I work for a Church, So What!

It’s Friday night, around 12:24 am and I feel compelled to write a new post. I wanted to write about something that would act as a milestone, something that I could look back on and appreciate. So, with everything going on with jobs and the economy, I figured I’d write about my job. I’ve been working contract for  Abundant Life Cathedral, also known as ALC since June 2006. I left Drake Container at the end of 2005, so ALC has been keeping me pretty busy. This post is not about me and my many successes, NO! It’s about ALC. If you know anything about me, then you know that church would have been the last place you would find me.

Well, I guess things change and you just have to check it out for yourself. I’d say that this church is actually a pretty cool place to be. One year, they had Vivica A. Fox come stop by and chat for a bit. Dr. Ed Montgomery and Lady Minister Saundra Elaine Montgomery always bring that little extra something that keeps you wondering who might walk through the doors.  Not to mention they are great mentors and pastors who continue to “Build The People Who Shape The World”. Also, the members of the ALC band are all quite talented in their own right. Ernest Walker of Walker Entertainment Group plays the drums, Chris Black on bass, Rick Marcel on Guitar, Mark Taylor on Keyboards, and Marcie Chapa is on the bongos (percussion). ALC also has one of the largest and most talented choirs in the country. The ALC choir participates in a multitude of events, traveling, and making appearances on television. You can see them on the recent video from C-Span of the Houston Mayoral Inauguration with Mary Griffin, Werner Richmond, and The Ernest Walker Band. If that’s not well outside of the norm for a church, then having Lakisha Jones from American Idol or Yoland Adams walking around is. So as I reflect on the economy and my current situation, I look back and see the many talented people I’ve had the privilage of working with. So, as I sit and contemplate this post I want to say that if you haven’t been to church lately, then you should check out ALC. I promise you won’t be disappointed. Tell em’ Jacob sent you and you might actually see me in my Sundays best. Like my mom would say, ” Look at J. Paul Getty over there”.

Final Cut Pro Keyboards and Covers

I finished my first class in Final Cut Pro yesterday. We covered a lot of “quick keys” and ways to work more efficiently. I remember seeing these keyboards and wondered how I get my hands on one. So, I searched “Final Cut Pro Keyboards” and this is what came up. Logic Keyboard sells them and I think this is a must have for any video editor.  They sell keyboards, covers and even the individual keys. Check it out and let me know what you think.

The keyboards and keyboard covers make controlling Final Cut Pro a lot simpler and faster. It is ideal for post-production professionals, video editing gurus and anyone else who requires all the custom key commands accessible, clearly labeled, colour-coded Keyboard. Using this LogicSkin is also a great way to learn the Final Cut Pro’s key commands.

Freelancer Goes From Broke To Stoked!

If your like me, up at all hours of the night trying to build a viable business that you can call your own, then your not alone. I spend hour after hour trying to find the best resources online that will help me achieve my ultimate goals. We all have them, and unlike some people I like to share my resources and knowledge with others. I had a friend call me the other day and he asked about all of the tools I use to build my business. So, like the kind soul I am, I email him links to all of my affiliates. ( smile ) Well, at least my word of mouth networking will earn me a few bucks, hopefully. I have found that sharing my resources and knowledge has only generated more business opportunities for me. I will now list those tools for you in an effort to shine some light on your business as well.

First and foremost we have Freshbooks. When Freshbooks came into my life, it changes the course of my business forever. Not joke! Then we have the other very important Basecamp. If your a freelancer and want to manage multiple projects, then Basecamp is a must. Tracking time and billing clients was a pain and now I enjoy it, Seriously! See for yourself, and let me know how much you profit after the first few months of using it. These are the two basic tools I use to manage my business and have since shared these tools with my two major clients and they are both multi-million dollar companies.

Then there are the template resources. I don’t really like the word template, but that’s what it is, a template. Templates expedite the process of designing, developing, and deploying a website or blog.  You know those projects that you get where the budget is somewhat non-existent, well that’s where templates come in.  Templates can be used on static websites, Content Mangement Systems such as Joomla, Wordpress, Drupal, and even E-Commerce sites.  TemplateMonster.com offers Flash, Magento, OScommerce, and static CSS designs at an affordable price. The only thing about these sites is that there is Unique price and a Regular price. The Unique price is much higher and they take the template down once you buy it, and the Regular price everyone gets. That means there could be hundreds of sites like yours on the web if you don’t customize it. Again, I ‘ve made alot of money just customizing templates. It’s inexpensive for the client to start and quick turnaround for the designer. Another site that is a pretty good resource is Elegant Themes. I’ve notices alot of big named people using their Wordpress templates.

I mentioned Flash earlier and I want to get back to that. Flash can add some very interesting elements to your site. I’ve used Flash on Wordpress blogs and even Joomla sites. I think Flash is great, and one secret resource that I have and you will have now too is FlashDen.net. FlashDen has been my friend this year and has helped me whoo my clients with interactive elements for my sites. Some of the programmers on FlashDen.net are amazing. It is free to register and you can browse their vast archive of Flash resources. Whether your looking for full Flash sites, Flash Loaders, Flash Components, Flash Galleries, Flash Sliders, or Flash Navigations, I could go on and on. FlashDen has what your looking for.  Envato also has ThemeForest.com which from the research that I have done lately has some very nice designs for Wordpress, and their Flash stuff isn’t too shabby either.

Last but not least, I’m still amazed at the amount of people doing business online that still don’t have a PayPal account. I have the business account and a debit card in my wallet that connects to my account. Freshbooks allows your customers to easily pay with PayPal and It connects easily to your bank account. Please, If you don’t have some sort of online PayPal or Google Checkout account, please for the love of God, Get you a PayPal account already.

I’m Jacob Hodgson and I hope you find this information helpful. I look forward to you coming back and leaving a comment about how much this helped your business grow or how much you failed, either way.

September 11 2009

An 8 Year Old Memory

It’s September 11, 2009 and I felt compelled to write a post. It’s 4:30 in the morning and I came across this picture while searching for random images on my hard drive.  I reflected back to 9-11-01 and memories of that day flash in my head as if it happened yesterday.  I think this was the day that I realized that this journey though life wasn’t going to be so easy. It changed everything, jobs, travel, race, and even religion. I see people differently, and I know that anything can happen at anytime.  Cherish your time here on earth and be kind to others.  You never know what road they have been traveling and life can be harsh at times.

“Search Engine” – Definition Essay

A Search Engine is not an engine in the normal sense, but it is actually a software program that searches websites, documents, images, and even videos for specific keywords. It returns a list of results where the keyword or search term you  typed were found. A Search Engine is actually a system, the system which is made up of the hardware and software components of a computer. Google and Yahoo are considered systems because they are computers with software running on them. Search Engines are very complex and the search algorithms are updated continuously.

Search Engines use computer robot programs called spiders to gather and store the information you’re searching. Spiders find the pages and then pass the information on to another program for indexing. The spider identifies the data and then stores it in the search engines database. The spiders crawl the web and find information about content by following other links that have previously been crawled. This is why it’s important to have links to useful content on your website, and also have other website link back to you. This process of linking is called reciprical links, or back linking. If you launch a website, but never link to other pages, your site will more than likely not be found by the spiders. If your page has fresh content on it, then the spiders will find you eventually, although it takes more work and you have to manually submit the new Uniform Resource Locator to the search engines indexing program.

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