As a runner, I love a good running book. The Greatest – the biography of Haile Gebrselassie – a man who dominated distance running for a decade – was extremely inspiring. It balanced the racing with the personal story of Haile, along with a great overview of the Ethiopian running scene and the opportunities and challenges facing the country. In addition to being a champion athlete, Haile has become a very successful Ethiopian businessman and the vignettes about his businesses, why he does them (when he clearly doesn’t have to), and how he is focused on continuing to help Ethiopia evolve as a country was powerful. Heroic running, riveting race stories, good Ethiopian history, the passing of the torch of a champion to the next generation, and a guy that everyone would like – what more could you want from a running biography?

While lots of VCs posture during term sheet negotiations by saying “that is non-negotiable”, terms rarely are (as you’ve likely inferred from previous posts on term sheets be me and Jason.) Occasionally, a term will actually be non-negotiable. In all the VC deals we’ve ever seen, the preferred has the right – at any time – to convert its stake into common. Following is the standard language: “Conversion: The holders of the Series A Preferred shall have the right to convert the Series A Preferred, at any time, into shares of Common Stock. The initial conversion rate shall be 1:1, subject to adjustment as provided below.”

If you love dogs, strong women, Colorado, hockey, ranches, complicated yet lifelike characters, and beautiful writing, Sight Hound is a must read. I haven’t read Pam Houston’s other books, but they are also highly acclaimed. It’s a little tough getting your bearings since each chapter is told in first person from a different character’s point of view, including several dogs and a cat, but once you put it together it’s a fast ski ride down a huge snow covered mountain on a warm spring day.

I’ve recently become obsessed with the notion that all my data should be integrated in one place and be able to be entered from one place. Of course, this isn’t true, but as my compute infrastructure gets smarter, this will become a lot easier. I’ve got three types of data: (1) the stuff I want the world to see, (2) the stuff I want certain people to see, and (3) the stuff that is just for me. Logically, my blog (or “my website” – doh) should be the entry point for everything that I create that fits in category #1. 

I’ve got another month before I have to send flowers, chocolate, and my other special mothers day stuff, but an email from my mom today prompted me to write an apology to all mothers everywhere. I’ll attribute the condescending remark about me understanding Bob Garfield’s comments to your very long plane ride. Welcome home. We’ll call before we leave on our ” even longer than your” plane ride on Tuesday. So long, I don’t even want to think about it. Love, Your Phi Beta Kappa Mom (now where is that darn pin?)

I don’t write about broadcast media much – it’s not my thing. I’ve definitely had my entertaining moments – including a very strange lunch at Blackrock with Mel Karmizan when he was the president of CBS pre-Viacom (“the Internet – it is irrelevant to us – you just can’t sell enough ads on it”) and a due diligence trip to a South Carolina radio station when I was at Ameridata in 1994 (“Maybe we should buy them and try to introduce computers into the radio business” – at least lunch was good). However, I do like 24 (I plan to be Jack Bauer in my next life) and I thought last week’s West Wing was superb.

There are an increasing number of high profile CTO bloggers appearing, including Adam Bosworth, Greg Papadopoulos, and Grady Booch. Two close friends and CTO’s / founders of companies that I’ve funded have recently started blogging. While they are not as high profile, they are intensely smart and articulate guys that have had a lot of success and a wide range of experiences. Plus, they know each other, like each other, and have plenty of dirt on me.

Jason Calacanis just forwarded me a fun post he just put up titled Sparring with VCs & Associates to sharpen your skills. While not all VCs are as clueless as the dmf that it appears Jason talked to, I’ve had plenty of conversations that resemble this one (where I’m on the receiving end – substitute “Brad” for “Me”) during “due diligence” calls with other VCs that are interested in companies I’m either looking at or already an investor in.

I recently made an angel investment in Jonathan Weber’s (the former editor of The Industry Standard) new publishing venture – New West Network. I got turned on to Jonathan by Jerry Colonna who knew Jonathan well from the publishing business. New West isn’t a “venture deal”, so we chose not to fund it as a venture firm, but I like to support interesting projects that impact my community and New West definitely fit the bill as it’s a network of online communities devoted to the culture, economy, politics, environment, and overall atmosphere of the Rocky Mountain West, and currently includes specific sites for Missoula, Boulder, Salt Lake City, and Northern Idaho.