Once again the Garlic Festival in Gilroy California was a “Stone Groove”. As usual the weather was hot, the food was great, and garlic lovers from all over descended on Christmas Hill Park the home of the Garlic Festival. This year I had the privilege of documenting the last Hooray of Shaboom, a Garlic Festival staple. Many people come to see other bands but always stay to party with Shaboom. I was there on Saturday running a camera crane i.e. jib along with Matt Galvin on stage with his steady cam and Len Stemic in the stands.
I must say there were so many people there that I spent as much time fending off happy partygoers from running into my equipment as I did filming the event. However the effort was worth it as Shaboom played one 50s hit after another and their audience danced, sang, and grooved to the tunes. I must acknowledge one individual whom is a complete stranger to me, which sounds odd in itself, but in my eyes she is an angel. As I was filming she came up to me and asked how I was, you know general chit chat and teasingly I said “what I really need is a beer right now”. Before I could say much else she was on her way to get me a beer. Waiting in lines, braving the crowds, all for one thirsty cameraman in a sea of Shaboom fans. I’m not sure what her name is I only know that it was one of most selfless acts by a stranger that has ever been bestowed on me. God bless you Mrs. Beer Angel! May your kindness be returned to you seven fold. As the band played on, people danced and received some relief from the heat in the form squirt guns and water bottles shaken in the air like champagne in the winners circle. At one point a couple of Shaboom fans apparently got a little rambunctious because they drew the attention of the mounted police. I thought for sure they would side step their horses right at me and on stage but rather quietly cut the offenders from the heard and led them aside for a little re-briefing on Garlic Festival etiquette and the band played on. From my vantage point it felt as if the attendance of this show was larger than normal and possibly it was. Overall attendance for the festival was up eight percent! I’m not saying it was Shaboom that drew them all in, but allot of people found the amp-theater for their three o’clock show as the dance stage was packed and seating in the natural grass theater was at a premium. If you didn’t get the opportunity to experience Shaboom first hand you truly have missed an opportunity to hear good music and have a great time. This was their farewell performance and fitting ending to their accidental storybook music career where it all began, at the Garlic Festival.

It is without consolation that I am the creator, Webmaster, administrator, video producer, and editor, of SouthCountyBusiness.com. Because I’m humbled daily by my mundane fumbling through life’s little tasks that leave me shaking my head and wondering how I survive crawling out of bed in the morning. Case in point. I decided after many high level discussions with my wife that we (I mean me) would re-arrange the home office and network. While my wife took more pleasure in picking out furniture, I focused on the grittier job of re-wiring our cabled network and DSL lines. This was my first mistake. You see a smarter person would decide to leave the current wiring alone and go wireless. Ah yes, I say in retrospect. But you see wireless results in a loss of speed to gain convenience, and loss of speed means less productivity, right? So off I go with 100′ network and DSL cable in hand to the crawl space beneath my home. Lucky for me I do not harbor a phobia of dark confined spaces; on the other hand I do not look forward to crawling on my belly over dirt, rock and who knows what else with about eighteen inches of space between earth and floor joice and tons of house resting above me. Before entering the dark unknown I rummage through my garage for gear that may protect me or ease my journey to the bottom of the earth. I collect an old hat, dust mask, safety glasses, gloves, boots, my least favorite pair of jeans and a pair of old kneepads from athletic days gone by. With cable and tools in hand I look like something between a mad scientist and a character from “My Redneck Wedding”. Now the entrance to the Devil’s Cavern as I lovingly call it is a small unassuming hole in the foundation barely big enough for a hamster that has been previously excavated by giggling gremlins just waiting for someone foolish enough to need their computer network upgraded. Dawning my best contortionists posture I wriggle and scrape my way through, crawling over a small curb of leftover foundation on elbows, knees, and belly into the bowels of the dark underworld. As my flashlight glances from side to side I beheld the beauty of cobweb stalactites flowing in the breeze and dust like villi deep within the intestinal tract. My first crab like moves are purposeful but I soon realize that my protective knee pads are now at my ankles so I pause flipping my body one way than the other grasping and readjusting already puffing in my mask and struggling to find room in my own little spelunking paradise. Protective gear in place I move forward but find again my gear failing me. This time my all important imitation Pendleton shirt has unbuttoned itself apparently in escape attempt leaving my now pinkish skin exposed to the unforgiving environment. Again I pause, puffing in mask, flipping to and fro as the cobweb stalactites dance in unison to my struggle. Now eight feet from the entrance I press on lifting my heft with the grace of an alligator on land my light piercing the darkness as I search for previously threaded cables from topside. I find them and of course they are in the furthest most obstacle strewn path as possible. I crawl beneath the first floor joice exhaling my breath to clear space for my wriggling movements. Half way through I realize my knee pads are at my ankles, my shirt is open and I just hit my head causing my hat to go askew, as I reach for my hat I bump my mask effectively turning it into an eye patch, but I am in no mans land, body wedged between earth and wood. I can only grapple forward, hat sliding off my head, particle mask eye patch, kneepads protecting my ankles and the wondrous feel of basement dirt on my skin. Pulling myself through and yet again readjusting my gear, I am elated to see that I have only four more such passing before I can get my hands on the network cables. I struggle forward and soon rewarded with the faint sensations of smooth network cable falling out of my glove clad hands. Earlier in my preparation I thought it a good idea to tact the wires from underneath creating a clean install. In my over analysis I decided rather than use nail and clip to achieve this I would use a special staple gun as there would not be much room to swing a hammer. As it turns out, the special staple gun didn’t have any staples so I had used a less special more run of the mill staple gun. The first attempt at tacking the wire was perfect dead on clearance without any cable crimp whatsoever. The second attempt, not so much. It was perfect as much as the staple went perfectly through the middle of the cable. So here I am, sweaty and tired, dirty, kneepads at my ankles and in the furthest place from the exit to the outside world holding a network cable with a staple through it, perfect! It’s about there when my language became a bit more colorful and I decided that tacking the cable to the floor joice wasn’t that important and the only thing I could do is complete my mission. On I go negotiating a myriad of tight over passes with most of my gear at my boots to the other end of Devils Cavern. Time passes and the scrapes and cuts are dulled by the pounding rhythm of my brain apparently objecting from the cubic yard of dirt that somehow has gotten past my impervious breathing apparatus. Finally I reached the last floor joice where just beyond lays a previously drilled hole in the floor for my now somewhat deflowered network cable. However as I try to slip under I quickly become wedged. A slight panic washes over me as even breathing is restrained. Trying to compose myself I exhale relieving my lungs of air flatting my body and wriggle backwards experiencing the feel of timber and soil lovingly caress my back and stomach. Once free I conclude the only solution is to drag myself out shirt open gear at my feet back topside to get a small shovel so I may excavate. Soon I am squinting in the daylight enveloped in plume of dust experiencing the sensation of a full bladder as a three mile crawl on your belly might cause. It’s here, to my horror, standing in my bathroom did I realize that my fly was undone effectively making a dirt scoop of my pants. After repotting a plant with my trouser soil I head back to excavate and thread my cable. A foot from this little predrilled hole did I faintly recall using some of the pre-labeled 100’ DSL cable on yet another project. I came up exactly eighteen inches short; no amount of stretching or finagling would help. Again the utterance of descriptive yet concise words echoed through the darkness. Refocusing on the goal the only thing I could do is thread the network cable and return for another adventure. You will be happy to know that after what now is typical head bumping and gear adjusting I made it out alive and tested the staple pierced network cable. It worked perfectly! There is a moral to this story. That the things in life you want to accomplish are a struggle filled with obstacles and peril but its your focus on the end result that will get you through, But most of all, “it’s better to be lucky, than good!” Now you’ll have to excuse me, I’m headed for the basement again with a new DSL cable and staples for my special staple gun. The light is a little dim on my flashlight, but that shouldn’t be a problem. I will be done in no time!

OK ok, so it’s been six months since I’ve written in my blog. Just know being extraordinarily busy, there has also been extenuating circumstances that have kept me away from this blog. After some careful thought I have decided to use this area more for it’s original intended purpose. Blog’s should be more personal than business and so, today we embark on a new journey towards a kinder, gentler, blog. While I will still talk about business from time it will be from an everyday perspective and not atop of a soapbox. That being said, move along to the next entry and we will get this process started.

Are you in the top ten? SouthCountyBuisness top ten popular companies will get additional visibility to net surfers and passers by. You can check if you’re in the top ten by first checking if your company is listed in our web directory. (The easiest way to do this is to perform a search (upper right
hand corner) with your company name. Second, click the button in the left hand menu under business listing, sub-menu “popular”. This will bring the top ten lists of the most popular businesses in a given category. How do you become more popular? To ensure highest visibility, make sure your business listing contains business name, address, city, zip, and phone number. Another very important piece of the visibility puzzle that is ignored or over looked is the company description. Not only does the company description give visitors insight to the nuances of your business but it also serves as keywords for major search engines like Google, Yahoo, MSN, and AOL. You may also add your company logo or product pictures. For the ultimate in visibility a web commercial is the only way. Give your customers a true picture of your business. Think of it as your elevator speech to potential customers. We pack your insightful message with visual information delivering a concise presentation to potential customers. Web commercials may be used in a variety of media including, emails, newsletters, electronic brochures and more.

Holiday Season is upon us and with it comes the spirit of giving. This is why South County Business has put together a special web commercial package for a select group of members. We call it our “Intro to Success” video package. This package includes on location videography, direction, editing, royalty free background music, encoding for web streaming, a Platinum Business membership, One year of Air Time, 30 days of front page exposure, and embed codes for your website. Normally a package like this is a minimum of 1500.00 plus the hassle and expense of uploading your video, band width, maintenance and server cost. However for a limited time, South County Business will offer the “Intro to success” package for only 650.00! Imagine your company commercial streaming on a website that has generated more than One Million page views in just a few short months. First come first served basis! Limited amount of “Intro to Success” packages available. Don’t delay our schedule still is filling up fast. Some restrictions apply.