Vipin has taken a pass at the geography issue. It’s hard to dispute that The Valley is the crucible of a lot of innovation. It’s also hard to ignore the great innovations that come from other areas.
But Vipin’s thesis, I would say, transcends geography- I think it provides good counsel for any entrepreneur. Whether you’re starting a company in Palo Alto or Lancaster, Pennsylvania, if you want to succeed, the ingredients are the same.
I just returned from visiting family in New Orleans, and, while I did enjoy taking my mother to Galatoire’s for dinner to celebrate Mother’s Day, I was astounded at how empty the city seems. A place that figured so prominently in my childhood has been taken apart and has yet to be put back together. Those who remain in the city and persevere with hope are an inspiration.
I recently came across an amusing review of the Prius. Now that we’ve added the one of these to our fleet, it’s becoming a favorite. Not that I don’t still enjoy driving a German car up and down the 405 or 101, which, when either is not a parking lot, is a joy. The problem is that these arteries are parking lots much of the time, and this is where the Prius shines, getting 50 mpg and offering a great hands free experience to boot (my Treo 700p pairs perfectly and even syncs the address book).
On the highway at 80 mph efficiency and fun give way to the feeling that, no matter what the appeal at slower speeds, you’re still driving a compact Toyota in the midst of long-haul truck traffic. That said, for local driving and commutes, the car is noteworthy.
Well, I bit the bullet and bought a Prius. Magnetic Gray. I’m taking her up to SFO this afternoon on an inaugural cruise. Pictures and road report to follow.
Moved to the east part of Honolulu. More pictures to come soon.
In Honolulu….starting out on Waikiki, then moving east of Diamond Head for the balance of our stay.From the window: 
Having spent about an hour with our new Wii, I’m impressed by the experience. When I first turned it on, I wondered why there were so many warnings related to using the wrist strap and having plenty of room. As I type this with a bandage covering the swollen knuckles on my right hand, I wish I had actually followed the advice instead of questioning it. The Wii is a physical game. And, because it’s immersive, physical surroundings are less top of mind than what’s going on in the game. The result- soundly punching the top of an Aeron chair while trying to pitch a respectable game of Wii Sports baseball.
Two other observations-
1.) Opera works well, though the screen rendering was variable (at least on my LCD).
2.) The Weather Forecast app is absolutely stunning. The ability to effortlessly scroll out the Globe and move around the word with the remote, zooming in as desired, is awesome.
Love indeed.
As a present before our anniversary trip to Hawaii, Tracy brought a Wii home last night (to our place in LA). That’s love. First impressions- 1.) Great controller (as expected) 2.) The bundled games are quite good, and 3.) Our 19 month old daughter loves it. More soon.
Fred Wilson has an interesting thread going here in response the Times story. I love the Bay Area and, in particular, the intellectual and economic ferment that so characterize it. It’s a great place to live, work and play. But the variables associated with starting, funding, and exiting a startup are so complicated, and the emergence of distributed workforces and "right shoring" as a commonplace tactic for early-stage development have me scratching my head after reading this article.
