Culture Clash

University Avenue, Palo Alto
Originally uploaded by Blue Blanket.

What would you rather have? Borders or a 1930s cinema? And what, indeed, does this say about how we entertain ourselves in 21st Century?

But enough musings... Here I am in Palo Alto, wrestling with the inconsistencies of my BBC laptop and its on/off relationship with my log-in account.

Today was spent emailing, printing out masses of documents from work so that I can read and comment by Sunday night (I actually bought a pack of paper for the hotel printer at reception, I felt so embarassed at hogging it for 45 minutes in order to print out 25 documents) and doing the odd bit of shopping. Went a bit mad buying things for my nieces and nephew. Nothing too expensive - Spongebob toothbrushes, Hello Kitty plasters, weirdly-flavoured lipsalve - stuff they can't get at home.

And tomorrow is Bloggercon and an early start. Need to go and power up my multiple gadgets so that I can capture as much as I can without resorting to analogue paper and pen.

Oh, and eat... Now, I’m as open to new food experiences as the next person. I’ve tried grits and wee tomatoes in jelly and stuff like that (that’s what living in Atlanta does for you) but here’s a taste sensation in crisps I never thought I’d try – and, frankly, don’t intend to again. Lime flavour??? I suppose it’s a fatty, crunchy version of the salt-on-back-of-the-hand and suck-of-lime tequila experience. But I think you should know it doesn’t go with French white wine…