Feedback for our local Economic Resource Council

From KNCO recently -

"[Huntington Labs] owner Ron Hooper decided to leave Silicon Valley for the more attractive country lifestyle of Nevada County. ..."

A large part of the charter of Nevada County's Economic Resource Council is to bring more - and more desirable* - businesses to Nevada County. This weekend we had a great coffeehouse conversation about what induces people to start or relocate their business here, and the consensus - strongly put forth by the group's* two tech business founders - was that the most essential factor is our local quality of life - and that that is what we should be promoting.

"Bring the owners up here, let them see what it's like."

So perhaps the ERC might consider focusing on protecting our local quality of life, rather than paving it over...

p.s. Recommendation #2 was for expanding rural broadband.

The Aggie code of honor

An Aggie does not lie, cheat, or steal, or tolerate those who do.

Winner, Laggard of the Year Award, 2008 and 2009

How anyone could have been so slow is beyond me.

(Being so slow, however, is not.)


on the bright side, i have learned a lot along the many scenic byways.

Miscellany - quotes and a story

Updated.
Mostly about journalism.

From Paul Graham's essay on essays -

When it comes to [collecting] surprises...there may be habits of mind that will help the process along. It's good to have a habit of asking questions, especially questions beginning with Why. But...how do you find the fruitful ones?

I find it especially useful to ask why about things that seem wrong.
...
Above all, make a habit of paying attention to things you're not supposed to, either because they're "inappropriate," or not important, or not what you're supposed to be working on. If you're curious about something, trust your instincts. Follow the threads that attract your attention. If there's something you're really interested in, you'll find they have an uncanny way of leading back to it anyway.

If there's one piece of advice I would give about writing essays, it would be: don't do as you're told. Don't believe what you're supposed to.

From a Nov. 2007 talk in London by the NYT's Bill Keller - -

"The curse of a journalist is that he always has more questions than answers."

This part made me smile -

"My friend Jeff Jarvis, a blogger of long-standing and professor of journalism at the City University of New York - refers to news bloggers as "citizen journalists", which has a sweet, idealistic ring to it."

Something I just learned recently - Bill Keller's father, George M. Keller, was CEO of Chevron, and even had a stint as chairman of the board, of the American Petroleum Institute. It sounds like he led an interesting life...

Returning to journalism -

"The better you do your job, often going against conventional mores, the less popular you are likely to be." - David Halberstam

There are two ways of appearing "smart." First, you can write something so complex, obscure, and abstract that no one can refute your bullshit. Second, you can write simply, clearly and directly. If you have something interesting and true to say, then the second method is better. On the other hand, if you are forced to say something boring or false, then pick the first method (and then change your life).*

Investors need to learn to look for the little lies, those minor inconsistencies that can be the first clue to bigger problems.*

"It may be true, as [I.F.]Stone said, that "all governments lie," but democracy cannot function if journalists do too." - Eric Alterman*

Had second thoughts & removed the story link - writing that captures one's zeitgeist* at time T can seem too morbid at time T+5 minutes.