Stephen Fleming's blog about academia, venture capital, and spaceships
In the fall of 2008, Atlanta was experiencing a major gasoline shortage. Hurricanes Gustav and Ike had rocked refineries in the Gulf of Mexico. Carl Rust asked David Bridges and James Seals if they could go to Savannah to help with a large College of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) proposal. Fortunately, the duo had just enough gas … [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...]
The existing bike racks down by Moe's are going to be moved up to the area surrounding the TSRB doorway. Total bike parking will expand from 28 to 42 spaces (hooray!). Construction started on Friday. … [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...]
I don't envy the print publications. First Web browsers, now iPads... new technology is destabilizing the very underpinnings of their business models. But some are adapting better than others. Here's a good way not to design a home page, from my friends at the Atlanta Business Chronicle. (Who, by the way, do a bang-up job of reporting the … [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...]
Last week, Charles Ross and I were in Texas for the annual conference of the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds (NASVF). Charles is on the board, and I was there to accept their 2011 award for "Excellence in Entrepreneurial Capital Formation" on behalf of EI2. I thought you might be interested in my remarks... Thanks for … [Read more...]
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