event

Podcamp San Antonio 3.0 is Around the Corner

Do you want to learn how to craft a podcast for your organization or for personal enrichment? Do you want to learn what tools podcasters use in their art? Would you like to find out how to make money with your podcast? Have you ever wondered how to create video for the internet?

The world of media is changing. What was once only possible with expensive equipment is now easily done with your home computer and a microphone or camera.

Podcamp San Antonio 3.0 is the place you want to be on May 16. Visit PodcampSanAntonio.org for more details.

Going to Veterans March Instead of SXSW

America's Last Patrol Post #3
I heard through the grapevine that my friends over at America’s Last Patrol Post 3 are planning another march from Edinburg, Texas to San Antonio, Texas to demonstrate the need for a VA hospital in the Rio Grande Valley. The first time they did this was in November 2005. Rep. Aaron Pena documented his walk with the group on his blog. Their second walk in 2006 was from Brownsville to Rio Grande City. I was able to walk with them a couple of days and photograph the event. I am leaning towards joining them on their latest march. I am not a veteran, but I do recognize the need for a hospital in South Texas and could lend a hand in helping them get the word out about the trek.

Background

This group, along with several other veterans groups, have consistently worked hard over the years to get Congress to open up a VA hospital in the RGV. Their efforts have yielded a VA clinic in Harlingen, which is great for simple medical conditions; however, veterans must make the trip to San Antonio for more serious problems. Travel expenses and lodging are often a big hurdle for many vets to receive treatment. Another problem is that the VA hospital and clinics get hit with a large increase in veterans every year during the winter season, making timely care almost impossible. Even with a good measure of success towards their goal, South Texas veteran groups have to keep working towards their ultimate goal.

What You Can Do

Most importantly, you could help spread the word about the event. Let people know that it’s coming. You might join us along the route. You could donate some money to the cause. I’ll set up a page where you can sponsor miles. The total walk is over 200 miles.

What I’ll be doing

I will be marching with the veterans, first of all. I’ll also be taking pictures along the way. I will do my best to post to Utterli and this blog. I’ll also enable my Google Latitude so that you can track our progress; my Latitude account is shaine.mata@gmail.com.

If you want more information about the march, contact Jesus Bocanegra at 956.246.8342. If you want more information about what I’m doing, call me at 956.205.0706.

UPDATE

Here are websites created for the March to San Antonio
http://www.marchtosanantonio.tumblr.com/
http://marchtosanantonio.webs.com/

Interview: Texas Wine & Song Festival

Tx Wine and Song ogo
Tx Wine and Song ogo

Join me as I talk to the organizers of the Second Annual Texas Wine & Song Festival in Austin, Texas. You can listen to the LIVE podcast on October 12, 2008 at 2 pm CST on BlogTalkRadio.

The Texas Wine & Song Festival will raise funds for the SIMS Foundation. Find out more about the wine and entertainment at this year’s festival. You are welcome to listen in or call during the show.

UPDATE

After Startup Weekend San Antonio

I’ve had quite a bit waiting for me since my return from Startup Weekend San Antonio this weekend. If you have kept up, you know that I am a part of the team that started ForceXchange.com. We are still working to carry the project forward in addition to carrying out all that pertains to our daily lives. It’s funny, I’ve heard it said that if you want something done, ask a busy person. Well, there you go. All of us have plenty to do and we have taken on more. We must be nuts.

I do want to also recognize, with a little bit of link love, the other teams from Startup Weekend San Antonio. There is IDre.am; which is a team of developers who threw up a functional website in record time. The website is a fun idea. People post what they dreamt the night before; others post interpretations of the dreams. Still others can vote on the interpretations for the best one.

The other team is RentEscapes.com. It is the most ambitious of the startups, which can potentially earn the greatest amount of money. On the other hand, it is also the most complex to carry out. The good news is that the team has a large pool of talent from which to draw.

We all want to carry our projects forward and monetize from our efforts. We’ll see how things work out in the coming weeks. I am grateful for the experience; and I am glad to have met so many awesome like-minded people. Even though I am still catching up on rest, I am clear of mind what I want to do as a result of the experience. I will keep you posted on what is going on with the ForceXchange team as we work to complete our project.

UPDATE

You can read more about Startup Weekend San Antonio at the San Antonio Express News. Watch video here.

HESTEC 2008 Update With Ernesto Villareal

The Hispanic Engineering, Science, and Technology Program (HESTEC) at the University of Texas Pan American is an annual event that aims to encourage hispanics to pursue careers in Science and technology by showcasing successful people in those fields. The event is co-organized through the office of Congressman Ruben Hinojosa.

Ernesto Villareal will join us and give us the latest on this year’s HESTEC planning. The event expands its horizons every year and has become a major draw in the region. Join us April 25 at 8:30 am CST on Blog Talk Radio. If you have any questions during the show, call in at 646-716-8227.

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PodCamp San Antonio Numero Dos Conference Call

I just got off a conference call with members of the San Antonio Podcasters and New Media Group. We discussed that latest in our work to organize PodCamp San Antonio Number Dos, which is still the ONLY PodCamp in the State of Texas. At the moment, we are working to find sponsors for the event. We have some deadlines looming for sponsors so that we can put their logos on t-shirts, badges, and the guide to San Antonio.

If you are interested in sponsoring, we need your firm commitment by April 15 so that we can send off the t-shirt order and have them printed in time. For the badges, we have April 25 as the deadline. We can mess around with the Guide to San Antonio a little, but would appreciate as much time as possible so we can do a good job.

Another point of discussion is sponsorship levels. We are asking for $250 and $500 sponsorships. However, if you want to give $10, we’re not going to turn you down. Whatever you can contribute would be of great help. You can contact Jennifer Navarrete for more details on that. There is also a donation button on the PCSAII website.

The rest of the discussion centered around getting the word out to the press, the public, and sponsors so that we can meet the deadlines. It’s coming down to the wire, folks. Before you know it, we’ll be 30 days out and we’ll really be working it.

No BarCamp Texas

Things have not worked out as planned, so my trip to BarCamp Texas at College Station has been scrapped. At first, I was a little bummed as I was looking forward to it. However, as the day wore on yesterday, things turned around. Many good things are happening as a result of my staying home this weekend. I’ve got several things going on this weekend after all, so it turns out to be a blessing in disguise. I’ll fill you in later as things develop.