I had a pleasant surprise at the CarX auto service shop in Kimberly this week. While getting an oil change elsewhere, that shop noticed that a brake light was out. They replaced my brake lights, but both burned out immediately, leading them to tell me that I must have an electrical problem that needed immediate attention. Strange. Local shops couldn't take me for a couple of days, so I tried CarX and was able to schedule a visit on the same day. They charge $69 an hour for diagnostic work, which sounded fine. They worked on it for a while and then gave me the news. They told me that they couldn't find an electrical problem and that the new lights they put in were working fine. Wow, that was a relief. I held out my credit card but the man shook his head and said it was no charge. No charge?! Who offers that kind of courtesy for quick and easy fixes these days?

CarX is a good place to consider when you need service in a hurry, for they can often get to work quickly, whereas local shops often require scheduling several days in advance. It's been a while since I've been there, but I think I'll be going back. I've had other work done there with good results. I think I made the assumption that being a national chain made them more expensive than local shops, but that may be erroneous.

Well, I'm a CarX fan. Thanks!

Have you ever had your computer held hostage by someone else demanding large sums of money for its return? This can happen when malware like a virus or Trojan horse program snags your computer and demands payment to release your computer (don't pay!). Your computer can also be held hostage again when you take your computer back to a big box store and ask their squad of experts to repair it. One friend I met last week had to pay $400 to a big box store to repair the damage from a virus, and the repair still wasn't complete since the touchpad still wasn't working properly after the attack. That would be another $300, they said. She said forget it and now relies on an external mouse.

Many times the squads of commercial experts out there fix virus problems by simply reformatting your hard drive and reinstalling everything--everything except your data, programs, and custom settings that you may have lost. People are paying big bucks to have their computers wiped out when they just want them wiped clean of the bad stuff. Frustrating!

That's what I was happy today to learn about the work of Appleton's Luke Waldron, a computer expert who can remove malware non-destructively. He has years of experience in doing this and only charges if he's successful, and then only charges a ridiculously small hourly rate. I won't say what it is because I really think he needs to raise it--but you'll be delighted at how much you can save in terms of data, hassle, and cash.

Luke is with myDigitechnician.com and can be reached at luke at myDigitechnician.com. Before you let someone wipe out your data and your wallet, talk to Luke.

I have no financial interest in Luke's firm and have not been asked or paid to say this. I've met him before and heard good things about him, but first understood the details of his work when I met him today during an enjoyable networking lunch at the Hong Kong Buffer in Neenah (so good for just $7!). As a public service to those of you burned by viruses and other forms of malware, I want you to know that low-cost high-success alternatives are available.

The Appleton School District Calendar is available online. It shows important events that parents need to know, like Spring Break from March 29 to April 2. Wanted to make sure you knew where to find it.

FYI, the Menasha District has their spring break the following week, April 4-9, 2010. The Menasha District Calendar is less convenient, IMO. If you can figure out the online Neenah School District Calendar and see when spring break is, let me know. I don't see it there.

At a "Pinewood Derby" cub scouting event, of all places, I ran into the local entrepreneurs behind Hot Tub Medic (HotTubMedic.com). Illustrating the kind of thinking that can lead to success for other local entrepreneurs, these businessmen told me why they decided to get into this business. With the economy down, people are less likely to spend their money on travel, new cars, or new homes, and more likely to focus on enjoying or improving what they already have. That's where hot tubs come in. Expect them to be used more, maintained more, and upgraded more. Many home owners might be adding hot tubs to upgrade their homes as well. Looking for the opportunities the seismic shifts in the economy might be creating, acquiring the business made sense to them. Coupled with years of experience in the market and a lot of business savvy in other areas also, they may have what it takes to succeed.

I don't have a hot tub and have no financial interest in the business nor financial incentive to mention it. I iike the thinking, like the owners, and like the example of looking for opportunities in whatever situation we are in.

The Appleton area actually has a thriving community of entrepreneurs and innovators, part of why it's an exciting place to live. I even understand that the innovator behind the successful new mobile phone application, Pandora, is here in Appleton. That might be a story for a future post--would love to learn more about that one.

In my previous post, I mentioned Fox Banquets as a classy place for meetings and other events. At the Fox Banquets event I attended this week, I had the privilege of meeting Reid Ribble, a business man who has decided to run for Congress. I'm especially curious about something I heard from Mr. Ribble - maybe some of you can check this for me. He said the voting record of Rep. Steve Kagen is (nearly? virtually? exactly?) the same as California's Nancy Pelosi, which would be shocking if true since Kagen campaigns here as if he's something of a conservative. I think Ribble even said "100%" - but I'm not sure if that applies to all votes and issues. If Kagen's voting record is the same as Pelosi's, I want to know why! I know, I need to do my own homework on this, but I've been a bit distant from politics recently. Maybe that needs to change, given the importance of the issues we are facing today. If we do have a stealth Pelosi clone, someone who follows her lead 100% of the time, well, I'll be ticked.

If you know of an easy way to quickly compare the voting record of two people in the House of Representatives over a specified period of time, let me know. Seems like that should be easy, but I've been too far from politics to know the right resources to go to, and I'm feeling lazy today (meaning it's time to get back to my day and night job!).

This week I was at a reception held at Fox Banquets, formerly known as Michiels. The website is MichielsFoxBanquets.com. My visit reminded me of what a classy place this one, one that we used a few years ago for a wedding reception for one of our sons. It's in the heart of Appleton, overlooking the Oneida Flats area from the edge of the steep hill that goes from downtown Appleton toward the river, just east of the Oneida Skyline Bridge. They have one of the nicest views of any place in the Valley and a beautiful interior as well with two floors and a variety of rooms for meetings and events. They also have a catering service, Rivertyme Catering, which is an approved caterer for events at the Performing Arts Center, so you know they are good.

In the past few weeks, for business and social purposes, I've been able to try a number of places. I really enjoyed the pizza and desserts at Wise Guys in Menasha. Great smoothies and burgers were found at Red Robin in Darboy. Awesome prime rib sandwich at the Red Ox in Appleton. Pretty good steak at Beefeaters in Appleton. Solea in Neenah is always good for sure-fire Mexican. Wonderful Chinese was experienced again at Confucius in Appleton as well as Dong Po on College Avenue. Also tried the Boba Tea again at Pooh Saan in Appleton.

I'll provide more details soon.

Say, could you let me know of real estate blogs for the Fox Cities that I could list as resources for people looking for homes in the area? I'm aware of "Ask Laurel" by Laurel Stone. Are there others you can recommend?