The earth shook 5 minutes ago!

I feel a quake about once every six months or so. This is the third time that I've been home while one has happened. And it comes in at a 3.8!!! Not bad...but I probably felt it cause it was so close...over in the East Bay.

[Update: it has been reclassified as a 3.7. Here's a community intensity map that shows how widely it was felt.]

Announcing The Stirr Network...a Silicon Valley forum for early-stage startups

San and I just launched Stirr. Looking forward to April!

Event Information

WHAT: stirr mixers provide a forum for entrepreneurs from recently-launched startups to present new products and services to their peers, as well as an opportunity for everyone in the community (stealth-mode folk, journalists/bloggers, connectors and investors) to socialize and swap thoughts and ideas.

WHEN: Wednesday April 5th. Gathering begins at 6:00pm, demos at 8pm, giveaway at 8:45pm, wrapup by 10pm.

WHERE: Fanny and Alexander, 412 Emerson St., Palo Alto [map]. Cash bar.

COST: Free with RSVP. $15 without RSVP. Pre-printed nametags will be available at the door.

HOW: Go to http://stirr.net, click RSVP and fill-out the Reservation Form

Demonstrations

There will be 3 early stage companies presenting demos on-stage at 8pm. Demos are 420 seconds long. There will also be 2 Demo Tables running during the evening.

Stage Presentations From: Meetro, Paul Bragiel, CEO PlaceSite, Sean Savage, CEO Prosper, Andrew Martinez-Fonts, Prod. Manager

At the Demo Tables: Inkling Markets, Adam Siegel, CEO 3Jam, Enlai Chu, COO

Sponsors

This month's event is sponsored by Netgear. Enter the drawing by 7:30pm for a free high-speed wireless router.

[Update: the event was a HUGE success! We now even have our very own 'stirr' tag on Valleywag!]

Going skydiving tomorrow...

...if the weather holds up. I'm flying down to LA to visit some college friends and celebrate St. Patty's Day. Will have pictures linked when I return.

[Update: bad weather prevented us from going. On Sunday AM, we got geared up and made it to 9000' before we were told to return to the ground. The plan was to fall out of the plane at 13,000 feet.]

Dreams from My Father : A Story of Race and Inheritance

I finished Barack Obama's book, "Dreams from My Father" this morning on the train ride down. It was written years ago, after he graduated from law school, but gives you an idea on who he is and what he may become. The ending includes the text from his Keynote Speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention. Books like this always seem to have a couple of sections of pictures...I wish they would have been included. And I agree with the Publishers Weekly review...we are left hanging about what happens to his mother.

I don't think Senator will be the last office that he holds.

Next up...the Dalai Lama's "The Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality".

Youtube influencing politics

As my co-worker Jason said this morning, this is probably the first (of many to come) times that Youtube has influenced politics. I wrote about Jason McElwain's game last month.

My desk

In December of 2004, we moved to downtown Palo Alto from Sand Hill Road (our home of 35-odd years). All agreed...a much better location: next to CalTrain, plenty of restaurants/shops nearby and a much bigger (and open) space. We took doors from the old space and I snagged it to use as a desk (see picture). The history of the space is varied...a adult theater in the 70s, the HQ for a microbrewery (I can never remember which one), the HQ for iPix (though they are based in Reston VA, so that may not be true) and right before us, the HQ for Danger (claim to fame...someone hacked into Paris Hilton's Sidekick...made by Danger). At some point, a third floor was added and earthquake retro-fitting meant meant the installation of criss-cross beams (5 rows of them). My desk butts up against one of them. I use it to hang letters from my niece & nephew and the other side has a calendar and a patch from my recent Orange Bowl trip. My desk has a phone, computer and assorted office supplies (I am an information worker), but also includes a pink pig and a Penn State music box/snow globe. Nice and big and holds all that I need. To my left is an atrium (I can look down into it) and then an open space is to my right. In the winter time it gets dark very early. So this time of year is nice, since the days are getting longer.

Wall of money!

A couple of weeks ago, one of my co-workers found a dollar bill on the third floor landing. Being the noble person he is, he put it up on the frig for the rightful owner to later claim it. After it was there for several days, we started to talk about it:

• Who's money is it?
• Should we double the money each day and see how long it would last before someone snagged it?
• What can we do creative here?

So, we started with doubling it (which only lasted one day). Then, a rather large $100 bill was added. At a potluck lunch, I brought in a 500,000,000,000 Dinar note from Yugoslavia (a rather inflationary time there), to show to everyone and put it up there. Then this week, BAM!, more money was added, from Canada, Singapore, Indonesia, Monopoly and even a $.04 check from Citifinancial. We are running low on magnets, but I'm sure more will show up, as will more money...

Speciallægepraksisplanlægningsstabiliseringsperiode

At work, we have a Danish intern (Peder) with us for three months. Earlier today, I spotted a word on something that he printed out...a very LONG word. He said, "that's nothing!" and then showed me proof:

Speciallægepraksisplanlægningsstabiliseringsperiode

which means:

Period of stability planning for specialist doctor practice

Of course!!!

Note...spelling bee champions in Denmark probably kick ass...

Oscar night means wine...

When my friends get together for a dinner gathering, it usually means that we are drinking some wine, so...I'm going to attempt to record what we drink.

Tonight's selections:

• Francis Coppola 2003 Diamond Claret
• Pedroncelli 2002 Three Vineyards Cab
• Castoro Cellars 2005 Muscat Canelli
• R. L. Buller & Son Premium Fine Muscat (2)

I had the Muscat a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed it enough that I bought 8 bottles of it. W. Wong gave it a 97!

Happies tonight at Lucid!

My friends and I (that was a link to a new sign-up process we are thinking of using) are hosting a happies at Lucid tonight, starting at 6pm, up in the city (Union Square areaish). As of 11:12am, we have 157 "yes" RSVPs. Looks like we are gonna have ourselves a nice little party!

My camera is back from the shop!

It's been 5 weeks, but I finally have my camera back. The lens was damaged over the New Years weekend, but all seems to be okay now. Having it back inspired me to add a AC adapter...thanks eBay! Should get some use out of it this weekend...

IFTF has launched a new blog: Virtual China

Virtual China is an exploration of virtual experiences and environments in and about China. Researcher Lyn Jeffery and former intern Jason Li are the two contributors. The blog is part of a larger effort by IFTF to dive deeper into the future of Asia. Good luck Lyn & Jason!

(They Long to Be) Close to You...

...by The Carpenters was the #1 song in the country when I was born. Find out what yours was here. Thanks for the link Carmen!