We have local fluke halibut this week! Okay, so the halibut that came in was NOT good. I am in Portland to celebrate the thirtieth birthday of my best friend and raise a Shirley Temple in honor of her new business. I got a phone call from a longtime fish plant buddy telling me that the halibut was “no bueno” but we have pretty salmon. Okay, so salmon again it is. I hope that no one will be sad about that. I plan on giving the halibut another go next week. If you are ever in the Portland area you should check out Nourish Northwest. They will be offering nutrition counseling, cooking classes, and all kinds of exercise options. I am writing this from their ... Continue reading →
To help make sense of the Facebook IPO, we caught up with Steve Blank, a professor at Berkeley and Stanford and serial entrepreneur from Silicon Valley. This conversation has been edited and condensed.THOMPSON: What does the Facebook IPO mean for Silicon Valley?BLANK: I think it's the beginning of the end of the valley as we know it. Silicon Valley historically would invest in science, and technology, and, you know, actual silicon. If you were a good VC you could make $100 million. Now there's a new pattern created by two big ideas. First, for the first time ever, you have computer devices, mobile and tablet especially, in the hands of billions of people. Second is that we are moving all the social needs that we ... Continue reading →
A boatswain's mate fuels an F/A-18E jet aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush. Photo: U.S. Navy On Monday, the U.S. Navy will officially announce the ships for its demonstration of the “Great Green Fleet” — an entire aircraft carrier strike group powered by biofuels and other eco-friendly energy sources. If a powerful congressional panel has its way, it could be the last time the Navy ever uses biofuels to run its ships and jets. In its report on next year’s Pentagon budget, the House Armed Services Committee banned the Defense Department from making or buying an alternative fuel that costs more than a “traditional fossil fuel.” It’s a standard that may be almost impossible to meet, energy experts believe; there’s almost no way ... Continue reading →