San Francisco

I’ve just arrived back in Copenhagen after two weeks on the west coast of North America: San Francisco, Vancouver and Seattle. I barely managed to blog while I was there, simply because I was so busy taking it all in.

Luckily, taking it in for me also means taking down some notes once in a while, and along the way I invested in what Simon calls a “hipster PDA” to contain my random scribblings. So my recollections from my trip will not be very coherent, more random notes and points.

Arriving in the US and being told over the loudspeakers that “We are currently at Homeland Security Threat Level Orange” before having to submit to x-ray scanning of my shoes and fingerprint and photo registration to gain entry into the land of the free.

The Ubuntu Developer Summit, meeting people and again being surprised at how different they are from the mental images you build while interacting with them on-line.

Hanging out with Leslie and friends at her house. Immersing myself in the geek ghettos of Silicon Valley.

Seeing all the lovely Ubuntu hackers again after having visited so many of them individually. Seeing the community shaping and re-shaping itself intensely.

Sneaking off from the Summit hotel on Wednesday evening with Simon to the Dorkbot session in San Francisco, seeing a wondrous sound visualization program and hearing of how the Aphex Twin song commonly referred to as “Complex Mathematical Equation” is in fact an image as sound. So that when played and visualized, the intended image is shown.

Meeting Simon’s friends Meredith and Jake and going out for excellent sushi – including the amazing Wasabi Tobiko roll which is a taste powerhouse concealed in Flying Fish roe:

Wasabi Tobiko Roll

Going to Jake’s apartment afterwards for late night coffee. Meeting his housemate Alex and ending up crashing on their couch which allowed me easy access to downtown San Francisco for sight seeing the following day.

Not bringing my camera to San Francisco.

Walking up and down the hilly streets of the city, breathing the sea air, getting lost and getting my bearings in yet another iconic location.

Taking the Caltrain back to Sunnyvale in the evening. Getting lost and walking for miles along 4-lane streets with no sidewalks in a suburban Silicon Valley landscape designed for cars. With huge parking lots, blocks and drive-in stores. Navigating home safely all the same.

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