Funeral Words

VisibleBody.com

I have just come across a tremendous new tool for the teaching of human anatomy. VisibleBody.com provides an online 3-D model of the human body which allows one to zoom in and look at different combinations of anatomical structures from almost any angle. Add or subtract various bodily systems such as needed and simply point to a bone or a muscle or a vein on the screen to get its proper anatomical name.

Click on the photo below to get some idea what the system looks like.

At present they have this running as a free beta test. I do not know if they plan to charge a usage fee once they have finished their testing, but in the mean time, well worth the trouble of checking it out if you are trying to teach, learn or refresh your understandings of human anatomy. Amazing!

Please note that the user should have a high-speed internet connection. Even with a cable modem it took a good 5-7 minutes to download all the body systems onto my computer.

www.visiblebody.com

Google Docs--The FREE way to collaborate and share

PCMagazine posted a review of Google Docs, the free online document editor and collaboration tool recently updated and offered at no cost by the web search giant, giving very high marks and awarding the coveted "Editor's Choice" as compared with several other online alternatives. You can read the full review here.

In short Google Docs gives you access to three document creation tools, word processor, spreadsheet and presentations. None of these tools has the elaborate formatting or automation capabilities of Microsoft Office, however, you can easily share documents with others in order to cooperate on the editing and completion of the contents.

Anyone can start the document and then using the "Share" tab in the upper right of the screen, send out emails to those you want to help with the project.

I think of this as an alternative when families want to participate in the creation of an obituary. You as the funeral director can get the document started and then email a link to those who need to view and approve the contents. For those who want to write the entire document, you still could create a simple starter document for the family to use (all they need is a browser and an internet connection, no other software needed) and you can keep tabs on their progress.

Check it out for yourself. I have created a sample document which you may open by clicking the link below. Add text, format, print, leave a comment. Let me know if the concept makes any sense to you.

Have a fantastic day, BT.

*** This is what goes out via email when you share a document. ***

I've shared a document with you called "This is a sample document which you m...":
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=d3675hr_10crq495&invite=k9rf9c

It's not an attachment -- it's stored online at Google Docs. To open this document, just click the link above.

How much will that new inkjet cost you?

It has become one of the great mysteries of business life--how much does it really cost to print pages and pages of documents from standard printers? The manufacturers use inconsistent standards and measurements even from product to product in the same family, never mind company to company.

Let's face it, funeral homes print lots of documents and wouldn't you like to know the most economical approach to getting those documents finished?

Thankfully, the International Standards Organization has started to develop universal standards for testing page yield (the number of pages an inkjet printer can print from a set of cartridges) across multiple models and multiple brands.

So far, they have developed a standard business document for comparision and will later issue a standard photographic pages for testing the yield for pages covered in ink from corner to corner.

Using the standardized business pages, PCMagazine has run a set of preliminary tests on a group of five models currently available from HP, Canon, Kodak and Lexmark. As you will see by clicking the links just below, total cost (combining the cost of the printer itself with the cost of running the printer) will vary based upon the average number of pages printed over time.

PCMag tested two scenarios: light-duty, meaning 80 monochrome and 20 color pages per month for three years; and heavy-duty, meaning 200 monochrome and 100 color pages per month. Click through to see the comparisons.

PCMag: Light-duty Comparison

PCMag: Heavy-duty Comparison

Total cost will vary depending upon usage, but these guidelines provide a standardized measurement which you can use for decision making.

If you wish to read the entire article, you can find it here.