> This anonymous note was mysteriously left next to my backpack while I was
> doing those video interviews of the EDA vendors at DAC.  It turned up some
> time between the Synopsys and Magma interviews.
>
>             There once was a company called Jasper,
>             who's president spent faster and faster.
>             when asked "What's so funny?",
>             she said "It's just VC money",
>             will her bankroll run out or out-last her?
>
> ... Since it whacked Jasper for spending VC money, my guess is that it's
> from an EDA vendor or a VC.  (EDA users don't worry about VC spending.)
>
>     - from http://www.deepchip.com/wiretap/060731.html


From: Bob Dahlberg <bob=user domain=horizonvc got balm>

Hi John,

I enjoyed the limericks.  Who wrote them?  Well, VCs unhappy with a company
take far more drastic measures than writing anon limericks, so it can't be
a Jasper VC.  Rather it's perhaps someone envious that Jasper got funding?
Possible, but probably not.

Let me be Sherlock Holmes for a bit here.  Our mystery author would have to
know you pretty well to:

        a) be aware of your DAC whereabouts
and
        b) to get away with stashing anything near your backpack

This points to a person was a member of your DAC video interview entourage;
that association would give him/her ample time to make the limerick deposit.
Since all the companies mentioned are verification focused, my hunch is the
author is someone passionate about verification.  You say that the limericks
were placed while you were shooting video between two physical design gigs
(Magma and Synopsys)?  This would be the ideal moment for a well known but
at the moment bored verification expert to pop into action.  I am assuming
that Cliff was your DAC video verification interviewer again this year.

So by logical deduction, I have to say it was Cliff Cummings who slipped you
these "anonymous" DAC limericks.  It's elementary, my dear Watson!

    - Bob Dahlberg
      Horizon Ventures                           Los Altos, CA