WaterCal.com

Revolutionizing Irrigation Management for Shared Water Communities

WaterCal.com Introduction

Are you tired of the chaos that comes with managing shared irrigation schedules? Do you dread the confusion of who gets water when, missed turns, and the headache of collecting fees? We’re building WaterCal—a comprehensive solution designed specifically for communities with shared wells and irrigation systems.

The Problem We’re Solving

Managing shared water resources is complex. Traditional methods—phone trees, paper calendars, or basic spreadsheets—lead to miscommunication, missed turns, and administrative nightmares. Property damage from scheduling errors costs communities thousands of dollars annually, not to mention the strain on neighborly relationships.

Introducing WaterCal.com

WaterCal is a purpose-built platform that streamlines shared irrigation management with features designed by people who understand the unique challenges of communal water systems:

Key Features

  • Intelligent Scheduling System
    • Configure property-specific watering rules (North-to-South, East-to-West)
    • Set up advanced recurring schedules (1st and 3rd Mondays, every Thursday, seasonal exclusions)
    • Implement order deadlines and automatic waitlists
    • Prevent scheduling conflicts automatically
  • Financial Management
    • Secure escrow for water fees collected with each order
    • Automated monthly disbursements to well owners/managers
    • Transparent fee tracking for all community members
    • Configurable penalty system for no-shows and unused water times
  • Communication Tools
    • Calendar integration (Google Calendar, Outlook, Apple)
    • SMS alerts before and after your irrigation turn (reminders for Open and Close events)
    • Optional group messaging to coordinate with neighbors
    • Email notifications for schedule changes and confirmations
  • Community Management
    • User-friendly administrative dashboard
    • Detailed water usage reports
    • Maintenance scheduling and notifications
    • Historical data for water usage patterns

Why Communities Need WaterCal

  1. Reduce Conflicts: Clear, transparent scheduling prevents disagreements and confusion.
  2. Save Time: Automated management eliminates hours of administrative work each month.
  3. Prevent Damage: Timely notifications reduce instances of flooding or dry spells.
  4. Improve Efficiency: Optimize water usage through better coordination.
  5. Simplify Finances: Automated collection and distribution of water fees.

Early Access Program

We’re looking for founding communities to help shape the future of WaterCal. As an early adopter, you’ll receive:

  • Priority onboarding and setup assistance
  • Discounted pricing for life
  • Direct input into feature development
  • Dedicated support from our founding team

Interested? Let’s Connect!

We’re building WaterCal to solve real problems for real communities. If this solution sounds like what your shared irrigation system needs, we want to hear from you.

Email: [email protected] to:

  • Express your interest
  • Share your community’s specific challenges
  • Join our early access program
  • Suggest features you’d like to see

Together, we can transform how communities manage shared water resources—making it simpler, more reliable, and conflict-free.

WaterCal: Clear Schedules, Clear Communication, Clear Water Management.

Scott Cate Profile Photos

iPhone scan Live Text from keyboard

Today I learned …. In addition to scanning text from photos and using the copy/paste text from photos features, on my iPhone 14 (with iOS 16) I can scan “live text” right from within the keyboard.

Mistakenly, I was looking for an activation icon in the keyboard area.

This feature isn’t very discoverable (at least it wasn’t to me) because this is not activated from the keyboard, it’s activated from the text entry area. Touch the input area or text box you want to type. You may be used to using this area to touch to enable the copy/paste menu or text selection. On the menu now, you’ll also see the scan text icon.

This will swap out the keyboard area with a camera, where you can point at text in your camera lens, then touch to select the text you want to enter and insert.

From here, the feature works the same as when scanning text from a photo and then using copy/paste. The benefit of the keyboard is … you don’t have to pop out to take a picture first. Just scan right into the data entry text field.

I hope this helps!

Derogatory Terms of Endearment

The Setup….

I’m on a layover in Denver airport at a restaurant. When I travel alone, I’ll pick a bar seat, since it’s usually first to come first to serve. Any open seat means I can eat on a tight schedule. After a few minutes, a lady politely asks if anyone is sitting next to me. “Nope, it’s all yours”. She takes a seat, orders something to go. I’m heads-down on my laptop waiting for my order and like everyone at the bar, we all ignore each other on screens, phones, TV’s, or whatever it is we’re working on.

Then the bartender yells from only about 10 feet, so it’s not overly loud, but louder than normal, “What was that you wanted to drink Honey?” My ears perk up as I hear this in the background. I say nothing, and keep working. 30 second later … “Hey Honey, did you want catsup with your to go order? At this point, I lean to my left and quietly say “It drives me nuts that he keeps talking to you as Honey”. She immediately smiles and says “Me too, thank you for noticing, and saying something to me”. Maybe I should have engaged with the bartender, but I didn’t. As I look back that was a teachable moment that I missed. Even after my neighbor left, I could have engaged, and then it would not have been awkward for the other patron. But I didn’t. more courage next time.

[Read more…]

Why You Should Fly Southwest Airlines

As most of my friends know, I’m a Southwest Airlines fanboy. I love the airline. I do. They have employees that deeply care about their passengers and have great, easy-to-follow, very business-friendly rules.

Now … some of you will complain about no first class. OK, you got me on this one. If you fly so much that you get 1K on United or Platinum on Delta or __(any airline)__ then you win. Short of that, if you’re just flying once in a while, business or personal, you’re probably flying coach anyway.

Here is why you should fly Southwest if they have the route you’re on. Only one reason.

NO TICKET CHANGE FEES.

Other airlines will charge you $150 – $250 in just a transaction fee to change your ticket. This is not including the price difference between your old ticket and new ticket. That is always going to be an upgrade charge. In fact, this is an important note. Let’s talk for a minute about airfares. While I don’t pretend to fully know the fares and how they are calculated, I do understand essential supply and demand, and all airlines follow this to a certain degree. And of course, there are exceptions, but, in general, the more notice you have (14 days, 21 days, 30 days), the better your ticket price will be. As you get closer and closer to the departure date, the rate may dramatically increase. This might depend on how many seats on the plane have actually sold. Like anything, the last 5% or 10% is more valuable and will have higher rates. If you don’t buy that seat, someone else will. So a seat on the same flight 30 days out might be $120.00, while day of departure might be $520.00. Make sense?

[Read more…]