2006 Video sneak-peek pics

I'm literally sitting here proofing the two master discs from the 2006 ICF Cystinuria Symposium - this is an exciting milestone for me personally, because it means that almost 10 months of work are soon to be out of my hands and into the hands of the community. All that is left is for the professional replication of the discs and packaging - all being done by a company down south in Boulder, CO (Kathy and I will *not* be producing each disc this time around... last year we made over 200 discs!!!). This should take a week at most, and in the meantime, i'll be working on getting an online retail site up and running.

One thing that truly amazes me is the fact that i have seen this footage almost every day for months, and yet, as i watch it tonight, i am still surprised at how outstanding the content is. Seeing all of the presentations back-to-back in context really leaves an impression. The educational value is second to none - the quality of the presentations and the impact of the data that they contain is just outstanding. The credit for this production really lies with the individual presenters who did such wonderful jobs of making this information available and understandable.

Kathy actually snapped a few pictures to commemorate the event; i'll include them below for a couple of sneak peaks of the video!!



Thanks to all for your patience - i know you'll find the wait well worth-it!

matt

2006 Cystinuria Symposium DVD's - VERY soon!

Just wanted everyone to know that the DVD's from the 2006 ICF Cystinuria Symposium are FINISHED and headed into production. We're having the DVD sets (2 DVD's each) commercially produced, and we will begin selling them in the coming weeks. I apologize for the long wait on these, but promise that the material will be well worth the wait!
I'll post when they're available... more soon!
matt

Two BOD additions, and some announcements

Last night at our board meeting we nominated two new members, Robin and Janice. Both people are very strong additions to the ICF, and we are very happy to have them!

Last night we put the nail in the coffin of a 2007 symposium - that's right, no symposium for 2007. We did this for a number of reasons, the most important of which are:
1) We want to "take a year off" from the massive resource drain of planning such an event to focus on the Foundation's general direction, and establish some products in other areas. We know just how important the symposia are to the community, and we know what a unique resource they are. However, we have to develop other aims of the foundation, and get the foundation moving in more directions. To do that, we felt, it was best to buckle down for a year without the pressure of hosting a symposium.
2) In addition, we want to start preparing for the 2008 symposium much earlier and secure some of the financial backing that we were unable to obtain in 2006. This means, of course, that the symposium will be back and "bigger then ever" in 2008! We are not sure exactly when, where, or in what capacity - those details remain to be worked out - but know that we'll be working to make it the best and most informative symposium yet.

In addition to the symposium announcement, we had the pleasure to discuss our recent partnering with the ARIC in France. Details of the partnership have yet to be worked out, but we are happy to be taking steps to strengthen the international scope of our mission. All that is left is to get the Cystinuria Support Network on board, and i think we'll have a very strong and productive group. An ICF-CSN partnership in some form has always been a goal of www.cystinuria.org and the ICF. We will continue working to extend the invitations and make that a reality!

So, with a few new projects in the pipeline, a new Website Content Committee, and fresh ideas from new board members, i think we're in a position to have a very productive year. More on those projects as they become realized...

All of these details were recorded by Janice who is also serving as our new Secretary in place of Mike Fass. Look for the official meeting minutes on the site, coming soon!

Thanks for reading,
matt

Still updating...

I should know by now not to set dates for myself with these large-scale updates. In any case, the website is just about ready for "release", and a number of updates should follow shortly (for some of the more complicated elements like the brochure order and subscriber forms). I have, in the meantime, updated the forums to patch some problems, and that has been keeping me busy.
Soon...
matt

Website is still on the way...

Well, the website update was right on schedule (i have a schedule in my head.... really, i do) when my good friend Onyx Mueller had to come along and derail it with some technical peer-pressure. I had a new table-based HTML layout completed, but he was quick to point out that it did not meet W3C requirements for valid xHTML and CSS, and that CSS was the new standard in web design. So, not wanting our new face to be old technology, i committed to learing the in's and out's of CSS. Not an easy pill to swallow, but the great news is that a CSS based template is FINISHED, and all i have left to do is fill in the content! Although that alone is not a trivial task, i think we'll be up and looking fresh in a matter of 2 weeks or so. Mark my words!

New website look, coming soon!

I'm currently working on a major overhaul of the website in my "downtime" when i am unable to work on the 2006 Symposium videos. Expect a whole new look soon, as well as massive content development by the end of the year (that's the plan!).
matt

Something new

I struggle with the idea that i often have things to say, but i realize that it is incorrect to assume that people actually want to hear them. To solve my dilemma, i have started this blog. However, this is not a diary (i've never kept one), nor is it a forum for political commentary (Je déteste la politique!). It *is*, however, a place for me to store thoughts and information freely rather than within the confines of professional website formality (and, should anyone care, those thoughts are then made accessible to the general public). I am currently the president of the International Cystinuria Foundation. Cystinuria is the reason for/topic of this blog. If you are not interested in cystinuria, and you are here reading this, it is OK; you can still donate to the cause. We *will* accept your money. ;-)

In time this space will develop into a useful area. For now, it is empty. Don’t be alarmed though; i’m pretty sure that is how all blogs begin…
Thanks for reading. ;-)
matt lewis