ImperialViolet

(I'm not sure if you get positive or negative points for knowing why I chose that title )

So this weekend saw the first (maybe of many) Startup Schools, run by Y Combintator, which is Paul Graham's hacker starter helping company. I'm sure there is lots of stuff being written about it, but I can't give you any links right now because I'm sitting in Boston Airport and the WiFi costs about $8.

Y Combinator have a couple of offices, one is walking distance from where I'm living in Mt View, the other is in Boston - the other side of the country. Guess where it was held? Nevermind, it gave me a chance to visit the east coast of the US, which I've never managed to do so far. The heavy rain certainly makes a difference from the montonous metrological monotone which is Bay Area weather. It's damp and cold here; it could almost be home. Photos on Flickr when I upload them.

The event consisted of a party on Friday night, all day talks Saturday and, I think, something today, but I've to catch a flight. The speakers list was very impressive and uniformly the talks were excellent and very well received. Of course, Google was there with a recruitment talk which (In the opinion of several people more independent than I), kicked the arse of the Yahoo talk.

It was very good meeting up with people; new people, people for the first physically, people unexpectedly and famous people. The latter category includes Stephen Wolfram (who is easer to talk to than to read), Paul Graham and Michael Mandel, the economics editor of Business Week.

I don't know how many good startups will come of it. I'm certainly not going to be one of them (yet), comforable as I am in the generous embrace of Google. But Y Combinator is doing an excellent job.

Still, I've a bike upside down on my kitchen floor with a punchture and a wheel nut which is too tight to get off with a spanner, a driving test to sort out, a better apartment to find and work tomorrow. Back to reality and, hopefully, back to posting a little more often than I have been.