CEO Daily Updates

Today’s Topics: Childhood Birthday Celebrations | Powering WFH | Cable Management Best Practices | News to Start Your Day

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Happy Monday!

January 25th is National Opposite Day…does that mean instead of Monday it’s Friday?

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Let’s talk childhood birthday celebrations. Our youngest daughter is turning 5 (“a whole hand!”) soon, and we’re planning to take a few days to go camping. I’ve found winter birthday celebrations to be difficult to plan. We usually end up doing a trip for this child’s birthday. It is easier than trying to plan something indoors for kiddos under 5 and then worrying about who may be sick (and that was before our current conditions). Craig, myself, and our older daughter all have summer birthdays. The weather and more relaxed schedules make for easier planning in summer.

I’ve heard some neat solutions to non-ideal days of birth celebration times. Our old neighbors did a big costume party birthday celebration at Halloween, because the mom and daughter both had birthdays within days of Christmas. The mom’s parents had started it, so it was also tradition for their family.

What is your favorite childhood birthday celebration memory?

Christin

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Product Spotlights & Updates:

As many of us have transitioned from working in the office to working from home, we’ve had to find ways to power our devices so that there is no interruption to business! This is where products like the CP-PWR-CUBE-4 come in clutch! This power cube is a replacement power supply for Cisco CP-88XX, CP-89XX, and CP-99XX VoIP Phones. Check out our product page to see all compatible models. As usual, we have you covered whether you need Cisco original Factory Sealed or Refurbished. We even offer our very own CK Branded model as well!

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update – 1.25.2021

Today’s Topics: Prayer for our Leaders | 1080P Webcams | Top 5 Reasons You Need a Firewall | News to Start Your Day

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Happy Thursday!

January 21st is “Get to Know Your Customer” Day, but it is also National Hugging Day (I guess that is gone with social distancing now) and National Squirrel Appreciation Day. Who knew?!?

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I thought we would pause our usual content this morning and take a minute to just be in the moment. I’m praying for our country and our leaders, and I would love for you to join me.

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Product Spotlights & Updates:

Today I am bringing back up a product we talked about last week, our brand new 1080P HD Webcam! This webcam was recently added to our product catalog and it has been a hit! This is perfect for all of your video conferencing needs! It works seamlessly with Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Facetime, Skype, YouTube and more! It seriously has it all!

• 1080P Full HD quality for a clear, crisp, lifelike picture
• Built-in Noise Reducing Microphone to cut out the unwanted distractions from background noise
• 90° Wide View Angle to give you the wide view you’re looking for
• Plug & Play to make it easy to use! Ready to go in less than 1 minute!

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update – 1.21.2021

Today’s Topics: WFH Yes/No Light | New Yealink Model | All about our Thermostats | To Err is Human…To Grow is Winning | News to Start Your Day

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Happy Wednesday!

January 20th this year is Inauguration Day. BUT…it is also National Cheese Lover’s Day and National Penguin Day. Celebrate in whatever way seems right to you!

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Yesterday I wrote about smart home devices and home automation. Today, I’m giving a {very official} award for most creative use of a smart device, a WFH yes/no light! The award goes to one of our team members, Cris.

Cris has young kids at home just like Craig and I do. As is common now days, the kids (and dogs, cats, wives, husbands and other familial wildlife) occasionally make an appearance on video calls. My little blond haired munchkin showed up in a chat recently, and Cris shared this pro-parenting tip: he bought a color-changing LED smart light and set it up outside his home office door. Red means do not knock or enter unless you’re bleeding and no one else can help, and green means I’m working but you can knock or say hello. I thought this was a pretty creative use of a smart home device, also very apropos to our current WFH culture.

Now If you try this hack and it doesn’t work, or if you simply must fight with your family, specifically your spouse, maybe you can do it “Fighting with Compliments” style. (I’ve watched this multiple times for the laughs!)

Hope you guys have a great Hump Day!

Christin

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Product Spotlights & Updates:

We’ve been talking a lot about Yealink phones since we just added them to our product catalog and today I wanted to highlight another amazing Yealink model, the SIP-T54W! This phone was designed for busy executives and professionals. It is an easy-to-use Prime Business Phone which features an adjustable 4.3” color LCD screen that can be adjusted for just the right viewing angle, Bluetooth 4.2, and built-in dual band 2.4G/5G Wi-Fi! It also has a built-in USB 2.0 port to allow for USB recording. Did I mention that it features HD audio and allows for super efficient installation and provisioning?! This phone really has it all!

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update – 1.20.2021

Today’s Topics: Home Automation | All About GLC-SX-MM’s | Floor Dispensers w/video | What is a Console Cable? | News to Start Your Day

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Happy Tuesday!

January 19th is National Popcorn Day! Did you know that popcorn is the official snack food of the State of Illinois?

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Smart home devices are super popular these days. Unless you’re trying to avoid them, I’m sure you have one or two in your own home. An Ecobee or Nest thermostat? A Ring doorbell? Maybe a Furbo camera and pet treat dispenser? We enjoy using smart home devices ourselves. We’ve never gone as far as to have a smart home, but we’re working towards some really cool things right now. For years we’ve also been interested in home automation. [What’s the difference in home automation and a smart home?] Having played with some things like switches and receptacles years ago, we know we want to enjoy the convenience of having the proper “brain” for the system and scenes set up for our daily routine. I really want a Tony Stark-like setup, but I’m sure I’ll have to compromise.

It turns out choosing which controller and devices to control isn’t as simple as it seems. We (actually just Craig) have been working towards a home automation setup in the theater room and basement. He’s really into figuring it out, kind of going into mad scientist mode recently. He told me a few nights ago, after hours of working on a problem, that he wanted a break or a breakthrough, ha. There doesn’t seem to be a one size fits all solution or even a well-bundled package for basic home automation, so if you’re going to DIY it, it seems like you have to be willing to tinker. So far Craig is really liking Control 4 solutions. He’s also working on a possible home theater solution with something called a Raspberry Pi, which I thought sounded kind of delicious, but turns out it is a compact computer. I hope to learn more about it all soon.

Do we have any home automation experts connected here? Any advice for us in these early stages of tinkering?

Christin

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Product Spotlights & Updates:

Today we are featuring a CLASSIC! The GLC-SX-MM transceiver is one of those core, tried and true products that we all know and love! These 1G SFP transceiver modules offer tons of flexibility as they support 50/125, 62.5/125, and laser optimized 50/125 (OM3) fiber! They are an ideal solution for providing gigabit uplink capabilities in many Cisco switches, routers, and firewalls. In addition, they are hot-swappable so they are super easy to install – just plug-and-play! We offer this Cisco transceiver in a variety of conditions: Factory Sealed or Refurbished. We also offer our very own CK branded version so there is something for every need and budget! All of our transceivers come in anti-static packaging and look and function like new!

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update – 1.19.2021

Today’s Topics: Not for the Faint of Heart | Touchscreen Smart VoIP phone w/ 7″ screen | What Mask to Wear? | 5 Facts about MLK Jr | News to Start Your Day

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Happy Monday

January 18, 2021, is the federal holiday that marks Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday day & MLK Jr Day of Service. – “Not everybody can be famous but everybody can be great because greatness is determined by service… You only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love.” – MLK, Jr.

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Good Monday morning! Jason here, filling in for Christin this morning.

I hope all of you had a great weekend and I imagine several of you are continuing with a 3-day weekend due to the MLK Jr commemorative holiday.

For me, my weekend was absolutely non-stop. After 5 days on the market, my house went under contract. Selling and buying/building a house is not for the faint of heart. Haha! You just never know what you are going to run into in dealing with other people while buying and selling. I was very thankful that the lady that I am selling the house to has been very easy to work with. Hopefully, that will continue through the home inspection this week and then the appraisal process.

Last Thursday I kinda had a freakout moment with the house and just worrying about getting it sold and everything done. I remember driving in my car, talking with God about it, and thinking through what I needed to do (more like worrying about), and I felt that still, small voice speak in my heart, “Are you operating out of fear, or are you operating out of faith?”

I just hung my head because I knew what I had been more focused on. I had been trying to do as much as I could myself and figure out every possible solution “just in case” something went wrong. God and I chatted about it off and on for the next 2 hours (mostly, God talking). Then about 4 hours after that conversation, I got the offer on the house (from a surprise showing that evening) and accepted it.

There have been plenty of moments in this process where I have stopped and asked myself, “What have you gotten yourself into?” But little by little and day by day, I have been asking God to guide my steps, give me wisdom, and show me favor with all of this. I seriously would not be even close to being sane if it wasn’t for His help.

It is not easy a lot of times (at least for me) to lay something down that I am wrestling with. I am too much of a control freak, but maybe that’s what God is trying to teach me about through this whole house situation.

I hope you have a great week!

Jason

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CK Insider Info | Announcements | Updates:

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update – 1.18.2021

Today’s Topics: Tough Days | Yealink T4 Series VoIP Phones | Smart Phones for Video & Conference Calls | News to Start Your Day

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Happy Friday…finally!

January 15th is National Strawberry Ice Cream Day! If you pass on Vanilla and Chocolate, then today is your day. Take a break and celebrate with a strawberry milkshake or ice cream cone.

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It’s Friday! I don’t know about you guys, but I feel like I need a few days to recover from this week. TGIF and all that, right?

It was a super busy week for us here at CK, lots of good stuff going on. Personally though I feel a little down. A couple of my family members are sick with COVID, thankfully nothing serious for either of them but they’re still top of mind. Our local schools are going to all digital for at least a week, and last night I heard that a friend’s mom is in her last hours due to COVID. Uncertainty, gloomy weather, sickness, death. It’s all a bit much sometimes. But today I’m choosing hope.

“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”- ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭16:9‬ ‭ESV‬‬

I hope it is okay to share some of the not so good days with you. I pray each of you has hope to hold onto, that your families are well, and that you’re finding joy in your journey.

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update – 1.15.2021