Props To My Peeps: Darin Berntson And Melissa Ruth

This week I have to give two shout outs. The first one is to Darin Berntson, on Twitter and other places known as Doc, and the other is to Melissa Ruth.

I've gotten to know Darin over the past few weeks, and I really appreciate all the issues he has tried to resolve for me. For one, he came up with a Props To My Peeps logo (which you can see in this post). He has also been able to help me with a few other projects, for which I am grateful. Take a few minutes to learn more about Darin.

Next I wanted to give a shout out to Melissa Ruth. Melissa has helped me with more than one project over the past few weeks. She has always been go to check in on me and make sure I didn't need anything, and quick to help me out when it seems I have a problem.

Melissa is also looking for a job. She has a pretty strong business background. If you can help Melissa out with a potential job, she would be eternally grateful, as would I. You can find out more about Melissa on Twitter too.

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Props To My Peeps

This weeks prop is a little late but I want to send it out anyway. I've followed this person on Twitter for some time and I just enjoy what she has to say. Her cheery attitude and comments are always uplifting. Unfortunately we don't really know each other but I know her family and friends are better for knowing her. The reason I wanted to throw a prop out to her was for her continued positive affect on my life.

She goes by Hooeyspewer which I thought was an interesting name. Take some time and get to know her a little better.

• Read her blog at hooeyspewer.blogspot.com


• Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/hooeyspewer

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Props To My Peeps

This weeks prop goes out to my Sister-In-Law, who held Thanksgiving dinner at her house. I know the amount of work that goes into putting on a production like this. Everyone had a great time.

Past props.

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Props To My Peeps

Today's prop goes out to Douglas Cootey. Douglas has been helping behind the scenes of PodCampSLC for the past few weeks, among a hundred other tasks. He was gracious enough to get a logo created for our event and is working on a few more projects.

The name Douglas gave his blog is pretty interesting, The Splintered Mind, and it recently won an exciting award, one of the Top Ten Depression blogs, and I ain't talking about a depressing blog. Douglas writes about depression, ADHD and a few other things. He's funny and has a very even tempered personality. Please take a moment and visit the blog and subscribe to the RSS feed.

Thanks for all you've done Douglas.

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Props To My Peeps

I've slacked over the past few weeks on my weekly props and thought it was a good time get back at it.

This weeks prop goes out to Brad Baldwin. I recently connected with Brad at a really great pizza place in Draper Utah. Brad is a driving force behind Rocky Mountain Voices. I've known who Brad is for some time but was never able to meet. He reached out through LinkedIn which is pretty cool.

One thing I've learned about Brad is he really wants to build a strong community of new media providers and consumers. There are a number of podcasters and videocasters in the Intermountain West and Rocky Mountain Voices is set as the place to find all of these gems. If you're a podcaster or videocaster, or your business needs help getting started, Brad and his production company may be the answer.

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Giving Props to my Peeps

This weeks Prop goes out to a Twitter friend Jim Long. It's one thing to see news on the Internet, on the radio or TV. It's a whole different experience when you read about it through the eyes of the man who is capturing it on Video.

Jim Long is a cameraman for NBC News. Since I started following what Jim had to say on Twitter, I've come to learn just how important Jim and skills are to the news he reports. I've also gotten an inside seat as news is happening. For instance, one Sunday when Jim was shooting a news program, he was sending us behind the scenes activities you would never see on camera. Don't get me wrong, Jim doesn't disclose anything that he shouldn't, he has great integrity.

Visit Jim's web site and if you are on Twitter, you can follow him there too.

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Props to my Peeps

This weeks prop goes out to my Son J. I've had a car in the shop for some repairs and he acted as chauffeur several times over the past week. He just had surgery on his hand, and  hasn't been feeling very well but has helped when he could. Thanks J for all you have done.

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Giving Props to my Peeps

This weeks prop goes out to Laura Moncur over at Pick Me!

One of the really cool things about Laura is her easy going nature. She's accepting of everyone, and even takes a persons allergies to cats into consideration when they are at her home (um, me!).

Laura is an entrepreneur, running several businesses; Starling Fitness, Starling Travel, custom crocheted covers for your portable devices, and the webs oldest quotations site, The Quotations Page.

Laura loves to try all kinds of new things as is evident here and here. She's also a fantastic writer. I love reading her online novel Merriton. And one more cool thing about Laura, I think she's has a thing for video games.

Please take some time to read Laura's web sites and watch some of her videos. You'll be glad you did.

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Giving Props to my Peeps

This weeks prop goes out to my Sister-in-Law V. She helped me rescue a stranded wife miles from where I was. Thanks V.

P.S. I still had to change the flat tire. Thank goodness it was still under warranty.

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Giving props to my Peeps

This weeks props go out to my Sister In Law V, Cameron Reilly and the band Metallica.

Sister-in-law V, thank you for introducing my girls to the wildly popular book series by Stephenie Meyer; Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse. They can't put them down. I bought several copies, of each. Apparently you should read these books too.

My next prop goes out to Cameron Reilly, founder and CEO of The Podcast Network. I can't possibly know how much work goes into running a service like TPN. I know Cameron has many people helping him and it shows in the quality of podcasts and vidcasts his network hosts.

I've had the pleasure of hosting a podcast, The Jazz Show, on TPN for a while now, and I've given Cameron more than his fair share of headaches I'm sure. But one of the things that Cameron has taught me, by example, is the sheer will to succeed. He runs a global business. He lives and works in Australia but a majority of podcast's are produced by people in other countries. He's a great mentor, coach and example. Get to know Cameron. And if you have a podcast you think would fit in with the rest of the shows, let Cam know.

My last prop goes out to the band Metallica. I recently watched the DVD Some Kind of Monster, which is a documentary of the band and the making of the album St. Anger. Even if you're not a Metallica fan, this movie is a must see. It goes behind the scenes of the worlds biggest heavy metal rock band of all time. See the contrast between the youthful "I can do what ever the hell I want" to the matured "I have a family and I need to set my priorities".

Having watched this movie some 10 times, (mostly for the music), I've learned a great lesson from these guys. You may become a rock god, in what ever you do, but everything comes with a price if you don't stop and occasionally smell the roses. It will come around to bite you in the ass. You will have to make a choice, and the choice may not be what you want. Thank you for letting me see the human side of your life.

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Giving props to my peeps

This weeks prop goes to my Daughter J. There are several things I really appreciate about her. One is her desire to be the best she can. She is into horse training, riding and competing. I've never seen someone with such dedication to her school work and her passion for horses.

She and I will be working on a new web site about her horses, competitions and friends. Stories, photos and videos. I think she'll have a blast, I know I will.

My other kids are great too. I don't want to leave them out. But this one is about J.

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Giving Props to my Peeps

This weeks props go out to two guys that I enjoy working with and being around. The first is Steve Spencer and the other is Robert Merrill.

Steve Spencer is President of Twelve Horses, a technology company in Salt Lake City, Utah. But it's not Steve's company that I want to thank him for rather his involvement in the local tech community. Steve's company sponsors quiet a few events, but more importantly Steve mentors, coaches and gets involved. He doesn't push his company as much as he could when sponsoring an event, but he does a great job networking and spreading the word. Steve's a great example. Steve doesn't know this, but I've learned a lot from him. Get to know Steve Spencer, it will be well worth it.

My next prop goes out to Robert Merrill. Robert is a Technology Recruiter with SOS Technical in Utah County. But the really cool thing is, like Steve, he's involved in the tech community, sponsors events, helps people with connections, and doesn't push being a recruiter. He could, but I think he knows that would cause some problems.

Robert's a smart guy. He builds relationships. I like that. I know what Robert does. If I need his services, I'll call him. Robert is also good at connecting the community with each other. He also blogs about tech issues, which is great. Get to know Robert, it will be good for you.

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Props to my Peeps

This weeks props go out to the people living in my neighborhood, and another Twitter friend DayngrGirl.

Last week there were several severe rain storms that dropped and incredible amount of rain in a very short amount of time. One particular family living just a few streets away from me experienced flooding in their basement. They lost many possessions and spent several days trying to clean up the mess.

Our neighborhood instituted an emergency preparedness group for situations just like this. After a few phone calls this family had dozens of people coming to their aid; cleaning up water and mud, washing and drying clothes and brining meals for the family to eat. It was exciting to see the neighborhood spring to action and help any way they could.

DayngrGirl get a prop for her efforts in promoting a service connecting people with service men and woman via the Internet at a site called eMail Our Military. As quoted from the website

Thanks for visiting and taking the first step towards making a difference in the life of a military service member.

Our troops deserve our respect, encouragement and admiration for their tireless dedication to keeping us safe and secure. As they are separated from their loved ones at home, your participation in eMOM gives our troops the support and encouragement they need and deserve.

Please help keep the support, motivation and encouragement going to our troops by joining our effort.

Thank you DayngrGirl for all your efforts.

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Giving Props To My Peeps

Ok this weeks prop goes out to a guy who I connected with through Twitter. His name is Glenn, AKA WiredPig. Glenn is a former United States Marine and Police Officer. One of the cool things about Glenn are his posts about fallen Police Officers. What a tribute. I've passed Glenn's URL around to friends who also appreciate his efforts. Take some time to visit Glenn's site, and contribute when possible.

Glenn I'm proud to stand next to you buddy. oohrah!

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Giving Props To My Peeps

This weeks props:

My Wife, Gina. This Woman has been through so much over the past year. In August we were in an automobile accident that nearly took our lives. Gina sustained a broken neck, torn ligaments in her shoulder and numerous other injuries. Everyone survived but my dear Wife was hurt the worst.

She was just getting started training for Triathlons. In fact she completed her first Triathlon in May of 2006 and was training for her next when the accident occurred. As you can imagine her training has been on hold, and still is. But yesterday she got on her bike for the first time sine August 2006. I'm so proud of her. I know that she will have many obstacles in her way but she will over come them all.

Thank you honey for being such an inspiration to me and everyone around you. [Sorry, no web site for her, but I'm trying]

Lorri and Cammon Randle. Ok, so they are two, but they work together. Thanks to both of you. Thank you for showing me that young people still have the drive to make big things happen. I appreciate your willingness to help your fellow Geek. I'm excited to see where you take all of this. Rock On! [CopperRain, MediaJoltz]

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