Time Shift

The Gotham Gal and I are on the west coast for a while, escaping the NYC winter now that our kids are all out of the house.

That means this blog, which normally gets updated around 5-7am eastern will get updated around 5-7am pacific this winter.

We will resume our regularly scheduled programming when NYC thaws out.

#Blogging On The Road

Comments (Archived):

  1. Robert

    Ok, looking forward to the new West Coast perspective!

  2. Jess Bachman

    Now those west-coasters dont’ have to get up at 4am to get in on the early comment action.

  3. awaldstein

    It’s so cold out Fred.Upside is that there is simply nothing cozier than your local wine bar with friends warming up to end the work day.Enjoy!

    1. panterosa,

      I have to ping you via pairing two Ice Wine gifts. We tried to watch Somm last night but the buffering sucked. Thought of you.

      1. awaldstein

        A crazy natural process to make that wine. Not an expert but know those that areFunny–had now 10 requests in the last two weeks to brush of and relaunch thelocalsip.Dunno if i’m going to do it although tempted to raise some community money open source it and give it to the wine world.

        1. panterosa,

          There has to be someone that can run thelocalsip in a way that benefits.As my daughter bakes, we could make a paring for each wine. She actually is interested in which liquors are made from which plants. Agave stumped her, the rest she mainly knew.

          1. awaldstein

            Getting pressured.Somm at a local bar told me the story last night how tls got him his job when he moved to NY.Considering but not leaping on this.

    1. William Mougayar

      Where are your manners Jim?

      1. JimHirshfield

        Those are friendly and humorous fingers. Please don’t blocklist me.

        1. William Mougayar

          ok. i’ll just give you a warning 🙂

  4. William Mougayar

    Well, it looks like the snow storm wasn’t that bad for NYC as it was for Long Island or Boston.

    1. Guest

      My favorite.

      1. Joe Cardillo

        That’s priceless = )

      2. William Mougayar

        Right. They go hand in hand. But I can tell you this isn’t that funny if you were hit and in the middle of it. Buffalo, NY had its dose a couple of months ago, and we (Toronto) suffered with 6 days of no power last year after a terrible ice storm during Christmas 2013. I did take some pics, but it wasn’t to make people laugh.

        1. Jess Bachman

          I’m really disappointed in the snow fall in Toronto this year. It’s really taken the wind out of my complaining…

          1. JimHirshfield

            No snow, but plenty troubling Snowden news from up thata way…Canada’s electronic spy agency sifts through millions of videos and documents downloaded online every day by people around the world, as part of a sweeping bid to find extremist plots and suspects, CBC News has learned.http://www.cbc.ca/news/cse-

          2. Jess Bachman

            “In the document, a PowerPoint presentation written in 2012, the CSE analyst who wrote it jokes about being overloaded with innocuous files such as episodes of the musical TV series Glee in their hunt for terrorists.”Well great.. now the terrorist know how to get stuff through now… encode it into Glee episodes. Great… just great.

          3. JimHirshfield

            Be on the lookout for RIAA cease and desist notices in the interest of national security.

          4. William Mougayar

            they didn’t want to be out done by the NSA.

          5. William Mougayar

            we have been lucky.

        2. awaldstein

          There is serious economic pain from being short sighted and over cautious.Closing the roads when the storm was obviously not going to hit the city was a serious blow to every local business that depends on the perishable goods supply chain.Good to be smart, stupid to overreact.

          1. William Mougayar

            True. They have been conservative everywhere. They look at it from facilitating snow removal, with less people on the roads.

          2. LE

            I agree 100%. People who make these decisions never take into account any negative effects from the action (I wrote another comment along these lines about anxiety as one example). And typically they have never run a business or had to deal with employees where the pay and lost revenue comes out of their pocket.Small thing: I go into the local market yesterday which was open. And they didn’t have my usual bagel. Why? Comes from Brooklyn and all the trucks were cancelled. Even though the roads were fine. I didn’t even know that’s how they get them (they bake them there with dough from Brooklyn).Another small thing: I go into get sushi on Monday night. I ask Mr. Owner if he was busy earlier (I go in late). He says “empty Christie tell everyone not to drive tonight”. Of course there was nothing on the ground. You could see the pain in his eyes.

      3. Dave Pinsen

        What was amazing about this storm locally is how politicians and the media, for the most part, didn’t back down when reality didn’t match the predictions. I turned to NYC local station WPIX to watch Seinfeld at 11pm and they had their news team on live, covering the dusting like it was 9/11.But even on 9/11, you could drive your car in New Jersey. Governor Christie banned that Monday night. And he kept up the bluster when a resident tweeted him about the lack of snow: https://twitter.com/govchri

        1. LE

          I think the untold story with the entire storm warning industrial complex is that the way this is handled is a recipe to give many people tons of anxiety that they don’t need. Warnings are one thing. But the way they (and I mean politicians and the media) talk about this totally gives people little confidence and comfort in what for most people won’t be any type of dire outcome. Even if the snow is 2 feet deep. Total absolute overkill in that area. They should just present the facts without the hyperbole. Why? Because they aren’t taking into account the negative effects of anxiety that this produces. While trying to protect the public against one evil the unleash an almost as bad evil.And the truth is, all they really care about (the politicians) is not being called out for not taking every single precaution. In a way that’s understandable because if they don’t people’s opinions are then formed by what the media and the talking heads monday morning that should have been done. Instead of “look they took a calculated risk because being overly cautious causes negative outcomes as well”.Shutting down the subway in NYC brings to mind why they don’t have a way to keep above ground trains running even in a storm. Even a skeleton crew. Even if they have to charge a surcharge to keep down traffic. Some creative solution.

    2. Guy Lepage

      Hahaha..

    3. Jim Roberts

      And the weather mongers also drove the Wilsons out of town all the way to SFO 🙂

      1. timjim

        Pick a side. Tim or Jim?

        1. Tim Roberts

          Timothy I am. Jim was a type yo!!

    4. Tim Roberts

      Well, the weather mongers have managed to drive the Wilsons out of town all the way to SFO 🙂

  5. Guest

    I just learned the word “thaw” who do I pay and how much? 😉

    1. JimHirshfield

      Pay it forward

  6. MichaelBlend

    Have a great time. If you find yourself around Santa Monica with some free time to grab a coffee and discuss the local startup scene, let me know…

  7. David

    Google Fred Wilson Blockshopper

  8. Tom Labus

    Good move. Looking for an apt to rent in Granada, Spain.

    1. JimHirshfield

      Nice. Love Granada. How long will you be there?

      1. Tom Labus

        hopefully 3 week but could go longer

        1. JimHirshfield

          Enjoy!

          1. Tom Labus

            Thanks.and adios

  9. Guy Lepage

    Smart. 😉

  10. Chris Stephenson

    Unacceptable. I can’t start my day until I’ve completed my morning routine which includes a healthy does of Mr. Wilson. Looks like I’ll be sleeping in for a while.

  11. Elia Freedman

    Yeah! Maybe now I can comment on something and not be comment #1462! Welcome to the west coast, Mr. And Mrs. Wilson.

  12. John Fazzolari

    This will be a nice change of pace. AVC will come through around the same time as Dan Primack’s Term Sheet and right before StrictlyVC (best west coast newsletter in my opinion)

    1. Richard

      Great writing style in StrictlyVC (refreshing).

  13. kirklove

    #dcffw

  14. Barry Nolan

    Meanwhile, Ireland on a typical Thursdayhttp://earth.nullschool.net…

  15. pointsnfigures

    Do all the pitches in LA start with the word “Dude”?

    1. JimHirshfield

      Tubular

      1. pointsnfigures

        Elon Musk’s new company name.

  16. Dan Conway

    Welcome to LA. The weather and the sushi make it hard to leave.

  17. Rick

    “…when NYC thaws out.”.lol

  18. Richard

    That’s awesome.

  19. Duncan Logan

    Fred, If you are in SF would you be prepared to do a fireside chat? We on the West Coast rarely get to hear you live? RocketSpace would host it and give all proceeds to a charity or cause of your (or Gotham Gal) choice.

    1. James O'Connor

      Great idea. I’ll be there for sure if it takes place!

    2. Vivek Kumar

      +1 awesome idea

  20. Francesco Barbera

    Welcome to the left coast – glad to have you here!

  21. Pete Griffiths

    Welcome.

  22. JaredMermey

    Fred, you were the first thing I read every day. I love your posts in the morning because the writing is the right combination of succinct, easy to understand language and high amount of insight. Your posts would help “turn my brain on” for the day.Maybe I will now need an extra cup of coffee.Enjoy the sunshine! (And bring it back with you!)

  23. Amith āļŋ. Nirgunarthy

    Glad to see you on the west coast, or dare I say the right coast 🙂

  24. ErikSchwartz

    Welcome.

  25. matthughes

    All great adventurers head west.

  26. Dave Pinsen

    What about your ski house in Utah? Not going there this winter?

  27. gordongould

    Welcome to Venice! Looking forward to seeing you all! LMK if u ever want to get in the water or go mtn biking

  28. daveschappell

    best time of year for LA/Venice… book a seat at Intelligentsia and settle in for Winter — great to have you both out here! Am sure you already discovered Gjelina and Tasting Kitchen… but let us know if you’d like some other recommendations from recent arrivals… to start… Republique (on La Brea – https://foursquare.com/v/r%… has one of the best breakfasts/brunches we ever had… dinner’s good too, but tables are harder to get… Fig & Olive (https://foursquare.com/v/fi… is great… had dinner at Hyde Sunset Kitchen (https://foursquare.com/v/hy… last Saturday and it was really fun…

    1. awaldstein

      Love LA and had two companies there.The wine scene has always been a bit behind, typical of most regions that have their own producers of quality close in.Is there a great wine bar of Ten Bells or RacinesNY quality or wine shop like Chambers Street in LA that you can recommend?

      1. daveschappell

        We recently discovered V Wine Bar in West Hollywood — really friendly staff, and they’ll bring in sushi from a solid spot nearby for you – https://foursquare.com/v/v/

        1. awaldstein

          Know that one.There is another wine shop up that way focusing on small producers that slips my mind at the moment.It will happen as there are a growing number of Cal winemakers who are making some of the very best natural wine anywhere.

    2. Robert Metcalf

      My wife and I had our first meal at Gjelina, so it’s always held a place close to my heart.

  29. Pranay Srinivasan

    …took your lead and followed you guys out to LA this week 🙂

  30. Salt Shaker

    As a native NY-er been doing and enjoying the bicoastal thing for the past 2 years (winter/summer in Seattle, fall/spring in NYC). Besides the weather, the cities have fairly obv cultural differences. Hardly a sociological experiment, but here’s a few topline observations:1) Seattle has a helluva lot more tats, piercings and facial hair.2) People are demonstrably more courteous and considerate.3) Far, far less stressful living environment.4) Real foody town (surprisingly) and a refreshingly super duper sports town (no jaded fans here). Both college and pro, which is a bit unique I might add.I’ll always be a Jets fan (masochist that I am) but I’m quite stoked for this weekend’s SB. This city rivals any sports town in the U.S. Unscientific poll: 40% of folks downtown today will be wearing Seahawks gear, peaking at 50%+ by week’s end.Looking forward to Sunday’s game. Certainly had enough of that silly “deflategate” nonsense.Go Hawks!

    1. awaldstein

      Big fan of Seattle.My first marketing jobs anywhere were with the Pike Place Market and the Bumbershoot Festival.Flying kites with my son when a kid at Gas Works Park is a lasting image.Cool town.

      1. Salt Shaker

        Agree..and I recall you mentioning this previously. We live above the Pike Place Market. Here’s a view from our terrace overlooking the sound.

  31. ShanaC

    Enjoy being warm and no snow. Though I laugh a bit at a snowbird version of you, since you seem dye in the wool Nyer

  32. John Revay

    Escaping NYC – In other news looks like Amagansett got dumped on.

  33. Twain Twain

    The Rockies this afternoon, shot from my window seat. I’m West Coasting too!

  34. JJ Donovan

    Not that you need any ideas, but if you were looking for “West Coast” blog ideas, here are a few thoughts: 1. Age discrimination at 50 in Silicon Valley. Is it more or less prevalent than other parts of the country? 2. How do people at the age of 45 remain attractive to silicon valley employers and the startup community? 3. Should people at 45 move to Silicon Valley if offered a job there or leave that for the “younger generation”? JJD – On the fence about a relocation and turning to the smart people for thoughts…

    1. LE

      3. Should people at 45 move to Silicon Valley if offered a job there or leave that for the “younger generation”? 100% depends on the specifics. What are the specifics of the opportunity. What is your family and financial situation. What is the downside risk etc. Really the same for a person at any age. (Feel free to answer if you want by sending me an email I am actually pretty good with things like this..)

      1. JJ Donovan

        LE: I will take you up on your offer. Email coming your way! Thank you. JJ Donovan

  35. John Revay

    Fred – easy solution….just wake up at 2:00 AM west coast time :)Please enjoy LA.

  36. Mariah Lichtenstern

    Welcome to the West-Side! (in my Tupac Shakur voice). BTW, is the Bit-Tip new? Caught my eye. Cool.

  37. awaldstein

    yup–doing 10Ks in the pouring rain.Gortex was a common term there..

  38. laurie kalmanson

    i’ve visited a few times; saw people calmly doing cafe things outside in light mist, wrapped in magical fabricslondon might be styled like that now, too; when i lived there as a student, things were soggy