Different Lens on Oculus; Oakley’s Swagger; OC’s ID

No cynics allowed here, but give a bit of room for some healthy skepticism on Facebook’s $2 billion deal for Irvine-based startup Oculus VR. The maker of virtual reality headsets fetched about 10 times the price expected for a prime piece of OC real estate, the 195.5-acre Marblehead parcel near the water in San Clemente … Turn to page 1 for more on Oculus and the other Silicon Valley-OC bombshell —Google Inc.’s move to bring Oakley aboard for design and development of its Google Glass. Here’s betting Oakley leaves a mark on both the project and Google, which has plenty of geek-chic but could use some of the sunglass maker’s swagger as it looks to peddle a tangible consumer product … Looks as though Orange County could use some more swagger, too, at least when it comes to claiming credit for the vibrant mix of innovators and entrepreneurs at work here. Initial coverage of the Facebook-Oculus deal included a 27-paragraph story by the New York Times that never got around to mentioning Irvine or OC. The Wall Street Journal took 11 paragraphs to get to a mention of Irvine … Last week’s action between Silicon Valley and OC wasn’t a one-way street. Check page 1 for a report on Bill Halford and Bixby Land Co.’s latest deal up there … Long before Facebook: there was Marlan Bourns, a Newport Beach resident and engineering genius whose inventions were key to the moon landing and remain basic to all sorts of other things we take for granted (see obituary, page 11) … Long before Oculus: George Argyros took a significant stake in Kansas City-based software developer DST Systems Inc. Last week saw the Argyros Family Trust win a showdown over its nominees to the company’s board and a plan to sell about $650 million of its stock, which will cut its stake in DST to about 7%. Retired McKinsey & Co. veteran Lynn Dorsey Bleil and John Clark of Westar Capital, the private equity firm founded by Argyros in Costa Mesa, are expected to join the DST board. Argyros himself plans to retire as a director, and fellow OCer Larry Higby will step down as lead independent director. DST has agreed to help with an offering of $450 million in Argyros stock and to buy back another $200 million worth of shares … DST found out something that the Auto Club’s Tom McKernan has known for a long time: It’s tough to say no to Argyros, who nominated McKernan for the Horatio Alger Award he’ll get this week (see story, page 1) … NAIA Country: A tip of the hat to the Vanguard University men’s basketball team, which brought the Division I championship of the sanctioning body home to the Lions’ Costa Mesa campus last week. They join the 2008 Vanguard women’s squad and the 2003 and 2012 men’s teams at Concordia U in Irvine as NAIA division titlists on the hardwood. Concordia’s baseball team won the 2011 NAIA World Series, and its softball team took the national title last year … For the record: Big expectations on the pro level after the quietly impressive training camp put on by the Angels. Local ties: Cookies from Donna B’s in Laguna Niguel were decked out with special W’s for a recent party unveiling the make over of the Wyndham Hotel in Irvine.