Communitas

Kita and I watched Away We Go last night. It’s the story...

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:12:41 -0800

Kita and I watched Away We Go last night. It’s the story of a couple whose first pregnancy provokes them to realize that “real life” is starting and that they want to find the right place for their family and for the rest of their lives. They embark upon a trip to Arizona, Madison, WI, Montreal and Miami visiting friends and family looking to figure it out. It’s both funny and explores well the question of place and community in America which is an issue dear to me. I loved it and highly recommend it.

It is directed by Sam Mendes, written by the husband-and-wife team of Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, and stars John Krasinski (The Office), Maya Rudolph (SNL). The soundtrack fantastic and is 80% by Alexi Murdoch, who was a classmate of mine in college. We were both English majors and had lots of classes together. His cowboy boots, Scotish accent, earnings were bohemian and mysterious back then, but I see now how it was all meant to be as he’s a great artist very reminicnet of Nick Drake. Here’s “All My Days” from the soundtrack.

We went to Eldorado Canyon State Park yesterday. Only 11 miles...

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:38:16 -0800

The posed family shot

View of the contiental divide

Sisters

We went to Eldorado Canyon State Park yesterday. Only 11 miles from our house. A great get-away.

My friend Adam in Frederick is a great home-brewer (as are many...

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:15:42 -0800

keg and CO2 tank in fridge

the beer line

headed up to the kitchen

the in-kitchen tap!

My friend Adam in Frederick is a great home-brewer (as are many of my friends there). His production has become so great that the labor around bottling has become a real drag.

So now he’s built what is a dream for any warm-blooded, beer-drinking man: the in-kitchen tap! Pure genius! It runs from his basement fridge up to the kitchen. As the orignal pourer of the cement upon which his basement fridge rests, I hope to have rights to pours from the tap.

Dark Fire (Matthew Shardlake #2)

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:01:16 -0800

Dark Fire (Matthew Shardlake #2) :

author: C.J. Sansom
name: toby
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2004
rating: 3
read at: 2009/11/06
date added: 11/06/09
shelves:
review:

The Devil's Company: A Novel

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:01:15 -0800

The Devil's Company: A Novel :

author: David Liss
name: toby
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2009/11/06
date added: 11/06/09
shelves:
review:

Health Care & Obama Disappointment

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:37:33 -0800

I’ve written about health care before, but Kita sent me a link to the best write up on it to date from John Cassidy at the New Yorker.

He says what I feel about the situation with a lot more eloquence and analysis:

I regard an expansion of the government safety net as ethically essential, economically justified, and long overdue… But we will be dealing with its consequences for decades to come, and I think it’s important to be clear about what the reform amounts to.

Let’s remind ourselves of the basics. There are two big (and linked) problems with the current health-care system. It excludes 46.3 million Americans, according to the Census Bureau, and it is inordinately expensive. The proposed reform purports to tackle both of these problems; in fact, it only addresses the first one in any systematic manner. The future cost savings that the Administration and its congressional allies are promising to deliver are based on wishful thinking and sleight of hand. Over time, the reform, as proposed, would almost certainly add substantially to the budget deficit, thereby worsening the long-term fiscal crisis that the country faces

That’s the story. As an enthusiastic Obama campaign supporter, I’m quite disappointed by this, his first big reform initiative.

Health Care is a HUGE challenge, and we could have dealt with it by honestly confronting the truth of the situation and actually dealing with the costs. It would have been challenging, it would have required a national revolutionary fervor to make it happen—but frankly that’s what I expected from the Obama era.

Instead we’re just increasing our deficit, which is the last thing we should be doing.

Tools of the Trade

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:18:44 -0800

Tools of the Trade:

I like Mike’s post here about all of the tools out there. There are many more that we use too (GitHub, AWS, Trac, Zoho CRM, Less Accounting, RigthScale). Amazing all of the (low cost) services you can use to drive your business.

Two of the best—Jack Johnson and Eddie Vedder—doing...

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:07:20 -0800

Two of the best—Jack Johnson and Eddie Vedder—doing “Constellations.” From I Like This Song.

The Entreprenurial Battle

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:01:06 -0800

Brad Feld had a great post today of an email he received:

Yet, as I set out to raise money …I’ve noticed, or maybe more accurately, I’ve become aware of the ether that is between a venture investor and entrepreneur. In the ether, all things that can make or break a deal exist: idea, market risk, technical risk, team competence, economy, deal flow, competition, VC mood that day, entrepreneur pitch that day, first impression, gut feel, blog post for or against the idea read that morning, breakfast/no-breakfast, bias for or against, smarts or not-so-smarts of the VC and entrepreneur.

In my pitch experience, VCs I have been convinced hated me and my company after my pitch have invested. VCs I am sure as shit loved me and my company after my pitch blew me off. I have also been right that VCs I thought hated me and my company told me they in fact did; and, those who loved me and my company did in fact invest. It’s been a crap shoot at best.

Assuming there is something of merit in the idea, market, team and company, somewhere in the ether is a term sheet and a kick to the curb. Coalescing just the right combination of elements in the ether at the right time has proven to be more art than science. Anti-portfolios highlight how successful companies didn’t get it coalesced with one investor but did with another.

If I get it right and a financing comes together for my new company, I hope to have learned something that tips the scales of randomness in the scrum.

And I provided this comment:

That’s a great email. Thanks for sharing.

I am an experienced entrepreneur in the middle of the scrum myself (in fact I’m in discussions with Ryan & Seth at your firm, among others). The truth of start-up life is that it is a constant battle, there are ecstatic highs and vicious lows. I like VCs who don’t try to smooth it all over, but recognize the reality of that battle. In particular, I love the creed of Quest VP ; it recognizes that so much of the determinant of success is the entrepreneur’s fortitude in the battle.

As an entrepreneur, you have to embrace the battle and love it. It’s the only way to live. It’s great to hear about it from another entrepreneur’s prespective. To whomever it is: good luck!!!

The Quest principles:

We believe a successful startup must excel in these six points and more:

Surrounds itself with the best and the brightest of ambitious, dedicated and passionate people; the best give the expertise and experience needed, the brightest will always find innovative solutions and the ambition & passion will give the courage required to pick yourself up when you fail.

Understands that it will, baring incredible luck, likely fail catastrophically at some point and is always planning for this.

Has the patience, courage, conviction, and irrational faith to persevere even when there are better alternatives in the market and when the going gets tough.

Recognizes a significant and genuine market pain. Provides a cost-effective and adoptable solution to an undiscovered need or problem that exists and is better than any present, emerging or conceivable alternatives.

Knows how to successfully market and monetize their solution. Validates their market pain and monetization plan by lining up potential customers for their solution early on.

Executes, executes, and executes. Makes sure to do the right things and to do things right. Thomas Edison is known to have said “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” He is also known to have said “There is no substitute for hard work.”

One Riot to Power Yahoo Real-time Search

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:10:00 -0800

One Riot to Power Yahoo Real-time Search:

Congrats to (Boulder-based) One Riot! A big win for them.

Kita's Writing a Novel

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:01:47 -0800

Kita's Writing a Novel:

She blogged today about her writing club and her task of writing a novel. She’s a great writer and I can’t wait for it.

I really like the plot line that she’s come up with. I think she should share it on her blog. Please pester her about it.

Sunset on 6th St.

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:12:09 -0700

Sunset on 6th St.

One foot of snow here and counting. The deer—here in our...

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:58:37 -0700

One foot of snow here and counting.

The deer—here in our front yard—are taking to the trees, as it’s hard to get to the grass.

Simple Geo: An Infrastructure For Location-Based Services

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:00:44 -0700

Simple Geo: An Infrastructure For Location-Based Services:

Another cool Internet company in Boulder. :-)

Had a good family hike in Nederland yesterday with Nid. Though...

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 06:48:22 -0700

Had a good family hike in Nederland yesterday with Nid. Though we’ve been here for two months, we hadn’t been up past the foothills yet. Nederlerland is 20 mi. / 30 min. away, but is 3,000 ft. up. It’s sweet to have such wilderness so close by. Very restorative after a week of airplanes and skyscrapers.

In Boston now. Such a beautiful city. Here’s the above...

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:53:20 -0700

In Boston now. Such a beautiful city.

Here’s the above ground result of the Big Dig. Much better!

Why U.S. higher ed is becoming like auto industry -- and thus has to change

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 07:46:54 -0700

Why U.S. higher ed is becoming like auto industry -- and thus has to change

noni & cupcakes

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:39:00 -0700

man, i want the cupcakes!

hmmm . . .

if i don't eat them, i will eat my hand!

ah yes. you are mine

noni & cupcakes

the girls’ love for one another is a great blessing

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:33:32 -0700

the girls’ love for one another is a great blessing

Buffs win!!!

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 19:55:37 -0700

Buffs win!!!