Bonds Indicted

Over at Athletics Nation, Blez nails it in his post on this topic, Bonds Indicted: "...perhaps this takes a lot of options for the Angels off the table."

The A's offseason plans seemed to be resting on the Angels. If the Angels got Bonds and/or A-Rod, the A's would unload major leaguers for prospects and rebuild. If the Angels got neither, a possibility which is looking more and more likely, the A's would re-load, hope for a healthy 2008 and make another run at the AL West.

With Bonds out of the picture (as either a convict or a pariah) and A-Rod likely re-signing with the Yankees, things are shaping up for the A's to have a decent chance at the division title. With a little old-fashioned Billy Beane magic, an improved training regimen to keep players healthy and a little luck, the A's could be a frisky team next year.

What is the Piedmont A-11 Offense?

My high old school's football team unveiled a new offense this season called the Piedmont A-11 Offense. The idea is to have 11 potentially eligible receivers on the field.

Here's how it works:
-Three guys line up wide left
-Three guys line up wide right
-Three guys line up in the middle
-Two guys available to receive the snap behind the middle three
-Everyone reports as an eligible receiver
-Players shift up or back to have the seven players required on the line.

By spreading the potentially eligible receivers across the entire field, it forces the defense to account for every possible receiver on each play. Of course, on any given play, only 5 of those players can go downfield to catch a pass, and the rest remain ineligible to catch a downfield pass on that particular play.

I love this innovation. I only wish the coaches had come up with it 15 years ago. I would have had a blast playing in this system.

How about results? The team lost its first two games this year before running off seven straight wins. They ended up losing in a league championship game last Friday, but they made the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) NCS - 2A East Bay playoffs anyway. They play Las Lomas this weekend. Go Highlanders!

UPDATE: Piedmont lost to Las Lomas on 11/16. Maybe another year of experience in the system will make the team that much better next year...

Venture Capital History

Fred Wilson's got an interesting series going over at A VC, covering the history of venture capital fund performance. First, a look at VC returns from the late sixties through 1997. And this morning he's included the last ten years of data as well.

He's "surprised that the 2001, 2002, and 2003 vintage years aren't showing better numbers." So am I. After the big drop in the very late 90's, VC's should have been able to buy low and earn better returns than they're showing. Fred's probably right when he argues that the "chart will look at lot differently in three or four years".

I'm looking forward to his next installment.

Facebook - World's Most Expensive Pet Rock?

Microsoft to Pay $240 Million for Stake in Facebook - New York Times

The two companies said on Wednesday that Microsoft would invest $240 million for a 1.6 percent stake in Facebook. The investment values the three-year-old Facebook, which will bring in about $150 million in revenue this year, at $15 billion.

...

Mark Zuckerberg, the 23-year-old Facebook founder who dropped out of Harvard to build the company, owns a 20 percent share which is now valued at $3 billion. Accel Partners, the venture capital firm that invested $12.7 million in May 2005 and owns 11 percent of Facebook, now holds stock worth $1.65 billion.

Yipes! That is a lot of money.

By the way, didn't Steve Ballmer (CEO of Microsoft) call Facebook a "fad" two weeks ago? Yes, he did. Well, that's one expensive pet rock you got there, Steve-o.

Great Advice from Marc Andreesen

I was catching up on my blogs over lunch this afternoon and came across Marc Andreesen's three-part series on Career Planning. Wow! It is a must read for young folks starting college, just graduating or early in their careers. I've only been out of school for a few years, but his advice is spot on as far as I'm concerned.

In fact, I'm lucky to have gotten some of that same advice either directly from or by watching my mentor, friend and boss.

Here are the three posts:
The Pmarca Guide to Career Planning, part 1: Opportunity
The Pmarca Guide to Career Planning, part 2: Skills and education
The Pmarca Guide to Career Planning, part 3: Where to go and why

p.s. If I'm six years out of school, can I still reasonably say that it's only been "a few years"?
p.p.s. If you're reading this and don't know who Marc is, start here.

Excel Isn't Infallible?

mrshafrir emailed me this link: Microsoft Excel Fails Math Test

It turns out that Excel isn't perfect after all. I feel like I've been betrayed.

Dreaming in Excel

I have been using Microsoft Excel for a long time, but before last night, I don't think I ever had visions of sugar plum spreadsheets dancing in my head. I guess there's a first for everything, but what does it mean?

People say you truly understand a foreign language when you start speaking and hearing it in your dreams. So, does this mean I'm fluent in excel now? Has anyone else experienced this?

Well, it turns out, I'm not totally alone. Google has 10 matches for "dream in excel" or "dreaming in excel":

• Teaching Basic Excel to Adults: "I ... dream in Excel models, so there's a downside"
  
• F1 Get the Most out of Excel! The Ultimate Excel Tip Help Guide: "I DREAM in Excel (yeah, I know, I'm a sicko)"
  
• Profitability Data Mart: Using Oracle 9i Windowing Functions in Cost of Funds and Interest Expense Calculation: "[Finance people] dream in Excel. If you ask them what they had for lunch, they quickly open an Excel sheet in their minds, put all the courses with all the ingredients and prices, draw a pivot table, apply a standard deviation and a variance and will give you not only the price per calorie but the trends in the food industry in the next five years."
  
• When the going gets tough...: "[Statistics] is driving me insane... Seriously. Sometimes I dream in excel spreadsheets."
  
• USNEW Rankings & UG Business Programs - Page 4 - College Discussion: "Banking is very very simple and boring .... You will dream in Excel."
  
• Slashdot | Upcoming SuSE 9.0 Professional Reviewed: [no good quote]
  
• Part of OSS Movement Is Seeking "World Domination;" Like All Battle Planners, the Commanders Appear to be Fighting the Last War: [no good quote]
  
• Accounting Manager on Monster: "Do you dream in Excel spreadsheet format, but crave working with fun and creative people?"
  
• {not crazy}: "Sleep deprivation is bad for you. Dreaming in Excel ... [is not healthy]."
  
• My Mind on Kamchatka: "They are doing a good job, I just have to be nit picky. I'll be dreaming in Excel again."
  

I think this must mean I'm one of the 11 biggest Excel nerds in the world. I'm not sure whether I should be proud or concerned. Probably concerned.