Project Update: Smoke Test being conducted for survey - Update
Hello Everyone,
I'm doing a smoke test for the survey. This means that 5% of you have received an email requesting you complete the survey form. The survey will confirm or allow you to update your address, confirm your award item, and confirm any add-ons you might have. If you got the email, please follow through on it ASAP. If there are any further quirks in the system, the smoke test will bring them to light, and they can be resolved before the rest of you get the survey.
One of the issues I faced was figuring out how to explain to the software that my collaborator dropped out. I had a collaboration award lined up. The system was lined up to plug in that award. But, with my collaborator's project cancelled, there were a lot of "T"s that could not be crossed, or "I"s dotted. I finally threw my hands up in despair and appealed to the staff at Backerkit to help me unscramble two weeks of desperately trying anything with the software. Kudos to them for their fine support.
Other delays included being sick as a dog for two weeks. It wasn't Covid; it was just a head cold. I thought it was hay fever, and then it grew into eyes so watery I couldn't see. All the fluids were flowing out of my head. Then the wife caught it and I was nursing her. The convention season started, which made weekends very busy. Taxes needed to be done. And deadlines became pressing.
And then there were the tariffs. Not only were the vendors and suppliers affected by those, but also other services. Workarounds on shipping meant that third-party shipping contracts were negotiated as some were overworked, embargoed, replaced, or eliminated. The good news is that the print order arrived. The bad news is that a portion of it was printed poorly. But there's more than enough of the good stuff to proceed with fulfillment! Woo Hoo!
I want to thank you all for your ongoing patience. Hopefully, the smoke test will go smoothly, and the final survey can be sent.
Yours,
Mark
I'm doing a smoke test for the survey. This means that 5% of you have received an email requesting you complete the survey form. The survey will confirm or allow you to update your address, confirm your award item, and confirm any add-ons you might have. If you got the email, please follow through on it ASAP. If there are any further quirks in the system, the smoke test will bring them to light, and they can be resolved before the rest of you get the survey.
One of the issues I faced was figuring out how to explain to the software that my collaborator dropped out. I had a collaboration award lined up. The system was lined up to plug in that award. But, with my collaborator's project cancelled, there were a lot of "T"s that could not be crossed, or "I"s dotted. I finally threw my hands up in despair and appealed to the staff at Backerkit to help me unscramble two weeks of desperately trying anything with the software. Kudos to them for their fine support.
Other delays included being sick as a dog for two weeks. It wasn't Covid; it was just a head cold. I thought it was hay fever, and then it grew into eyes so watery I couldn't see. All the fluids were flowing out of my head. Then the wife caught it and I was nursing her. The convention season started, which made weekends very busy. Taxes needed to be done. And deadlines became pressing.
And then there were the tariffs. Not only were the vendors and suppliers affected by those, but also other services. Workarounds on shipping meant that third-party shipping contracts were negotiated as some were overworked, embargoed, replaced, or eliminated. The good news is that the print order arrived. The bad news is that a portion of it was printed poorly. But there's more than enough of the good stuff to proceed with fulfillment! Woo Hoo!
I want to thank you all for your ongoing patience. Hopefully, the smoke test will go smoothly, and the final survey can be sent.
Yours,
Mark
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