A new year is a good time to look back at the old year and see how far we’ve come. It’s a classic “can’t see the forest for the trees” problem... we’re all so busy working on our own individual projects, it’s hard sometimes to see the overall growth and vitality of EI2 as a whole. Below is a necessarily-incomplete list of EI2 accomplishments … [Read more...]
The Green Thing
January 7, 2012 by
Received in email, and too good not to post here in its entirety... Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the older woman, that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment. The woman apologized and explained, "We didn't have this green thing back in my earlier days." … [Read more...]
Around Cape Horn
January 7, 2012 by
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...]
Hydrogen Hype
January 7, 2012 by
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...]
Cooperation with Korea
November 29, 2011 by
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 to … [Read more...]
Supporting Technology Entrepreneurs in Georgia
November 28, 2011 by
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...]
Public Pension Investment
November 17, 2011 by
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...]
New Bike Racks at Technology Square
November 13, 2011 by
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...]
Pitching the Cavalia Tent
November 13, 2011 by
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...]
Lunch with Nassim
November 11, 2011 by
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...]
