Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with schedule

The Best Way to Get Work Done

CollectiveMind — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 08:58:42 -0800

I have some ideas I want to bring to fruition. Is it best to focus on each one at a time until I either complete it or go as far as I can go with it? Or is it better to schedule my time so I work on each of them a little each day and move them all forward at once?

Setting up an online driving schedule

JannaK — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:48:03 -0800

Help me create an online driving schedule for friends/family to get a patient to and from far-away medical appts. Is there a better system than Google calendar? My uncle has chemo every other week, lives far from the hospital and has many friends and family willing to help him get to appointments. I've offered to help set up a calendar and "sign-up" system for driving him.

My current plan is to set up a Google calendar. It would be visible to all family/friends and a few of us could edit it. Then I'm thinking I would e-mail the group every couple months, have people look at the calendar, e-mail me with the shifts they could take and I would update the calendar. Then, I would have a reminder set up in Google to remind them a couple days in advance.

Has anyone else done this before? Am I overlooking major details? What worked and what didn't for you? Is there a better system than Google to work with? Did you allow edit access to all viewers or have them go through you to take a driving shift?

Thanks!

Intergalactic Google-fu Fail...

squasha — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:02:22 -0800

I've searched here, there, and everywhere for information on the optimal time/date for viewing this year's Leonid meteor shower from my little corner of central Japan. Has anyone else out there been able to find something with a world clock style of interface or am I reaching? I checked the IMO, but found their schedule unwieldy.... It's already frigid outside and I'm having a hard time convincing myself to just bundle up and go out there if there's a chance it will be better several hours from now, or worse, tomorrow night. It's nearly 9pm on Monday, November 16th, Tokyo time.

(Not that I'm there. If I were, light pollution would keep me from even bothering to ask. It's much darker here in rural Gifu.)

MS Outlook: scheduling VBA scripts?

pompomtom — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:45:38 -0800

Using Outlook 2007 on windows XP, how do I run a (VBA) script either daily, or on opening the application? In excel, I'd use something like an Auto_Open() sub, but I can't seem to find an analog for Outlook. Can I just refer to the script to a recurring appointment somehow?

Looking for time-planning software for a busy dog walker

primer_dimer — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:05:27 -0800

Looking for time-planning software for a busy dog walker My girlfriend's dog-walking business is busy, and it's taking a long time each night to plan the next day's walks. I'm looking for any kind of time-planning software that can help. Essentially the problem is to find the best solution to a set of constraints:

Dog A has to be picked up between 10am and 12am and walked for 1 hour
Dog B has to be picked up between 10am and 1pm and walked for 30 minutes

etc.etc.

At the moment she is planning her schedule by hand which is taking a long time. It seems to me that this is a job for a computer. I'm kind of resigned to writing some software myself to solve this problem, but any hints would be appreciated.

I both require and recoil from structure. Help?

The Dutchman — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:58:03 -0800

I have recently realized that, without some kind of structure in my life, I am not going to be successful (in terms of career and money). The times that I have had structure (college) have been my most successful and productive. However, the idea of structure sends me running, fearful of losing the freedom and flexibility to do what I want, when I want. I can see rationally how this aversion has hurt me: My freelance business is dying, I'm out of money and I'm not much further along in my "career" now than I was when I graduated from college 10 years ago (I'm 35). It's obvious to me that not having an income will restrict my freedom and flexibility even more than structure would, but this knowledge doesn't seem to make it any easier to bite the bullet and make myself a schedule or apply for a job. How can I give myself the structure I need without it hurting so much? Or, alternatively, how can I cope with the fact that it will hurt, because I know it's a trade with a net-gain? I'm already working with a therapist on this, but I'm looking for personal experiences with similar issues. What techniques, books, videos or anything else have helped you? One specific issue I'm hoping to address: I often have ideas to improve or expand my business, or for new businesses entirely that I really believe are good. I get excited for a while and then lose my drive to see them through to launch.

A thought I had was to put an ad on Craigslist to assemble a few like-minded freelancers/entrepreneurs and have a daily or a few-days-a -week video conference at the same time each morning. It would be pretty brief and consist of each person stating their tasks and goals until the next meeting and how they have done since the last meeting. Even that much structure makes me squirm a bit, but I'm thinking it would make me/us accountable in some way and be a tiny bit of schedule I'd have to adhere to -- maybe a way to dip my toe in to the concept of having structure.

eating to fall asleep

acidic — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:17:09 -0800

I have a new, strange work schedule, and my eating habits are making my sleep schedule go haywire. When and what should a person eat if they work from 3 pm to 10 pm, and want to be awake around 7 or 8? After a month of this new job, my sleep schedule is terrible. After arriving home at 10:30, I usually cook a fairly complicated dinner (I like to cook) and then catch up on TV shows, internet, etc. For the past two weeks I've been unable to fall asleep before 5 or 6 am. Consequently, I wake up around noon or 1, eat something light like yogurt or fruit or cereal, and head to work. 3 days a week I have a break around 6 pm and about half the time I'm famished and get a quick dinner (I'm in Korea-- so pork chop or noodles or rice). But even in those cases, I'm still hungry late at night so end up having two dinners. Other times I really crave sugar at night. I suspect that having such late meals has made it difficult to fall asleep. Before this I was on a regular schedule of dinner at 5 or 6, maybe a small snack later at night, and sleep whenever I wanted to between 12-2 am.

Ideally, I would wake up at 7 or 8, drink half a smoothie or something, go for a run, drink the other half, then prepare an elaborate and interesting lunch to be eaten around 1 or 2. However, what and when should I eat between 2 pm and my ideal sleeptime, 1 am, so that I'm able to fall asleep? I could snack at work, but I only have 5 minutes here or there and I've never seen anyone eat at work so I'd want it to be quick and discreet.

I can't really afford nuts or cheese (except ricotta and other homemade stuff) but yogurt and fruit are ok. I have a stove, grill pan, and blender and am a pretty good cook (and have a lot of time to do so). I am sort of a foodie and only eat meat a few times a week.

This question suggested quitting the computer 2 hours before bedtime and this question had some other suggestions about sleeping earlier. So I'm mostly interested in the connection between food and sleep. Thank you!

Looking for time-flexible way to get from Boston to NYC

ManInSuit — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:29:42 -0800

Looking for time-flexible way to get from Boston to NYC I'm going from my home city (Toronto) to Boston for a couple of days, then flying to New York, probably on a Monday afternoon or evening.

That "probably" is the key word. Ideally, I'd like to have some flexibility about when I leave Boston.

I wonder:

- Is there a plane ticket I can get that's cheap, and also allows for easy changes of time?

- Is it expensive or otherwise difficult to just buy a ticket on Monday for travel that day?

Any tips appreciated!

how to talk to people without actually talking to people

puckish — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:10:04 -0800

Suggestions for carving out alone time visiting a partner in a different city. I've had some rough times lately, and am currently staying with my partner (working in a different city for the summer) and his friends while everything gets straightened out. At home, we usually spend a huge chunk of every day together (we both work from home) and it's really easy to go from morning coffee to work at the coffee shop to joint lunch. We're collaborating on a project right now (that's partly why I'm here) -- but right now, I can't really think about anything, and just feel like I need some alone time. This has all got me feeling kind of stressed out --- yesterday I basically hid in the room and didn't talk to anyone, and that seems like kind of a lame way to be.

Any suggestions? specifically, for ways to break up the day, so that we can work on stuff productively (and hang out, and have fun) while I can still get quiet time to get my head straight?

Hondas and recommended service maintenance schedules, do you believe in them?

holdenjordahl — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:08:53 -0800

Hondas and recommended service maintenance schedules, do you believe in them? I've got a 1991 standard Hatchback, 169,000 miles. and i've done every single schedule maintenance. never had a problem with anything unexpected happening (which is why i do it). Now i'm wondering if there's a better (read: cheaper) way to do this, without sacrificing quality? I don't know any mechanics, don't want to it myself, but am curious if there's an alternative. Thanks.

Doing creative work on a schedule?

Alabaster — Wed, 27 May 2009 22:14:18 -0800

How to do creative work within scheduled, time-limited sessions? I've always done my best creative work when my schedule is open-ended -- a full day of solitude, all-nighters in college, etc.

Now work and family life intervene and I simply can't isolate myself the way I used to. I'd like to start scheduling regular sessions (e.g. every Saturday from 8-10am, etc.) to work.

The problem is, I've never been able to work that way before. Give me 2 hours to create and sometimes I'll come up with absolutely nothing. Other times I'll come up with something brilliant and have to wrestle with it for several hours in order to work it out.

I'm not asking about scheduling, deadlines, time-management, self-discipline, etc. I'm looking for advice on how get my brain and creative juices to work on a regimen -- how to do my best work during those 2-or-so hours, and particularly how to *stop* when time is up, even if I'm in immersed in an idea which demands an 8-hour stretch.

I know the answer is "just do it," but tips on *how* would be appreciated -- especially from people who naturally tend towards marathon work sessions but have managed to adapt to creating on a finite schedule.

Idle hands are eating a devils food cake

abdulf — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 09:55:48 -0800

I have the opportunity to exercise in the morning, at lunch and in the evening. Does it matter if I do certain exercises in order? I have an hour to workout before work, around 7-8am in the morning. Then another hour at lunch from 12-1pm. Finally, I have about 2 hours in the evening, typically 5-8pm or 7-10pm.

This is about 5 hours a day, possible more, that I could be using to reach my fitness goals. Right now I use 1 hour of that time.

I already follow a 3 day a week lifting routine from a Men's Health book. That typically takes about 20 to 40 minutes. Once or twice a week I attend a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class in the evenings that lasts 45 minutes.

I could do this indefinitely (have been doing this for almost a year) but it's not helping me reach my goals of weightloss. It has helped me maintain my weight and it has improved my fitness levels, but that isn't enough. My goal is to reduce weight (I'm 25 years old, 5'10, 240lbs).

Can you point me to extended exercise routines for people with a lot of time on their hands? Maybe the routines used for Olympic athletes or "the biggest loser tv show"? The only exercise I hesitate to do a lot of at this weight is running for extended periods since it tends to cause pain in my shins and knees.

I know nutrition matters. The issue on the nutrition end is not daily things like sodas or cookies. Rather, it's things like eating an entire box of cookies out of boredom. Being aware of this problem, combined with burning that spare time staying physically active, I think, will help me with this.

How do I mix a nightmare commute with good sleep hygiene?

charmcityblues — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 19:11:47 -0800

Due to circumstances out of my control, I have a nightmare commute once or twice a week for the next two months. The commuting itself is tolerable, but the disruptions to my sleep cycle aren't. Please help! Some background: I can't move closer (I'm finishing school). This is some part-time work at a company where I interned for almost a year. The tacit understanding is that this short-term stint will be lead to a full time job come June (yay!) The work itself is not physically demanding in the least, but it's mentally exhausting at times. In this field, people routinely put in 10+ hour days. Since this is basically an extended job interview, there's a decent amount of pressure to be first in / last out, etc.

The commute is 2 hours each way on a good day. I use public transportation so I can read / zone out, which helps. In order to catch the first leg, I have to be up by 5:30. I often get home at 10 or later. I have done this full time, for short periods, and it absolutely wiped me out. For several months, I worked on Fridays, giving me the weekend to recuperate. Now it's going to be Wednesdays and some Fridays, and I have classes (with homework, papers, etc) on Thursdays and some Fridays. I have to be functional, and even get some work done Wednesday nights.

I generally require a lot of sleep (8+ hours) to be on top of my game. I have struggled with sleep issues in the past, and it has not been pretty. I'm big on sleep hygiene, and I'm afraid that this is going to totally wreak havoc on my system. For example: tomorrow is the first day of this. It's 10pm, and I'm still wide awake. I can feel the clock ticking towards wakeup time, and it's freaking me out.

What can I do to ameliorate this situation? Should I try to switch my whole sleep schedule over to "early to rise?" What about supplements? Melatonin? A way to tweak my caffeine intake? What's the best way to avoid falling into the "coffee and doughnuts to get through the next 8 hours" trap?

I very much appreciate any insight you have into this sort of situation, MeFites. Commuting tips also welcome!

I do know a lot of people have worse commutes every single day, and props to them. I really don't need to hear how wimpy I am in comparison.

Screensaver Scheduler

edbyford — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 01:50:36 -0800

I want to only have my screensaver come on during certain parts of the day, but still want to have JKDefrag running. I have an LG Flatron LCD screen, and I have just discovered Rainmeter. So now I have a big fat clock (the SUPERCOLOSSAL skin) sitting on my desktop, which I'd like to be able to see all day.

BUT previously, I've had my screensaver set up to be JKDefrag, with it powering down my monitor after 30 mins (so that if I fall asleep while watching a movie, the screen isn't on all night).

So - what I would like is for my screensaver/power saving only to be active during the night (between, say, midnight and 8am). I don't think I can use Task Scheduler for this, as if I'm still using my computer at midnight, then it'll interrupt me - and if I start using it after midnight, when I stop using it I want the screensaver to run.

This is less important than the point above, but I would also like JKDefrag to be able to run throughout the day (when I'm not using my computer). I know I could use Task Scheduler to set it to run when idle, but that seems messy. Could I run it in the background/hidden?

Thanks in advance

How often should I post to maintain an audience?

gusandrews — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 13:13:08 -0800

I produce a YouTube show about media literacy/criticism. Right now we post weekly, on a schedule which is driving me insane. Does frequency of publishing new content matter (whether it's for a blog, a podcast, a comic, etc) so long as you publish regularly? Could I do it every other week or monthly without losing people's attention? And what do you suggest doing to help make up for less-frequent publishing? I produce a YouTube show about media literacy/criticism which is aimed roughly at high-school- and college-aged students. Right now we post weekly. I've been sticking to this schedule because I've always felt that blogs/webcomics/other online serials which post regularly tend to have a more devoted audience. (This also echoes advice I got when working for an organization which supported small-circulation magazines.)

However, posting weekly is kind of driving me crazy. Editing and shooting video is a hell of a lot more time-consuming than writing a blog post. I'd like to post less frequently, but I'm worried I'd lose audience. A lot of the people I speak to about the show don't seem to have a YouTube account, so using the "subscribe" button is out.

So I'm hoping to gather up the expertise of people who have been doing this for longer than I have. Does frequency of publishing new content matter (whether it's for a blog, a podcast, a comic, etc) so long as you publish regularly? Could I do it every other week or monthly without losing people's attention? And what do you suggest doing to help make up for less-frequent publishing?

Going back to school baby!

latch24 — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:12:12 -0800

How can I cope with a busy schedule? So, yay for me, I got accepted into a part-time design course at my local technical college. This course is something I have been dreaming about for the past couple of years and in an area that I love and enjoy learning about. Catch is - I work full-time. I'm starting to get really stressed that I won't be able to cope with the time suck, especially as this will be for the next 18 months (starting in about 2 weeks). My typical week will look like:

Mon: 8.30 - 5pm (Work) 6-9pm (Course)
Tues: 8.30 - 5pm (Work) 6-9pm (Course)
Wed: 8.30 - 5pm (Work)
Thu: 8.30 - 5pm (Work) 6-9pm (Course)
Fri: 8.30 - 5pm (Work) 5.05 - G&T induced oblivion (Ok, I joke! This would be an occasional Friday)

I'm not sure if I am panicking unnecessarily but I am very concerned that I am going to get burnt out, start to resent having assignments and extra work to do and become really de-motivated. I do not want to screw up this opportunity to learn and excel... My question: how have you coped with a busy, relentless schedule and what tips and tricks can you share so that I can make sure I use this opportunity to its fullest?

*I've already studied at university and got through my 3 years ok but was only working casually so had lots of spare time (far too much actually - oh Passions how I miss thee!) **I know it might not seem that busy to some of you amazing me-fites but I haven't done anything but work and hang out for the last 3 years...

Help this busy office worker stick to an exercise routine!?

limonade — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 10:46:19 -0800

Help this busy office worker stick to an exercise routine!? Hello everyone!

Here's my dilemma. I love exercising, but only when I have unlimited time and there are zero obstacles. Every time I have a flexible schedule--like when I was in grad school--I get into amazing shape. I'm one of these people, who if I were independently wealthy, would work out two hours a day. However, I'm so tired and busy from work that exercise is the LAST thing that I want to fit into my hectic day. I guess I'm a picky exerciser. I love running outside but I hate the gym with a passion. (Since I live in the northeast I can only run for half the year at most. Every winter I turn into a couch potato.) My work schedule is very busy and I have obligations after work 3 days per week.

These are the options I've considered thus far:

--Getting up early and do exercise DVDs at home before work. PROS: Cheap, convenient. CONS: I am a night owl and it's hard enough for me to even wake up as it is, let alone an hour earlier.

--Joining a cheap gym right near me and do the elliptical or treadmill (they only have machines, no classes) after work on my free days and weekends. PROS: Cheap, convenient. CONS: I expect to hate it and I'm also afraid I wont stick to it since I'm so tired after work.

--Joining the gym at my office. PROS: It's tiny but cheap and I could go at lunchtime if I'd get to work a bit earlier. This would be a great pick-me-up. CONS: I'd go back to work sweaty (no shower) and it would surely be dull as all get-out.

--Joining a fancier, spa-like gym. PROS: Would be pleasant and have lots of classes; maybe the cost and the environment would inspire me (guilt me?) into going on a regular basis. CONS: expensive and won't be convenient to home OR office.

Are there ideas I have overlooked. What has worked for you? Which of these sounds like the best option for a lazy exerciser?

Part-time PhD, full-time work: is this a bad combination?

Weng — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:59:16 -0800

Part-time PhD, full-time work: has anyone tried to combine the two? What advice would you give to someone considering this? I am considering switching from a funded, full-time PhD program to a part-time study load. This would mean I relinquish my living stipend, but would also be able to work full-time concurrently. Obviously it means the PhD would take twice as long to complete. But I would also then be graduating with several years of solid work experience under my belt, and therefore (presumably) would be much more employable upon graduating. I feel that having a bit more cash would also make student life more bearable, and enable me to pursue those "other" goals, like travel, that are not really possible on my current budget.

My question is - does anyone have experience of working full-time while doing graduate study part-time? And what would your advice be to someone considering this? [I know there are many variables such as working style, personality type and so on.]

Extra info, if it helps:
- I'd like to work in the same field as my PhD (art history/ museum studies) but not especially interested in academia;
- I'm looking at full-time work because there are many opportunities there for jobs I really want to do, but hardly any for part-time or casual workers, so I've had one or two decent short-term contracts in the area but also a lot of menial jobs (like waitressing) that I find really unsatisfying;
- I am making decent progress in my studies so far and (optimistically speaking!) am about halfway through the program (which, where I am, is purely a dissertation and no coursework).

Thankyou in advance for any input or advice!

How do we make web-based scheduling available to patients?

blueberry — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 22:31:48 -0800

Looking for a way to allow people to schedule their vet appointments via the web. My friend is setting up an animal acupressure business out of her home. While she is like Dr. Doolittle when it comes to animals, she's like John McCain when it comes to HTML.

We want to set up a pretty basic web site for her: main page, FAQs page, maybe a page with how-to-get-here directions... however,

here's the gist of the question:

She would like to have a page with a calendar so that people can see appointment availability and also make appointments via that same page (that is, say a client sees there's an opening from 2pm to 6pm on Tuesday, so they click on something and then are able to make an appointment from 2–3pm). The calendar could show a month or a week at a time, but would need to have a "next week/month" and "previous week/month" so people could schedule weeks/months in advance.

Once clients filled out the "schedule appointment" form
(which would ask for [day/time], name, phone number, email address)
and clicked submit, the schedule calendar would be updated so that that block of time would no longer be shown as available for other people to make appointments.

If it matters. there are only two durations of appointments that would be needed: 90 minutes for new clients, and 60 minutes for previous clients. It would be nice if she could somehow tell the scheduling software that after a 90-minute session, she'll need 30 minutes to take care of all of her notes (so she would be unavailable for other appointments), but maybe that's too intricate and she'll just have to book 2-hour slots and then tell the people that it'll actually only be 90 minutes in-office.

Finally, there are two forms that new clients need to fax in before their appointment (an intake form about their animals various info, and a form that just needs the signature of their veterinarian). I was thinking that it would be good to have an automatic confirmation email go out right after the person makes their appointment—the email would say hello, list their appointment date and time, and include a reminder about the need to fax in the two documents.

Is there some sort of web plug-in or something out there that can do this calendar-scheduling this for her?

Right now she has no web page, so if your suggestion requires something specific ("...Such-And-Such requires that your web host be running Apache v4.3 with the retro-encabulator and prefamulated ammulite..."), please let me know so we can choose the proper hosting place.

Also, she's on a Mac, so if you happen to know of any WYSIWYG web page builders out there that would allow her to easily set up something like this on her own, please throw those suggestions my way too.

So just to recap: web-based calendar/scheduling program that she can embed in a page and doesn't need to touch or fiddle with—just look at to see her schedule.

Thanks in advance!

It's nice to be wanted, just not all at once

Anonymous — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 07:29:42 -0800

It's MBA hiring season. I have been selected to attend second round interviews with three different companies in three different cities on three consecutive days. This is the schedule:

City 1: 9:00am - 4:00pm Eastern on a Wednesday
City 2: 6:00pm Wed. evening and 8:00am - 4:00pm Central on Thursday
City 3: 4:00pm Thursday Evening and 8:00am - 3:00pm on Friday

Each city is separated by a 2 hour flight, not including extra time to get to and from the airport. I have committed to attend the interview in City 3 since they notified me first and it is my first choice job. There isn't much of a conflict with the interview in City 1, but it would be nice to leave early to get to City 2. City 2 and City 3 were originally scheduled for the same days at the same times, but City 2 agreed to move back a day, but not enough to prevent overlapping with Thursday evening in City 3.

If I am unable to make it to City 2, they have indicated that they will "see if any positions remain" after interviewing the candidates who are able to make it. I interpret that to mean there's not much of a chance of getting another opportunity if I can't make it for the interview.

Short of chartering a private jet, should I tell City 2 "thanks, but no thanks?" I would prefer not to in this economy, but the timing of these interviews is so tight that a simple flight delay could ruin my chances at two companies.

Any other additional thoughts or approaches would be appreciated.

Anon email: itsnicetobewanted@gmail.com

Help me help you- err, her.

backseatpilot — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 19:11:22 -0800

Girlfriend is incredibly stressed out right now, what can I do for her? She's a doctorate student and has a huge thing due tomorrow; it sounds like she's hit a wall and isn't getting anything done. I really want to do...something for her, but I have no idea what. I'm not in the same field as her, so I can't really help with the project, and she's already eaten so bringing her food probably won't help.

She's kind of in panic mode right now because of this impending due date plus two more later in the week, she's worried about when she's going to get any sleep, and I really want to do something to at least calm her down so she can concentrate a little better. Any ideas? It's already kind of late and we don't live together, so anything for tonight or tomorrow would be a great help.

How do I meditate regularly?

wastelands — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:31:02 -0800

How do I establish a regular meditation routine? Back when I was in college, I had a lot more time and energy on my hands. I was able to get deep into meditation and see tremendous benefits in terms of mood, concentration, confidence, etc. At some point I lapsed and fell out of practice, though.

Now, several years later, I'm working full time, and I can't get into a regular routine. I've tried:

* In the morning, shortly after waking, but I'm too groggy to have the alertness necessary.
* At night before I go to bed, but then I'm too tired to focus.
* During my lunch break. I've had the most success with this time period. But it can be difficult on a work day to find a quiet spot and to have enough time. I'm lucky enough to work close to home, but I only get about 10 minutes if I go home to meditate after lunch.

Anybody else struggle with this problem? What did you do to fix it?

I should note that I have no interest in going to a religious group to meditate. I want to do it on my own.

Thanks.

Don't forget your massage, redux

goshling — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 03:07:33 -0800

So, I may have found a solution to this issue, but I'd like some input from those of you with greater insight into internet security & privacy issues. I had a few hours to spare on Thursday, due to a no-show appointment and I found myself looking at online scheduling applications. I managed to find one that is both free and works for Australians, so I've been noodling around with it a bit and while it's not perfect, it seems quite usable.

The site is www.clickbook.net

I'm curious as to how they fund this application and make a living.

More important, is it secure? Can I trust the developer to be not evil and to be good enough at securing their data?

Their FAQ contains a lot of silly typos, which makes one wonder about their general sloppiness, and is also a concern as my calendar on their site represents my business.

They are getting a list of my clients names, mobile phone numbers (maybe landlines) and email addresses, no mailing addresses, DOB or credit card info or anything else. How would you feel about this as a client?
Benefit to client: seeing my schedule & booking when it is convenient, reminders via email and/or SMS so they don't miss their appointment and make me sad and I charge them for the time they missed.
Benefit to me: clients can see my schedule online, so can see that I am not answering the phone because I am with a client (my receptionist only works limited hours each day). If I am unable to answer the phone, someone could book themselves into the next available slot. Auto email/SMS reminders a day or so in advance that include a disclaimer that missed appts may be charged a fee, thus making them responsible for not showing up and making me feel unguilty(yes, I just made that up) when I tell them they need to pay me for the missed session.

I want a seamless solution to scheduling & reminders, and I want me & my clients to feel secure that all data is safe & secure

Is www.clickbook.net it, or do I run away?

How to read the online Metra schedule?

puffin — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 04:41:01 -0800

Simple question about reading Metra schedules... This is driving me crazy. The f, fd and * designations are explained at the bottom of the page, but what is the difference between ---- and | ? Do they both mean the stop is skipped?

When is Michael Phelps competing?

null terminated — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 19:41:02 -0800

I would like a list of the times Michael Phelps' gold medal races will be shown on NBC (EST). I can't seem to find this information online, or even the events in which he's competing. I can't use NBC's Olympic site to watch video because I can't install Silverlight.