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| | 11/23/2009 |
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| | The May Report: 11/23/2009: ExactTarget raises another $70MM; Updates on Dan Limbach, crowdSPRING, Mike Carruth, Bob Brill and others; FinanceSeer; Hostway, QuesTek, and reflections on the entire enterprise -- of memory, writing and life.
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| | November 23, 2009
The May Report: 11/23/2009: ExactTarget raises another $70MM; Updates on Dan Limbach, crowdSPRING, Mike Carruth, Bob Brill and others; FinanceSeer; Hostway, QuesTek, and reflections on the entire enterprise -- of memory, writing and life.
Editor and publisher: ron@themayreport.com, ronaldmay@aol.com, www.themayreport.com, 773-525-3944.
If you missed an article, go here: http://www.tmronline.com/A55951/tmrarticles.nsf/vwFullNewsletter
_______________________
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_________________________________
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Scoop section:
-- Argonne National Laboratory scientist Tom Lecompte is one of the leading scientists at the Large Hadron Collider, working with the ATLAS detector
-- Ed Longanecker: Important Request - Smart Grid Workforce Development Letters of Support - Deadline Tuesday, November 24
-- ExactTarget raises another $70MM [Editor's note: May here. Full disclosure.The May Report uses ExactTarget for its email delivery service.]
-- Matt McCall on how they calculate the VC Top 100 list
-- Kyle Rothfus takes over from Kathy Mosley as person in charge of marketing for eFactor
-- Jason Jacobsohn on why Kathy Mosley left
-- Ross Kimbarovsky on progress at www.crowdSPRING.com
-- What Dan Limbach has been up to
-- Bob Geras on OrthoScan
-- Jason Rexilius
-- Mick Anic
-- Bob Brill on where he has been
-- John Katsantonis: "The Million-Meal March"
-- What Mike Carruth has been up to
-- Mark Harris: The University of Chicago Clean Tech conference already happened Wednesday, November 18th
-- From TechCocktail: Make A Difference With Teaming 4 Technology
-- Info. on FinanceSeer, a firm Ron ran into at the ASP meeting Wednesday
-- Ron May and Dick Reck correspond on grammar -- their first contact since their infamous two hour call on the subject of the ITDA in August
-- Tuesday, November 24: MEF Wheaton: Kiran K. Ramineni on his firm, sendeaZy
-- Wednesday, November 25: EDC Luncheon: Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat:
Tall Trends in Troubling Times
-- Thursday, December 3: Chicago Sourcing Roundtable
-- Hostway Adds Directory Listings and Email Marketing to Its Web Hosting Plans at No Extra Charge
-- News Release - QuesTek Awards First Production Licenses of Ferrium C61 and C64 to Latrobe
-- new iPhone app LAUNCHES Monday ...
-- PlatinumTel Prepaid Files Suit Against U.S. Mobile and EZ Stream for Consumer Fraud - Companies Over-Charging Consumers for Minutes
-- Ed Gourley is no longer employed by Infogix, Inc.
-- Briefly noted, by Ron May
________________________________
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______________________________________________
The Scoop section:
_________________________
Argonne National Laboratory scientist Tom Lecompte is one of the leading scientists at the Large Hadron Collider, working with the ATLAS detector
From: Brock Cooper bcooper@anl.gov
Subject: LHC expert
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:27:50 -0500
To: ron@themayreport.com
Hello Ronald
Argonne National Laboratory scientist Tom Lecompte is one of the leading scientists at the Large Hadron Collider, working with the ATLAS detector. If you are working on a story regarding the upcoming start-up of the massive collider, then Tom would make an excellent interview.
He is at CERN and can be contacted via e-mail at lecompte@anl.gov or by phone at +41 76 487 1391.
Brock Cooper
Media Relations Specialist
Argonne National Laboratory
(630) 252-5565
bcooper@anl.gov
If you would rather not receive future communications from Argonne National Laboratory, let us know by clicking here.
Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Avenue Building 46, Argonne, IL 60439 United States
____________________________________________
Ed Longanecker: Important Request - Smart Grid Workforce Development Letters of Support - Deadline Tuesday, November 24
Subject: Important Request - Smart Grid Workforce Development Letters of Support - Deadline Tuesday, November 24
Date: 11/19/2009 11:46:11 A.M. Central Standard Time
From: ed.longanecker@techamerica.org
To: ronaldmay@aol.com
Dear Members:
We need your support. The Illinois Institute of Technology is seeking to establish a "Smart Grid Workforce Training Center" to address the acute need for a technically skilled workforce to manage our nation's transition to a smarter electrical grid. In order to develop the Center, IIT is competing for federal funding from a competitive pool provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (stimulus).
To assist in strengthening their proposal, IIT is requesting letters of support from interested parties. Due the long holiday weekend, the timeframe to secure support letters is short. If interested, please submit a letter to Professor Mohammad Shahidehpour no later than Tuesday November 24th at MS@IIT.EDU . I have provided a link below to a sample letter that you can cut and paste to your letterhead. I have also provided a link to the description of the proposed Center.
If possible, cc: me on your email or feel free to fax your letter to my attention at: 877-726-8459. I will scan the letter and forward on your behalf. Thank you in advance for your support.
IIT Smart Grid Workforce Training Center:
http://www.techamerica.org/Docs/IIT_Smart_Grid_Workforce_Training_Initiative.pdf
Sample letter: IIT DOE Workforce Training & Development (feel free to customize):
http://www.techamerica.org/iitworkforce
Best regards,
Ed Longanecker
Executive Director, Regional Director of State Government Affairs
TechAmerica Midwest
NEW PHONE: 630-282-4332
ed.longanecker@techamerica.org
www.techamerica.org
AeA & ITAA have merged to form TechAmerica
Where the future begins
_____________________________________________
ExactTarget raises another $70MM
ExactTarget, an Indianapolis-based maker of email marketing software, has
raised $70 million in new VC funding, according to a regulatory filing. This
follows a $70 million round from earlier this year, and brings the company's
total funding to around $155 million.
ExactTarget said in a press release that it had raised an undisclosed amount
of new funding from Technology Crossover Ventures, but did not say if
existing shareholders also participated in the round. Those backers are
Battery Ventures, Insight Venture Partners, Ontagu Newhall and Scale Venture
Partners.
PRESS RELEASE
ExactTarget, a global provider of on-demand email marketing and one-to-one
marketing solutions, announced today that David Yuan of Technology Crossover
Ventures (TCV) has joined its board of directors following an investment in
the company by the Silicon Valley-based venture fund.
TCV is one of the nation's largest technology-focused venture capital firms
with a portfolio of privately held and public companies including Netflix,
eHarmony, Expedia and Fandango.
"David and the TCV team bring tremendous experience leading the explosive
growth of top-tier software and technology companies," said Scott Dorsey,
co-founder and chief executive officer of ExactTarget. "David's leadership
and depth of experience will be invaluable to our team as we look to broaden
our product platform and expand internationally."
David is a principal at TCV and joined the firm in 2005. He previously
served as a senior associate at JPMorgan Partners, where he focused on
enterprise software and Internet investments. He also served in various
strategy and business development roles at SAP, VMWare and Bain & Company.
Yuan, who currently serves on the board of Seismic Micro-Technology, holds
an A.B. in Economics from Harvard University and an M.B.A. from Stanford
Graduate School of Business.
"ExactTarget's experienced and talented management team have built a clear
industry leader for email marketing and one-to-one marketing solutions,"
said Yuan. "We are excited to help ExactTarget extend its leadership and
capitalize on the exciting growth opportunities in the online marketing
sector."
Since its inception in 1995, TCV has guided more than 40 companies through
initial public offerings and currently has more than $7.7 billion under
management.
About TCV
Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV), founded in 1995, is a leading provider
of growth capital to technology companies, providing funds to later-stage
private and public companies. With $7.7 billion in capital under management,
TCV has made growth equity and recapitalization investments in over 160
companies leading to 45 initial public offerings and more than 30 strategic
sales or mergers. Representative investments include Altiris, eHarmony,
Expedia, Fandango, Liquidnet, Netflix, RealNetworks, Redback Networks,
Solect Technology, TechTarget, Travelport, Webroot, and Zillow. TCV has 11
partners and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. For more information
about TCV, visit www.tcv.com.
About ExactTarget
ExactTarget is a leading global provider of on-demand email and one-to-one
marketing solutions. The company's software as a service technology provides
organizations a single platform to connect with customers via triggered and
transactional email, integrated text messaging, voice messaging, landing
pages and social media. Supported by collaborative global services teams,
ExactTarget's technology integrates with more sales and marketing
information systems than any other in the industry, including
Salesforce.com, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Omniture and Webtrends among many
others. ExactTarget's software powers permission-based multi-channel
communications for thousands of organizations around the world including
Expedia.com, Aurora Fashions, Papa John's, CareerBuilder.com, Gannett Co.,
Inc., The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, The Home Depot and Wellpoint, Inc.
For more information, visit www.exacttarget.com or call 1-866-EMAILET.
__________________________________________
Matt McCall on how they calculate the VC Top 100 list
Subject: Re: A few things quickly.
Date: 11/20/2009 2:27:37 P.M. Central Standard Time
From: matt@newworldvc.com
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com
CC: mccall@dfjportage.com
Ron,
Great news about Marc. He's had some nice exits. I don't know specifics around Fred, Brad or others. They base it upon realized exits over the past 4 years. With Zynga, Twitter, etc, they will be putting the ball out of the park when those exit. Fred might have one of the best funds going of all time. I am not involved with TiE as my partner, Ed, is. I am talking this morning at the UoC Venture Conf about social media.
Thanks
Pardon my typos but big thumbs and a small iPhone
On Nov 20, 2009, at 1:19 AM, ">
From: Fred Jones fredjones64@yahoo.com
Subject: AO Top 100 VC list
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:41:29 -0800 (PST)
To: ron@themayreport.com
http://www.pehub.com/56044/alwaysons-top-100-venture-capitalists/
http://alwayson.goingon.com/permalink/post/34032?mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRovsrqVJ6jptjGdKcz47Ow7BPbv3sYw3mx7dMXLZRW%2F
Fred
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
2. Where are Fred Wilson and Brad Feld? They are successful bloggers, but not Top 100 VCs?
3. Are you on the board of TiE-Midwest?
4. What is the next event we'll see you at?
Ron
________________________________________
Kyle Rothfus takes over from Kathy Mosley as person in charge of marketing for eFactor
Subject: RE: Kathy, when is your next event?
Date: 11/20/2009 2:17:09 P.M. Central Standard Time
From: kyle@efactor.com
To: ronaldmay@aol.com
Good afternoon,
My name is Kyle Rothfus, and I am the new event manager for E.Factor in Chicago. It would be great to have you at our next event. The event is scheduled for Wednesday, December 9th at District Bar in Chicago, and the topic is Social Media. The registration page is at http://www.efactor.com/p/events/id=321 and contains all of the details for the event.
I look forward to meeting you on the 9th.
All the best,
Kyle
Kyle M. Rothfus - Entrepreneur
312.772.3668 - voice
312.255.0648 - fax
Join me on the E.Factor - http://efactor.com/kyle
Follow me on Twitter - http://twitter.com/KyleRedfoot
From: RONALDMAY@aol.com
Date: 20 november 2009 07:59:13 GMT+01:00
To: kathy@efactor.com
Subject: Kathy, when is your next event?
_____________________________________
Jason Jacobsohn on why Kathy Mosley left
Subject: Re: Jason, what happened to Kathy Mosley as the marketing person for eFactor?
Date: 11/22/2009 9:49:14 P.M. Central Standard Time
From: jason@jacobsohn.com
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com
She is not working with them anymore. Not sure who took over if anyone. She is busy concentrating on her own business.
Jason
Jason Jacobsohn
773-368-0229
jason@jacobsohn.com
Website: http://www.Jacobsohn.com
Blog: http://www.NetworkingInsight.com
LinkedIn Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonjacobsohn
LinkedIn Group: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1947859
______________________________________
Ross Kimbarovsky on progress at www.crowdSPRING.com
Subject: Re: Hey Ross, we have lost touch. Can you give me an update on how you're doing?
Date: 11/23/2009 1:20:20 A.M. Central Standard Time
From: ross@crowdspring.com
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com
Hi Ron,
The crowdSPRING team has been busy since we last saw you. Our community of graphic, web and industrial designers has grown to over 46,000 designers (from more than 170 countries). Small, midsize and large businesses from over 60 countries have posted thousands of projects (nearly 7,000) for logo, website, print, and other types of graphic design, We've also had numerous industrial design projects, including, among many, product packaging, mobile phone design, and design of a mechanical watch. And we've continued to work with some of the world's best advertising and marketing agencies.
Our team continues to stay active in the Chicago startup community - several people from the crowdSPRING team spoke at local tech events during the past month. To help other entrepreneurs and startups learn from our experience (and our mistakes), several months ago I started video blogging (4-5 times every week) in my personal blog, about startup issues - http://rosskimbarovsky.com
On December 8, we'll be at the Social Media Club of Chicago Holiday Event where Shel Israel (author of Twitterville) and Erik Qualman (author of Socialnomics) will speak about Twitter and social media. I hope to see you (and others) at that event. Here's the registration link:
http://smcchicago1209.eventbrite.com/
We're looking forward to a strong finish in 2009 and the launch of exciting new products/services in 2010.
Best,
Ross
_____
Ross E. Kimbarovsky
http://www.crowdspring.com
http://rosskimbarovsky.com
http://www.twitter.com/rosskimbarovsky
On Thu, Nov 19, 2009 at 11:26 PM, <ronaldmay@aol.com>wrote:
__________________________________________
What Dan Limbach has been up to
Subject: RE: Dan, what have you been doing the last year or so? How are things going?
Date: 11/20/2009 1:05:58 P.M. Central Standard Time
From: dlimbach@pharmavoice.com
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com
Hi Ron,
Thanks for the email. I've been very busy. It's been 4 years already since I
joined PharmaLinx. I also celebrated my 20th wedding anniversary last month.
Christine still puts up with me.
Since you asked, one of my roles is Producer of the PharmaVOICE Webcast
Network. This means I produce and edit all of our podcast projects, I
moderate and manage our web seminars, and produce/edit our videocasts. I've
done over 200 online media projects in total, which has kept me busy. Most
of these are sponsored by companies in the pharma/biotech industry.
My other primary role is Managing Director for AccessFYI.com. This is our
content aggregation website for business professionals in the pharma,
biotech, and med device fields. Members of the community upload their
whitepapers, podcasts, videos, conferences, web seminar, and more. This
service is free. We also resell reports from many of the top research
companies in the industry.
I hope to make it to some Chicago networking events in 2010. The "Good Old
Days" of the dotcom boom seem like a lifetime ago.
I'm still waiting for your blog to launch. What's up with that?
Regards,
Daniel Limbach
Producer, PharmaVOICE Webcast Network
Managing Director, AccessFYI
(847) 594-0157
dlimbach@pharmavoice.com
www.pharmavoice.com
www.accessfyi.com
Read. Think. Participate.
-----Original Message-----
From: RONALDMAY@aol.com [mailto:RONALDMAY@aol.com]
Sent: Friday, November 20, 2009 12:14 AM
To: dlimbach@pharmavoice.com
Subject: Dan, what have you been doing the last year or so? How are things
going?
______________________________________
Bob Geras on OrthoScan
Subject: Re: Bob, in my notes what's the $7.5MM figure for OrthoScan and what's their URL?
Date: 11/20/2009 10:26:12 A.M. Central Standard Time
From: bob@vcbob.com
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com
$7.5mil is the round they closed in October of '08. www.orthoscan.com
On Fri, Nov 20, 2009 at 12:53 AM, <ronaldmay@aol.com>wrote:
--
Bob Geras
LaSalle Investments
312-440-0040
___________________________________
Jason Rexilius
Subject: Re: Is it true that you're moving to California -- or just complaining?
Date: 11/20/2009 10:05:54 A.M. Central Standard Time
From: jason@hostedlabs.com
Reply To:
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com
Are the two mutually exclusive? ;-)
RONALDMAY@aol.com wrote:
____________________________________
Mick Anic
Subject: Re: Is the correct spelling "Mic" or "Mick"? TMR archives need to be consistent.
Date: 11/20/2009 6:54:30 A.M. Central Standard Time
From: miroslav.anic@gmail.com
Reply To:
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com
Use "Mick". Thanks and happy Turkey Day!
Miroslav (Mick) Anic
Freshwater Associates LLC
315 Ridgeway Street
Kohler, WI 53044
920-208-8020 voice
920-208-8021 fax
920-889-9889 mobile
manic@freshwaterassociates.com
www.freshwaterassociates.com
___________________________________
Bob Brill on where he has been
Subject: RE: Bob, where the heck have you been? No show at MIT-EF, etc.
Date: 11/20/2009 6:21:36 A.M. Central Standard Time
From: bob_brill@hotmail.com
To: ronaldmay@aol.com
Ron,
Thanks for your interest. Yes, I have been more selective in events. As far as November, I was invited and spoke at the unconference day for SocialDevCamp Chicago on "Intellectual Property Q&A." This week, I had a schedule conflict for the MIT EF Chicago event, which I had noted for my fellow chapter officers, following my business travel late last week. My volunteer team is leading the MIT EF Chicago event on March 16, 2010: "Bootstrappers and Investors Faceoff." The featured bootstrappers are Chris Hill http://twitter.com/chrishill and Jeff Judge http://twitter.com/jjudge. We have a number of additional excellent speakers for the event, with plans for an entertaining and educational format.
Regards,
Bob Brill
bob_brill@hotmail.com email for events and networking
http://bobbrill.net Intellectual Property Law Blog
http://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbrill LinkedIn
http://twitter.com/bob_brill Twitter
____________________________________
John Katsantonis: "The Million-Meal March"
Subject: RON - NEED READERS TO GET THIS, ASAP...
Date: 11/19/2009 2:46:50 P.M. Central Standard Time
From: jpkattt@att.net
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com
....I would appreciate it, if you'd put this out ASAP so TMR readers can tune in, to a major Internet broadcast tonight at or about 9:30pm/Central on www.mashcast.com , to witness the live streaming video (hence, "about") called "The Million-Meal March" being kicked off (literally) with "The Silly Walk At CityWalk" next to NBC/Universal studios in Hollywood.
SNL funnyman Jon Lovitz' comedy club is there, and he's helped anchor this thing. Also, as it appears, the Pythons (Monty) are involved, since ---- while hunger is not silly ---- it's their 40th anniversary year, and they are very helpful lads. (Also, your readers may not know it, but Eric Idle's wife is a Chicagoan.)
There are local/Chicago/Illinois food banks that will benefit from dollars raised, and FeedAmerica is the national "funnel," I don't know which those locals are at the moment, but will find out and report back accordingly. Fundraising and food distribution all will happen in the 30 days between next Thursday the 26th, which of course is Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas.
We developed this with/for my ex-Pink Floyd/New Media Broadcasting chum Scott Page to mobilize ---- literally ---- those folks on Twitter, et al., using "social media for social good" to fight hunger....mind you, not WORLD hunger. Too big. People can't wrap their brains around that. Also, most folks think they need to give "a substantial amount."
Which is why our thinking/strategy = advising people who've been told all their lives "You're not thinking big enough" have been advised wrongly. In fact, we've not been thinking SMALL enough. Fortunately, thanks to iPod and other e-commerce transactions,that's people now are able to think (and purchase items) for a dollar. And since one dollar can feed seven people (through FeedAmerica and the Global Food Network), we can provide one million meals for less than $30,000, so....
RUN, Ron.....run like the WIND!!
thanks~jk
_________________________________________
What Mike Carruth has been up to
Subject: Re: Mike, where've you been, whatcha doing these days? Did you go to Soc. Dev. Camp?
Date: 11/20/2009 6:04:24 A.M. Central Standard Time
From: mike@fiodan.com
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com
Hi Ron,
Thanks for writing. I have been traveling a ton, reporting and shooting photos for my BMX sites (primarily www.BMXNEWS.COM , which we relaunched in September, give it a look). All in all, I've logged about 35,000 miles of travel since January. My six year old started racing in June, and he is having a blast at the local races!
Anyone who either raced in the past, or was interested in BMX Racing as a kid, give the sport a fresh look. There are classes for all ages and proficiencies. Write me, if interested.
I was at SDCC for a very brief moment on Saturday (before the event opened, actually), because I volunteered some time to produce signage and badges for the event. So I dropped off the materiel, but had to leave due to another commitment.
Preparing now for the ABA Grand Nationals in Tulsa next weekend, which is the largest BMX Race in the world. All three 2008 Olympic medalists will be competing, as well as 5,000 of the best racers on Earth, from 4 yrs old to 64.
I will be re-surfacing on the Chicago Tech Scene in the coming months! I have a new non-BMX site launching in the next two weeks, and am looking forward to seeing all my old friends, you included, at TechCocktail on 12.12!
Best,
M
====================================================
Mike Carruth
President
Fiodan Action Sports Group, Inc.
http://www.bmxnews.com
http://www.bmxnow.com
http://www.vintagebmx.com
________________________________________
Mark Harris: The University of Chicago Clean Tech conference already happened Wednesday, November 18th
Subject: RE: Mark, did you get back to me on the date for the Clean Tech conference?
Date: 11/20/2009 12:39:27 A.M. Central Standard Time
From: Mark.Harris@chicagobooth.edu
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com
Hey Ron - it was wednesday. note that it was a press release that announced the event was happening.
-----Original Message-----
From: RONALDMAY@aol.com [mailto:RONALDMAY@aol.com]
Sent: Thu 11/19/2009 23:48
To: Harris, Mark
Subject: Mark, did you get back to me on the date for the Clean Tech conference?
________________________________________
From TechCocktail: Make A Difference With Teaming 4 Technology
From: TECH cocktail Chicago cofounders@techcocktail.com
Sender: noreply+feedproxy@google.com
Subject: TECH cocktail
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:08:52 +0000
To: ron@themayreport.com
TECH cocktail
------------------------------
Make A Difference With Teaming 4 Technology
http://tinyurl.com/y9toxhs
Posted: 18 Nov 2009 05:41 PM PST
Reading time: 2 - 2 minutes
Teaming 4 Technology (T4T) will be reaching out to the TECH cocktail community at the next event in Chicago. T4T connects IT professionals willing to donate time or resources to local nonprofits looking to advance their mission through the power of technology.
Enjoy a drink, an appetizer and some pre-holiday networking with the T4T team. They?ll be glad to chat with you about current projects - or your own ideas about how you can best use your time and talents. Your software training, web site design or social networking skills can benefit local nonprofits focusing on growth in this down economy.
No matter your background, the nonprofit community would benefit greatly from your special knowledge. Volunteers include professionals eager to give back to the community and companies looking for meaningful charitable opportunities. People with all levels of tech experience, including college students and technology enthusiasts looking to hone their skills, are among T4T?s base of strength.
Your involvement can make a measurable impact on lives right here in the Chicago area. Your tech know-how can allow organizations to raise funds more effectively through database tracking. In addition, it can help improve access to education for low-income children, bring the Internet to adults seeking job opportunities or help enhance job training for those out of work.
The possibilities are endless.
For more information about T4T Chicago visit its website at www.t4tchicago.org.
_____________________________________
Info. on FinanceSeer, a firm Ron ran into at the ASP meeting Wednesday
Subject: FinanceSeer - info
Date: 11/19/2009 3:26:54 P.M. Central Standard Time
From: michael.huthwaite@financeseer.com
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com
Hi Ronald,
Nice meeting you last night. As promised...
History:
FinanceSeer is a new startup software company formed in early 2007 and is based in the Chicagoland area. For the last three years we focused our efforts on product development.
In September of 2009, FinanceSeer completed development of version 1.0. We are excited to say that we have now launched our beta testing program and within the first 2 weeks of the program, secured our first "Fortune 500" beta site.
Product Overview:
FinanaceSeer was designed to help medium and large size firms with a better solution for building and maintaining their internal Strategic Planning models. The core focus is to ensure that all financial models are built with an integrated Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow (something most other financial applications do not enforce).
When it comes to strategic planning models there are a variety of classic approaches taken. The most common approach is to use spreadsheet based models. This approach makes sense at first. However, the value of these models quickly erodes due to integrity and efficiency related issues as the models become more complex over time. It makes no difference whether the spreadsheet models are built in-house or by consulting or advisory firms, this phenomenon holds true.
The second most common approach is to use robust budgeting tools to handle high-level strategic planning requirements. Several of the world's largest software companies produce complex projection systems that work well for budgeting, but do not provide financial minded users with the ability to own and operate their own model (something that is necessary to perform what if analysis in real time). This outcome produces a solution that paralyzes the financial user from adapting logic as the situations arise.
FinanceSeer solves common spreadsheet challenges by changing the underlying technology-it replaces a multiple spreadsheet environment with a robust, centralized database architecture.
Up until now, databases have always been seen as a more technical solution requiring IT minded users to manage the system. FinanceSeer's unique design has an easy to follow interface which ensures that financial users can now take ownership of the application to create and maintain their own financial models.
Because FinanceSeer is not designed to be a budgeting, consolidation or reporting tool, there is no need to replace existing and expensive EPM software.
Beta Program:
The deadline to join FinanceSeer's beta is by Friday, December 4. The benefits of joining our beta testing program are:
1) No charge to test the software - no risk opportunity, completely free for 30 days
2) No charge for training during beta testing - dedicated trainer working with you step by step
3) No charge for support during beta testing - dedicated support team
4) Join our customer advisory board - give feedback on the software before it goes to market, making sure it has the features that you need for your business
If interested in joining our beta program please call us at 312-375-6979 or email us at info@financeseer.com. Our website is currently under construction, but will be coming soon: www.financeseer.com.
Notes:
The company is 100% owned by Michael J. Huthwaite, FinanceSeer's Director. Michael has been working as a consultant for 9+ years developing cash flow based models for corporations. In his earlier years he worked for Hyperion (part of Oracle). Five years ago Mike started his own Oracle partner implementation company in Europe. Mike has managed dozens of clients in a wide variety of industries. His client list includes ABB, BT, Cadbury's, Carlsberg Breweries, Invensys and Rio Tinto. Mike received his Bachelors of Science from Boston College focusing on finance and marketing.
FinanceSeer would prefer to keep our beta testing clients private at the moment as they have made no commitments to buying our software and therefore we feel as though it would be inappropriate to publicly announce them.
The above email in its current form is not intended to be used for publication. Instead, it's really more of an attempt to provide you with the initial background information you had requested. If interested, I would love to speak with you about a possible press release .
Best,
Mike
Michael J. Huthwaite
FinanceSeer LLC | Director
Direct: +1.312.375.6979
Fax: +1.888.886.6941
michael.huthwaite@financeseer.com
From: RONALDMAY@aol.com [mailto:RONALDMAY@aol.com]
Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 10:58 PM
To: michael.huthwaite@financeseer.com
Subject: Tell me all about your firm, its history, funding, & Whirlpool. We met tonight.
________________________________________
Ron May and Dick Reck correspond on grammar -- their first contact since their infamous two hour call on the subject of the ITDA in August
Subject: RE: You're up late! Remember that when someone else is getting it, you're not.
Date: 11/19/2009 3:08:05 A.M. Central Standard Time
From: dick@rreck.com
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com
Ron - Late is a matter of perspective.
I always thought of you as an educated and intelligent person. You should review the grammatical structure of your report. Do a scan on the word "myself." Then review the "self" rules.
As to your subject line, I get far more than you would ever expect.
Dick Reck
BSA Heartsfield
BSA Management
Business Strategy Advisors LLC
128 Hillcrest Avenue
Hinsdale, Illinois 60521
312-307-8030
dick@rreck.com
---------------------------------
From: RONALDMAY@aol.com [mailto:RONALDMAY@aol.com]
Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2009 2:54 AM
To: dick@rreck.com
Subject: You're up late! Remember that when someone else is getting it, you're not.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Subject: RE: ...he did pay which is more than I can say for myself. Should be for me. Thanks.
Date: 11/19/2009 3:24:06 A.M. Central Standard Time
From: dick@rreck.com
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com
BTW, I do catch myself (notice that the "self" word expands upon or explains the related noun or pronoun) all of the time since our society has totally butchered our language.
Dick Reck
BSA Heartsfield
BSA Management
Business Strategy Advisors LLC
128 Hillcrest Avenue
Hinsdale, Illinois 60521
312-307-8030
dick@rreck.com
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Subject: ...he did pay which is more than I can say for myself. Should be for me. Thanks.
Date: 11/19/2009 3:19:47 A.M. Central Standard Time
From: RONALDMAY
To: dick@rreck.com
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From: Dick Reck [mailto:dick@rreck.com]
Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2009 3:22 AM
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com
Subject: RE: ...he did pay which is more than I can say for myself. Should be for me. Thanks.
My small contribution to "journalism." I will give you credit - you figured that out quickly. Most folks don't get it so fast. I only forgive Brits on that one. They are usually so good with the language they gave us, but screw that one up all of the time.
Dick Reck
BSA Heartsfield
BSA Management
Business Strategy Advisors LLC
128 Hillcrest Avenue
Hinsdale, Illinois 60521
312-307-8030
dick@rreck.com
------------------------
From: RONALDMAY@aol.com [mailto:RONALDMAY@aol.com]
Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2009 3:20 AM
To: dick@rreck.com
Subject: ...he did pay which is more than I can say for myself. Should be for me. Thanks.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Subject: RE: ...he did pay which is more than I can say for myself. Should be for me. ...
Date: 11/19/2009 9:40:56 A.M. Central Standard Time
From: dick@rreck.com
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com
Ron - when I wonder about stuff like that, I look it up. In this case, I let the context drive the decision. I would imagine your intent was plural and that would drive the answer, but I did not look it up as I am too busy this morning to go check.
Dick Reck
BSA Heartsfield
BSA Management
Business Strategy Advisors LLC
128 Hillcrest Avenue
Hinsdale, Illinois 60521
312-307-8030
dick@rreck.com
--------------------------
From: RONALDMAY@aol.com [mailto:RONALDMAY@aol.com]
Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2009 4:18 AM
To: dick@rreck.com
Subject: Re: ...he did pay which is more than I can say for myself. Should be for me. ...
Dick,
OK, here is the grammar issue I did wonder about for this report.
"I guess this blows some holes in the old theory that potheads have immotile sperm that is happier flitting about in dead end careers than getting in the game and chasing the egg."
Should it be "sperm that is happier" or "sperm that are happier"?
Sperm is both singular and plural, right??
I have to leave for dialysis now.
Ron
___________________________________________
Tuesday, November 24: MEF Wheaton: Kiran K. Ramineni on his firm, sendeaZy
Subject: Midwest Entrepreneurs Forum Reminder
Date: 11/20/2009 2:00:26 A.M. Central Standard Time
From: MEF@mail-list.com
To: ronaldmay@aol.com
MIDWEST ENTREPRENEURS' FORUM, INC., Volume 14, Issue 9B ,
Tuesday November 24, 2009
To ensure you receive this e-mail in the future, please add
MEF@mail-list.com to your list of approved senders.
Cost: Free to members, $20.00 for non-members (reservations are
not required) IIT Students with valid student ID Free. Students
from other Universities with a valid student ID $5.00 Register on
line www.MidwestEntrepreneursForum.Org/CalendarEvents.aspx you will
need to select either Chicago or Wheaton
You can pay by credit card on line or you can pay at the door with
cash, check, or credit card.
To subscribe, send a blank message to mailto:MEF-on@mail-list.com
Our meeting will be held at: Daniel L. & Ada F. Rice Campus of
Illinois Institute of Technology 201 East Loop Road, Wheaton IL
(directions below)
Time: 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Date: Tuesday November 24,2009
In an ongoing effort to provide our members with the tools they
need to successfully develop their businesses, we are presenting
another educational presentation, entitled:
Have you ever had problems sending a large email attachment?
Have you ever tried to send an email with a large attachment attached to it
and somehow the mail just sits in the outbox for a very long time and just
doesn't get sent out successfully?
This is a common problem as your large file is being uploaded to the mail
server. For some mail servers, there is a size limitation which does not
allow any file larger than a predetermined size to be uploaded.
One of the most frustrating experiences when sending large files is to wait
for minutes or hours only to find out that your email attachment bounced or
your FTP transfer has timed out. The failure of large file transfers can
cost you and your clients hundreds of dollars in lost productivity, not to
mention a bruised reptuation with your customers and partners.
There may come a time when you need send a large file over the Internet that
your email service just can't handle. Sending large files is a pain,
especially when your email spends quite a bit of time trying to attach it
before finally tell you that it is just too big.
Come listen and learn about a new solution available that's easy to use and
secure - sendeaZy.
Tonight , one of our members and founder of sendeaZy.com - Kiran Ramineni
will be presenting the challenges involved in sending and receiving large
computer files and how he stumbled upon finding a solution that's easy for
everyone's use and secure enough to transact information using the internet.
Kian is going to discuss the existing solutions that many follow and discuss
the benefits and constraints that each of those offer.
Small businesses struggle quite a bit making computers work for them while
working hard to keep up with their business needs. More over when there is
a need to transfer large computer files to their business partners, they
have to spend money and/or time by mailing CDs/DVDs or driving around to
deliver.
For Kiran, this was a big problem. Few times he used some of the methods
available to transmit data electronically but was very paranoid about the
security of the transfer.
He will demonstrate and discuss the many features of sendeaZy and will be
sharing a bit more on how this can be customized to your needs - without
breaking the bank and without loosing sleep over compromising data either to
competition or to hackers. Within two months of the product release
sendeaZy acquired several paying users and the interest of many others.
Speakers Bio: Kiran K. Ramineni
Kiran Ramineni holds a Bachelor Degree in Engineering from India and is a
PMI certified Project Management professional. He gave up his officer
position at Harris bank in 1999, to join Ramp Information Technology as a
partner to consult for Lucent technologies and then for Sun Microsystems and
their clients like - NBC, Vanguard, GE, CME, Well Fargo, Merryl Lynch and
many large organization in the Java and Identity Management space. While
consulting at Sun Microsystems he was instrumental in delivering highly
visible projects in US, Canada, Europe and India. Being in the IT industry
for over 23 years he has experienced many aspects of IT including designing,
developing, deploying highly available systems and securing them.
About The Midwest Entrepreneurs Forum
The Midwest Entrepreneurs' Forum (MEF) promotes and strengthens the
process of starting and growing companies by providing services,
which educate and inform entrepreneurs. MEF meets the second
Monday of March, April,October and November at the Downtown Campus of
the Illinois Institute of Technology, 565 W. Adams Street, Chicago,
from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. A suburban meeting is held the last Tuesday
of each month (except July and August) from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the
Daniel L. and Ada F. Rice Campus of the Illinois Institute of
Technology, 201 East Loop Road, Wheaton, IL (directions listed). Each
MEF meeting normally features a case presentation/panel discussion that
spotlights a single company in a critical stage of development. We also
feature speakers that bring timely knowledge of current solutions that
may make a difference in how you run your business.
MEF membership is $60 per year or $20.00 to attend a single meeting
to see if membership is something you think would benefit you. If
you decide you want to become a member bring your receipt for $20.00
within 30 days to the next meeting and you will only be required
to pay an additional $40.00 to become a member for the year. Year
is from your payment to the next year. Students with a valid ID
pay $5.00. IIT students with a valid id get in free.
___________________________________
Wednesday, November 25: EDC Luncheon: Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat:
Tall Trends in Troubling Times
From: EDC Chicago Subject: Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat Luncheon Reminder
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:43:25 -0600
To: EDC Chicago edcchicago@ameritech.net
Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat Luncheon
Tall Trends in Troubling Times
Antony Wood
Executive Director
Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, IIllinois Institute of Technology
Wednesday, November 25, 2009, Noon
The Tower Club, 20 North Wacker Drive, 39th Floor
Chicago, Illinois
Please join the Economic Development Council for "Tall Trends in Troubling Times." A luncheon presentation by Antony Wood, Executive Director, Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, Illinois Institute of Technology on Wednesday, November 25, 2009.
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat is an international not-for-profit organization to facilitate information exchange among all involved in the planning, design, construction and operation of "tall buildings". Founded in 1969, the Council is based at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. The Council's mission is to disseminate information and sustainable urban environments and to make the latest knowledge available to such professionals. The Council is supported by architects, engineers, planners, and developers, as well as construction professionals.
The Council has working groups that include seismic designs, sustainability, fire and safety, legal aspects, construction logistics and finance and economics. The sustainability working group specifically looks at whether or not the concentration of the population in high density areas through the use of tall buildings is a sustainable economic and environmental model.
Antony Wood has been the Executive Director of the Council since 2006. He is responsible for the day to day running of the Council and is also an Associate Professor in the College of Architecture at IIT. Previously he was an Associate Professor/Lecturer in Architecture at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom, and has worked as an architect in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and London.
Mr. Wood will report on the conference held in Chicago in October 2009 entitled, "Evolution of the Sky Scraper: New Challenges in a World of Global Warming and Recession".
Wednesday, November 25, 2009, Noon
Tower Club, 20 N. Wacker Drive, 39th Floor, Chicago
Fee: M $35, NM $50
Reservations are mandatory and are made by replying to this email (edcchicago@ameritech.net), by calling our office at 773-279-8787 or prepaying online. To prepay online visit our website www.edcchicago.org or click one of the links below.
EDC MEMBERS click here to buy a ticket
NON-MEMBERS click here to buy a ticket
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Midwest Clean Tech 2009
Monday and Tuesday, November 23-24, 2009
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
The EDC is pleased to co-sponsor a day-and-a-half program exhibiting Midwest excellence in Clean Technology innovation, products, and services - connecting innovators with financiers, business management expertise, and the international community. Midwest Clean Tech 2009 is sponsored by the Global Midwest Alliance, the Economic Development Council (EDC), the Midwest Research University Network (MRUN), the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, and Bryan Cave law firm.
For more information visit:
www.midwestcleantech2009.com
__________________________________________
Thursday, December 3: Chicago Sourcing Roundtable
From: Sharon Byrne GLBITC@bakerxchange.com
Subject: Chicago Sourcing Roundtable -- ATTORNEY ADVERTISING
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:23:25 -0000
To: Claire Dolinare claire@themayreport.com
Chicago Sourcing Roundtable:
The Limitations of a Selective Strategy
Chicago | December 3, 2009
You're Invited
Date:
December 3, 2009
Time:
7:30-9:30 a.m. CST
Venue:
Baker & McKenzie LLP, Downtown Chicago
Panelists
Michael Mensik
Partner
Baker & McKenzie LLP
Kathy Rudy
Consulting Director,North America
Compass Management Consulting
Chris Millington
VP & CTO
McDonald's
Paul Nielander
Executive VP & Director of Global IT Operations
Jones Lang Lasalle
Lee Coulter
former SVP of Global Shared Services
Kraft Foods
Meet Your Peers and Share Your Views
A growing number of client organizations are bucking the conventional wisdom of multi-vendor, selective sourcing and moving towards a more consolidated model. Businesses are asking: If we can't make a relationship work with one vendor, what makes us think we can make it work with three or four?
Join Baker & McKenzie and Compass on December 3, 2009 for breakfast and an interactive Sourcing Roundtable Discussion on the benefits, risks, and limitations of a selective approach to outsourcing management. This discussion -- the first in an ongoing quarterly series organized by Compass and Baker & McKenzie -- brings together senior executives and industry experts for knowledge sharing, debate and discussion, and networking.
Specific issues to be addressed during the discussion include:
What are the benefits of selective sourcing? How do you balance those against the difficulties of managing multiple relationships?
Is there a point of diminishing returns with a multi-sourcing model? What are indicators that you are reaching it or have exceeded it?
Why and how do client organizations underestimate the internal resources needed to make a multi-sourcing arrangement work?
What are the pros and cons of having a primary service provider manage a stable of sub-contractors ("one throat to choke")?
What are the keys to optimizing a selective sourcing strategy?
When: December 3, 2009, 7:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Where: Baker & McKenzie LLP
One Prudential Plaza
130 East Randolph Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60601
RSVP to confirm your participation.
___________________________________________
Hostway Adds Directory Listings and Email Marketing to Its Web Hosting Plans at No Extra Charge
From: Hostway Media Relations" pr@hostway.com
Subject: Hostway Adds Directory Listings and Email Marketing to Its Web Hosting Plans at No Extra Charge Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:37:26 -0500
To: ron@themayreport.com
Hostway Adds Directory Listings and Email Marketing to Its Web Hosting Plans at No Extra Charge
Most Web hosts charge from $15-$33/mo for submitting a business profile to Internet directories but Hostway includes it free with Web hosting along with a robust email marketing platform.
Chicago, Illinois, November 19, 2009-Hostway Corporation, the global Web services leader, announced today that it has bundled Instant Business Broadcast, a service that submits a business profile to 10 of the most popular online directories plus Newsletter Broadcast, a robust email marketing platform into its Web hosting plans.
"We want to make it easy for the small businesses we serve to attract new customers and keep them coming back. That's why we've made Instant Business Broadcast and Newsletter Broadcast easy to use and free with our Web hosting plans," said John Lee, senior vice president of small business hosting. "Instant Business Broadcast attracts new customers by getting small businesses in front of more people when they're searching online. Newsletter Broadcast lets a small business stay connected with its customers through newsletters and email marketing campaigns."
With Instant Business Broadcast, a customer enters his or her business information into one form. Hostway formats the profile and submits it to 10 of the most popular online directories, including Google Maps, Yahoo! Local, Bing and Yellowpages.com. The profile can include a link to the business Web site or serve as a stand-alone Web presence with all of the information people need to buy from the business.
Newsletter Broadcast is a simple interface for creating and managing email marketing campaigns. Users can plug their information into a template or upload their own HTML code and send it to a list of subscribers and track its success using the application.
These two features were rolled out this year as part of Hostway's ongoing mission of helping small businesses succeed. While most Web hosting companies charge for their directory listing service, Hostway is offering it free with any Web hosting package. Learn more by visiting hostway.com.
About Hostway Corporation
Hostway Corporation provides domain name registration, Web hosting and ecommerce, colocation, managed dedicated hosting, SaaS hosting, Web design and online marketing services to over 1.4 million Web sites and 2 million customers worldwide. It operates over 250,000 square feet of state-of-the-art data centers that reduce the complexity and cost of Web-based technologies for small businesses and large enterprises. Founded in 1998, Hostway is one of the world's largest Web hosting companies with a direct presence in 13 countries, 17 worldwide operation centers and more than 700 employees.
Contact:
Hostway Media Relations
866-467-8929
pr@hostway.com
______________________________________________
News Release - QuesTek Awards First Production Licenses of Ferrium C61 and C64 to Latrobe
From: Rich Kooy rkooy@questek.com
Subject: News Release - QuesTek Awards First Production Licenses of Ferrium C61 and C64 to Latrobe Specialty Steel Company
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:08:51 -0600
To: ron@themayreport.com
Hi Ron,
This news was released today by both QuesTek Innovations LLC and Latrobe Specialty Steel Company, and may interest you and your readers.
Regards,
Rich
Rich Kooy, P.E.
Director of Sales and Marketing
QuesTek Innovations LLC
1820 Ridge Avenue, Evanston, IL USA 60201
Office Tel 847-425-8213 | Cell 847-528-5016
rkooy@questek.com | www.questek.com
* * *
QUESTEK AWARDS FIRST PRODUCTION LICENSES OF FERRIUM C61™ AND C64™
TO LATROBE SPECIALTY STEEL COMPANY
Computationally-Designed, High-Performance Alloys for Power Transmission and Other Applications
to be Available from Latrobe Specialty Steel Company
LATROBE, PA and EVANSTON, IL, Nov. 20, 2009 - QuesTek Innovations LLC has awarded licenses to Latrobe Specialty Steel Company to produce and sell Ferrium C61™ and C64™ alloys. These are the first licenses granted by QuesTek to make commercially and market these two alloys using QuesTek's compositions, processing expertise and intellectual property. Terms of the multi-year agreement were not disclosed.
Ferrium C61 and C64 are premium-quality carburizing steels that offer high core strength, high fatigue strength, high temperature resistance and high surface (i.e. case) hardenability. Ferrium C61 can achieve case hardness of 60-62 Rockwell "C" hardness (HRC), while Ferrium C64 can achieve case hardness of 62-64 HRC. The alloys were designed to permit gas quenching and to use conventional low-pressure carburization technology in order to minimize distortion, to reduce manufacturing times, and to give "dial-in" carburized case hardness profiles. The 900-950F tempering temperature of these alloys provides a 400-600F increase in thermal stability relative to incumbent alloys, yielding superior oil-out survivability.
These alloys are expected to benefit product applications where weight savings, compactness, high surface fatigue resistance, durability and high temperature resistance are valued, such as helicopter transmissions, racing car differentials, power transmission couplings, and similar demanding applications in aerospace, energy, racing, off-road vehicles, mission-critical systems, manufacturing equipment and other industries. Applications that combine structural loads with integral gearing, such as main power transmission shafts with integral gearing, can especially benefit.
Ferrium C64 was computationally designed and developed by QuesTek under an earlier Phase I and a current Phase II Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) project awarded by the U.S. Navy Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). QuesTek designed, invented and achieved successful results from the first commercial production heat of Ferrium C64 in less than 24 months after the property design goals were established for the new alloy. Ferrium C61 has been previously available only directly through QuesTek, and is currently used in product applications such as off-road racing vehicles and process machinery.
Scott A. Balliett, Latrobe Specialty Steel's Director Technology and Quality, said, "We sell these premium quality, high-hardness carburizing steels to customers worldwide to boost the performance and durability of their products. These alloys are produced in our state-of-the-art vacuum melting (VIM) and vacuum remelting (VAR) facilities which include the recently completed VIM and VAR expansion to our Latrobe, PA facility. Working with QuesTek, we accelerate introducing premium alloys to customers for vital defense and commercial applications."
Charlie Kuehmann, President and CEO of QuesTek, commented: "We're pleased to award these licenses to Latrobe. These licenses build upon our earlier license to Latrobe of Ferrium S53, our ultra-high-strength, corrosion-resistant steel used for aircraft landing gear and other applications. We look forward to working further with Latrobe, their customers and design engineers worldwide to identify valuable product applications of Ferrium C61, C64 and S53."
ABOUT QUESTEK
QuesTek Innovations LLC (www.questek.com) is a global leader in computational materials design. QuesTek uses its proprietary Materials by Design expertise to quickly develop new materials that reduce capital, processing, operating or maintenance costs, or improve environmental protection, competitive supply or competitive advantage. QuesTek has been highlighted in many leading business and technical publications, and has more than 30 patents awarded or pending worldwide. For more information, contact Rich Kooy at 1-847-425-8213 or rkooy@questek.com.
ABOUT LATROBE SPECIALTY STEEL COMPANY
Latrobe Specialty Steel, headquartered in Latrobe, PA, has been in continual business in the same location since 1913 and supplying the aerospace and defense sectors since 1958. The firm employs approximately 800 people. Find additional information about Latrobe Specialty Steel at www.latrobesteel.com or contact Lisa Pierce at 724-532-6324 (lisa.pierce@latrobesteel.com).
_________________________________
new iPhone app LAUNCHES Monday ...
From: Jason Kirshner jason@rms-biz.com
Subject: new iPhone app LAUNCHES Monday ...
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:17:51 -0500
To: ron@themayreport.com
Hey Ronald - quick note to give you advance notice of a new iPhone app that will be announced over BusinessWire on Monday (we're allowing you to pre-announce prior, if you wish - no embargo)...
Developed by Neese Products, the "Red Box Free Rental Promo Codes" is a handy iPhone app that serves up money-saving promo codes for the popular Redbox video rental self-service kiosks found nationwide. Priced at just 99 cents, the easy-to-use app provides the latest promo codes for obtaining free DVD rentals at participating kiosks. Codes are updated twice daily and also feature a ranking system to ensure the validity and usefulness of each promo offered. The app allows users to quickly rate the successful use of each code, further improving the quality of those offered.
At 99-cents, this app pays for itself after one successful use!
The Neese Products app can be found in the iTunes store by searching for keyword "red box free rental promo codes" or "Neese products".
Users can also find it directly with the following link:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/red-box-free-rental-promo-codes/id339521804?mt=8
Attached is the press release - let me know if you need any additional collateral?
--
Jason Kirshner
RMS PUBLIC RELATIONS
"PR Gets You Seen"
t: 949-579-9569 x801
c: 949-235-0334
_________________________________________
PlatinumTel Prepaid Files Suit Against U.S. Mobile and EZ Stream for Consumer Fraud - Companies Over-Charging Consumers for Minutes
From: Lauren Brzuszkiewicz lbrzuszkiewicz@paramountpr.com
Subject: PlatinumTel Prepaid Files Suit Against U.S. Mobile and EZ Stream for Consumer Fraud - Companies Over-Charging Consumers for Minutes
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:06:11 -0600
To: ron@themayreport.com
Hi Ronald,
Chicago, IL - November 17, 2009 - PlatinumTel, a nationwide prepaid wireless provider that operates on a 3G Network that reaches 280 million people, has filed a Complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against U.S. Mobile, Inc. and EZ Stream, Inc., individually alleging false advertising under 1125(a) the Lanham Act, violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act and violations of the Illinois Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act in connection with prepaid wireless services.
"This is a case where consumers are being taken advantage of by a wireless company. PlatinumTel feels it is our responsibility to call out and fight against this consumer fraud," says Omar Abhari, SVP of operations at PlatinumTel. "PlatinumTel is entirely transparent in our plans and policies and want consumers to know that."
PlatinumTel alleges that the defendants' false advertising significantly and routinely misrepresents the minutes available under their prepaid wireless programs sold to consumers and in making these allegations seeks to protect consumers from abuse. PlatinumTel recently obtained a default judgment against U.S. Mobile that is scheduled for damages prove up later this month. While the case remains ongoing against EZ Stream, PlatinumTel has also filed a motion to default EZ Stream due to its failure to comply with discovery.
For more information on PlatinumTel please visit www.PlatinumTel.com.
About PlatinumTel - In business since 2001, PlatinumTel has successfully grown into a thriving nationwide pay-as-you-go wireless service provider. The company is uniquely based on highly advanced market research and an efficient, innovative development operation that has enabled PlatinumTel to offer simple yet competitive prepaid products in a dynamic and ever-changing wireless industry. The company is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois and works with distributors across the country. For more information, please visit www.platinumtel.com.
Media Contacts:
Paramount Public Relations, Inc.
Lauren Bishop, 312-643-0610, lbishop@paramountpr.com
Jessica Prah, 312-643-2460, jprah@paramountpr.com
______________________________________
Ed Gourley is no longer employed by Infogix, Inc.
From: Edward Gourley egourley@infogix.com
Subject: PLEASE READ: Your message cannot be delivered to Ed Gourley
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:31:20 -0600
To: The May Report ron@themayreport.com
Ed Gourley is no longer employed by Infogix, Inc.
If you need assistance, please contact Christina Quarnstrom at 630-505-1800, or send her an e-mail message at cquarnstrom@infogix.com.
Thank you!
Infogix, Inc.
( 630-505-1800 | 630-505-1812
: www.infogix.com
______________________________________________
Briefly noted, by Ron May
* One of the big divides in our world is those of us who actually remember the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and those of us who were told about it or saw it on TV and those who read about it.
I remember it. And it happened 46 years ago Sunday.
The principal of our school, Mr. Muzzy, came into my 2nd grade room run by Mrs. Cornelius about 1pm and told us that the President had been killed and that school was closing.
That afternoon, I went over to my friend John Kuhlman's house and all I recall is that John wanted to play, but I wanted to watch the developments on TV which was on.
John was very bright. He had skipped the first grade and was reading adult level books like Uncle Tom's Cabin. He also had asthma.
My room in our house at 801 West Ash Street in Columbia, Missouri was in the finished basement with an old fashioned stove with the black pipe that went I know not where.
For a long time after the assassination, and I am not sure I ever told anyone this, I used to have nightmares, dreaming of Lee Harvey Oswald coming after me. I was alone down in the basement and isolated. I also had dreams of a fire in the house and I was not able to get out.
Twenty three years later, the space shuttle Challenger exploded for all to see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disaster
and the children of that era were traumatized just as the children of my era were traumatized the assassination of President Kennedy.
As I think about our tech community and its current leaders, most of them were not even alive on November 22, 1963 and few of them were even ten years old on January 28, 1986 when the Challenger exploded.
I have been thinking a lot about time and nature of time and aging lately.
Every era has its own clock and its own sense of time.
I watched the movie A Man for All Seasons Saturday night which won the best picture and many other awards in 1966 and it ends with this:
http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/m/man-for-all-seasons-script.html
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Thomas More's head was stuck
on Traitor's Gate for a month.
Then his daughter, Margaret,
removed it and kept it 'til her death.
Cromwell was beheaded for high treason
five years after More.
The Archbishop was burned at the stake.
The Duke of Norfolk should have
been executed for high treason...
...but the King died of syphilis
the night before.
Richard Rich became
Chancellor of England...
...and died in his bed.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
My, how things have changed -- and haven't!
The King was Henry VIII and Cromwell was Thomas Cromwell, not Oliver Cromwell.
Sir Thomas More: (7 February 1478 - 6 July 1535)
Sir Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex, 1st Baron Cromwell KG (c. 1485 - 28 July 1540)
Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich (1496/7 - June 12, 1567), was Lord Chancellor during the reign of King Edward VI of England.
Henry VIII (28 June 1491 - 28 January 1547)
http://www.britainexpress.com/History/monarchs.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_monarchs
This exchange between King Henry VIII and Sir Thomas More pretty much sums up the conflict between them. Thomas More would not go along with Henry on endorsing King Henry's desire to divorce his wife, Catherine of Aragon, and marry Anne Boleyn who did become the mother of Elizabeth I. Henry did not want to have to ask the Pope for permission and that was the basis for the break-away of the English church from Rome. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Reformation and this was going on at roughly the time of Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation in Europe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_of_Aragon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Boleyn
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/m/man-for-all-seasons-script.html
Thomas, you must consider,
I stand in peril of my soul.
It was no marriage.
I have lived in incest
with my brother's widow.
Leviticus: "Thou shalt not uncover
the nakedness of thy brother's wife."
Leviticus. Chapter verse .
Yes, Your Grace. But Deuteronomy--
Deuteronomy is ambiguous!
Your Grace, I'm not fitted
to meddle in these matters.
To me, it seems a matter for the Holy See--
Thomas, does a man need a pope
to tell him where he's sinned?
It was a sin.
God's punished me.
I've no son.
Son after son she's borne me.
All dead at birth, or dead within the month.
I never saw the hand of God
so clear in anything.
It's my bounden duty
to put away the Queen.
And all the popes, back to Peter,
shall not come between me and my duty!
How is it that you cannot see?
Everyone else does.
Then, why does Your Grace
need my poor support?
Because you're honest.
And what is more to the purpose,
you're known to be honest.
Those like Norfolk follow me
because I wear the crown.
Those like Cromwell follow
because they're jackals with sharp teeth...
...and I'm their tiger. A mass follows me...
...because it follows anything that moves.
And then there's you.
I am sick to think
how much I must displease Your Grace.
No, Thomas, I respect your sincerity.
But respect...
...man, that's water in the desert.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I often think these days about the manner and the timing of my death. I suppose we all wonder about such things.
One of my diabetes doctors, years ago, at the University of Chicago -- Dr. Kenneth Polonsky whom I see left the University of Chicago about three years ago for Washington University in St. Louis http://endo.wustl.edu/faculty/polonsky.htm or it could have been Dr. Murray Favus who is still in the same department at the University of Chicago where Polonsky was for many years, http://www.uchospitals.edu/physicians/murray-favus.html -- told me that men tend not to realize their own mortality until they reach the age of 38. I think it was Polonsky who said this to me. He was a star in diabetes research and he hailed from South Africa -- part of what they called the South African mafia at Chicago.
That comment has stuck in my mind for all these years since 1984 when I was first diagnosed as being a diabetic.
I bring this up because when I think about the people in our tech world, I realize that many of them are still at an age where they don't realized their own mortality and they see the possibilities of life as limitless.
I have come to the point where I no longer have such lofty ambition. There was a time when I thought I would be in college forever or at least till the age of 30, would know six languages, learn to play many instruments, study all the major philosophers, all eras of history, etc., etc., etc.
I was a dreamer who ended up with six years of college and no degree, at least a half dozen unfinished papers and a few "incompletes." At least two of the professors to whom I owe papers have died, Edward Levi and Arcadius Kahan. I sometimes think I can turn in those paoers in heaven but my odds of ending up there are now diminished. :-( BTW, Gordon Crovitz, former editor of the WSJ, was in that class on jurisprudence with Levi.
Call me a dilettante, call me a jack of all trades and a master of none; call me a permanent undergrad; call me a guy whose knowledge is a mile wide and an inch thick.
Shi* disturber, we all know.
Pot stirrer, we all know.
At times, mean and nasty, we all know.
At times, manic, we all know. At times way over the top, we all know.
One thing I am that is often overlooked: intermediary and facilitator?
That is actually one of my better qualities that is often not even noticed.
The story I tell is how in Hitchcock Hall, a number of my colleagues were very knowledgeable about military history. But they would not talk to each other. I found a hidden talent I had. In this world of big egos and specialists, I was the non-ego driven generalist who got the specialists to talk to each other. And I got the benefit of listening to discussions of David Chandler's tome, The Campaigns of Napoleon
http://www.allreaders.com/Topics/info_3854.asp?BSID=152156963,
or books by John Keegan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Keegan, Carl von Clausewitz, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_von_Clausewitz, and others including Pericles http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pericles'_Funeral_Oration, and others.
In our tech world egocentrics like Connolly and DD won't talk to each other but I talk to both of them and present both often competing, views.
Incomplete has been the story of my life.
I am no longer a dreamer and my ambitions are no longer lofty.
My old college problem of perfectionism (of sorts, which was really too much research and not enough writing) is no longer as readers of this report know well. I would rather get it out. When in doubt, cogitate a bit and send it out. I would rather get it out and fix it later and be wrong the first time and maybe even the second time and the third, but by the fifth time, I might have a close approximation of the truth. Jeff Gilbert gave it a name for me: critical damping. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damping#Critical_damping_.28.CE.B6_.3D_1.29
I hate the idea of bringing things to completion which is why I drag a topic out ad nauseam. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ad+nauseam
My landlord recently offered to return by security deposit since he is trying to get rid of security deposits and replace them with a $200 non-refundable fee due to the tiny amounts of interest that landlords are now having to pay. I still owe him about $240 in back rent and I pay it off at a rate of about $20 a month.
I told him thanks but no thanks, I would rather continue to owe money than to wipe the slate clean.
I then thought about it and realized that of course, I love to continue things and I hate conclusions.
Ever notice how I get started on a topic and then beat the dead horse for weeks, even months?
And this, my friends, is my way of fighting depression. If I sat around all day thinking about my destiny with diabetes and dialysis and a possible transplant, I would go crazy -- OK, I mean crazier than I already am.
Yes, darn it, I am probably a bit bi-polar, but what keeps me on an even keel is doing this utterly insignificant report. No meds and I doubt that they would help anyway.
And don't think I am the only one with bi-polar issues in this tech community.
I have settled on a subject matter for my writing and reporting which is of no great matter. My beat does not compare to the great issues of the day covered by the reporters in Washington, D.C.
The subject of my beat, the Chicago tech community, is small; the players are often flawed and many of the tech communities institutions, both public and private, are dysfunctional. To quote Tom Figel whom I talked to Friday morning -- I stopped by his office after the TiE meeting with Hardy Bhatt of the City -- "Non profits are usually the dregs of the earth." Hey, sometimes when you talk to people long enough, they say things they would rather not see in print. And I am good at getting that out of people. :-)
Charlie Rose had a fascinating interview a few months ago with the writer Gay Talese http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_Talese whose wife Nan Talese is the editor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nan_Talese of such august authors as Pat Conroy, Margaret Atwood, Ian McEwan, Barry Unsworth and Thomas Keneally, and who also published James Frey's discredited memoir A Million Little Pieces.
I found several things fascinating about the Gay Talese interview.
First, he talked about how he came from a lower middle class Italian background and how his mother had a boutique dress shop that catered to overweight well-to-do women and how his mother used to keep her mouth shut and listen to all the community gossip from the customers. His mother was an outsider and Gay was an outsider.
Second, the story of how he wrote one of his most famous pieces, "Frank Sinatra Has A Cold," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Sinatra_Has_a_Cold published in the April 1966 issue of Esquire Magazine has many lessons.
Wikipedia writes: "The article is one of the most famous pieces of magazine journalism and is often considered not only the greatest profile ever written of Frank Sinatra[2] but one of the greatest celebrity profiles ever written.[3][4][5] The profile is one of the seminal works of New Journalism and is still widely read, discussed and studied.[6][7] In the 70th anniversary issue of Esquire in October 2003, the editors declared the piece the 'Best Story Esquire Ever Published.'"
Stylistically, the article broke somewhat new ground: "The style of narrative writing, in this passage and throughout the piece, was alien to journalism at the time, and was considered the province of fiction writing.[6] Only a few other authors, such as Tom Wolfe, were using such techniques in journalistic writing. The piece employed techniques like scenes, dialogue and third-person narrative that were common in fiction, but still rare in journalism.[7]"
A key lesson from that article was the importance of persistence in the face of looming failure:
"Sinatra refused to be interviewed for the profile.[7][4] Rather than give up, Talese spent the three months, beginning in November 1965, following Sinatra, observing everything he could and interviewing any members of his entourage who were willing to speak.[6] Esquire paid nearly $5,000 in expenses over the duration of the story.[3] Talese vacillated on whether the story could be finished, but ultimately concluded, in a letter to Harold Hayes that "I may not get the piece we'd hoped for-the real Frank Sinatra but perhaps, by not getting it-and by getting rejected constantly and by seeing his flunkies protecting his flanks-we will be getting close to the truth about the man."[4] Without Talese ever receiving Sinatra's cooperation, the story was published in April 1966."
And I have something in common with Talese. I get much information from the plebes, not the patricians. I find that folks like Rachel Rusch and Carolyn Saunders are far more reliable as sources than people like Scott Glickson, Dick Reck and John Noel. Quite simply, the lower you are on the totem pole, the less reason you have to distort or lie.
Whom would you believe more, Terry Howerton and Fred Hoch or members of the ITA, Ukrainian employees of FastRoot, and so forth?
Incidentally, what on earth is up with Gerry Roper of the Chicagoland Chamber?
Has he been asleep for ten years?
He has just awakened to the fact that the unions are a problem at McCormick Place?
I often wonder why I waste my time with the likes of Wasserberger, Hoch and Howerton, Weinstein, and even now Sean Murdock, plus many others.
Gay Talese offered a possible answer. He said in the Rose interview that mafia guys and others he writes about are often boring. They really don't do very much most of the time, he said. I would say that their lives are a lot like trench warfare. Most of the time it is sitting around waiting for a few minutes of high drama.
Gay said something that really struck me. He said that as a writer you have to stay with the subject for a long time sometimes before you see the value in it. He said that you have to immerse yourself in the subject, truly get to know your topic, be it a group of people or an issue, and stick with it to bring the value out. Well, I have been writing about this community for 17 years and I am just now starting to see some value in the story.
He referred back to his small town upbringing where his mother got her information from the gossip of the women who were her customers. Call it Our Town or Peyton Place -- it is about the little people, not the king of England or the Bishop of Rome as the Pope was referred to in A Man for All Seasons.
Talese said one other thing that has stuck in mind. You can see from the picture that he is a dapper dresser, hardly my mantra. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_Talese
He said that he learned the importance of appearances and that is a lesson I must have missed.
We can find human drama in any place, and there is tragedy and comedy and grist for satire anywhere.
In Greek tragedy and in Shakespeare, tragedy required that a central figure in the society be at the core of the story. The problem with the tragic figure or hero was manifest by the problems of the larger world. But in the 20th century -- and really starting in the 18th century with Bourgeois tragedy -- that changed with figures like Willy Loman becoming tragic figures. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/417080/willy_loman_oedipus_tragic_heroes.html?cat=38
One thing has consistently been mentioned in the discussion of tragedy and that is the idea of Catharsis.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catharsis
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Catharsis (Ancient Greek: šάθαρƒι‚) is a Greek word meaning "purification", "purging", "cleansing" or "clarification." It is derived from the infinitive verb of Ancient Greek: καθαίρειν transliterated as kathairein "to purify, purge," and adjective Ancient Greek: καθαρŒ‚ katharos "pure or clean."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Why do you think most of the characters die in Shakespeare, in Greek tragedies, and in just about any opera?
These issues were the subject of much debate at one time. One controversy surrounded the death of King Lear's youngest daughter, Cordelia. The great man of letters Samuel Johnson wrote well into the eighteenth century that "I was many years ago so shocked by Cordelia's death, that I know not whether I ever endured to read again the last scenes of the play till I undertook to revise them as an editor."
http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/j/johnson/samuel/preface/lear.html
In our little world of tragedy, do we have any evidence of self-reflection, any self-awareness, any sense of purification or redemption?
Has anyone had a "Moby Dick" moment?
How about Crime and Punishment, one of my all-time favorite books? Who is the Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov of Chicago high tech?
Where is our struggle with our internal selves?
One of my favorite themes is redemption. From Wikipedia on Crime and Punishment:
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Raskolnikov eventually goes to the police himself to confess. He is sentenced to penal servitude in Siberia; Sonya follows him, and the Epilogue holds out hope for Raskolnikov's redemption and moral regeneration under her influence.[21]
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Where is the letter from the board of the ITDA or the board of the ITA saying we have sinned?
Where is the letter saying that not only have we sinned but we dedicate ourselves to a future of transparency and accountability and interaction with all interested parties, including the so-called press and the members and non-members alike?
That letter, my friends, does not exist, for if it did, this would not be Chicago. There are some important board meetings coming up next month and I hope that TiE, the ITDA since the board still exists, and the ITA since it will be meeting, and the board of the NanoBusiness Alliance such as it is, will openly and transparently confront their own demons.
Tell us exactly what you are doing for the community, how (in detail) the monies are being spent, how you have obtained any monies and whether those gains are ill-gotten; why you are giving monies to members of Congress in the case of the NanoBusiness Alliance in exchange for political favors such as $2.4MM earmarks.
Now I must bring myself into this, but the issues at stake are much bigger than I or the organizations banning me. As you know, having been banned for no good reason from the Monday Morning Meeting and the Smart Bet Charity poker tourney, and we'll remain agnostic about the TiE meeting for the moment, I have a strong interest in seeing the boards of these organizations address the banning any press person and Ronaldo Mayo in particular.
We all know the famous line about First they came...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came...
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out-because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out-because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out-because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me-and there was no one left to speak out for me.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
But let us get past the high level political discussion and personalize it. I like the way the question was framed in one of my favorite movies, Dr. Zhivago.
As the Rod Steiger character who plays Viktor Komarovsky told Omar Sharif who plays Yuri Zhivago,
"Yuri Andreievich, you spent two years with the partisans, fifth division. You have no discharge so you are a deserter. Your family in Paris is involved in a dangerous migr organisation. Now all these are technicalities. But your style of life; everything you say and think, your published writings are all flagrantly subversive. Your days are numbered unless I help you. Do you want my help?
But don't you see her position? She's served her purpose. These men who came with me today as an escort will come for her and the child tomorrow as a firing squad! Now I know exactly what you think of me, and why. But if you're not coming with me, she's not coming with me. So are you coming with me? Do you accept the protection of this ignoble Caliban on any terms that Caliban cares to make? Or is your delicacy so exorbitant that you would sacrifice a woman and a child to it?
We're all made of the same clay, you know."
And so I face my dilemma. Do I seek help from people who may not be so pure but who may be willing to help out. The person I have in mind is Dick Reck. I have been quite critical of Dick in recent months, but at the end of the day, I do know him well and I do respect him, even if my admiration for all these guys has been tested.
Another person, also not so pure, whom I might get some help from is Adarsh Arora of TiE.
Rod Steiger or Viktor Komarovsky in the movie and don't forget that the movie is based on the book by Boris Pasternak, pretty much sums it up:
+++++++++++++++++++++++
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Doctor_Zhivago_(film)
Komarovsky: [speaking of Pasha Antipov] Lara, I am determined to save you from a dreadful error. There are two kinds of men, and only two, and that young man is one kind. He is high-minded. He is pure. He is the kind of man that the world pretends to look up to and in fact despises. He is the kind of man who breeds unhappiness; particularly in women. Now, do you understand?
Lara: No.
Komarovsky: I think you do. There's another kind. Not high-minded. Not pure. But alive. Now that your taste at this time should incline towards the juvenile is understandable. But for you to marry that boy would be a disaster. Because there's two kinds of women. [Lara puts her hands to her ears; he snatches them away] There are two kinds of women and you - as we well know - are not the first kind. [Lara slaps him. He slaps her back, harder] You, my dear, are a slut.
Lara: I am not!
Komarovsky: We'll see.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
If I am like Yuri Zhivago and Dick or Adarsh are like Komarovsky, masters of Realpolitik http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realpolitik -- and they really are masters at playing the game --do I try to get them to help me and what price am I willing to pay for that help?
As Komarovsky said, being too pure has its problems too.
Everything is a trade-off. Everything is a balancing act. In every conversation a sale is made. And everything's an argument.
It may be that I cannot just sit on the outside and look in. To get some results, I have to get some backers from the inside.
One person whom I really like is Tim Krauskopf but it may turn out that he is relatively feckless. Tim has the advantage of having made a lot of money and he does not have to kiss anyone's butt. That can be good but it also can have problems. If you don't have any vulnerabilities, people may not see what they get out of dealing with you. There is no angle for them to play.
Another person I like is Ed Longanecker of Tech America, fka the AeA. I think he is a straight shooter not driven by ego or chest pounding, not driven by self-aggrandizement, etc. But the problem with Ed is that he is spread so thin and he is so on the outskirts of the locus of power in this town that he may not be able to do much either. One interesting fact about Ed though is that his organization does not bellow it from the mountain tops but he has some powerhouse members in the IT field that the ITA has not been able to lasso.
And my effort to get insiders may mean that guys like Bob Geras are not going to be much help. Geras wants to be liked too much and most of all, he wants to be included in the inner circle, but he's not in it.
My worry about Geras helping me is that he would spend most of his time telling people how he is trying to influence me to see their side.
Geras is a mensch, but a mensch is not what I may need. http://www.referencecenter.com/ref/dictionary?invocationType=topsearchbox.refcentre&query=mensch
I love to dissect a problem and even psychoanalyze members of our community, really tear them apart and figure out what makes them tick.
My fascination with how things work is not restricted to people. I am engrossed by the intrigue of the Senate maneuvering that is associated with the Healthcare bill. Or the deliberations over Afghanistan. Or closer to home, all the issues tied to IP legislation, generic drugs, etc.
Some people who interest me include:
Terry Howerton because there are many layers of nuance and trust me, I am well into writing that chapter.
Al Wasserberger who is much more than just a simple two bit con man;
Craig McCrohon because something strange is going on there;
Spencer Maus who has left Figel's office as of two weeks ago and who is a complicated and a sad story. Spencer is now getting office space from Melissa G's husband, Craig. He is really not all that important to the tech community, but I see in myself many of his neuroses. I found out about Spencer on Friday, quite by accident when I visited Figel.
I should title this story "A funny thing happened on the way to see Figel" or "How I have become an expert is shuttle diplomacy -- call me Ron Kissinger."
Some people like Adarsh Arora are just afraid of their own shadow, interesting but only up to a point. And AA, that business about Dr. Adarsh K. Arora. Well, it's right on your card. Are you telling me you did not know about "Dr." being on your card?
We have plenty of "hail fellows well met" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hail_fellow_well_met such as Fred Hoch who are not worth much time analyzing. The most interesting thing to me about Fred is how he always mentions San Diego and he rarely mentions that he worked for the State Department and for the six years just prior to coming here, he worked for the SIIA in Washington, D. C. and reported to my cousin Ken Wasch. I think he mentions San Diego to appear to be cool. He also mentions that his parents are scientists often but that is because they must have made him feel pretty inferior. I don't know but there are big self-esteem issues with Fred and I think Fred is afraid of his own shadow at times. He is definitely not much of a communicator.
There are others about whom I have not decided what I think.
Churchwell is one example. Is he a worker bee, nose to grindstone, or a narcissist? Darcy, a Churchwellphile, says he is just doing a job and there is no ego, but if you saw him at the MEF a couple of weeks ago, you might not be singing that tune.
Bob Geras is another one that puzzles me. He seemed at first to be interested in doing deals and to hell with publicity, but over the years I have been driven to wonder. He is self-described as the godfather of Chicago high tech investing. Bob is in many ways an outsider who yearns to be an insider.
Howard Tullman has much in common with that too.
BTW, in the car on the way home last Monday, Bob said some interesting things about Adarsh Arora, and the Ceres Venture Fund and we (and that included Charles Wu) some interesting things about Nicole Loftus and www.zorch.com. More on all that later.
Some people are not interesting. They are mundane, prosaic. They're just users or scammers or poseurs. Jeff Willinger; to some extent Rollyson although his tin ear is somewhat interesting; Brad Spirrison, his cousin Lou, Andy Sernovitz -- there is no depth and not much to say about these guys except that they fill space -- in this report.
There are many others and other topics worthy of exploration such as how Apple overtook Nokia in two years, but how Motorola can't find its own butt.
I actually do believe we have the material here with our people and our companies and our organizations, crazy or not, to make a pretty good story.
I have not even gotten into Jason Rexilius, Phil Tadros, Frank Gruber, and others. What about the Jon and Jeff from www.getfave.com?
I heard that they moved to Colorado -- Boulder to be exact.
How many local tech entrepreneurs have moved to other cities recently and in particular who has moved to Boulder?
I like people who are not afraid to tell the truth even if it is not politically correct.
Charlie Rose also did a good interview with Quentin Tarantino who sang the praises of Paul Josef Goebbels. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Goebbels
http://www.psywarrior.com/Goebbels.html
http://thinkexist.com/quotation/-if_you_tell_a_lie_big_enough_and_keep_repeating/345877.html
Quentin said that Goebbels considered William Wyler's Mrs. Miniver to be the best piece of propaganda in the war, but on the other side. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035093/
Goebbels tried to come up with an equivalent that would gin up the home front in Germany.
Quentin said that Goebbels also thought that Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Battleship_Potemkin was too heavy handed on the propaganda and believed that it would have been more effective if the technique which was outstanding were combined with a lower key propaganda.
Just to get this out and bring it to a conclusion, quoting from the end of the movie or the book Barry Lyndon:
http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/BarryLyndon.html
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"It was in the reign of George III
that the above-named personages
lived and quarreled; good or bad,
handsome or ugly, rich or poor, they
are all equal now."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
And yes folks, we will all be equal one day.
It is back to prosaic business in the next report with all the details on Hardy Bhatt's talk and much more. I hope to have two more reports this week.
I started writing this at 3:30am and finished at 8:30am.
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