Patrick’s Blog

HRC Lobby Day and Equality Convention 2009

Mon, 9 Mar 2009 21:24:45 -0700

This last week I attended the HRC Lobby Day and Equality Convention. I have to say it was one of the best trips I have ever been on. Lobby Day was so awesome. We got the chance to see a lot of the work that HRC does politically in a national setting. We discussed a few of the Human Rights Campaigns main issues for gaining equality for LGBT Americans. It was so neat to meet members of congress in person to discuss the issues. The last part of the trip was the Equality Convention. It was filled with great training on how to do a good job back at home in our Steering Committees. I was so glad that I was able to attend. The people at HRC are some of the best people I have ever had the opportunity to be involved with. They are becoming such great friends.

Pictures linked below.
• HRC Lobby Day and Convention March 2009

Adventures in Podcasting

Mon, 2 Feb 2009 19:24:59 -0700

This last fall I was talking to my friend Kathy and she said she was interested in making a podcast. This is something I have been wanting to do for a very long time. We have now released two shows and have many more to come. Episodes of “Thoughts from a Lezzymom” can be downloaded from iTunes here. Right now the show is hosted by Kathy Young and Annie Loyd. My current equipment is pretty basic. I use GarageBand ’09, Levelator, my 2.1Ghz MacBook Pro with 4GB RAM and an external iSight camera. We will see how my equipment changes as we go along. The podcast is hosted on my Apple MobileMe site and the RSS feed that iTunes requires is provided free by RapidFeeds. In the beginning we have a zero budget. I think the show sounds pretty good even with the older external iSight. Make sure to subscribe in iTunes to stay up with our show.

Macworld 2009 thoughts

Tue, 6 Jan 2009 13:59:55 -0700

Today Apple had its last keynote at the Macworld Expo in SF. The first thing they updated was the iWork and iLife suites. Also added a new service call iWork.com for downloading, editing and commenting documents anywhere online. I am very happy with the new features and plan on playing with them as soon as I can get my copy. Apple also updated the MBP line with a new 17 inch MacBook Pro. This was highly anticipated before the keynote. They also made some major changes to the iTunes store by removing the DRM and changing the pricing structure on some of the music. Lastly they added the ability to buy music on the road from the iPhone 3G over the AT&T 3G network. Overall I am not that impressed with the keynote. I wish they would of updated things like the Mac mini and AppleTV. I guess there will always be a town hall at Apple HQ sometime in the spring. But then again I am very happy with the changes to iWork and iLife so that will keep me satisfied for a while.

White Holiday in Colorado, Utah and Arizona

Fri, 2 Jan 2009 18:48:20 -0700

This Christmas it was our turn to head to Colorado to see Chad’s family. It was very cold and snowed quite a bit while we were there. Most highs were in the 20’s and 30’s with snow falling about every night. It was the first time in many years I have had a white Christmas.

Pictures linked below:
• White Christmas 2008 AZ, UT, CO

Join the Impact march and protest in Phoenix

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 22:24:17 -0700

Today I joined close to 4000 people from the LGBT community to protest and march for equal rights. Since the devastating losses for our community in the last election cycle this community has really come together. It was an awesome day. I have to say I am moved and touched by the amount of people that showed up. The organizers like Annie Lloyd and crew did a great job. Earlier in the week I was asked to make an electronic flyer but then I had no idea this many people would show. I was honored to do my little part for such a great event. At the protest many city officials along with leaders of the LGBT community came to speak. After we spent an hour or so at the Phoenix city hall listening to bands and speakers we took the the streets to march to the Arizona State Capital. It was a long walk but the Phoenix Police were awesome by closing off the roads and giving us an escort. The line of people marching stretched over a mile long. It was an incredible and awe inspiring sight and feeling. I had chills most of the day. I can’t wait to do all I can to help out.

Pictures from the day and the flyer linked below.

• Join the Impact protest and march in Phoenix, AZ

Kathy Griffin in concert

Fri, 7 Nov 2008 14:45:31 -0700

Last night Chad and I went to see Kathy Griffin in concert. It was a great time. She is hilarious. We loved all her new stuff about the recent elections. Her cracks on Sarah Palin and her mother were over the top. Next time we go we want to spend a lot more money on tickets. We got our $40 a piece tickets only two days after they went on sale and they were high up in the balcony. We also did not like the seating at Dodge Theater. It was so freaking cramped. So for next time must loose weight and get close to the front. But overall is was a great night and so worth it.

Links to a few crappy pictures below.

• Kathy Griffin

Election Night with HRC and Arizona Together

Wed, 5 Nov 2008 18:49:03 -0700

Last night was a lot of fun watching the election results come in with my new friends from Human Right Campaign. We had a lot of drinks and spent time socializing in between speeches. It was a very cool moment to see Obama speak during his acceptance speech with all those good people around me. The only downer of the night was that Prop. 102 the marriage amendment passed. This was very disappointing to everyone it the room. We have another fight for equality.

Pictures from my iPhone linked below.

• Election Night with HRC and Arizona Together

PodCampAZ 2008 was AWESOME!

Mon, 3 Nov 2008 19:48:19 -0700

This was my first time to PodCampAZ. I had a great time. I met some new friends and also attended a few awesome sessions. This event has inspired me to produce a podcast and write in my blog more often. You might ask what is a PodCamp. The PodCampAZ website say this:

“What is a PodCamp?
‘The characteristics of all successful communities: broadly shared, accessible set of opportunities, a shared sense of responsibility for the success of the common enterprise, and a genuine sense of belonging.’ - Former President Bill Clinton, TED2007

PodCamp is a FREE BarCamp-style community UnConference for podcasters and listeners, bloggers and readers, and anyone interested in New Media. It was held for the first time from September 8-10 in Boston, Massachusetts and is now spreading across the world.
These 7 rules define what events can be called a PodCamp:

• All content created must be released under a Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
• All attendees must be treated equally. Everyone is a rockstar.
• All attendees must be allowed to participate. (subject to limitations of physical space, of course)
• All sessions and events must be free of charge to attend.
• All sessions must obey the Law of 2 Feet - if you’re not getting what you want out of the session, you can and should walk out and do something else. It’s not like you have to get your money’s worth!
• The event must be new-media focused - blogging, podcasting, video on the net.
• The financials of a PodCamp must be fully disclosed in an open ledger, except for any donor/sponsor who wishes to remain anonymous.”

On day one of PodCamp I was shocked to see so many people using the iPhone and on Twitter. It was so amazing to meet many of the people I follow on Twitter in real life (IRL). My first session included Mini-Ignite, which in the future I plan on attending all the real Ignite Phoenix meetups. Sessions I also attended before lunch was Resident Feminist: Alice in Wonderland of Web 2.0 Technologies and Old Media, New Media, Red Media, Blue Media. After lunch I attended Cultivating Community and Stranger meet Stranger. Those were such great sessions that I left from the first day on a PodCampAZ high.

On the second day of PodCamp I attended The Audacity of Podcasting: Tips for producing and editing your audio podcast with free software, 5 Reason you suck on iTunes, 411 on recording and producing a great interview. After lunch I attended Social Media: The impact on you and your business and Citizen Media: Keeping it Relevant.
All of my sessions at PodCampAZ were fantastic and I hope to use this newfound knowledge in my work and extra activities. As I said before I hope to be producing a new LGBT podcast with @lezzymom. She is so interesting and has so much to share. It would be an honor.
I can’t wait until next year’s PodCampAZ. I have already registered and @anniebuentello and I going to order custom Tweet Tees for next time. See ya there!

PodCampAZ pictures below.

• PodCampAZ 2008

Volunteering with Human Rights Campaign

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 19:41:15 -0700

I have started to volunteer my spare time with HRC Arizona. So far this has been very rewarding. In a way it’s like “coming out” again. Many years ago I use to volunteer my time at Boy Scouts of America and with their cheerful service group Order of the Arrow. It has taken me a long time to find a group that I would like to give my time to. Being active in BSA was so rewarding but when I came out to myself I had to leave those days behind because of the BSA’s politics and their position on gays. That was a sad time in my life. Now I do not care what my old friends in the BSA think about me being gay and out. Its their problem. But now I have moved on and ready for new adventures in service with Human Right Campaign.
HRC Arizona has asked to host a monthly social gathering, which is cleverly named “Shaken and Stirred for Equality”. Last night I held my first one. It was awesome. We had over 40 people attend at Kolbalt Bar in central Phoenix. Flyers for the first and second events are posted below. Hope to see everyone at one soon.

iPhone update and upgrades

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:19:11 -0700

It has been a couple months since we bought Chad the iPhone 3G on July 11th. This device has completely changed his computing life. He only uses his iBook G4 when he needs to do the account or for an occasional web page. That is really only a few times a month. Day in and day out Chad does all of his computing on the iPhone 3G. Web surfing, MySpace, email and AIM. He is much happier with the coverage since the 2.1 iPhone update. I am very happy with my original iPhone since the 2.0 software was released July. I have no plans for myself at this time to upgrade to the 3G iPhone. My iPhone works great! Might upgrade in a year or so when memory is doubled or tripled.

iPhone waiting line pictures below from July 11th at the Biltmore.
• iPhone lines at Biltmore Apple Store 2008