Been in San Francisco for just over two weeks now. After spending nearly a year trying to build a startup, a startup that builds software, software that’s focused on solar energy, and doing it basically everywhere but the place is the Mecca of all three, I feel like I’ve been plugged in to the Matrix. All of these worlds overlap so nicely here that you feel like you are achieving tremendous amounts just by being here. But it’s a lot of talk. It’s the worst thing in the world to spend all day talking about what you are doing, because you get all the slaps on the back and good feeling of doing the thing without doing it, which makes it hard to sit down and get back to work. The first thing we did when we landed was go to a cleanweb hackathon, recruit some tremendously talented people to help us build an app in a weekend and win it, demoing our solar + electric vehicle app SunRide (@zbowling, you are a champion). Forbes was kind enough to give us, me, and my startup some great coverage. Smile about it, be proud of the extraordinary work your teammates did in a sleepless energy-drink-sodden weekend, but fight down that rising sense of accomplishment, because you haven’t done anything that matters yet. Keep working hard on things that matter.

Part of my goal to work everywhere means I’m often not anywhere and a bit of a vagrant. Coming to SF has given me the chance to stay with great friends and in some cool/odd places. I couch-surfed with the actually inimitable Sustainable John who gave me a lesson in jian bing making (and then made me an edible jian bang, a freaking delicious Chinese breakfast crepe). I airbed’n'breakfasted with Nat and Shu-jia, who are just too damn cute of a couple in their own weird way. I think all of our livers and lungs are shocked by the amount of bourbon and conversation that pours when we sit down in good weather. Thank you for the fantastic weekend hike and Fish. tacos. Seriously, thank you all.

Now I’m holed-up in the Startup House, a hostel-style crashpad in SOMA for bootstrapping entrepreneurs and tech interns. It’s amazing how irrelevant the thread count of your sheets, or the fact you’re sharing a bunk bed with a smelly snorey Dragonball Z superfan, become when you feel like you might be doing something of some kind of lasting worth.

Stay hungry. Stay foolish.

T