I am learning more about the potential use of algae to produce biofuel, in particular, a new development here in San Diego. According to an article on the Xconomy.com website, a group of academic and industry researchers has established the San Diego Center for Algae-based Biofuels (SD-CAB). This area of research is of great interest to me, and I believe to Craig Venter and his people too. The Center is working to generate algae biofuels by various techniques and has banded together a variety of people and organizations to create a San Diego-based consortium. I will follow this group with interest and hope to see some results soon.

Last week was a fairly eventful one for me. On Monday my eye doctor did some laser enhancement of the lens in one of my eyes. On Tuesday I went to a fancy event at the Town and Country Convention Center in San Diego. The purpose of the event was to honor several people in the San Diego city and county Chambers of Commerce, and to welcome Ben Haddad in as the new head of the San Diego Chamber of Commerce. Ben was a legislative liaison with SAIC and is a very good man.

On Wednesday we traveled out to the Grand Del Mar Hotel, where the Mission Ventures organization was having their annual meeting. Since I participate in two of their ventures — one of which has been quite successful — I was curious how this organization was withstanding the downturn in the market, particularly the small startups. I was pleased to note that most of their investments are doing well. Although the companies are a long way from standing on their own, they are making progress. At lunch the group presented me with an award to honor my contributions to entrepreneurship in the San Diego area.

After this strenuous week I was happy to go out on my boat on Friday and travel to Oceanside with some close friends, including Robert Craig, Ron Arnold, Steve Fisher, and Greg Moy.

– Bob