John C. Dvorak and Seasonal Depression Disorder
I have been reading John Dvorak for a long time.
I am drawn to his writing in the same way that I am compelled to the read the cover of the celebrity magazines at the checkout stand.
I just can’t stop myself.
He wrote something not too long ago that has been sticking with me.
What’s interesting is that these two companies are about the same age, but Apple still has the pizzazz. I’m also considering that this entire situation was inevitable based on the respective localities of the companies. Microsoft is up in the often gloomy and downbeat Pacific Northwest, and Apple is smack in the middle of warm and up-tempo Silicon Valley. In Silicon Valley, everywhere you go there are people talking about start-ups and wild new ideas. In the Pacific Northwest they are talking about hiking or bike trails [bold mine].
I don’t agree with anything else in the article (I for one try to lose my job all the time — Microsoft actually is a wonderful place for a risktaker, really), but I do think the Pacific Northwest is a tough place to be positive all the time.
I have literally thought about picking my whole team up and moving to NorCal.
After all my favorite Starbucks in the whole world is there and the increase sunlight could shake me of my grunge obsession (Vitamin D production apparently does that — I think it kills vampires too).
I picked up my tribe and left. Or as my wife said one day I got home: “the girls and I are moving, you can come if you want.”. I landed in Sunny FL, although I have been toying with the idea of going to California now that housing is reasonable.
Scott Densmore
9 Dec 08 at 05:53
I live in the North-West and have solved the weather problem for me. I live pretty high up on the side of a mountain facing the US border and it rains continuously between October and March. The rain is warm-ish too, so not much ski-able snow forms.
The trick is then to drive down to sea level and revel in the excitement of not having to wear a snorkel to take a walk and where any glimpse of non-dark cloud get’s the pulse racing. It feels like Hawaii.
It’s all relative – you just need to lock the team up in dark rooms or sprinkle them with cold water during the day – the outside will seem fine then…
David Ing
9 Dec 08 at 06:54
Doug,
It would be great to have you down here. The Mountain View office is right next to our current office (mozilla) and of course the Goog and the computer history museum.
Come on doooown!
Cheers,
Dion
Dion Almaer
9 Dec 08 at 07:51
I couldn’t live in Seattle – all that rain would make me miserable. Stosh used to say MS should move its HQ to Hawaii.
Tom
9 Dec 08 at 12:46