I attended two previous Startup Schools and mostly feel the same way as Colin expresses in this post. The incremental value of attending these events is not sufficiently great if you've already read PG's essays and a watched the talks online. However I would say that it can be motivating to attend and meet people with an energy and interest in building the "new new thing" if you live somewhere where that vibe is lacking. It's worth the flight to attend once, as a reminder that there are other people in the world with the same mindset as you, and they are more than just their HN username.