About Me
Hi. I'm Mike Kane, a Philadelphia guy investing in early stage venture companies. I co-founded Pour Richards as a way to bring interesting people together to talk about ideas. This saved me the enormous trouble of having to be interesting myself.Pages
-
Recent Posts
Category Archives: Life and Family
American Individualism Will Not Survive a Generation Raised on Social Media
The ideal of American individualism will not survive a generation raised on social media. Individualism has people looking inward to their own sense of right and wrong, their personal aspirations, etc. Social media by their very essence have individuals looking outward, to their peers, for external validation of their actions and views. Continue reading
Posted in Life and Family, Observations, Philosophy
Tagged Alger, Ambition, American Individualism, FDR, Franklin, George Washington, Hoover, JFK, Lincoln, Rugged Individualism, Social Media, Social Philosophy
Comments Off
Swedish Fish are Made in Canada: And Other Realizations of a Slow Learner
The mother of a dear friend was the most superstitious person I ever knew. She carried a large number of crazy notions with her right up to her death from a bolt of lightning after inadvertently walking under a ladder … Continue reading
Posted in Humor, Life and Family, Observations
Tagged humor, negative numbers, observations, Santa
Comments Off
The R Word: The Last Accepted Prejudice
A recent experience where I was subjected to the dreaded R word from a guy looking to raise money from me. Continue reading
Posted in Life and Family, Observations, Uncategorized
Tagged Glee, intellectual disability, prejudice, r-word, Special Olympics
Comments Off
From “Pa Pa” to “Your Royal Majesty”
Tom Hooper’s extraordinary film, The King’s Speech, draws its power and affect from its subtlety. Hooper uses many small and understated scenes, which on their own don’t broadcast a message, but when combined with the natural empathy of the viewer, … Continue reading
Posted in Life and Family, Observations
Tagged Colin Firth, film, King's Speech, Tom Hooper
Comments Off
Improvising a Repair with a No. 2 Pencil
…in which the author makes a substitute dowel from a school girl’s pencil to repair a broken bed and thus avoids the madding crowds. Continue reading
How to change the tree stand after decorating the Christmas tree
It’s self-evident to the thinking man that the proper way to carry out the operation includes a strong winch, a series of pulleys, a corrugated steel rope, and a team of Clydesdales. A gentleman of privilege might also expect to have a pair of robust stage hands, a smoking jacket, and a commanding presence, all topped off with a fine Cuban cigar and a single malt of some distinction. Naturally, I had none of this inventory available to me. Continue reading
On sitting down to read Keats once again
For reasons I don’t yet understand, I’ve been drawn back to the poetry of Keats this last month. In a letter to a friend, Keats writes a remarkable thing about poetry –that the poem should strike the reader as an … Continue reading
The Power of An Explanation
Something happened to me yesterday, I think for the first time. I was on an airplane–that’s not it, I’ve been on lots of planes. But on this one, we pushed away from the gate when the flight attendant came on … Continue reading
Posted in Life and Family, Observations
Comments Off
Breaking News: Boulder Man Spends Time with His Wife
Imagine the headline above. Sounds a bit absurd. But there’s a bit of buzz right now about a respected VC who recently posted his practice of “Four Minutes In The Morning” to pay attention to his spouse. While I share … Continue reading
“Grass is greener” syndrome starts early
My children want me to buy a different car and a different house. Continue reading