Friday, September 30, 2005

Saying Goodbye to a Brother Knight

Ever since my father passed away, I've had a hard time going to funeral homes. I try to 'suck it up' when it comes to certain people. This person, a Past Grand Knight from Ste. Anne Anacleto Rodriguez Knights of Columbus Council 8697, is one of those exceptions:

HERNANDEZ, RAMON M
September 30, 2005
Knights of Columbus Died September 27, 2005. Beloved husband of Magdalena Janie. Loving father of Juan Jesus (Maria), Annabel (Gerardo) Juarez, Magdalena Machuca, Ramon Jr., Angelica (Travis) Sprinkle, and Maria Christina (David) Bradley. Dear Grandfather of 17; also survived by brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews and friends. Member of St. Anne's Knights of Columbus, retired autoworker from Chrysler. Visitation Thursday 5-9 p.m. and Friday 1-9 p.m. with a Prayer Service at 7 p.m. at the Salowich & Stevens Funeral Home, 3833 Livernois Rd. (1½ Blocks S. of Michigan Ave.) in Detroit Instate 10:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Anne Catholic Church, 1000 St. Anne St., in Detroit until the Mass, 11 a.m. Interment Holy Cross Cemetery.

Via con dios, mi hermano!

Another podcast is coming...

I'm getting ready to do another podcast. (In fact, I've been working on it since Monday.) I'm going to make it more of a traditional podcast, with music, a microphone, and other things like that.

Maybe I can get it done tonight. We'll see....

Also, I might be accelerating our quest for moving to the Pridelands. At least things are aligning that way. Stay tuned.

Monday, September 26, 2005

Congratulations Jim!

Well, it looks like my nephew, Jim Vote, got another job. He'll be working for the Archdiocese of Detroit on campus ministry and young adult programs. His title will have the word 'coordinator' in it. It sounds like a cool job, and one that he will be well suited to do.

Good job, Bro! We'll break out the drinks when you get a chance...

BTW, it's only about 95% a sure thing, so don't tell anyone until tomorrow, okay?

Sunday, September 25, 2005

Something that annoys me

It annoys me when someone says they'll help you do something, then decides at the last moment to change their mind.

This is the definition of commitment:

com·mit·ment n.

1. The act or an instance of committing, especially:
a. The act of referring a legislative bill to committee.
b. Official consignment, as to a prison or mental health facility.
c. A court order authorizing consignment to a prison.

2.
a. A pledge to do.
b. Something pledged, especially an engagement by contract involving financial obligation.

3. The state of being bound emotionally or intellectually to a course of action or to another person or persons: a deep commitment to liberal policies; a profound commitment to the family.


My hope is that some day, others will understand it also.

Friday, September 23, 2005

First Audio Blog Entry

UPDATE: I think that I figured it out. Click here for a direct link to the podcast. Let me know if this works in your podcast retrieval system.

this is an audio post - click to play


I haven't figured out how to set this up for podcasting yet. Hope to do so soon.

Let me know what you think...like it? hate it?

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

I CAN do it... thanks to my friends!

You can do it!
Thanks to the support of Declan Lynch, Richard Schwartz, jonvon and Stephan H. Wissel, I'm going to submit an abstract for Lotusphere 2006!!!

I was worried that since I was away from the blog-o-sphere and then moved it, nobody was out there reading this. It's nice to know that not only are people reading, but it's people I consider friends... Thanks!

If I make it there, you'll have a beverage of your choice waiting for you...

Monday, September 19, 2005

Lotusphere 2006 Presentation...Can I do it?

Ed Brill mentioned this morning that Lotusphere abstract submissions have been extended a week.

It's been a dream of mine to present at Lotusphere. In fact, I submitted a couple of abstracts last year, but they weren't selected. The topics were covered by others that were definitely more qualified.

I have a second chance to submit. My questions...

First, should I submit?

Second, what should I submit?

Let's face it, as an IBM Certified Instructor, I'm all over the place when it comes to skillsets. I'm not an 'expert' in any one area... I just have to know it all! I've done presentations at an LSM Seminar and at numerous user group meetings, so I know I can present, but what to do...

Anybody have anything???

ND7 Banner in full effect

Thanks to Ed Brill, I have a new side banner for Lotus Domino/Notes ND7:

Lotus Domino/Lotus Notes 7

As of now, nobody has stepped forward to sponsor me at Lotusphere 2006 yet...

No blame... Just thanks!

Mike Wendland blogged about this experiences down in Gulf Coast. He and the team he travelled down with should truly be admired. One thing I got out of this was that they (the people needing relief) are not blaming the government for what happened or for the lack of support. It's amazing how much 'nonsense' is added to the media reports. I wish the media could just report the news, and not add their own spin on it. I thought it was called 'reporting'...

Saturday, September 17, 2005

Hanging out at St Robert's Festival

My niece Maggie talking to Jennifer

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Sitting at the Altar of Brill

UPDATE: Congratulations to David Hafey from Michigan Catholic Conference on winning the $50 Gift Certificate to Border's. It's nice to know that they use Domino.

First off... I KNOW SOMETHING THAT YOU DON'T KNOW!!! (I've always wanted to say that!) Ed Brill mentioned some cool stuff coming, but I promised him that I wouldn't blog about it, and I WON'T. All I can say is that I'm happy I'm still working with IBM/Lotus. Can't wait...

I'm writing this from the West Michigan Lotus User Group Meeting and Lotus Notes/Domino 7 and Beyond event in Grand Rapids. It was a capacity crowd. There were actually more people there than who signed up, and everyone who signed up showed up. That's a rarity for free seminars. I saw some familiar faces, and got to see Ed Brill present in a much smaller room than I would normally (at Lotusphere).
A few years ago, Gatoraid put out a commercial with a song that went something like, 'Like Mike... I wanna be like Mike...'. Well, I'm singing a similiar tune, 'Like Ed... I wanna be like Ed...'. His presentation was outstanding! He's also a great guy! Like a boob, I forgot to bring my Creative Zen Micro, so I didn't have anything that I could use to interview him. (Maybe someday in the future...) Thanks to Ed for the presentation, thanks to the user group for having me, and thanks to my employer for allowing me to come.

All I've got to say is that I've got to figure out a way to get to Lotusphere! I'm looking for a sponsor...Any volunteers?

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Tomorrow in Grand Rapids with Ed Brill

I'm going to be at the COMBINED West Michigan Lotus User Group Meeting and 'Notes Domino 7 and Beyond' launch event in Grand Rapids, MI. Speaking at this event is none other than Ed Brill, Business Unit Executive, Worldwide Lotus Messaging Sales, IBM Software Group. In other words, he's 'our voice'...the voice of all of us who uses and advocates Lotus Domino/Notes. I can't wait! Hope to see you there...

Monday, September 12, 2005

Another reason I admire Mike Wendland...

Mike Wendland is a tech guru here in Detroit. He has a syndicated report he does for NBC, he writes articles for the Detroit Free Press, and he talks at area user group meetings. He also rode his bike back to fitness, and has a pretty cool 'spiritual' side. He's one man that I admire A LOT!

Well, he and some other volunteers are heading down to the Gulf Coast to help with the relief effort. He's blogging about it at:

http://freep.typepad.com/katrina/

Check it out when you get a chance....

Thursday, September 08, 2005

E-mails from the Red Cross asking for donations...DON'T BITE!

The American Red Cross

Last night on the news, I heard that a lot of scammers are sending emails claiming to be from the Red Cross regarding donations for disaster relief. A spokesman from the Red Cross said that they do not send email solicitations.

Please do NOT consider donating to anyone that emails you asking you to go to a site to make a donation. Just go to the Red Cross site yourself. Many of the scammers are actually making their sites look like the Red Cross one…complete with the ‘Verisign Secure Site’ logo on it.

Once we clean up New Orleans, let’s grab all these scammers and put them on a deserted island where they can rot!!!

Be careful when donating, but PLEASE CONTINUE TO DONATE!!!

How was your Labor Day Weekend?

Hope that everyone had a good weekend. I spent this weekend with family, hugging them a little more than usual, and thanking God for the good fortunes that I have....

There might be a chance that I will be in Grand Rapids, MI when Ed Brill is in town for a Lotus Notes/Domino 7 seminar. Too cool.... Maybe I found someone to interview when I start my podcasting career...

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

PodShow Relief



Adam Curry and the gang at PodShow want you to help...

I guess it didn't sell the first time on eBay...

I mentioned this a few days ago on this blog, but I guess there were no takers. It's up for sale again. I'd buy it, but there's no way I'm going to fit into a large anytime soon. Besides, I have it in XL...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7181406371&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1

Happy shopping!

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

How was your Labor Day Weekend?

Hope that everyone had a good weekend. I spent this weekend with family, hugging them a little more than usual, and thanking God for the good fortunes that I have....

There might be a chance that I will be in Grand Rapids, MI when Ed Brill is in town for a Lotus Notes/Domino 7 seminar. Too cool.... Maybe I found someone to interview when I start my podcasting career...

Thursday, September 01, 2005

Thank You Jennifer!


I just got off of the phone with my wife. She seemed to be in a bad mood.
She worked her buttocks off yesterday placing out for bulk collection (which Detroit collects once a month) A TON of junk that we had in our basement. It didn't help that I promised to help my brother-in-law and sister with their DSL/wireless setup when I promised to help Jennifer when I got home from work. What started out as a quick 1/2 hour setup turned into a 4 1/2 hour battle... which I won. By the time I got home, Jennifer had most of it done, and she still had a smile on her face (sort of). We threw out some of the bigger stuff, and in the two hours we worked on that, I realized how much work Jennifer got done before I came home... WOW! She did an awesome job, but despite the fact that I mentioned what a great job she did, I don't think she realizes how much I really DID appreciate what she did.
I know that this isn't much, but maybe she'll believe it now that it's out there for the whole world (ok... three of you) to see.
JENNIFER... THANK YOU & I LOVE YOU!!!

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