This week was both a fulfilling and a very tough week. I pulled off the first monthly Knoxville Geek Breakfast with 30 geeks in attendance, this was fulfilling. We also lost one of our favorite pets, Rocky, our too-tough-for-his-own-good Chihuahua. This was tough.

The geek breakfast was awesome. We had a nice mix of people, from IT management, an author, business owners and guys looking for a job. Lots of smart people. I know this group is the start of something that can help make a difference in our community. We collected a total of 56 lbs. of peanut butter and canned tuna for Second Harvest Foodbank. As we grow, hopefully our contributions will as well. Next month’s meeting has been set for Feb. 12, same time, same place. Join our Facebook group and RSVP, even if you can’t attend this coming month. This way you’ll receive messages about meeting dates, etc.

Geek Breakfast Welcome

On a more somber note, we lost Rocky the same day to kidney failure after he was attacked by our German Shepherd, Sheba. Though under a vet’s care, his little 4 lb. body couldn’t fight off the infection that resulted from his large puncture wounds. We opted to put him down, rather than to submit him to lengthy hospitalization that had just a marginal chance of turning him around. He’s buried on our property next to 2 other Chihuahuas we’ve lost in the last few years. Christine posted a nice memorial to Rocky on her web site.

This coming week will be a busy one as well. Tomorrow we’re driving 2 hours to trade a miniuture horse for a llama. This llama is a show animal who is very well trained and good around people. I also have a new web site design to review, videos to produce for Boogey Lights, and at the end of the week I’ll be traveling to the federal prison in Florence, CO to visit a friend who is doing time there.

It’s going to be a non-stop pace between now and when we leave for Daytona Bike Week on Feb. 21. The Boogey Lights web site conversion, brochures to design and print, and new product videos to shoot. Then we have a full 2 weeks in Daytona with a trip to Austin the weekend following our return. I’ll be attending the SXSW Interactive Conference for 5 days. Whew! It’s just sneaking up on me all at once after a relaxing holiday season.

After consulting with my new Twitter friend, Brandon Moore, I’ve decided to pick a date and location for the first monthly Knoxville Geek Breakfast. It will be held Thursday, Jan. 8, at 7:30am at the IHOP on Lovell Rd. in Knoxville. If no one else shows, at least I’ll get to meet Brandon. I’ll be using Twitter to find geeks in Knoxville in an effort to rouse up some folks. Will you help me? Read more about geek breakfasts here.

Please take a moment to confirm your attendance, or at least to click the “I’m interested” button at the event page. If you can’t make this one, it’s my plan to repeat the event monthly. Hope to see you there!

UPDATE: We had 30 people show up for the breakfast this morning. We’ve created a Facebook group called Knoxville Geeks and we’ll be communicating monthly meeting dates and locations there. We’ll no longer be using the Upcoming site.