Area Journalist Partying Too Hard

Well sure, that does happen, but I think this is painting a picture that's a bit unrealistically towards the opposite direction now. There are some people who live a sort of rich-ascetic lifestyle, and there are some old Hondas, but it's not really the norm. There are so many high-end cars that what might cause people in other parts of the country to do a double-take barely raises eyebrows in SV (oh, another Porsche). And there really are a lot of quite fancy houses in the Valley; driving through Palo Alto and vicinity (Atherton, Woodside, ...) doesn't give you the impression of a humble, down-to-earth neighborhood. And, at bars, it is super-common to hear people discussing money and deals and "acquihires" and IPOs and valuations (even people who aren't doing any of that themselves, but are just caught up in the whole scene/idea/fantasy).

I find it weird that Arrington of all people would claim that the conversations are all about ideas, not money, when so much of TechCrunch's reporting was always about valuations and financing and exits. Is he arguing that his journalism is completely unrepresentative of the Valley?

Though you can find corners that exude more of a non-biz-oriented hacker ethos, like Noisebridge. My brief impressions of SuperHappyDevHouse (have gone 3 times) were sort of in that direction also, with the feeling that a lot of money was probably in the vicinity (random stuff would seemingly get paid for magically, e.g. some VC sponsoring beer), but people didn't talk about it much. They even have a comic about that vs. "other Silicon Valley parties": http://www.flickr.com/photos/progrium/2126533900/

"But there is another side to the Valley. One where people are building truly innovative companies. Where founders aren’t driven by seeing their name on tech blogs or tweeting a picture of themselves with their new investors, M.C. Hammer or Ashton Kutcher.

There are truly excited inventors, designers and programmers here, some of the brightest people in the United States, who are trying to build something that will fix a problem in the world. This is why I love working in Silicon Valley.

Where else in the world would people try to make a better and more efficient taxi service, thermostat or tool for revolt? Where else would they reinvent education, the Boy Scouts and even government? And there are those who are helping the economy, creating services that enable people to find new forms of income.

Once you are able to navigate through the sludge of pandering and ostentation, you can see there is truly magical work taking place.

Luckily for people who live outside the bubble of Silicon Valley, there is a wonderful group of creators here who believe that everything is broken and that technology, creativity and guts can actually fix it."

I work on Wall Street and visit my family in the Silicon Valley regularly. If this is true then traders and investment bankers rarely talk about money, they talk about trades and deals.

I've identified with both Silicon Valley and Wall Street at various points and can state with a fair amount of confidence that the cultures are highly similar, right down to the more-virtuous-than-thou strain that runs deep through both.

  And niggas always gotta high cap
  Showin' all his boys how he shot em
  But real gangsta-ass niggas don't flex nuts
  'cause real gangsta-ass niggas know they got em
  And everythings cool in the mind of a gangsta
  'cause gangsta-ass niggas think deep
  Up three-sixty-five a year 24/7
  'cause real gangsta ass niggas don't sleep

I'm not invited to these parties, but a legitimate answer to this question is "because they're fun". I'm not sure why he is so bothered that people want to hold lavish parties; if I was invited, I'm sure I'd go. There's no reason to spend your entire life working.

It appears as though the author is trying counter stupid/unfair generalizations with more of the same.

Wow. Someone needs to travel a little bit.

Has no one else picked up that the only reason Arrington responded was because Bilton very obviously was taking a stab at MA in his Techrunch days. Who else was proudly posting pics and tweets about MC Hammer at the TC after parties, or blasting TC headlines about Kutcher being at an event.

Who knows if this is even true but I can believe there are a few millionaires who drive older cars. What I don't understand is why they would do this since newer cars are much safer with advanced safety systems.

It doesn't have to be a flashy new car either, a new Ford or Handa would have so many safety advantages over an older car.