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[corelmag]

Old school designers will understand

Shout out to the old school. Call me old fashioned, but I always try to buy classic style designs to support that aesthetic.

My old school designers will remember the CorelScript language being very vague.

Nowadays aspiring designers have moved away from Corel and on to tools like the Adobe design suite. They will never know the pain of using the Corel Photo-Paint's Recorder function to record activities. And everyone sharing their own tutorials on how to make it work -_- 

And then having to save that recording as a CorelScript that you it can be used over again at a later date.

This was a great way to provide custom controls and settings to batch file programs or to build an array of specialized processes that you need repeat only once and then call on your script forever after. Nowadays I can do it in Adobe in about 3 clicks 🤣

I can say that I miss some of the old school programs, but I think the new surroundings are better for my mental health LOL

The old school software even had VCR controls at the top of the recorder box! For those of you who don;t know what a VCR is:

Philips VCR from decades ago. I had one just like this!

The cost of CorelDraw is a bit much for me these days, and the power of new free tools like Pixlr and Canva really blow me away.

Anyway's I'm about to take the dog for a walk, so I leave you with the SONG OF THE DAY

Breaking Benjamin - Blow me Away

"Old school designers will understand" was originally shared on corelmag.com

[corelmag]

Delicious scrambled eggs

  A delicious runny yolk egg beaten with 2 egg whites cooked with some fresh toast. A beautiful way to enjoy some eggs on another day of quarantine :)

At least golf courses are open now, so I will get a chance to get some sunshine and test out my brand new women's golf clothes. I'm sure I'll be a bit rusty and lose a few balls, but I'm really looking forward to it. My husband got a new golf hat and headcovers for Father's Day. Since the sun is finally out again, so he'll be hitting the links in that too.

I wonder if I'll beat him on that par 3 again? 😂

What have you all been missing out on in the last few months that you're looking forward to again?

"Delicious scrambled eggs" was originally shared on corelmag.com

[corelmag]

ask these questions when exploring a new city

Due to COVID-19 international travel is a no-go for me... But staycations and domestic travel are on the rise :) And because most domestic locations have already been experienced by your friends, family and associates, you can ask them questions! Genevieve from The Wander Bug put together the top 10 questions to ask a traveller and I <3 it.

Ask these 10 questions before you explore a new city:

Which was your favourite place you visited?

Was the country/city like you expected it to be?

What surprised you the most about how people live there?

Were you able to pick up some of the local language?

What was your favourite neighbourhood?

Did the places you visited remind you of anywhere else?

What was the most memorable meal of the trip?

What was the highlight of your trip?

Would you re-visit anywhere you went? Will you go back to see other parts of the country?

Would you ever consider moving there?

And even though there are a lot of convincing reasons to give up your car you can probably just drive to the destination (well, if its in your state anyways).

The are alternative transport options if you are sans-car, such as:

train

plane

helicopter

of which many are starting to resume normal activities (particular at smaller airports).

We have a beautiful country here, and there's so many ways to see it. In challenging times, its best to travel locally and support our economy as many businesses are doing it tough at the moment with the lack of international tourism.

Safe travels!

"ask these questions when exploring a new city" was originally shared on corelmag.com

[corelmag]

Is it safe to go to the dentist now?

COVID19 has been a crazy time for all Australians, but we're getting through it quite well compared to many other countries. One of the challeneges I've faced during this time are the regularly scheduled services that have been out of actions. A few days ago a reminder went off in my phone to book in for a dental check up. But is it safe to go to the dentist now? I decided to do some research.... According to the Australian Dental Association (ADA), dental practices already operate with a high degree of health protection. However, all of the staff will follow the government's guidelines, which will include the wearing of appropriate PPE equipment, social distancing measures, and regular use of hand sanitizer and hand washing.  Here's the official statement:

Australian dental practitioners have the highest infection control standards in the world and the safety of their patients and their teams is a cornerstone of Australian dental practice. Dentists are now at ‘Level 1’ restrictions; this means where appropriate, dentists may take extra precautions, and if required you will be advised of these. - ada.org.au

That's reassuring. I noticed my dentist seems to always have plenty of PPE on when I go there, so it didn't come as a surprise to hear that Aussie dentists have some of the strictest regulations in the World. So these reductions to Level 1 Restriuctions means that dentists are almost back to normal. Here's the full explainer for how the levels work: https://www.ada.org.au/Campaign/COVID-19/Managing-COVID-19/Practice-Resources/Dental-restriction-Levels/ADA-dental-restriction-levels-in-COVID-19-Publishe.aspx I've always tried to keep my home a cavity-free zone, so I'll need to book in the kids for a check-up too. I'm so grateful that children (under 18 years old) can access free public dental services in NSW. All children seen by public dental services receive the same high quality care regardless of their eligibility for CDBS and no fees are charged, even if CDBS benefits have been fully used up. Shoutout to the Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS) ✌️ "Is it safe to go to the dentist now?" was originally shared on corelmag.com

[corelmag]

What cute ducks!

I recently came across an article which explained the benefits of having ducks in your home. Why on earth was I looking this up? Well, I came across this adorable video on Instagram:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by 🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥🐶 (@ducksmakegreatpets) on Mar 11, 2020 at 8:21am PDT

The duck rasising blog Mother Duck Said has a bunch fo tips on how to raise ducks and benefit from these funny, egg laying birds. Not convinced about raising a couple of these poop machines in your home? Well according to the experts:

Duck hens bred for egg-laying ability can lay up to 350 eggs a year, each of which will weigh 20 percent to 35 percent more than a chicken egg. Furthermore, they will produce longer than a chicken, well into a fifth or even sixth season – long after chicken hens are ready for soup.

I also learned from a chef friend of mine that duck eggs are a specialty product among chefs who love them for their superior flavor. "What cute ducks!" was originally shared on corelmag.com

[corelmag]

Virtual Reality Coming to Old Folks

I recently came across this very exciting news regarding a new Aussie start-up that is utilising Virtual Reality in aged-care facilities.

The company is an aged care entertainment provider SilVR Adventures has launched a new national self-service model for residential care facilities. Some of you may know that I am passionate about healthcare and aged care design & construction, so companies that are paving the way for a new kind of aged-care experience definitely caught my eye! Here's what the CEO of the company had to say about the product:

Source: australianageingagenda.com.au

The VR program aims to improve resident engagement and happiness and reduce isolation.

They do this through three types of experiences:

reminiscence therapy to trigger memories and conversations, such as revisiting a childhood home or country they emigrated from

world travel, such as exploring Paris, swimming with dolphins or going on an African Safari, to leave the aged care home and create social interaction with fellow residents

family bonding to overcome allow residents to experience adventures with visiting family members, such as watching a sunrise or the Aurora Borealis together

All SilVR Adventures services help providers bring virtual reality to their residents in group format rather than one on one.

How cool is that! Imagine being able to take your grandma back to her childhood via virtual reality! I am really interested in these new cutting edge technologies being used in the aged-care space and virtual tours of house and land packages. I'll try to update my blog with new interesting ideas that I come across :) "Virtual Reality Coming to Old Folks" was originally shared on corelmag.com

[corelmag]

Healthy Life Healthy Living

2020 is well and truly underway, and I've decided to start living healthier. Our business has been growing, and the stress of that has had its impact on my diet... BUT NO MORE I loved the corporate lunch we had catered for our first 2020 meeting and it was the perfect nudge I needed to take action! A friend of mine recommended a high-fat, low sugar diet to start with. I'm not prepared to go full ketogenic diet, but I think I can take this step. They recommended a few high fat foods and much to my surprise, they're some of my favourites!

Avocados 

Free Range Eggs 

Nuts 

Full-Fat Yogurt 

Fatty Fish 

Extra Virgin Olive Oil 

Dark Chocolate 

Coconuts

Coconut Oil 

Chia Seeds 

Cheese

Here's some more good suggestions I found in my research:

"Healthy Life Healthy Living" was originally shared on corelmag.com

[corelmag]

Happy New Year from Corel

Hi all, I hope your 2020 has started off fantastically! I've been working hard on my new side project. I'll have some more to share with you in the coming months. In the meantime, here's a sneak peek. In the meantime, I wanted to commend the firefighters around Australia who are working 16-hour days to put out the bushfires which have ravaged our beautiful country.

New Years Resolution

My new years resolution for 2020 (c/o of Disher Benner) is to be as "green" as possible. So here's a list of things I'm focusing on this year to make my family a little more eco-friendly.

Bring our own shopping bags ALL THE TIME (i sometimes forget)

Cook from scratch and meal plan. Save more money and get more nutrients

Eat organic as much as possible. Less GMO foods and hormones

Eat better meat, and eat a lot less of it. Better for us and less wastage

Get the chemicals out of our beauty products and hygiene products (PS I'm loving this organic perfume I got for xmas!)

Bring our own water bottles rather than buying disposable

Hang your laundry to dry rather than use the clothes dryer

Today's song of the day:

Dance Monkey by Tones and I

I love to play this while I'm doing some housework :) "Happy New Year from Corel " was originally shared on corelmag.com

[corelmag]

Should I stay or should I go now?

I came across this article on The Painted Drawer about outgrowing your home, which is something that has been playing around in my mind lately. The kids are getting bigger, and we purchased a bigger a few years ago to accommodate, but now our house is starting to feel a little on the small side.

they are a growing family and need a house that will be closer to schools

YES! That's exactly it. It would make life a lot simpler for us. It also got me thinking about this song:

I LOVE the Clash! Anyways the post had some interesting ideas about adding a "garden house" to get a little of that new home feeling. I think that might be American for "Granny flat"? Either way, it's not a bad idea. I'll have to consider that. But the real question is...

So you got to let me know Should I stay or should I go?

"Should I stay or should I go now?" was originally shared on corelmag.com

[corelmag]

I'm watching you alll (with heatmaps)

I recently read an article about heatmapping apps that could help me improve the user sexperience of my websit. It was quite informative, so I decided to give it a try!

Heatmap software is great because it can show you where users click, how far they scroll, where their mouse moves...

Basically I can see exactly how you interact with the website.

I have only used heatmap software briefly, but I have already learned a lot in terms of usability issues on my website. I found this video particularly useful:

So be on the look out for changes to my website soon!

"I'm watching you alll (with heatmaps)" was originally shared on corelmag.com

[corelmag]

My first order on Amazon Australia

The greatest words in the English language: "your oder has shipped" 💖 Amazon are making a huge push in the Australian market and I just recently made my first order. "Amazon has been the talk of the entire Australian retail industry after it confirmed its plans to expand down under." (source: ordermomentum.com) I hosted my website for a while on Amazon Web Services but this is my first retail order with the e-commerce giant, from a recommendation from a friend. The process was as good as I've had online. I'll update this blog when it arrives so I can share all the awesome goodies I ordered with you all "My first order on Amazon Australia" was originally shared on corelmag.com

[corelmag]

Is a marketing degree worth it?

I recently came across an article that asks a very important question: are marketing degrees worth it?

Source: https://trafficjammedia.co/do-you-need-marketing-qualifications-and-degrees/

As someone who studied at a 4 year university, I felt that uni helped prepare me for the professional world. But in modern marketing environments where skill sets such as UX design are all the rage, it made me think that this question may not be so easy to answer. Anyways I figured I'd share this though on my blog to see what you all think. Let me know in the comments! "Is a marketing degree worth it?" was originally shared on corelmag.com

[corelmag]

My experience with staff surveys

For any organization to be successful, it needs to be realized that the backbone of a business is its workforce. The driving force behind all operations and the smooth running of the organization are the employees and it is very crucial for the management to realize the importance of keeping employees motivated. While there are many widely used methods of motivating employees, such as bonuses or fringe benefits, there is one method that is frequently overlooked; keeping the employees involved. Taking feedback from workers and encouraging two-communication is one of the most effective measure a company can take to ensure the satisfaction and motivation of their employees because when they are asked for their opinions on certain business decisions, it makes them feel valued and thus, instills a sense of belonging towards the organization. Having employees that feel a sense of belonging towards an organization reduces employee turnover and makes it easier for firms to retain experienced employees that are an asset to the firm. Having a good employee retention rate also leads to the improvement of the company’s image in the market and industry and allows for greater opportunities for growth and the greater development of ideas as the employees treat the whole organization as their own. There are numerous ways in which a company can be more engaged with their employees and how they’re feeling; one that I experimented with recently is a pulse survey. A Pulse survey is a quicker and simpler version of an engagement survey. As their name suggests, pulse surveys give the management regular, quick check-ins in the health of the workforce. They help emphasize on the aspects that need improvement and measure the level of employee satisfaction. Additionally, they also helped me in evaluating work-relationships and the environment around the organization. As compared to engagement surveys, I found that pulse surveys are quick and to the point. They not require detailed answers to a wide variety of questions; the ones used in my organization have just under 10 questions. Moreover, they are also conducted more frequently than engagement surveys which allowed the management to recognize and solve arising issues promptly. The small number of questions facilitated the identification of the issue quickly and enabled the management to focus on a particular current goal or target that needs feedback. Furthermore, employee feedback was more frequently received and appreciated through pulse surveys and they allowed for quicker and more accurate comparisons to be made. They are faster and more comprehensive to complete which is a source of convenience for the employees as well. Additionally, I found that they can be used to spread awareness about certain issues around the organization which can prove extremely beneficial for the management and the organization as a whole. Pulse surveys are a great way to target a certain group of employees; whether it is for special tasks or for a special localized audit. They make sure that everyone is involved in the business and promote effective communication. However, it is also crucial to have the entire organization on board when it comes to understanding the purpose, requirement, and benefits of using Pulse surveys.

"My experience with staff surveys" was originally shared on corelmag.com

[corelmag]

Hiring your first marketing team

I thoroughly enjoyed this article by Blake Smith on startupgrowth.com titled "Startup’s Guide to Hiring First Marketing Staff" I found this section to be particularly interesting:

Different audiences make purchasing decisions based on different appealing factors and criteria, and it is essential to work with marketers who understand your audience (example) and their needs. 

They don’t need to be an absolute expert in your sector, but they should demonstrate the ability to identify your target audience and develop innovate means of growing it.

It should also go without saying that marketers with experience in your field will find it easier to create comprehensive marketing materials for you – your business’s domain comes naturally to them and their efforts are thereby less contrived.

This was a timely message for me and something I 100% agree with. I have recently been working on more projects that align with my personal interests, and found that the "work" is much more enjoyable and the finished product was great! "Hiring your first marketing team" was originally shared on corelmag.com

[corelmag]

I had a good giggle over this!

This one reminded me of my days working in retail as a teenager. 🤣 It was a while ago (not THAT long though) but I can still remember crumbling under the pressure of giving the correct change to a customer in a timely manner LOL those were the days! This is what I look like trying to work out how much change I need to give a customer…

Source: This is what I look like trying to work out how much change I need to give a customer…

"I had a good giggle over this!" was originally shared on corelmag.com

[corelmag]

Upping my skills

So if you read my last update, I've been in a bit of an upskilling phase lately. First, I was working on my spreadsheet skills... but now i'm on my way to becoming a full-fledged computer programmer. Well not exactly, but my good friend Luke Smith is helping me learn coding (Javascript) to help my customise my Wordpress website (coming soon). I already know some basic HTML, but this is a whole 'nother level from a technical perspective. It's great though, because I know it will save me a lot in development costs down the line. It has been a bit of an uphill battle, and I've consumed plenty of these  in the process, but Luke has been especially patient with me while I get comfortable learning a new language. Do I speak fluent Javascript yet? No... But I know enough to be dangerous! I even learnt how to set up custom Javascript in my Google Tag Manager account to track all of you lovely blog readers and what you're clicking on my website :) Keep up to date on my progress with this this mootools page "Upping my skills" was originally shared on corelmag.com

[corelmag]

Learning to spreadsheet

I'm currently learning (well, re-learning to be more precise) how to use Microsoft Excel. I've found my daily tasks, both professional and at home, could benefit from being a bit more proficient in everyone's favourite spreadsheet software, Microsoft Excel. Also, here's the current sitch in the workplace:

This journey started when I found myself watching several YouTube videos after searching for "how to *insert intermediate MS Excel task*"and came across this one:

But I quickly discovered I'm somewhere between a beginner and intermediate, so i need a but more of a customised training solution to get me where I want to be.

Insert: Excel Dimensions. Excel Dimensions is an onsite Microsoft Excel training provider that offers Australia wide training in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra, Darwin, and Hobart.  

I contacted them and explained my predicament. Thankfully (oh god I'm so grateful), they explained that they offer customised courses for beginners, intermediates users and advanced Excel gurus. So I was able to pick out the topics we needed to cover beforehand and learn exactly what I needed and nothing I didn't

Does this mean I'm now a Microsoft Excel expert?

But it does make my life a lot easier! I no longer sit at my desk Googling "how to x in Excel" because its imprinted into my brain :D

"Learning to spreadsheet" was originally shared on corelmag.com