Elizabeth's Blog

We released our first official press release to the masses today; always before we chose a few select papers to contact, but this time we went all out. What the heck, life is short, right? So here it is, in all its glory:

http://www.internetnewsbureau.com/archives/2006/may/inflection.html

or for the lazy:

CINCINNATI, OH - May 1, 2006 (INB) – Giftsforengineers.com (www.giftsforengineers.com) has expanded their product mix to over 300 unique items specifically for engineers. The site currently offers gifts of all kinds, from t-shirts and coffee mugs, to books and gadgets. Top sellers include items such as a “Geek Man Action Figure,” a paperweight that looks like a crumpled blueprint, a box of chocolates formed in the shape of engineering tools, and a clock that is made from a recycled circuit board. The site emphasizes a rich online shopping experience and excellent customer service by offering incentives such as 2-day shipping for $4.95, a free gift with every order, a money back guarantee, online customer service chat, and customer reviews of products.

This e-commerce venture has been operational since 2001 and while it has experienced growth every year, 2005 offered the biggest growth spurt by far for the small company. The continued success of the store can be attributed to its unique offering of gifts tailored especially for engineers of every focus, as well as the emphasis on providing outstanding customer service. Inflection Point, Inc. is the parent company and is a privately held, woman-owned corporation.

Elizabeth Naramore, Vice President Web Development, admits that the company is bursting through its seams. “We are at a definite crossroads with the company’s growth and plan on expanding to space three times what we currently occupy. In 2006, we also plan on increasing the number of products even more and adding additional functionality to the site such as wish lists, loyalty purchase programs and an online gift selector to assist our customers in choosing just the right gift for their engineer.”

The site has previously been featured in the Cincinnati Enquirer and the Dallas Morning News. Inflection Point, Inc. is a member of the Better Business Bureau’s Online Program.

We’re so “corporate”

So I’m taking my 5 year old daughter to kindergarten today, and I have my 2 year old in the car with me as well. We’re just be-bopping along and my daughter is singing songs from her kindergarten repertoire ("Schooltime is over” and “Glub Glub Went the Frog") and I’m thinking about how even though it is very stressful to try and juggle all the demands of full-time momminess and my full time job, plus my freelance writing gigs, plus my teaching, and so on and so forth… I still feel very fortunate to get to be with my kids all day every day, and how I’m just so proud of them. I’m patting myself on the back a bit, because my kids are both so very intelligent and creative, and just so polite and happy with the “pleases” and the “thankyous". We’ve worked very hard to make sure they’re both well-behaved and if they do have an argument everyone says sorry, and hugs and kisses go around, etc… and then I’m thinking what a good influence I’ve been and how I’m glad I don’t have to worry about them being in day care and such…

About that time, we pass an open fire hydrant that had not yet been attended to, and of course there’s water spewing out all over the four-lane road. When the guy next to me flies through it drenching my car with a very loud and very forceful shower of water, we all gave out a collective “Whoa!” and then darling sweet Emily laughs and says “Oh my gosh, Mom, that scared the hell out of me.”

Now, by all rights I should have been mortified, but I’d had one of those days and it absolutely caught me off guard and really struck my funny bone. I’m trying unsuccessfully not to laugh as I say “it scared the hell out of me too, but you really shouldn’t say it like that. Kids should say ‘heck’ instead, ok?” I say “hell” all the time, so of course I knew where she’d gotten it, no blaming the husband on this one. “Oh, okay mom,” was the reply, and I begin wondering where else she may have said that when I wasn’t around.

Needless to say I’m reconsidering my position on what I good influence I am on my children.

A pointer from my good buddy lig sent me to the most recent edition of the daily wtf’s Pop-Ups. You just have to love those. Check out their “Pop-up Potpourri Mayday Edition.“.

The latest edition of International PHP Magazine is out. This time I focused my article on a very forward thinking company that is implementing agile processes with their PHP software development. This was the last installment of the “PHP From the Shop Floor” series; next month I do a review of NuSphere’s PHPEd.