Jan's and John's Peripatetic Adventure

Even More Wrecked

On Monday we had a visit from some of the people from the film Star Wreck. We had met Timo Vuorensola, the Director, before so it was really fun to have them here at our house.

They brought us t-shirts and a copy of their new Imperial Edition dvd of the remastered film with newer, more fabulous, special effects. That film is one of the funniest things I've ever seen. I laugh ever single time. And as a Star Trek fanatic and huge fan of Babylon 5, I think it's brilliant and ingenious. I hope I get to meet The Emperor, er... I mean, Captain Pirk someday...

And this is a first: the t-shirt fits. They brought me a size small in pink! Yay! People are always giving me t-shirts and they are usually black (yuck) and size large or xtra-large which looks completely ridiculous on me. This t-shirt is something I will actually wear (yes, in Real Life too). I love it. Thanks, guys!

Yesterday I woke up with the beginnings of a cold. The one where your voice is hoarse and you can't talk. Yea, I know, that's a good thing in some people's minds. Haha.

I felt pretty crappy most of the day. After a terrible night's sleep where I woke up multiple times, today I feel worse. It has moved up into my sinuses and my face feels like it is going to explode. Ouch! Although my voice is better I still can't talk much because the resonance makes my face hurt. Ouch, stop that! I barely have the energy to sit at my computer so I guess I'll just veg on the sofa today and hope I feel better by Saturday when we fly back to California. I have never been sick when flying and I dread the possiblity.

Meanwhile, John is going to lunch and a long walking excursion with our friend Ramsay so I have to fend for myself for food today. Note the photo of the refrigerator.

Ok, here's the thing. John turns the food sideways, with the labels facing forward, so I can find it. Really. I tend to not eat right when he's not around. (Let's not even think about those 5 weeks he was away in September). I go to the refrigerator and say "there isn't anything to eat, it's all just a bunch of containers." Well, I don't really say that, I'm not that stupid, but I do have a mental block about going to the refrigerator to find appropriate food. I end up eating pretzels all day and then complaining when I gain 3 pounds.

So his turning the labels forward means I can't miss that curry chicken salad, or the cabbage and corn salad, etc. Yummy! I feel better already.

The Video Giftie

This is our last week in London for this trip, sigh.

I know, it was a short one. Well... a couple of things: I prefer shorter visits, here and in California. We get to see all our friends multiple times, go to restaurants, etc. and then switch cities and do it all over again. Also, we have to be back in the U.S. because we are going to South by Southwest in Texas (I know!) in March.

My friend Kirsty and I had so much fun, I'm so glad I got to see so much of her this time. She made me a little going away video of our adventures on Second Life over the last few weeks. There I am with my virtual cats (they fly when I fly in Second Life. Hilarious!). And there we are having a whole lot of fun.

Thank you, Kirsty!

Dinner with Dolly

Last night we took the tube to the home of our friends Ramsay and Gill. Their delightful friend Claire was there also and it was enjoyable to see her again.

Before dinner I had a chance to play with their cats. Wow, they are cute. It was also nice to visit someone whose cats want you to play with them, instead of running and hiding.

There was real intelligence in Dolly's face (the calico). She was a sweetheart. The black one (I forget his name. Update: it's Zeebo) was adorable and there is a photo of him playing "chase the laser pointer" which is one of the funniest things I've ever seen. He's also really intelligent because, after a while, he refused to chase it and just sat there like: "Ok ok, I get it, it's not real. Knock it off." Hahahaha!

Ramsay did the cooking and it was delicious. I even ate dessert. It was so great to spend the evening with some of our favorite people. And cats.

Lunch in the Country

Yesterday John and I took a pleasant train ride out to the country to visit Kirsty and Tom.

It was a combined boys day/girls day, which means John went to lunch with Tom and then a walk in the country and I had lunch and spent the afternoon with Kirsty. We had a great time. She showed me her recording studio and played me some tracks in-progress which was amazing.

Their dog, Rowley, was completely adorable. There she is curled up with Kirsty on the chair. So sweet!

Thank you, Kirsty and Tom, for a lovely day in the country.

The Pudding Tower

Last night we went to dinner at the home of our friends Jane Dorner and Stephen Gottlieb.

It was a particularly enjoyable evening. Jane and Stephen are two of the nicest and most interesting people we know. I was especially happy to see their gorgeous cat Zim because I miss my Clyde so much. Zim was in a friendly mood and let me pet him. Sigh.

It was a also great to see all the glass that Jane has made (see photos). I think she is very talented and it's a pleasure to see her work develop over the past 2 years and the joy she takes in creating it. It it always wonderful when someone finds their joy.

Stephen's lutes and wood working are also extraordinary. We feel so lucky to know such nice and talented people.

What is that tower? It's dessert (pudding for the British). I have to get the exact name of it from Jane but it's chestnut ice cream and was totally fabulous (Update: it's Nesselrode Pudding). And the mold she made it in is from 1846; that is so amazing.

Handel and the Red Fort

Last night, John went to Handel House to record a concert there. He said it was an excellent concert and he's excited to have the opportunity to record them.

After the concert I met John for dinner at The Red Fort. It was unusually crowded but amazingly delicious as always.

BTW, when we got home from dinner there was a voice mail from Apple; my G5 is repaired and ready for pickup so John is going today. Yay!

Tutu Time

Today my friend Kirsty came over for lunch and some shopping. We ate at the fabulous Le Deuxieme. Yes, there was champagne.

Then we went shopping for an outfit for Kirsty for an upcoming performance. We went to all the chain-stores in Covent Garden and everything was just too... ordinary. We also tried the many specialty boutiques and finally found a shop that had lovely things. There was a dress that was so gorgeous I was willing to fight her for it. Then we noticed the price tag. £2,500. OMG! For a dress? That you just end up sweating in and spilling champagne on? Sigh. We fled the store in a combination of panic and despair.

Then I remembered the ballet clothing store nearby. They had a black tutu hanging from the ceiling that we both noticed immediately. The ensemble Kirsty picked out is fabulous! Original, memorable and, best of all, fun. Like Kirsty!

Clouds

No, those are not photographs of the sky in Second Life. It's London.

Very dramatic clouds today. Sunny for a while, then a few minutes of rain, then sunny again. We're just happy to have any sun at all. By mid-afternoon it's calmed down a bit and is really pretty warm. Nice!

What else is happening?

1. The replacements for the burnt-out halogen bulbs were too small and shorted out the system in the stairway. After turning the breaker back on the lights won't turn off and have been on for two days. The electrician spent 4 hours figuring out it was the motion sensor that is broken and will have to be replaced. He's also the one who put the wrong size bulb in the fixtures.

2. Our U.S. credit cards were frozen. Again. John called last week and failed their freaky security questions test because it's not easy remembering what county you lived in 15 years ago. At the time he took my advice which was "just hang up." So he called back today, got the questions right, and now the auto-payments for our California bills can go through.

BTW, our new bank (we dumped our previous bank) is so fabulous that instead of freezing our credit cards, they send us an email asking to confirm our credit card activity when it looks odd to them which it does when we are traveling. Now that is amazing.

Video Stars

My friend Kirsty took video of us dancing in her club in Second Life and put it in her new music video.

I think it's an ingenious blend of Real Life and Second Life. Kirsty is so talented, in so many amazing creative ways. I'm very excited about being in a music video even if it isn't really me. Or is it? Hmmm... '-)

No Pudding

After our trip to Paris I gained a few pounds, in spite of being refused entry to nearly every restaurant at which we tried to eat.

While I would like to stick to my apple and sparkling water diet sometimes I actually do have to eat. So, today we had lunch with Doris at one of our favorite restaurants, Le Deuxieme.

It was especially fun to see Doris, who is always interesting and fun. She's writing a new novel so I love getting the scoop.

Lunch was exquisitely delicious, as always. But no pudding (dessert) for us. All three of us were very good and should be patted on the back for our remarkable self-discipline. Especially since Le Deuxieme has my favorite sticky toffee pudding ever.

The Dead Apple

Today we took my deceased Apple G5 for repairs.

We assume it is the power supply which has died, which should be an easy fix. But it still means we need to get the very heavy computer over to The Apple Store on Regent Street.

Getting the taxi was easy. There are the photos of John bravely carrying my deceased G5. We arrived at The Apple Store slightly before they opened so there was quite a crowd outside waiting. But it wasn't a long wait, they had a very Disneyland-like quality to their crowd control and those with service appointments were directed upstairs.

John had gotten Pro Care so he could make an appointment and get priority service, which is essential when dealing with the "geniuses" of the Apple Genius Bar. The guy we got was really nice (how did he get hired?) and my G5 should be ready in a week or so. Yay!

Paris: Early Birds

We're back in London.

Our little trip to Paris was really fun.

This morning when we arrived at the Gare du Nord I noticed there was a train an hour earlier than the one we were booked on. So John went to the service desk and got us transferred to the earlier train, yay!

We had a moment which brought me back to the days of the spanish inquisition when entering the U.K. before I got my permanent residency ("For how long? And which theatre specifically are you planning to see?").

At passport control in Eurostar, the immigration clerk observed John's U.K. passport. Fine. Then he picked up my U.S. passport and asked me how long I was planning to stay in the U.K. I indicated my permanent resident stamp. He actually had the nerve to say, "And what qualifies you to have that?"

I think, in reality, since I have the stamp I am entitled to enter the U.K. without having to answer stupid questions from power-hungry, undernourished civil servants for whom the meaning of the word "servant" is not clear, nor is their understanding of the word "civil" even close to mine. But jail does not appeal to me so I pointed to John and said, "I'm married to him." He then stamped my passport and let us through.

Ok, WTF? John and I have the same last name. There was no reason for that guy to question my residency except to give himself that little "I'm a powerful person" tingle that immigration and security people all seem to thrive on.

I know I sound like I'm overreacting but you have no idea of the hell I went through to get that permanent resident stamp in my passport. (It is a story I have never told on the blog but will tell you in person if you ask.) I'm already having anxiety about having to renew it in 2015. I called them recently just to inquire and they told me to call back in 2014. Ok, deep breath, it will be fine...

Well, we got on the train and the business class car was amazingly empty (see photo). There was one other person on the other end who didn't even talk on her mobile phone once. Wow, what a pleasure that ride was.

BTW, this is the cutest thing I've ever seen. Although he doesn't play a musical instrument, I miss Clyde more than ever.

Paris: Service Not Included

We're in Paris for a few days...

A few weeks ago I got an email from my old friend Shellie, who I knew when I lived in Bethesda, MD in the mid 90's. She had googled me to see what I was up to and discovered the blog. Interestingly, she lives in Paris so we had lunch today.

Since we knew we were meeting Shellie for lunch, John and I decided to spend the morning at a museum near the Champ Elysee. I really need to get on the treadmill and start working out because, damn, by the time we got to the Tuileries I was completely exhausted and refused to walk another step. John is a genius at finding places for me to recuperate so we stopped at Lenotre where a capuchino perked me up.

We both decided we were not in the mood for a museum so we decided to see if there was an Apple store on the Champ Elysee. There wasn't but we did go all the way to the top of the Champ Elysee and it was the closest I've ever been to the Arc de Triomphe. Ok, enough walking, we took a taxi back to Saint Germain to meet Shellie for lunch at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon.

It was so great to see her. She looks fabulous: very French, speaks perfect French... wow! She is as fun and energetic as ever and it was so enjoyable to see her and spend a couple hours catching up on each other's lives of the past 10 years. I especially love the photo of us making sure we didn't have any food stuck in our teeth before John took our photo '-)

We had lunch at Le Bon Marche because, once again, L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon would not let us in. It was completely empty at noon yet they turned us away at the door. They claimed the restaurant was fully booked for 11:30. Yet at noon there was no one there. We are confused and frustrated by this attitude and are probably going to cross the Paris L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon off our list. And we're probably not the only ones: everyone who came along and walked into the restaurant, walked back out a few seconds later with a kind of stunned, incredulous look on their faces. Including the posh couple who had just given their car to the valet service.

There is another nice looking restaurant across the street so while we were waiting for Shellie, John popped over to see if we could eat there. Once again, it was completely empty. The host said he could book us for 12:30 but he would not seat us sooner because the restaurant was otherwise fully booked. WTF. But it was completely empty! This attitude is one of the mysteries of Paris.

After lunch John went to a museum but I was exhausted from walking all morning so I stayed in the hotel for the afternoon.

When John got back from his afernoon museum excursion he was carrying a package. For me? He said, "Happy Anniversary!" and handed me the most beautiful box of candy I've ever seen. He knows I'm not a chocolate fan so he got me a variety of tiny, fruity, hard candies. OMG, he really is the perfect husband.

Paris is as beautiful in the evening as it is in the daytime. But now we have to find dinner again. We decided to walk the streets of the neighborhood around the hotel because that's how we found the simple, but nice, restaurant last night. First we tried one of the restaurants that we couldn't get into last night. They weren't just giving us attitude, they were actually packed last night. We got there early enough this time so that it was still empty, although that doesn't mean anything after our experience of the last couple days. Fingers crossed, take a deep breath: they said no problem as long as we were finished before an 8:30 booking. Yay, it was only 7:00 so we were in.

We had a fabulous dinner. The restaurant is called "Fish La Boissonnerie" on the wonderful rue de Seine (which, btw, has one fabulous art gallery after another). It is completely non-smoking! That alone got our attention. But the staff also speaks English which, for me, was a nice break from not understanding a word anyone has been saying for the last three days. But the food was the most outstanding part. Truly exquisite. Oh, and a bottle of champagne. Yea, again.

Ah, a happy ending to a fun-filled quick trip to Paris.

Paris: A Second Life Breakfast

We're in Paris for a few days...

This morning we had breakfast with friends from Second Life. Shut up, I'm serious!

When I started hanging out on Second Life with my friend Kirsty she introduced me to David and Zoe and we often hang out together there. They are the ones I was dancing with on New Year's Eve.

The other day David mentioned they were going to Paris for a few days and I said, "So are we!" It turned out they were going to be here the same time as us and (get this!) their hotel is one block away from ours. So they came over to our hotel this morning and joined us for breakfast .

John and I really enjoyed meeting them. I particularly enjoyed having the opportunity to get to know them in Real Life after having so much fun together on Second Life. They are... delightful! They are super interesting, talented, smart and fun people. I'm so happy I know them.

After breakfast John had his presentation so off he went. I decided to do some shopping and went to Le Bon Marche (bought a pink mini umbrella) and FNAC (bought new earphones for my iPod). I also looked for a winter coat and found one I liked. Almost. The one the store had was really cool but it had a hood which I thought ruined the silhouette of the coat so I didn't buy it. (If it didn't have the hood I would definitely have bought it.)

I relaxed in the hotel room until John got back from his presentation. Then we took a long walk along the Seine from the Louvre down to Notre Dame and back again.

After all that walking we collapsed in the hotel for a while. Then we ventured out for dinner. Mon dieux! Once again, the restaurants were either full or booked. I have never been to a restaurant that was completely empty that turned me away at the door. Am I supposed to believe all of those tables were booked and would be full within the next hour? Pffzt! And they are never apologetic; they refuse you with a snear of contempt that looks like, "how dare you show up at our mediocre restaurant without a reservation, you fool." Ok, never mind.

While walking (weak with hunger) along the street we noticed a restaurant that not only wasn't fully booked, they pleasantly welcomed us to dine there. It was a quaint restaurant with old-fashioned, home-style cooking and plenty of charm. Although it was empty when we arrived, it was quite busy when we left.

We had a delicious meal, including a bottle of champagne, that was a fraction of the cost of the usual snotty restaurants we go to. Hmm... I think that once the smoking ban is in place in Paris (and London) we will be exploring a much wider variety of restaurants than we have in the past. Yummy!

Paris: Arriver

Valentine's Day in Paris. Tres romantic!

We arrived after an easy train ride. John worked on his presentation on the train while I drank the pink champagne. Since we had also had a bottle of champagne with lunch (with the delightful Anneke Scott) while waiting for the train, by the time we got to Paris I was pretty plastered.

We decided to take the Metro to the hotel instead of a taxi. As soon as we exited the (very very crowded) Metro to the street I was struck once again of how beautiful Paris is. I get an endorphin rush just looking at it.

The hotel is beautiful but the room is the size of a parking space. They have something they call a junior suite but none were available. Sigh. My requirements for a hotel room are: a bathtub (nope), a sofa (nope) and an internet connection (sorta). Well, the internet connectivity is mostly ok.

We ventured out to look for dinner but since it's Valentine's Day everything was packed or fully booked. After trying the few restaurants in the neighborhood we know, we started looking at unfamiliar ones and found a just ok Sushi restaurant right on Saint Germain Boulevard. For my friends who know me, you are correct, I did not have sushi. I had chicken and it was yummy.

Paris in Winter

Today we are taking the train to Paris for a few days.

Ah, Paris! The most beautiful city in the world. I'm on a quest for a black winter coat, so shopping is on the menu. And, of course, L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon is on the menu. Bien sur!

We're staying at a different hotel this time since we didn't like the one we stayed at last time.

As always I don't know what kind of reliable internet connectivity I will have. But we get back to London on Saturday and there will be lots of photos.

Au revoir!

Dinner at Guess Where

Last night we had dinner with our friends Claire and Dan at, where else? L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, of course.

It was an astonishing meal, completely exquisite. We were really happy to introduce them to our Robuchon addiction. And I was also happy they agreed to a photo for the blog.

A terrific evening.

The Reluctant Magnum

Last night our friends Maria and Angus came over for dinner.

John had bought a magnum of champagne for us to enjoy. It wouldn't open. No amount of twisting or pulling had any effect on the cork. It was amazing. Angus wrestled with it for a good 15 minutes and finally tore off the top of the cork and then he and John used a corkscrew to get the cork out but even that took the two of them and a lot of work. But it was worth it because the champagne was exquisite.

Maria and Angus are completely hilarious, and I mean hilarious. We laughed hysterically all evening, it was fabulous. But they're not just funny, they are interesting and incredibly nice. We always have a great time together.

This morning we woke up to all the clocks blinking. There was a power outage during the night due to a burst water main a few blocks away. Yikes. I not only reset the clocks but I ran downstairs to make sure the programming for the doorbell wasn't affected (strangely, it wasn't) so we don't miss the delivery of John's new iMac (fingers crossed it actually gets delivered today). Yep, time to upgrade here in London too.

And in a stroke of weirdness my Apple G5 died last night. I went into my office to check my email and the computer was deceased. Damn. So, John will take out the hard drive and copy off my very important and unique data onto our backup drive and then take the G5 for service. In the meantime, I'm using our Mac Mini (with Intel Core Duo processors) which, frankly, seems to be faster than my G5 was. I think I see another iMac in my future.

The Two of Us

Today is our 8th wedding anniversary!

There we are on Second Life. John popped in to see my progress on the Magnatune and BookMooch spaces. Today I added free mugs of steaming coffee for visitors '-)

When I think of how long John and I have been together (since 1994), all we've accomplished and all the fun we have, I get all verklempt. He is the love of my life.

Geneva to London

We're back in London.

The view from our hotel window this morning of the sunrise behind the mountains was amazing (see photos).

The flight was from hell. Geneva airport is a dump. The smoke was so bad that I got a terrible headache. Swiss Air Business Class has no advantages other than you can sit in the business class lounge while waiting to be called to the smoke-filled gate. The seats on the plane are not bigger and you still sit 3-across on one side of the plane. If you luck out you might get the first row, which has extra leg room. We lucked out on our flight to Geneva on Tuesday but not on our flight back. We were in the second row and squished in like the sardines in economy.

While waiting for our flight we ran into my friend Jon who I met at the conference yesterday so I was excited to be able to get a photo of the both of us since I forgot to take one at dinner last night.

Once again, London City Airport was a pleasure. We landed at 11:00, got our luggage, went through immigration and were in the taxi by 11:15. That is simply incredible.

Although the conference itself was a dud, it's not always the presentations that make a conference worthwhile but who you meet there. John met some terrific people who he will be contacting in the future and I met my old friend Jon, so I'm really glad we went to Geneva.

We're happy to be back in London. But it's only for a few days because we're going to Paris for a few days later in the week. I know, I know...

Geneva: Day 3

We're in Geneva for a few days...

The weather was beautiful today. Chilly but sunny. The view from our hotel window was spectacular (see panoramic photo).

Another dull morning at the conference. John's presentation went well enough, although he was part of a panel whose members ranged from excellent to tedious. After lunch I decided to go back to the hotel for a while and will meet up with John later in the afternoon for a presentation about CERN's 17km Big Bang Machine. Now that just has to be interesting (update: it was).

But the high point of the day, and the week is this: on Tuesday when we got to the conference there was a guy walking around who I recognised immediately. No, not an old boyfriend, just a friend. A good friend from when I lived in Philadelphia. We lost touch with each other in the early 80's for various reasons, none of them bad, just moving in different social circles. Well I wasn't 100% positive it was him because he looked much too young. Today I couldn't stand it anymore so I walked up to him and asked him if he was who I thought he was. He was. Once he figured out who I was it was a grand reunion.

Just the idea that I could meet a friend I haven't seen in 30 years at a conference in Geneva is totally amazing. He is as freaked out as I am about it. He looks amazing, is as delightful as ever, and John and I are having dinner with him tonight to catch up on the last 30 years. Wow!

Geneva: Day 2

We're in Geneva for a few days...

Today was the first day of the conference. It's packed, with over 500 attendees which is a lot. The Geneva Convention Centre is very nice.

They served coffee and pastries while everyone was arriving. It was also an opportunity for everyone to use the wifi and catch up on their email (including us). It was also when they took photos of the speakers so there is John having his photo taken. They also took one of us together which they printed out on long sheets. Very cool.

The presentation room is huge, with microphones and headphones at each seat along the tables. Our first impression was "wow, this is like being in the U.N.!" which someone told us is what everyone says. Hilarious. They had an animation playing on the giant view screen, showing the various topics and speakers. They used a spinning cd which stopped and showed John's name which I thought was veyr clever.

The presentations ranged from slightly interesting to very interesting to very boring to painfully inept. Many people are talking during the presentations (very rude) and many more people are surfing the web and answering email (like us, smirk). The first presentation was by the same woman from Wikipedia who presented in Finland in October. Yes, the same woman who went pffzt at me.

We've met a few very interesting people. But John networks best alone which is what he did after I left during a particularly tedious presentation in the afternoon. I went back to the hotel to nap. I didn't realize how exhausted I was. Tonight is a fondue dinner but I decided to skip it because it will be completely packed and probably very smoky. So I'm staying in this evening and catching up on my Second Life.

More Geneva tomorrow. John is presenting.

Geneva: Day 1

We're in Geneva for a few days...

This morning we took a tram to the University of Geneva to register for the conference, get our identification and schedule. Today is workshops so we signed up for the ones about Second Life since I'm so into it now.

The workshop this morning was potentially interesting but disappointing. Nathalie Duplain Michel was excellent and only her limited English skills held her back. Unfortunately, no one else there, besides the presenter, John and me, had any experience on SL so the other workshop participants asked mostly stupid questions and were infuriatingly negative and critical of SL. They turned it into a debate rather than a workshop which was really obnoxious.

While I am a SL zealot, I don't expect everyone to love it as much as I do. But there is a certain mentality, particularly among the kind of intellectuals that attend these conferences, that they must find the bad in everything, and if they can't find it then they invent it. So, the workshop was mostly disappointing.

John pulled up our Magnatune space at SL and we showed it briefly and also commented on the positive aspects of the posibilities of SL but the everything is bad guys just kept repeating their crazy nonsense. Seriously, nothing they said made any sense. They just babbled and babbled, on and on, about... nothing.

There was one woman participant who seemed to "get" what SL was about and had some insightful comments. So, afterward we invited her to lunch which was very enjoyable.

After lunch we walked back over to the University for an afternoon workshop which was supposed to be about Second Life and business. (Not all the workshops were about Second Life, we just signed up for the two that were because we are interested in it.) But when we got there the location had changed and was not at the University but elsewhere. What a mess. So we skipped it and did some window shopping in Geneva, stopped for coffee and chocolate and then back to the hotel to relax. (Update: we heard the afternoon SL workshop was completely excellent so we're annoyed with ourselves for not tracking it down and attending.)

This evening we took the tram to another "pre-conference drinks" but it was so crowded and smoky we left almost immediately. But we did meet up with Andreea, who we met in Helsinki in October and the three of us went out to dinner which was really fun.

Tomorrow is a day of presentations which we're looking forward to. I prefer presentations to workshops because the assholes don't get to spout their nonsense until it's over and then I can leave '-)

Swiss Miss

Today we are flying to Geneva for a few days.

John is speaking at a conference and I'm attending.

We're flying out of London City Airport for the first time. We're so fed up with Heathrow and not particularly fond of Gatwick either. Fingers crossed it's an easier flying experience than when we went to Finland in October '-) We will be back in London on Saturday.

The photo is of one of our robot vacuum cleaners that got stuck on the stairs yesterday. It actually is able to successfuly avoid falling down stairs; I've seen it reach a stair and turn around. But I think the curve of the step was too much for it and it got confused, poor thing, I feel sorry for it. Wait, it's a robot, never mind.

BTW, the article about our Magnatune space in Second Life came out last night (afternoon California time) and is here (page down to article). I'm very excited about it.

Arrival in Geneva

The flight from London to Geneva was one of the easiest we've ever had. London City Airport is fabulous. It's really small and feels more like a train station than an airport. Security had 3 people in line and they didn't even make us take off our shoes. There is only one runway, so the planes taxi out to the end of the runway, speed up, take off, and then other planes land. We're going to use City Airport from now on whenever we can for flights to Europe. Goodbye, Heathrow.

We arrived in Geneva and took a taxi to our hotel which has a spectacular view of the lake and mountains. The weather is grey and cloudy with some rain, so the view isn't as fabulous as it would be in nice weather. The hotel is enormous and, like most of Geneva, looks like it was built in 1972 with a few 21st century details added on to try to make it look contemporary and instead looks like a building from 1972 with 21st century details added on. Our suite is a nice size and is completely quiet which doesn't happen often.

After getting settled in the hotel, we took the bus into the main part of the city and walked around before going to pre-conference drinks at a restaurant. We met a few of our fellow conference attendees and speakers. Some are very nice, accomplished and enjoyable and some are... not.

One of the coolest things is that you can see the mountains when walking down the street (see photo). The views are really gorgeous.

A Wee Bit of Shoppin'

As I've said many times, I don't like shopping. But sometimes I do have to venture out for things like Sonicare toothbrush replacements and once again: hangers. So John and I went out yesterday for a little shopping excursion.

First we had lunch at Yauatcha in Soho. It's incredibly exquisite. John and I took a couple photos of each other and just as I was about to take a photo of their cool wall of various teas the waitress ran over and told me photos are not allowed. WTF? Idiots. Ok, if you don't want the publicity of looking fabulous in our blog when people type "amazing restaurant in London" into Google then fine. LOL! Other than that, the service and food were excellent, as always.

After lunch we walked over to John Lewis and were delighted to see that the renovation is done and they put the escalators in the middle of the store. Yay! Previously, the escalators were in the back and hard to find and we were always walking around looking for them. They've really poshed it up and the store looks great.

Miraculously they had the kind of metal skirt hangers with clips that I like so we bought a dozen. They also had tons of nice plastic hangers so John Lewis is definitely the place to go.

On the way home I saw a bus with an advertisement for The Devil Wears Prada coming soon on DVD. I loved that movie. That was my life in the early 80's (assistant to high-powered nightmare) and I thought the movie was completely accurate and totally hilarious.

After we got home I had an interview on Second Life about our new Magnatune space there. My first press! Very exciting. (Update: The article is here.)

Last night John wanted another light but posh meal so we called L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon and actually got a reservation for an hour later. It turns out Sunday is really quiet there, you can even show up without a reservation. At least in February, which is a really quiet month in London and the reason I love being here in winter.

Dinner was incredible, as always. I think it's our favorite restaurant in the world. I want to go there so often that they ask us what our flight schedule is, like some of the other restaurants we go to often.

The Virtual Speech

Usually, we fly all over the world to attend conferences where John presents and talks about Magnatune and/or BookMooch. In fact, on Tuesday we're flying to Geneva for that very reason.

But last night (afternoon California time), John gave a talk and we didn't have to leave our chairs. It was in Second Life.

The whole experience was really awesome. But there were some technological issues.

Although it is portrayed in the media as the ultimate conference tool and is the wave of the future, Second Life has many technological problems for that kind of large scale event. There is a limit to how many "people" can attend, about 60, because of the processing load on the server running the particular space. As a result, there was bad "lag" which made navigating around the space difficult. Basically you just find a chair and stay in it. Even then my Second Life software crashed twice and I had to log back in.

Conversations on SL are done with typing in a chat window. But for this speech, there was an actual audio stream that John spoke into that people could hear in Real Life. That part was amazing. The audience continued to text chat during the speech, ask questions, etc. which was mostly fine but there was an element of the kind of obnoxious know-it-all individuals that made inane and rude comments throughout John's speech. Interesting that in Real Life they never would have done that. (Like email and message boards bring out the worst in people, who would never say the things they do to someone in person.)

But this kind of virtual conference is in its infancy and I do think it's the future. Once they work out the technological limitations and problems. There's no way to fix obnoxious people '-)

I took many photos, as always. The venue was lovely and you can see the sun started to set. There is John on stage, the audience (including me) and there are also photos of him in Real Life talking into the audio stream while watching the event on Second Life. Wow. Welcome to the future.

We also announced the Magnatune and BookMooch Second Life spaces yesterday in their email newsletters.

At last, I have visitors to the space and it's so much fun. In the last few weeks there were maybe 3 people a day who discovered it by accident or were just passing by and didn't even know what Magnatune is. Yesterday I had 62 people (not all at once), most of whom were there on purpose to see the Second Life space we created.

I "met" people who I have met me in Real Life, which is hilarious. And I met a lot of Magnatune and BookMooch fans who were incredibly nice and so enthusiastic about the Second Life space as well as the Real Life versions.

It was great to see people relaxing, listening to music, chatting, etc. It's the kind of community I had in mind when I started the space in Second Life and I'm so excited to see it being enjoyed by people.

Nerdy Girls

Yesterday my friend Kirsty Hawkshaw came over for the day.

First we went to lunch at the astonishing L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon. We sat upstairs which was my first time up there and it's fabulous, although I love the downstairs too. The food was incredible and we had a great time.

Then back home for an afternoon of Photoshop tutorial. I taught Kirsty how to use Photoshop as well as how to create transparent textures for Second Life objects. Yea, we're nerds.

We laughed all day, it was so much fun. We spent a fair amount of time on Second Life which was particularly hilarious because we were sitting right next to each other.

It was a super-fun, girlie, nerdy day.