Why I Still Love California
This morning in a Menlo Park parking lot, as I was carrying a cup of coffee back to the car:
STRANGER: Is that a cup of Peet’s coffee you’re drinking?
SELF: It sure is. Why?
STRANGER: Well, you could do a lot worse than to buy Peet's stock.
SELF: Peet’s is public?
STRANGER: Peet’s has been publicly traded for years now. And it’s a great company—truly great. Fanatical attention to quality. Starbucks has opened something like 10,000 stores, but Peet’s has only opened about 150. You won’t get explosive growth in Peet’s stock, but you won’t get the bottom falling out, either. They’re growing the company slowly but steadily, with attention to quality all the way.
SELF: You’ve just given me an education. I’ll look into it.
STRANGER: Do that. Have a good day!
Friendliness, openness, a sense of initiative, and the unspoken, unshakeable assumption that markets are good, useful, and fun. I love this place—just love it.
Written on this, the ninety-third day of the budget impasse in Sacramento.
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Comments :
Re: Why I Still Love California
Peter, you're lucky. Here in the People's Republic of New Jersey, suggesting that markets are good is a crime punishable -- well, we don't have to have individual punishment, because our state budget and tax and regulatory systems do it for everyone.
May '10
Re: Why I Still Love California
Peter Robinson:
Friendliness, openness, a sense of initiative, and the unspoken, unshakeable assumption that markets are good, useful, and fun. I love this place—just love it.
If that's the zeitgeist, then why Boxer for so long?
I'm not being funny; I'm sincerely curious, because the two seem incompatible.
May '10
Re: Why I Still Love California
Surprise ending: "Stranger" is actually "J.W. Peet, IV," the black sheep of the family who earns his VP of Marketing salary by trawling about parking lots for potential investors :)
Jul '10
Re: Why I Still Love California
Depends how many people you know who work on Wall Street.
May '10
Re: Why I Still Love California
Come to Texas. We've have all that, plus a functioning, competent, modest government.
Re: Why I Still Love California
Haven't you read the Ricochet code of conduct? No torture.
Re: Why I Still Love California
Scott Reusser
If that's the zeitgeist, then why Boxer for so long?
I'm not being funny; I'm sincerely curious. · Oct 1 at 3:05pm
Me too. Something like half the most successful people I know right here in Silicon Valley supported Obama. Just look at Steve Jobs. The man is a genius, combining a brilliant business mind with the soul of an artist. What major political figure did he place on Apple's board? Al Gore. The last time I ran into Steve, whom I know a little, he a) extolled free markets in China, b) joked that Mexico would be a wonderful country if only a big American enterprise such as Disney took it over, and, c) defended Al Gore's Nobel Prize.
If you can construct a coherent political outlook that makes sense of that jumble, Scott, would you let me know?
Jul '10
Re: Why I Still Love California
"Stranger" must have been from out-of-state.
May '10
Re: Why I Still Love California
Peter Robinson
Scott Reusser
If that's the zeitgeist, then why Boxer for so long?
I'm not being funny; I'm sincerely curious. · Oct 1 at 3:05pm
Me too. Something like half the most successful people I know right here in Silicon Valley supported Obama. Just look at Steve Jobs. The man is a genius, combining a brilliant business mind with the soul of an artist. What major political figure did he place on Apple's board? Al Gore. The last time I ran into Steve, whom I know a little, he a) extolled free markets in China, b) joked that Mexico would be a wonderful country if only a big American enterprise such as Disney took it over, and, c) defended Al Gore's Nobel Prize.
If you can construct a coherent political outlook that makes sense of that jumble, Scott, would you let me know? · Oct 1 at 4:07pm
Kneejerk or instinctive or habitual embrace of the canard that conservatism equals anti-intellectualism. This is a problem for us.
Which is why a hyper-articulate pres candidate in 2012 is so important.
May '10
Re: Why I Still Love California
Ah, Jason, you beat me to it.
Jul '10
Re: Why I Still Love California
Jennifer Rubin in the new Commentary magazine has a radically different take on the former Golden State. Like many of us, she got out while the getting was good.
May '10
Re: Why I Still Love California
It's no Texas, but I have to admit, on my many visits to Silicon Valley, I almost always found Californians much warmer and friendlier than I was expecting them to be. I hope they dig their way out of this mess.
Sep '10
Re: Why I Still Love California
The State Legislature is much funnier than the U.S. Congress. You just have to figure out how to prevent them from hurting you and enjoy the great weather.