If my friends were to vote on sentences that I would never write, "Thank You Microsoft." would surely make the top 10 - until now.

The wonderful thing about abundance of capital is the opportunity for exploration and whimsy.  When companies stop trying to stretch every dollar, their employees begin to bump into great ideas.  These ideas may not have a straight line to revenue, but moreover may have a dotted line to doing things that make your customers feel good about your company, its products, its people, and its vision for the the future.

Case in point.

As my opening remarks connote, I am not a big Microsoft fan.  I will not bore you with the reasons why.  If you use a MAC, you already know.  If you use a PC, you are living with the daily pain.  But today, Microsoft made me say "Thank you Microsoft!"

In the spring of 2008, Microsoft is launching the World Wide Telescope.  It is a website that will allow anyone, anywhere to access any point in space any time with pan, tilt and zoom.  As a father of a 5 year old, I cannot wait to explore space with Alexandra.

To learn more about the World Wide Telescope, visit the intro site.

Ed missed the trophy ceremony, as he was in England.

Special thanks to stand in crew, Barry Rossum for sailing in the 25 mph breeze to complete the series.

Thanks to many of you who have asked about my sailing exploits.

After buying the boat in June, Ed Stevens and I have been on a steep learning curve and are improving.  After fininshing 36th in the Nationals in Newport, CA this year, we improved to 12th in the Mid-Winter regatta held in Long Beach, CA.  Yesterday, the Morro Bay Yacht Club awarded us with the Founders Cup for winning the Winter racing series.

The internet can sometimes be very profound.  I am running low on illy coffee and went online today to illy.com to order more.  Sadly I learned that Ernesto Illy died today.  In reverence, the company took down their website today and simply put up a photo of their founder.