Renewable Energy…I Thought This was About IT

Posted on October 24, 2012 by MarleneMB

I went to a seminar that was hosted by the Information Technology and Telecommunications Group. This group is a part of the Southern Florida Minority Supplier Development Council (SFMSDC…try saying that ten times fast, dare ya!) of which I am a member. There was no title for the seminar but this description (Resources and topics to be discussed include: Market Research, Funding, Mentor Network, CleanTech IP Catalog and much more) led me to believe that I would hear more about IT and Telecommunications as it relates to Sustainability in these areas.

Well it wasn’t quite that at all. When the presenter, Andrea Wesser, Co-Program Manager, of MegaWatt Ventures and Florida Cleantech Acceleration Network (what’s up with these long organizational names?), explained the content of the presentation. She said her presentation was about the UCF program that helps to promote startup companies and small businesses that have created products for renewable energy production or something related to renewable energy. Quite a few people opted to go to the other seminar about Creative Selling instead. Guess it was too heavy duty for that time of day. My curiosity got the better of me, so I stuck around.

Andrea told us that the Federal Government is offering millions of dollars to help fund organizations to develop technology that supports renewable energy. They want to put in place the programs that will help startups and small businesses monetize, produce and sell these products. These companies must not only have a proof of concept for the products, but also the products marketable. What good is developing a product that costs too much and companies won’t adopt them? Ms. Wesser states that her group is creating a program that will not only serve Florida, but the southern states as well. They are involving venture and angel capitalists in the program to help with funding and mentoring these companies.

Somehow, mid-way through the seminare, we went off tangent (thanks to me) and talked about what is the best battery for backing up a data center. She talked about lithium batteries, but one of the attendees and I both said that lithium is finite. What else is there? Then we jumped to nuclear energy. We acknowledged that nuclear energy isn’t going away anytime soon. My fellow attendee said that the Bill Gates (remember him) is actually investigating building micro-nuclear plants instead of the mega ones that exists today.

The larger facilities have the potential of cause more damage, i.e. Fukushima’s meltdown, while the smaller ones can generate energy with low potential of affect a huge area. Andrea shared with us that scientist are experimenting with a substance that when placed in suntan lotion will protect us from radiation poisoning. Whaaaaaat? Now you know my mind started asking a bazillion questions. What about the air we breathe? What about the plants and animals? What about the soil? Are they for real???? By the time I put on my suntan lotion my innards would be toast.

Overall I enjoyed the meeting although it had nothing to do with IT or Telecom. And now that I have bored you out of your right mind with this info…I have completed day 17 of the 30-day challenge for the #SMCSFBlogOff. Seriously though, if you want to learn more about the FL-Can program, here is a little blub on click th FL-CAN to go to the website: www.flcleantech.com.

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“DJ Please Pick Up Your Phone on The Request Line”

Posted on October 23, 2012 by MarleneMB

A few weeks ago, my friends and I attended the Art Walk Miami monthly event. It involves strolling from one art gallery to another in the Design District of Miami. At one of our stop we saw a female DJ spinning on one of the new digital system. How things have changed since I was a DJ back in college. We had turntables with vinyl records and worry about spinning the records just right to mix the beats. Now most of that is digitize.

I didn’t set out to be a DJ. My girlfriend, Miranda was the head of the Urban Contemporary segment and she recruited and trained me for the school radio station. Of course you can’t be a DJ without a cool name. I don’t think mine was so cool: “Sapphire.” There was so much to learn. How to use the control panel, set up the various advertisement tapes, setting the needle just at the right spot to transition from one song to the other. Most important one had to learn to have “No Dead Air.” This means there should be no silence for a long time.

I had a lot of fun being a DJ on the air and off. As people got to know us, they would request that we play at different events. Even though I was underage, I would get into the clubs because I was one of the DJs playing the event. I was getting paid for having fun. If we didn’t get paid, we got in free. Another perk was getting free drinks (don’t tell my son that part). When someone wanted us to play a request, sometimes they would buy us drinks. Is that considered a kickback or a bribe? I am in Miami now, I have to make sure I use the right terminology. Ha!

I did have some challenges as a DJ. I had a guy who would stalk me. Sometimes I would have the 2-4 a.m. shift, and he would be outside. He turned out to be harmless. Then I would get tons of fan mail, but a majority of them was from the prisoners from the county jail. My girlfriend enjoyed delivering the bags and dropping them in front of me with a smirk on her face. I must say some of them wrote really well and had beautiful penmanship! It was some of the content that was the problem.

My trip to the Miami Art Walk took me on a journey back to those DJ days; they are now fond memories. My poor mother is now stuck with a stack of crates filled with my vinyl records lining one wall. Maybe one day I will pull them out and see if her turntable still works. The biggest challenge would be to find needles that will work. I think one of the first records I would play is “Request Line” by Rock Master Scott. Click title to listen.

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Hooked on Amazon

Posted on October 22, 2012 by MarleneMB

I confess I am hooked on Amazon as my go-to place for shopping. Most people complain that Wal-Mart is a big conglomerate that pushes local stores out of business. They are mostly right. But I dare say if others are like me, perhaps Amazon is the new Wal-Mart. I know that there are other sites where I can do my shopping. I also know I can now shop online with the brick-and-mortar stores, but Amazon makes it so easy to shop with it. Besides,Amazon was one of the first sites that said “Hello, Marlene,” whenever I logged in. (Yes, I have sucker written on my forehead, too!)

At first I started buying books through Amazon, then some small electronics. Now it seems like I jump on Amazon’s site to price check everything before I purchase a product elsewhere. I joined the Prime Account program to get the free two-day shipping. It was worth spending the annual feel to waive the shipping costs, because I was buying so many books for both the graduate program that I was in and my son’s undergraduate classes. Amazon also upgraded my account to a Student account that cut the Prime Account fee in half. Needless to say, my shopping with Amazon increased.

The convenience of buying beauty products, books, music, movies, print cartridges, etc., and having these items delivered to my doorstep (okay the lobby) two days later without getting in my car is wonderful. I don’t know if it’s good or bad, but that one-click to purchase feature is another thing I like. I don’t have to fill out all my information over and over again. At first I was worried about security, but now I know even the most secure sites experience fraud. Fraud can happen anywhere; I can go to a restaurant and someone can steal my credit card info. My concern lessened enough to sign up for the one-click-to-purchase feature.

I am able to download “free” books, movies and music because of my Prime Account. I find that Amazon’s prices are much softer on my pocket book than the Apple store; therefore, I would buy my music on Amazon download it to my laptop and play it on iTunes. While I am not using Amazon’s Cloud Solution, I know they have heavily marketed this product/service to many businesses.

I wouldn’t be surprise if an announcement comes out that Amazon is buying a TV or cable station along with a telecommunications carrier. After all content is king and you still need a way to get the info to the end-user. Google bought a wireless provider to shore up it’s control of its content delivery method, but I don’t buy my beauty products from Google. I don’t know who knows more about me: Amazon, Google, or Facebook. I suspect Amazon may have the edge on the others due to my shopping habits.

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I Hope You Dance

Posted on October 21, 2012 by MarleneMB

I was sitting in church when I got some not so great news. The good news was that I was in the right place at the right time, because Pastor Lomax invited us up for prayer requests. I headed straight to the altar and had him pray for the situation. This brought immediate comfort to me and I was able to continue with my positive experience from being around people that I love. At that moment, I chose not to give into the negative feelings. Instead I chose to release it and started looking for the positives.

My loves, we all experience bad news and bad situations, we sometimes have no control over them. Something from out of left field comes along and spins us off our axis. Suddenly we are not grounded or in the spot we use to be, or things don’t go the way we want them to go; but it is how we choose to react to these situations that matters. So I got home, cooked, watched HGTV (I like to imagine myself buying my house on some island overlooking the ocean) and read more of Wayne Dyer’s Wishes Fulfilled.”

In it, Dr. Dyer encourages the reader to envision the life that one wants and how one feels, should one get that life. The song “I Hope You Dance” popped into my head. I jumped on YouTube and played the video. Needless to say this transported me to a better place. Next time you get hit with some unpleasant tidings, choose to dance. Would you dance with me? Enjoy the words on the slides by Nash Bazyani.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDijUWjsG6s]

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New Technology, Old Fashion Touch

Posted on October 20, 2012 by MarleneMB

I like having gadgets and using things technology brings us. I like hooking up the surround sound on my stereo and television, and figuring out where all the wires go. In my opinion microwaves, washers/dryers and air conditioning are some of the best inventions ever. They make life seem easier, more convenient and more comfortable. Yet, sometimes doing things the “old fashion” way is the best.

I remember when I bought one of those automatic garbage cans that open by waving your hand over the sensor. It worked really well, until one day a family friend came over and tried to open it manually. He didn’t know how it operated; thus, he broke it. I replaced it with another one and someone dropped the top. This caused the battery compartment to break. I finally gave in and bought a garbage can that requires you to step on the foot lever and it opens. It is working perfectly fine! The same thing happened with the electric can openers. The electric ones broke so easily or they wouldn’t work if the light went out. I replaced them with a manual one that is wonderful. It cuts the cans and the cans open with smooth edges. I have it now for years and it still working well.

Sometimes we need to view social media the same light. It is good to be able to connect with others virtually. Social media has helped us advance our relationships beyond our traditional neighborhoods. I am able to re-connect with old friends and family members that I have not seen in years. It is fun to share information and get caught up on life’s events.

Still, social media and technology should not replace the human contact. As one of my friend said today: “Technology changes, but human nature stays the same.” People still want to have a real hug, to see a real smile, to exchange a firm handshake face to face. We are definitely social beings. Social beings that adapt to using technology, but beings that need the old fashion touch! This weekend make sure you give someone a big hug the old fashion way.

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