Vol. I · No. 183Thursday, July 2, 2026Alice 75° · Partly Cloudy· Forecast →

The North Point Daily

“All the work that’s fit to ship.” The month in review from a one-person shop in Alice, Texas.

Written by an AI newsroom from the shop’s real code, every day.

July 2026

Thursday, July 2, 2026 · Alice 75° Partly Cloudy

« 2026-06-30Back issue2026-07-09 »today all back issues

220 ships · 8 projects this month

June was the month we launched five new services and two free tools. A laser engraving shop went live with real videos of real work. A postcard mailer for local businesses opened up. The jobs board now works in Spanish and lets workers apply in their own language. We also built two free weather sites, one for the forecast, one for wind, and connected the daily news to the services it mentions. A month of doors opening.

Windmill and winding road in a landscape with trees and clouds.

New ServicesNPC LaserFri, Jun 19

Watch your engraved gift being made.

Then order one. See a tumbler get laser-engraved in real time. Then order one exactly like it.

NPC Laser is our shop for custom laser-engraved gifts, signs, and tumblers.

By The Shop · Dispatch from Alice

We run a laser engraving shop in Alice, Texas. You pick what you want, a tumbler, a sign, a wooden box, and we engrave it with a design you choose. The new site at npclaser.com shows you a real video of your item being made. Not a computer drawing. Not a stock photo. The actual laser cutting and burning your piece, frame by frame.

The site shows what we make and how it gets done. Click through, watch the work, order if you want. Videos are short and straight. No music, no hype. Just the laser doing its job and your piece taking shape.

Read the full story See the laser shop

“Post a job in English.”

On Jobs Board

This Month

New ServicesAdhereWed, Jun 10

Adhere is our shared direct-mail postcard program for Coastal Bend businesses, one local pro per trade.

Mail postcards to just the neighborhoods you pick.

Adhere is a postcard mailing service for the Coastal Bend, the area around Corpus Christi, Alice, Beeville, and Kingsville in South Texas. You pick the neighborhoods. You pick the streets. You mail only the blocks that matter to you. No wasted cards in the recycling bin.

Read the full story

New ServicesLowbiesFri, Jun 26

Lowbies is our media and advertising site for LED signs, digital displays, and posters.

LED and poster ads that show honest ratings.

Lowbies is a site for LED signs, digital boards, and poster ads around the Coastal Bend. We used to show a perfect 5.0 star rating. That was too good to be true, and we knew it.

Read the full story

Jobs BoardNPCLocalFri, Jun 26

NPCLocal is our local-services site that connects Coastal Bend folks with local pros, plus a jobs board.

Post a job in English.

The Coastal Bend jobs board works in Spanish and English. You post a job once in English. The system translates it to Spanish automatically. Workers looking for work can apply in Spanish or English, whatever they speak.

Read the full story

Jobs BoardNPCLocalFri, Jun 26

NPCLocal is our local-services site that connects Coastal Bend folks with local pros, plus a jobs board.

First job post costs less.

If you've never posted a job on the Coastal Bend jobs board, your first one costs less than the rest. See who applies. See if the board works for you.

Read the full story

Finding A ProNPCLocalThu, Jul 2

NPCLocal is our local-services site that connects Coastal Bend folks with local pros, plus a jobs board.

No one in that field yet.

When you look up a service on the Coastal Bend jobs board and no one has listed themselves in that field yet, the page used to give you a generic phone number. We don't do that anymore.

Read the full story

Your CallsNPCLocalFri, Jun 26

NPCLocal is our local-services site that connects Coastal Bend folks with local pros, plus a jobs board.

Articles link to the services they mention.

The daily news tries to connect things inline. Read an article about custom engraving and the word 'laser' might link to the laser engraving shop. Read about jobs and the word 'jobs board' might link to the board. Read about weather and the word might get you to the forecast.

Read the full story

Just For FunNPC WeatherFri, Jun 26

NPC Weather is our free, no-ads weather site for towns across the Coastal Bend.

Free weather for the whole Coastal Bend.

We built a weather site for the Coastal Bend, South Texas around Corpus Christi. Type in your town or county and you get the forecast. No app to download. No ads taking up half the screen. Just the weather.

Read the full story

Just For FunCoastal Bend Wind ZoneFri, Jun 26

Coastal Bend Wind Zone is our wind and gust forecast site for boaters, anglers, and anyone who works on the water.

Wind forecast for boaters and anglers.

We built a wind site for the Coastal Bend. If you fish or boat or spend your day on the water, this is for you. It shows wind speed, gusts, and direction for the whole area.

Read the full story

For The ProsNPCLocalFri, Jun 26

NPCLocal is our local-services site that connects Coastal Bend folks with local pros, plus a jobs board.

Workers find job safety tips.

Job scams happen. We put together a safety page on the jobs board that shows workers what to look for. Too-good-to-be-true pay. Asking for money upfront. Vague job descriptions. We list the red flags and explain why they matter.

Read the full story

For BusinessesNPCLocalThu, Jun 25

NPCLocal is our local-services site that connects Coastal Bend folks with local pros, plus a jobs board.

Edit your job post anytime.

You post a job and then you realize you got the pay wrong. Or the hours. Or a typo in the title. Now you can fix it without starting over.

Read the full story

Off The Wire

More that shipped this month, in brief. Some of the build runs under the hood and stays there, so this is just the part we can show.

Watch your engraved gift being made. Then order one.
Mail postcards to just the neighborhoods you pick.
LED and poster ads that show honest ratings.
Post a job in English. Workers can read it in Spanish too.
First job post costs less. Try it out.
Edit your job post anytime. Fix a typo. Update the pay.

From The Workshop

Short videos of real pieces coming off the laser. Watch one get made, then order your own.

NPC Laser

11MM SOCKET

NPC Laser

NPCLOCAL.COM BUSINESS CARD

NPC Laser

USB DRIVE

NPC Laser

LOCKOUT TAG

See all the videos Order one of your own

From The Web

Worth your time, from around the web. We follow this stuff so you don’t have to, then point you to what’s good and how it touches the Coastal Bend.

Some gear links below are Amazon affiliate links. If you buy through them, we earn a small cut at no extra cost to you.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) · Guide
Cybersecurity for Small Business
We like this one because it comes straight from the FTC and covers all three threats in plain language, from spotting phishing emails to backing up files and what to do right after an attack hits. No login, no paywall, no fluff, just a solid checklist any Coastal Bend shop owner can read in one sitting and actually use.
Lock down your shop’s tech Gear we’d grab: a hardware security key
Fit Small Business · Guide
59 Free QuickBooks Tutorials: Learn QuickBooks Fast (+Video)
We found a full free course, 59 step-by-step lessons with videos, written by certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors, that walks you through setup, invoicing, expenses, bank reconciliation, and reporting from scratch. No sign-up, no paywall, just sit down with your QuickBooks account open and follow along at your own pace.
Get a hand with your shop tech Gear we’d grab: a bookkeeping guide
No Dead Zones (no-dead-zones.com) · Guide
How to fix Wi‑Fi dead zones and dead spots fast
We like this one because it tells you to run a quick walk test first so you know whether your problem is weak coverage or a bad hop between nodes, and that keeps you from buying gear you do not need. It is written plain, covers small offices just like homes, and points you toward wired backhaul fixes before it ever suggests spending more money.
We fix business networks Gear we’d grab: a mesh wifi system
iFixit Answers (community forum) · Discussion
How do I get started with device repair?
We bookmarked this one because real repair folks share exactly where to start when you want to fix your own phone or laptop instead of paying someone else to do it. Out here in the Coastal Bend where the nearest big-box repair shop can be a long drive away, knowing how to swap a battery or crack open a screen yourself is just plain useful.
See what repairs cost near you Gear we’d grab: a repair tool kit
CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) · Guide
Cyber Guidance for Small Businesses
This is the free, no-sales-pitch playbook straight from the federal agency whose whole job is keeping businesses safe from ransomware, phishing, and hackers. We like it because it skips the outdated advice and tells you exactly what to turn on first, starting with multi-factor authentication on every account.
Lock down your shop’s tech Gear we’d grab: a hardware security key
iFeeltech IT Blog · Guide
3-2-1 Backup Rule Explained: Implementation Guide for Small Business (2026)
We like this one because it skips the jargon and walks you straight through what the 3-2-1 rule actually means for a small shop, including real tool picks and a cost example you can steal right now. It also clears up the big trap most folks fall into: your Dropbox or Google Drive sync is not a backup, and this guide explains exactly why that matters when ransomware shows up.
Talk to us about backups Gear we’d grab: a solid backup drive

The bigger storyHow one person ships like a crew of nine

Browse by topic

New Services Just For Fun Finding A Pro Straight Talk For The Pros Jobs Board For Businesses Your Calls More Towns In The Mail For Hire

The Shop Directory

The rest of what this one shop builds and runs across the Coastal Bend.

NPCLocal

A local-services site for the Coastal Bend that helps people find the right pro fast.

NPC Laser

Custom laser-engraved gifts and signs, with short videos that show each one being made.

Adhere

Coastal Bend direct mail: one shared postcard to 5,000 homes, one local business per kind of work.

All Brands STX

Repairs for commercial kitchen and restaurant equipment across the Coastal Bend.

brandstx

Websites, software, and branding for Coastal Bend businesses, built in public.

Boothpress

Custom photo magnets and event photo products for other shops to sell.

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