DevIgnition Podium Graphic
Don Anderson, graphic artist extraordinaire, put together a nifty podium graphic for DevIgnition 2011. Check it out below:

RubyNation Main Room Videos
I've solved most of the workflow problems with the RubyNation 2011 video content from the main room, the footage that was shot with the awesome Sony EX1 camera that we borrowed from Near Infinity. In the video realm, "workflow is a fancy word for getting video from the camera into a format that you can use for editing with all elements intact. It's backed up by Dave's Video Corollary - "no matter where you get video from, it will never be in the format that you need."

Iran Voices Now Available
The Iran Voices Facebook application was re-launched today. It was originally created in 2009 during the tumultuous Iran election. I updated the application this week because of the current unrest in the Middle East. The application allows Iranians, both current citizens and former citizens living abroad, to voice their opinions regarding the issues that will shape the future of Iran.

AirBanking Web Site Launches
I've been working on an innovative banking web site called AirBanking. The site just launched today, and features online tools, built-in social networking features, an online blog and some serious video production. Check it out!

"Brace Your Smile" Contest Launches
This is another online photo contest that we've just fielded using the Votridea contest platform. This is the software platform for which I'm the technical architect and development team lead.

Happy Ryan Reynolds Day
Today I managed to catch up with Theresa Kattula on her self-proclaimed mission to promote today as "Ryan Reynolds Day" — since he was just selected by People magazine as the sexiest man alive. To celebrate, Theresa created Ryan Reynolds paper dolls for some of the women in the office, with clip-on attachments for abs, a power tie, a Green Lantern uniform, etc. Here's Theresa, hard at work:

All About Monsters

I had a chance to see "Monsters" today, a great new indie science fiction film written and directed by Gareth Edwards and produced on a shoestring budget. I came away extremely impressed with the film, not just as a good first film or a good low-budget indie effort, but rather, as a good film period. Find out more!

Animated Planets
My friend, Don Anderson, created some really nice animations for his personal web site. On his site, roll your mouse over the animation to see the controls. According to Don: "I wanted to create a simple interface with some interactive elements while using 3D animation - so I worked in Flash with Away3D - a class package/framework that uses Flash's internal 3D engine."

Here's a screen shot of one of his animations.


Don continued "It's all done with code and dynamically generated."

New Photo Contest Goes Live
A new photo contest, entitled "A Single Drop of Water," has just launched using the new Votridea Contest Platform that I helped create. The contest is sponsored by Statement Arts, a New York charity that promotes education in the arts for disadvantaged youths. Check out the contest now. They're offering real cash prizes!

DevIgnition 2010 Poster
Here's the poster for DevIgnition. We'll print a few of these posters for display at the conference, plus this design will be featured on the conference T-shirts. Well, actually, the DevIgnition logo will appear on the front, and the white-on-black rocket and text will appear on the back.

Final DevIgnition Logo
Tickets for the DevIgnition Conference on December 3, 2010 are selling briskly, so get yours now. Meanwhile, here's a look at the final version of the conference logo, compliments of Don Anderson. Note that color has been added for impact, and the rocket looks a little bit less like a lawn dart.

DevIgnition Logo
The DevIgnition Conference will be held on December 3, 2010 at the Oracle building in Reston, VA. Here's a draft version of the conference's logo, from the incomparable Don Anderson:

AppsAtState Announcement Site Goes Live
The new Apps@State initiative was announced on October 14, 2010 at the US Department of State’s Conference for all global Public Affairs Officers (PAOs). The goal of the initiative is to empower the nation's public affairs officers by providing them with simple yet powerful tools to make their messages informative and impactful to viewers in their respective countries.


I was very pleased to have become involved with this project, both for the initial announcement web site and for the far larger project that is following on its heels. It's time create some real online tools to facilitate 21st century statecraft.

Announcing Apps@State
I'm working on a project called Apps@State. Here's a video produced by Talbot Digital that describes the vision for the project. Also check out the new brochure site at Apps@State.

KeenerTech.com, the SEO Powerhouse
My company, MetroStar Systems, just launched Votridea, an Online Contest Platform. Of course, the various search engines take a little time to properly rank such a new site. I'm tickled pink that I've been able to tease MetroStar's management with the fact that my Votridea-related blog entries on KeenerTech.com have been more effective at "getting the news out" than Facebook, Twitter and even MetroStar Systems' web site. In fact, the only site that beat KeenerTech, according to Google, was PrNewsWire.

In Baltimore Inner Harbor
I was just in Baltimore engaging in business development activities for Votridea, our new online contest platform. Afterwards, we hung out in Inner Harbor, where there's plenty of nice restaurants, bars and shops. Hey, did I mention the bars? This is a picture of me, with Johnny Nguyen, Vice President of MetroStar's New Media Group, and Winifred Tse, our illustrious project coordinator.