The @SFSPCA sends @breadpig a winged pig!

Well, they're not bread wings, but pretty close. Thanks for the Christmas tree ornament, SF SPCA!

I'm afraid we didn't get to open this until this weekend, so we're a bit late (or just really early for next X-mas). Either way, it's been a pleasure working with you over the years on breadpig projects. Our LOLmagnetz have generated tens of thousands of dollars in profits we've donated to help rescue cats and dogs (and get them into homes).

Read (and see cute puppy photos) about how your LOLmagnet-dollars (buy a kit at ThinkGeek!) are helping make the world suck less.

General Assembly Aims to Gather New York Techies [@NYTimes]

Start-ups that have elected to work out of General Assembly’s offices full-time say that they enjoy the spirit of collaboration and camaraderie that can percolate when one is working near like-minded people who are also trying to get their companies off the ground.

“It’s nice to not feel like you’re working in a bubble,” said Erica Cerulo, one of the co-founders of Of A Kind, an online boutique that is renting desk space at General Assembly. “We’re not typical entrepreneurs so it’s been good to be around all these other people in the same place, to be able to ask questions and have conversations about what we’re doing.”

Other start-ups in the space include Art.sy, a site that pairs collectors with potential purchases; Fashism, a social shopping site; Yipit, a daily deals site; and Food52, a recipe community.

Mr. Pritzker said he hoped to turn General Assembly into its own flourishing business. “There is an opportunity here to help cross-pollinate the different creative communities in New York,” he said.

via bits.blogs.nytimes.com

Congrats to the General Assembly team. Though it was fun to drop by while it was all under construction, I can't wait to stop by and see it alive and buzzing with geekery.

My interview with MO.com (pretty sweet domain name, right?)

“I’m very well aware of the life lottery I won. And I know I didn’t do anything to deserve it – could’ve just as easily been born to another set of parents in another time or place. Sure, I’ve worked hard as hell for what I’ve achieved, but that doesn’t make me special when countless others have triumphed over much more with much less to show for it.”

via mo.com

This interview covers just about everything: reddit, breadpig, hipmunk. Big thanks to Kevin Ohashi for the opportunity to blab about myself & my projects.

The indisputable value of LOLcats

If Ben Huh ever publicly offers to buy a website you co-founded, make sure to include LOLcats in your reply (because this is the only way I ended up on the spectacularly absurd Taiwanese news network's animation/broadcast). I didn't have the LOLcats at first, but felt pretty guilty after folks complained about my admittedly misleading title.

These fabulous felines, spawned from 4chan, have served me well over the years. I gave a very well received talk in 2008 to a bunch of magazine execs in NY entirely using LOLcats. And one of our most popular breadpig products has been LOLmagnetz.

Thanks kitties!

Why start a Hack Club in New York?

After moving to New York, Alexis met innumerable NY geeks who were dismayed by the dearth of purely geek events in the city.  Plenty of ostensibly geeky events were invaded by a glut of people who had big ideas, but were more interested in finding a programmer than building it themselves. We dreamt of creating a fun space where geeks, especially those who hadn’t gone the startup route and needed the company of like-minded people, could roll up their sleeves without getting hassled or recruited–and so Hack Club was born.

via breadpig.com

Be sure to check out Christina's summary (with photos!) as we send our fallen sumo Mindstorms to our not-for-profit partner in Jamaica.

Squirrels

via i.imgur.com

So beautiful. And to quote a thoughtful commenter named z0mbiel0ve on /r/aww where I found it:

This is a wonderful example of the beauty that life possesses here on our little rock, floating along in our little galaxy, in a vast universe filled with cosmic chaos and unknowns.

It's a shame that the majority of us could [not] care less about it.

To me this resonates as more than your normal 'aww' picture. Life is amazing and special at all levels, no matter how big or small, and it always should be appreciated and valued.

I hope for our species' sake that we all understand this one day.