Category: Uncategorized

  • Taking passwords seriously

    I used to use the same password everywhere. In 1993, I crashed a Clinton inauguration party at a restaurant in DC, and for years my password was a derivative of that restaurant’s name. I’d read somewhere that it was a good idea to include numbers in your passwords, so I picked a number and my…

  • New year’s resolution: get a job!

    Welcome to the new year. If your current job isn’t thrilling you and you resolved to find a job you love in 2012, be sure to visit the Google Ventures job board. Our growing portfolio of start-ups are hiring – as of this writing, there are 371 jobs waiting to be filled. Whether you’re looking…

  • Businesses who don’t trust customers

    Comcastic image from barbariangroup.com. Last month I contemplated something unthinkable (for me): I thought about breaking up with TiVo. I started my relationship with TiVo 11 years ago, with a Sony DirecTiVo box that I still consider among the best consumer electronics purchases I’ve ever made. Since then, I’ve gone through several TiVo boxes, as…

  • Becoming a better photographer

    In keeping with my 2012 information diet, I’ve resolved to both blog more and take more photographs. Late last year I upgraded my camera – from a Nikon D80 to a Nikon D7000. Thought I’d document a bit about the gear I’m using and how I’m committing more to my photography hobby. My primary lens…

  • My Information Diet

    This past summer I had lunch with Clay Johnson, and he told me he was hard at work on a book called The Information Diet. I read an early manuscript copy, and am excited to see that the Kindle version of Clay’s book is out as of yesterday. I’m over-simplifying, but his general premise is…

  • Stop SOPA and PROTECT-IP

    There’s a pretty bad bill going through DC right now. Quoting at length from Matt Cutts’ blog post I Need Your Help from earlier this week: Here’s what I need:1. Take a few minutes to learn about the SOPA/E-PARASITE/PROTECT IP bills. They’re really bad bills.2. Take five minutes to call your Congressperson on the phone. If you live in Texas,…

  • Movember!

    Against my better judgment, I am participating in Movember this month. If you don’t know about Movember, this Chrome ad does a pretty good job summing it up: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjRhqx2EaQs&fs=1&source=uds&w=320&h=266] If you would like to support me in this quest to make me look ridiculous, I would very much appreciate you making a donation of…

  • Uncharted 3: Arriving tomorrow

    I’m more than a little excited about this: Uncharted 3 comes out tomorrow, and I just got e-mail confirmation from Amazon that my pre-order copy shipped earlier today. If you haven’t played a game in the Uncharted franchise before, you’re missing out. I’m not a hard-core gamer (I hadn’t owned a console for almost 20…

  • A phenomenal birthday present

    I turned 40 yesterday. It’s been a great week – we celebrated at the house with friends Saturday night, then my parents arrived for the actual day and we had a terrific meal at home followed by gifts and cake. Though I’ve been fortunate to have received some wonderful birthday gifts over the years, nothing…

  • About me

    Thanks for stopping by my blog. I am a partner at Google Ventures, where I run Startup University. Unless otherwise noted in a post, the opinions here are my own, and not those of Google Ventures, Google, or anyone else whose name has appeared on my paychecks. I’m also a political junkie (worked on the Dean…