Technology, Books and Other Neat Stuff

So here I am, in San Jose, in a building that burnt down last time I stayed in this town.

I am not taking this as an omen. No, sir, not me. Especially as this is possibly the plushest hotel I've stayed in for a long time. Well, if you ignore the typical American hotel bath - which might best be described as an overgrown shower tray. Still, the view from up here on the top floor is excellent...

However, as this is Silicon Valley, the hotel is a geek's paradise. Not only is there free wired and wireless broadband, but the phone in my room is a Cisco IP Phone...

The flight over was good, especially with an upgrade to the top deck of the 747. However, apart from the excellent American Splendor, BA's films for January sucked. So I read a lot, dozed a lot, and listened to MP3s of Radio 4 on my iPod...

This evening I met up with rowanf, and we went round to mdlbear's regular Wednesday evening fannish get together. Good crack, good beer, good food, and strange pickles.

When I checked in to the hotel earlier this evening, I was given this...
( Big pretty picture inside! )

It's really rather pretty, and one of the nicest PR gifts I've been given in all my years as a working IT writer.