For a glint of positive news, look south. According to the Wall St. Journal, "Local (San Francisco Bay Area) Start-Ups Snagged a Bigger Slice of the Venture-Capital Pie in 2009."
"But even as the overall amount of venture-capital money they pumped into companies declined from 2008, Bay Area start-ups got a bigger slice of the dollars that were deployed. According to research firm VentureSource, start-ups in the Silicon Valley region saw their percentage share grow over the first three quarters in 2009."
"...venture capitalists say they paid even more attention to local start-ups last year because the recession weeded out weaker ideas elsewhere, while Silicon Valley's longtime ecosystem of entrepreneurs and start-ups meant that new companies continued to launch."
Who knows when we'll see the next Google but rest-assured that those big, shiny, black buses are good for real estate. Where the luxury Google bus travels (or Apple or Genentech or...), so goes the increasing value of your Noe Valley Victorian listing, Mission loft, Bernal Heights home, or Mission Dolores condo!