Wembanyama mania abounds in San Antonio

 I feel sorry for Victor Wembanyama and the media microscope surrounding him.

Like others, I watch his Friday NBA Rookie League debut to see why he was worth the number one pick.  He showed a great ability to block shots.  His shooting wasn't that good, but then everyone has first-game jitters.

Since he selection in New York, our local newspaper must have assigned their NBA beat writers, their columnist and now a lifestyle/features section writer.

I love my adopted hometown of San Antonio.  I have become a Spurs fan, although the Denver Nuggets, my second favorite team, won the NBA channel.  Still, the media coverage has been over the top in its coverage of the number one draft pick.

Today, Greg Popovich announced that he has signed a 5-year contract with the Spurs.  Wembanyama will probably become his last project before he heads off to his favorite vineyard.

Still, how crazy will San Antonio become over Victor's arrival?

There will be an influx of babies named Victor or Victoria.   The media will cover the arrival of the first boy or girl wearing a #1 Spurs jersey.

Dogs will also have that name, but some owners will call their canine Wemby.

Someone will try to franchise French-based cuisine and either call it Victor W or Wemby.

A enterprising type will create a "Where's Wemby" book where children can find the nearly 7-foot, 4-inch around city locations.

I know I'm missing something about our new draft pick.  If you have thoughts on what is missing in this article, please let me know.

A prayer to add more fathers at Sunday services

 As a Catholic, my favorite saint has become St. Joseph, Jesus' earthly father.   Catholics all know the story of the Immaculate Conception and how Joseph could have divorced Mary, his wife.

Instead, he served as Jesus' step father through his formative years.

I think of him when I see some families go to Sunday Mass without their father.

To me, it sets the stage for spiritual growth.  I was fortunate to have my father attend most Masses with me.  When he had to work at Sears on a Sunday, we changed our regularly slated 11:30 service for Saturday night so we could attend Mass together.

I'm going to work on a personal prayer for families like the one that has a son who just had his First Communion a month ago.  His father was there for that event, but he has never come back to attend Mass with his son.

Catholics pray for a lot of things, especially when people get seriously sick or when somebody dies.  Couldn't we find time to also pray that more fathers come to Mass with their families on Sundays as well as during the week?

I'd love your thoughts on this, so please respond with your comments on how we can add more fathers to our spiritual mix, not only for the Catholic faith but for others as well.

Christian values should abound when tipping at a restaurant

 Tipping at restaurants is something I wish some church-going types might think about after attending services on Sunday.

My son, a retired restaurant professional, noted how some openly religious types would leave small change for a large party.  Instead, they would leave religious tracts and tell Peter they would pray for him.

Some restaurants have an 18-percent addendum for parties of  six or more.  Even better to the server is that an 18-percent flat fee is added in some Fort Lauderdale restaurants.

I ate at one of them, and the service was exceptional.  It reminded me of German restaurants where the surcharge was already factored into the bill.

While overseas in German restaurants, I would add a one or two deutsche mark for exceptional service.

While many would question the additional costs of service in their meal costs, I would suggest they talk to those who work in the profession for a significant amount of time.   The cost of a meal for people who get your meals, fill your drinks and coffee should never be questioned.

If you have been to restaurants overseas or in places like Fort Lauderdale, you wouldn't question the quality of service.   If it was terrible, you have alternatives to go somewhere else.

Regardless of the service, here is some exceptional advice from Jared Wilson, a Christian writer when he posted this advice in his blog.

Best way to “witness” to a waiter/waitress I’ve ever seen is this:

1. Be friendly. Tell them you will be praying before your meal, Ask if you can pray for them. If body language, tone of voice and time permits, ask if there is anything specific.

2. Pray for them.

3. Leave a good tip.

And that’s it. The Holy Spirit will do the rest. You’ll be amazed at how many actual opportunities to minister to people in Jesus’ name comes from this.

The Catfish Hunter poker hand

 

 

 

 

My two leisure passions in life?   Poker and Major League Baseball.

I recently combined the two with Catfish Hunter and his number 27.

In one of my poker leagues, some of us try to win with a two and seven card in the hole.

When we win with either a strong bluff or with more twos and sevens on the flop, the winner gets a $100 chip.  Others in the league have to contribute this chip from our pot of money.

Like all elements of a game, this combo needed a nickname, so I went to www.baseball-reference.com to find a player with the number 27.

Of all the 27s listed, Catfish stood out, especially for the World Series, where his Oakland As appeared in post season play from 1971 to 1974.

NBC broadcaster Curt Gowdy would always share how Jim became known as the Catfish to his viewers at least every other inning.

So, if you're playing poker with me, be wary of how I term a 2-7 in the hole.  If the flop comes up with three 7s, then my "Catfish Hunter" hand will beat you.

Here is Catfish's official page from Baseball Reference.

Congressional leaders should focus on IT issue without packaging punishment for government works who stray onto porn sites

If you read "Porn provision stalls House IT bill" article in today's Washington Technology, you wonder who is representing our technology interests in Washington, D.C.
Alice Lipowicz, a longtime beat writer for this magazine, details how Democratic leaders pulled the America Completes ReAuthorization Act pulled this important legislation over language concerning punishment of federal employees who view porn on government computers. Republican leaders added this federal porn punishment clause as part of the bill that would funding for science, engineering, technology and math education.
Lipowicz noted in her article that "...that no federal funding could be used to pay the salaries of federal employees disciplined for accessing pornography from government computers. The motion also directs lawmakers to reduce funds for Energy Department research and other programs."
It's time for those of us who are concerned about the growth of technology in our community to take the time to call, write, tweet or use other methods of communication to let our legislative leadership know that it's time to forgo the porn clause of this important legislation.
Don't get me wrong. I am all for punishing those who work in the "gov" who want to use their work station to watch porn. Yet, the question also arises about how the government IT can't make it darn difficult to even access those sites to begin with....
If you feel like I do, here's a listing of our local elected officials in the House of Representatives:
Lamar Smith (R) -- http://lamarsmith.house.gov/
Ciro Rodriguez (D) -- http://www.rodriguez.house.gov/
Henry Cuellar (D) -- http://cuellar.house.gov/
I would list Charlie Gonzales' official page, but it's not working.  Here's hoping that our Congressman will get someone to help him fix the problem.

Cyber Security Summit shows the good and the quiet aspects of San Antonio

After attending part of the first Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce's Cyber Security Summit, I have to admire Howard Schmidt, the White House Cyber Coordinator, for helping me understand the national need to change the way things are being done with protecting my computers.
In time, the best way to secure a computer is through the use of additional protection processes. I agree with him that in the near future, computers will have a card slot that will allow what industry experts terms a common access card to provide secure access for non-military uses. The military already has a long-standing policy on using these cards, but I would guess that most businesses will soon embrace this policy as well.
The rest of this morning's event was such that I was asked not to blog about it. I heard an Air Force senior officer talk about the information warfare capability of my former service, but the greater chamber asked me not to take notes or blog about it. It seems the Air Force didn't want media coverage on this.
Bummer!!!
And, I could imagine what Brig. Gen. (Retired) Harry Dalton, my favorite Air Force Director of Public Affairs, would say about not allowing media or even a blogger like me into the room to take some notes. The general's talk was a rehash of efforts that have already been well reported. I believe that General Dalton would say having media on hand would only strengthen the Air Force's reputation in a community which supports the military.
Yet, the biggest highlight of this event was talking to the college kids competing in The National Collegiate CyberDefense competion held as part of the conference. These college students seemed truly jazzed to compete in the simulated cyber attacks designed by firms like the Denim Group.
If San Antonio is going to prosper as the center of cyber defense, it's these competitions and the willingness of senior Air Force officials to explain the basics of their mission.

Social media efforts need integration with traditional marketing efforts

As more and more of us add social media tools to our communications efforts, it's important that we look at ways to integrate them into more traditional forms of marketing.
For example, a client of mine is running for a judicial position. I began to work with her after she had ordered her signs. Had we started our efforts earlier, she could have added her Twitter campaign site to her signage. I believe that if we had added this to her signs, she could have increased her base of followers.
Another easy update is to add your Twitter profile to your business cards.When I updated my cards last year, I added the @Matt_scherer below my email and phone information I believe that adding the Twitter profile has increased my exposure among business associates. More importantly, it made some traditional business types think about adding Twitter to their communication mix.
Just as important as updating your business cards is adding key social media data below your name on your email signature. If you get an email from me, my signature includes name, phone, email, Twitter profile, the link to my Express-News blog and my Linked-In profile.
There are more ways to integrate your social media tools into traditional advertising and communication platforms. A savvy social media professional can help your business and organization integrate them into your communication efforts. So, please call them to have them work with you on your integration efforts to add your new tools into processes that get full exposure.