He told me that he wants to talk to the fresh blood in New Orleans (people under 40) that are making things happen in the city.  No disrespect to the more seasoned and mature people making a name for themselves but they always seem to get the spotlight.  I know ALOT of young people in the city that really love New Orleans, love what they do, and are propelling this city to a new level.  For my 3 minutes of radio fame, I talked about what I know best: technology.

I gave him the back story about how I got into it, talked about why African-Americans should get their children more involved in tech, and how the city stacked up against others in regards to technology.  You can listen to the audio of the segment or download it.  I was a little nervous toward the beginning but eventually calmed down enough to spit out some worthwhile answers.

So thanks again Eddie for the opportunity!  If you are doing some good things in New Orleans or if you know somebody that is, then talk to Eddie to get them spotlighted.

Listen To The Audio or Download It

Cleaning Out Friends

Look we all have people that get on our nerves from time to time.  But do your really need to put a status update telling everybody you about to “defriend” them before remove them off your friend list?  Just go ahead and unfriendly them already.

The Poke

What genius came us with this?  Out of all the features on Facebook, why is the poke still around?  What do I want to poke somebody online for? I barely like people poking me in real life.  To make matters worse, people who are not your friends can poke you so you got a bunch of stranger poking you all day online, making you feel uncomfortable. The whole thing just feels dirty.

The Internet Pimp

Ladies have you been macked on by the internet pimp?  You know…the dude that you really don’t know or maybe you know but can’t really remember and he’s sipping game to you over the Internet?  They are bold too….asking you for your number, when yall can meet…what happened to the good old days?  Fine if you want to meet people online but what happened to the face to face courtship first and THEN laying it on thick in the middle. (.e.g e-cards, sweet inbox messages, etc.)

Subliminal Message

These are the best!  People have been sending subliminal messages for ages but the Internet just gave us a better way to do it.  If you are unaware of how this works online, let me break it down for you:

• Person A (is mad at or has beef with) Person B
• Person A (leaves an opened end/indirect comment on their status) in regards to Person B
• Because the comment is indirect, not really saying who, why, or what it’s about other Facebookers are curious to know who it is

But the best part is when Person B logs into their Facebook page, reads the status of Person A, and knows that they are talking about them…..but on the slick.  Then Person B goes and put an indirect message on THEIR status, etc, etc.

C’mon son, if yall got beef handle that in the streets. (Disclaimer: Chris Boudy.com, his affiliates or subsidiaries do not condone fighting in any way, shape, or form unless it involves pillows, a sandbox, and fishing line)

Front Street

Everybody knows where Front St. is at.  Somebody in your life has told you about this.  Tell me you never heard the phrase “Don’t put all your business out on front street”.  If you still unclear about it, it means that you don’t got to put ALL your business on Facebook.  Facebook is a social networking site, not a social complaining site, or a my relationship bad site, or a my life so horrible site and I understand stuff goes wrong but it’s good to practice a little digression.

I’m not saying I’m perfect but I am saying that even though it’s just “on the Internet” it’s still a representation of who you are as a person.  Just a little food for thought for all my Facebook friends (will at least the ones I haven’t unfriended already), so let me finish poking some people and laugh at some more humorous things I see…POW!!

I’ve had this bible for 13 years now.  During this time, I’ve usually thrown it somewhere out of sight.  Not because I didn’t have respect for the it but I was never a “Oh let me go get my bible and read it today” type of person.  Besides who throws away a bible?  I think that’s a straight ticket to hell.  Anyway, the bible has been thrown in corners, tucked away in dark boxes, moved from houses to house, survived a hurricane, and pushed over to make room for other books.  But for some strange reason, no matter how much disregard I had for the book or where I threw it…I always knew where to place my hands on it.  It was always around.

Recently I felt that I wanted to grow a little more spiritually and the first thing I did was look for that bible.  Sure enough, in my bedroom, in a nightstand drawer, underneath some old picture frames was the book.  I felt like it was waiting for me.  I picked it up and did the exact same thing when I first received it: Opened up the cover, looked at my name, looked at the date it was given to me, thumbed through the pages but this time I started to read.

Then it hit me: A lot times, we do the same thing to God that I did with that bible.  We go through life, consciously or subconsciously pushing him to the side.  Placing him in boxes, drawers, or underneath something that is convenient for us like a genie in a bottle, only to pray for something when we need it.  But God is just like that bible, always with you, never truly out of reach.  And even though you may disregard him and continue living your life thinking you are in full control, when you need him, he’s always around.

Even short-term goals take “some” time.  I’ve never heard of an “instant goal” but I’m sure there are a couple.  But think about when you have a long or short-term goal. What’s happens? We might understand it takes a minute to reach it, sometimes we are so impatient  because want it now.  For many, that can be a downfall.  I can honestly say that I hate baby steps too.  It’s my Achilles heel.  If you know my mama, then you know me.  I’m Type A, always thinking about the next thing, looking four or five steps ahead of me.  All my life I’ve been able to click, click, click and go.

But I recently learned that I’m not immune to the baby step rule.  Just like everybody else, I need to learn to celebrate the small victories.  As bad as I want to put my foot on the pedal and go 100 mph I understand that way of thinking does not work with every situation.

Learn to take those steps one after the other.  Even if they are tiny steps, your moving in the right direction.

An Oldie But Goodie - Site I Designed A While Back

So after much consideration I decided to dust off the jersey and get back into the web freelance game.  I get to keep my web skills sharp, design professional looking sites, and help people make their visions come to life.  If it’s one thing I hate, it’s a poorly designed website.  It’s like if you were a fashion designer and you saw somebody put on an outfit that didn’t have a clue about fashion.

I also believe web designers are artist: web artist.  Think about what an artist does.  They take something, a blank canvas, a blank sheet, an idea and turn it into something beautiful.  That’s what web designers do with the web.  We take a blank (computer screen) canvas and create amazing things that make you go WOW!

My proverbial paint brush and easel have come out the attic, the knuckles have been cracked, and I’m ready to start making masterpieces again.

Visit my new website design page to find out more info, get a free quote, or see my portfolio.

What Is It?

Startup Digest came from the minds of Chris McCann & Brendan McManus out of Silicon Valley.  The plan?  Get curators in different cities with startups and entrepreneurs and simply send out a newsletter of startup events that they would be interested in.  Nothing to fancy, just something to keep people in the loop.

According to  the site, the larger goals are to:

• Promote the entrepreneurial lifestyle and culture of doing
• Strengthen pre-existing entrepreneurial communities (big or small)
• Create stronger bonds between entrepreneurs through relevant events
• Promote the cross pollination of ideas
• Empower leaders in these startup communities

The idea has now reached 26 cities around the globe with New Orleans being one of them.  I’m also happy to say that Taylor and I are the co-curators for the New Orleans Startup Digest.

Startup Digest NOLA

Who Should Sign Up?

If your a startup company (doesn’t matter which industry) or an entrepreneur in New Orleans then you should definitely sign up.  Our goal is to pool in all the events from different organizations and place them in your lap with a bi-weekly newsletter.  If we are missing something, need to improve, or you just have a comment then just let us know! (see: taylor {at} thestartupdigest.com)

Sign Up For Start Digest: New Orleans or Follow Them On Twitter

You’ve heard of Iron Chef, right?  Well think of this as the Iron Chef for Geeks.  The contest was only supposed to be four people but at the last minute I jumped in and begged this woman to sign me up.  I told her I was from New Orleans and she kind of shrugged and said “Okay”.  Maybe she was a fellow WhoDat or maybe it was my charm but who cares.  I got to be in an Iron Geek Contest. Yes!!!  At the time I didn’t know this but the contest was broken down as follows:

• Heat 1: Fastest Typer
• Heat 2: Fastest Person To Build A Web Server
• Heat 3: Fastest Driver In The MapQuest Racing Game

Heat 1: Fastest Typer

I thought the contest was just the typing part and figured I was a shoe in.  I took typing in high school and I averaged around 60/65 words a minute.  I checked out the competition and most of them were peckers.  You know the type of people that have to look at the keyboard to type.  Trained typers are always faster than peckers because peckers have to look at the keyboard than type, which shaves off milliseconds off their time.  I breezed through the typing part: 74 word per minute.  But it was only good for second place.  The winner in that round typed 95 words per minute. SERIOUSLY? WAS HE A ROBOT OR SOMETHING?!? WHO TYPES 95 WORDS A MINUTE.

Heat 2: Fastest Person To Build A Web Server

This look harder than it sounds.  You actually had to put together parts of a web server.  To be exact you had a heat sink, a fan, two pieces of ram, two ribbon cables, power cables, clamps, and the cover.  I purposely went last so I could map out a strategy in my head.  I watched what each person did:  What was the best method?  What went wrong?  When and where did they mess up?  I told myself the most important thing was to go slow.  Yea that’s right, I had to be the fastest but I told myself to go slow. Why?  Because like clockwork, every time a competitor went fast to try to beat they clock they messed up.  They panicked and that added more time.  I figured if I just played it cool, took my time, and did it right the first time I’d be okay.  Again, I came in second place.  At this point, I needed to win the last round.  I was one point behind the two guys who were neck and neck for first place.

Heat 3: Fastest Driver In The MapQuest Racing Game

Simple objective:  Racing game.  Semi-finals and finals. Fastest time wins.  I had played racing games since I could touch a controller.  I knew I had to finish this here.  By this time, there was a small crowd of 30 people gathered around us and I heard a lady say, “Hey that guy from New Orleans is just like the Saints.  He’s been behind in the first couple of rounds, but he’s got heart and he’ll pull through to win this“.  No lie, this lady actually compared me to the New Orleans Saints.  Talk about pressure.  Luckily I won the semi-final race and I was into the finals.

I actually said a curse word and gripped the steering wheel while I was driving.  Did I mention that this was the Iron Geek Championship?  My opponent was good, Payton Manning good.  He got the inside track.  Kept his speed up with mine.  Even bumped my car when I tried to cut around him.  I drove with my foot on the gas, hitting sharp turns, watching him out the corner of my eye.  Until I got a break.  He crashed his car and it took him about 7 seconds to reset.  That was my Tracey Porter inception.  I had a 7 second jump on the guy going 175 mph and on the last lap.  No way this guy would catch up to me.

That is until he was right besides me the final leg of the race.  It was a right turn and then a straight shot to the final line.  As a driver all you can hope for is a clean turn on the inside track and then floor it to the finish line.  My right turn and his right turn were perfect.  The crowd gasped.  Our cars were neck and neck.  But in the last final seconds, only one crossed the finish line first…….

1.44 seconds

That is how much I beat him by. 1.44 seconds.  That number never sounded so sweet.  So while I didn’t win the Superbowl or have a ticker tape parade I had street cred (while among geeks anyway).  Just like my Saints and my city I was a Champion!

56k Modem

I shrugged it off “Mail? Whatever”.  The first website I ever opened up was Yahoo.com.  The design of the site was simple.  It had a search bar and a slew of hyperlinks that drilled down to it’s different sections.  It was the first website design I ever memorized, the first time I realized how vast the Internet could be, and the amounts of information it could hold.  Maybe that why I still using Yahoo for my search today instead of Google or Bing.

The browser I used was Netscape 3.0.  I didn’t know the difference, it was just what I was told to use.  But there was a hidden gem that came with the browser: Netscape Composer.  Composer was a webpage building program with basic features which included a WYSISYG editor, an option to type in HTML code, and a handful of buttons for creating hyperlinks, inserting images, and creating tables.  It was beautiful.  So simplistic.  My inquisitive mind couldn’t help but play around with and after a while I fell in love.

Netscape Composer

I didn’t know why I liked web design so much.  It just stuck with me.  But after a lot of years being a web designer it hit me:  I was actually an artist, an artist of the web.  I would take a blank canvas, mix it with graphics and code to produce beautiful imagery.  Composer was my paint brush.  I would sit for hours flipping back and forth between design mode and code mode.  AOL gave you 2MB of free file space to upload your personal website and I used that as my hosting server.

I wish I still had a copy of my first website.  It’s a little embarrassing but I remember it had animated gifs, everything was aligned vertically, a light blue strip for the background, and it was six pages.  The hardest thing ever?  Figuring out why my images weren’t showing up.  The technical explanation was that the relative path of the image file was wrong, which means that I told my website the image was located in one folder when it really was in another.

Today, I have Dreamweaver/Photoshop, use WordPress as a CMS, write functions in PHP, and it only takes me seconds to read and decipher source code on a webpage.  But I’ll still remember my first love.  The one that taught me how to type out HTML tags from scratch, how unforgiving it can be if you mess up, and started off my career as a web artist.

Us At Mardi Gras

My good friend, Shercole runs a site called Minority Weirdos (I know it sounds weird but it’s really cool) and asked me to write a post about fatherhood and gave me this topic.  While it was hard to narrow it down to just 5 things, I tried to touch on the main points.  Check out the article on her site below:

Minority Weirdos Guest Post: 5 Life Lessons I’d Like To Teach My Son

Him: Hey, there is a paper on our door.

Me:  Yea I know, somebody lost a dog.

Him: Can we have it?

Me: No, it’s not our to keep. Whoever owned the dog before is looking for it and they want it back.

Him: (Blank Stare)….Ummm ok, well read what it says on paper.

Me: Lost Dog (Picture On Paper) Please Call (Number Here) if you see him.

Him: Call the number

Me: No, no you can’t just call the people you have to have seen the dog.

Him: Oh

…5 minutes later…

Him: I saw the dog

Me: (Puzzled Look) You did? Where at?

Him: On T.V.!

Me: No, not just any dog. You have to see the specific dog that was on the paper.

Him: Oh, well can we go look for him.

Me: (Blank Stare) Well see we don’t have to go look for him. If we just happen to see him then we call.

Him: But why can’t we go look for him.

Me: (Silence)

Him: (Waiting For Answer)

Me: Well because we don’t even know where to start. Besides it’s a little cold outside.

Him: Can’t we drive around the neighborhood?

Me: (Shrug) Technically yea, but……

At this point I feel defeated but luckily it’s start to rain and I tell him that we can’t go right now because of the rain. He understand and goes back to watching cartoons.

…At 9:00 pm….

Him: It’s not raining anymore

Me: Yes I know but it’s too late to go look for the dog. It’s dark outside.

Him: Doesn’t your car have lights?

Me: Yea…I mean…Well headlights but….Look that’s not the point. I’ll make a deal with you. After school, we’ll drive around and look for the dog together, Ok?

Him: Ok, well call the people.

Me: What people?

Him: The dog people from paper

Me: No, you don’t call the people and tell them your looking for the dog, you only call them if you find the dog.

Him: Oh, what’s that number again? I want to write it down…

Will we ever find the poor dog? Will he call the owners to notify them of our serach party? Will I ever stop hearing about the dog?

Tune in next time…