Mom & Tom

After a week long vacation in Tennessee, mom & Tom dropped down here for an all too brief visit in Birmingham. Thanks for stopping by folks, we love you!

Sorry To Interrupt…

but I won’t be posting for the next 2 days with family being in town for a rare visit. Normal posting will resume shortly. In the meantime, leave a comment about your Thanksgiving plans with family!

Turkey Bath

I don’t know how it started, but mom would entertain us kids with a turkey bath. Not just any rinsing of turkey salmonella would do, though. There was song, there was dance and a lot of laughter as the turkey gyrated lewdly.

Here I am carrying on the tradition while preparing a cajun-style turkey breast for the 2 of us  What sort of wacky traditions do you have as holiday memories?

Cloudland Canyon 75

A day of hiking and exploration partnered with a fun scavenger hunt for the 75 best features of the park. A list of features at the park will be given to each guest to find, with a park ranger offering guidance throughout the hike. This list will be available as a wilderness guide throughout the year.

I’m Sick

… and nobody cares. That was the mantra from dad the one time of the year is was actually sick. How ironic is it to get a flu shot on Monday and then actually staying at home because of flu-like symptoms? At least I got out and voted in miserable weather under miserable personal feelings.

On the good news front, I found out that mom & her husband, Tom are visiting us while hiking in the Smoky mountains and Gatlinburg.  Wonderwife  makes the best salmon anywhere and brought home some pumpkin pie for the sicko.

Decisions, Decisions

When was the last time you voted for someone and not against them? I have said it before and it bears repeating that if you are a candidate running for public office, don’t slander your opponent. Instead, tell us your record, tell us your case history in specifics. In the past I have been a straight ticket kind of guy but no longer. If you are the candidate is spreading venom, hate and mistrust, well, you have just lost my vote. Try again in 4 years with a better attitude.

In closing, people, get off your buttocks and vote!

Personal Mojo Reviewed & Previewed

Personal Mojo has been online for about 2 months now and has already seen some  significant increases in traffic with total visitors of 2,600. 1,300 people a month per avg, wow! The best day ever was 390 visitors. First of all, thank you for stopping by! The two biggest draws were the M&M Dark movie trivia which was a fantastic game and the article of the OU Sooners getting ducked over at Oregon.

Other visitors have clicked through from my other websites in the Mojo franchise, like the world famous Techno Mojo, a tech and social software website for everyday computer users. Photo Mojo is a daily photoblog and Go Mojo highlights travel and the great outdoors. Again, thanks for reading, folks!

There are many things I would like to see happen here and maybe you can help. I am an extrovert and a social creature by nature. This past year has been fun as my experiences in Birmingham and the surrounding southeast has increased. I enjoyed Barcamp so much that I have decided to help create PhotoCamp. I have joined a local civic group called Catalyst who want to see Birmingham thrive & grow just like I do. TechMixers, photo shoots, and IPSA are major influences in my life right now as well. Personal Mojo won’t just be a website dedicated to me and my life but will include local references and news as well.

I’ll highlight and mash-up a lot of my interests together here as I write about my Christian walk and how it has become a crawl. Wonderwife’s cooking and my maturity has increased my desire to experiment with new recipes and restaurants. Mental & physical fitness is on the menu as well as I do some research, I’ll share some of my insights.

A lot of my interests overlap, which is convenient and you’ll see them here and the other websites. Photography while hiking (Photo Mojo/Go Mojo), technology & hiking (Techno Mojo/Go Mojo etc etc.

Just like the byline on the header up there says, Something/Anything/Everything/Nothing, will be written here. So thank you for letting me share myself, it is humbling to know that people are interested in my life and have shared theirs with me.

What are your interests and passions? How are you sharing it with others?

IPSA November Meeting

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November Meeting: Analytics for Conversion and Profit

Ed Noles, Kinetic Communications
Thursday, November 2, 2006, 11:30am – 1pm
(Networking 11:30-noon; Program noon – 1pm)
St. Vincents’ Bruno Conference Center
Free for IPSA members and guests
RSVP Now

If your idea of keeping up with your site traffic is checking visitor and page views once every six months, this program will put you back on the Analytics track. Learn the benefits of viewing your entire site as a call to action. See how to track conversions in Google Analytics and think critically about your organization’s key performance indicators – the essential metrics that are most critical to your overall success.

Special guest Eric Peterson, author of Web Analytics Demystified and Web Site Measurement Hacks will join us virtually to wrap up the program with a look at Analytics for web 2.0 and to answer audience questions.

Lunch will be provided by Jason’s Deli for an additional cost. You may order a lunch from Jason’s Deli for $10 or bring your own. You may also pre-purchase a parking token for $2 with your lunch. If you do not want luch, you may also pre-purchase just a parking token for only $2.50. Reserve your spot now!

2007 IPSA Board

The 2007 IPSA Board Ballot is as follows.

  • President – Dan Reynolds
  • Past-President – Ed Noles
  • V.P. Programs/Communications – Jeremy Flint
  • V.P. Membership – Chris Denbow
  • V.P. Treasurer – Tony Summerville

In accordance with the IPSA Bylaws, ballots not returned within 15 days will indicate a vote in favor of the slate as submitted by the nominating committee. A simple majority of returned and non-returned ballots are required for approval of the officers.

If any member wishes to voice their vote for or against this ballot, they may do so by sending an e-mail to president@ipsaonline.org.

Memberships

As of October 1st, you can now join IPSA for the remainder of the current year and all of next year for only $30! This is a great deal that gets you all the benefits of IPSA membership for the rest of this year and carries you through 2007.

To join online, visit www.ipsaonline.org and click Join Now. You can pay online via PayPal or mail a check to us. You can also pay for a membership at any of our monthly meetings.

E-Newsletter

Sign up for the IPSA E-Newsletter to stay up-to-date. Simply enter your e-mail address below.

About IPSA

IPSA is a non-profit organization. Membership is open to professionals and other individuals with an interest in the ideas, issues and technology shaping the future of the Internet.

For more information about joining IPSA, visit our website.

Our Sponsors

St. Vincents
Alabama Power
Kinetic Communications
Compass Bank
Bright House Networks
DAXKO

Interested in becoming a sponsor?

Copyright © 2006, Internet Professionals Society of Alabama.
Internet Professionals Society of Alabama, P.O. Box 11464, Birmingham, AL 35202
Read This Newsletter Online

Weekend Review

I love three day weekends, in fact, I should take them more often! On Friday I felt the need to format the hard drive, reinstall the software and backup documents. Mission accomplished. I even took the time to reorganize the study while waiting for everything to load. Speaking of re-organizing, my photo and music files were a mess, no more! Everything in its place.

I even had time for a nice lunch with Jen at Firebirds, a Rocky mountain type cuisine. A lot of grilled/smoked action. I had the wood-grilled salmon. NOT as good as Jenny’s but still…

Saturday & Sunday were uneventful except for ART-iculating Avondale park and Vulcan AfterTunes. The house was cleaned/organized, got to watch OU beat Missouri, and he movie, The Prestige. I even grilled up some pork tenderloin. Oh my.
Back to work now…

GPS Must-Have

OK, so my birthday and Christmas are fast approaching and many of you are wondering, what does the Mojo want/need? Well, as it so happens, I want/need a handheld GPS tracker for my hiking. Gosh, but which one? There are so many out there, Mojo. Glad you asked!

A Garmin E-trex Vista navigator. Booyah! You can find it on my Amazon Wish List… 🙂