Author Archives: MartinJMS

About MartinJMS

College Student, Business Owner, Photographer, Lockpicker, Hacker, and Dreamer. I see the world through a lens or a screen.

Shopping And The Internet – Changing What We Wear And How Much It Costs.

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Combatant Gentleman Review: Clothes for the modern office warrior.

I’ve always had more expensive tastes when it comes to things. More expensive might not be the right word. Instead, I value quality. I would much rather pay $50 for a toaster I will never need to replace, rather than paying $20 for a toaster I have to replace ten times. From the cameras and computers I buy, to the clothes I buy, I tend to look for the most affordable, highest quality option. Sometimes this means spending a lot more on something. I’m not afraid to pay more if I will get a higher quality, more refined product as a result. Additionally, I’ve always been one to spend more time doing research to make sure when I do spend the big bucks I don’t regret it. So far I’ve had a pretty good track record. What happens when you apply this to the clothes you wear though?

What I try to look like. Matt Bomer - Neal Caffrey, White Collar. (c) USA Network

What I wanted to look like.
Matt Bomer – Neal Caffrey, White Collar. (c) USA Network

The Problem. A Suit.

Not too long ago I had problem. I was facing graduation and with it, job interviews. I’ve had interviews before, but all of those were for jobs. This was the first time I would be interviewing for a career. As such, a problem. My problem was in the shape of a three button, ill fitting, padded shoulders, polyester blend suit I got in high school. It served me well for high school but those days are far behind me. Now was time for a new suit. Continue reading →

How to Turn Your Apple Watch Gold – Casey Neistat

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A lot has happened in the month I’ve been quiet. I have a few longer posts I’m working on (one specifically talking about the Apple Watch) but in the meantime I thought I would share a video. Casey Neistat makes some awesome videos. I think a lot of it has to do with his nontraditional style. The videos feel different because they are different.

I’ll leave my ranting about the watch for another post. Till then, enjoy.

 

-Martin

The Buy One, Give One Effect

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It’s 2006. TOMS Shoes is founded. Hardly the first Buy One, Give One foundation but one that many people will recognize in the years to come. Regardless of what circle you find yourself in you have probably heard about TOMS. They sell simple shoes and glasses and give you a sense of accomplishment when you buy them, because you just put a pair of shoes on another person’s feet half way around the world.

(c) TOMS

(c) 2015 TOMS “One for One”

The Problem -> Solution

First the problem. In America our poverty level is $11,670/year for one person.[1] Compared to the rest of the world our poverty level is higher than 85.32% of the rest of the world.[2] Now this hardly tells the whole story. Barter systems exist in many parts of the world that don’t account for the currency conversion, but there is no denying there are people in need in this world.

A lot of people and organizations have tried to be the solution. Most of the ideas have good merits and big problems as well. Often it’s the ideas that specialize and focus on one of the smaller problems that end up getting somewhere. TOMS wanted to get shoes on the feet of people in third world countries. How to pay for it though? Donations might work at first but you are relying on people giving money. Instead they went the B1G1 route. The idea is simple. Get a consumer in a more wealthy part buy something and then use part of the profits to buy/make something for someone in need.

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TEDxPSU – Bruce Schneier – Reconceptualizing Security

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“If it’s in the news, don’t worry about it. Because by definition, news is something that almost never happens.” – Bruce Schneier

Security is a very important thing. In a world where we hear about IS/ISIS/ISIL and cyber threats constantly, we want to be secure. We often judge how secure we are by how we feel. As you will find in this fantastic (but somewhat longer) TEDx talk, Bruce Schneier talks about the illusion of security vs real security. Well worth a watch! 

-Martin

The Con Is On.

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First rule of the con.

“Find somebody who wants something for nothing, then give him nothing for something”

A Perfect Lamborghini LP670-4 SV replica for sale. FOR ONLY US$38,000!!! Seems legit, right?

A Perfect Lamborghini LP670-4 SV replica for sale.
FOR ONLY US$38,000!!! Seems legit, right?

Cons are all around us. Some are obvious. (Or at least I hope this is obvious…) Like buying a “Perfect replica!” of a 1.8 million dollar car for “THE LOW LOW PRICE OF ONLY $49,000!!!!!!!!” This is what the completely legitimate, nothing fishy here, company called Super Replicas (Aka Top Gear Replicas, aka Top Gear Carbon Copies, aka We Seem Totally Legit Right?) is offering.

Side Note: I use sarcasm a bit but I realize in text it maybe a little hard to follow so anything in italics is sarcasm or hyperbole.

Now at first you should be thinking to yourself “Does this seem too good to be true? Why yes self! It does!” Most good confidence schemes will understand for any con to work they have to convince that side of you that it is both too good to be true and yet also true at the same time. Let me show you.

Random Person: Hey there, hold up.
You: What’s up?
Random Person: Can I give you $100?
You: Sure.. What’s the catch?
Random Person: No catch. I just want to give you $100.
You: Why?
Random Person: Well I just inherited a lot of money and one of the terms is that I give half of it away so I’m giving random people $100 in hopes it will make their day.

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MKBHD – The New Macbook Impressions!

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MKBHD also known as Marques Brownlee is a YouTube tech reviewer. That being said, he has grown to a level of YouTube stardom usually reserved for funny cat videos and music videos (do people not know about Spotify?) making his videos something mainstream people actually watch. This is half of the reason I’m publishing it here. The other reason is that I haven’t finished my hands off write-up/thoughts. He always seems to produce quality work. I’ll have a later post talking about his videos and make sure to get my own write up done soon.

But without further ado, MKBHD’s initial impressions of the new MacBook. Enjoy.

-Martin

Idiot Proof Computers: Do They Exist And Can They Save Us?

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First off let’s make this really easy and say that for the most part many people who use computers do not really know enough to really be in control of such a powerful machine. I try to equate it to a toddler driving a car. Sure you can jury-rig it so they can reach the pedals and steer but at the end of the day they are still too young and in experienced to be driving themselves.

The real problem

All of this being said, you might think I’m blaming the users. Quite the opposite in fact. It’s actually less like a toddler driving a car and more like an average person trying to fly a fighter jet. In a war zone. Running on reserve fuel. 

While it may not feel like this when you are working on a computer, the fact is we are all under constant attack, and it’s scariest when we don’t realize we are under attack. This map in fact starts to give you an idea of that. Link – Norse IPViking Live Map

Norse IPViking Map

Norse IPViking Map

So who’s fault is this? Who is to blame? I think a lot of this falls on the programmers and the companies developing all of this new fancy technology. There tends to be a focus on what a product can do and not how secure it really is.

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Humans Need Not Apply

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Robots. In the movies they are usually the clumsy helper or deadly enemy. Today we think of them more as over priced, over sized, stupid helpers. They are here to serve us, but could that change?

This video outlines a future where even the most impressive resume won’t get you the job. It’s a longer video (15 minutes) but well worth a watch.

[youtube http://youtu.be/7Pq-S557XQU w=640&h=360]

 

-Martin

To the top of Shanghai Tower

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Shanghai Tower. 650 meters off the ground. And apparently a great opportunity for urban exploring. Do not try this. Also if you have vertigo you might not want to watch this…

 

 

Check out the photos from the adventure on their 500px page.

-Martin

Ford Focus S or Mercedes-Benz S600? Which would you choose?

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(c) 2014 Ford Motor Company

(c) 2014 Ford Motor Company

Cars. For some people they are only a mode of transportation while for others they are something special. The point of this is to show you that you don’t need to be a millionaire to drive truly amazing cars.

The 2014 Ford Focus S has a base price of $16,635 and that is the budget. I’ll probably push the budget by a few dollars with some of these choices but you’ll get the idea. For about the same as a base model economy sedan you can get something far from the base model.

 

Choice One: Luxury

2004 Mercedes-Benz S600

2004 Mercedes-Benz S600

This car may be 10 years old but you wouldn’t know it by looking at it. It doesn’t look outdated and except for the built in phone it doesn’t feel outdated either. When this car was new it retailed for almost $123,000. A decade later you don’t find yourself missing features. If a base model Focus has it now chances are this car had it 10 years ago as well as some very nice extras. For instance all of the seats have electric adjustments. That includes the back seats. Built in massagers are a nice compliment to the both heated and cooled seats. That trim you see is real walnut.

5.5L V6 producing 493 bhp

5.5L V6 producing 493 bhp

Luxury is great but do you know what is even better? When that luxury has almost 500 bhp. This S600 has a 5.5L V12 under the hood. While it might hurt when you fill up at the gas station you’re guaranteed to be smiling every time the stoplight turns green.

So what does a luxury car with a huge engine go for these days?

 $16,800

And yes. That is the buy it now price, not just the current bid. Ebay Link

That’s hardly your only option though. Let’s move on to…

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