Shaine Mata Blog

Image by shainelee via Flickr My friend Luis Sandoval over at the Daily Slacker is challenging bloggers to write blog posts for 100 days straight. This seems a bit ambitious for me; so naturally, I'll jump right in. Earlier this year, I missed NaPodPoMo , which is a 30 day podcasting challenge I would have liked to do. I got so wrapped up in blahness that I could never come up with material for podcasts. I seemed to have been writing and saying the same things over and over on all my other content. On the other hand, I know that creativity is partly talent; but mostly just a discipline of making something, anything. I'm guilty of waiting for inspiration rather than sitting down and pounding out a post on the keyboard. With that said, Luis, count me in. Some days may be better than others; but at least I'm putting something out. If you feel like you need to get your blogging muscles in shape, consider taking the 100 day challenge too.

Buy at AllPosters.com After almost a year of freelancing part-time, I can look back and say, "Wow. Maybe I can make it after all." Having some steady income was a major part of my decision in going it part-time. The challenge was then, how do I make up the other half of my income. There have been some tough weeks since going freelance in January. However, I can't say that there have been tough months. The business is there; however, it has been unpredictable with respect to cashflow. While, I am not rolling in money, I know that I can survive, at least. Now that I know that I have a pretty decent shot at surviving, what next? The next step in my freelancing quest, now that I have confidence in my ability to generate business, is to refine my processes. Many business owners are very intimately knowledgeable about their business because they see the numbers every day. They have been involved with most of the details of their business from its infancy. If something i...

Explosive Fitness and the Food Bank RGV have teamed up to help you get fit for the Holidays. Your donation of food allows you to participate in the Give Hunger the Boot fitness boot camp. The event is held every Saturday through December. This is a great deal, if you have ever paid a trainer to help you get fit.

via zefrank.com zefrank does a great job explaining brands. he even touches on the decline in mass communication platforms. Posted by Shaine Mata Posted via web from Shaine's posterous postings

Posted by Shaine Mata Posted via email from Shaine's posterous postings

Dr. Evil: Hang on Mini-Me! If anything should happen to you I don't know what I would do. [pauses] I'd probably move on, get another replica but there would be a 10 minute period there where I would just be inconsolable.

Tea Party protestors turned out in force. See and download the full gallery on posterous Posted by Shaine Mata Posted via email from Shaine's posterous postings

A battle of political wills took place at Archer Park in McAllen, Texas today.  No, not really. Moveon.org sponsored a health care reform vigil. Naturally, the local Tea Party movement heard about it and turned out to protest. I was hoping to see fur fly. Instead, it was a battle of symbolism and signs. I'm going home to spend time with my family. I think most people have done the same given the low turnouts on both sides.The health care debate has jumped the shark for me. yawn See and download the full gallery on posterous Posted by Shaine Mata Posted via email from Shaine's posterous postings

Maricela De Leon has made progress in her mission to provide school supplies to the children at the elementary school in San Carlos. I admire Mari's just-do-it attitude. I like how she can turn a crazy idea into reality. See and download the full gallery on posterous Posted by Shaine Mata Posted via email from Shaine's posterous postings

Pocket Communications provided Social Media Club RGV with some cool bags and hats to give away at our meetings as door prizes. My friend, Maricela De Leon, pictured here, is organizing a school supply drive for the children at the elementary school in San Carlos. I decided to regift the bags to the drive so that they can pack the school supplies in them. Maricela was very excited with the donation. I wish I could take credit; but, Pocket Communications deserves the credit for their donation to SMCRGV. We are simply re-routing to where the bags will do the most good in the community. So, thanks to Pocket for their generosity. Posted by Shaine Mata Posted via email from Shaine's posterous postings

Today, there is a live webcast of a health reform conference in Nashville, TN. The public is welcome to submit questions to be asked of the speakers. You can go to http://thirdrailcost.com to participate. With the heated debate on both sides of the political spectrum, this is a great opportunity to view just the facts. Posted by Shaine Mata Posted via email from Shaine's posterous postings

Posted by Shaine Mata Posted via email from Shaine's posterous postings

I always see posts of beautiful food from people I follow online. Here's my breakfast. Low-budget. Satisfying. Posted by Shaine Mata Posted via email from Shaine's posterous postings

Posted by Shaine Mata Posted via email from Shaine's posterous postings

Mike Carrera and State Rep. Veronica Gonzales share their knowledge of campaigns with South Texas Democrats. See and download the full gallery on posterous Posted by Shaine Mata Posted via email from Shaine's posterous postings

Great presentation by Net Victories http://www.netvictories.com Celinda Provost and Shanna Weisfeld See and download the full gallery on posterous Posted by Shaine Mata Posted via email from Shaine's posterous postings

Here are a few photos of the Campaign Boot Camp the Texas Democratic Party is putting on here in McAllen. It is a two day event aimed at helping candidates, staffers, and volunteers raise their campaigns to the next level. Shaine Mata See and download the full gallery on posterous Posted by Shaine Mata Posted via email from Shaine's posterous postings

Posted by Shaine Mata Posted via email from Shaine's posterous postings

The Computer Art Print Buy at AllPosters.com Twitter used to offer the ability to use Google Talk to interact with your Twitter stream. If you are a recent convert to Twitterianism, you may not know that this was an option once upon a time. It offered the convenience of having your Twitter stream on any computer without installing an application. You could simply log into your Gmail account and start twittering via GTalk. There is a way that you can still post via GTalk; but, it's not a perfect solution. GTalk as a Twitter client had its limitations. For example, you could not retweet with the push of a button. You could not look up profiles, you could not reply to a tweet directly, and many other things that Twitter clients do. It was not perfect; but it was lightweight and almost instant. You have two options for updating Twitter via GTalk. The first is identi.ca ; the other is FriendFeed . Identi.ca is very similar to Twitter. You can use Identi.ca to update your Twi...

Mobile post sent by shaine using Utterli .    Replies .

Mobile post sent by shaine using Utterli .    Replies .

Don't read racial undertones into Barack Obama being depicted as The Joker unless you are ready to attribute the same to George W. Bush being depicted as The Joker .  There is no racism. It is a political statement. Politics can be puerile.  Laugh it off. Then, get your butt out and vote.  Cheers.  See and download the full gallery on posterous Posted by Shaine Mata Posted via email from Shaine's posterous postings

Many bloggers do not write clearly because they do not get to the point and they meander in their writing. Get to the point. Don't meander in your writing. In summary, get to the point and do not meander.  Posted by Shaine Mata Posted via email from Shaine's posterous postings

I was just reading that Yahoo's recent partnership with Bing would be its demise. I was once a big Yahoo fan; but have made the migration to Google. Let me tell you why Calacanis is wrong. First, there is no comparison between Google and Yahoo. When Yahoo started off, they were simply a directory. For ages, you had to request to be in their directory rather than they just crawl your site. That's where they went wrong. Their next misstep was to let Google power their search, and let things ride.  Once Google moved on, they had no search capability. That is their problem. Yahoo sucks at search. They always have because they only indexed "submitted sites" they though were worthy.  Given this shortsightedness, it was no wonder they were left behind. Given their inattention to search, I think partnering up with Bing is a good idea for now. During this 10 year deal, they can figure out what to do stay alive. What Calacanis fails to realize is that Google's re...

There was a Fundraiser held for Hidalgo County Judge JD Salinas at Copper Canyon in McAllen today. The event was from 6 to 9 pm. The judge counted some of his work during his term in office, which includes the county drug discount card and repairs to the levee system. Judge Salinas mentions that he would like to continue his work. Some of the big projects include laying the groundwork for the I-69 corridor and the construction of a border loop. I recorded some of his speech on my phone, which doesn't have the greatest quality. I also had to break it up into pieces.

I had the pleasure of attending the Food Bank RGV's Summer Soiree at the Ramirez Family Jaguar dealership in McAllen. Along with a bunch of sponsors, the Food Bank RGV was able to put this event together through Facebook communication. I was able to get a video interview with Terri Drefke, the Ececutive Director, but it did not save properly on my phone. I'll see if we can get a statement from her later. It was a great experience. There were good people. It was definitely the place to be on Thursday night. See and download the full gallery on posterous Posted by Shaine Mata Posted via email from Shaine's posterous postings