MindTouch Launches AmplifySD wiki

Today we launched the AmplifySD wiki. AmplifySD is a local radio station run by the San Diego Tribune. The wiki will allow users to post information about their bands, events coming up, their favorite venues, and allow tagging to make it easy to cross genres and similar interests. The site uses the new MindTouch service, Nexus. Check out the site: http://wiki.amplifysd.com

LVTC Shop!!

Now you can wear vicariously through me! I have opened the LVTC shop
Check it out and feel free to show your support. Through your support I will be able to continue living the life that you cherish so much. Thank you.
You keep reading, I'll keep living

What is coming up for MindTouch?

Today is a housecleaning blog post...I needed to put down a bunch of stuff for fun.

I've been with MindTouch for over a year now and have watch the progression that the company has made in development, business, and sales. The excitement continues to build with our upcoming release. We will have more info up on opengarden about it but I am really excited about the new features. It is funny to think that it was only three months ago that I moved from MN to San Diego. We have accomplished a lot in that time and I was able to go on a bunch of road trips to promote the company. The video of my presentation from MN hasn't been publish yet but here is a link to the page where you can see my notes, it is a basic intro to wikis. Other than that I will be heading out to another conference in a couple of days here in Miami. It is the Interactive Media Conference. It will be a good time and am looking forward to talking about Nexus. I'm going to resurrect an old tradition on LVTC. If someone stops up at the booth and sees me because they have read my blog, I will buy them a coffee. This is limited to 5 people. I will signoff now and will keep you up to date while I'm out in Miami. You keep reading and I'll keep living.

Las Vegas Baby!!

So I took off the past three days to go to vegas as a birthday present to my fiance. We had an awesome time. We got in on Saturday in the middle of the day and hung out on the strip. We stayed at the stratosphere which wasn't too bad, but not my favorite by far. We went on the strip that night and saw a sweet cover band rocking classic rock. Had a few drinks and played some slots. On sunday we went to the Bealtes Cirque du Soleil. It was awesome. Afterwards we hungout in the beatles lounge which was around the corner at the Mirage. Monday we were set to leave at Midnight. We got a couple of tickets to see the Titanic exhibit at the Tropicana. It had over 300 artifacts from the ship and some recreations of the ship that you could walk through. Kind of eerie but cool. Anyhoo...I'll post some pics since I haven't done any in a while:



Above is the beatles entrance to the cirque du soleil show.

Here is a pic of the bellagio fountains with Paris in the background...good time.










I'll probably upload some more...until then you keep reading and I'll keep living

San Diego, good to be back

I got back into town last from my trip out to MN. We had a great turnout at the science museum seminar. They recorded my speech and will be posting it on the web soon. When they do I'll link to it so that you can see it. It was good to see family and friends as this is the first time back since I moved out to California a couple of months ago. Only a couple of more months and I will be back up for my wedding. I am really excited. Other than that not too much else. You keep reading, I'll keep living.

Reflections on Graduation

I went to my sister in law's graduation over the weekend and had a great time. I am so proud of her and my brother for supporting her. She spent 14 years working towards her degree while having 4 kids, helping my brother start a business, and working. He persistence and determination is inspiration to me in regards to having goals and following them through. So far in my life I have been fortunate to be able to pursue endeavors that I have been interested in. Events like graduations help put perspective on things and helps one re-evaluate what is important in life. Like happiness, family, experiences, and personal goals. If you can get one thing out of this post make it this: "Never settle for anything, strive and drive for whatever your heart's desire. Sometimes it may be counter intuitive or counter society's expectations but stay true to yourself." I will step down now from my soapbox now. I'll keep living, you keep reading.

Back to the old stomping grounds

I will be returning to St. Paul, MN next week to do a speech on "What is a Wiki?". The event is being coordinated by the Science museum of Minnesota. See their page for this event.


If you can make it please stop by and check out the speech. There will be Q and A after all of the speeches have been completed so please stop by and say hi. Other than that things have been picking up for wedding plans. Invitations will be going out this week, so don't worry if you haven't received one yet. I also plan to do a recap of the wedding afterwards for anyone that can't make it.
Until next time, you keep reading, I'll keep living.

Wells Fargo is run by lawyers

I know the financial industry is pretty tight when it comes to money but the following situation is the last straw. I have been a member at Wells Fargo for the past 12 years. They had been good, no complaints, was even thinking of doing investing through them. I encountered an awful experience when I had to stop payment on a check. I placed a stop payment on a cashiers check. Now I knew that there would be a fee on this, I think it was $20...this is fine. But on top of this they charged me an additional $30 because of the amount of the check...it was under $2k...It must of really broke them that day. On top of this they reissued the check to me and charged me a $5 processing fee to reissue the check. This was one of the last straws. So I decided to go over to Washington Mutual, which has an awesome online interface and great customer service. I called up wells Fargo to cancel my account and while on the phone found out that I couldn't over the phone and instead I needed to go into the branch. This was ok with me but because of being out of town a lot haven't gotten around to it. So I logged into my account and found out that they charged me $2 to talk to a representative on the phone about canceling my account! Can you believe that? They are charging like lawyers now. Since when was customer service for a product that the company already makes money on, charged to the customer? The last time I checked, basic questions directed to support was a cost of business. The conclusion of this post is stay away from Wells Fargo and go to a smaller bank as they at least won't charge a ton of fees to your account plus you can get a 5% return at WaMu for your savings account.