I have a daydream

Dr. King delivering his 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech.

Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream. I too have a healthy imagination. Even though I don't buy lottery tickets, a recurring theme in my daydreams is to one day be wealthy enough to throw money at a worthy cause. Near the top of my list of important movements is the effort to find a cure for cancer.

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. Silicon Valley dreams bigger than the rest of the country, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of LinkedIn profiles.

People who use the keywords "change the world" in their professional profiles are much more common in the Bay Area.

The Bay Area "has long attracted people who in a way believed that they are doing visionary work, almost doing God's work through technology," said Chuck Darrah, head of the anthropology department at San Jose State University and co-founder of the Silicon Valley Cultures Project.

What prompted me to pontificate on this subject is a Forbes piece I read today entitled "Hope, Hype, and Health in Silicon Valley." The writer, David Shaywitz, suggests that Silicon Valley could have a powerful impact on crucial healthcare problems if it were so inclined.

David is not alone. James Temple recently vented in a San Francisco Chronicle article about "The hypocrisy in Silicon Valley's big talk on innovation." The media pays little attention to the tireless work of scientists, notes Temple, instead focusing on the latest trending app.

"Let's drop the pretense that we're curing cancer unless, you know, we're curing cancer," says Temple.

Canada poaching frustrated immigrant tech workers in Silicon Valley

Jason Kenney, Canada's immigration minister, is touring Silicon Valley and San Francisco in an effort to promote his new visa initiative for startup entrepreneurs. The above video, a classic Silicon Valley elevator pitch, is part of an aggressive effort by Kenney, a member of Canada's ruling Conservative Party, to lure talented immigrant tech workers away from the San Francisco Bay Area.

"I think everybody knows the American system is pretty dysfunctional," Kenney said in an interview in Vancouver, B.C., before he embarked on his tour. "I'm going to the Bay Area to spread the message that Canada is open for business; we're open for newcomers. If they qualify, we'll give them the Canadian equivalent of a green card as soon as they arrive."

"Pivot to Canada" suggests a billboard that appeared off Highway 101 on the route from San Francisco to Silicon Valley days before Kenney's tour.

(Government of Canada)

Canada's startup visa policy stems from an idea first proposed but never passed by the U.S. Congress. Canada will now grant permanent residency to an entrepreneur who can raise enough venture capital and start a Canadian business. Under current U.S. law, skilled foreign workers are only eligible for temporary H-1B visas.

"I met a guy who had been here for 12 years who couldn't get his green card," Kenney told the Silicon Valley Business Journal. "It personalized the frustration that exists with the dysfunctionality of the immigration system here."

Related articles:

• Silicon Valley's battle for tech talent and immigration reform;
• Canada comes to Silicon Valley to poach high-tech workers struggling with immigation problems

Silicon Valley fuels commercial drones

An Airware employee installing drone system.  (Airware)

Silicon Valley venture capital is funding the nascent commercial drone market.

Drone startup Airware today announced a $10.7 investment from Andreessen Horowitz, one of Silicon Valley's leading venture capital firms. Google Ventures, the investment arm of the search giant, is also funding the drone startup.

'Delightful' is the new trend in Silicon Valley

Steve Jobs left an indelible imprint on Silicon Valley. Part of Jobs' Silicon Valley legacy is the concept of wanting to "surprise and delight" people.

The new campus Apple is building in Cupertino, California, is a shrine to delight. In an official planning document, the company says it wants the new "campus to provide an on-site venue for the introduction of Apple's new products that will generate surprise and delight."

Yahoo, Square, Instagram, Dropbox and many other Silicon Valley companies are following suit, reports the Los Angeles Times. Read more

Related article:

• How Intuit became a pioneer of 'delight' - latimes.com

Disney's rebirth: Standing tall on the shoulders of Pixar

Artist concept of San Fransokyo, the setting for Disney's "Big Hero 6" (Disney)

"We're trying to build back that Disney name," Disney Animation Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter recently told the Los Angeles Times.

The studio has been undergoing a huge metamorphosis since the arrival of Lasseter and Disney Animation President Ed Catsmull. The two executives are alumnus from Pixar Animation Studios, which was acquired by Disney seven years ago. At the time, Disney's hand-drawn animated pictures had become obsolete.

Lasseter and Catsmull have brought a startup environment to Disney from Pixar, which was created in Emeryville, California. The later is a small town sandwiched in between Oakland and the outskirts of the University of California at Berkeley. Emeryville is considered Silicon Valley East.

"Pixar seemed so out of the ordinary that I was a little skeptical that it could be re-created," said "Wreck-It Ralph" and "Simpsons" alumnus Rich Moore, who was wooed to Disney five years ago. Read more