How much do you know about cowboys?

29 07 2010

Looking for a quick summer break? See if you can answer the following cowboy trivia.

1. What was the name of the singing cowboy in the musical Oklahoma!?
a-Curley, b-Lucky, c-Frankie, d-Petey.

2. What symbol appears on the helmets worn by the Dallas Cowboys?
a-Pistol, b-Bucking bronco, c-Lasso, d-Star.

3. What kind of cowboy did Glen Campbell sing about in a 1975 hit single?
a-Rhinestone, b-Coca-Cola, c-Electric, d-Midnight.

4. Which of these actors did NOT play an astronaut in the 2000 movie Space Cowboys?
a-Donald Sutherland, b-James Garner, c-Tommy Lee Jones, d-Jack Lemmon.

5. Which Old West figure was portrayed by Howard Keel in the 1953 Doris Day musical Calamity Jane?
a-Buffalo Bill, b-Wild Bill Hickok, c-George Armstrong Custer, d-Wyatt Earp.

6. What country singer, who died at the age of 29, was backed by the Drifting Cowboys?
a-Hank Williams, b-Hawkshaw Hawkins, c-Ray Price, d-Webb Pierce.

7. Marion Michael Morrison was the real name of which western actor?
a-Roy Rogers, b-Gene Autry, c-John Wayne, d-Hoot Gibson.

8. Which song by the Steve Miller Band includes lyrics about being called a “space cowboy?”
a-”Take the Money and Run,” b-”Swingtown,” c-”The Joker,” d-”Jet Airliner.”

9. Which cowboy hero was portrayed by William Boyd on TV and in a series of films from the 1930s?
a-Red Ryder, b-The Cisco Kid, c-Hopalong Cassidy, d-The Lone Ranger.

10. “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” was his first number one country song for what singer in 1993?
a-Trace Adkins, b-Garth Brooks, c-Toby Keith, d-Tim McGraw.





Maintaining Your Business With Technology

27 07 2010

Last year Kodak retired its infamous Kodachrome color film. Kodak produced the first easy to use consumer film cameras (Instamatics) and of course the film that went with it. Due to the simplicity and success of point and shoot, cameras are everywhere now but with one small difference; they’re all digital. Yes, there is still a market for film but the vast majority of cameras are digital. The Eastman Kodak company has been able to survive the times because they’ve adapted to the current technology and consumer demand. They no longer are the industry leader in photographic film because they don’t have to be. That technology has been retired.

How are you transforming  your company to keep up with technology? Do you have an online store rather than just brick and morter? Are you advertising your business using modern outlets such as Twitter and Facebook instead of just newspapers or flyers? Did you register your company with Internet search engines rather than just the Yellow Pages? Keeping up with the times is key to a business’s success. Don’t let lack of technology retire your business.

Phillip Grandsard  is a Software Developer at PagePath Technologies. PagePath was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Plano, Illinois. PagePath’s MyOrderDesk is an eCommerce solution that combines, Web-to-Print, automated proofing, pricing, reordering and more. It seamlessly integrates into a printing organization’s existing website or can be used as a standalone site. MyOrderDesk is known throughout the printing industry as the leader in Web-to-Print software.





Printers can benefit with a diversified customer base

14 07 2010

Sometimes a small print company gets lucky. They land a big contract that promises to increase their business by one-third or more.

Here are some situations they have to deal with:

  • They have to hire more help almost immediately, which means training costs. If the new customer sells out to another company or quits the contract for some other reason, they will have to let these people go, a painful process that also makes unemployment insurance costs skyrocket.
  • The lucky printer may spend so much time on the new account that other customers get less-satisfactory service and, as a result, take their business elsewhere.
  • The print firm becomes so involved with the new customer that it fails to keep its advertising program up to date. It isn’t attracting the type of customer that was the mainstream of their business before.
  • At Yale School of Management, Professor Constance Bagley says that when you get a big new account, “You can’t stop being scrappy. You have to constantly be thinking that things can change dramatically in 60 to 90 days.”

Quoted in INC., Bagley says big companies are constantly looking for value. You have to figure out your immediate needs and address them. Keep the information flowing, especially information about their costs and their competitors. Talk with the R&D department and the new customer’s leader.

If you do well on this contract, you can use the experience to attract new clients of the same kind.

Joe Kern  is Vice President of  Marketing/Customer Service at PagePath Technologies. PagePath was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Plano, Illinois. PagePath’s MyOrderDesk is an eCommerce solution that combines, Web-to-Print, automated proofing, pricing, reordering and more. It seamlessly integrates into a printing organization’s existing website or can be used as a standalone site. MyOrderDesk is known throughout the printing industry as the leader in Web-to-Print software.








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