After he joined the startup in question, Cerda saw the board bring in a CEO with a "big company background." A guy who subsequently who went around the founders and straight to the board, in the middle of financing, to tell them that the company was screwed.

While Cerda was talking, I was thinking, "Why blame the new CEO? I mean, come on, this is Ooma, which sells a pointless $400 phone gadget thing and hired actor and model Ashton Kutcher to make wacky commercials. We could have told you it was doomed from the start, too."

Cerda's lesson? Stick to your circle of trust. Well, it worked for Peter Thiel's PayPal gang, so Cerda might have a point. But it's not going to make skittish startup founders any less paranoid. Maybe that's a good thing.

Update: There's an odd postscript to Cerda's tale. He never named names in his brief speech, and certainly didn't do anything to correct listeners' impression that he was talking about Ooma. (Or to be fair, have much chance — he was cut off before his four-minute time allotment was up.) But Cerda now tells us the company in question wasn't Ooma. Who was it? The only other startup he mentions founding on his blog is The Yoga Company, a San Ramon yoga chain which seems an unlikely venue for such boardroom drama.

Cerda now explains that he was talking about a company where he worked as an early employee, not a founder, and that he was relaying a lesson he later applied as a founder. That narrows the possibilities to the host of network-equipment companies he worked at early in his career: Netopia, Livingston, Redback, Procket, and Trapeze Networks. So which one do you think it was? Cerda's still being discreet, but we're hoping you won't be.

• The head of Microsoft's new internal chip design group (which could help build the next Xbox processor and voice recognition systems) says his wife avoids computers. Dude, just get her a Mac. [NY Times]
• Crash this bash! Google's Sydney office wants to meet female engineers next week. [Google]
• How do you get free stuff at trade shows? Ask, says blogger John Chow. Also attend press conferences, walk the show floor the last day, and surrender your dignity. [John Chow]
• CNet's executive editor is outraged — outraged! — by Google's nerve, actually publishing summaries of articles without permission! For shame! [CNet]

Valleywag party correspondent Megan McCarthy double-dipped at last night's parties for phone-privacy service Jangl and canine social network Dogster.

Jangl held its launch party last night at Club Mighty in San Fran's Potrero Hill. The room was full of dark suits and ties and it smelled like VC money. The food? Incredible. Filet Mignon with potato puffs, asparagus spears, cheese and fruit and even pâté. Oh, how good the bubble tastes!

Valleywag has talked about Jangl before, a fact some of the suits unhappily pointed out upon my introduction. Tim Johnson, head flack at Jangl, talked more about the company and what it does and the services it offers.

With Jangl, you set up a username which you give out in lieu of your real phone number. Once your new contact has your Jangl ID, he or she would then log into the site, enter your ID and Jangl creates a computer-generated phone number for the two of you to use. It's not meant to be one of those fake break-up numbers that you give out to people who should go away. Jangl is a way to keep personal information private to the parties involved. Perfect, Jangl implies, for urban dating and eBay (and drug dealers, terrorists, journalists covering Hewlett-Packard and cheating spouses.)

The crowd was filled with big names, from journalist Om Malik, to Friendster president Kent Lindstrom. Michael Cerda and Ben Dean, Jangl's co-founders, took the stage to crow about the completion of a deal with a major online web community whose name will be officially announced on Monday. (We found out it's Match.com )

Dogster's 300,000th-user celebration was held a few blocks away geographically, but worlds apart in terms of tone and substance, starting with the outside doors being locked. Us latecomers had to shout at the window to be let in. Everything about this bash screamed "Web 2.0" -the free t-shirts, the thick hipster glasses worn by founder Ted Rheingold, the self-serve cooler of beer in the corner. The crowd was a typical mix of startup founders, bloggers, vloggers, and photographers, with a few dog owners mixed in.

Yes, people brought their pets. The king of the party was Beck, a sweet 4-year-old Newfoundland as big as a freaking buffalo. He spent the night wandering around the room like a 150lb sentient rug, petted instinctively by whoever was within arms reach. There were small dogs, too, like the Chihuahua who was barely larger than Beck's paw, and rambunctious Boston terrier (and friend of Valleywag) Milo. No cats, however. When asked about the difference in site users, both Ted (no dogs or cats) and Dogster biz-devver Steven Reading (cat owner) outed dog owners as significantly crazier than their cat-friendly cousins.

Valleywag Party Score: Based on the fabulous menu, Jangl comes in at "No, seriously, I'll call you." For atmosphere, Dogster wins itself a steak-shaped chew toy.

Photo of Beck by Chris Heuer [Flickr]
Photo of Dogster founder Ted Rheingold (left) and friend by Ted Rheingold [Flickr]

• Best. Party. Ever: At Jangl's bash tonight at San Francisco club Mighty, not only is there a menu including filet mignon and salmon mousse (longer menu after the jump), a hosted bar, and a live jazz performance by members of the company, but thanks to Jangl's service — an ID you can hand to strangers instead of your phone number — you can flirt without consequence!
• CANCELLED: Artificial Intelligence superstar Marvin Minsky, co-founder of MIT's AI lab, gives an "intimate conversation" at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. Ten bucks at 6 PM. [Eventful]
• Hey there hard charger, before you try a polyphasic sleep schedule, better learn how sleep works at this lecture by a fellow of the Stanford Sleep Clinic. [Eventful]
• Dogster celebrates its 300,000th user tonight from 6:30-9 at its offices in Potrero Hill. Expect milkbones and tummy rubs, if you've been a good boy. RSVP to russell (at) dogster (dot) com.

Get a Jangl ID in Advance

A key part of the experience will involve having your own Jangl ID. . .and to have that, you should sign up now (if you haven't already).

Why? At the party, we'll have some Jangl "social cards" available that have spots for your name and your Jangl ID. They're designed in standard business card format, and you can take your own stack of cards with you when you leave. Then, later, you can hand them out as desired, and help spread the word about Jangl.

If you haven't signed up, just visit Jangl and click on "Register" (or click here). Don't worry about the "closed beta" notification — you'll promptly get an email invitation at the address you supplied. Click on the link in that email and sign up, and bring your ID to the party so you can grab your Jangl social cards.

Food & Drinks

Along with a hosted bar from 6 - 8 p.m., we'll have some seriously good food available. See below (and yes, this probably beats anything else you'd eat on a Wednesday night in October). This is only a partial listing.

• Vegetarian Mini Samosa with Mango Chutney
• Mint Marinated Lamb Skewers with Tahini Sauce
• Beef Filet Mignon Slice on Mashed Potato Beignet
• Steamed Asparagus with Italian Dip
• Vegetarian Roasted Raviolis with Soy Cream
• Home baked Baguettes
• Cajun Chicken Bites with Toasted Cashews
• Smoked Salmon Mousse served in Vol au Vent
• Gorgonzola & Caramelized Asian Pear served in Sugar Mini Cone
• Scallops & Shrimp Ceviche