Stephen Fleming's blog about academia, venture capital, and spaceships
Last week, State Rep. Allen Peake and his co-sponsors dropped HB 718 into the legislative hopper. It's an effort to put state resources into venture capital, and I think it's worth supporting. But, like all bills, the legislation is a little hard to read, so I'm translating it into English here. … [Read more...]
Over the Christmas break, I found myself watching this video: "Around Cape Horn." As a young man, Irving Johnson sailed aboard the barque "Peking" in 1929, as the sun set on the day of commercial sail. And he carried a movie camera. … [Read more...]
Car and Driver is the latest enthusiast rag to hop onto the hydrogen bandwagon with their article "What the H?" in this month's issue. I wrote this letter to the editor but, since I doubt it will be printed, I'm reproducing it here. … [Read more...]
I prepared the following document as my testimony to the State Science and Technology Strategic Plan Joint Study Commission, meeting in Columbus on 30 November 2011. It's going to be available on their website, but I decided to replicate it here. … [Read more...]
It's been almost four years since I've written here about investing a portion of Georgia's pension funds into "alternative assets" (which includes venture capital). In those four years, nothing has changed, but everything may be about to change. We have a new governor who has signaled his willingness to consider making a small allocation from one … [Read more...]
On their website, Cavalia describes itself as "a fresh mix of equestrian and performing arts, multimedia and special effects." I describe it as "Cirque du Soleil with horses." Either way, it's a massive production, and it's coming back to Atlanta with its new show, Odysseo. They're pitching their tent right behind the Centergy building at … [Read more...]
Today, I was fortunate enough to enjoy lunch with Nassim Nicholas Taleb, his wife, and their son. (Yes, this is the author of "The Black Swan" among many other accomplishments.) It was an utterly indescribable experience. The best I can do is: Conversing with Nassim is like conversing with a swarm of butterflies. A swarm of glittering, … [Read more...]
This post won't be of interest to you unless you, or someone you know, takes Cosopt eyedrops. (Also known as Dorzolamide HCl-Timolol Maleate Opthalmic Solution. Or, more colloquially, "Satan's tears.") … [Read more...]
Sometimes, you just have to say yes. Guillermo Sohnlein, a friend from the Space Angels Network, is now CEO of the OceanGate Foundation. He emailed me a few weeks ago asking "Do you want to take a dive in a research submarine?" … [Read more...]
Back in June, I blogged about immigration as it affects student entrepreneurs at Georgia Tech. Apparently that qualified me as an expert on immigration policy! Someone at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce noticed what I'd written and invited me to a forum in Washington yesterday on "Immigration and American Competitiveness." … [Read more...]
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