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Tag: Oregon

REMINDER: All your Ignite Portland 5 tickets are belong to you tomorrow at 10 AM

Rick Turoczy on February 4, 2009

Ignite Portland 5 ticketsTomorrow, Ignite Portland will open ticket “sales” for Ignite Portland 5 at 10:00 AM sharp.

Ignite Portland 5 on February 5th. Get it? It’s a mnemonic device.

No, not that Mnemonic device. This mnemonic device. And the 10? 5 + 5 my friend. Easy easy easy.

Now where was I?

Oh yes. I say “sales,” because you don’t have to pay anything for the tickets. They’re free.

Okay okay. I don’t want to get into some kind of neo-sociological argument about how you pay for Ignite with your attention and social capital and whatnot. They’re the “don’t cost you any cash” free. That kind of free.

Or as the hip (drinking age) kids like to say “Free as in beer.”

To quote a famous Portlander, “Free is a very good price.”

I don’t know about you, but I’m going to be camping out in front of my computer—all night long—just to save my place in line. No cuts.

To join me, visit Ignite Portland.

[Editor: For those left scratching their grammarian heads at my headline, I assure you that I have not lost it. Wacky headline courtesy of my bastardizing a popular meme.]

iPhorest: New iPhone app launching at TED has Portland connection

Rick Turoczy on February 4, 2009

iPhorestIf you’re in Portland and involved in a the Web and mobile startup scene, any mention of “iPhone” is usually immediately followed by a mention of “Raven Zachary.”

Portland isn’t alone in that regard, the iPhone consultant—who helped create iPhoneDevCamp before there was even such a thing as iPhone development—has seen more and more attention for his services as the burgeoning iPhone market has come into being.

And it’s thanks in no small part to his involvement in a little iPhone that played a role in putting Barack Obama in office. The other part is that he’s one of the most intelligent and well-spoken people I know. And of course the final part is that he’s one of the nicest guys you’ll get the chance to meet.

Well, now Raven has his hand in another app that’s sure to increase the iPhone limelight for him. Meet iPhorest, a new iPhone app launching this week at TED, the premiere “cool leading edge technology thinking and stuff” conference.

Raven Zachary on iPhorest

And Raven isn’t the only one excited about it. There’s this guy you may have heard of named Kevin Rose who told his 98,700 (and counting) Twitter followers about it.

Kevin Rose on iPhorest

And then there’s Ashton Kutcher’s wife. She likes it, too.

Demi Moore on iPhorest

It’s clear that iPhorest is on to something.

What’s not so clear is exactly what iPhorest does—since it’s not yet available in the App Store. But it has something to do with planting trees. On the iPhone.

By downloading the app, the user activates a seedling both virtually and physically. As the seedling on their phone grows, users can also send seeds to other phones, starting a new forest.

For each virtual tree planted, The Conservation Fund will plant a native tree in real life – starting with restoration of vulnerable wildlife habitats along the Gulf Coast. They will work with the nation’s leading public natural resource agencies to ensure the long-term protection of each iPhorest.

iPhones and sustainability? What could be more Portland-y than that? [UPDATE] More Portland people of course! Raven adds:

The lead developer and designer, Andrew Pouliot @andpoul, is in Portland, as is the 3D modeler, Alex Jetter. Thanks to Bram Pitoyo for the recommendation for Alex.

It’s a very cool concept. I’m looking forward to getting the opportunity to test drive it—and help a few flowers bloom trees grow.

As soon as I know more, you’ll know more. But I wanted to congratulate Raven on iPhorest as soon as I could.

Software Association of Oregon adds familiar faces, Twitter

Rick Turoczy on February 3, 2009

Software Association of Oregon - SAOThe Software Association of Oregon has recently announced a new Board of Directors. And I’m happy to report that those new Board members include a number of familiar faces from companies that have graced the pages of the Silicon Florist.

“Who?” you ask?

Well, hold your horses and I’ll tell you:

Congratulations to the SAO and all of the new Board members. It’s nice to see some of the Web startups here in town getting a seat at the table.

Not only that, it’s a good direction for the SAO to be moving to ensure that they remain relevant with all of the various “tech community”s in town.

In other news, the SAO now has a Twitter presence. Coincidence? Yeah, probably. But interesting anyway.

Ignite Portland 5: And the presenters are…

Rick Turoczy on January 30, 2009

Ignite Portland

Ooh. We’re getting close now. The Ignite Portland team just announced the lucky people who get to deliver presentations for Ignite Portland 5.

So who gets to spend a nerve-wracking and seemingly interminable five minutes on stage? Here are our latest victims presenters:

Now is also a good time to remind you that tickets will be going “on sale” on February 5.

Congratulations to all those selected! I’m looking forward to seeing you on stage, dazzling 500+ of your closest friends with your burning ideas.

OTBC Lunch 2.0 Recap, Welding for Giggles in the Future?

Rick Turoczy on January 15, 2009

Yesterday, Steve Morris and the OTBC hosted the tenth iteration of Portland Lunch 2.0 and the first one in the ‘burbs.

Even though we didn’t get an official count, estimates I collected put the attendance between 75 and 100. Pretty typical for Portland Lunch 2.0, but a pleasant surprise for our first venture to the ‘burbs. It was tough to count people because they filled up the OTBC office and its conference rooms and spilled into the lobby.

The fire marshal would not have been pleased.

The party train arrives

Photo by Don Park, used under Creative Commons.

Todd and his party train brought about 30 people from Portland, and attendance from nearby the areas seemed high. I didn’t do a scientific poll or anything, but based on the number of new faces, I think it’s safe to say that we had a lot of first-timers. It was a nice mix of the usual suspects and new people. The reactions I saw on Twitter right after lunch included several good-to-meet-yous and the like.

The fare was pizza, but as with most Lunch 2.0s, I didn’t eat. Too busy chatting and networking. Simeon Bateman liked it enough to ping me to find out who provided it. Bellagios if you’re wondering, and a couple of the OTBC’s companies provided it: Integra Telecom and Sonitrol.

A little nugget here: Sonitrol provides security systems and captures audio of intruders; Todd and I agreed that audio would be really funny to hear, like a YouTube for botched breakins. Turns out they do publish some of the audio clips, and they’re as funny as expected. I found this out while chatting with Chuck Mally and Pamela Singleton from Sonitrol.

This Lunch 2.0 also featured a field trip over to Denney Cole’s Portland TechShop. What is TechShop you ask?

TechShop is a membership-based DIY workshop that gives you access to a huge variety of tools and equipment, tons of friendly and easy classes, and a community of amazing people who share your interest in making things.

That’s right, it’s a DIY workshop, complete with tools and machines you just don’t have room for or don’t want to buy. I had to miss the field trip, which bummed me out because several of us agreed that welding stuff and then cutting it apart with an acetylene torch for giggles sounded like a blast. Denney agreed this was the type of activity he wanted to encourage. He might even name a class “Welding for Giggles”. Sweet.

Wm Leler will soon be opening an Open Tech Space there soon, which will be free to anyone, the ostensible reason for the field trip. Sounds like about 20 people made the trip, but I’m still focused on the heavy machinery.

The *big* machinery

Photo by Wm Leler, used with permission.

So, it was a great lunch all around, and judging by the number of new Twitter follows and good-to-meet-yous, we managed to make some new connections.

Upcoming Portland Lunch 2.0s

Interested in hosting a Lunch 2.0 this Spring or later in the year? Drop a comment (or tweet @jkuramot) if you want information about hosting one. It’s easy.

One more thing, will someone please remind me to carry business cards the next time? Every time we have a Lunch 2.0, I sheepishly have to tell people I don’t carry cards. Sorry about that.

Venture to the ‘burbs for Lunch 2.0 at OTBC on Wednesday

Rick Turoczy on January 12, 2009


It’s been a while, so I’m sure your appetite for good grub and conversation has been whetted.

In case you’ve forgotten, we’re off to the OTBC in the ‘burbs (Beaverton) for the first Portland Lunch 2.0 hosted outside city limits. I saw Steve Morris at End Bloglessness this past weekend; he’s looking forward to showing off the new digs the OTBC recently inhabited in the swanky Beaverton Round.

If you’re sitting in Portland, lamenting the trip West, never fear; turns out the OTBC’s office is only about 100 feet from the MAX Blue Line Beaverton Central stop. And, Todd has graciously organized a Party Train to Lunch 2.0. So, you’re going to need a better excuse than usual to avoid going West.

But wait, there’s more. Wm Leler wants to take advantage to show off his new Open TechShop, and he’ll be organizing a side trip during the lunch for anyone interested. So much good stuff.

Update: A blurb from Wm himself:

Many people have heard about TechShop Portland opening up soon, and since it is close to OTBC we are arranging a tour of TechShop and OpenTechSpace after Lunch 2.0, so people can see how it is coming along and find out how they can help. If you are going to take MAX out to OTBC, we will be carpooling to TechShop and will return you to OTBC. Lots of progress is being made — TechShop had their first class last week, and OpenTechSpace has workbenches and is starting to acquire equipment and tools. TechShop has a new blog at http://portlandtechshop.com and OpenTechSpace is at http://opentechspace.org

Convinced yet? Just be sure to head over to Upcoming to RSVP and make sure to include a comment if you’re vegan/vegetarian. This will ensure Steve has enough of the right kinds of food for you.

Hope to see your smiling face there.

In other PDX Lunch 2.0 news, thanks to Aaron Hockley, our semi-official photographer, for the plug at WorkCamp Las Vegas this past weekend. Aaron was one of three Portlanders who were invited to speak (along with Geoff Kleinman and Lorelle VanFossen), and you can watch his session “Beyond Beer and Blog” here.

Also, AboutUs, our host for the very first PDX Lunch 2.0 last year, will be hosting our one year anniversary lunch in February. They have lots to celebrate, having just closed a round of venture funding last week.

Upcoming Portland Lunch 2.0s

Big thanks to all the hosts who have hosted or plan to host Lunch 2.0. I hope we can keep the Lunch 2.0 train rolling this year. Drop a comment (or tweet @jkuramot) if you want information about hosting one. It’s easy.

Legion of Tech announces Advisory Committee for 2009

Rick Turoczy on January 9, 2009

Legion of TechToday, the Legion of Tech—the completely volunteer force behind a number of the free and amazing tech events here in Portland, Oregon—announced a new addition to their organization, an Advisory Committee to help guide the efforts of the LoT.

Specifically, the Advisory Committee works with the Legion of Tech Board in an effort to “provide feedback on Legion of Tech activities, act as a few more eyes and ears in the community, and get more people involved in Legion of Tech.”

The 12 inaugural members of the committee are:

Congratulations to everyone who has been named to the Advisory Committee!

For me, it’s an humbling honor to have been selected to serve with this group of incredibly intelligent and creative folks. I’m looking forward to doing all I can to help the Legion of Tech volunteers and the new LoT Board continue to build one of the most beneficial tech resources in the Silicon Forest.

Well worth the read: The Oregonian’s coverage of the Winter Coders’ Social

Rick Turoczy on January 8, 2009

It’s not often I get the chance to sing the praises of The Oregonian, but the coverage of the Winter Coders’ Social is exactly the kind of mainstream coverage this whole Portland open source community deserves.

Because much of the programming work in Portland is of the freelance or consulting nature, gatherings such as these are good for getting job leads or for simply taking a break from staring at a computer screen. But competitive Silicon Valley this isn’t. Here at CubeSpace, partygoers never get more aggressive than wearing shirts to advertise their preferred programming language — “Perl Mongers” or “Ruby Brigade.” And once the party ends at 10 p.m., plans are made to head up the street to Aztec Willies for another beer.

Silicon Florist favorites Calagator, Ward Cunningham, Selena Deckelmann, Audrey Eschright, Igal Koshevoy, and Bart Massey are all mentioned.

“The rate of change can drown you,” Eschright says. “You have to stay on top of things and get involved. Be a co-producer. Technology needs to represent who you are.”

As I’ve mentioned before, this is exactly the kind of coverage people have been asking me to pursue—shedding more light on the activities of the open source development community and user groups in the area. I’m glad to see The O beating me to the punch.

Grab a cup of coffee—or beverage of your choice—and take few minutes to read “Geekathon potlucks unite computer herd.”

Masterbacon: More techie bacon love than you can shake a strip of bacon at

Rick Turoczy on January 7, 2009

Bacon!There are some things that just go well together. Chocolate & peanut butter. Beer & Blog. And, of course, technology & bacon.

What’s that? You’re not aware of the kismet-like connection of cured meats and coding?

Well, then Masterbacon is for you, my friend.

It’s all about techies doing what they do best: geeking. Only this time, rather than geeking about some obscure algorithm or arcane coding language, they’re geeking about bacon.

Have you ever wanted to get together with a bunch of other bacon geeks and just geek out about bacon? What if there was an event specifically catered to bacon geeks to be able to share their favorite bacon treats with the world? Wouldn’t it make sense to make it a competition complete with trophy and prizes? Of course it would.

Masterbacon is just such an event.

So much bacon love, even the most vegan of geeks is sure to appreciate it. Maybe.

Masterbacon will be held on Saturday, January 17, at the newly opened Davis Street Tavern in Old Town. Participation is mandatory. That means you’re cooking, judging… something.

For more information, see Masterbacon on Bacon Geek. To RSVP, visit Upcoming.

I can’t wait to see how you get your bacon on. That is, just so long as this isn’t how you get your bacon on.

Photo courtesy the bacon geek, himself, Scott Kveton. Used under Creative Commons.

Get all Nostradamus-esque-ish by exercising your powers of Portland prognostication

Rick Turoczy on December 18, 2008

Silicon Forest 2009So, it’s getting to be about that time. You know. End of the year. Time to start thinking about next year. ‘Tis the season of recaps and predictions.

I’m working on a little “Predictions for Portland 2009″project with a couple of other folks. Of course, the entire Silicon Forest is fair game, too. I just couldn’t stand breaking up that alliteration with factual information.

Given that you’ve got some insight and ideas in this regard, I wanted to invite you to contribute your two cents. You do know what’s going to happen, don’t you?

Well okay then.

All you have to do is comment below with your predictions for the Silicon Forest tech scene next year. Are things going to be dire? Are they going to improve? Who will be the shining stars? Who will rise from the ashes? Who will be the new new media darlings in the coming year?

Easy as that. I might need to follow up with you on your contribution to the discussion.

No concept is too wacky. So have at it.

I eagerly await your powers of prognostication.

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