Sure, it’s a much more multicultural and progressive club than in some other industries. But there’s still a simple, if sometimes quaint, sense of right and wrong that guides the men and women who inhabit those circles.

In that world, talking to reporters about the inner workings of the company is by no means acceptable and could get you thrown off the Christmas Decorations Committee.

But snooping into your fellow club member’s private affairs? That is so off the charts that your kid may be blackballed from the country day school!

It’s hard to say what long-term impact HP’s collective embarrassment will have, either on HP or on Silicon Valley as a whole.

My guess is: probably very little.

In my experience, there will always be executives whose propensity for sniveling pettiness will drive them to do stupid things.

Much as I feel the death penalty isn’t much of a deterrent to a crazed homicidal maniac, I doubt that even the most painful corporate scandal will deter the truly stupid from completing their self-appointed rounds.

In the end, it’s just one sign of lost innocence, one more layer of “shiny” that’s been rubbed off my beloved Silicon Valley.

Now, please pardon me while I drown my sorrows by shopping for a new Maserati.