Future Sundog’s

Happy New Year

Happy New Year,

Usually I start every year with a very large list of goals broken down into categories like: spiritual, family, business, physical, etc. This year, with premature triplets born 12/3/09 at home, it seems almost crazy to think in longer terms than one day at a time. I find my goals much more basic and down to earth this year. For instance – things like: work hard and do the best with each day I have, daily enjoy and love my family as much as I can, make as many good healthy choices as I can each day. The only time I worry over a scale is when we are putting one of the newborns on it to ensure they are gaining weight and healthy. I guess, in some ways, this year is going to be much more about living in the now versus working towards what will be or could be.

The change in my family life is also having an impact on how I feel about business this year as well. My goal for this year is to keep things much more simple, to simply focus on providing high quality products and services. I feel less pressure to be swamped with upcoming projects and have more of a desire to take a handful of projects at a time, producing a quality final products for our clients much like a custom boat maker carefully crafts the vessels commissioned by his customers. I also want to focus this year on providing the highest quality of support and service as possible to everyone we work with. I really feel our business was and is being built on this type of old fashioned quality service.

So, to everyone that we have had the honor to work for over the years, I want to wish you a wonderful new year and encourage you to take one day at a time and enjoy enjoy each to the fullest.

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. That’s why we call it the present. ~Babatunde Olatunji

Joe, Cathy, Caleb, Joshua, Daniel, Gabriel and Josiah Law

The Triplets Have Arrived

On December 3rd the triplets arrived.

Happy Thanksgiving Month!

With Cathy pregnant with triplets, all boys mind you, we have been joking quite a bit about how it looks as if she has swallowed a turkey. This, of course, is more appropriate now that it is November and Thanksgiving is just a short time away.

Usually I try to share some exciting new work we have just completed (and there has been quite a bit) or some wonderful new technology that you might consider to market your business but, this month I just wanted to take a moment and share a short list of both personal and professional thanks that Cathy and I have.

• Although I have to admit trepidation at being 41 years old with triplets on the way, our most obvious thanks is that we are going to be adding 3 boys to our family and that we will have 7 stockings hanging from the mantle of the fireplace this Christmas.

• I am thankful for the freedom and safety we have in this Country and for those who risk their lives to keep it that way.

• I am thankful for my family’s good health.

• I am thankful for the business that God has given us, great customers, and a team that make it worthwhile to get up each day to serve the community and each other and continue to challenge ourselves to grow in the exciting career path we have chosen.

So, on behalf of the Sundog Media team, I just wanted to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving month. And, as you are enjoying your turkey this year, we would appreciate your prayers for the delivery of 3 healthy baby boys. In fact I know we are getting close because Cathy’s belly button has already popped out and I think that means they are almost done cooking.

Joe Law

3 Great Reasons To Work With Sundog Media

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should!

Cooking is one of my life’s passions, and I fancy myself quite the accomplished home chef. Like a lot of hobbies and passions, you never stop learning, do you? A couple of years ago, I discovered a recipe for Veal Paprika. The recipe encouraged me not to use your garden-variety paprika, but instead to find and shell out some decent cash for “smoked paprika (sweet)”. Besides salt and pepper, that was the only spice used in the dish. Okay, I thought. I’ll go find some. When I brought home my little tin and opened it to see what all the fuss was about, I literally swooned when that smoky oak scent wafted through my kitchen.

Needless to say the Veal Paprika I made was amazing, and there was no doubt in my mind that it was all down to the smoked paprika. In my home chef like mind, I thought I had discovered a spice that would revolutionize some of my standard dishes, like meatloaf, my pork roast tenderloins, perhaps a little in my homemade marinara sauce, or better yet…how would it taste if I added some to my homemade egg pasta?! I couldn’t wait to try it in every single thing I made…and I did, much to my family’s disappointment. During what was I think the sixth or seventh meal that I had added my new spice best friend to, I yammered on and on about it. I wanted to “add it to this and that dish, it would be great if I did this with it,” etc. etc. My daughter, ever patient with me, looked right at me, a tad bit of trepidation in her eyes, and said, “Uhm Dad, just cause you can, doesn’t mean you should.”

She was so right. I went a bit loopy cause I was excited by something new, something that I thought would add extra flavor and enhancements to my dishes that were already darn good to begin with (if I do say so myself).

Website creation is another of my life’s passions, and I know I’m quite accomplished at it because it’s how I’ve made my living for the past 13 years. And, the one thing I’ve learned when I’m building a site is to always tell myself “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” Sure, I have the ability to use “exotic spices” like animations, flash, videos, music, etc., when I’m creating a website. But I won’t if it doesn’t enhance the overall “dish” or main focus of the website, because sometimes that extra flavor can just ruin the whole thing.

So if you’re looking at your existing website, or thinking about having one created, remember…just cause you can, doesn’t mean you should.

Oh, and in case you’re curious here’s my recipe for Veal Paprika (modified a bit from the original I found in a Williams Sonoma cookbook)

Veal Paprika

Ingredients:

1lb of Roma Tomatoes

2lb of *boneless veal shoulder, cut into 1 inch cubes

2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

1 yellow onion, diced

2 green peppers, diced

4 tablespoons smoked paprika (sweet)

salt & pepper to taste

chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (for garnish)

What to do with it all:

Core and peel the skins of the tomatoes. Sounds easy, right? Well it is actually, here’s how to do it:
Get out a saucepan and fill it ¾ of the way up with water and set it on the stove to boil. Meanwhile, use a paring knife and cut out the cores, and then cut an X on the opposite end. Get out a big bowl, fill it with water and some ice cubes…it needs to be cold! Then, when the water is boiling, stick the tomatoes and wait about 30 seconds, take `em out with a slotted spoon or strainer, and put `em in the big bowl filled with water and ice cubes. Let `em set in the water for a few seconds, take `em out…and peel off the skins with your fingers…they should just slide right off. Once all the skins are removed, cut each tomato in half, and carefully squeeze out the seeds, and then give all the tomatoes a coarse chop.

Now, in a dutch oven (which I prefer) or a heavy sauté or saucepan, warm up the olive oil to medium heat. When its “hot”, add the veal cubes in batches (don’t crowd the cubes!) and sauté gently until lightly seared on all sides (about 3-4 minutes per batch) and stick it on a plate and repeat with the next batch until you’re all done. Do NOT allow the cubes to brown! I can’t stress that enough.

Now that you’re all done searing the veal cubes, add the diced onion to the same pan (add more oil if you need to) and sauté until their translucent…about 3 minutes or so. Now…add the tomatoes, peppers, paprika, salt and pepper, and stir occasionally for a few minutes. Then, turn your heat down to medium-low and add all of the veal back into the pan and let cooked, uncovered, for a couple of hours. Stir gently every now and again…if the sauce gets too thick add a little bit of water.

That’s it. Get out a big server platter, cook up about 16 ounces worth of homemade extra wide egg noodles (you’ll have to email me for that recipe) and place it on the platter…and then top with the Veal Paprika and a little garnish of the chopped parsley.

*Note. If you can’t find boneless veal shoulder, try using flank steak, that works pretty good as well.

I’m an Attorney now, right?

“I’ve read all of John Grisham’s novels, I’ve watched every episode of Boston Legal and now I’m certainly qualified to be an attorney, right? Right?”

Yep. You’re an attorney. Just like anyone who’s ever watched NASCAR is qualified to be a race car driver, or someone who’s watched House or Grey’s Anatomy can claim to be a surgeon.

Totally absurd, yes? Of course it is.

But, during my 13 years of being in the web design profession, at least once a week a non-web professional tells me how to go about doing my job. I’m told how to do things because someone “…read this article” or someone “…went to this 1 hour seminar” or “I’ve got a copy of Adobe Photoshop so that means I know how to create a web site.” Well that’s like saying, “I’ve got a box of crayons so I’m an artist now!” Good, knock yourself out, Picasso.

Here’s the thing. If I need legal advice I trust that my attorney will steer me in the right direction. It’s in her best interest to help me…I’ve paid her and she wants me to come back and use her services again. She’ll take the time to listen to me and my legal needs, and then she’ll do everything in her power to advise me on the best course of action, how to go about doing it, how long it should take and how much money it’s ultimately going to cost me.

That’s exactly what we do for our customers at Sundog Media.

But some of our customers have a tendency to have really, really forceful and demanding opinions (you know who ya are, we still love ya though) and so we spend a great deal of time having “discussions” about the proper way to do something. Sometimes we will bang our heads against our desks in private and then acquiesce. Other times we will flat out refuse. But we do take the time to listen and we do our utmost to respect our customers opinions, we wouldn’t be professionals if we didn’t.

Take a moment and read this article for me, “If an Architect had to work like a Web Programmer“. This article has been around for quite some time, not really sure who wrote it, but as web professionals we think it’s not only hilarious…but it’s also very, very true.

So the next time you have a chat with us or anyone else in the wonderful world of web professionals, do us a small courtesy, respect the fact that we know what we’re doing, why would you be paying for our services otherwise? And if at all possible, we’d like a hug.

Can great design save newspapers?

While reading one of my favorite blogs “Signal v. Noise” by 37 Signals

I really enjoyed the below video about how great design impacted the subscription growth of a print newspaper.

Enjoy!

What is Your Chuck E. Cheese?

In 2008, I installed a pull up bar at the entrance to the stairway of my office.  My simple goal was to be able to crank out 10 pull ups without stopping; not too impressive I realize, but a person has to have a goal.  My 7 year old son, Caleb, immediately gave it a try and was able to crank out 3 in a row.  Later that day I heard him begging, “Mom, can we go to Chuck E. Cheese?”  This was pretty persistent throughout the day so… we came up with his goal, if he did one thousand pull-ups, then he could go to Chuck E. Cheese.  1,000 Mind you!  Caleb immediately sat down and with Cathy’s help, produced a bar graph to keep track of his progress.  He proceeded to crank out pull-ups as often as he could get one of us to lift him up onto the bar.  Eventually, we got so tired of being begged to lift Caleb up to the bar, we set a stool next to it so he could get up on his own.  Amazingly, he proceeded to do 1,000 pull ups in 4 days; at 7 years old.  That is a real big desire to go to Chuck E. Cheese!

This story has been circulated around to many of my friends and colleagues, now people that know the story commonly question - What Is Your Chuck E. Cheese?  Have you thought about this?  What motivates you, causes you to aspire to greater things, inspires you to do things that you normally would not have even begun, much less accomplished?  Caleb’s example struck a chord with me;  I realized that it is crucial for each of us to learn and understand what our “Chuck E. Cheese” is.

So, if you have read this far, you might be asking, “What the heck does this have to do with Sundog Media and their blog?”   My answer is.. just thought I would share a little about some of the “Chuck E. Cheeses” I have for this company… what motivates me, what is it that I hope motivates and represents the team members of this company.

Here Goes:

•  Being a part of and growing a company that puts family first.

•  Producing brilliant work that helps our customers succeed.

•  Creating more “LIFE” for everyone who comes in contact with us.

•  Constantly learning and stretching my skills and knowledge within my field.

•  Building a company that is amazing to work for.

•  Working with great clients and growing meaningful relationships.

•  And of course…  Who am I kidding?  Earning enough gas money for our boat, the “Sundog”.

So, I am about up to 8 pull-ups in a row now and we’ve raised Caleb to 2000 pull- ups per Chuck E. Cheese visit, it was getting too expensive buying the pizza and tokens.  So take a moment and ask yourself.

What is Your Chuck E. Cheese??!!! And if you like Chuck E. Cheese, this hyperlink will direct you to coupons!

Cheers,

Joe Law
Sundog Media: President