Author Archives: Jason

About Jason

Jason R. Koepke is Founder and Data Strategist at GNT LLC, a risk-analysis and data strategy firm that provides analytical and technical services to the public and private sectors. His work and research has been featured in the academic, financial, and technical industries.

Me At My Music Snobbiest

This week, I saw two incredible shows: Preservation Hall Jazz Band at The Barns at Wolftrap and Gil Scott-Heron at 930 Club. The weird part of these shows is that I did not see any of you there (Note: HD was at PHJB and out of town for the second show). I think everything is possible, but it is as close to impossible as possible for me to respect someone’s thoughts on music if they did not attend these shows. So consider yourself dismissed.

So who was there? Aging baby boomers. It’s a sad state of affairs when the sell outs, people too busy driving their kids back and forth from college, and those who have been scared into regular blood-pressure checks have better music taste then your peers.

eViting Terror into Your Inbox

People know I have intensely disliked eVite (no, they, like MySpace, are not link worthy) from Day One. Most people just chalk it up to me being crazy and a pure Internetist, but it is much more than that.

Thankfully, LW e-mailed me a NYT article that kind of lays out the reasons why “eVite sucks”. Some selected quotes from the article:

I want to be grateful for an invitation, but I feel harassed. Unlike the sweet, promising envelopes that sometimes arrive with the real mail, tulips in the weeds of fliers for gym memberships, Evites mix the forced cheer of advertising with the stern bullying of debt-collecting. It’s a party! First notice. Second notice. Where’s your R.S.V.P.?! We’d love to see you! Late fee.

and

Let’s take stock of where Diller has left the partying world. Evite commodifies hospitality. It co-opts the benevolence of hosts by using them to drive traffic to an ad platform. It makes would-be guests seem boorish if they’re reluctant to conduct their social lives on the Web. And it turns every party into one of those shell-game publicity “events” where Star X has to believe that Star Y is coming in order to show up herself.

Thankfully, I have at least one friend (SD) who spares me the horror of eVites and sends me a personalized e-mail with the relevant information. To the others, I always include an “eVite sucks” conclusion to my note.

Starting now, though, I also plan to include a TinyURL link to this NYT article, and I encourage you to do the same:

http://tinyurl.com/4z73o8

Orange You Tired of Bad Oranges?

When was the last time you had a good orange? Go ahead, comment.

Out of my most recent bunch, one of the five were good (but not great), and that is better than usual. I have not had an excellent orange in years.

Is something happening to our orange supply? Am I choosing the wrong type of oranges (usually Naval, but not always)?

Today, someone recommended I try Blood Oranges, because “they’re the best oranges!” Coincidentally, KL encouraged me to buy a Blood Orange tree, so we could trade citrus (my research on the matter is still pending).

During the last few months I have also been disappointed in apples. On the flip side, Ecuadorian organic bananas have been incredible but difficult to time due to their short window of proper ripeness.