office on the unsuspecting readers of my blog.

Tomorrow I  head off to Mac Geek central.  Macworld/iWorld 2013 in San Francisco.  So for those of you that missed the haul from the show last year, check out this post.

http://www.istillwrite.com/2012/01/let-mailing-begin.html

So if you would like to sign up for a random shipment of crap from the show, leave a comment below.  You may receive buttons, pens, pads of paper, stickers, squishy thingies who knows (well I do but that's for me to know and you to find out so there :P)

Let ya all know what the haul is over the weekend and weed out the good crap from the stuff I'm sending you :)

Derrick

And she told me I was her First!!

Well,   I have been getting a lot of these lately.  Most recently with my end of year giveaway for the stationery.

I was the first man/male that they have ever sent a letter.  (get your mind out of the gutter now)

So what I was wondering, was for either the ladies or gents.  Have or do you converse with the opposite sex on a regular basis (excluding the people you live with)?

I know for the male of the species here that most women that get letters from men must indicate some type of incarceration must be afoot.  Nay nay say I although I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express at one time.

I think (just this dudes opinion) is the ladies must think we have spent too much time in front of the TV to be able to form a coherent thought. Hmmm.

So, ladies.  What stops you from writing to the male form of human?  Do you get creeped out when a guy sends you a letter?

I can say without hesitation that I have some of the greatest pen pals around and out of maybe 10-15 people I write to regularly 3 are men.  Just seems to be a rarity these days.

So what say you female folk - Cool or Creepy?

Inquiring minds want to know (think I read this in Cosmo or something)

Derrick

A Call to Hearts

I received an interesting email from one of the station managers this afternoon asking for something I think is so suited for this group it cannot be ignored.

The email reads as follows:

"Hello everyone,

Remember how fun Valentine’s Day was when you were a kid?  You couldn’t wait to get to school to see all the Valentine’s Day cards you’d get from your friends! 

We want all kids to have that awesome feeling, so Star 106.5 has just announced Monica Lowe’s Valentine’s Day Cards for Kids.  It’s easy.  We’re asking our listeners to make Valentines for kids who are stuck in the hospital on Valentine’s Day, missing out on getting cards from their friends at school.   Monica will hand deliver them to the hospital for the kids who need a smile.

If you’re crafty, know someone who is, or could ask your child’s art teacher about getting the kids at your school involved you would be doing a great thing!       

Here’s a link to find out more!

http://www.star1065.com/pages/15312241.php?"

or this:

I think this is a wonderful idea and hope you all could help out and spread the word if possible.

Thanks

Derrick

BANG!, POP, WHIZ!! Winner!!

Well it has been a great year.  I and all of my family members are still vertical.  Missing a few parts but still breathing.

Christmas will exit our house tomorrow.  We have made the annual let's get our christmas ornaments for next year at 50% off pilgrimage.

But more importantly I have made some really nice pen-pals.  Had some fun with my blog and hopefully you guys did as well.

You find out how well you are doing when you send out  over 158 postcards for one giveaway (globally) and see what kind of response you get.  All in all not bad.

As of this writing I am at 12934 views on my little corner of the internet.

Now down to business.  I had 20 entrants in the "Derrick Dun Lost It" giveaway.  I had to reject one or more due to not replying/entering within the rules. (I had to make it fair to those who read the instructions)

The rules read as follows:

"All entries MUST be received by Dec 24th (edit - I have extended this until Jan 1st, due to interest from new folks) .  This "should" be more than enough time to put something in the mail.  You MUST reference the giveaway "Derrick Dun Lost It" see, it's that whole reading thingy and you must be following the site.  Did they just enter or did they actually read the instructions."

All entries were numbered as they were received. 

So with that the winner is..

So, what did Laura receive?

Tell em what she's won Don Pardo. 

Well Laura, You've won a NEW CAR  (yea right!).  A Trip to the South of L.A. (nope)

Ok, O.J. You've won.. Get ready for it... PAPER!!  That's right you've won stuff to write on and send out to unsuspecting recipients.  But really what you've won is some REALLY nice stationery.

First you get this nice box of Original Crown Mill Laid paper (Cream)

Containing 50 envelopes and 100 sheets of paper.

In addition you will receive some beautiful ARPA handmade paper in our choice of color.  Either Salmon or Pink (yea the photos upside down and I got lazy)

So with that folks, I bid you a Happy New year and look forward to writing/receiving more great mail and such in the future.  I am already working on the next "themed" run in April.  This coincides with 2 dates in history taking place on the 26th.  Bonus item to anyone who knows.

If ANYONE has ideas or suggestions on types of giveaway items or content please let me know.  

Derrick