Time for a New Car

I love to drive. I really enjoy it, long trips or short, it doesn’t much matter. I’ve driven Mercedes-Benz, trucks, SUVs, compacts, station wagons the typical gamut. Yet, I wouldn’t really call myself a car enthusiast. I like cars but I don’t like to spend money on them. I used to dream about having a Ferrari 308 GTB but since then I’ve decided that I didn’t want the headaches associated with maintaining and driving a valuable item that could be stolen or destroyed so easily. So, I let others bear the risk of expensive cars and I enjoy them from afar. Instead, I’d rather spend my money on travel.

I love to travel more than I love to drive. Now, some people say they like to travel but what they really mean is they like to arrive. They don’t really like the process of traveling. They travel only to arrive at their destination. I actually like the process of traveling, from the time I leave my front door take the train, the shuttle, the airplane, the metro and finally the cab to my new temporary residence. I’ve traveled from Rome to Hokkaido, enjoying every minute of it. When I flew to Tokyo I was so excited by the flight that I didn’t sleep the whole way. I traveled with a group of friends. After we landed, we boarded a bus to go to our hotel. Once on the bus, I fell sleep immediately and missed Disneyland Tokyo :-(. Travel memories can be treasured in a way that a car can’t. Besides memories can’t be dented. Memories don’t rust. They don’t depreciate in value. They never leave oil stains on the driveway or leave you stranded on the side of the road.

So what does all this have to do with a car. I get a lot of miles out of my cars. I don’t think I’ve ever put less than a hundred thousand miles on a car; new or used. Well, I bought a used card about 8 years ago. When I bought it, it already had about 200,000 miles on it. I’ve put another 60 or 70 thousand miles on the car.. Sadly, it’s starting to show its age. So, I need a new car, but I hate to spend money on cars. Never-the-less it is time to start shopping.

If someone were to plop 50,000 dollars in my lap, what would I do? Buy a BMW or maybe a fuel efficient Toyota or Honda? No, I’d probably put 5,000 on a good used Mini Cooper and put the rest of the money toward a trip for my family. What can I say, travel is in my blood My ancestors probably came up through Mexico with Coronado. Some have suggested leasing, which is just a tricky way to say renting. You pay for the whole car but don’t get to keep it. If you use it just a little too much they’ll sock it to ya when it’s time to turn it in.

I’ve also heard the phrase “invest in a car.” Hah! I say. A car is not an investment unless it’s a collectible. An “investment” is something that increases in value. Unless you make a profit when you sell the car it is NOT an investment. I’m analytical enough to know that a good car is worth the money. But, darn it, I’d still rather spend the money on a good trip with family or friends.

I took my son on a trip to Paris, Chartres, London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dublin, Limerick, Cork, and Avoca. It was a whirlwind of a tour in a tiny car. We covered about 2,500 miles in a week. We spent less than $2,000 on a collection of memories and stories that will last a lifetime. Cars are fun. And I admit, I’d love to drive a new BMW 325i but I’d rather spend a month in Europe and Asia showing my family the sites for the same amount of money. What’s most important to you? Are you taking steps to get it?

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Stumbling Toward Poverty

Few people actively plan to become poor, that is to say, without resources. Most of us hope, and a few of us plan to come into some measure of wealth. However, there are certain character traits or habits that seem to naturally propel a person towards poverty. I’m sure none of you have any of these frailties, but let’s play it safe and double-check ourselves. Why? Because even a little bit can slow us down. I don’t know about you but I want to move forward with dispatch.

Arrogance is typically portrayed with an upturned nose and a downward glance. Some people lean backwards so they can look down their nose at you. If you’re really tall, or they’re really short, this can be humorous as you watch them struggle to maintain balance. In reality, we’re being arrogant anytime we fail to acknowledge that someone else may have expertise in an area we don’t or has more expertise in an area where we do. Arrogance goes by another name, pride. Pride will turn a blind eye to flaws and exaggerate strengths. When pride takes over you’re easily blindsided. In fact, one way to take down an enemy is to feed their pride. Unfortunately, arrogance and pride can exact a heavy toll on the culprit and innocent bystanders as well. As an example the Enron scandal was a result of a few people thinking they were better than everyone and above the law. They were not the only ones to suffer the consequences. The antidote to pride is a healthy dose of acknowledgment of others’ contributions mixed with gratitude. You may have have aced the bar exam but the waitress bringing dinner still deserves of your respect because she’s willing to serve you in the best manner she can. As you liberally distribute acknowledgment and gratitude you will build yourself a network of people who are willing to support your endeavors. Pride, on the other hand, creates a cadre of people looking forward to your fall.

Haste is probably one of those values that modern people have started to believe is actually a virtue rather than a vice. So, let’s be clear, by haste I mean the willingness to take action without a plan. Carrie Underwood’s “Last Name” song is a sad and humorous ditty about the effects of acting without a plan. Plans are for more than buildings and careers. Plans are important for dates and, as Carrie warns us, for nights at the bar. Thousands of home loans were made without adequate forethought about the consequences of rising interest rates, gas prices, and a stalled economy. A few CEOs lost their jobs but even more people lost their houses, savings and credit ratings. Haste is evil!

I’ve only met one person in all my decades of living that admitted to being lazy. I take that back, I’ve met two. Laziness creeps up on all of us. It usually masquerades itself as a well deserved break. It can be devastating. You let something slide today just because you’re tired or bored. Maybe you don’t do a thorough check of a gauge or setting and nothing bad happens so you’re lulled into a false sense of security. I’ve discovered that most people don’t know what “couple” means. As in, “It’ll take just a couple of minutes.” Or, “What’s the big deal? I was only a couple of minutes over on my break.” From casual measurements of people using that phrase I’ve found that they usually mean anywhere from 5 to 10. If one of your employees extends their morning and afternoon break by just a “couple” of minutes everyday, by the end of the year you’ve been deprived of more than 43 productive hours (2 breaks x 5 minutes x 52 weeks). Multiply that times the number of employees doing it and you’re talking some serious productivity gaps. If you’re self-employed or you’re paid according to your performance then that productivity loss comes right out of your pocket. One antidote for laziness is decisiveness. Make the decision to “be here now” by giving the current project or task your full attention. Also, don’t leave your life to chance. Make a plan even for small things. Now “plan” doesn’t necessarily mean reams of paper with everything scheduled to the minute. It could be 5 or 6 lines on a notepad. The more plans you make, the more efficient at planning you’ll become.

Of all the vices I’ve seen the one that gets my vote for being the most damaging and the most insidious is visionlessness. Having no vision manifests itself in any number of forms such as procrastination, depression, hopelessness, despondency, violence, suicidal tendencies, and substance abuse. A person, a community, or even a country can be plunged into poverty and servitude to the one who does have a vision. A person without a vision doesn’t use time, they kill it. I believe that somewhere deep, deep inside the human soul there is something that passionately wants to move upward. By upward I mean from wherever you are to somewhere that is in someway better. If there isn’t anything on which to focus that drive or someone tries to force the focus onto something unimportant to us, we rebel either aggressively or passively. Throwing money at a person will not help them. In fact it will kill them. You have just provided the means to upgrade their method of escape – drugs, alcohol, sex, video games, any kind of distraction. A person with vision, a really hotly desired vision, will create money, seemingly out of thin air. They will make time not waste time. The world is setup in such a fashion that it rewards the go-getter, be it manor bird. When you have no vision you are bound and gagged. Every decision you make is meaningless because it does not move you toward a better place. So what’s the cure? Honestly, I’m not sure. I think it starts with enforcing one choice, then another, then another along a chosen path. I don’t believe the dream has to be grandiose like curring cancer or becoming president. I believe you can start with something simple like losing ten pounds (even if you should lose 50). Add to the dream a reward and a set of steps and you have the makings of a first rate plan. Dr. Joyce Brothers once decided to lose some weight. If I remember correctly, she decided to swim to her son’s home in another state – figuratively speaking. She broke the distance into the number of laps she needed to swim. She set a schedule and started swimming. There were days when she didn’t want to swim. She enforced the choice to swim anyway. Once she swam the distance she boarded a plane for a visit with her son. There’s an old saying that you can eat an elephant one bite at a time. You can build a better life one small vision at a time. The key is you must have a goal and you must push yourself to take each step to get there. Then, set the next goal.

There you have it. Four paths that lead inexorably toward having less resources than you want. But with extra effort you can avoid those dead-end roads. If you acknowledge and appreciate what those around you have to offer, you’ll build a support group deep and wide. Don’t waste time by being hasty. Instead, spend the appropriate amount of time to check the facts and make a plan suitable for the occasion. Don’t allow yourself to be tricked into laziness by either doing nothing or spending time on fruitless endeavors. Finally, and most importantly, develop and guard the vision for your future. It will make all the difference between having more than enough and poverty.

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Tortured in Hell

Gloria had been working overtime plus a part-time job for the last 6 months saving up for this trip. She was flying back home for a month to be with family and to help her best friend who was about to have a baby. She packed super-light by fitting all her possessions into one carry-on bag and her large purse. She got the cheapest fair by taking an indirect route and two different airlines. Everything was planned to the “T.” Unfortunately, the weather threw a wrench into the two-airline plan. She knew she’d have a layover but the weather delayed flights and she was stuck in the airport for the next 5 hours in the middle of the night. She didn’t want to spend the money on a hotel room for just a few hours nor spend the money on a cab to see the city. What would she see anyway at 3 in the morning. So, she tried to sleep. Airports are a little creepy at night when you’re alone. The unfamiliar noises, the cleaning staff and their infernal vacuum cleaners and conspiratorial hushed tones conspired to drive sleep away. About two hours into her stay in lay-over hell she started to relax enough to fall asleep. She would start to fall asleep but then a leg or arm would slide off the slick, genuine-imitation leather chairs. She thought about just laying on the floor but she felt too exposed. “Crap!” she yelled as her head snapped backwards giving her a whiplash-like pop. The two-second nap was interrupted by that head-snapping movement that is so funny to watch but terrible to experience.

Three hours to go. She hung legs over the arm of one chair and rested her feet on her bag. Then she tucked each arm under the opposite armpit, leaned forward and rested her head on the edge of the seat. Finally, sleep came. Suddenly, the set of 6 seats was jolted by a six-foot two goofy nerd and his laptop bag and overnighter. She jerked to attention ready to fight any would-be attacker. “I’m sorry did I wake you?” said he. “No, I was just sleeping.” she faked a half-polite, half-sarcastic smile and repositioned herself in an attempt recapture dreamland. Inside she was fuming. Out of the 836 chairs in the area, which she counted earlier out of boredom, why did he have to sit here? Oh my god she thought to herself. He’s either dangerous or available. After 30 hours without sleep and all the rigors of travel she wouldn’t have cared if he was Brad Pitt. In her head she just screamed, “Go AWAY!”

She was already in lay-over hell, now the torture started. He started talking to her. She discovered his name, his height, his weight where he was from where he’s going and where he went to school. She tried to be polite and tell him that she was really tired and needed to catch some sleep. He would apologize and shut up for about 3 minutes. Just enough for her to get within two winks of sleepy-land. But he was a nervous talker. He’d either start talking to himself or his computer.

She swung her legs back on the floor and put her bag back on the ground. He took this as an invitation of some sort and moved one seat closer and started talking to her.

“Let’s a play a game”

“A game? What kind of game? I’m tired.” she said nervously.

“I’ll ask you a question and if you don’t know the answer I win. Then you do the same. We’ll make it interesting and bet on the outcome.”

“No way! You just spent the last 45 minutes telling me about how smart you are and your success at MIT.” she said with horror as she realized this guy had been talking to a woman for 45 minutes and didn’t realize she was ignoring him.

“Ah come on. I’ll make it fair. A hundred if I lose and only five if you lose.”

She wasn’t desperate for money, she saved up quite a bit, but a hundred would sure be nice. He caught the glint in her eye and said “Great, it’ll be fun. You go first”

Gloria said, “All right. What goes up a mountain on three legs and comes down on two?” “That’s easy,” said Rich. But the words kept getting stuck in his mouth. Like panicked stutterer he just couldn’t get it out. Suddenly he stood up and started pacing. Gloria could tell this was going to take some time so she plopped her legs on her bag and slumped into the chair and promptly fell asleep. About 15 minutes later she woke up, opened one eye lid. She could hear him feverishly typing on his laptop with his back to her. In the window she could see the reflection of his laptop. He was searching Google! She smiled to herself and settled back into slumber. About twenty minutes later his voice woke her up. He was in a corner talking to someone asking them for help. It wasn’t really fair but she was enjoying herself knowing he was spinning in the wind.

She awoke again to the sounds of the airport coming alive and people milling around getting ready for the next flight. Her flight. He sat two seats away just kind of staring a hole in her. She stretched like a cat, smiled and said good morning. He just scowled at her and handed her a crisp one hundred dollar bill. “Now,” he said, “ what goes up a mountain on three legs and comes down on two?” She stuck her feet back in her Berkinstocks, reached into her pocket, pulled out a five and handed it to him. “I don’t know” she said as she walked to the gate.

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Reward Yourself

It’s funny but everyone seems to want to get rewarded in some way. Sometimes they want a “thank you” sometimes they want something much more substantial. Oddly, many people won’t reward themselves by seeking a job that provides maximum rewards. I don’t mean maximum pay. There are more ways to gain satisfaction then just money. Jobs that reward you for your performance are a great way to gain satisfaction. I knew a woman at a diner who made more money in tips than a journeyman carpenter made for a full week’s work. One of my bosses was especially enamored with the role of the salesman. He said, “A ditch-digger doesn’t dig a ditch until the salesman sells the contract.” When I was 16 I had a job that paid by the piece. I was so fast at it that I was making 5 times minimum wage as a junior in high school.

Are you unhappy in your current position? Maybe you need to either change jobs or find a way to measure and improve your productivity. If you’re a hostess keep track of how many people you seat and greet. Or look for a job where friendliness is rewarded in other ways. I knew a programmer who kept track of how many new lines of code he wrote every day. Knowing that he beat a previous record gave him a sense of accomplishment in addition to his paycheck. If you need to change jobs, then you need to exercise some guts and honesty by finding out what you like and what you’re good at (they are probably closely related). Then, find a job that rewards those characteristics. My waitress friend liked serving tables and being around people and her pay reflected her passion and expertise. So, don’t just work for a paycheck. Reward yourself with a job that will employ your talents and reward you accordingly in both money and satisfaction.

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It’s All In the Grind

Are you looking for a better cup of coffee? Have you been pondering the idea of buying a percolator or French press? Before you run off and buy the latest hotrod vacuum coffee maker, why not try grinding your own beans? I’ll admit the convenience of scooping pre-ground coffee into your pot is hard to beat. But the reality is, that you will have to grind your own coffee with fancier methods anyway.

The main advantage of purchasing whole beans is that more of the flavor is preserved. Grinding the beans creates more surface area. More surface area means more exposure to the air. Air exposure significantly degrades the coffee’s flavor. That’s why the coffee made from the bottom of your coffee can is a shadow of the great coffee taste you had when you first popped the top of that Folger’s Mountain grown. On the other hand, if you keep whole beans in an air tight container in your frig, then grind them before every brew, you will enjoy superb tasting coffee in nearly every cup.

Grinding your own beans is all about control. You retain complete control over your personal cup of coffee. No longer are you subject to an arbitrary setting on a machine far, far away. You are the master of the coarseness of the coffee grounds. You can experiment with it until you achieve the perfect brew. Throw caution to the wind and experiment. If you want more flavor, try a finer grind. Too bitter? Courser may be better. Some people say that a medium grind is best for drip coffee makers, find out for yourself. What does medium mean? A medium grind should be something akin to course sand. You have the freedom to experiment a bit within this range until you find the flavor you are looking for.

Getting started is easy, for around $30 you can by a basic blade type coffee grinder. Or if you already have one, a blender would be a cheap alternative. Operation is simple, the longer you chop, the finer the coffee. Fancier grinders have specific coarseness settings and use grinding drums instead of blades. This style allows you to make extra fine (flour like, used in Turkish coffee) in addition to course grinds. So before you rush off to the department store to buy the latest miracle coffee-machine, take a moment and consider the beans.

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The Key Ingredients

Like you, I have read a variety of personal development books and articles aimed at getting more things done. Some are imaginatively illustrated with cute characters other are littered with profound quotes from authors famous and obscure. I can’t really say any of are bad. Every one of them provided me with useful tips and some degree of motivation.

However, try this simple test if you dare. Take all the books, articles, day planners, and software and lock them in a room and come back in an hour, or a day, or a year. How much work was done? I’ll bet none! The prime ingredient to any successful personal productivity program is you. You’re the only one that can really get things moving.

At this point you’re either saying “duh!” or “doh!” depending on who your favorite characters are. Pointing out that you’re the prime ingredient may not be the most imaginative statement, however, it leads to the second most important ingredient. The second most important ingredient is the habit of taking personal responsibility. A lot of managers, parents, and teachers often use “personal responsibility” as a sort of whip or pointing device to emphasize that “it’s all your fault.” Well, that’s not what I mean. What I mean by personal responsibility is an act of your will that executes your decision to take action or make something about your life better.

If there is anything I could give you, or help you with, it would be to improve the quality of your life. Everything I’ve read and everything I’ve seen leads me to this conclusion: regularly exercising your will to put action to your decisions is, by far, the most important ingredient to improving your quality of life. It may be true and undeniable that you are too fat or too thin, too young or too old, or born at the wrong time or in the wrong place. But after we pat you on the head, agree with your misery, and give you a chocolate chip cookie what will you have? Nothing! You’ve lost a few more moments of precious, precious life that can never, ever be replaced.

So, now what? Well, do it! Take up the challenge. First, do some soul searching and decide what you really want out of life. Second, no matter how bad your life is right now, it probably has several positive attributes so make a list of the good things. Third, identify those things that would make your life better, not a lot better but just a little bit better. Fourth, take action. Do something that will move you toward your better life. Don’t ever permit yourself the luxury of blaming anyone else again. No, I don’t mean take the blame for the waiter spilling soup all over your outfit. Simply realize that it is a fact that it happened but that you and you alone determine how you react to the spilled soup. You could scream, you could cry, or you could just enjoy the rest of the meal.

Can’t stand your job? Start looking for a better one, patiently. If necessary, start studying to achieve the desired position. Do you hate where you live? Where do you want to live? Not ideally, like a penthouse or a palace. Instead, find that place that is one  level better, then make the necessary adjustments to get there. You can make your life better.  You are the only person who can. Keep at it.

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Just a Little More

Sometimes just a little bit more, over time, can make a big difference.  Say, you’re working in the yard and your body and mind are telling yourself it’s time to quit for the day.  Instead of quitting right then, tell yourself, “Just fifteen more minutes.”  Getting yourself into the habit of doing just a little bit more can be extremely effective and rewarding.

As Americans we’ve become too enamored by the big win and the long pass for the winning score.  Japanese students spend a half day more per week in school than U.S. students.  A half day isn’t much.  By the end of the year it adds up to a whole month. By the time they’ve graduated from high school they have had a whole year more education than U.S. students.  If you will work just 5 minutes more than your competition every day by the end of the year you will be 26 hours ahead (assuming a 6 day work week).  If you have the type of job that gets paid by tips then staying just a little bit longer to get an extra 2 dollars in tips will put you $624 ahead by the end of the year.  If you can get $5 per day you’ll be a whopping $1,560 ahead (assuming a 6 day work week).

I realize that there comes a point of diminishing returns, that point where you are too tired or too bored to do a good job.  However, the principle stays the same, and can be applied to any area of your life that is important to you.  If you’re running a marathon and you can increase your step rate by just one step per minute you will be 150 yards ahead by the end (assuming 2.5 foot stride and a run of 3 hours).

So, the next time you’re tempted to give up or give in try talking yourself into doing just a little bit more.

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Movie Going

Some of my fondest childhood memories center on going to the movies. For me, going to a movie is an event that includes more than just watching the movie itself. Maybe, everybody feels the same. I don’t know everybody, just myself.

As a child, my uncle Tony would come over to try to coax one or both of my parents into going to a movie with him. I could always tell when they were up to something and I always lobbied hard and strong to go. Sometimes I won. Sometimes I didn’t. Besides the movie itself, there was the fun of the drive and the discussion that followed. Through my teenage years, almost every date involved a movie. Now that I’m grown and have a family of my own we share movies as part of the gluing and assembling of a corporate family memory.

During my childhood, my family didn’t have very many traditions. Other than Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve we had no real reason to be together and those two holidays were never as pleasant as they should have been. Once I had children of my own I became determined to build at least a couple of traditions that would help bond us. Over the years, now I can say decades, we have always had pizza and a movie on Friday night. When my son went away to college, no matter how busy our schedule, he knew he could always get in touch with us on Friday night. His girlfriend, turned fiance, turned wife was quickly included and indoctrinated into the Friday night movie bonding experience.

We do more than just watch a movie, we congregate. Unlike a critic we look for life lessons, examples, counter-examples, and references to other movies. We’ve traveled throughout the U.S. and parts of Canada, Mexico, and Europe so we have a running contest to see who will be the first to say, “I’ve been there.” whenever an applicable location comes on the screen. I usually win We also try to spot when an actor or actress has been in another movie. My wife usually wins that one. I have only one rule, while the movie is running we let it be itself. It is its own reality and makes its own rules. Dissection is saved as a post-movie activity. If we find the movie is a remake we’ll get the original and watch it. The goal of the event is not to watch a movie but to give us something to share.

I never compare a movie to a book. They are two completely different mediums of expression. Each so rich that I believe they deserve their own categories. I see no value in comparing one with the other. But, hey, that’s just my opinion. Robert Ludlum’s Bourne series gave me six exciting stories instead of 3 originals and 3 re-makes in a different medium.

The next time you have a chance to watch a movie, I hope you’ll watch it with someone and turn it into an event to remember. Maybe, you too can build a tradition that will last a lifetime.

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Blustery Mystic Seaport

On my search for great places to have a couple’s date, I landed in Mystic Seaport on a partially cloudy Sunday afternoon in March. My first impression was, “Brrr, this place is cold.” It was a warm day inland but the cold ocean winds were a distraction to viewing the otherwise enchanting maritime village.

Mystic Seaport is a village based on 19^th century American maritime history and culture. Like many villages of its time it has the typical buildings such as a bank, a church, a school house, a general market, and drug store. However, unique to a maritime town are places like the cordage factory or ropewalk. The factory is in a very long building (only a fraction of what it originally was) where workers spun hemp fibers into yarn then twisted them into twine and rope using the length of the building to make the necessary lengths of rope.

Just a short walk away from the factory is the Shipyard where you can watch the staff restore an old wooden ship. The ships that have been repaired in the past like the L.A. Dunton can be found right around the corner in the harbor. The harbor is home to multiple tall ships that you can board to discover a true sailor’s life, even climbing below deck to see the galley, the cargo room, and the captain’s quarters.

Other places unique to a maritime village include the nautical instrument shop, the shipsmith shop, shipcarver’s shop, and hoop shop. Apart from the village exhibits, there are also several good museums. My personal favorite is the Figurehead Gallery displaying magnificent carved figureheads, billetheads, and catheads that rode majestically on the bows of ships.

Depending on the day you visit there are special events such as watching a cargo demonstration, helping to set and weigh an anchor aboard the L.A. Dunton, watching a whaleboat demonstration, making your own rope, throwing a harpoon, discovering the stars and planets in the planetarium, or charting a course in the Nautical Instrument Shop. In the summer months you can even take a sailing course from a professional instructor.

I give Mystic Seaport one star for a couple’s date, and four stars for a family outing. If maritime culture is of interest to you it is definitely a great place to look and learn. Because of the number activities geared towards children, families will get the most out this type of attraction.  I suggest you go when it’s warmer and bring kids.

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Computer Safety

A stolen or broken computer or crashed hard disk is especially stressful and can be costly. If it happens in the evening or on a holiday weekend it may be very expensive to get tech support, hardware, and software licenses to recreate the requisite environment. It seems that computers rarely crash after you’ve finished a major project. Instead, they crash right before the dead-line after some of the major contributors have left for vacation.

To reduce the risk of serious work interruption due to a computer crash or theft try these simple suggestions.

• Defragment your hard disk every Friday afternoon (or whenever your week ends). A fragmented hard disk decreases performance — the computer’s and yours.
• Make a copy of all the necessary files you need for the current project at the end of each day. Ideally, on a CD or DVD. This way if the computer is damaged, stolen, or the files go missing you can restore them or continue work on a different computer. Flash drives are great too but they’re easy to lose.
• Keep a backup computer new or used. You can buy a good one at Walmart for under $300. Put only the essential pieces of software on it.
• Keep all your work software (i.e. MS Office, Quick Books, etc.) in a safe place and do not lend it to anyone.
• Consider free software such as Open Office. If you suddenly need to rebuild your work environment you won’t need to run out to find an open store to buy the license.
• If you’re on the road and don’t have the necessary backup media try e-mailing or even faxing a copy to your home or office.

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