PodCamp Toronto 2008 Highlights
So I’m finally getting around to posting on my experiences at PodCamp Toronto 2008. What a great time and what a great group of people. I saw some PodCamp veterans like Tommy Vallier, Chris Brogan, and Julien Smith. I also met some new people from Canada like Adele McAlear, Jay Moonah, Vergel Evans, and Connie Crosby. The days were great and I spent a lot of time getting to know how people where leveraging new media. In the evenings we usually headed to a nearby watering hole. Luckily the favorite spot was right outside my hotel. I had a chance to get a taste for Toronto nightlife; I’ll challenge you to find the picture of some new friends I met while out.
Heading to the Hotel
I even had a chance to bump into one of my favorite actors from the series, The Wire, Lance Reddick at the airport. I wrapped up by hanging out with Michelle Joseph, a PR woman and Toronto native, and some friends to watch the Oscars. Very cool time all around.
Matthew Ingram on Truth vs Traffic (Turn the volume up)
Vergel Evans on Blog Analytics
A Sleepy SuperBowl: My Informal House Warming
So I finally recovered from the Super Bowl. It took about a week but I can accept that Brady choked royally. The evening was quite laid back, the option was there to either go to Downtown Boston or just chill at home. I just moved to Waltham, which is a little west of Boston and home to the start of the American Industrial Revolution. Being close to 128 it was also home to many tech and medical device manufactures like Boston Scientific (then again I think their in Natick, one town over).
Anyway, I love the new place that I moved into, it’s a big change from the south shore. Feels real good not to be house poor anymore. As part of my transition into self employment I had to relieve myself of some financial burdens. Kinda sucks since I had a sweet mortgage that actually decreased the longer I held it for up to 12 years. The fact that I had some rental income was also nice. Luckily I was able to do a short sale without getting banged up too much in the process. Anyway, I’m going off topic. I liquidated so that I could finance development on the project that is suppose to pay the bills. Time is more valuable than money for most startups; quiting the six figure salary and running full time was the only way to go for me. To that end, I’m now in Waltham and the Super Bowl party was kinda my informal house warming.
Mostly everyone at the party was for the Pats, but all but one of us are originally out of towners. So when Brady started getting sacked big time we all kinda had a good laugh on the inside. They say that the Super Bowl is ranked second only to Thanksgiving in terms of caloric intake. Well judging by the amount of junk we consumed I’m not surprised. We had a fun debate about what’s the best part of an Oreo cookie. I personally like the mini Oreos because they have just the right proportion of cookie to stuff ratio (regular has just a little bit more than what I like). Unfortunately Mel got Double Stuff so I left Oreo guts all over the table. I think you can easily make it out in one of the pictures.
Well anyway, good times good times. As you can see I still need to do some more decorating and put some pics on the wall. This new place is actually bigger than the ground floor unit of the house I use to own. Everything setup, but I still need to get blinds. Right now I still have the shades that came with the place. The kind that they use in murder mysteries that cast a shadow of the deeds that go down inside. Maybe bamboo blinds, chic and sustainable.
Four by Four Life Meme
Chris Brogan tagged me on this life meme challenge. He also gives a concise explanation of why they are important in an online social context. So here is my 4×4…
Four jobs I’ve had in my life:
- At 14 I worked as a shoe salesman at Hush Puppies. I knew exactly how Al Bundy felt.
- I spent a summer with my cousin Vincent busting up concrete. He had a sledge hammer called “King” and a female Doberman named “Vicious”. I remember her because she was really a sweety at heart (her ears weren’t cut, so cute)
- One of my most fun jobs was during high school working at Radio Shack. Bob, the store manager, ran the Chestnut St. store in Downtown Philly. He taught me everything I know about selling myself — whatever you are peddling is secondary.
- There is always the first job that gives you a taste of the future. Working at the MIT Media lab during undergrad was my taste.
Four Shows I DVR:
- ABC Nightline
- Nip/Tuck
- Smallville
- Beyond the Boardroom
Four Places I’ve Been:
- Jamaica when I was a kid. I was visiting my uncle who was there on assignment in the FBI. Duns River Falls is burned into my memory as one of the most pleasurable experiences of my life, even though I lost my glasses.
- I had a great time in Hong Kong while on business for the first time in China. Great town to work in a westerner, but now the pollution is getting so bad I wouldn’t wish is on my worst enemy. Air quality is a big deal in China.
- My mom’s got a place down in Titusville, Florida that I’ve been to a couple of times. Its near Cocoa Beach and not far from Orlando either. Peaceful and lazy is how I would describe it.
- Las Vegas with my ex. It was my first time in Vegas and we did pretty much everything there was to do on and off the strip. This time I lost my glasses on a jet ski on Lake Mead.
Four Favorite Foods:
- My mother makes killer Manicotti with options for ground turkey, beef, or spinach
- Chinese Dim Sum in Downtown Boston at Grand Chow Chow
- Freshcetta Naturally Rising Supreme Pizza. For five bucks you can save yourself a trip to PizzaHut
- Kellog’s Frosted Mini Wheats. My best friend Femi put me on to these in ‘98. Taste great and an excellent source of fiber, LOL
So that’s it for me. I guess I’ll forward this along to:
- Eric Rochow of Garden Fork Fame
- Anna Hackman of Green-Talk
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No Spam Plz
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In the Game
