Jeff the Great Discovers Nike Alumni Network!

If you are one of the tens of thousands thave have worked for Nike, Inc in the past and you are on LinkedIn....there is now a LinkedIn Group for Global Nike Alumni.

If you have Nike listed as a past job in your LinkedIn profile, follow the below link to join the group:

http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/104175/1C7E490D8C95

This shoud be a good way to stay in touch with co-workers and find job opportunities during life after Nike.

-Jeff the Great

Jeff the Great Raises Money for Cancer Research!

I've written in the past about my brother-in-law, his family and his fight against cancer. On December 20th, 2007 he passed away at the age of 23.

Later this month I will team up with the family and friends of Klinton Boylan to particpate in the 2008 Tacoma Relay for Life. We are walking in rememberence of Klinton and with the goal of raising money for the American Cancer Society.

I would appreciate your support and any and all ways. One way is to make a donation directly to the American Cancer Society through my personal fundraising page: http://main.acsevents.org/goto/jmartens

Thanks for your support. I pray that you and your family will never have to go through what Klinton and his family did.

-Jeff the Great

Jeff the Great Saves You Money at the Pump!

Pop Quiz: which is more expensive to produce?

1. One hundred units each of 17 different types of MP3 players

or

2. Seventeen hundred of 1 type of MP3 player

Answer: Generally speaking, option #2....just 1 type of MP3 player.

Pretty easy question, huh? If it's that easy, why doesn't our country figure that out in regards to gas production? According to Exxon/Mobil, our country has legislated 17 different formulations of unleaded gasoline as the state and county level.


Take a look above, 17 different formulations with the specialty mixes dominating the most populated areas. There is even a little slice of west Texas with its own type of gas that one one else in the country uses. My home state of Oregon requires 3 different types, and the hardly populated state of Nevada requires 4.

Any wonder why gas prices are so high? The limited (and old) refineries in our country have to produce 17 different types of gas. When one goes offline, another has to retool to make a different type of gas than they usually do. When there may be excess crude on the market or crude at lower prices, not just any refinery can buy it and produce gas for the geography they serve.

Instead of wasting time with Congressional hearings and oil executive questioning, when is someone in government going to stand up and standardize US gas requirements? Does anyone doubt that we could get by with 1, 2 or even up to 4 formulations?

Does the presidential candidate you support plan on changing this if they are elected? If you don't know, you might want to ask.

-Jeff the Great

Jeff the Great Gets Some Sugar!

I've been working hard as a consultant for a local hair care product line from the Hickox Studio. Today we received some great validation for all our hard work when one of the web's hottest beauty blogs featured the products.

BellaSugar.com had this to say about Hickox products:

"Justin Hickox has grown up with hair. As the son of a hairstyling couple, he's been around it all his life — so it's no wonder that he's opened his own studio in Portland, OR. Using so many styling products on a daily basis, he had a hunch that he could improve upon many of the formulas. And that's just what he did.

The Hickox Studio line is small, but it doesn't mess around. The star of the line is his Styling Cream ($19), which is, he claims, an improvement upon Bumble & Bumble's coveted and similarly named product that changed its formula a couple of years back. It also includes two different styling waxes, a volume-boosting foam, curl products, and a thermal protecting spray.

To see what I thought of a couple of the products, read more."

To read the rest, visit the Hickox Studio article directly here. If you are one of the few Portlander's that hasn't yet tried these products, now is a better time than any!

-Jeff the Great

Jeff the Great Puts Out a Call to Action

If you are in or around the Oregon area and love technology, you have probably read my favorite blog: Silicon Florist. A few weeks ago Rick, the author of Silicon Florist, wrote a story about how Oregon students get a "D" in technology education.

Lots of people commented on the blog post. In fact it may have been a record response to a Silicon Florist article. People were generally passionate about doing something to improve technology education in Oregon. It was a great sight, the Portland technology community was jumping into action.

Rick followed up a few weeks later with a call to action and a few ways we can start to get the ball rolling. One was a newly formed discussion group through Google Groups (thanks to Dave Merwin) and the other was a proposed Silicon Florist internship program.


What great plans! Except for one thing. The Google discussion group has been quiet. What happened to the folks that generated the 30+ comments on Rick's original blog post? Where is the passion and desire to act that everyone expressed?

I am disappointed.

So I put out a(nother) call to action. If you care about technology education in Oregon. If you care about the jobs your kids will be qualified for when they are your age. If you love to complain about public education as much as I do. Get off your butt and join me in making a difference.

See you in the Oregon Education & Technology Google Group.

-Jeff the Great

Costco is Brainwashing You

Have you ever spent any time thinking about Costco and the rituals we go through when shopping there? Specifically, the idea of stopping as you exit and showing your receipt to a Costco employee so they can put a pink mark on it?

Why do we stop at the door and get our receipt checked? Do you do that at a department store or the grocery store? Does the local mini-mart check your pockets when you leave? So why do we do it at Costco?

We do it because that is how it's always been done. We do it because Costco puts employees at the exit and tells them to do it.

So do you have to stop? Does Costco have the legal right to make you stop? What would happen if you just kept on walking? Why do we sometimes wait in a long line of other exiting shoppers just to be checked for stolen goods? I'm not a criminal, are you?

Today I was leaving Costco after purchasing a bouquet of flowers for my wife. I don't really mind stopping as long as there is no line and the employees are ready for me at the door. Today the two employees at the exit were busy talking to each other and after extending out my receipt to them with no response back, I kept on walking out. My feet didn't skip a step...just kept on walking.

What happened next surprised me. One of the employees followed me out, yelling "excuse me sir, excuse me! Did you get your receipt marked?" I turned around and said "nope, you weren't paying attention" and kept on walking to my car. I looked back a few steps later and she was standing there almost in shock that I didn't let her mark my receipt.

Costco is not only brainwashing their employees, they are brainwashing us. I'd love to see a national "Don't stop for the receipt markers at Costco" day. Anyone with me?

Jeff the Great Updates His Reading List

I've completed a few books and have another I am about to start. Figured I'd share and get your suggestions on what to read next!


Completed: Charlie Wilson's War

I started this book because I thought the story would make a better read than a movie. Charlie Wilson's story IS interesting but it was a tedious read near the second half of the book. If you have little time for reading, skip the book and watch the movie.

Completed: Made to Stick

This book exceeded my expectations. It is all ready my favorite type of book but it was written better than most. Lots of examples that are super interesting and I learned a TON. I suggest it to anyone that is looking to improve the message you give about your business, church, project, or even your personal brand.
Just Starting: The Big Swtich

I am just about to start this book today and don't know much about it. I think it is about how technology has changed and continued to influence our world. I am excited about it as I won a signed, pre-release copy from http://www.techcrunch.com!

So, after The Big Switch, what should I read next?

-Jeff the Great