I am one of those people who celebrates the future. I absolutely love the possibilities of technology and technological change. At the same time, I can’t let go of the past. I use fountain pens to take notes in a paper notebook that is wrapped in a leather cover. But generally, I am biased toward the possibilities of new technologies — and not just information technology.

This week, I came across the Nike Fit, which seems like such a smart use of a much-hyped technology: augmented reality. Nike Fit allows you to point your phone at your feet and get the most accurate measurement. The size data that is collected enables you to find the right match for your foot from Nike’s mind-boggling array of shoe choices.

I spent the past few days celebrating the city’s startup ecosystem. Did you know that, of the top ten companies on CNBC’s latest disruptor list, four are based in New York, three are from China, and just one (AirBnB) is from the Bay Area? Software is, indeed, eating the world and creating opportunities everywhere.

New York is very special to me. It is the place where I found myself as a writer and as a man. I finally found a place to belong.  While I live in San Francisco, unlike Tony Bennett, I left my heart in the Big Apple. 

Uber and Lyft are finally publicly traded companies, which means that they will live and die by their performance as businesses in public. They are both carrying very frothy valuations, which are indicative of the optimism investors have for in their future. Conversely, there is very little room for error for these companies. They will have to figure out how to go very quickly from being money-losing businesses to peers who can coexist without driving each other in the ground. In other words, they will have to show sustainable growth. And at the same time, they have to show rather rapidly that they have a path to sustainable profits.

I was invited by the friendly folks at TechCrunch to be a special guest on their Equity podcast. We talked about Uber and it’s IPO. I shared my love for Carta. And we even talked about Casper and coffee in China. All in all, great to hang out with Connie, Alex, and Kate. If you are interested, check it out!