Patrick

Hey Thomas. Welcome aboard. Patrick

Thanks for starting them, Bob. Patrick

Hey Harry. Welcome! Patrick

Thanks Brian. Yeah, it would be nice if we could all get together on this, but everyone has different schedules. Is that 3 PM on both Friday and Saturday, Brian? Patrick

Welcome aboard, nauman1m. There was no video included, unfortunately. Thanks, Patrick

Thanks Brandon. Great to meet you and Alissa, as well. Thanks again for having me. Patrick

I can be pretty flexible with this, in general. Are Fridays and Saturdays totally bad for you, Brian? Taiikuka? Anyone else? 9 PM Danielle's time would be 4 PM my time and Taiikuka's, 3 PM Brian's time. Something like that would work for me on either day. But, plenty of other times would, as well. Patrick

Hey hext. Welcome! Patrick

Thanks Brian for the kind words. My pleasure. Don't discount yourself. Thanks for doing it! Thanks Bob. Unfortunately, no, no video of the session on moderation. Sorry. I fixed the link to Podcamp Topeka in my post. Sorry about that. Thanks, Patrick

Danielle, by weekends, you mean Saturday and Sunday, right? (Some people throw Friday in there, so just checking, heh). Patrick

Well, that's a start. Thanks. Glad to have you. What do you do in the Marines

Hey Jona. Happy to have you! Patrick

Thanks all. I just realized that there are about 40,000 KarateForums.com posts in that photo. Thanks for posting this, Brian. I really appreciated you, and your family, making the trip up. When I found out that I would be speaking in Topeka at Podcamp Topeka (http://www.podcamptopeka.org), I wanted to see if there was any way that Brian could make the drive so that we could meet up. He brought his family along, meaning that they all had to get up at, what was it, 4 AM? Some ridiculous, awful time. But, they made it and I was able to meet and hang out with Brian for a good part of the day. I met him literally right before my keynote in the morning and was able to talk about the connection during the presentation. It's a little rough (and a bit hard to hear), but you can watch the keynote here: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/10675060 I also led two breakout sessions - one on experimenting in social spaces and a second on moderating an online forum. I proposed that second one knowing that Brian would be there, so I invited him to join me and he stood and addressed the room at numerous points, talking about how we manage the community here at KarateForums.com. He did a great job. Meeting and spending time with Brian was one of the highlights of the event for me, after having known him through this community for so long. I believe he's the first person that I met that I first met at KF, and the second current or former member of staff that I've met (following James Dasher, a.k.a. member #2). I look forward to meeting more people I've met here, in person, in the future. Patrick

Congrats conrad665!

Welcome aboard, Wolfman08. Here are some ideas: How did you find KarateForums.com? Can you tell us more about your arts? How long have you been practicing them? Why did you get started with them? Besides the arts, what are your hobbies? What do you do for a living? It'll flow from there. Thanks, Patrick

Sorry GeoGiant.

Thanks for sharing this, Alex. Link to buy the book: http://www.amazon.com/Brazilian-Jiu-Jitsu-Closed-Guard-Knowledge/dp/0981504469/ (buying through a link posted on KarateForums.com leads to us receiving credit for the sale). Thanks, Patrick

Good luck, GeoGiant.

Hey Bdon-87. Welcome.

Cool. We should try to set a time to play or something. Danielle being in the UK is 5 hours ahead of us, I believe, but that's not too bad.

Thanks for the replies, everyone. Patrick

I am sure that some people would consider it presumptuous (for them). And then I am sure that some would consider it motivational (for them). I would say that neither person is wrong. It's really about what you're comfortable with and what makes you happy. If you were to buy it and wear it around without earning the right to wear it... yeah, that'd be improper. But, that is what you are testing for, in the future. You are not testing for the right to buy a black belt. You are testing for the right to wear a black belt for your chosen style. You might want to ask your instructor what he or she thinks, though, to make sure it won't cause any clashes. Just my thoughts, as a non-martial artist. Thanks, Patrick

Hello, KarateForums.com recognizes one member every month as the Member of the Month for their positive contributions to this community. The January 2011 selection is... Nevinyrral. Congratulations! Thanks, Patrick

I just recently came to find (because I asked, lol) that my two most senior staff members - Heidi (ninjanurse) and Brian (bushido_man96) - share a birthday and that day is today! Happy Birthday Heidi and Brian! Thank you for all that you do around here! Patrick

I miss him being around, certainly. But, we'll see how it goes. I felt that they badly mishandled the Derek Jeter negotiations. But, I'm optimistic about next season.