Arctic Comic Con Alaska April 27 & 28, 2018

Saturday, April 28th, 2018
Anchorage, Alaska

Hello World. Way too long since we last conversed via WordPress. I’m excited to write about this last weekend, however. Why, you may ask? Because Comic Con. From the first time I saw dozens of cosplayers prance upon my tele on KPBS public tv station in San Diego almost 20 years ago, I knew I wanted to go to a Comic Con. At first my reactions were fascination and glee, but the more I learned about Comic Con over the years, the more it became a waning hope if I would ever see it in the flesh. It has become a marker of pop culture popularity far beyond comic books. Cosplayers, celebrity panels, movie sneak peaks, the list goes on… My inner childhood dream of working behind the scenes for Jim Henson was spurred on by the countless videos and photos of self-made Hollywood level costume designs. The intricate attention to detail by fans is truly astonishing, right down to the prop stoogie.

Colby Mabile Ghostbuster Cosplay. Fully operational Proton Pack!

I always missed my ship to see the San Diego Comic-Con, but as a stroke of fortune, Comic Con came to me. Almost 16 years later, Alaska finally hosted it’s first Comic Con. I had the honor of vending at Senshi Con last year (it was actually my 9 year old selling her art) and absolutely loved being part of such an amazing community.

Wonder Woman Cosplay and Steampunk Cosplay by The Waterworks owner, Kali Tucker.

This year I had the honor of working with a vendor booth for Comic Con, The Waterworks Spas and Saunas. A wonderful second generation Alaskan family owned and operated hot tub company. With a steampunk vision and hot tub time machine plan in hand, we set out to make quiet the impression on Comic Con.

There she is….The Waterworks Airship. Bask in her Limelight glow. (that’s the hot tub series)

With the incredible skill and showmanship, the crew and Captain Kali (that’s what I’m calling bosslady) created a 20′ x 20′ airship! Full on Steampunk airship design with hot tubs at her bulwark and an Endless Pool at her mast.  The framework and the rigging were all set up in just one day!

FUN FACT: Arctic Comic Con’s celebrity guest Ian Ziering once swam in an Endless Pool in an episode of The Love Boat: The Next Wave. A 1998 revival of the classic series.

Season 2, Episodes 8 and 9 | Original airdates: December 18, 1998, and January 1, 1999

So many amazing Alaskans and guest celebrities made this year’s debut Arctic Comic Con epic. From the amateur to professional cosplayers, to the wonderful celebrity panels, gaming stations and the wonderful vendor camaraderie, this con will only get better. If you get a chance check it out today! Con runs from 12pm to 7pm. Enjoy the #Conlife Alaska!

Steampunk Angels at Arctic Comic Con

Busick Clan at Arctic Comic Con

Hackathon Wrap Up!

October 17-19th, 2014 – Anchorage, AK

With a bevy of coffee, computers and cables the 5th Semi-Annual Alaska Hackathon kicked off. Attendees of the event are the ethical hacking kind. Groups assist government, non-profits and start-up projects to come to fruition. HTML & CSS classes had a great group that even included a local teacher and a notable author.

This year’s event saw the most viable and completed projects come out of the hAKathon yet. One favorite is Boop! Created by one of the event founders, Shane Spencer. It is the ultimate Customer Service Web-based App but works on your mobile browser. With the press of a button you can contact a business or facility nearby and request to have your customer service needs met. Try Boop!: http://boop.link

One mega-hackateer, Brendan Babb with Code for Anchorage, created and facilitated over 5 completed projects. My favorite is the @CutePetsANC Twitter Bot that randomly tweets available pets for adoption. www.twitter.com/cutepetsanc

Other incredible projects include the Trails App. A map to showcase and highlight various trails and features in Anchorage Municipaility as well as Hatcher Pass, Eagle River and Girdwood. The CFA meets every other week every Tuesday evening at the Boardroom downtown. Free pizza and beer.

Cute Pets Anchorage unofficial mascot, “Cutie” Follow on Twitter @CutePetsANC

Another great project is the text notification system that updates real time election results. ‘Alaska Election Updates’ is set for completion. One member from that project, Joe Fox, Copy Editor with the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, traveled over 200 miles to participate in the 5th Hackathon.

All in all, deemed as the best Hackathon yet. For complete list of projects and teams visit Alaska Hackathon on Facebook.

Plans are in place to continue more events and meet-ups via the Anchorage MakerSpace. The Alaska Hackathon has now affiliated it’s events and services with MakerSpace to offer more resources for hackateers. Currently the establishment is holding a membership drive and offering steep discounts for Hackathon participants. For more information visit Anchorage MakerSpace.

Save the Date! 2014 Anchorage Mini Maker Faire is Planned

Yay! The Maker Faire is awesome! Last year we boosted a Robot that launch Frisbees at targets, underwater Robots, a Flame Shooting Salmon & More!

Anchorage Mini Maker Faire

Thanks to the wonderful people at Anchorage Economic Development Corporation, the 2014 Anchorage Mini Maker Faire date has been set!

So spread the word! And make sure to sign up if you’re interested in participating in this year’s event. We expect even more vendors, attendees and awesomesauce to abound!

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Babies, Business & Bears! Oh My!

Baby Boy Busick 2-26-2014

Oh man, I have not written in awhile! So much has happen, SO MUCH! Just spawned some more offspring (this time a BOY!) born Feb 26th, 6 lbs 14 oz! Also helping to plan ANOTHER exciting Mini Maker Faire and lots and lots of more FABULOUS events! The date is set for Saturday, July 26th, 2014.  Also the next Alaska Hackathon is in the works! Absolutely love all the brainy peeps helping to make Alaska tech savvy. I have been honored to also work with Nilda’s Party Creations and LeSea Charters to share the importance of Google’s Business tools and develop user-friendly website.

Another Get Your Business Online with Google class is schedule for April 22nd, 2014 at the Alaska Small Business Development Center in Anchorage. I had so much fun teaching the first one and had great feedback! So glad to come back and do another class! It has been a blessing to meet with so many business types and entrepreneurs.

  And yes, typical Alaskan Spring has reared it’s beautiful head with a foot of snow last week and massive melting on the first day of the equinox. This is going to make for an icey breakup but bring it on! What else comes with spring? Da Bears! They are definitely waking up this time of year. As much as I love Alaska and all it’s beauty, I am deathly afraid of bears. So for now we’ll be walking in the malls and not the parks.

With more sunshine I’m also hoping to get some seedlings planted and eventually become more “green.” A few years back I became obsessed and started over 5 bell pepper plants, 12 tomato plants, 6 varieties of herbs and a avocado tree (It’s now 6 feet tall)! Not planning on the veggie takeover this year but super happy to start a few leafy babies. Walking 4 feet to pick fresh produce is awesome while you’re cooking.

Happy Spring to you all! As we all crawl out of our respective dens and enjoy this new season I wish you much productivity, new life and incredible ventures!

Best wishes,

Alicia

hAKathon!

So it’s days like these I think back to watching the movie ‘Hackers’ where the mystery and sexy lure of the term ‘hack’ was new and exciting. Fast forward a few short decades and now 13 year old life hackers are speaking to huge crowds at TED talks.

I never thought I would see ‘hacking’ accepted so openly by public sector but sure enough, we now have hAKathons. The distinguished term of developer allows to add validity to our ever overcoming brains but I for one am excited and enthralled by the great realization that ‘hacks’ can be used for good. In April, 2013 in the Mountain View Service Center, several eager non-profits as well as eager developers sat down to Anchorage’s second hAKAthon.

Numerous amazing and mind boggling programs were developed from readily available programming to new tech augmented reality. I certainly remember the many hours as a teenager watching the virtual reality show V5 awaiting for the day to enter a digital realm physically. It has taken on a much less theatrical appearance than I first thought but I am all the more intrigued by the relationships that are being built in this close nit community. Tech is here to stay. Trepidating a modem bill or the fret of demagnetizing a floppy disk is gone. We now scour the Internet to Google everything. As we press forward with life’s daily needs, business ventures and dreams we can see the relationship technology and community can foster.

I am excited to see where this all leads. The possibilities for Anchorage as well as Alaska are endless. It is the dreams of yesterday that will fulfill the needs of tomorrow. May we listen closely today.

Read More about Alaska’s hAKathon: http://www.alaskahackathon.org

Business Gifts

Seward, Alaska   Friday, April 5th, 2013

After the chaos of herding kids into the car, I started my 2 hour voyage to Seward. I was super excited to get moving as the schedule was tight. I had a speaking engagement with the Seward Chamber of Commerce on an amazing opportunity from Google.

In February, Google sent myself and a colleague, Andrea Nicole CEO & Founder of Lolihanna Training Co., to Washington, DC for a Get Your Business Online Ambassador Summit. It was amazing gift and we were indoctrinated with web building, advertising and SEO in their “digital boot camp.”

The resources learned during the trip are invaluable for business owners and now I feel compelled to share a snapshot of info learned! Hope you enjoy these gifts just as much as I enjoying sharing.

Free Resources For Small Businesses

In 2011, Google launched the Get Your Business Online campaign in partnership with Intuit, DudaMobile and the SBA to give small business a free website and mobile site for one year. In addition to these free main platform business tools, Google also offers tools to get business found online through Google Places and Google Plus. This is the fundamentals of search engine optimization. A phrase endearingly used by SEO companies for years. $300 for guaranteed SEO? How about FREE!

Google Places is a great chance for businesses to edit their online search results. This tool helps list and highlight your business name, location, photos and phone number as well as offers customer reviews. Also Free! You cannot delete customer reviews but can respond to them. Google+ is a profile page much like Facebook Fan Page, you can also link your Google Place listing here. So start today! Get online and get mobile!

For more info on mobile sites, visit GoMo