via blog.pocket.com

San Antonio’s, Pocket Communications, is always on the watch and in the know for up and coming musical artists.

Vita Chambers is someone you’ll want to watch. In fact, she’ll be in the Pocket Lounge today at 4 PM CST.

You can Fan Vita here on Facebook. Follow here on MySpace. Or here on Twitter.

Here new song, Young Money is one of our faves. And you can buy it here on iTunes.

During the recent Cleanovation conference sponsored by the Texas Israel Chamber of Commerce, Texas Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, talked about the opportunities in Green and Clean Technologies for Texas and Israel to work together.

David’s not only a politician, he’s a businessperson who gets it.

I’ll be teaming up with Nan Palmero from SalesBy5 to do daily reports for the online edition of the paper known as MySA.com.

Stay tuned for more and thanks for reading.

For many cancer patients, a bone marrow biopsy and/or aspiration is one of the most dreaded aspects of their diagnosis and treatment plan. The traditional method for gaining bone marrow involves grinding a needle by hand and sheer force through a patient’s skin and bone, and the procedure is often described as “brutal,” “excruciating” and even “barbaric.”

No longer.

The OnControl Bone Marrow System by San Antonio’s Vidacare Corporation is now available and provides the first significant advance in bone marrow procedures in over 50 years by combining a lithium battery-powered driver with a specially designed, patented needle set to obtain marrow using Vidacare’s patented technology platform.  OnControl offers clinicians a safe, fast and easy way to perform bone marrow aspiration and biopsy procedures and offers patients a less painful experience.

With nearly 700,000 bone marrow diagnostic procedures done in the U.S. annually, these procedures can be difficult due to the pain involved for the patient and the strenuous nature of getting the bone marrow for the clinician. Traditional bone marrow procedures use a manual device hand-inserted by the clinician and can take from 2 minutes to more than 30 minutes, with a mean of 7 minutes, to collect a core biopsy. The procedure can be arduous for the clinician and very painful for the patient. Frequently, a second or third attempt is required to collect a core of sufficient length.

The OnControl™ Bone Marrow System addresses these issues and offers patients and clinicians a safe, fast, reliable and more comfortable alternative to the traditional manual procedure, and consists of a patented power driver and needle set based on Vidacare’s innovative intraosseous technology platform.

Founded in 2009 by local entrepreneurs Joshua Baer, Sam Decker and Bryan Menell, the program’s goal is to get a startup pointed in the right direction with a clear path to profitability and growth through an intensive 10-week mentoring program where finalists will receive benefits including up to $20,000 in cash, business and operational support and weekly mentoring sessions with proven, successful entrepreneurs.

The deadline for startups interested in applying to be part of the 2010 Capital Factory program is April 2, 2010. The application is available online at http://www.capitalfactory.com/apply.html.  While the focus is primarily on early stage technology companies, there is no official limitation on the type of company that can apply for consideration. Capital Factory will announce the five selected companies by early April, and then will kick off its 10-week summer program following Memorial Day on June 1^st.

During the program, Capital Factory and select partners will provide the 2010 class of companies the following resources and benefits:

• Up to $20,000 in cash
• Weekly mentoring sessions
• Investor introductions

• Basic IT infrastructure for email, website, version control
• Office space
• Company formation and legal documents
• A logo and corporate identity if needed
• Service provider introductions
• Recruiting support
• Press support

Capital Factory’s 2010 season and program will culminate on September 9^th when they host the second annual “Demo Day” for the selected companies. Angel investors, early stage venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, media and more will be invited to come out and see the portfolio companies’ demos as well as help them identify next steps and suggestions for achieving optimal success. In return for entrance into the Capital Factory program and a successful launch of their company, Capital Factory receives a five percent equity stake in the portfolio companies under founder-friendly terms.

MENTOR CLASS OF 2010

Mentorship was a key focus and invaluable resource for the portfolio class of 2009 and will remain a large focus of this year’s Capital Factory season. Capital Factory is pleased to announce three new mentors coming on board to participate this year, including:

• Kenny Van Zant – Senior Vice President and Chief Product Strategist, SolarWinds
• Rony Kahan – CTO and Co-Founder, Indeed
• Samy Aboel-Nil – Co-Founder, Sane Ventures

Additionally, returning mentors from the 2009 season, who make up an impressive “who’s who” of local experienced technology entrepreneurs, include:

• Joshua Baer – Founder and CEO, OtherInbox
• Sam Decker – Chief Marketing Officer, Bazaarvoice
• Bryan Menell – Director, Dachis Group
• Brian Beard – Partner, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
• Jeremy Benken – Chairman, BuzzStream, and General Manager, ApartmentRatings.com
• Andrew Busey – Founder and CEO, Challenge Games
• Ian Clarke – Founder and Coordinator, Freenet Project
• Jason Cohen – Founder, Smart Bear
• Russell Hinds – Managing Director, RSH Ventures
• Ryan Koonce – Founder and CEO, Westlake Products, Inc., Owner and Operator, SuperPoints Network
• Kip McClanahan – CEO, Socialware
• Adam Moore – Co-Founder and Co-President, Springbox
• Marc Nathan – Director of Development, Houston Technology Center and Marketing Chairman, Houston Angel Network
• John Price – CEO, Vast.com
• Mellie Price – Founder and CEO, Front Gate Tickets and Front Gate Solutions
• Yvonne Tocquigny – CEO, Tocquigny
• Michael Trafton – Founder and CEO, Blue Fish Development Group
• Marc Yagjian – Managing Director, Origin Partners

For more information on Capital Factory, or to find out other ways to get involved, visit www.capitalfactory.com. The application for interested startups can be found at http://www.capitalfactory.com/apply.html.

GVTC began more than half a century ago as a telephone cooperative with the purpose of providing modern phone service to remote parts of the Texas Hill Country and other rural areas to the north of San Antonio.   Today, GVTC has evolved into a comprehensive communications provider with offerings that go well beyond residential and business telephone service. The products and services also include cable TV, high-speed Internet, security, long distance, advanced data services and more.  GVTC remains true to its roots as a cooperative. In fact, it is the largest telephone cooperative in Texas, whose service area spans 2,000 square miles and eleven counties.

So, how do they compete against the big-ass providers like AT&T, TimeWarner, Dish, etc?  They come up with a “dish of their own.”  Think in the vein of going hyper local and good, local food.  Texas Hill Country residents have long enjoyed the region’s bold flavors, farm-fresh ingredients and creative cuisine. Now, from the comfort of their homes, they’ll be able to learn from some of the region’s best chefs.

That’s where GVTC comes in and launches a new 30-minute program “Hill Country Chefs,” which will feature culinary professionals from renowned South Central Texas restaurants talking about their cuisine and demonstrating how to prepare signature dishes.   The locally produced show debuted earlier this month with Jorge Torres of The Creek Restaurant in Boerne. Jorge demonstrates how to prepare Shrimp Alicia, the restaurant’s popular entrée of lightly breaded jumbo shrimp in a lemon butter sauce.

“Since GVTC is headquartered in the Texas Hill Country, we understand the kind of local content that fits our customers’ interests, needs and lifestyles,” said Jeff Mnick, GVTC’s vice president-sales and marketing. “‘Hill Country Chefs’ lets our viewers learn more about world-class dining available right in their backyard, and it enables them to cook great local cuisine in their own kitchens.”  They also can do local content in ways that the big-ass services providers can’t.

The show airs on GVTC Channel 14 on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. and Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11 a.m.

Upcoming episodes of “Hill Country Chefs” will feature:

· Mike Romano of Mike’s in the Village in Bulverde

· John Boehm of Spring Branch Bistro in Spring Branch

· Nabur Cortez of El Chaparral in Boerne

· Michael McClure of Limestone Grille at Ye Kendall Inn in Boerne

· Ray Demedovski of Tuscany Grill in Spring Branch

I’d love to hear from GVTC customers.  Let us know how their service is and of course their innovations in programming like this.