Jeff the Great

Jeff the Great Demands your Philanthropy

greatjeffblog@gmail.com (Jmartens) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 04:48:00 +0000

This is a post specifically for my friends and readers in Eugene, OR. My sister and brother-in-law live in Eugene and are volunteers through a great organization called the Eugene Active 20-30 Club (the local affiliate of an international organization).

The club is dedicated to serving children in their local community. One of the annual events they put together is called Kid Spree. Before school starts up again in the fall, they take less fortunate kids shopping for clothes and school necessities. Each child gets a $100 gift card is is accompanied on their shopping trip with a Eugene Active 20-30 volunteer and a member of the Eugene Em's baseball team!

In past years they have supported 25 kids. This year their efforts have raised enough money so far to support 17 children.

Would you or your business be interested in supporting a child in your community? If you are interested, drop an email to kidspree@eugene2030.org and/or visit the club's web site at http://www.eugene2030.org.

Jeff the Great Declares: "I'll be Back"

greatjeffblog@gmail.com (Jmartens) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 04:52:00 +0000

No, the title has nothing to do with my blogging. This is my review of the new movie Terminator Salvation. It has been out for a month now so I guess it's not all that new, but I just went to see it today. For those of you with a short attention span, i thought it was good.

If you are still with me you have obviously not been corrupted by our short attention span digital culture....yet! Before saying more about the movie I must tell you some background. I love the Terminator franchise. It's like my Star Wars. I wait eagerly, for years at a time, for a new installment. My love for Terminator started back in 1990 when I was able to watch a few days of the filming of Terminator 2. Specifically I watched crews shoot the scene where the "bad" terminator drives out of the mall parking garage in a large semi-truck rig, chasing after John Conner who is on a modified dirt bike. Of course, "The" Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) was close behind on a Harley of some sort. I was hooked ever since then and even had to go back and watch the first Terminator after I watched Terminator 2 in the theater (I was too young for the original Terminator when it first came out).

So back to present time, sort of. When Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines came out, I rushed to the theater to see it and I LOVED IT. I was in the minority though...reviews were so/so and it didn't set any impressive boxoffice records. At the end of Terminator 3 you just knew that there will be a 4th instalment of the franchise and I've been amped ever since. I waited a few years and read rumors all along the way until Terminator: Salvation came out this year.

I have to admit that my expectations were low. I was still excited about the movie but I had learned that it was going to be a completely different take on the story. For one, it is set in 2018...almost 15 years after the 3rd movie left off. Then, appropriately, it is a war movie. The others were action packed but they did not center around war.

Then came the 'meh' reviews. So called experts and regular folk alike said it wasn't so good. I even read tweets that said things like "that's 2 hours of my life I'll never get back." So I went into the theater today with low expectations.

In the end, it slightly exceeded those low expectations. It was good but not great. As a huge Terminator fan, I was interested in some of the deeper storylines that others may not pick up on. I was constantly rehashing the first 3 movies in my mind and making connections with what I was seeing in this one. I was entertained.

The graphics were great and the action was even better. Lots of larger than life battle scenes with some crazy robots and even few fist fight scenes that didn't dissapoint. Like every other Terminator movie, it ended with a victory for the good guys but also an opening for the next instalment of the franchise.

I do hear that the next film, effectively Terminator 5, will be set in 2011. That makes Terminator Salvation a sequel and a prequel all at the same time. Not sure if the rumors are true, but I like to believe it! I haven't heard anything credible on what the full title will be.

So if you are a Terminator fan, go see it and I think you'll enjoy it. Just don't set your expecations too high and be prepared for a movie done in a totally different style than the first 3.

Happy movie going!

-Jeff the Great

Jeff the Great Names State Run Media

greatjeffblog@gmail.com (Jmartens) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 04:03:00 +0000

Jeremiah and I have launched our latest project....its called ThePortlander. The idea is to be a news web site for Portland, by Portlanders. We don't claim to be journalists or professionals, and that's the point. Just simple accounts of the news you care about. No Masters degree's, no overpaid editors. Just user generated news.

We invite anyone to contribute and you can do so in two ways. First option is to submit the news to us and we'll put it into a story and publish it ASAP. The other option is to join us as a regular contributing team member. We'll give you a username/password and you can write stories whenever you'd like. To support the second opportunity, we'll be rolling out a revenue sharing program that will pay you a substantial share of the money earned from ads on your stories.

Come check us out and add the site or certain sections to your RSS reader. The site is also iPhone friendly (including the "submit the news" form). We look forward to seeing you at ThePortlander!

-Jeff the Great

P.S. you can also follow ThePortlander on Facebook and CitySpeek

Jeff the Great Cuts Your Pay

greatjeffblog@gmail.com (Jmartens) — Wed, 27 May 2009 05:25:00 +0000

I know the economy is bad and unemployment is higher than its been in decades. Is it so bad though that companies think they can pay half of what people are worth? I mean, don't you still have to pay to get and retain talent?

Case in point: some recent job listings I came across today (no, I'm not looking). The first is a "Financial Modeling/Excel Wizard" at an self proclaimed professional business planning firm. They essentially need someone to build Excel proforma financial statements to help clients raise capital. They'd prefer a CPA or an MBA that had a finance focus.

The pay you ask? Try $30,000 a year. Don't fret, after 90 days they will bless you with a 5% raise if you deserve it! Once last thing, they make it very clear that they will not pay for your parking!

The second job I stumbled upon is a Project Manager for an "established website design" firm. They want you to have strong communication skills, have great organizational skills and to be familiar with internet technologies. Your job will be to make sure that they stay on task, on time and on budget.

They key to this job is that they specifically say "Project management experience is not required" but a 4-year college degree would be nice. I'm serious folks, you can't make this stuff up!

The pay on this one? A whopping $26,000 a year folks.

Do these companies really think they can hire good people for this type of pay? Do they understand that people go to school for an MBA so that they can make more than they did without the degree? Thirty thousand dollars a year is $15 an hour. I've known 18 year old's that make $15 an hour.

Here are the direct links if you'd like to check out the jobs on your own (note, the content probably wont be on Craig's List for long so don't be surprised if the links don't work a week after I write this):

Financial Modeling/Excel Wizard- $30,000/yr
Project Manager- $26,000/yr

Happy job hunting!

-Jeff the Great

Jeff the Great says "Good Riddance" to Newspapers

greatjeffblog@gmail.com (Jmartens) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 04:51:00 +0000

As you have probably heard, today was the last day for a print edition of the Seattle P.I. newspaper. Less than a month ago, the Denver Rocky Mountain News shut down for good. With Seattle and Denver being major US cities, I'd say we are entering a new age of news and media.

What I don't get though is the sadness surrounding these shutdowns. I've read story after story that says we should be sad and unhappy about these changes. That the economy we are facing is to blame and if not that, it must be the owners that are to blame....awful people that don't care about you and me! The Rocky Mountain News even produced a (great) video that I can only presume was meant to make us feel bad for the employees of the now defunct paper.

The reality is that it's not an economic issue or an ownership issue. The real issue is a failure to adapt. The failure to adapt is a failure of the leadership. Traditional newspapers that don't adapt are being slaughtered both on and off the web. People are not reading less news. People are not caring less. There is no lack of news, there is no lack of interesting stories. Companies still advertise, people still want to sell their stuff.

So why should I feel bad because these companies had poor leadership that made poor business decisions? Should I feel sorry for an industry that fought long and hard to ignore new technology and hold onto the past?

In the case of the Seattle P.I., they are going to an online only model. If I were them, instead of saying "woa is me, we have to go to online only, isn't that sad" I'd proclaim that the paper is a leader in the industry. That the paper should be looked at as an example of how to adapt, how to be on the cutting edge.

But no....woa is them.

-Jeff the Great

Jeff the Great Not Impressed by Cinetopia

greatjeffblog@gmail.com (Jmartens) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 03:20:00 +0000

The Portland metro area has a new movie theater concept that offers what they call a luxury movie experience. The place is called Cinetopia and I've been wanting to check it out since it opened a few years ago. Finally last week, my wife and I decided to make the trek up to Vancouver to give Cinetopia a go. In a few words, we were not impressed.

Cinetopia is essentially a small theater plus a restaurant and wine bar. They offer 8 screens total, in two different types of theaters: grand and living room. Grand theaters are fairly traditional while living room theaters are meant to be a bit more cozy. Those seats that look to be more spaced out from each other plus a carpeted area up near the screen with large throw pillows. The concession stand is similar to what you would expect with the exception of having a gourmet butter bar for your popcorn.

The restaurant is billed as a 4 star joint that features a rather large northwest style menu and white table cloth tables. The wine bar is unique with its high tech, self serve wine dispensing machines. I think they take a special card and works on a 'credit' system for samples or full glasses.

What Jeff the Great liked: The best part of Cinetopia is their movie technology. All movies are shown in digital format and they can support up to 2048p resolution (your HD TV at home is probably 1080). There really is a big difference between a film showing verse digital. The picture was great and there were no flaws. Also, I am no audiophile but I noticed a distinctly better sound experience. The surround seemed so natural and was incredibly crisp and clear.

What Jeff the Great didn't like: Just about everything else. Other than the fine video/audio quality, the place just wasn't done right, in my opinion. Here are my observations and a few suggestions.

A 4 star restaurant in a movie theater, in Vancouver just doesn't make sense. On Thursday night, my wife and I were one of only two parties in the dining room. There is something about an empty restaurant at dinner time that makes you want to go somewhere else. One thing that struck us is that after buying our movie tickets and while making our way into the restaurant, we were stopped by an employee and told that dinner at Cinetopia takes at least and hour and that we shouldn't have dinner if our movie started soon. Umm, what's the point of having a restaurant at a move theater then? Most items on the menu didn't seem to be the kind you could easily take with you into the theater and share. Not to mention the prices! Just about every item was priced $2-$3 more than what I would expect. Their wine menu offered a selection for $12.50 where my wife's restaurant sells the same vintage for under $10.

If I were doing Cinetopia, I'd create a more casual dining experience that allowed customers to get in out and in 20 minutes, if need be. I'd have burgers, sandwiches, salads and sharable appetizers...not much more. Then, a selection of mostly local beer and win; no glass of wine over $10. Essentially, be more like McMenamins...but a bit nicer.

Next is the theater mix. Of their 8 theaters, 5 are 'grand' theaters that really don't offer much beyond a standard cinema. The grand theaters don't allow alcohol, presumably to be family friendly (and in accordance with state law?). According to their web site as of this writing, only 1 flick is being shown in the 3 living room style theaters where beer and wine is allowed. Slumdog Millionaire is being shown in a family friendly grand theater.

If I were Cinetopia, I'd have 5 living room theaters and 3 grand theaters. Then, I'd make the grand theaters 21 & over after a certain time of the night on week days. I'd have wait-staff come in and take beer/wine orders throughout the movie. Even in the living room theaters, I understand that they stop wait-service 10 minutes before the show starts. So after that, you have to walk out to the bar, missing some of the movie. Finally, fit the seats in all theaters with a tray table of some sort. Think school desk or something like that. Make me want to buy food, make it easy!

There were a couple other things, like a terribly inattentive wait staff in the restaurant (yes, even with only 4 customers) and even higher than normal popcorn/soda prices. The men's restroom was pretty grimie and I noticed urinal falling apart. I also found that noise from the grand theaters was filtering into the hallways.

Cinetopia confirmed to me that they are still building their Beaverton location and should open just slightly behind schedule, in early 2010. I can 0nly hope that they read this blog post and take my advice for that one. Otherwise I don't see it being successful. We have too many other entertainment options in the SW suburbs of Portland.

Take my opinion for what its worth (everything),

-Jeff the Great

Jeff the Great Petitions Amazon.com

greatjeffblog@gmail.com (Jmartens) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 05:30:00 +0000

I was pretty excited to read Amazon.com's announcement the other day that they are soon releasing the Kindle2, the second version of their popular e-book reader. I do not own the original Kindle but have been a big fan of the device since I first laid eyes on it. I have wanted one very bad but have not yet made the purchase for two reasons: cost of the reader and the effect it would have on my library.

Now, I am not an early adopter but I am also not a technophobe. I love my Blackberry, I am typing this blog post on one of 3 computers in the house while I watch HD TV that is provided to me through ultra high-tech Verizon FiOS. I want to read books on an e-reader, I really do!

In the few years that I have been an avid reader I have become very proud of the library I am building. I enjoy owning books and hard-covers are my preference. I even have three books signed by their authors and I look forward to acquiring more signatures! But When I finally do get myself a Kindle, what will happen to my library? Will I still need to own print books? What will my favorite authors sign when they come to town on a book tour?

I want to own print books and I also want to read on a Kindle! However, I refuse to buy two versions of every book. That's why many months ago I came up with a perfect solution for me and Amazon.com.

I ask that for every 'dead tree' book purchased from Amazon.com, they provide Kindle owners a free e-version of that same book if available.

Its a simple solution that will encourage me and many others to finally buy a Kindle Not only that but it will likely increase sales of books at Amazon.com in general. In the event that anyone else feels the same way as I do, I have setup an online petition via Google Doc's to collect names. When the petition reaches critical mass, I will package and send to Amazon.com.

The petition can be found online here and I have also embedded it below.

Thanks for your support!

-Jeff the Great

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Jeff the Great's Frustration with Starbucks Continues

greatjeffblog@gmail.com (Jmartens) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 06:41:00 +0000

Its no surprise that I have a love/hate relationship with Starbucks. I love most of their drip coffee but hate what has become of their customer service. Not to mention I hate the new "Pikes Place" blend, its worse than truck stop coffee!

This morning I showed up at Starbucks and ordered a venti coffee like I always do. I asked for the alternate blend (because Pikes is the default blen now at all stores) and as per usual, they didn't have any of the alternate blend brewed at the moment...it was a 5 minute wait. They seem to NEVER have the alternate brew ready.

Then this evening I was driving home from my sisters house that is about 100 miles away, so I went to a Starbucks drive-thru and ordered a venti half decaf coffee. When I pulled up to the window to pay I was told that per a new Starbucks policy, after 5pm each day they only brew decaf on demand. It would be a few minute wait if I wanted half decaf.

There are a few problems here:

Its not really on demand if I have to wait for it!
The idea of not having decaf available after 5pm makes no sense. The only time most people I know drink decaf is at night!

So I was told that if I didn't want to wait, they would give me a half decaf Americano for the price of a regular coffee. After agreeing to the offer, I commented that I should be charged less since an Americano isn't what I wanted. The barista was confused and said "I am charging you less, an Americano is more!" I explained that I know how much an Americano is but my point is that when someone wants a coffee, anything else is infirior. An Americano provides less value to me than a coffee does, dispite what the menu prices are.

She didn't get it. So I took my half decaf venti Americano, paid her for a venti coffee and drove off knowing that she is going to have a tough time in life.

Jeff the Great

Jeff the Great Does the GPIE, Again!

greatjeffblog@gmail.com (Jmartens) — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 20:16:00 +0000

If you follow my blog you'll remember that I am participating in the Great Portland Interview Experiment, brought to PDX by Chris O'Rourke. The idea is that someone interviews me, post it on their blog, and I interview someone else, post it on my blog, rinse, repeat. I was interviewed by my now good online friend Ramona White and I just finished my interview of Cameron Adamez. Check out my interview of Cameron below and use the above link to learn more about GPIE!

1. I see that your blog started as a travelogue. Tell us about the travels that inspired your writings?

I met my birth father in August 2005 when he was living in San Francisco. Later that year I was accepted into the Washington Semester program at American University in DC, so I stayed with my father in December and started my 3rd year of college in DC. After that, I went to LA where my dad lived briefly, and then went back to school outside of Dallas, Texas. It was a fun journey and a great way to keep in touch with family and friends. It also sparked my enjoyment of blogging.

2. It Looks like you have lived in Texas and Oregon. Are there any other places to add to that list? Which have you enjoyed the most and why?

I keep ending up in California, and I lived in Hyattsville, Maryland for part of my DC stay. Despite living in a formerly condemned house, I liked the town. Incidentally Jim Henson lived in Hyattsville as well. I also liked Santa Barbara, California. Another nice town. Honestly speaking, I would rather live in a beach town.

3. You are an anthropologist by training. How does anthropology come into play during your daily life?

I use it to understand interactions of people within groups to further my social skills. My high school teacher told me, "If you can't make it, fake it," and anthropology has helped me be able to talk to non-tech people. Thanks, anthropology!

4. I read that you are training as a Librarian. What drew you to that and how does it compare to other work you have done, specifically on the web?

Sorting books according to any of the library organizational systems is much easier than classifying music. I was an intern at the Smithsonian, where I saw the Folkways category database firsthand. Most focused collections are organized based on outliers than on systems that already exist, because every collection has a different emphasis. Smithsonian Global Sound was meant as a way to share the Folkways collection with people who may not know about it otherwise, but it is based on a purchase model. The Q Center library is more of a distribution of knowledge without profit, which appeals to me.

5. Like many Portland tech types, you use Twitter. What first draw you to this new communication tool and what makes you stay?

I had a pact with a curmudgeon friend of mine to shun Web 2.0 as much as possible. When I moved to Portland, people kept telling me to get a Twitter account, but I didn't register for one until I was asked by Anselm Hook to start working on Citybot and join Makerlab. I didn't bother with it much until my curmudgeon friend told me he already had a Twitter account, and so I started using it more often to spite him.

Now I use it because no one seems to know how to operate the phone anymore. It's also useful for finding out news that isn't handled by mainstream media.

6. Who's the favorite person you follow on Twitter?

I don't have a favorite person per-se because Twitter's ridiculous character limit makes it hard to make meaningful conversation, but it helped me to get to know Bram (@brampitoyo) and Aaron (@jarvitron). Cool dudes indeed!

7. MySpace or Facebook?

Both. MySpace is great for finding bands or getting involved with anarchists, and Facebook is... uh... less annoying.

8. Bacon or Facon (in other words, meat or no meat)?

Avocado, though Red & Black Cafe makes a good BLT using tempeh bacon. I don't understand bacon, actually. I know that its appeal comes from the fat and salt content, plus it's savory, but it's a horrible cut of meat (if we're talking about the meat-ness of it). Plus most meat isn't worth eating if it comes from a CAFO, hurting the poor pigs. Not that I am high and mighty on the subject either - most fruit and vegetables are picked by migrants who are overworked and live in difficult conditions. The only true solution is to go as local and as humane as possible.

9. If we conduct this interview again in 5 years, what types of questions might I be asking you then?

Let me fire up my time machine. It runs on absurdity and popcorn.

10. Is there anything you wish I would have asked you about?

Things like that assume that I am self-involved enough to ask you to ask me something so I can go on about it. Pfft, that's silly! I can go on about lots of things without being prompted. See? Now I have a diatribe about nothing!

Make sure to visit Cameron's blog or twitter stream to learn more! Thanks for reading.

-Jeff the Great

Jeff the Great Needs Computer Support

greatjeffblog@gmail.com (Jmartens) — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 19:34:00 +0000

I am turning the the billions of people on the web for computer help, for the first time. My Dell Dimension 4600 (running XP, P4 processor, 1gig memory) is in critical condition and because its just a box I use a few hours a week when I am not on my work machine, I'd rather not buy a new desktop.

So, here is my problem. I'll tell you from the start that its NOT a bad hard drive:

I tried to install more memory than the computer could recognize
I was never able to get the computer fully booted after that (I got to the setup screen to verify the new amount of memory, but that's it)
I now get an error on a black screen that says "Disk Read Error. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart"
A restart by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del takes me to the same screen every time

Here are the things I have already tried:

Checked all the cables and connections inside the computer
Pulled the motherboard battery
Hit F2 (or was it F12) to select where to boot from, tried all options
Booted to the utility partition and scanned all hardware, everything checked out
On either the F2 or F12 screen, typed Fn+F to reset BIOS defaults
Researched the problem on the web and learned that it is likely a BIOS error

I cannot find my Dell disks anywhere so I can't run the Windows repair utility. I don't have a windows boot disk of any kind.

Help! If you can get my computer fixed, I'll promote you and/or your business on my blog, Twitter, CitySpeek and anywhere else. Thank you!

UPDATE 1/25/09: I have downloaded BartXP and burned it onto a CD, no luck...same outcome. I just learned that maybe its BartPE that I should be using. Sounds like I need to download and run it on a working machine, then burn it that way before trying to run it on my broken machine (opposed to just burning the bartpe.exe file to a CD).

-Jeff the Great

Jeff the Great Rounds Up CitySpeek

greatjeffblog@gmail.com (Jmartens) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 06:50:00 +0000

Things have been crazy good for CitySpeek the last few days. I wanted to share some of the great write-ups and features about us from around the web:

Girl in Your Shirt: http://girl.inyourshirt.tv/cityspeek/

KillerStartups.com: http://www.killerstartups.com/Blogging-Widgets/cityspeek-com-move-over-twitter

Silicon Florist: http://siliconflorist.com/2009/01/05/cityspeek-looks-to-cram-more-content-into-140-characters/

Thanks for your support!

-Jeff the Great

Jeff the Great Gets More Famous

greatjeffblog@gmail.com (Jmartens) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 05:34:00 +0000

I received a pleasant surprise yesterday when someone emailed to notify me that I was quoted in something they wrote.

North Venture Partners out of the Bay Area wrote a white paper about early stage venture capital and published it online this week. I've embedded it below...I am on page 21.

Breaking Through The Broken: The Transparent Guide To Overcoming The Inefficiencies In Early Stage Venture Capital.

View more documents or upload your own. (tags: angel angelcapital)

-Jeff the Great

Jeff the Great In Your Shirt

greatjeffblog@gmail.com (Jmartens) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 07:44:00 +0000

My web site, CitySpeek.com, was featured on the new internet tv channel called Girl In Your Shirt. The creator wears the t-shirt of a new web startup each days and records a video telling her thousands of fans about the site. Check it out below:

-Jeff the Great

Jeff the Great's Updated Reading List

greatjeffblog@gmail.com (Jmartens) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 01:12:00 +0000

I've finished up a few books recently and just started another. In addition to the below, I've also updated my reading list over here: http://twurl.cc/byl

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (my favorite author but this isn't his best work).
The Ultimate Gift by Jim Stovall (interesting but way to far fetched).Crucial Confrontations by Patterson, Grenny, McMillan and Switzler (my current read, a follow-up to Crucial Conversations, one of the best books ever).

Enjoy,

-Jeff the Great

Jeff the Great Wonders about Amazon.com

greatjeffblog@gmail.com (Jmartens) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 05:12:00 +0000

I absolutely love Amazon.com, I try to buy as much from them as possible. I buy books, music, electronics and so much more.

One of the things that Amazon.com is known for is their recommendation engine. They look at your past purchases, items you've recently browsed, items you've reviewed and so much more to recommend other purchases to you. This concept really works in the favor of both the consumer and Amazon.com. They get more sales and we get products that make sense for us. Win, win.

I noticed today when visiting Amazon.com that they had some new suggested items for me. I viewed a gyroscopic air mouse the other day and this is what they are now telling me:

I looked at a $150 mouse for my computer and I should now look at a case of PowerBar's and an electric razor? Come on Amazon.com, it wouldn't be that hard to limit this type of recommendation to at least the same general category!

I have a bunch of other ideas on how Amazon.com can further improve their recommendation engine but I'll save them for another blog post (or for when they hire me).

-Jeff the Great

Jeff the Great Spies CitySpeek in the Wild!

greatjeffblog@gmail.com (Jmartens) — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 10:04:00 +0000

Jeremiah and I both had a great day today, mostly because a tech blog we love covered CitySpeek.com, just 2 weeks after launch!

TechVibes.com had some great things to say about CitySpeek that really encouraged us and gave us some extra motivation. In part, TechVibes writes:

I really like their concept of categorized Speeks - what I think is best about it is that you can search through public Speeks by category. Check out events, questions or funny stuff; what might be really interesting tweets often get buried in my Twitter stream, and this is a way to sort through posts if you are looking for something in particular. You can receive speeks through the CitySpeek website, or through IM or email.

I've linked the full article below. Give it a read and make sure to check back with TechVibes daily for more great coverage of web startups!

CitySpeek hopes to appeal to Twitter-phobic -TechVibes Blog, 12/23/2008

-Jeff the Great

Jeff the Great is High on Speed

greatjeffblog@gmail.com (Jmartens) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 01:28:00 +0000

A good friend of mine posted some impressive internet speeds over at his blog so I thought I'd do the same. Both of our speeds make most internet users in the US incredibly jealous.

I am running FiOS from Verizon. I am actually disappointed in this test since I am paying for 5mbps upload and as you can see I only got 3.2. Oh well, still faster than most.

-Jeff the Great

p.s. Steve...I'm still faster! j/k

Jeff the Great Participates in GPIE

greatjeffblog@gmail.com (Jmartens) — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 04:40:00 +0000

I recently signed up to participate in the Great Portland Interview Experiment which was brought to the Rose city and is being managed by Chris O'Rourke. I was interviewed by one of my new best online friends, Ramona White. She asked me some fun questions and then posted the interview over on her blog. With her permission I have re-posted the interview below. Make sure to check out Ramona's blog MouthFeel for a daily dose of poetry and other great writing.

Without further to do, enjoy!

-Jeff the Great

What is one thing about you most of us don’t already know?

Besides the fact that I fell off a 60 foot cliff and survived or that I have witnessed a murder? I think most people would be surprised to know that I was a volunteer junior high youth group director for three years. The church I was attending had its entire youth staff resign in one summer so I called and said “hey, let me know if you need anyone to stuff envelopes.” I received a return call a few days later from a guy at the church who said something to the effect of “thanks for your offer to stuff envelopes, how would you like to be the junior high youth guy until we hire someone?” Next thing I know, I added the title of Jr High Youth Director to my resume and did that for three years in addition to my job at Nike. I finally resigned right before my wedding; I figured I should dedicate all my time to my new wife.

You seem to share the love of bacon common in the PDX tech community. Have you always loved bacon or did it develop through your associations in this group?

I’m what they call a “large man” and thus it’s a requirement for me to eat bacon as often as possible. Hey, you don’t get a body like this without working at it! If you asked my parents, I think they’d probably say that when I was a kid, restaurants hide the bacon when I walked in for Sunday brunch.

Do you consider yourself a geek?

Wow, I don’t know! I mean it’s cool to be a geek now, right? I do consider myself a geek but not a computer geek. I am a geek because I am writing a white paper on an economic theory I developed years ago and can’t get it out of my mind. I am a geek because to me, fun is developing a complex analysis of the thousands of mutual funds available at my online brokerage. And that’s just Saturday, wait till I tell you about Sunday!

Why do you think techy people are so fond of sporks?

Sporks are to techies as the swiss army knife is to MacGuyver. On a related note, I have some tiny plastic forks that have a hinge on the handle so that you can fold them in half. They fit in a wallet, how cool!

What is your favorite beverage while you’re working?

Coffee! I drink it like crazy. I switched to a coffee mug instead of a Styrofoam cup so that it appears like I care about the environment. I probably have 6-8 mugs of coffee before lunch. Then after lunch, I’ll throw back another 1 or 2 mugs. Around 3pm I usually need more but I have been trying to do decaf at that point.

Do you listen to music or podcasts while you’re working and if so what?

I do occasionally. My favorite source of music is Pandora Radio. Not sure how I discovered it, maybe through TechCrunch.com, but once I tried it out I was hooked. I have three stations setup. The first and most frequently listened to is seeded with Counting Crows, Augustana, The Killers, Blues Traveler, and Keane. Then sometimes I feel a little funky and I switch to a light rap station. Then, when the day has totally gone to shit, I bust out the old skool rap station which is seeded with 2Pac, Eazy-E, Biggie and Mase.

“Me and Bobby McGee”- the Janis Joplin or the Kris Kristofferson?

Bobby McWho? Don’t tell anyone this, but I have never heard either version of that song until I googled ‘em just now. However, I don’t think Janis Joplin has ever been used to describe me in any way, so I’ll say Kris Kristofferson.

How did you end up launching CitySpeek and where do you hope it will go?

CitySpeek isn’t the first project that I have developed with my business partner, Jeremiah. It is however the highest of quality and our first with a shot at being a major player. Jeremiah has an incredibly creative mind and almost two years ago now he invited me to work with him on a project. Three web sites later we have CitySpeek. The idea came from our new and shared love for micro-blogging (or micro-messaging as I prefer to say). We noticed two things: First, micro-messaging was going beyond the early adopter techie crowd and into the mainstream. Second, we saw a frustration from users as they tried to group themselves by interest and share media with their networks. Our initial idea was a site with sub-domains for each major US city but it eventually warped into what we have now: a micro-messaging site for the rest of the internet. Integrated pics and video, interest groups, message categories, message mapping and Flickr integration (the first of many social network tie-ins). A common misconception is that we are going after Twitter users and that is just not true. Twitter is great but it’s not for everyone. CitySpeek was made for the average internet users and we are marketing to groups. Church groups, softball teams, coworkers, alumni associates, etc. Of course we wouldn’t complain if a twitter user switched to CitySpeek as their primary messaging service, but we understand if they don’t.

What question do you wish I had asked you and what’s the answer?

I don’t know, there’s no one question I was hoping for. I love my wife and can always brag about her. I’ve been consuming books like bacon lately so that’s always fun. This was a blast and your questions were great! Thanks for the opportunity and your time Ramona, it’s been great to meet you through the GPIE!

Jeff the Great Launches CitySpeek.com

greatjeffblog@gmail.com (Jmartens) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 07:56:00 +0000

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you've probably heard me mention a "super seekrit" project that I was working on. Well, today I am proud to announce that the project is now live on the web, ready for you to check out! Since August, my biz partner Jeremiah and I have been working late nights and exhausting weekends on CitySpeek.com.

You might recall that last year we developed a site called Goboz.com to positive reviews and good visitor traffic. As soon as we launched Goboz we realized how much we had learned, the things we did right and all the things we did wrong.

In the meantime, Jeremiah and I both became big fans of micro-messaging. Essentially, micro-messaging is staying in touch with your network through frequent and short messages. Typically things you want people to know but not something important enough to compose an email about. We quickly found the shortfalls in current micro-messaging platforms and realized the potential that was out there...specifically as a medium to connect small business with customers.

Jeremiah began working his design magic in August, we started to hash out the features we wanted and in October we found an advanced web developer to make the vision a reality. Without going into the specifics I can tell you we really stepped things up this time and did this project 'right'.

So, what is CitySpeek.com you ask?

CitySpeek is a micro-messaging service that allows you to stay in contact with your friends, co-workers, teammates and customers through an efficient means of communication. CitySpeek is different than other micro-messaging services in many ways. CitySpeek encourages communication in communities by offering a rich user experience. Messages can include integrated pictures or video and are sent as one of six different categories.

What are you waiting for, come give the site a try! Start by clicking JOIN on the site and filling out your user info. You will then get a confirmation email right away, click the included link and we'll walk you through the rest of the process. Then, find friends or interesting people to follow (me) and start 'Speeking'!

Finally, I want to thank you for your support of me in everything I do. I couldn't appreciate my network of family and friends any more than I do.

-Jeff the Great

Jeff the Great not 'Made in Oregon'

greatjeffblog@gmail.com (Jmartens) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 04:25:00 +0000

I took the rare step today of picking up the Oregonian newspaper (I typically read the WSJ and NYTimes) and read an opinion column from an Oregonian staffer that just enraged me. Here is my response.

If you are from the Portland area, you are probably very familiar with the sign pictured here. Its currently referred to as the 'Made in Oregon' sign. When driving into downtown from the east you can't miss it in the beautiful skyline.

The 'Made in Oregon' sign is now in the middle of a controversy that would make the Housewives blush. See, the University of Oregon has owned the building and the sign for a number of years now. They recently finished a spectacular renovation of the space and cut the ribbon for the University of Oregon Portland center.

Naturally, since the sign and building no longer have anything to do with Made in Oregon, the company, the UofO wants to change the sign.

Enter a bunch of angry and aparently bored Portlanders, including Anna Griffin of the Oregonian.

Anna's opinion piece in the Dec 10th, 2008 Oregonian disgusted me. She showed that sometimes Portlanders like to bitch and protest just because. Her opinion is so empty of anything meaningful that she even goes as far as to bring Phil Knight, Nike, and Oregon Athletics into the argument. What? Is she serious?

Whats the problem, anyway? Why should the owner of the building be forced to advertise a private brand? Why can't the UofO tell all of Portland and it's visitors that they University is here to serve the community? Whats wrong with change? The sign changed in 1995 and the world survived, it can change again. Is PSU affraid that a sign will destroy their business in Portland?

Where were you, Anna, when the University first bought the building? Did you protest then? Did you stand up and demand that the University stay out of your city and not change anything in Old Town?

Where were you, Anna, when the sign was changed to read "Made in Oregon"? Did you protest then? Had you lived here, would you have? Would you have been that passionate about White Stag?

I didn't think so.

-Jeff the Great

Jeff the Great Bans Toy Drives

greatjeffblog@gmail.com (Jmartens) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 02:49:00 +0000

Most would agree that the Holiday's are the season of giving. We give presents to friends and family, some give money to the mailman, I even give a gift to my doctor (its the key to good health).

This year, when you are inundated with requests to give to the poor, I urge to you to walk past the toy drive bin and donate food and warm clothing instead.

In these economic times we need to just survive. Food and shelter are what matter first. So donate some canned or dried food to the local food bank and donate an old sweatshirt to the Salvation Army. Give people what they need most. Toys aren't it. Life is what we all need.

-Jeff the Great

P.S. if you are in Oregon like I am, visit the Oregon Food Bank and the Salvation Army's web sites to get started.

Jeff the Great votes 'Yes' on 60

greatjeffblog@gmail.com (Jmartens) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 03:46:00 +0000

If you are an Oregonian you should know that there is a ballot measure in this years election that proposes the end of seniority based pay in favor of performance based pay for teachers in the Oregon public school system. It's called ballot measure 60.

I'm voting yes on this ballot measure because I have a sister who is a phenomenal teacher and I think she should be paid for her outstanding performance. Why should she, as a 3 year veteran, be paid less than a 15 year vet with a 'tenure' attitude towards their work?

Unfortunately, the various teachers unions are brainwashing my sister and her fellow teachers. They are lying to them by saying the ballot measure requires pay based on student test scores. They act as if they have my sisters best interest at heart, when in reality they are for nothing but the status-quo.

Instead of arguing with the teachers unions and pointing out their lies, I'll just let you read the full text of the ballot measure and let you decide for yourself:

Section 1. Teacher pay raises and job security shall be based on job performance.

(a) After the effective date of this 2008 Act, pay raises for public school teachers shall be based upon each teacher’s classroom performance and not related or connected to his or her seniority. If a school district reduces its teaching staff, the district shall retain the teachers who are most qualified to teach the specific subjects, which they will be assigned to teach. A determination as to which teacher is most qualified shall be based upon each teacher’s past classroom experience successfully teaching the specific subject(s) or class, as well his or her as academic training in the relevant subject matter.

(b) This 2008 Act shall be called the “Kids First Act” and shall supersede any previously existing law, rule, or policy with which it conflicts. This Act shall not be implemented in a manner so as to violate or impair the obligation of any contract in existence as of the effective date of this Act, but shall govern later extensions to those contracts and new contracts entered into after the effective date of this Act.

Anywhere in there does it say test scores? In fact, it doesn't even define what performance is. Some say that's bad, I argue its a great thing. This way principals and superintendents get to decide what good performance is.

You know, kinda like how your company and boss does for you if you don't work in the unionized public sector.

I challenged my sister this. I said that if she is okay with seniority based pay, a structure that her union pays millions to defend, then she should have seniority based grading in her classroom.

Older kids get "A's" since they've been around longer and the youngest kids get "F's." Just as fair as their teachers salary.

-Jeff the Great

P.S. Barack Obama supports performance based pay for public school teachers...I'm just say'n.

Jeff the Great: "Stupid is as Stupid Does"

greatjeffblog@gmail.com (Jmartens) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 18:25:00 +0000

Not sure why but I seem to come across stupid people, saying and doing stupid things, just about every day. Maybe its me, I mean common sense might be too much to ask for.

This morning I went to Starbucks for my usual venti drip coffee with walking room. Now, I hate the new Pike Place blend...its about 1 step above 3 hour old Denny's coffee if you ask me. Starbucks knows this, they created the new blend to appeal to a wider audience, those that aren't into the strong premium coffee we drink up here in the Northwest.

I normally ask for the 'alternate brew.' They almost NEVER have a pot of it to sell to me. So, I end up with the hated Pike Place blend. Today when I asked for the alternate brew they again told me they didn't have enough for a venti.

I said to the Starbucks employee: "Why is it that you never have enough of the alternate brew when I ask for it?"

His response: "Oh, that's because we only brew enough for about 2 cups of coffee."

Are you kidding me?! I didn't care what the actual answer was, I was trying to make a point! Does it take a rocket scientist to figure out that maybe you should brew more?

He was so proud of himself for answering the question. Little did he understand that he looked like an idiot.

-Jeff the Great

Been quiet lately

greatjeffblog@gmail.com (Jmartens) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 04:47:00 +0000

Sorry, very little time to blog lately. I have however put up 2 posts over at my other blog, PDXCompanies. Make if you or anyone you know is looking for a job in the Portland, Oregon area...make sure to check it out.

Talk soon,

Jeff the Great

Jeff the Great Condems Obama Basher's

greatjeffblog@gmail.com (Jmartens) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 17:33:00 +0000

This blog post is a call to action. A challenge to get off the sidelines and stand up for your country and your integrity.

What I am about to tell you is a threat to our way of life, a statment that I hope does not reflect who we are as American's.

If you are the recipient of something like this, I ask you to take a stand and let people know that it is NOT okay.

Last night I received an email forward from a close friend of mine...someone who is like a brother to me. It started off by naming every major terrorist event in the western world since the 60's, stating that each was purportrated by muslim males between the age of 17 and 40. This disgusting email then goes on to lie and claim that the New Testimate book of Revalations calls the coming anti-christ a Muslim male (another lie). As you can probably guess, the email forward then goes on to suggests that Barack Obama is all of these things.

As a halfway intelligent and rational American, I am incredibly offeneded by this email and what it suggests. It questions my intelligence and judgment. It fosters racial and religious discrimination. It uses God's word to mislead and frighten.

If you receive one of these emails and if you feel the same way that I do, I challenge you to take a stand and tell the world that this type of action is not okay. This goes beyond Democrat or Republican, beyond conservative or liberal, black or white, male or female. Disgusting acts like this are not what America stands for and it is our responsability as individuals to take a stand.

I for one, a former republican and current independant, will not sit around and let this happen. Not in my country, not during my election.

-Jeff the Great