google code jam 2012: How to solve alien numbers problem

As I am practicing for google codejam 2012 right now, I came across the alien number problem google gave for practice. There are alot of problems out there and I am doing different ones for practicing but solving the google ones seems to be most efficient I think.
The Problem is described as follows:

The decimal numeral system is composed of ten digits, which we represent as “0123456789” (the digits in a system are written from lowest to highest). Imagine you have discovered an alien numeral system composed of some number of digits, which may or may not be the same as those used in decimal. For example, if the alien numeral system were represented as “oF8”, then the numbers one through ten would be (F, 8, Fo, FF, F8, 8o, 8F, 88, Foo, FoF). We would like to be able to work with numbers in arbitrary alien systems. More generally, we want to be able to convert an arbitrary number that’s written in one alien system into a second alien system.

To get the work done, you do not need much code but you need some knowledge of conversion from one to another numeral system.
The easiest way to solve the problem is by using an intermediate value in a known language. I chose the decimal system.

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LA’s 10 Hottest Tech Incubators, Accelerators and Funding in general

I recently came across this article (http://pandodaily.com/2012/03/12/the-la-tech-scene-finally-moves-out-of-its-parents-basement/) which is mainly focussing on the Los Angeles Tech Scene. In the authors opinion the silicon valley is facing a competitive future. I absolutely agree with him except that it is not only LA taht is on the raise but also Germanies capital Berlin. Berlin hosts a lot of european startups, is a very good place to live for young, creative people and already have it’s “own” venture capital network.

What I find interesting most is the list of supporters Michael Carney has at the very end of his article:

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