YAY for Warmer Weather!

Every year around my birthday I forget about the excitement of getting older, yes I said excitement, and start to focus on the months ahead.  I love warmer weather and summertime in Colorado.  There's so many things to do here; the possibilities are endless. My favorite part about warm weather is the ability to just be outside, relax, and enjoy nature, and here in Colorado there is certainly a lot of opportunities to do just that.  I personally enjoy camping/hiking, Rockies baseball games, and concerts at Red Rocks. I've only been in Colorado a few years now, but I thought I would share some of my favorite warm weather moments with you...Now I know I might be wearing some layers in some of these photos, but trust me when I say it was warm for the mountains :) 

                                                             

Ta ta for now,
Allison

Ever wonder what we do with our spare time?

This past weekend was quite the adventure. Friday after work at about 7pm, Dale (your awesome helper when you call in too Old Will), Brian (just another guy), and I went to Cedar Bluff Reservoir in Kansas for some fishing. Our goal was to catch Wiper, Sand Bass, and Cats. We only ended up catching Sand Bass but we caught a bunch. So Dale being himself kept some secrets prior to departure. The big nasty secret was that Friday night the wind was forecast to blow 30 kts gusting to 40 kts. Well, that wind forecast ended up being spot on and when we got to the lake at about 1am, we tried fishing a bit but it was just too windy. After a few hours of shuteye in the vehicle we were back out on the dam and the fishing was good. We were hookin' into some Sand Bass every few casts for a good part of the morning. During the day Saturday we set up camp even though we would hardly spend any time there. Then after another little stretch of shuteye we went back out for the night bite. The fishing was pretty good yet again. The forecast for Saturday night had the temperature dropping to 32 degrees. But even with that forecast the temperature remained comfortable until we left for camp at around midnight. Sunday night we actually got some real sleep and we even slept in and missed the morning bite. Pretty sad. We didn't get to the dam until 8am. The morning bite was missed and we only ended up catching a few fish. And that was it for fishing. We ended up leaving the lake around 11am and struggled through the five hour drive back to D-town. Well now you know.

Trevor

My Desk

Earlier I was looking over my desk and decided too share some of the "stuff" on my desk. Of course I have the common items such as pens, pencils, notepads and even though I was in advanced math classes throughout my school years I still keep a handy dandy calculator in easy reach. I have a phone on my desk so I can talk to our wonderful customers who decide to call in to chat with us. I have a bag of sour patch jelly beans next to my Tootsie Roll bank. The Tootsie Rolls were a hot commodity with my co-workers and didn't last very long which is OK because now I have a bank where I am always accepting donations. I also have allergy medicine within arms reach since the Colorado allergens seem to get the best of me. Well there you have it an inside glimpes of the stuff on my desk.

Have a great weekend
Dale

Buildin' Stuff

Hi,

I’ve decided to take on a few new projects at home.  The projects I’m looking at are mainly carpentry related.  I think it all started many years ago when I was about 10.  My grandpa used to build bird houses and I would go to his place and he would help me make them.  I also enjoy working with my hands.  I was a mechanic for a while and still like to turn wrenches in my spare time.  I’m just waiting on a clear title to start on my Nova.  But as far as carpentry, I’m still pretty new to the sport.  I just built a huge shelving system in my garage which is 10 feet wide, 8 feet tall, and 2 feet deep to accommodate big plastic boxes full of all that stuff that used to reside on the garage floor.  After that Shala and I made a “built-in” desk and a nice shelf to go above it.  My current project is a set of baby gates.  One gate for upstairs and one gate downstairs.  My little girl has started walking so it’s on the top of my list.  After that, I plan on making a coat rack and a corner shelf for my office.  I’ve read somewhere that plants are good so I need a shelf to keep one on (and maybe a picture of my little girl).  I have not lost any fingers yet, (although I had a very close call on a tire mounting machine at a Ford dealership I used to work at as a diesel tech.  I hope that if I lose one, it’s not an important one.  On the subject, scoot over to YouTube and search “world's safest saw” and check that out.  It’s a table saw with an electric current running through the blade.  If your body contacts it, it grounds out and causes the blade to drop below the table and not cut off any appendages. 

Bye,

Ruben

Plants, Plants & More Plants

I recently bought a plant to live here on my desk at the warehouse. No particular reason, just felt that the spiky little guy would spruce things up a bit. It wasn't until today that I actually looked up the health benefits of having greenery in the workplace. Did you know that computer screens, photocopiers, air conditioning, office furniture and even the paint on the walls emit nasty chemicals that float around the office all day? I didn't. I also didn't know that when you combine those chemicals with a lack of open windows, low humidity from the heating and air system and poor natural light it can make people feel sick even though they don't actually have an illness.


Luckily, plants are great at removing airborne impurities. They also naturally control the humidity, remove carbon dioxide (which makes people feel drowsy and unable to concentrate) and elevate moods. A few of the best air filtering plants are the Spider Plant, Golden Pothos and the Peace Lilly. If you spend your life in your office, go grab a plant and reap the benefits!


Bye for now,
Shala

All the ways to $ave.

Who loves coupons? Of course, everybody does! I watched this show the other day on TLC about people who spend up to 8 hours a day finding deals and clipping coupons.  Many of these people take advantage of so many deals they have extra rooms in their house just to store all the nonperishable items they have collected over the years.  Personally, I'm one to pay for convenience but I love deals offered by sites like Groupon and LivingSocial.  And now, just out today you can get deals like these through Facebook! They are only to be offered in 5 cities to start,but soon they will be offered everywhere.  See this article posted on MSNBC today: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42763765/ns/business-consumer_news/?ocid=twitter. 

Customers are always asking me where they can get coupons for our site...we may not be in your face with coupons, but Old Will does offer lots of ways to save. First, check out our 24 hour special.  Old Will posts a new "Real Deal" on one weighing scale, every weekday at 4pm Mountain Time. The special varies quite a bit... one day it'll be a low priced little gram scale, the next day it might be a big portable scale. Ya' just never know, so check back often.  Second, sign up for our newsletter on our homepage.  No, we don't send ya' junk everyday...every now and then we just like to give ya' a shout about new products we've added or a limited time special you don't want to miss.  Finally, our new promotional event called FREE SCALE FRIDAYS.  See our giveaway page for details. 

TTFN,
Allison

The Poor Life Of The Male Anglerfish

The anglerfish, otherwise known as Melanocetus Johnsoni, is the most disgusting looking creature that cruises the depths from 200 meters to 1000 meters below the surface of the ocean. The male anglerfish has possibly the worst existence in the world. In the world of the anglerfish the female is the one with the lure. The male anglerfish does not carry a lure, and it will remain smaller than one tenth the size of the female. There are 15-30 available males per female. So once the male quickly matures into an adult it is constantly on the hunt for the elusive and rare female. So not only is the male looking for the rare female but since becoming an adult the male anglerfish’s digestive system has shut down meaning it must find a female or starve to death. Once a female anglerfish has been spotted by the male, the male will swim up and bite the female. The male with its hooked teeth will latch on to the belly of the female. After a while the skin of the male will start to fuse with skin of the female until the two become one. The male anglerfish is now just riding shotgun in the life of the female, basically a parasite with only the reproductive organs remaining. A female anglerfish can have up to 6 males stored in her body at a time. The female can call on those males at a time of her choosing to reproduce and that is the cycle of life for the male anglerfish. The male anglerfish obviously has received the crap end of the stick of life.

T Rev

I need to ship stuff!

Hi Everybody,

Every day I talk to many, many different customers who need a scale for many, many different weighing applications.  But oddly, I hear the same few questions from just about everybody. 

1.  Do you have one with a bigger platform?  

2.  Do you have one with a higher capacity?  

3.  Do you have one with a better resolution?  

4.  Do you have one with a lower price?

I hear those questions from everyone, but today I want to help with the concerns of our friends in various shipping departments.  Now, we have lots and lots of different scales, but we don’t always have that perfect scale that our customers may be imagining.  But we do have some tips that can help you to find the right scale out of the many we carry.  And most of the time, we do find that perfect scale.

1.  As far as scales go, the larger the platform, higher the capacity, better the resolution, the higher the price.  Just find the least amount that will work for the application to get the best deal.  When looking for a shipping scale, even if you ship the occasional monster package, a monster platform is not always necessary.  Just today, I weighed a box measuring 24”x18”x22” (LxWxH) that weighed an ounce over 57 pounds.  I did this on a scale with a 9”x9” platform!

As for the rest:

2.  UPS only allows packages up to 150 pounds before you have to go freight.

3.  For shipping UPS packages, a scale with a 0.2 pound resolution is the highest accuracy you need.  The same goes for Priority Mail.  First Class Mail Packages (not small letters) need nothing more than 0.1 ounce.

4.  This is Old Will Knott Scales!  We have scales in ANY price range.  We have a hand scale for weighing letters for $4.90 shipped!  Scales that cover First Class Mail Packages and small UPS and Priority packages from 0.1 ounce all the way up to 15 pounds for $34.50 (we use this one in our own warehouse).  And even a 150 pound beast with a 14”x14” platform (also used in our own warehouse) for $131.90.

You can check out the whole line of shipping scales if you CLICK THIS LINK!

If you run a mailing store, or ship internationally, the above info may not apply to you.  To learn more about UPS and USPS policies, check out their websites below:

United Parcel Service

United States Postal Service

Bye,

Ruben (Rub)

Will It Ever End?

Has anyone been keeping up with the NFL labor dispute? Now, I wouldn’t say I have been keeping up with all the new developments and such but I have been checking the internet periodically for updates as I wait impatiently for the dispute to finally end so I can be assured my beloved New York Giants will have a chance to be Super Bowl champs in 2011. I just don’t get it. The NFL is a billion dollar business and the owners as well as the players can’t agree on anything it seems. One day you hear the players didn’t want to meet with the owners and then the very next day you hear the owners were the ones who didn’t want to meet with the players. There are so many fingers being pointed in the opposite direction that there isn’t any chance of a resolution. I think it is time for the players and the owners to look in the mirror and realize that they have to give a little to get a little. Unfortunately, we are talking about billionaires and millionaires here so I don’t know if it will happen and if it does will it be too late for this season? I am hoping the labor dispute gets resolved sooner rather than later.

Disgruntled NFL Fan,

Dale

Soap's No Joke

Soap making is a serious process that requires exact amounts of each ingredient for smooth going. That's the very reason the majority of soap makers use scales to weigh each of their ingredients, even the water, to make sure the right amounts of each ingredient go into their soap mixture. Today, I had the pleasure of talking to a long time soap maker, and long time customer, whose scale finally went kaput after years of use. After I got her all fixed up with a new scale, I told her that I have been interested in making soap for a long time but never got around to it. Turns out, she's not only a member but the Vice President of a very well recognized soap guild and directed me to their website: soapguild.org.

Their site is full of information for beginner, intermediate and veteran soap makers. I quickly found articles on types of soap, how soap is made, and even a list of soap making ingredients. This site has all the info I need to get started making my own soap...Now, I wonder where I could possibly find a scale? :)

Aaaaadios!

Shala