“The pursuit of the truth has brought us to many strange and wonderful places, some of which were in the presence of persons considered divine because they are gurus. Around such people constellate clouds of occluding ideology about self-realization, despite the efforts of the guru, or because of them. We’ve compiled a list of the ten top occluding ideas people hold about their gurus or gurus in general, for your perusal…”

“If you blog, there are no guarantees you’ll attract a readership of thousands. But at least a few readers will find your blog, and they may be the people you’d least want or expect. These include potential or current employers, coworkers, and professional colleagues; your neighbors; your spouse or partner; your family; and anyone else curious enough to type your name, email address or screen name into Google or Feedster and click a few links. The point is that anyone can eventually find your blog if your real identity is tied to it in some way. And there may be consequences. Family members may be shocked or upset when they read your uncensored thoughts. A potential boss may think twice about hiring you. But these concerns shouldn’t stop you from writing. Instead, they should inspire you to keep your blog private, or accessible only to certain trusted people.”

“As in physics, so in finance: shockwaves keep appearing long after an explosion. Five years after the crash in technology shares, its residual effects remain in the area of venture capital. One sign is the huge amount of new money being committed to American venturefunds by investors who feel they missed, or hope to resurrect, the terrific returns of the late 1990s. Another aspect is that some of the money raised during the boom is only now being invested. The result is that start-ups are seeing a fast influx of financing, which is pushing up valuations.”