Not because there isn’t talent in Silicon Valley. Not because the weather isn’t agreeable. It is because of the culture that has developed for software companies there. That culture is one of building products or services that you have no intent on supporting for years or even decades… but that you simply plan on selling.

Here is what Zuck said:

“If I were starting now I would do things very differently. I didn’t know anything. In Silicon Valley, you get this feeling that you have to be out here. But it’s not the only place to be. If I were starting now, I would have stayed in Boston. [Silicon Valley] is a little short-term focused and that bothers me.”

Steve Jobs was recently quoted as saying that he was impressed by Zuckerberg’s resolve to not simply flip Facebook but to build a real business.

Silicon Valley was not always the place to build a company that you simply want to sell off. Hewlett Packard, Apple, Intel, etc. etc. were all built there and they’re still around today – still examples of sustainable companies that everyone envies.

If I were starting a company today I’d stay right where I am. I wouldn’t do it virtually either. I’d hire local. Grow organically. And work hard to build a company that has adds value to its customers, has a sustainable foundation, and has a killer team of dedicated people.

Domenick’s Pizza on Main Street in Carbondale and Jermyn are both fairly good places to get a slice. About as close to New York style pizza as you’ll be able to get in either of these towns.

Matt tried to make me look good.

A chilly night.

Moving out of this building next month.

Pla Jean.

Steamed mussels.

These came from a new place in Scranton, PA called Thai Thai. Excellent food.

Congratulations to all involved that have worked very hard and made a big difference in Philadelphia.

Alex Hillman, cofounder of Independence Hall, covers it a bit more thoroughly.

“High and dry here.”

Ate lunch with Kyle and Jeff. 5 stars.

After a bit of breakfast.

I was using Eliza’s new Sigma 10-20mm and happened upon this dragonfly. If only I realized that I had to be at least 1 foot away to truly get him in focus. Oh well, this is how we learn.

In a rented Best Western conference room. Classy.

Not everyone but closer than usual.

“The idea that every tech company needs to be in the Bay Area is dead and buried. May it Rest in Peace.”

In a recent video interview at Streaming Media East Viddler’s own President Rob Sandie made this point too. We’ve built Viddler in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (and in Krakow, Poland, Phoenix, Arizona, Iceland, Australia, etc.) and have used the Internet to keep ourselves up-to-date with some of the things going on around the world in tech.

If you have any reason whatsoever to use video for your business, website, or yourself – consider using Viddler. It will feed my future children if you do.

A nice bridge downriver from Hellertown.

I had a lunch meeting at Top of the 80′s in Hazelton. The place has quite the view.

This is what I woke to this morning. Beautiful but unwelcome.

A photo taken while visiting Liquid Interactive‘s offices. Sweet digs.

Taken February 2009 in Carwanna in Carbondale, PA.

For more information, see the Viddler developers page.

Note: If you are using Google Reader you may not be able to see this video. The Reader team is dragging their feet on supporting Viddler’s latest embed code. Come on over to my site to see it.

As I read the post I began to think about how far northeastern Pennsylvania has come in the 5 years since I wrote it. I also realize realized how poor my writing was then, but that is the topic for another post for another time.

The truth is we’re not much better off than we were before. I’m sure the use of technology by businesses in our area has increased – as it probably has just about everywhere else – but there has yet to be any real impact in our area by any new companies leverage technology.

Consumer use of electronics is way up but for the same reasons people were using them 5 years ago – making phone calls and playing games. In 2005, pre-iPhone, I said “making phone calls” because they didn’t do much else. Now with Twitter, Facebook, Gowalla, etc. I suppose I should change that to “communications, networking and playing games”.

I’m not sure what I am hoping for. Perhaps it is for a few companies that are truly innovative to succeed in our area. Perhaps it is for people to use technology to make their lives or business easier – not more complicated.

Maybe rather than waiting for it to happen I need to be an example. And perhaps I already am. I just have to share it. And I think I will.

We’ve got a brand new parking garage at Viddler HQ, which is annexed in the excellent Ben Franklin Technology Center, and it is pretty nice.

Believe it or not Viddler‘s “Super Sys Admin” Todd Troxell uses this text-based, window-less UI full time.

No question this time. Just Mountains. Special guest is Viddler’s Lead Designer Andrew Smith.

Just adding Steve & Irene’s, a simple hoagie shop in Childs, PA, to my favorite places within two hours of home list. Eliza and I ordered two hoagies for lunch today and they were both fantastic.

I’d recommend the Pittsburgh or the Child’s. Both come with spicy ranch and either french fries or onion rings jammed into them. Delicious.

Taken yesterday going south on Broad St. It was a hot but beautiful day in Philadelphia. Wish I could have stayed longer. At least I got a Pat’s Steak & Cheese.

Photo credit: Eliza Devroe.

Yesterday we had the opportunity to go fishing for the first time this year. I didn’t catch a thing and only had a single bite but it is early in the season and that isn’t really why I went.

My main objective was to get my new pole and reel set up and to test my new waders. It took some getting used to the new reel, it is a Shimano Symetre RJ 2500, because it has some releases on it that gave me some trouble. I got used to it in short order and I’m liking the feel of the reel, the drag settings and the bail. The weight of it seems about perfect too.

The waders, as you can see from the photo, worked well. The water was cold but the felt-bottomed boots kept me from falling into the drink. Last year I didn’t have waders and it limited my ability to get access to certain areas of the river. Hopefully this year I won’t have any excuses and will be able to reach the fish wherever they may hide.

Next time, I’ll catch some fish.

Took this while jogging yesterday before the rain. This is a very big evergreen tree.

Five years ago today: We were at a hockey game.

The vineyards on Franklin Hill. Credit: Eliza.

Eliza, my mother-in-law Carla and I took a drive last week to visit a few wineries along the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail. Due to winter hours, a long lunch, and some shopping – we only got to two wineries along the trail.

The first winery was Amoré in Nazareth, Pa. Although having recently been through a fire that ripped through their tasting room – they were still open for business. One of the things I enjoyed the most about Amoré, besides their decent selection of wines, was that they offered crackers, pretzels, and even chocolate with some of them. During the summer months, we were told, they sometimes have cheese too. More wineries should do this. Although some do have crackers it is rare that they are of any quality or that they have other things available.

The second winery was Franklin Hill in Bangor, Pa. and my favorite of the day. Franklin Hill Winery sits far back off the road, nearly a half mile I’d say, and was recently renovated. This was my favorite of the day because we got a tour and got to meet the woman winemaker while she was working on some of their wines. Everyone there was very free with information when I asked questions about winemaking and the wines were good too.

We ended up coming home with a few bottles of wine. One thing I enjoy about buying wine directly from the wineries is that you have a chance to taste the wines before you purchase any. This way when you’re home and wondering what wine to have – you know exactly what each of them tastes like.

Hopefully we’ll find time this year to get to the other seven wineries along the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail.

We made our way to McDonald’s and, of course, I thought it would be a good idea to have a nugget eating challenge. This time, though, I would only attempt to eat 50 nuggets. As I said on Twitter, I was trying to eat 50 just so I could see how hard it would be to eat 100 at a later date. I thought I could eat 50 with little problem. Boy was I wrong.

About 12 nuggets into the challenge I knew that I would fail. I wasn’t full. I was disgusted. The grease on the nuggets is positively revolting after only a few nuggets. The few times that I’ve order McNuggets in my life I’ve only gotten 4 nuggets at a time. Obviously not enough to be prepared for a 50-nugget (let alone a 100-nugget) challenge. Yuck.

So, I quit at 28. I had 2 nuggets left in my third box of ten and, although I could have eaten those, I thought ‘what is the point?’. I gave up and I will now not eat McNuggets until at least 2020. I’m glad I tried and now know that eating 100 nuggets – at least by me – is impossible.

My two fellow nugget-challengers, Sam and Austin, did better than I did with 40 and 32 nuggets respectively.

Photo credit: Ben Wagner.

Saw this at 12:30 on Sunday afternoon at the intersection of Routes 106 and 247. Everyone seemed to get out OK though.

Left: bird seed mix, Right: suet.

Suet

Bird seed

The temperature has finally gotten above freezing. I took it as an opportunity to get two more bird feeders (in addition to the one we have on our deck) up.

As you may recall Bernie has a support control center on his desk. Today I came into Viddler HQ to discover that he’s pretty much a switcher.

Bernie‘s ‘computer bank’ for Viddler support is pretty awesome.

Several birds have visited our bird feeder since we’ve moved into the new apartment. I have yet to get a really good capture of any of them though the opportunities have been there. I’m hoping to score a few before winter is over.

This particular bird, I think, is a Black Phoebe.

Well, my Graceland anyway.

Turn up your speakers for this one folks. My friend Eric Brophy and I (more him than me) have a chat about geocoding, mashups, Twitter, and the potential for other geocoded things to pop up in the future.

You can pretty much expect First initial, last name to be 85% geo in 2010.

No question this time around… simply sound off in the comments.

Waiting for the coffee to finish brewing with my buddy.

Taken with my iPhone while getting gas one morning and cross processed in Mill Colour (iTunes link).

Had breakfast here yesterday. It was pretty good but I wouldn’t add Cozy Corner Cafe to my favorite places within 2 hours of my home list. It would do in a pinch, though.

Something has to be said that they don’t come up, at all, in a Google Maps search though. Hmm.

Update: Since Google Maps doesn’t know where Cozy Corner Cafe is – I’ve decided to update this post, and to request that Google update the address and information for the Cozy Corner Cafe. I think the Carbondale Chamber of Commerce has the address wrong (they have North Main and it should be North Church) so I’ve corrected it below as well as on Google. Roxanne Miller (owner of Cozy Corner Cafe) you owe me a free coffee.

Cozy Corner Cafe
49 North Church St.
Carbondale, PA 18407

Dude knows how to eat a lemon… rind and all.

I made French Toast using this French Toast recipe on Simply Recipes (even with the optional Triple Sec). It was delicious. I recommend.

Shopping list

1. Milk
2. Eggs
3. Inexpensive wines from all over the world
4. Bread
5. Cheez-Its