[mhartl]

I second chadboyda's comment. There's a real sense of excitement about an emerging startup scene in LA, especially on the Westside (Santa Monica, Venice, etc.); you just have to get out there and mix it up. (I've been to both Twiistups, and I've added the other events endorsed by chadboyda to my list.)

In this vein, I'd be happy to meet with any Hacker News readers in the LA area. My background and contact info can be found via my profile page.

[iamyoohoo]

I've attended the last Twistup, I've also attended the last couple of geek dinners. And - yes, I live in Venice. There are very few people that are genuinely interested and most want to do it part time to see where it goes (they don't have the courage to give up the cube).

I even started the startup weekend organization in LA (startup.eventbrite.com). There are 32 signups - however only 3 developers of which 2 I know.

I did connect with a couple of people, but they seem so busy with their personal lives and don't seem to have that burst needed to go all the way. We started a small project on labor day weekend and the next day one of them replied with "it's too hot so I can't concentrate". And this is on our second day !!!

[zach]

That's cool. I've been to one of the geek dinners before I acquired a commitment on Tuesdays and it seems like over the course of this year things have really improved. I saw recently that an OpenCoffee Club started up over the summer and I'm looking forward to going to that too.

Zach - LA Life http://www.lalife.com/