California gold rush: Redux

People in California are really desperate for cash.

KNBC reports (see video below) that the sagging economy has out of work Hollywood technicians and other down and outers panning for gold just east of Modesto. Geologists say that 80% of the gold that prospectors sought during the California Gold Rush of 1848 to 1855 was never found.

Of course the cliche is that the vast majority of money in the California Gold Rush was made by shovel salesmen. But in the 21st century, there is considerable more technology available to prospective prospectors, at much higher prices -- perhaps a field of endeavor for Silicon Valley's tech sector to pursue while it waits for business to ramp back up the capital spending.

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