Obama gets Colin Powell's endorsement

He still draws huge crowds, tons of new voters, and in Republican states draws crowds of over 100,000.

If Obama becomes president can he live up to everyone's expectations? His campaign is built around "grassroots" effort and ideals based on "hope" and "change". Is real change possible?? Yes. Is it possible now? We will see...

Brothers Weight Loss Challenge

I have been 235 lbs for many years. I may loss an occasional 5 lbs, but always gain it back. As I got older, I talked myself in believing that at least I am not getting fatter.... Well, I got a health check a month ago and lets say it was not good.

I nag Caitlyn about checking her sugar levels, getting exercise, and eating right. Now it is my turn to be an example and make a lifestyle change. My excuse up till now has been; "life simply gets in the way. Kids activities, family chores, work, and TV/computer time :)". I can't keep using it as an excuse and need to make it a priority for me and my family.

To help motivate me, my brother and I decided to have a weight loss challenge. Whoever loses the most weight from Oct 2008 to April 2009 wins an undetermined prize. Maybe an airline ticket to see the other brother.

I created a spreadsheet we plan to update each Sunday. You can view our weight loss data and charts on this spreadsheet.

Maybe all of this exposure and pressure will motivate me. Heck, I need to post a picture of myself, but I am afraid you would never come back to my blog.....

Web 2.0 Conference

Blue Cross of North Carolina (BCBSNC) sent me to a Web 2.0 conference at SAS Institute hosted by Ragan.com. I enjoyed learning about SEO, blogs, new technologies on the horizon, and how other corporations are using these tools to communicate with employees and customers.

Best moments at the conference:
David Pogue speaking about technology and singing a few song parities. Below is a tape of two songs he did at the conference. The second one about the RIAA is really funny.

Best resource I learned about:
http://www.everyblock.com/ - A way to find out about anything in your neighborhood

Best tool mentioned:
http://search.everyzing.com/ - Did you know you can search text from audio and video on the net?

Sites mentioned during the conference:

Tools

• http://www.blogpulse.com/ - A BlogPulse blog summarizing recent activity, trends, personalities and issues in the blog universe.
• http://technorati.com/ - Lists websites by their overall page rank and authority
• http://search.everyzing.com/ - Search online audio (podcasts, You Tube, Video)
• http://www.google.com/alerts?hl=en - Setup email alerts on news or blog posts about a topic
• http://www.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en - Blog Search
• https://www.blogger.com/ - Blogging tool
• http://www.newsgator.com - RSS readers
• http://www.newsgator.com/Individuals/FeedDemon/Default.aspx - Feed Demon personal RSS reader
• http://friendfeed.com/ - Discover and share sites with friends
• http://qik.com/ - Streaming and archived video using your cell phone
• https://twitter.com/ - Service to communicate with others using short questions/answers
• http://www.yammer.com/about - Twitter solution for employees on an internal network
• http://digg.com/ - If used on public site to rate news, helps drive traffic
• Google Page Rank - Allows you to see the rank Google gives a page, determined by back links and content on site
• https://www.getdropbox.com/ - Store, Sync, Share files
• http://www.digsby.com - consolidates your social media tools in one place. From IM to Facebook.
• http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.asp - video training tool
• http://www.tubemogul.com/ - Send videos to multiple video sites
• http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki - Free wiki product

Tech Blogs

• http://www.engadget.com/ - Tech product review site - top blog site
• http://www.techcrunch.com/ - Reviews web start up companies - top blog site
• http://www.davidpogue.com/ - NYT tech reviewer

Company Blogs

• http://fastlane.gmblogs.com/ - GM blogs
• http://www.sun.com/ - Links to employee blogs on front page, over 400 bloggers
• http://blogs.thomasnelson.com/ - company bloggers listed on corporate site
• http://www.runningahospital.blogspot.com/ -
• http://www.bigmedicine.ca/stevencrimando.htm

Marketing and Social Media Blogs

• http://www.nevillehobson.com/ - Business and communications blog
• http://www.pr-squared.com/ - Social Media blog
• http://badpitch.blogspot.com/ - Highlights bad pitches PR professionals send to bloggers
• http://www.marketingovercoffee.com - Tips on marketing
• http://micropersuasion.com/ - Technology and communications blog
• http://www.christopherspenn.com/ - A visionary in new media with an intuitive sense for how marketing and community outreach

Video Blogs

• http://www.blogsouthwest.com/video
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaHtA89RHUQ - Here is a video a B to B company did and it got lots of attention which increased page views and brand. This was successful because the video was on YouTube and linked back to the site. Video hosted on your own site have less exposure.
• http://bloggingheads.tv/ - video blog debate format, very cool. Could use for interviews as well

Podcasts

• http://forimmediaterelease.biz - For Immediate Release: The Hobson and Holtz Report is the twice-weekly podcast of Neville Hobson, ABC, and Shel Holtz, ABC, a pair of communication professionals who think they have something to say.
• http://www.whirlpool.com/custserv/promo.jsp?sectionId=563 - Podcast to help build customer loyalty and brand awareness.

Resources

• http://www.bettermanagement.com/ - Better Management provides articles, webcasts, and conferences addressing Performance Management, Financial Management, Business Intelligence, IT management, and other critical business management issues
• http://sncr.org/ - The Society for New Communications Research is a global nonprofit 501(c)(3) think tank dedicated to the advanced study of the latest developments in new media and communications, and their effect on traditional media and business models, communications, culture and society.
• http://www.stopblocking.org/ - The value of enabling social media for employees, both inside and outside the firewall, keeps getting reinforced by study after study, yet organizations continue to block access to external sources while resisting internal implementation citing excuses ranging from bandwidth and storage limitations to fears of diminished worker productivity.
• http://www.pitchengine.com/ - PitchEngine is the new social media release champion, and an indispensable tool in the new media arsenal.”
• http://www.davidpogue.com/
• http://social-media-university-global.org/ - Free classes on social media
• http://www.everyblock.com/ - BETA - search on info in your area
• http://www.fightthebull.com/ - Evaluate emails for BS
• http://www.domystuff.com/ - Outsource chores, sample of web 2.0 community

Soccer season ends in two weeks

A few posts back I talked about the kids soccer teams. Time flew by because the season is almost over.

Here is a picture of Stephen's soccer team (Red Tigers). I think they won every game this season. The kids don't care too much about winning and really seem to have fun.

Here are some more pictures of The Red Tigers in action.



Chloe had a slow start to the soccer season. She wanted to pick weeds and hug everyone. We also lost a coach. The parents stepped up and took over. It has turned out better then I thought. Kudos to two key parents in making it a great season.

I have a few videos of the team in action. At this age it is funny to watch them.

Check out pictures from the game.
Check the videos out here.

Below is a video of Chloe in action. This was the most I have seen her touch the ball. At the end of the video one of her friends scores a goal and hits his head on the goal post. OUCH!!!

A billion

A billion seconds ago it was 1951.
A billion minutes ago Jesus walked on earth.
In Washington a billion dollars was spent only in 10.3 hours ago.

Are you talking to me?

I hate going to the grocery store or on the elevator at work, when a person talks to you and you respond, only to realize they were not really talking to you... They were talking into their Blue-Tooth headset.
So many people have these things, I feel like I am in a sci-fi movie and they are the cyborgs...