Technology, Books and Other Neat Stuff

How come you always end up talking to expats in bars without meaning to? And why are they always really interesting people you'll never meet again?

Met a couple of ex-UK guys from Nat Semi in the hotel bar tonight, which appears to be one of the happening places in San Jose. Ended up having a rather good conversation about the decline of hi-tech industry in the UK, as we'd all worked for the same cluster of two or three telecoms companies in the early 1990s. Then again, find three UK electronic engineers in their thirties and it's reasonable odds that they've all worked for Plessey, Marconi or STC...

I'm not sure why the hotel's bar is fashionable. They only had Tanqueray for my G&T, and I watched a barman massacre one of my favourite drinks. I'm dubious about a place that uses lemonade to make a Caipirinha. There are somethings that should never be done... Then again, I have never had a decent Caipirinha in the US. For one thing they tend to use rum, rather than cachaça.

Time to go to a Brazilian restaurant in Lisbon again, I think.

Or failing that, London

Apple Store bags are back packs.

Reuse in style!

Apparently, Pres. Bush will shortly announce plans for a permanent moonbase and a manned Mars mission.

Sounds like a recipe for an Allen Steele or a Ben Bova future. Which, to be honest, isn't such a bad thing - even if I do want to live in a Michael Flynn tomorrow...