Governor Perry Signs SB 11 at Hidalgo County Sherrif's Dept.

Calling a Bluff

If you are going to call a bluff, you better have a good hand. Many bills died tonight.

Moving the Blog

I'm simplifying my blogging by just having one blog from here on out. Since most of my posts are about me and my experiences, I figure the best thing to do is have a dedicated personal blog. So, I opened up ShaineMata.net today and worked on it a bit. You're welcome to change the links to keep up with the latest.

If you followed RGV Life, I may continue that theme as a podcast only. However, it may just be easier to merge that with the new blog.

Coworking.com presentation

Coworking.com presentation,
originally uploaded by shainelee.

This is an interesting concept for working.

SecondLife

SecondLife,
originally uploaded by shainelee.

Linden Labs is presenting on SecondLife. There is some info on the war on Grey Goo.

Steel reign

Steel reign,
originally uploaded by shainelee.

A real-life battlebot, Steel Reign. Visit teamxd.com for more info.

Good times at BarCampAustin

Good times at BarCampAustin,
originally uploaded by shainelee.

I'm having a good time at BarCampAustin, which is sort of an ad hoc series of tech seminars. Microsoft gave away copies of their ExpressionSession07 software and opened up a $1000 bar tab.



Most of the time, whe I start talking tech, people's eyes glaze over. This is not so here. It's a nice change.

Filing deadline

Filing deadline,
originally uploaded by shainelee.

Today is the last day for Reps to file bills for this Session. I have the honor of being the filer of our last two bills.



I took a pic of this note that says "Too late, too bad, so sad. Love, Rob" on Rep Eissler's door. Basically, lobbying for new bills is over. For the most part, lobbying will focus on those bills already in the pipeline.



Good thing I went early, a line of other filers formed behind me at the Chief Clerk's office.

Positive Image

Positive Image,
originally uploaded by shainelee.

A haircut goes a long way towards improving your image. Well, that and shaving. Back in the day when I was a student here in Austin, I had the long hair and scruffy look. I also wondered why I did not get any respect. In time, you learn that the world does not run on ideals. It runs off the whole lot of us who fall short of ideals. Ideally, looks should not matter, but they do. Good grooming goes a long way towards improving our image.

Nice trees

Nice trees,
originally uploaded by shainelee.

I saw these lavander colored trees and thought I'd capture them.

Penny pinching

Penny pinching,
originally uploaded by shainelee.

I got through the day without spending a penny on eating today. I had a bowl of oatmeal at home and had a lobbyist join us for lunch. There are several receptions tonight, but I'll skip. Lunch was pretty satisfying. With all the money I've been saving up, I can buy a beer on the way home tonight.

Bad CD, Bad!

Bad CD, Bad!,
originally uploaded by shainelee.

I got another coaster. The cd burned, but won't play back last night's hearing. Now, I've got to get another copy.