The May Report: 7/28/2011: Bulletin: Code Mountain takes top honors in the S.P.A.R.K. competition Wednesday night; I had never heard of a 10,000 year clock before last night and it has me thinking all night and day which is what an event or talk should do; Bootstrappers’ Breakfast draws 72 with nine tables and 8 per table; and more…

Editor and publisher: Ron May, ron@themayreport.com, ronaldmay@aol.com, www.themayreport.com , 773-525-3944.

If you missed an article, go here: www.tmronline.com/A55951/tmrarticles.nsf/vwFullNewsletter
__________________________
TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Scoop section:

– Code Maintain won the S.P.A.R.K competition Wednesday night
– Built in Chicago on the SPARK competition and the three firms competing had Doejo, Obtiva and who else helping them with their sites
– Mark Laurence: SafetyBook error still not fixed
– Dan Verakis: Also points to error in his own URL
– At gTrot, it is Zach Smith
– Tellabs to cut 10% of workforce on weak outlook for 3Q
– A spokesperson for Groupon was not available to comment
– I went to this and it was quite thought provoking and stimulating — thanks for letting us know about it — I’ll have much more in the next report
– Richard O’Brien: The TMR effect
– Tuesday, August 2: Polsinelli hosts BNC VC Group 8/2/11. Presenters: EclipseIR, Kadoo, Arborvita
– CCEA is looking for late stage companies
– Susannah Breslin: Why Women Shouldn’t Go to Tech Conferences
– David Irving: HigherSchool, relocated to Annapolis, Maryland in 2005
– RTA RELEASES RFI FOR INTEGRATION OF REAL-TIME TRANSIT INFORMATION

[Editor's note: May here. I went to two events Wednesday, The Bootstrappers' Breakfast which got 72 people, more than twice their usual turnout, and the talk by Alexander Rose of the LongNow foundation, www.longnow.org. There is much to say about the Long Now project and I will have all the details for you. Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com is one of the key people funding the $42MM project. I've been having some digestion issues this morning and am leaving now for dialysis. If I am feeling up to it, I would like to attend Ignite Chicago tonight and that will be it for TechWeek. I'm excited by it and I'm also pooped out.]
____________________________
**********************************
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________________________________
The Scoop section:
______________________
Code Maintain won the S.P.A.R.K. competition Wednesday night

Subject: Re: Phil, who won the SPARK competition, Careerli, Code Mountain or Duck Duck Dish?
Date: 7/28/2011 12:01:01 P.M. Central Daylight Time
From: philcoextra@gmail.com
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com
CC: phil@doejo.com, ronaldmay@aol.com

CM, but everyone said we should have and almost did. Not sure if CM is even live so if we played by the rules I bet Duck, Duck, Dish! would have slam dunked it. Judges and crowed seemed bored with Careerli even tho obtiva is badass.

Philip Tadros
708.655.6753

doejo.com

philcoextra.com

On Jul 28, 2011, at 11:53 AM, RONALDMAY@aol.com wrote:
_________________________________
Built in Chicago on the SPARK competition and the three firms competing had Doejo, Obtiva and who else helping them with their sites

www.builtinchicago.org/

SPARK Chicago Final Judging plus Keynote – Mitch Lowe, CEO of Redbox!Added by Seth Kravitz Send Message View Events Event DetailsTime: July 27, 2011 from 5pm to 7:30pm
Location: TechWeek @ The Merchandise Mart 7th Floor
Street: 222 Merchandise Mart Plaza
City/Town: Chicago
Website or Map: sparkkeynote.eventbrit…
Phone: 6142075612
Event Type: startup, competition
Organized By: SPARK Chicago & Technori
Latest Activity: Jul 20
Export to Outlook or iCal (.ics)

Share Twitter Facebook
Event Description

Watch as One Team Wins over $100,000 in Cash & Prizes!
FREE Admission – You have been hearing about it for months, maybe you were even one of the 289 people to apply to compete in the competition. The great news is SPARK Chicago is finally here and you have a chance to be there in person and watch as the teams compete!
Not only does your ticket get you in to watch the final judging and see the winner of SPARK Chicago 2011, but you also get access to the main keynote speech of the week from:
Mitch Lowe, CEO of Redbox

Please join us at the Merchandise Mart on July 27th at 5:00pm to watch the final three teams pitch and compete to win SPARK Chicago 2011!
While your there, meet our team of judges made up of some of Chicago’s most prominent entrepreneurs and VC/angel firms.
John Hoesly from Silicon Valley Bank
Adam Koopersmith from New World Ventures
Steve Miller from Origin Ventures
Howard Tullman from Tribeca Flashpoint Academy
Rob Wolcott from the Kellog Innovation Network
Kevin Willer from the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center
Special Judge: Mitch Lowe, CEO of RedBox
Tickets will be going super fast for this event, so please get them now. If you wait, we won’t be able to guarantee you will be able to attend the judging.

**Get Your Free Tickets Here**

In addition, you will want to get your tickets for the SPARK Chicago Round One Judging as well here.
____________________________________
Mark Laurence: SafetyBook error still not fixed

Subject: SafetyBook error still not fixed
Date: 7/26/2011 10:34:51 P.M. Central Daylight Time
From: mark@spothero.com
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com

Hi Ron,

I sent this:

Ron,

The link is incorrect for SafetyBook. The correct link is www.safetybook.org/

So the edit should be:

5. SafetyBook, www.safetybook.org
Dan Verakis, co-founder
I like Dan, but I think his idea of providing info. on sex offenders which would be provided through the data bases that Aneesh Chopra would provide is way off track. As Dan said to me, there is a great deal of variability state by state in the data and

Regards,

Mark

–
Mark Lawrence
Co-Founder SpotHero Inc.

spothero.com

On LinkedIn
________________________________
Dan Verakis: Also points to error in his own URL

Re: The May Report: 7/26/2011: Bulletin: Two women owned firms dominate in the winners of the midVenturesLAUNCH COMPETE competition between 35 firms and The People’s Choice award for the demo firms with 14 firms competing. Babbaco and Dabble.com win the categories

X

Inbox
X

ReplyReply
More|
Dan Verakis dan@verakis-associates.com to me

show details 3:31 PM (20 hours ago)

from Dan Verakis dan@verakis-associates.com
to The May Report
date Wed, Jul 27, 2011 at 3:31 PM
subject Re: The May Report: 7/26/2011: Bulletin: Two women owned firms dominate in the winners of the midVenturesLAUNCH COMPETE competition between 35 firms and The People’s Choice award for the demo firms with 14 firms competing. Babbaco and Dabble.com win the categories

hide details 3:31 PM (20 hours ago)

Images are not displayed.
Display images below – Always display images from dan@verakis-associates.com
Hi Ron,

Nice to see you (as always) at TechWeek. Just a quick note to remind you that our URL is SafetyBook.ORG not .com. Could you please let folks know so they how to find our product recall monitoring service?

Many thanks,
-Dan
__________________________________
At gTrot, it is Zach Smith

Subject: Re: Zach, what is your last name?
Date: 7/26/2011 10:44:04 P.M. Central Daylight Time
From: zacharyvsmith@gmail.com
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com

Smith

Hope you enjoyed the conference

Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 26, 2011, at 9:29 PM, RONALDMAY@aol.com wrote:
______________________________
Tellabs to cut 10% of workforce on weak outlook for 3Q

www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-tellabs-to-cut-10-of-workforce-on-weak-outlook-for-3q-20110726,0,2430614.story

Tellabs to cut 10% of workforce on weak outlook for 3Q
Tweet ShareNewComments 0
Reuters

1:22 p.m. CDT, July 26, 2011
Dow Jones reported Tuesday that Tellabs Inc. plans to eliminate about 330 jobs, or 10 percent of its work force, through the second quarter of 2012.

The Naprville-based company forecast third quarter 2011 revenue of $325 million to $345 million.

According to I/B/E/S Estimates, analysts on an average were expecting the company to report revenue of $350 million for the quarter.

Topics
Companies and Corporations
Tellabs Incorporated
Layoffs and Downsizing
See more topics »
XTheStreet.com Incorporated The company estimated pretax charges at $13 million for the job cuts and $9 million for facilityand asset related charges.

Still its stock was up more than 11 percent in afternoon trading, to $4.66, after the company reported second quarter earnings.

According to TheStreet.com, Tellabs’ loss in the quarter of 2 cents a share, was a penny better than analyst estimates. Revenue came in at $334 million versus the consensus estimate of $336.9 million.
________________________________
A spokesperson for Groupon was not available to comment

Subject: A spokesperson for Groupon was not available to comment.
Date: 7/27/2011 3:22:12 P.M. Central Daylight Time
From: bconnolly@furthermore.com
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com

www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20110727/NEWS07/110729859/groupons-pre-ipo-accounting-under-sec-microscope-report

_________________________________
I went to this and it was quite thought provoking and stimulating — thanks for letting us know about it — I’ll have much more in the next report

Subject: TechWeek VIP’s // Free pass to Long Now Foundation w/ Alexander Rose Tomorrow Night
Date: 7/26/2011 2:46:58 P.M. Central Daylight Time
From: geoff@midventures.com
To: geoff@midventures.com

Hi TechWeek VIP’s and contributors-

Here is a free pass to an event tomorrow night at 7:00 PM hosted by Manifest Digital called “The Long Now Foundation with Alexander Rose”

manifestalexanderrose.eventbrite.com/

The Long Now Foundation, with Alexander Rose
As recently covered in Wired, The Long Now Foundation is creating an engineering marvel: a clock that will run for 10,000 years. With the purpose of fostering long-term thinking, this project is being overseen by the Foundation’s director, clock designer and clock project manager Alexander Rose, who will present on the creation of the clock.

* To attend only this event, enter discount code LONG

I’ll see you there!

- Geoff

–
Geoffrey Domoracki
CEO, Founder
midVentures

San Francisco Office
312.613.2735
geoff@midventures.com
___________________________________
Richard O’Brien: The TMR effect

The TMR Effect

Inbox
X

ReplyReply
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Richard O’Brien robrien@paymentpathways.com to me

show details 7:21 AM (7 minutes ago)

from Richard O’Brien robrien@paymentpathways.com
to The May Report
date Wed, Jul 27, 2011 at 7:21 AM
subject The TMR Effect

hide details 7:21 AM (7 minutes ago)

Images are not displayed.
Display images below – Always display images from robrien@paymentpathways.com
Ron,
I thought you’d get a kick out of the stats shown here: bit.ly/pG47XV
Before you published last nights newsletter, I had relatively few visits to our web site to download our recommendation to NIST. Something like 47 hits with 3 or 4 countries…so much for my Facebook, Twitter and email efforts.
Bit.ly report proves that the link embedded in your article added 133 hits in the 10 PM hour!!! Your Chicago readership obviously cares about hometown company. Thanks for the exposure!
Rick

Richard O’Brien // President and CEO
Payment Pathways, Inc. // 200 S. Wacker Drive // 15th Floor // Chicago // IL // 60606
Office: 312-346-9400 // Facsimile: 312-276-8810 // Mobile: 630-715-0956
robrien@paymentpathway
s.com
PaymentPathways.com
_________________________________
Tuesday, August 2: Polsinelli hosts BNC VC Group 8/2/11. Presenters: EclipseIR, Kadoo, Arborvita
Subject: Polsinelli hosts BNC VC Group 8/2/11. Presenters: EclipseIR,Kadoo, Arborvita
Date: 7/26/2011 12:25:16 P.M. Central Daylight Time
From: len_bland@conceptequity.com
To: ronaldmay@aol.com

Sign up here: bit.ly/bnc0802
08/2/2011, 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM Polsinelli Shughart, 161 N. Clark. 41st Floor, Chicago, IL

Join the BNC VC Group on LinkedIn

Polsinelli Shughart PC www.polsinelli.com is one of the top 100 law firms in the country, with more than 530 attorneys in 16 cities stretching from Washington, D.C. to Phoenix.
Whether you need legal counsel to structure your business or organization; to ensure it is compliant with industry or government regulations; or to protect it in litigation situations, Polsinelli Shughart has the broad range of experience and depth of attorneys to help you meet your legal objectives. Our attorneys think like entrepreneurs. Problems are solved, not prolonged. We mobilize with a sense of urgency. We provide clear answers but don’t stop there. Meaningful perspective and counsel always follow.

Polsinelli Shughart attorneys bring considerable resources and experience to entrepreneurial work by focusing on the special needs of our clients who are starting businesses. We provide legal counsel on issues that today’s entrepreneurs may encounter, from the obvious to the oblique. Our attorneys have partnered with many of our clients from their first day of business and helped them grow and prosper into successful and innovative enterprises.

We assist our start-up company clients in numerous ways, including developing intellectual property strategies, launching websites, raising capital, acquiring and selling technologies and companies, and developing strategic partnerships. In addition, we prepare and review a wide range of technologies, vendor and licensing agreements. We also protect our clients’ intellectual property assets through trademarks, copyrights, patents, licensing agreements, employment agreements, privacy policies, litigation, technology development, trade secret protection and research and development issues. Thanks to our firm’s entrepreneurial background, we also have represented some of the Midwest’s hottest new companies with private equity offerings – including one of the fastest growing Internet security companies and a pioneer in the field of alternative energy.

At Polsinelli Shughart, we believe that it is our role to not only monitor the changing landscape in both industry and law, but to deliver innovative solutions that meet your quality standards and deadline challenges.

If you would like more information on how we can assist you, please contact Chris Pesch at (312) 873-2968 or James Asmussen at (312) 873-3697.

Entrepreneurs, send your executive summary to len_bland@conceptequity.com to be considered to present at the BNC Venture Capital Group.

How does Business Network Chicago choose their 3 monthly presenters?

Events

BNC Event Calendar

Funding Feeding Frenzy Presentation Elevation Promo Code: LenBland

Funding Feeding Frenzy – 11/2 Discount Code: LenBland

News and Articles

Knowing your why: Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action | Video on TED.com

Archives

Dos And Don’ts When Making Your Venture Capital Pitch : Money

BNC VC Group presenter M-Dot is purchased

Creating a Company Vision

5 uncommon ways to pitch potential investors

How does a VC value a business? « The Equity Kicker

Ideas from the Capital Matchmaker: Illinois Angel Investment Credit

Advice for Entrepreneurs Pitching a VC

Starting with the Why. Where Inspiration and Possibility Meet

SCOR – Use the Internet to Raise Startup Money

The Top 10 Lies Entrepreneurs Tell VCs – Tech Europe – WSJ

Angels act: 100 percent exemption for gains made in Qualified Small Business Stock

“We all know that business plans are a sub-genre of science fiction”

11 Ways to Lose Investors Before You Finish Speaking

The 5 biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make
Know Your Numbers Cold

Series AA Equity Financing Documents

Business method patents preserved for software entrepreneurs.

Concept Equity Blog: What goes into the PPM? How to generate a Term Sheet?

Inc: An Insider’s Guide to Venture Capital Financing

When should entrepreneurs use an NDA?

Inc Magazine: How to Read a Term Sheet
Why You Should Start a Company in Chicago

Entrepreneurs have trouble crafting a simple, emotional message because they suffer from the curse of knowledge.
Audio Sample from Made to Stick

Perfecting Your Pitch – what goes into a good investor presentation?

How does the investor make money? Modeling the answer to one of our four questions. Stories connect to emotions, where decisions are made

Angels take an average of 67 days to close a deal.

Why It’s So Difficult to Find Angel Capital

Len Bland Funding Interview on SmallBiz America

Startup Valuation: Top Ten Techniques

Investor Presentation – 10 Slides is Just Right

Must see from 2006, Guy Kawasaki’s The Art of the Start presentation

Why Business Plans Don’t Deliver – The five most common flaws-and how to fix them

Study Disputes The Value of VCs “Buying Local”

In Pitching to Angel Investors, Preparation Tops Zeal

I Love Executive Summaries

Three entrepreneurs make their pitch for capital.

The BNC Venture Capital Group introduces exciting investment opportunities to professional investors (angels, early stage venture capitalists, and private equity firms seeking add-ons) and fosters the growth of entrepreneurial activity.

Len Bland, CEO of Concept Equity, and David Carman, CEO of Business Network Chicago, lead the BNC Venture Capital Group. Each presentation lasts 10 minutes, followed by a 10 minute Q&A.
Effective presentations answer 5 questions:

·What is the product or service?
-Why will customers buy it?
·Why is this management team the best one to run the business?
-How does the company make money?
·How will the investor make money?

5:00 PM – Networking
5:30 PM – Introductions
5:45 PM – Eclipse Identity Recognition
6:15 PM – Kadoo
6:45 PM – Break
7:00 PM – Arborvita

Eclipse www.eclipseir.com/ Designs and develop Biometric Identity Recognition Software that identifies
individuals from both live and stored video streams. That is a subset of video analytics, our
focus is FACIAL RECOGNITION, however, our technologies extend beyond facial to include
other biometric characteristics.

Kadoo kadoo.com/ provides a private cloud for sharing video and other files.

Arborvita Associates www.arborvitaassociates.com/ is a biotech that has developed an innovative gene modification technique that is backed by three patents. The technique is used to create research mice more quickly and inexpensively to speed the process of animal testing.

Polsinelli Shughart
161 N. Clark Street, Suite 4200
Chicago, IL 60601

Sign up at123Signup – Event cost $25 (late $30)

Evening Meeting includes food and beverages
Call Len Bland at 847-317-0656 or write len_bland@conceptequity.com with questions or if you have any difficulty registering. Other investors welcome.

If you have a scheduling conflict, please join us for the next meeting set for the first Tuesday of each month.

Previous Presenters

Click Here for Information on Previous Presenters.

For More Information Contact:
Len Bland, Concept Equity Group, Inc.

Follow Len Bland and Concept Equity on twitter @conceptlen
See Len Bland’s latest blog

Need funding to grow your business?

Looking for meaningful, exciting investments?

Concept Equity Group helps close the funding gap between entrepreneurs and investors.

We prepare entrepreneurs by:

Introducing vendors, customers, talent, and investors

Preparing investor communications
Providing strategic insight
We engage investors by:

Learning their creativity and passion
Leveraging their experience
Qualifying entrepreneurs
We match successful business people with entrepreneurs. Contact len_bland@conceptequity.com if you would like to
________________________________
CCEA is looking for late stage companies
Subject: CCEA is looking for late stage companies
Date: 7/26/2011 1:15:15 P.M. Central Daylight Time
From: bryan@chicagocleanenergyalliance.org
To: ronaldmay@aol.com

Dear

Chicago Clean Energy Alliance Is Now A Member of The Global Cleantech Cluster Association

The CCEA is proud to announce that we have become a member of the Global Cleantech Cluster Association (GCCA). As the ‘Chicago Cluster,’ we are currently one of 29 clusters in the world providing clean tech start-ups with the rare opportunity to gain international exposure and access to investors by participating in our annual competition. The contest focuses on later-stage companies but pre-revenue firms are welcome to compete.
Prospective applicants must be nominated by a cluster to qualify for the competition. To apply through the CCEA, e-mail a short executive summary (2 – 3 pages) or PowerPoint presentation (10 – 12 slides) to David Carman at: dcarman@bnchicago.com. There is no charge. The deadline to apply is August 1, 2011. Applications to the ‘Chicago Cluster’ are not limited by geography and may originate from anywhere on the planet. If accepted, you will be notified and required to complete an online form describing your company. There are no public presentations. Winners will be announced on November 14, 2011.

Each of the 10 category winners (Agriculture, Advanced Materials, Energy Efficiency, Green Buildings, Renewable Energy, Solar, Transportation, Wind, Waste, Water) will be awarded the official title “Best in Class–GCCA Later Stage Award 2011” and actively promoted to a leading, hand-selected investment community across the globe. To find out more about the judges, many of whom are investors, click here.

The CCEA is committed to a clean and sustainable economy. Our new affiliation with the GCCA allows us to expand our network to a global scale and bring more attention and resources to bear on the development and success of the most promising clean tech companies in Chicago and the Midwest.

Sincerely;
Bryan Villano, Dan Fedor, David Carman and Darrin Stern
_____________________________________
Susannah Breslin: Why Women Shouldn’t Go to Tech Conferences

blogs.forbes.com/susannahbreslin/2011/07/25/why-women-shouldnt-go-to-tech-conferences/

Susannah Breslin
Pink Slipped

ForbesWoman

inShare. Why Women Shouldn’t Go to Tech Conferences
Jul. 25 2011 – 7:11 am | 23,446 views | 3 recommendations | 49 comments
By SUSANNAH BRESLIN

Cover of Men Are Better Than Women
The other day, a woman I know asked me if I wanted to be on a panel at TechWeek. The panel was about how to make a living at blogging. One of the panelists couldn’t make it. She wanted to know if I would fill in. Sure, I said.

1. It’s hard out there for a geek.

I know I’m at the right place when I get off the train, and the guy in front of me is wearing khaki shorts with white socks pulled up to his mid-calves and carrying a laptop. I make my way into the conference. There are a lot of men. There are some women, but there are way more men then women.
I find the room where the panel I’m going to be on will be. But the room has been changed. The room has been changed to a smaller one. There could be many reasons for this, but I’m guessing this is because there are not a lot of people signed up to see this panel. The panel is about blogging for a living, but all the people on the panel and the moderator are women. When I looked at all the different panels on all the different days on the schedule, I saw most of the panels were all-male, and there were very few panels where all the panelists were women. There was one, though. It was called: “Social Media Magic: A Woman’s Touch.”

By the time the panel I’m on, the one about blogging for a living, is starting the room is maybe two-thirds full. Most of the people in the room are men, but there are quite a few women, as well. The panel begins. The moderator asks us questions, and we answer. How did we get started blogging. What’s a good way to get people to read your blog. What are ways to make money blogging. At one point, I say something like, “Figure out what everyone else is doing, and then do the opposite.” I realize this sounds good, but I am not entirely sure that it works.

Eventually, people in the audience start asking questions. One guy starts his question by saying, “Content, in this case, is queen.” Another person wants to know how much traffic we get on our blogs. A very pretty young blond in the back of the room says creepy old guys are following her on social media, and what should she do?

After a while, the panel ends. I sort of feel like advice has been given, but I don’t know how many ideas have been discussed. I wonder what would’ve happened if Dave Winer or Jay Rosen had been part of the panel. I think maybe the discussion would have been more abstract and less literal. I wonder if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

2. Women are all about feelings.

I don’t necessarily believe this. That women are all about feelings. But this is what a woman on the panel I go to next, the one that is called “Social Media Magic: A Woman’s Touch,” says when the moderator asks her why women are so good at social media. All the people on this panel are women. Is this because women are better at social media, or because only women were available, or because this is supposed to be a discussion about women and social media? I wonder if I, a woman, am good at social media. I wonder if men are better than women at social media, but men don’t create panels called “Social Media Magic: A Man’s Touch,” where they sit around and talk about this fact. I am better at Twitter than Facebook, or at least I think I am, and I wonder if any conclusions can be drawn about social media at all. Most of the women give introductions about themselves that are very long. I wonder if social media is a good place for women because women like to talk about themselves, and where they like to shop, and other people.

The moderator makes a joke about how the name of the panel makes it sound like this panel is about vibrators, and there is a smattering of laughter. As the panel soldiers on, I realize most of these women are interested in affiliating themselves with brands. That is, a novelist is interested in writing a novel. But these women work with social media and want to align themselves with big companies. That is their goal. They talk about Pepsi, Coke, PayPal, and Mountain Dew. They allude to getting paid what I assume everyone imagines are large sums to work with these companies, and I start to wonder if this is what social media and blogging have become. Ways to make money. I think about how when I started blogging in 2002, people were still like, “Blog? That is the worst name.” I think things have come a long way, but to what end?

Here are some of the things the women panelists say:

“I lived out the American dream. I moved to San Francisco.”

“They wanted a young, cute chick to host.”

When the moderator asks how these women bill themselves, one gives a long answer, but in the end she says, “Media empress.”

I wonder what all the men in the other rooms of this conference are doing. I imagine they are talking about apps they have created, and companies they have founded, and complicated technology things that they want other people to buy. I wonder if anywhere at this conference men are talking about whether or not they have feelings.

3. We have forgotten what all of this is about.

After my panel, I sit in my chair, waiting for something to happen. Eventually, a man who was in the audience comes up to me. He asks me about one of my jobs. Then I ask him what he does. He says he has a company. He says his company is called Love Drop.

“Love Drop?” I repeat. I did not think a man who had a company would name his company Love Drop.

He tells me that Love Drop is a way of using crowdsourcing to help other people. Basically, Love Drop picks a family to help every month. They tell this family’s story on their website, and people can become members and help this family with micro-payments.

He says that since launching on January 1, 2011, they have already given away almost $50,000. He says something like they’re just two guys with laptops. I think this is very different from the woman on the social media panel who would not stop talking about how she got on a national network, or how she got to work with Mountain Dew, or how she got to be a media empress. I think this is better. I think this is a better way to be. I think Nate — because that is his name, Nate St. Pierre — has the right idea. To not hoard. To give.

For example, this month Love Drop is helping the Withrow family. Felicity Withrow is four. She was recently diagnosed with brain cancer. She has a brain tumor that is attached to her brain stem. On top of this, Felicity’s mother is pregnant. Love Drop is trying to raise $5,000 to help the Withrow family with Felicity’s radiation treatments. So far, they’ve raised $2,500, but they need to raise $2,500 more. It’s too bad Mountain Dew would rather give who knows how much to have some “young, cute chick” natter on about Mountain Dew than give $2,500 to the Withrow family to help their daughter not be sick.

I think for the most part women shouldn’t go to technology conferences, but maybe they should because there is always that one fleeting moment amidst all the bullshit when you realize maybe there is more to this world than getting sponsored by a soda.

Email me. Follow me on Twitter. My personal blog.
__________________________________
David Irving: HigherSchool, relocated to Annapolis, Maryland in 2005

Subject: unsubscribe
Date: 7/27/2011 10:41:22 A.M. Central Daylight Time
From: dirving@higherschool.com
To: ronaldmay@aol.com

Hi Ron:

As I mentioned when we spoke earlier this week my company, HigherSchool, relocated to Annapolis, Maryland in 2005 and, as such, is no longer involved in the Chicago market. So please remove us from your distribution list.

We provide supplemental instruction to students attending failing public schools in Washington DC and throughout Maryland. We also instruct students attending private schools in New York City. We recently launched an online instructional program nationwide. Additional information is available at www.higherschool.com.

Regards,

David

David Irving | Chief Executive Officer

dirving@higherschool.com | www.higherschool.com | C: 312-513-7906

HigherSchool Publishing

3125 Catrina Lane | Annapolis, MD 21403 | P: 410-626-0076 | F: 443-949-7802

HigherSchool Tutoring

210 East Lexington Street, Suite 400 | Baltimore, MD 21202 | P: 410-528-1936 | F: 410-528-8276

HigherSchool Instructional Services

28 Village Road North, Suite 2R | Brooklyn, NY 11223 | P: 718-333-9800 | F: 718-336-0072
__________________________________
RTA RELEASES RFI FOR INTEGRATION OF REAL-TIME TRANSIT INFORMATION

Subject: RTA RELEASES RFI FOR INTEGRATION OF REAL-TIME TRANSIT INFORMATION
Date: 7/27/2011 4:14:25 P.M. Central Daylight Time
From: MitchellA@RTACHICAGO.ORG
To: MitchellA@RTACHICAGO.ORG

For immediate release

DATE: July 27, 2011

CONTACT: Diane Palmer, Deputy Executive Director of Communications, RTA

Office: 312-913-3282 Cell: 312-907-6902

RTA RELEASES RFI FOR INTEGRATION OF REAL-TIME TRANSIT INFORMATION

(CHICAGO) – Last week, the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) released a Request for Information (RFI) on the integration of real-time transit tracking. The RTA is exploring innovative options for providing up-to-the minute regional travel information. This live information will aid customers riding on the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Metra and Pace buses and trains.

The RTA is seeking innovative approaches on possible systems integration approaches that would maximize the use of the current transit infrastructure and enhance customer service by providing the public with a one-stop shop for estimated bus and train arrivals, departures and connections.

“The RTA envisions that transit tracker will provide significant improvements to the RTA system, helping to attract riders because the system will be more accessible and convenient,” said RTA Board Chairman John S. Gates, Jr. The RFI can be downloaded at RTAChicago.com and responses are due to the RTA by August 26, 2011, at 4 pm.

In December 2010, the RTA conducted three focus groups from passengers who used one or more of the region’s bus and train services as part of its regional Customer Service Satisfaction survey. The results showed that customers ranked real-time transit information as a priority for all the transit agencies.

The requirement for real-time information is also tied to the transit technology legislation drafted by the RTA and signed into law earlier this month by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn. The new law calls for real-time public transit tracking information to be provided to riders by July 2012. Other amenities include installing a Wi-Fi system on all buses and trains, as well as a transit system-wide flash card payment system.

As an interim step toward offering system-wide real-time information, the RTA recently added access to the CTA’s Bus and Train Tracker from the RTA’s trip planner system, goroo®. Goroo® provides trip itineraries using transit, driving, walking, biking, or any combination of these transportation options.

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About the RTA: The RTA provides financial oversight, funding and regional planning for the three public transit operators in Northeastern Illinois: The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) bus and train, Metra commuter rail and Pace suburban bus and paratransit. For more information, visit www.RTAchicago.com.

Annah Mitchell, Manager, Communications

Regional Transportation Authority • 175 W. Jackson Blvd • Suite 1650 • Chicago, IL 60604-2705

Phone: 312-913-3121 • Fax: 312.922.9274 • Website: www.rtachicago.org
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