Author Topic: "This is Your Life In Silicon Valley"  (Read 7363 times)

Imustacheyouaquestion

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"This is Your Life In Silicon Valley"
« on: August 16, 2016, 01:23:09 PM »
https://medium.com/@subes01/this-is-your-life-in-silicon-valley-933091235095#.nh2dkk3fh

Some of the points made here are actually specific to the tech community in Silicon Valley, but really I think a lot of these sentiments extend to many upper/middle class communities across the country.

ShoulderThingThatGoesUp

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Re: "This is Your Life In Silicon Valley"
« Reply #1 on: August 16, 2016, 02:19:06 PM »
Well, that was depressing.

scottish

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Re: "This is Your Life In Silicon Valley"
« Reply #2 on: August 16, 2016, 05:35:53 PM »
Hah!   This explains why the guys I used to work with in Sunnyvale were always such a mess.     I can just picture them living this article.

The Guru

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Re: "This is Your Life In Silicon Valley"
« Reply #3 on: August 16, 2016, 08:25:50 PM »
I guess I'm too old and too Luddite to understand most of whatever the hell he was talking about ("Got to see a few Grand Prix's from prominent Viet Cong firms? What does that even mean?")

On the plus side, I'm WAY past the point of giving a shit about being trendy.

MoneyCat

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Re: "This is Your Life In Silicon Valley"
« Reply #4 on: August 16, 2016, 10:05:15 PM »
Wait, is this a modern article or an article from 2000 pre-bubble the last time everyone dumped lots of money into internet companies that didn't actually produce any products? All this has happened before and will happen again.

okits

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Re: "This is Your Life In Silicon Valley"
« Reply #5 on: August 16, 2016, 10:08:38 PM »
Ouch!  Hurts, and hilarious.  Upper-ish middle class community not in Silicon Valley, but the superficiality, pretentiousness, consumerism, zombie-conformity, ridiculous self-congratulations, and unthinking hamster-wheel running were familiar, to an extent.  Not the child-neglect, though.  We really got our heads on straight when we became parents. 

woopwoop

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Re: "This is Your Life In Silicon Valley"
« Reply #6 on: August 16, 2016, 10:10:21 PM »
I guess I'm too old and too Luddite to understand most of whatever the hell he was talking about ("Got to see a few Grand Prix's from prominent Viet Cong firms? What does that even mean?")
Haha, I like your translation but I believe it's "general partners in venture capital firms"

woopwoop

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Re: "This is Your Life In Silicon Valley"
« Reply #7 on: August 16, 2016, 10:14:50 PM »
Also dear God, this makes me think the startup bubble has got to pop sometime soon. So much wrong...

Sid Hoffman

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Re: "This is Your Life In Silicon Valley"
« Reply #8 on: August 16, 2016, 10:27:44 PM »
So I was at one of the big tech companies last fall doing a product eval for one of their offerings that was beta testing at their Sunnyvale lab.  I was there a few days, we drove by the McLaren dealer in Palo Alto, around some of the nicer towns and ate at nice restaurants.  It's an amazing place with so much astonishing raw talent concentrated into so few square miles.

However, there is a reason one of my co-workers calls it Silly Con Valley.  The big tech companies are certainly doing well and enough startups reach critical mass to keep the dream alive for the rest, but for everyone else it's just one flaming crater after another on the business side and depressing commutes and housing costs and the nation's highest income inequality on the personal side.

It's crazy, because there might be no other place in America where capitalism reigns with such incredible authority, yet it takes place in one of the most liberal and (on the surface) most anti-capitalist places.  It truly is a huge con, with everybody saying one thing and doing another, and money standing as the final arbiter.

obstinate

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Re: "This is Your Life In Silicon Valley"
« Reply #9 on: August 16, 2016, 10:37:39 PM »
This article is nonsense. It would be like if I watched Sex and the City and believed that was the typical life of a New York woman.

Capsu78

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Re: "This is Your Life In Silicon Valley"
« Reply #10 on: August 17, 2016, 10:00:23 AM »
I agree with those that recognize this as reality based satire.  I also agree with Sids comments.  I don't know what is more amazing- the number of industries California has managed to run off or the fact that Tech wasn't one of them.  That skinny little coastal band where the elites live from San Diego to LA to SF in no way reflects the lives of those living in "greater California" any more than Sex in the City reflected the lives of some 30 somethings living in Rochester or Buffalo.
« Last Edit: August 17, 2016, 10:03:11 AM by Capsu78 »

MgoSam

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Re: "This is Your Life In Silicon Valley"
« Reply #11 on: August 17, 2016, 10:16:48 AM »
If anyone here hasn't seen Silicon Valley, I would recommend it. It's on HBO, which thankfully I don't have to pay for (got it through my Comcast internet service, it's not included but I've never had a problem using it on my Roku).

mm1970

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Re: "This is Your Life In Silicon Valley"
« Reply #12 on: August 17, 2016, 10:36:17 AM »
I agree with those that recognize this as reality based satire.  I also agree with Sids comments.  I don't know what is more amazing- the number of industries California has managed to run off or the fact that Tech wasn't one of them.  That skinny little coastal band where the elites live from San Diego to LA to SF in no way reflects the lives of those living in "greater California" any more than Sex in the City reflected the lives of some 30 somethings living in Rochester or Buffalo.
Some of us who live in the skinny coastal band live regular non-elite lives too.

Of course there are plenty of elites here, and people who want to be like them.

PencilThinStash

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Re: "This is Your Life In Silicon Valley"
« Reply #13 on: August 17, 2016, 10:50:03 AM »
Dear god. It's the actual, written antithesis of everything I want my life to be.

The author really did a tremendous job of describing my biggest nightmare. Wow.

Capsu78

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Re: "This is Your Life In Silicon Valley"
« Reply #14 on: August 17, 2016, 01:00:30 PM »
I agree with those that recognize this as reality based satire.  I also agree with Sids comments.  I don't know what is more amazing- the number of industries California has managed to run off or the fact that Tech wasn't one of them.  That skinny little coastal band where the elites live from San Diego to LA to SF in no way reflects the lives of those living in "greater California" any more than Sex in the City reflected the lives of some 30 somethings living in Rochester or Buffalo.
Some of us who live in the skinny coastal band live regular non-elite lives too.

Of course there are plenty of elites here, and people who want to be like them.

Duly noted MM  :-)  - I used to be one of them... calling on high tech accounts for a 120 year old company that ran out of ways to "reinvent" itself and no longer exists!

ysette9

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Re: "This is Your Life In Silicon Valley"
« Reply #15 on: August 17, 2016, 01:04:06 PM »
As someone in Silicon Valley but not exactly of it (my company started here when the area was full of orchards; my husband is in tech though mostly more mature companies than early start-ups) this article has some truth in between the hyperbole. There may be people living this life but it likely is a very minor slice. The truthful parts I picked out include:
  • The non-English speaking nanny: this could also be daycare or immersion school. Multi-culturalism and being multi-lingual is valued.
  • Dual-career couples
  • Choosing a place to eat via Yelp
  • Being connected everywhere, all day long
  • Paying for conveniences like Instacart

I am aware of the concern that parents all want the best for their kids and push them relentlessly to achieve, achieve, achieve. I am hopeful that this awareness will help us avoid the tendency in our parenting. We certainly are not the only people who share this perspective, though we do see kids who are signed up for swim lessons and dance and Chinese school and and and.

The other side to the coin is that this area has a fantastic concentration of high-paying jobs, a plethora of free outdoor activities year-round, perfect weather, and is quirky enough that you can do things like wear jeans and sweatshirts to work, drive old cars, bring your lunch, and no one thinks twice about it.

Lagom

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Re: "This is Your Life In Silicon Valley"
« Reply #16 on: August 17, 2016, 01:16:06 PM »
A bit on the nose for my tastes, although amusing nonetheless. Certainly, it's a minority of folks in the Bay Area that are like that, but the elitist techbro culture is very very real, and this article only slightly exaggerates how they behave. It's also hard to tell if this is meant to be a critique or simply self-deprecating humor. The author self-describes the piece as satire, but it feels to me like it has of a fond, "aren't we just so crazy here??" vibe.

I love the Bay Area, and there are many lovely people in tech and at startups, but boy do I loathe this particular subculture. Fortunately, it's pretty small and usually easy to avoid.

celticmyst08

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Re: "This is Your Life In Silicon Valley"
« Reply #17 on: August 17, 2016, 04:11:11 PM »
"You briefly recall your ride home on the 280 tonight. The sun was setting. It was beautiful. You realize you live in paradise."

That part did get to me. So often I take for granted how fortunate I am to live in a beautiful place, have stable employment, a good relationship, etc. Sometimes when I drive home I see Mt. Rainier with the sun setting on it and take a moment to be thankful.

Threshkin

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Re: "This is Your Life In Silicon Valley"
« Reply #18 on: August 17, 2016, 04:49:22 PM »
This makes me glad i left the South Bay way back in '85. 

Why did I leave?  It was too expensive, even back then.

nobodyspecial

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Re: "This is Your Life In Silicon Valley"
« Reply #19 on: August 28, 2016, 01:29:35 PM »
That part did get to me. So often I take for granted how fortunate I am to live in a beautiful place, have stable employment, a good relationship, etc. Sometimes when I drive home I see Mt. Rainier with the sun setting on it and take a moment to be thankful.
And you have seasons. In LA you know it's winter when you see plastic snowmen next to the plastic flamingos on the bright green lawns

gimp

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Re: "This is Your Life In Silicon Valley"
« Reply #20 on: August 29, 2016, 04:33:03 PM »
I can't watch Silicon Valley because it hits too close to home. Just like Portlandia did.

This article is pretty funny. Bit sad. I wonder if it's more or less sad than my day to day:

- Wake up at 10AM. If I feel like it, snooze to 10:30 or 11.
- Arrive at work about 20 minutes after leaving the house.
- Check /r/cars, shitpost a little
- Work
- Dinner
- Shitpost on reddit
- Check if there are any mechanical problems I can help someone solve
- Work
- Decide when to buy car parts
- Go home
- Sleep

Weekends, work a little chill, or work on my cars or friends' cars.

No kids, pretty much no responsibilities, tons of money...

CoreyTheMan

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Re: "This is Your Life In Silicon Valley"
« Reply #21 on: August 30, 2016, 10:51:12 AM »
Did anyone else realize he did very little work? Or did I miss that?

nipster

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Re: "This is Your Life In Silicon Valley"
« Reply #22 on: August 30, 2016, 12:28:39 PM »
This guy clearly needs to blow his brains out. That is a horrible life!

gimp

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Re: "This is Your Life In Silicon Valley"
« Reply #23 on: August 30, 2016, 01:35:04 PM »
Did anyone else realize he did very little work? Or did I miss that?

You were not the only one, that's kind of one of the funny parts. Though I suppose the work is sort of implied, it's also sort of not, hence long hours.

VaCPA

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Re: "This is Your Life In Silicon Valley"
« Reply #24 on: August 30, 2016, 02:03:31 PM »
I know it's exaggeration but very funny read

Kaspian

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Re: "This is Your Life In Silicon Valley"
« Reply #25 on: August 30, 2016, 02:06:21 PM »
Dear god. It's the actual, written antithesis of everything I want my life to be.

The author really did a tremendous job of describing my biggest nightmare. Wow.

Me too!  Was going to write the exact same thing.  I reviewed the article once I'd finished, from bottom to top, and there's not even ONE SINGLE PARAGRAPH that makes me think, "Wow, that sounds like fun!," or "I wish I had that!"  Total suckage lifestyle--from sending the kid to special school when you should be spending more time with him, to waiting 30 minutes for a coffee, to browsing Pinterest.  If I had to live that way, I'd put my head down on a San Francisco track and wait for the trolley to come by.  Note to author:  I've been to Austin, Texas--they're actually cool and don't want these kinds of people there.

Lagom

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Re: "This is Your Life In Silicon Valley"
« Reply #26 on: August 30, 2016, 02:38:55 PM »
I know it's exaggeration but very funny read

Sadly, it's only a slight exaggeration. Fortunately, these folks are a small minority.

marty998

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Re: "This is Your Life In Silicon Valley"
« Reply #27 on: August 30, 2016, 02:39:43 PM »
Once I started I couldn't stop reading. Totally immersed in the fantasy land :D

Perfectly describes what we call "head too far up one's own arse".

arebelspy

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Re: "This is Your Life In Silicon Valley"
« Reply #28 on: August 30, 2016, 07:38:31 PM »
Did anyone else realize he did very little work? Or did I miss that?
Yeah, that was great. He created like one spreadsheet, in not very long.

I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

LadyMaWhiskers

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Re: "This is Your Life In Silicon Valley"
« Reply #29 on: August 30, 2016, 08:21:35 PM »
The 280...

Unacceptable