Seth Levine has posted Marion Jenkins’ detailed rebuttal to HB 1192.  Mr. Jenkins suggests this tax legislation should be opposed due to a wide range of problems, including it being a new tax which should go before all voters to the complexity in determining when a lump of software code is deemed “standard” and subject to these new taxes versus custom code that is not to be taxed.

The bottom line is really about jobs in Colorado.  And with this bill, the jobs which are easily moved to more business friendly states will start that migration. The Sixty-sixth General Assembly can choose to address the issues with the state budget directly and bring the issues to the people, or they can choose to tear down the reasons businesses choose to be in Colorado.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will provide up to $338 million in funding for the exploration and development of new geothermal fields and research into advanced geothermal technologies.

These grants are directed toward identifying and developing new geothermal fields and reducing the upfront risk associated with geothermal development through exploration and drilling projects and data development and collection.

In total, 123 projects in 39 states will receive funding from these grants.

The DOE is investing up to $1.18 million for a project in Boulder, Colo. to upgrade the 100-year-old Boulder Canyon Hydroelectric Project by replacing two older turbines with a single unit. The new turbine is expected to operate at a wider range of flows and higher efficiency ranges, resulting in an increase in annual generation of 11,000 MWh (30% increase).

Along with 6 other projects the DOE is investing $30.6 million to create an additional 187,000 MWh/year, while replacing turbines that are as much as 90 and 100 years old.  Clean (cutting 110,00o tons of CO2 emissions/year), cheap (adding generation at less than 4 cents per kWh) and lowering operating and maintenance costs.  

NIST released a draft report on the SmartGrid interoperability standards yesterday.  The roughly 80 initial standards and 14 priority action plans are available for public review and comment for 30 days.  Following this comment period the first phase of NIST’s 3 phase approach will be completed with the final release of the NIST Framework and Roadmap for Smart Grid Interoperability Standards, Release 1.0.

Every now and again, you meet someone and immediately know they are making a real difference for a lot of people. Robyn Johnson is such a person. For much of the last ten years, she has provided many Colorado teens with guidance, education and experiences they would likely have never seen without her hard work and determination.

She is now leaving her position as co-executive director of the Colorado Youth Program to pursue her career in counseling. But we all know that the organization is stronger and better able to continue the goal of connecting kids with their community and the environment because of her leadership.

Thank you for all that you have done, Robyn!

Here are a few excerpts from a letter I received from Robyn yesterday.

My final day at Colorado Youth Program has arrived!

I joined the Colorado Youth Program staff in 1999 as a part-time program coordinator. I had found my ideal job at an organization that combined working with underserved youth and teaching about the environment and volunteerism, all while playing in the outdoors.

While I am now leaving CYP to pursue a career in counseling, I will stay connected to the Colorado Youth Program as a volunteer and donor. The Colorado Youth Program occupies a unique space in our community, making summer camp an affordable option for all families and providing free after-school and weekend programs that teach children to understand, respect and enjoy nature.My time at the Colorado Youth Program has been beautiful. I have worked with delightful children and teens, loving parents and families, visionary community members and leaders, dedicated volunteers and staff…I have enjoyed working with each and every one of you!

]]> http://dwaynenesmith.com/blog/archives/2008/05/thank-you-robyn/feed/ 0 http://dwaynenesmith.com/blog/archives/2008/04/lijit-network-office-tour/ http://dwaynenesmith.com/blog/archives/2008/04/lijit-network-office-tour/#comments Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:03:52 +0000 dwayne http://dwaynenesmith.com/?p=107

Somewhat Frank TV tours the Boulder, CO offices of Lijit.

The state of Colorado is looking for managers for its newly formed Colorado Carbon Fund. This fund aims to aggregate Voluntary Emission Reduction (VER) offsets in an effort to help the state cut its GHG emissions by funding proven carbon abatement project in Colorado. This is in support of Colorado’s climate action plan which aims to reduce GHG emissions in-state 20% by 2020. Gov. Bill Ritter (D) is a big supporter of renewable energy, helping the state to become one of the leaders in wind energy generation in the US. Colorado emits over 120 million tones of CO₂e per year, of which 48 million tons comes from electricity consumption. In tandem with these goals, the State’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) mandates that 20% of that electricity will come from renewable resources by 2020. The Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) aims to have the carbon fund launched by the early summer.

For the second year in a row, Forbes names Boulder ‘smartest city’ in U.S.  While a more accurate name would be the most educated city in the U.S., I can easily support the argument that the place is full of people with impressive intellectual power.  Come visit us and see.

Steven Spielberg’s Ghost Town suggests the social networking theme will take, or at a minimum test, the boundaries of segmentation. In this case not market segmentation, but segmentation of social circles. The main question I raise is “Do I want a lot of distributed social network tools?” Of course, I am in a lot of different networks, many of which have zero or close to zero overlap. And I would like to control this overlap with social networking tools. Perhaps a product like SocialThing, which allows me to participate in a lot of different social networks through one site provides the necessary control.

Foggy Sunrise, originally uploaded by Dwayne Nesmith.

Running to a breakfast meeting, I was forces to pull to the side of the road and snap a few shots of this mornings brilliant sunrise behind a foggy frosted field.

Speaking of the TXU purchase, Mr. Bonderman said the company was adept at running a profitable company and equally bad at politics from price increases to ecology to labor relations. These shortcomings lead tothe opportunity which focused on addressing these public concerns.Opportunities for private equity include exploiting public investorsfocus on short term focus, their dislike for debt or leverage, fixingbroken companies and putting companies together that changes thecompetitive landscape.His advice to students wondering which classes to take for a career inprivate equity, which job to take this summer, which classes to takenext year is to “Just relax”.In looking at the public policy of the US, Bonderman says ourlawmakers are thinking like it is 1975 when the US represented 50% ofthe world’s GDP. Now that we are less than 30% and falling the rest ofthe world has choices and will not play by any US tax code.Best run companies are those which build value over long periods oftime. However, fund managers often are looking for short term gains.This makes creating proper incentives for publicly traded companies’managers sub optimal if not downright harmful.

Be a part of the Boulder tech scene and register today for the Tech Cocktail March 6th event.  Colorado Startups has the details.

Interested in helping kids connect with their community? Want children to be exposed to giving back at an early age? Desire for middle school kids to appreciate the environment. Then please consider a financial contribution to Colorado Youth Program. This Boulder County organization provides a free after school program, Adventure Club, engaging middle school children in community service projects at the Humane Society, Community Food Shares, and cleaning up the Boulder Creek and other hiking trails.

Colorado Youth Program also offers a ten day summer camp in the Mountains near Ward focused on environmental education. Most campers would not be able to enjoy a summer camp experience with the generous scholarships made available by contributors. Check out this great group.

Attended my first Boulder Open Coffee Club this morning at The Cub on Pearl near 16th. I was dropped in after the planetarium trip with my son’s first grade class was postponed due to snow and cold (we were scheduled to walk past the CU solar system model to the show).   As I arrived they were discussing the best places to find professional support such as legal, accounting, etc. And quickly finished promoting a new source for collaborative support the Boulder Tech Bootstrap site. The site will contain both a wiki and a discussion forum for entrepreneurs to help each other just git it done.

MDN_1679

Originally uploaded by Dwayne Nesmith

Another brutal cold winter has hit the Front Range. Mother Nature has used her powers to create some frosty items or great beauty.

Even though the most likely outcome for a successful technology company is via an acquisition, I have never liked the idea of planning for it.  Plans and actions then often go away from what will help our customers and help us succeed in the market to what would ABC Inc. like to see in an acquisition target.  Rarely do the two line up and even then the focus goes away from key items required to build long term sustainable value.

Guest blogger Will Price offered a sound plan for building value in a post on Ask The VC.  Responding to a question regarding how to prepare for an acquisition exit, Will provided details around these three items.

1) Plan for Independence

"The company’s operating plan, technology road map, and executive team should not focus on unnatural acts, in the hopes of attracting a buyer, but rather on building a company with the potential for independence. Companies built to "flip" often flop."

2) Be prepared for acquisition

"…acquirers tend to believe that successful partners make the best acquisition targets. "

3) Keep the house in order

"good record keeping makes for good diligence and good diligence makes for expedited outcomes."

Maximize your "best alternative to a negotiated agreement" (BATNA) and your will be well on your way to delivering value to all your stakeholders.

A question I rarely ask, “Why do I live in Colorado?” is regularly answered in ways like it was today. Driving from Denver to Boulder I interrupted my cell phone caller with “There is a bald eagle in that tree right there.” – Don’t worry Mom, I wasn’t driving. -

It is these regular, yet surprising scenes of our wonderful state that reminds me, long before I forget, what brought me here in the first place.

GlaxoSmithKline to invest in Myogen
Westminster-based Myogen Inc. said Monday it will receive as much as $100 million from GlaxoSmithKline, as the drugmakers work together on two medicines that treat a lung condition.

Both drugs target pulmonary arterial hypertension, which affects about 200,000 people and, when untreated, can lead to heart failure.

Ward Churchill’s Banality of Evil
The right to free speech doesn’t mean you’re right
by Anthony Lappé

“The storm around Churchill’s statements has many on the far left coming to his defense. As a Native American activist, he has a long record of fighting injustice (see my interview with his frequent co-author Jim Vander Wall here), and I too support his right to free speech. Ruffling feathers is what good professors do. It’s a shame that the controversy has cost him his chairmanship of the Ethnic Studies Department at Colorado (he resigned this week). Now his troubles have reached all the way to New York, where an appearance at Hamilton College was cancelled due to what administrators said were security concerns over a flood of death threats.

But there’s a big difference between the right to speak your mind, and being right. And I think he’s dead wrong.

Maybe it’s because I was blocks away when the towers fell. Maybe it’s because I’m more of a wussy pacifist than my more radical brothers. But I cannot find it in me to find what he wrote anything other than completely reprehensible.

Consider the professor’s twisted logic. First one has to ignore the fact that the main crime he accuses the U.S. of – the embargo of Iraq under Saddam which resulted in hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths – was an act of the U.S. government and was likely unpopular, as most limits on commerce are, with the financial community. Let’s grant him that the bankers are complicit in America’s global corporate domination. We can all agree on that. But where do you draw the line when it comes to doling out the professor’s brand of tough justice? What about the secretaries who serve coffee to the little Eichmanns? They keep the evil system caffeinated, should they die? What if you own stock? Does earning dividends on GE mean your apartment building should be leveled with you in it? What if you keep your money at Chase or Citibank? Buy stuff at Wal-Mart? Pay federal taxes? Or better yet, what if you work for the government? Churchill himself works for a state university. He takes a paycheck from an institution that in all likelihood does military research and is probably ten times more complicit in the actual machinery of war than any junior currency trader.”

You can find the essay in this article, Ward Churchill’s Essay and Statement: Updated…Feb 9 on Bob Hoffman’s “Political Gateway” site.