Distinguished Visitors. Tony Cuccio (StarMF@aol.com), president of Star Nail Products, has been as active as his busy schedule permits on the Sunday night America Online chats. Tony more than hinted one night about a new acrylic product Star Nail is about to introduce. We could not pry any further information from his keyboard other than it is a fast-set acrylic product due out in early ‘97. Tony was seen typing, “I think this [chat] is a great learning tool, a great way to learn.” Godfrey F. Mix, D.P.M. (Rxfootdoc@aol.com), a regular contributor to NAILS, is a welcome new member of the Nail Tech Mailing List. A podiatrist, Dr. Mix lectures at various nail shows on salon sanitation. Dr. Mix’s reason for participating in the list: “Talking to nail professionals is much more fun for me at this time than practicing medicine in the managed-care environment of medicine which now exists.” He has been a great asset to the group and more than willing to answer our questions. Dawn White (mominajeep@aol.com), operations manager of NSI, has been hooked by the ‘net! She announced one evening that NSI is working on developing AirShield Colors, polish that dries in three minutes and requires no top coat. Easy Forms’ Rick Thomson (nailsrez@aol.com) started hanging out in the AOL chat, and made a one-time offer to nail technicians in the room of a free sample of Easy Forms.

Chatting

Expansion in the works. The AOL chat room has become so popular, I took a survey of how to best expand the room. (The problems started because AOL limits the number of people in a chat room at any one tune to 23. In early December, the room was filled to the maximum by 8:10 p.m. and unless someone left the room, no one else could get in.) The respondents overwhelmingly favoured a choice of Sunday nights at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time and Monday through Saturday nights at 10:00 p.m.

Rest those wrists. Many of the chatters have been complaining of wrist aches, between the time they spend filing and operating a mouse. Many were unaware of key-command shortcuts that are available in most Windows and Macintosh.

Nail Tech Mailing List

Speaking of phone calls. Beth Hamm (Hammhocks@aol.com, Perfect Pinkies, Naples, Fla.) discovered that other techs call her salon to make false appointments or simply to check her prices. Since her post, the calls have increased, she says, but she did get some useful advice from other list members on how to save herself some aggravation. One list member installed a Caller ID box in her salon and now verifies all phone numbers and names as appointments are booked.

A different kind of dental acrylic problem. Georgette Garber-Torell (Nailsnet@aol com, Hottest Touch Nail Salon, Satellite Beach, Fla.) came up with a plausible theory if your client is missing chunks of acrylic near the stress point of two or three nails. “Many clients ruin the free edge of their acrylics by tightly wrapping dental floss around their nails when flossing. Gently ask the client if she uses dental floss; it is usually the problem.”

Help wanted. Gina Traversi (Ggambler @aol.com), currently a student at Advanced Nail Academy in West Babylon, N.Y., recently joined the Nail Tech Mailing List and made a post for assistance in how to choose an acrylic product for her clients once she graduates from nail school. Her concern was how to try different brands. Gina received an overwhelming number of responses. The overall consensus was to try as many different products as possible, using trial and try-me kits to find the product best suited to her skills and clients.

Online programs, including AOL. I taught chatters how to use these shortcuts instead of using a mouse to navigate through the programs When using a mouse, look carefully at the selection before you click on it. To the right of the selection, you will usually see something like this: CTRL+I (CTRL+I will take you to the Instant Message window in the AOL program). In time, using these keyboard shortcuts will become easy. Another suggestion I gave the chatters was to buy two wrist rests, available at any computer or office supply store. I use one at the computer and one on my nail station, and they bring much relief to my aching wrists. One chatter suggested doing exercises to relieve carpal tunnel syndrome between clients.