Roderick Barnes to speak on May 18 at TASSCC

Roderick Barnes, the chief executive officer of BIF Technologies, has been invited to speak May 18 to the Texas Association of State Systems for Computing and Communications http://www.tasscc.org Portal SIG. Portals provide managers an insight into their daily operations, and Roderick has spent a lot of his time and effort, perfecting the requirements to make portal solutions work for various industries.

Check out Armida's newest technology -- Videlity -- March 8 in San Antonio

Until recently, the use of wireless signals to transmit video packets for security systems was not in use. As there's a lot of interference in some areas due to cell phones and other radio signals, security professionals didn't want to transmit a video signal from a camera to a controller. However, my client, Armida Technologies http://www.armidatechnologies.com has come up with the solution to this wireless issue with Videlity software. Videlity software provides remote access to the 802.11 standard and scans this signal for changing conditions to provide optimal connectivity.

Armida is going to showcase their Videlity software at Holt Caterpillar, March 8, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you are interested in this technology, please call Michelle Brown, 210-403-9242 (Ext. 114) to get a reservation.

Rooting for the other Matt Scherer to make the big team

One of the things that my dad, aka Bud or Bubba, liked to do while on family vacations was to go into our motel rooms and find people with our last name in the telephne book. So, now we have Google -- the replacement for those yellow pages. So it's late at night and I did that search with the terms "Matt Scherer and blog" when I find another Matt http://futureredbirds.com/tag/matt-scherer/ who is a pitching prospect for my favorite team, the St. Louis Cardinalshttp://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=stl. According to some press reports, Matt is slated to pitch for the Redbirds AA franchise, the Springfield Redbirdshttp://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=stl, but here's hoping he makes it to help the Cardinals beat the Cubbies a bunch this year. When the Redbirds travel to San Antonio to face the Missions, I'll try to get some tickets and a picture with the guy who shares my name.

Note to all Cub fans: Is this your year or will the Cubbies wait until the 100th anniversary of their last World Series victory to win another one?

Calling all michelada lovers

Just spoke to my friend John Griffin, the dining editor for the San Antonio Express News, http://www.mysa.com, about Micheladas. As the publicist for Twang http://www.twang.com, I have been working with John on restaurants that make a good version of this drink. The inspiration for this came after celebrating the birthday of Katie Hotard, one of my St. Francis CYO hoopsters. I don't want to name the restaurant but when I ordered a Michelada, the waiter gave me a drink with some salt, a shot of Clamato and the beer. Then, this restaurant billed me 50 cents for the extra tomato juice. So, I told John about what happened at the restaurant and their so called Michelada. In March, the Express News is running a story on Micheladas, and I have helped John find some great bars that feature the drink. If you know of a good place in San Antonio that features this drink, please give me a shot via email at mailto:mattscherer@gmail.com.

A get well message to my friend Brent Boller

It was good to speak to Brent Boller, the morning news anchor, at KTSA http://www.ktsa.com. Brent has been sick after running the Austin marathon while suffering from allergies. I have known Brent since he was the public affairs officer at Randolph Air Force Base http://www.randolph.af.mil.

ISC West

One of the best things about my job is setting up media interviews for my clients. With MDI Security System mdi.secure.com and Armida Technologies http://armidatechnologies.com heading to Lost Wages aka Los Vegas http://www.visitlasvegas.com/vegas/index.jsp for this show, I have been busy setting up meetings and get publicity for them in the security trade publications.

So far, Security Dealer Magazine http://www.securityinfowatch.com/cover/security-dealer/1SIW and Security Magazine www.securitymagazine.com have confirmed appointments. I am also dealing with the folks at Security World magazinehttp://www.securityworldmag.com to set up meetings with their editorial staff.

TASA program focuses on SBIR and government contracting

Remember the TV show Cheers when Cliff the Mailman went up to Admiral William J. Crowe Jr., with a design for a submarine on the back of his cocktail napkin? And, the admiral said his people would get back to him?
Well, there is an actual program designed to help small businesses and researchers find the seed money to help serious researchers take their idea from the drawing board to full production. The Small Business Innovation Research program is a government program to help small business types get funding for their research.
Jill Dickman, UTSA Institute for Economic Development, is one of the best experts on this program, and she’ll speak at the March 15 Technology Advocates of San Antonio (www.tasa.org) program 11 a.m. to 1 p.m at the Bright Shawl, 819 Augusta St. I have worked with Jill on the behalf of one client, and she has been involved in the program for many years. In San Antonio, we’re lucky to have someone of her capabilities who is willing to help small businesses succeed in this program.
In addition to having Jill speak, Renee Wesley-Case, executive director of the Air Force Outreach Program Office, is also slated to speak on how small businesses can get contracts through the military. Danny Sheron, the principal, Adolos Strategic, and a TASA board member, said Renee will help small businesses understand the process for registering their “bidness” with the federal government.
Lunch is $20 for TASA members; $25 for non-members. Annual individual membership is $15 and $75 for a business. So that TASA will have enough “chicken surprise” on hand for everyone, you should call Tina Gonzales at 210-824-4106 or via email at tasa@tasa.org.

MDI on the cover of Security Magazine

MDI Security Systems (www.mdisecure.com) was recently featured in the February issue of Security Magazine. I wrote the article http://www.securitymagazine.com/CDA/Articles/Feature_Article/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000048876 which focused on how the Air Force Academy changed its security processes. I was lucky enough to see the Air Force Academy lose to Notre Dame during my trip as well.