Zedray

Awesome Mountain View

Three cool things about driving past Mountain View… Computer History Museum
Find out why they call it Silicon Valley.  See who the first computers were, with what they were replaced, and how we got to where we are today.  Learn how US government spending fostered various computer revolutions.  Take the Geek tour and get an inclusive T-Shirt and pin.

Google (or just about anyone’s) corporate head offices
See the colourful campus bikes and logos surround expansive (but otherwise standard) red brick corporate offices (triggering fond memories of my time at Sun).  Or visit Apple, which is less than ten miles away down in Cupertino.

SFO Airport
Not exactly in Mountain View, but I only drove this way while driving back to get my flight.  There just wasn’t enough time to do everything.  Maybe I’ll get to do this again next year?

Awesome California Monterey Peninsula

Five cool things about a couple of days driving around the Monterey Peninsula…

Coastline
Gorgeous views.

Whales
Go see the Monterey Aquarium they say, but isn’t May the best time to see these creatures in the wild?  Get a boat and have a “Bunny Hugger” Marine Biologist provide a running commentary, as Humpbacks and Killer Whales popup and make their appearance.  Remember to dress appropriately!

Seals
Loads of them just sitting on the beach having a good rest after a hard nights fishing.  Stand behind the fence and watch out for the cute babies waiting for their mothers.

Giant Redwoods
Tall trees, very old…  Here before you were born, still here long after you’re dead.  Great place for a guided walk and a quiet sit down.

Surfers (of various kinds)
Crazy guys playing hard and fast with nature, making dangerous look cool.

Awesome San Francisco

Five cool things about a weekend spent running around San Francisco…

View outside my hotel window
With a 9 hour time difference it’s easy getting up early on Saturday morning and take in the view of down town San Francisco from Hotel Nikko.

Municipal Railway (i.e. the Cable cars)
Home to an amalgamation of Cable Cars (slightly less crazy than the ones in Lisbon), historic Street Cars (classy) and Trolley Busses, representing a hundred years of living transportation history.

Fishermans Wharf
An American Submarine (USS Pampanito), Seals barking on the harbour, anti-Obama political campaigners, and a soup + bread lunch at the Boudin Bakery to take it all in.

Golden Gate Bridge
Taking a boat tour from Fisherman Wharf, directly under the bridge and then back around Alcatraz island.  May was very windy, but great to get a photo in front of the flag.

California Academy of Sciences
Situated in the enormous Golden Gate Park, featuring an indoor rainforest (watch out for the butterflies), aquarium (beautiful), penguins (in too small an enclosure), all digital Planetarium (simply breathtaking), Global warming exhibition (how much jet fuel did I use this week?) and an Albino crocodile.

Google I/O 2011

For the first time ever, I will be attending the Google I/O (plus warm-up BootCamp) event in San Francisco. I am looking forward to getting my hands on a usable “Honeycomb” Android Tablet (maybe as a freebie?), get a chance to try out Google TV and probably learn as much as I can about GAE and GWT.  Anything else that happens when I’m over there will be a bonus. Now lets see how I cope with the jet lag.