etricities.com

Thomas and I just spoke at the regional Public Relations event in Johnson City, TN. We presented on blogging and podcasting 101. It was a great meeting with about 40 PR professionals from regional companies like Eastman , Bristol Motor Speedway , Tri-Cities Regional Airport , and a host of others. Thanks to all the great questions and feel free to post here with further questions or comments.

Here is the pdf BloggingPodcasting101.pdf with the notes from the presentation.

Visit our podcast by clicking on the thinkjose logo to the right and visit some of the sites that I read on a regular basis in my think links section in the sidebar to the right.

Please contact me with any other questions at jose(at)thinkjose.com

Thanks again to Amanda at the TRI , Lee at Milligan , and Bob with General Morgan Inn for having us in to speak.

Tri-Cities Jazz Fest This WeekendMentored by jazz great Dizzy Gillespie and considered one of the top jazz trumpeters in the world in his own right, Jon Faddis will headline the 2005 Tri-Cities Jazz Fest at East Tennessee State University … Fifth Annual Jazz Composers Collective at Jazz StandardTonight through Saturday, Jazz Standard will host the groups of the Jazz Composer’s Collective. Brainchild of bassist Ben Allison and pianist Frank Kimbrough, the Jazz Composer’s Collective pools talent and vision into katrina’s economic impact powerful lineup of musicians.
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It seems everyone is talking now about East Tennessee State University (ETSU) former cheerleader Kimberly Sams. Sams said that she had been kicked off of the ETSU cheerleading squad because of her employment at Hooters. Below are some teasers and links to some bloggers weighing in on the matter. So, what do you think? Leave a comment or simply vote in the poll in the right column of this blog.

I’ll Take What I Can Get - Hooters girls can’t be cheerleaders.
I don’t see a difference between wearing a skimpy cheerleading outfit and a skimpy waitress uniform. Whats the difference between shaking your ass in front of thousands of fans or in front of a few guys for a bigger tip? At least she’s getting paid at Hooters. more…

ZCT one sixty eight - Hooters Cheerleader Booted
Now call me an idiot, but this sounds like a pile of crap to me. Here is a girl who represents her mediocre college by putting on a tight fitting top and mini skirt and jiggles around while some boys play sport. But when she puts on a similar uniform, but with a pair of less revealing shorts, this is deemed unacceptable? more…

Mrs. Media Matters - Hooters Girl Kicked Off University Cheerleading Squad
Oh you know what give me a break. If you have the boobs for the job and can make decent tips why not do it. College is expensive. It’s not like she is stripping. She is a waitress. Everything is an issue today it really is ridiculous. more…

Lady Kaylee’s Chronicles - OK what is wrong with this picture?
oh Puh-leeze! I suppose she was chosen for the cheerleading squad solely on her academic record and not at all because of her looks? I suppose she is expected to be independently wealthy so she doesn’t need a part time job? I suppose she doesn’t need to work to learn work habits, ethics and skills? And mostly I now know that most of what I assumed about Tennessee is sadly true. more…

Riehl World View - That’s Downright Unamerican
No, this time it isn’t the NAACP … it’s East Tennessee State University. SInce when does working at Hooters mean you can’t be a cheerleader????? Who cares about her grades. more…

Everything In-Between. - Cheerleader kicked off team for working at Hooters
Hooters Girl Kicked Off University Cheerleading Squad
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — Kimberly Sams can’t be a cheerleader and a Hooters Girl.
The freshman at East Tennessee State University said she has been kicked off the cheerleading squad because of where she works. more…

Sanguine et Purpure - Proper Dress?
A freshman at East Tennessee State University says she was kicked off the cheerleading squad because its coach objected to her job at a local Hooters, part of a chain of restaurants that features waitresses dressed as, well, cheerleaders. more…

richmcintosh.com - Hooters Girl Kicked Off University Cheerleading Squad
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — Kimberly Sams can’t be a cheerleader and a Hooters Girl.
The freshman at East Tennessee State University said she has been kicked off the cheerleading squad because of where she works. more…

From Hyperliterature
East Tennessee State University recently kicked a cheerleader off their cheer squad for working at Hooters. Apparently, they didn’t think that employment at Hooters was a very noble thing and quickly sought to disassociate themselves from the unrefined waitress. Click here for the full story.

Two things on this:
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JOHNSON CITY – “Positive/Negative,” a national, juried exhibition of art at East Tennessee State University’s Slocumb Galleries, will be on display from Jan. 30-Feb. 17.
This 21st annual event features works in a variety of media, including, painting, drawing, sculpture and photography.
Juror Vince Pitelka, head of the Clay division at the Appalachian Center for Craft in Smithville, was “impressed with the quality of submissions” and chose a wide array of works, from the traditional to the eccentric.
A reception and lecture by Pitelka will be held Thursday, Feb. 2. The reception from 4-6 p.m. in Slocumb Galleries, located on the first floor of Ball Hall, will be followed by the 6 p.m. lecture in 127 Ball Hall.
The exhibit, reception and lecture are free and open to the public. Slocumb’s regular hours are 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday.
For more information or for special assistance for those with disabilities, call Tim McDonald, interim director of Slocumb Galleries, at (423) 439-4291 or the ETSU Department of Art and Design at 439-4247.

From Green Car Congress

The number of organizations either testing or just adopting various blends of biodiesel continues to grow. Among the latest are:

• The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) is running a biodiesel Pilot Fleet Program at its maintenance facilities in Knoxville and Johnson City. During the pilot program, more than 130 on-road vehicles including dump trucks, snowplows and HELP trucks will use a soy B20 biodiesel blend. The department plans to include off-road construction equipment in the study early next year.
• The Manatee (Florida) County School District is now using a soy B20 blend to power its fleet of 254 diesel buses and 50 other diesel vehicles. The district began testing the fuel on Nov. 12.
• TriMet, the transit agency for the Portland, Oregon, Metro area is testing a B5 blend in 75 of its LIFT buses, which provide door-to-door service for the elderly and people with disabilities. Tests will run until next spring; if everything works out, they will convert the remainder of the 135 LIFT buses and consume about 70,000 gallons of biodiesel a month. The next step would be to look into the feasibility of converting its 611 regular buses. TriMet will get its biodiesel from Carson Oil, which plans to begin buying from the new SeQuential Biofuels plant in Salem.

Don’t forget the Geeks of the South (a new name is in the works) Dinner tonight, 7:00 @ Panera Bread in Johnson City. All are welcome to attend this evening’s meeting where we will be discussing podcasts, blogs, and other exciting new media in the Tri-Cities area.
Reasons to come include:

• Learn more about podcasting
• Learn more about blogging
• Network with other like minded individuals in our area
• Discuss how we can promote New Tech in the region
• Eat delicious cookies!
• Get Thomas Eorgan and Jose Castillo to sign your iPod (sorry guys)

Anyway, please come out tonight for a fun and informative evening.

From thinkjose
It’s official! The geek dinner-get together has become a reality and our first one is next week. Wednesday December 21, 7pm at Panera Bread in Johnson City, TN.

So bring your laptop for the free wireless, your thoughts to share on everything blog-podcast-geekdom, and your contact info to share with other like minded tech savvy folks. I will be sharing some ideas on podcasting and the internet as a way to build a network of like-minded people.

I have set up a writeboard
(password: panera) to catalog who is coming so we can prepare nametags and some other potential goodies to give away. Click the link, enter the password, edit the page with your name and link, and then show up on Wed. Also please let us know if you have anyone interested in possibly sponsoring future events.

Thanks and I would like to thank Austin, Tim, and Jeff for their support in getting this together.

See you on Wednesday!

Jose Castillo

The strike against Sprint in the Tri-Cities has come to an end (story here). Union leaders came to an agreement with company officials regarding back-to-work issues. Union members did indeed vote on the contract on Friday, and it was approved by a “close margin.” From what I hear, Sprint employees are not at all happy about the new contract; I get the impression that most voted on it just to end this long two-month ordeal. One employee from Johnson City told the Times-News, “It’s a big corporation, and I guess we’re outnumbered is what it broke down to.” I believe that national CWA officials did fail the workers; they treated every strike across the nation on an individual basis. This gave the union less power in bargaining. If they would have kept all members on strike until everyone got a contract; Sprint might have been more willing to give more. You don’t have much power using 300 some people to fight against a muli-million dollar corporation. You do have power, however, when you use thousands! Hopefully the union will treat this as a lesson and will come up with a better strategy next time around.

By Jeff Rainey
The Tri-Cities (Bristol, Kingsport, Johnson City - TN) area is fortunate enough to have its share of podcast shows to choose from. For those of you who do not yet know what a podcast is, wikipedia defines podcast as “… a collection of technologies for automatically distributing audio programs over the Internet using a publisher/subscriber model… Podcasting enables independent producers to create self-published, syndicated “shows,” and gives broadcast radio or television programs a new distribution method.” And, to clear up any confusion, you do not need an iPod to listen to a Podcast (though I highly reccomend it). Anyway, I currently know of three local Podcasts right now.

Bandwagon Radio is a show comprised of three guys discussing amusing and entertaining news stories of the week. The show is comical and recorded well. You can find out more about Bandwagon Radio (recorded weekly) at jumponthebandwagon.net

Another “blue-ribbon” show recorded here in the Tri-Cities is Lockjaw Radio (recorded weekly) In each “dose,” Jose Castillo and Thomas Eorgan discuss current corporate marketing campaigns, branding, idea generation and new media in a fun lighthearted fashion.

The GoTriCities Podcast (not sure about schedule) features David Cate and a guest band as they chat about the local music scene, the artists inspirations and projects they are currently working on. Sound bites (or bytes) from the musicians are also included in the recording.

Please inform me if you know of other podcasts in the Tri-Cities TN/VA area. This is an exciting new movement and I am glad to see our area’s contributions.