Wolfgang Becker’s Goodbye Lenin is one of the better films I’ve seen recently. Netflix
Boulder’s Pearl Street = Madison’s State Street?
I recently visited Boulder, CO for the first time in 10+ years. Strolling down Pearl Street, which in many respects is similar to our own State Street, on a pleasant fall day quickly illustrated the ongoing challenge of retail chain encroachment…..
I wonder if a similar fate awaits State Street? In other words, will Ragstock ultimately move on as Gap type stores take over?
A Pravda View of Guild.com
Jason Stein points to Madison’s Guild.com as an example of how “critical that [venture capital] funding can be”:
In the late 1990s, Sikes dreamed of turning her Madison art catalog and publishing business into an Internet site that could sell pieces of art directly to the public. With millions in venture money to strengthen it, Guild.com survived the dot.com bust and now has 35 employees.
“Venture capital helped build this company to what it is today,” Sikes said. “The reason most start-up businesses fail is because they’re undercapitalized. There is an enormous need in Wisconsin for more venture capital.”
Fred Schwarzer, managing director of Charter Life Sciences in Palo Alto, Calif., said most venture capitalists stay relatively close to their East and West Coast offices and don’t get a chance to discover Madison companies like Guild.com.
Rather than drinking the kool aid and simply printing Guild CEO Toni Sike’s statements, Stein should have dug in a bit and run a quick Google search and found that:
- Local investors lost millions during Guild’s chase for west coast VC money
- Guild was bought back from Ashford for less than pennies on the dollar
Holding up guild.com as a local vc success story would be like the folks in Silicon Valley point to their substantial VC investments in massive failure webvan as an example of why they need more venture funding. Local NBC affiliate channel 15 (now a friend of Capital Newspapers madison.com site (!)) ran a brief story on Guild a few years ago. No mention was made of their financial history. I phoned the reporter after the segment aired and asked why this was omitted. She said: “well, the local investors got to keep their [worthless] stock”.
I’m not sure we can point to any successful VC backed firm here. Rather, we can look to those firms that have built businesses brick by brick, such as Epic systems. This lack of big numbers points to the real problem, too few folks are willing to take risks…. (Sikes took some, for sure, but let’s tell the whole story).
Unfortunately, this type of hype is quickly dismissed by anyone doing their homework, which the serious VC’s will do.
UW Badgers vs. Ohio State Scoring Video Clips
UW vs. Ohio State Scoring Clips:
- ABC Sports: OSU Score (runback)
- Badger Touchdown Pass
Is Energy Independence a Pipe Dream?
Although the Democratic and Republican energy plans differ widely, their underlying rationale is the same. In 2003, the United States consumed some twenty million barrels of oil a day, of which slightly more than half was imported from abroad, much of it from the Persian Gulf. By 2020, according to the Department of Energy, domestic oil producers will be meeting less than a third of United States needs, and the Gulf countries will be supplying up to two-thirds of the world?s oil. ?This imbalance, if allowed to continue, will inevitably undermine our economy, our standard of living, and our national security,? the Bush Administration?s National Energy Policy Development Group warned in a May, 2001, report. ?But it is not beyond our power to correct. America leads the world in scientific achievement, technical skill, and entrepreneurial drive. Within our country are abundant natural resources, unrivaled technology, and unlimited human creativity. With forward-looking leadership and sensible policies, we can meet our future energy demands and promote energy conservation, and do so in environmentally responsible ways that set a standard for the world.?
via Ed Cone 
Read Daniel Yergin’s The Prize for an excellent “panoramic history of oil”.
World’s Largest Flower VR Scene
Peter Murphy shares a beautiful VR scene from the Botanic Gardens in Sydney where there was the rare flowering of the Titan Arum.
Lessig MP3 on fair use….
Spaceship One Photos
Alan Redecki just posted some gorgeous photos from SpaceShipOne’s most recent flight. Somehow, I doubt that NASA tows its vehicles with a pickup truck. Classic.
Ray Kurzweil on slowing down the aging process
Inventor Ray Kurzweil takes 250 nutritional supplements a day in his quest to live long enough to reap the benefits he expects from biotechnology. He says he’s trying to reprogram his body, as he would his computer.
“I really do believe it is feasible to slow down the aging process,” Kurzweil told Technology Review magazine’s Emerging Technologies Conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology here last week. “We call that a bridge to a bridge to a bridge — to the full flowering of the biotechnology revolution.”
A look at 527 Groups
Financial Data on 527 Groups
Section 527 political organization must file Form 8872 quarterly with the IRS listing their contributions received and expenditures. OpenSecrets.org has mined these IRS filings and produced a wonderful web site with helpful lists, including:
Forms 8872 filed by ? 527 groups are searchable on the IRS web site. Here are the most recent Forms 8872 filed by some of the “major players” in the 2004 election on both sides of the aisle:
Democrat-Backed Groups:
America Coming Together America Votes Billionaires for Bush Media Fund MoveOn.org Voter Fund Sierra Club Voter Education Fund
Republican-Backed Groups:
Club for Growth Leadership Forum Progress for America Voter Fund Swift Boat Veterans for Truth Taxpayers for Conservative Government
For further web commentary, see PLI’s How Fast Can A Swift Boat MoveOn? Election 2004 And The 527 Groups and Corporate Political Activities 2004: Complying with Campaign Finance, Lobbying & Ethics Laws.