While the panel was one aspect of the event, it was not the only thing going on. Let’s recap the night activities in which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Arrival & Start

The Amrosia and Algae Snanks

I myself arrived and found myself to be one of the first people there minus John Brooks, the host, John’s finance Courtney (Update 9/2/09), and Laura Lee. Snacks (Green Covered “Algae” Chocolate Pretzel Sticks and Cupcakes) and homemade Ambrosia was available to all guests for the event. I think the pretzel sticks where the best part of the entire feast.

In any case… my job when I can get there was to review the trivia questions that John had produced for the triva part of the gathering. Let me tell you this.. if you had no idea what the questions were ahead of time, you would have never guessed them. I made my suggestions and even created the tie-breaker question if it ever came to that… which it did not. John even asked me where I can find quotes from the series. Naturally I gave my answer: The Battlestar Wiki Quotes Project. People started trickling in around 6pm and we started the festivities off about 30 minutes later.

John and Laura were our co-hosts (Update 9/2/09) for the evening. Laura was the only person who dressed the part coming in officer casual wear. No strip Racetrack style though.

This will be my first Battlestar related event that I will ever go to. The location is at the Hi Christina at:

632 Grand Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY near the L train at Lorimer

Cover charge for the event is $5. There is parking nearby or if you live in the greater NYC area take the metro. I hope to see you there!

So say we all!

WordPress, Twitter, and all of new media software for the internet will change all that.

In the article on CNN.com we learn that when the country if finally rebuilt form the years of war it will be close to 60% connected to broadband internet. That will be more than some parts of the United States where companies still bicker at costs of providing service because of the cost of making it assessable outweighs the cost of making no profit on the deal.

Raanan Bar-Cohen of Automattic, the makers and company behind WordPress.com and the WordPress blogging software is over there on a United States, State Department funded trip to show Iraqis how to rebuild using new media software. Imaging being blogging about the rebirth of a new city that rises from the ashes. Or getting the first ‘tweet’ from a neighbor that just wants to say what’s on there mind.

The potential for free speech and democracy is now a possibility with the help of people like Cohen and the other representatives that are there using 21st century new media tools.

I am glad to be part of the WordPress team! You can read Cohen’s twitter chat here from Iraq. Is this the time I get a Twitter account?!?

Blockbuster: Falls Church, VA

For 6 months, I worked at Blockbsuter as an Assistant Store Manager in Falls Church, VA. That store currently has been closed and my former co-workers where given a choice to work at any store they wanted. I left the company not because it wasn’t a great model and a great place to work, I left because of the horrible working conditions that I was subjected to.

During those months I worked there, the model that we operated on at the store was the same model the Blockbuster stores have been running since I once worked at Blockbuster during the Summer once. Rent, Bring Back, and so on.

During the always agonizing orientation session this company provides to teach all new employees is that Blockbuster reigns key when it comes to entertainment selection and prices. That is true. Blockbuster is primary a rent-return store. At the time, no other company can match the two major qualities of Blockbuster:

1. Locations
2. Selection put together.

In comes Netflix, Netflix Online, iTunes, Amazon, and others. Now Blockbuster has a problem. Now you have to add these two items to the list:

1. Gas
2. Convenience

These items are now have to factor in when going to Blockbuster model to get to the store. Netflix, the online renter, for example has only items 1, 2, and 4. No need for gas if you have your mailed since you already have to get to your mail.

• What about Blockbuster Online? Not that big of a selection.
• Can’t you trade your movies at the store? Yes. Only a certain amount though per each month.

The Netflix Online model (also with a year up on Blockbuster Online) introduced partnerships with company’s like Samsung and Microsoft to allow customers to stream HD movies right to their TV or Computers without needing to head to the mail or having the overhead of locations. Just distribution centers and high speed data networks which are already in place.

Where Blockbuster lacked was technology and building concepts. At one point during my last few months, the districts Assistant Store Managers were giving a preview of the new concept stores called Rock The Block. Depending on the store’s location the store would either get a family center, gaming room, a cafe, or mix selection of 12 different concepts. The concept store in Dallas had all the trimmings. Another pitfall is technology. Blockbuster still today is using MS-DOS for their main renting system in the store. That system has a lot of overhead as you have to keep costly and old equipment functioning in order for it to work. Only when I started working for the company full time did we have a modern computer that was able to punch in and out.

Pressure? Yes to Blockbuster. Now Netflix has seen a decline also, but I am sure they don’t have as much debt as Blockbuster reported $250 million loan that is due May 11th. I predicted that this would happen, however, I didn’t think it would be this soon.

One thing I do feel sorry for is my former co-workers who now will have to work harder in order to maintains Blockbuster’s stability. In today’s economy, news like this usually kills the company outright, like it did Circuit City.

Here is the image that was posted in the article:

Obama reading the Battlestar Forum

Props to who ever did this! If you want to contact me, send me over an email and I’ll formally thank you!

1) Fun/Work. There is this show, ending this Friday at 10pm on the SciFi (Now SyFy) channel called Battlestar Galactica. Well this show was running I was maintaining two sites in related to it. The Battlestar Wiki and the Battlestar Forum. Two majorly huge sites that can now run by themselves without much interaction on my part, though I still visit often to do maintenance work, etc. With the show ending, the load won’t be as busy, but that doesn’t mean those sites are going away. The prequel to the show, Caprica, is released on DVD/BluRay in April, but the series itself won’t release until 2010. Enough time for me to work on other projects.

2) Work. Where I work, I am very busy. I did leave VA as most of you know and moved back to NY. I am sitting here on my day off from work during a sunny day. I know.. weird. Anyways.. I do still work with Computers working at the local Best Buy Geek Squad precient. I been with the company for 7 months full time. That would put me back in the September 2008 range for those bad at math. Working has kept my sanity and allowed me to receive a paycheck in this bad economy.

3) Technology. I updated my computer system slightly. I did get the Blu-Ray player I wanted to get for my computer. So the copy of Dark Knight post is now a reality. I got it about a month ago with no problems. Right now I am in a dispute with CyberLink software company since they sold me Version 8 yet my receipt says 7 and I can not get the Version 9 free. On top of this.. my video card (8800 GTX) is going to crap. I haven’t really posted what my computers are yet on the blog. I will try to get around to that. Soon. It is now posted under the “About -> My Computer’s” section. Formatting is still an issue.

4) Programing. My WordPress projects and my Woopra projects have taken a plunge while I been working and “work/play” with BSG stuff. Now that BSG is over I plan to get back into the grove. WordPress version 2.8 is being worked on and I plan on trying to complete some of the code again. Woopra has been another thing. I gotta update the vB plugin and the WordPress version of the plugin. Elie is been hard at work with the Woopra Application. He just released version 1.3 RC1 desktop application. Other means of support? :devil: Just wait for you to find out!

5) Websites. I have to update also a few other websites as well. Battlestar Wiki Blog, FrakMedia! Blog, and a new design of the Battlestar Forum since it will also support cappricaforums.com as well. Nice huh?

So there is the story. Comments? Queries? You know how! Post!

The Shuttle is set to retire in 2010 however with the new Ares rocket come in 2014 that means there would be a 4 year gap of us having to depend on other nations: Japan, China, and Russia. I think it would be very prudent for the Congress to approve extra funding to allow concurrent use of the Space Shuttle until 2013 along with the resources to still develop the Ares rocket at 100% development. The other altertive is to incress the funding of the Ares rocket development up ten folds or up to the level of funding (plus inflation) times two that the Apollo project got when proposed by President Kennedy to remove a 4 year gap into a 1 to 2 year gap.

But as far as I can tell, the Space Shuttle has proven itself to be a great vechile and it should not be overlooked for extending it’s life. Risking making a flaw in the Ares rocket would be costly to human life if we rush such an important project that will return us to the Moon and Beyond.

I have also become a moderator of the Woopra support forums as I know the Woopra system inside and out like Elie. I am proud to be a full member of the team. If you don’t have a Woopra enabled website signed up, sign up today and get the best Live Analytics program out there!