Category: My Life

Help geeks find God by supporting Kim Diebolt at RIT

During my tenure at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), while getting my undergraduate degree, I was stretched physically, mentally, and emotionally due to the intense nature of the academic load that was thrusted upon me. One of the things that got me through college was the community that I surrounded myself with.

One of the primary sources of that community for me was the RIT chapter of Campus Crusade for Christ. It was a group of 30 to 40 college students who were also walking through the academic trenches but had a common Christian faith. When our noses weren’t in the books or in front of our computers, we spent time together supporting each other and showing the love of God to one another. It was exciting community to be a part and watch grow.

One of my best friends Kim Diebolt is a very talented photographer and graduated at the same time I did. Last year, instead of going on to what I’m sure would be an illustrious photography career, she decided to stay RIT as an intern for the RIT chapter of Campus Crusade for Christ.

It was fun over the course of the year to hear from her about all of the incredible stories that were coming from what the RIT Campus Crusade for Christ chapter was doing.

Again this year, as a part of this incredible leap of faith, she has to raise her own salary for the year. It’s something I’m not sure i’d have the faith to do. She is currently in the process of finding donors.

I don’t post about these kind of things often here but I figured I’d ask because this is a cause which I’m passionate about and it has helped me personally. Would any of you be interested in supporting Kim Diebolt and her mission of serving the students at the Rochester Institute of Technology through Campus Crusade for Christ???

If so, go here – www.give.ccci.org/give/0583760

Her mission is a cause that I’m proud to support. Would any of you be willing to join me? Even if its just $20, that’d rock! That’s skipping a weeks worth of lattes at Starbucks.

Even if you’re not Christian, this group will help to get geeks in college out of their dorm rooms to do fun social things. This is a good thing.

I appreciate you all of your for reading this blog and this post. If you have any questions, please get in contact with me or send Kim an e-mail at Kimberly DOT Diebolt AT uscm DOT org .

How To Survive Life After BarCamp DC

BarCamp DC was such a blast. There was an incredible energy in the room that I hadn’t felt in a while. It was great to see people getting excited about what the Washington DC technology community had to offer.

But now that BarCamp DC is over (until the next one), the question is how can you keep the energy going.

There are some great meet ups and groups that I love that you should check out:

Refresh DC – It is a gathering of Web development and design professionals who want to learn more about their craft. Every month there is a speaker who shares their knowledge about a topic. There is a great time of community and hanging out after words at a bar. Sometimes there is even free food. It is organized by one of the BarCamp DC lead organizers Jason Garber.

Social Media Club – It is a gathering of technologists, marketers, and online strategists who enjoy discussing all things Social Media. It meets every month and is a source of great community.

Wash. DC Web Standards Meetup – This is more of an informal group of folks who have an interest in Web standards. The attendees range from people who read W3C specs for fun to novices who are eager to learn more. It is a great opportunity to pass on Web Standards knowledge and get in discussions about the future of standards.

What groups do you attend? How do you suggest we keep the energy and excitement going from BarCamp DC? Do you have any suggestions for new events that we can have? I’m already thinking about FacebookDevCamp and WidgetDevCamp.

Update: Oh oh oh…  I forgot to mention that Startup Weekend DC is coming up.  This is will be a great follow up some of you who were at BarCamp DC.

Links Mentioned at the Washington DC Web Standards Meetup

Tonight, I went to the Washington DC Web Standards Meetup and really had a great time.  It was held at Murky Coffee, which you all know is one of my favorite hang out spots.  We had some great discussion about Tech in DC and the current state of Web standards and accessibility.

As a resource for the attendees, here is a list of all of the links that we talked about:

Where is it safe for geeks in Washington DC?

When I moved to Washington DC, one of the first things I did was scope out all the cool coffee shops and cafes.  I wanted to find where a place to hang out with and meet other cool geeks.   These places had to have free and easily accessible wifi, good coffee (or other tasty beverages), and a chill atmosphere.

So far I have found and hang out at the following.

Depending on my schedule, chances are that during the week you’ll find me at one if not all of these places engaging in some kind of computer geekery.

I think its important for DC to have these places where people can go at any time during the week and hang out with like minded individuals.  It’s one step to creating the community and the culture of innovation that I think we’re all looking for.

Where do you go when you wanna relax and work on your side projects?  Where do you go when you wanna go some CSS but get an injection of caffeine?

Kick me in the head if I ever get like this…

The New York Times has a sad story, “In Silicon Valley, Millionaires Who Don’t Feel Rich.”  It’s about how all these Silicon Valley executives, who are millionaires, don’t feel like millionaires because all the people around them are richer then they are.

These people are among the top 2% most wealthy people in the country and whats drives them is wanting more wealth.

If I ever got like this, I hope my friends would be grounded enough in reality that they’d beat me up or kick me in the head.

Some quotes from the article:

Silicon Valley is thick with those who might be called working-class millionaires — nose-to-the-grindstone people like Mr. Steger who, much to their surprise, are still working as hard as ever even as they find themselves among the fortunate few…

But many such accomplished and ambitious members of the digital elite still do not think of themselves as particularly fortunate, in part because they are surrounded by people with more wealth — often a lot more.

…those with a few million dollars often see their accumulated wealth as puny, a reflection of their modest status in the new Gilded Age, when hundreds of thousands of people have accumulated much vaster fortunes.

“Everyone around here looks at the people above them,” said Gary Kremen, the 43-year-old founder of Match.com, a popular online dating service. “It’s just like Wall Street, where there are all these financial guys worth $7 million wondering what’s so special about them when there are all these guys worth in the hundreds of millions of dollars.”

A Report from the Apple iPhone Line

It’s 4:45pm EST on Friday, June 29th, 2007. I’m in line at the Clarendon Apple Store in Arlington, VA. I hopped on some stray wireless and thought i’d report on my status. Things are pretty quiet here.

There are maybe 200-250 people in line. Apple was out before passing out free water and not crappy bottled water. It was the expensive bottled water.

It sprinkled outside for a little bit but the rain just subsided. Luckily for me, I’m seated underneath the Barnes & Noble awning.

There has been a steady stream of reporters and photographers out here doing there thing. These two ladies chic dresses just walked by trying to get people to sign up for a raffle. See now this is smart. You have a bunch of male geeks waiting in line. I’m surprised more aren’t doing this.

Well one hour to go. More later.

This is where I work…

When you’re at work, it’s easy for the walls to feel like they’re pressing in on you.  You forget why you do what you do and the difference that it’s making in people’s lives.

This video helped me remember how cool my job is and the great difference that we’re making.

You’ll want to work at the Library of Congress after watching this video.

(Kudos to Michael Lawerence Films for a cool trailer.  I’d love to see the full DVD)

Arrived in Banff for WWW2007

I arrived in Banff a few hours ago. It’s been a long day of flying and driving. The rental car company was all out of economy rental cars so they gave me a Pontiac G6. *devilish grin*

From what I’ve seen so far, it is a gorgeous town. You are smack dab in the middle of the mountains.

My hotel’s wifi isn’t working so I have made my way to the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. This hotel is ridiculous. It is this amazing castle set in the side of the mountains and they have wifi. 🙂

Tonight I have to finish my slides for tomorrow and maybe explore the town a little.

Update 6:06pm MDT : Just uploaded some photos to flickr.