Flashback

Monthly Funny

Acronym of the Month

Greetings, %%Facility name%%. Welcome to eNews issue #25 - a little slim on content due to work taking place to prepare for the upcoming SSAA Convention in New Zealand, but still packed with the usual regulars to keep things interesting!

As usual, if you have any comments, ideas or suggestions, just get in touch with me via andy@storman.com. Until next time, happy surfing! :-)

Regards,
Andy & the StorMan Software Team

This month marks the third anniversary of the storage warehouse blaze in Sherwood, QLD (Australia).

According to the Fire Fighting News website, a fire started in a storage area around 9am on the 8th of September 2007 at the Sherwood Road storage facility. The entire 15,000 square metre building was gutted by the fire, which may have started in an area used to store toilet paper.

Fire crews fought the fire for many hours before bringing it under control, with crews remaining on site overnight to monitor the smoldering site.

Photos of the blaze are available on the Fire Fighting News website, with others available on the Fire Call website. A timely reminder to ensure your clients purchase insurance for their stored goods... because you never know what might happen.

Looking for some fun around the office? Try these roller skates made from a set of boots and a few office-chair wheels (not recommended!)...

Have you got a joke or funny pic to send us?
Please let us know!

Need to translate something? Check out Google's online translator - which translates text, entire web pages or documents that you upload. All free!

Hi there - I'm Darran, one of StorMan's Technical Support Agents. Each issue, I'll trawl through the deep depths of the internet to find you a funky piece of software, hardware or other interesting technological trinkets.

Giant Musical Keyboard

If you're a Simpson's fan, cast your mind back to the early days in Season 5, Episode 4 ("Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy"), where Homer notices a giant musical keyboard that you can walk on to play different notes.

You may even remember the ending - they are about to leave the store when Homer glances back at the keyboard... "Marge, Lisa, Lady," he begins, "if you'll excuse me I've got something very important to attend to." He runs back to the giant keyboard on the floor and plays the theme to the Simpson's.

If you too want to be like Homer, you're in luck - because someone's made a giant musical keyboard!

• Features 24 keys on a large play mat.
• Simply press the keys with your feet.
• Keyboard contains 8 different sounds: Piano, Saxophone, Violin, Organ, Trumpet, Harp, Vibraphone and J-guitar.
• 10 automated songs.
• Record function allows you to record an eighty-note sequence and play it back.
• Great fun for parties.
• Perfect introduction to musical instruments for kids (the more hyperactive the better).

Nb. All 'Latest Gadget' information & imagery is sourced from online entities & supplier websites. StorMan generally doesn't endorse, own or test any of these products; we merely link to them as you might find them interesting for your own use...

A multimedia player that doesn't bog you down...

There are literally hundreds of different audio & video player applications available on the internet - some are very lightweight but can't play many formats, while others have so many bells & whistles that they become bloat ware (software that slows down your computer because it tries to do so much yet you only need it to do a little).

If you, like me, prefer a lightweight player that won't slow down your computer, yet need it to play hundreds of different formats, look no further than the free VLC media player. While the name sounds similar to VNC (a program that we often use to assist StorMan clients with technical support), the two are unrelated.

VLC media player is a free and open source media player and multimedia framework written by the VideoLAN project. It plays any format and works on Mac, PC and Linux.

Check it out at www.videolan.org/vlc/

You've probably heard of RGB (or seen it on the back of an older computer monitor or television), but did you know that it stands for Red, Green, Blue?

The RGB colour model is an additive colour model in which red, green, and blue light are added together in various ways to reproduce a broad array of colours. The main purpose of the RGB colour model is for the representation and display of images in electronic systems, such as televisions and computers, though it has also been used in conventional photography.

Learn more about RGB at Wikipedia...

A man is sitting in a pub feeling rather poor. He sees the man next to him pull a wad of $50 notes out of his wallet. He turns to the rich man and says to him, "I have an amazing talent; I know almost every song that has ever existed."

The rich man laughs. The poor man says, "I am willing to bet you all the money you have in your wallet that I can sing a genuine song with a lady's name of your choice in it."

The rich man laughs again and says, "OK, how about my daughter's name, Joanna Armstrong-Miller?" The rich man goes home poor. The poor man goes home rich. What song did he sing?

Stuck? The answer is in the next issue!

Answer to last month's brainteaser: The words are both palindromes. In other words, they are words that can be read the same way in either direction.

There is a law on the books of Detroit, Michigan that states that "Alligators may not be tied to fire hydrants". Strange but true!

This month's offer for StorMan eNews readers: We're pleased to offer a massive price-drop on our Online Reservations & Online Payments modules - but only for the next 2 months! In fact, the discount is over 50%!

Online Payments lets you accept payments from your storers via your website, whereas Online Reservations lets your customers reserve units at your facility and pay an optional deposit online to secure their booking.

Both modules combined are now just $AUD400 / £UK250 / $USD360 / $NZD490 (per facility - excluding any usual local taxes).

This offer valid for existing customers only, for uptake between 1st August 2010 - 30th September 2010. Upfront payment required. Template customisation may require a web designer (or use our existing template at no extra cost). For details, please contact StorMan Sales via http://go.storman.com/contact/

This month's flashback takes us back to August 2008 when Andy from our Brisbane office attended one of the Self Storage Association of Australasia meetings in Auckland, New Zealand. If you're not yet a member of your local self storage association, be sure to check out this article - as there are many benefits to joining.

Read more in Andy's post...