I spent the weekend in

I spent the weekend in Birmingham and was amazed. I’d seen the coverage of the opening of the new Bull Ring but wasn’t expecting it to have had quite such an impact. Walking into the new shopping centre felt like walking into a bee hive; there were so many people there that the place was literally (I don’t use the word lightly) buzzing. Whether the buzz lasts we’ll have to wait and see, but so far, so good.

Everything’s gone a bit crazy

Everything’s gone a bit crazy in California as a court has decided that the recall election for Governor should be delayed because the automatic ballot counting machines in nine counties aren’t up to the job. It was pretty funny watching TV yesterday because none of the candidates were expecting this latest twist and the first most learned of it was from journalists during press conferences. Quite a few of the usually smoother than smooth Californian politicians were caught off guard and didn’t know quite what to say.

More on the story from the San Francisco Chronicle here.

I’m in Silicon Valley this

I’m in Silicon Valley this weekend for a conference being held at Stanford University. Haven’t seen much so far, but have to admit it’s not quite how I expected. Palo Alto is actually very pretty and incredibly green and lush rather than solely being made up of anonymous sheds. My perceptions are probably being helped along by the weather being stunning at the moment — 30 degrees C and clear blue skies. My most Bay Area experience so far has been seeing my first Segway in action. Strange.

Went to see the wonderful

Went to see the wonderful Belleville Rendez-vous last night. The closest I can get to describing it is to invite you to imagine what happens when you take a healthy dose of surrealism and mix it in with a cocktail of Wallace and Gromit style character observation and League of Gentlemen darkest, darkest comedy. Take a look here.