Home Tracking Center Set Up

Friends,

We have many new elves in Sector 3, some of them joining in just the last week. We see a pattern in new elves. They read a lot of information but they don’t ask a bunch of questions. Many just start sending in tracker reports without really knowing what they are doing. That’s one way to learn, but it is inefficient and it makes our job a little more difficult here and at North Pole Flight Command.

So let’s start at the very beginning.

All elves need to prepare themselves before they begin tracking Santa for Santa. That first step, beyond going to Elf University, talking to other elves, and learning the craft of being a tracker, is to set the right tone.

An elf needs to be working in the right environment.

That means setting up a home tracking center that is appropriate. I just want to share some thoughts with you about that.

Of course, you’ve got your computer. That’s a given. But in some cases you only have a tablet and a phone. Whatever you are using does not matter but let’s be honest: a computer is best.

We work, as tracker elves, in a world of words, maps and these websites. This website should tell you all you need to know about being a tracker elf. I will send instructions from time to time about what they want us to do. Other times, like right now, I’m just trying to help you in your job as an elf.

For news about Santa and what’s going on at the North Pole, with the reindeer and the sleigh and stuff, well, that’s handled by the News Department at SantaUpdate.com.

Then there’s NorthPoleFlightCommand.com, which you will see if you’ve never been a tracker elf a couple of days before Christmas, really controls just about everything that goes on.

Getting a handle on those three websites – santatrackers.net, santaupdate.com and northpoleflightcommand.com – is why you need a computer and why you need a good space to work at home.

So make it comfy.

Have a good chair, a decent desk, and good lighting. It’s okay to have a Christmas tree, lights and other decorations. A source of eggnog, candy canes, and maybe a place to hang your stocking is also advised but not required. Playing Kringle Radio while you do your elf work is also advised.

The work of elves is the working of helping others. When I ask for a report, I’m asking you to help others. You help others by helping Santa.

So you need a good place to think through that.

That’s your home tracking center.

I’m asking elves in our sector and any sector to please post photos of your home tracking center. Give your fellow elves an idea of what it looks like for you. Share ideas. Talk about how to make it as elf like as you can.

This is where we begin. It is an important detail.

Do the best you can.

About this Elf: Elf Rolf Janssen

Elf Rolf is a native of Austria. As a young man he moved to Russia and was a refugee of that country in 1915 when he found his way to Santa’s employ. Skilled in carpentry, Rolf was given duties in Santa’s workshop where he worked for many years. Charged with building the first airplane Santa ever flew in 1927 — thanks to his wood working skills — Elf Rolf was transferred to the Research and Development Department where he served for many years as a sleigh designer and eventually as a flight test pilot.

Rolf took a departure from that work in the mid-1960s when he pursued a degree in computer science, a pioneering field for the North Pole. He returned in 1968 and for years served in data processing before being transferred to the North Pole Tracking and Flight Command Center as an IT specialist. He was instrumental in helping Santa to set up a network of satellites that have become the backbone of North Pole information systems to this day.