Chapelcross Towers

I heard a piece on Sunday Live today from Radio Scotland that these Towers from an old Power Station in Scotland were demolished yesterday. They actually had a recoding of the sound of the explosion and the towers coming down. They are fifty years old and are a local landmark. Planes and migratory birds used therm as navigational aids. I found it really interesting that the BBC was going around asking the local people who had turned up to see the towers demolished, what they thought about them. Most were really sorry to see them go. One said that he wished that they would have kept them, even though they had de-commissioned the power station. Intriguing how the industrial landscape becomes part of people's lives and they are sorry to see their landscape change, even though I'm sure lots of people thought they were an eyesore at first. People should bear that in mind when they are objecting to all these windfarms that Gordon Brown wants to build.

The towers do look rather cool in the image above, courtesy of the BBC.

Frying Today

Fry's is one of those Bay Area institutions that everyone knows here, but no one has heard of outside of this area.


I first came over Fry's in mid 2004 when I was here and discovered that, although my phone as tri band and fine to use in the USA, my phone charger was firmly 240 volts only, and no good here. I asked some colleagues, the guys who run Sun's technical security systems as it happens, where I should go to get a proper charger. The answer to them was obvious; Frys.


I'm not sure that the Egyptian (if that's what's its supposed to be? Maybe South American?) theme is not a bit tacky - but I do love Frys. It's packed, and I mean packed, with electronic goodies. This was the sort of place that would have been a dream for me to come to, when I was a child. I remember when one of the guys from India brought a laptop charger that was no good for this country, I thought that was great. Another excuse to go to Frys. I seemed to spend half my life at Frys when I first came here.


I was at Supercuts before Frys. I don't know why people look down so much on Supercuts here. I think it's great. Sun's former CEO (Scott McNealy) used to make a big thing out of having his hair cut at Supercuts, despite being a multi-millionaire, as if it made him a man of the people. I never saw him there and this Supercuts is just opposite Sun's corporate headquarters. The last time I was in a "salon" style hairdressers, I felt really ripped off. Around $180 for a hair cut and colour and another $80 for some expensive gunk that they really thought I should buy. The hairdresser there chatted on her cellphone when I thought she should really have been paying attention to me and kept saying that the colour was just right - when it clearly wasn't.

Supercuts is staffed up with these really nice little Asian ladies. The one who does my hair is called Hong, don't think her second name is "Kong". No cellphone chatting, a good colour and only $55. Looks like McNealy was right after all.

Views from the train

There are lots of intersting things to see on the way to Mountain View -


Yahoo's Corporate Headquarters.


Some cool looking satelite dishes that either belong to Lockheed Martin or NASA, not sure which.


Local airbase.



Here is a big "Cal Train" steaming through central Mountain View.


Mountain View station looking all mysterious in the dark. A little mouse ran past me when I was there last night, that's never happened bedfore. I wish I'd got a picture of it.



These are the VTA (Valley Transport Authority) trains I usually get. $1.75 a trip, not bad!


The train leaving Tasman station, which is where I get off.

Red Letter Day - almost an American

I got this letter today which, I think, means I can stay here forever, if I want to, and apply to be an American citizen in five years time. The letter says I'll have a Green Card in a maximum of 90 days. I always thought getting a green card would be difficult. I remember that film called, not surprisingly - "Green Card" with Gérard Depardieu. I must watch it one day. But I think Gérard had terrible trouble getting his in the movie. John Lennon had a right hassle too. Mine was so easy - maybe I just had good advice. Sun pays for some expensive law firms who guide employees through this sort of thing.

If someone told me before December 2004, which is when Sun made the offer to have me come out here, that I would be an American one day, I would have thought that was one of the strangest things I had ever heard. I maybe will never be an American. I don't have a burning desire to be one, but I think it makes sense to be a citizen of the country where I live. Anyway - a red letter day in some senses. Pity this letter is not red!

Downtown San Jose at 7pm on a Friday Night - it doesn't get any more exciting than this!

When I first came to this country I was amazed that you could walk into a deserted bar on a Friday or Saturday night, which is a time when bars in Scotland are always packed, even the crap ones. In fact we often struggled to find somewhere to sit - it was always "standing room only". Here you can walk into a bar in California at 7pm on a Friday night and it looks like this. I've seen more atmosphere in the inside of a refrigerator.


This is the San Jose Dive Bar, also known as the San Jose empty bar. I can't believe this place makes money. I doubt if the Wednesday Karaoke makes any difference. Maybe it fills up on a Friday just as I leave.


At one level, I'm glad Americans drink less than Scottish people. I think maybe alcohol is the curse of the Celtic nations, it's caused us a lot of trouble. But to see a bar like this on a Friday night, in a city of almost a million, when the downtown only has around 4 bars. Surely some mistake?


I thought the city looked nice tonight though. I like these "half in sunlight" shots. I must find out what that old tower like building is.


I like the "Knight Ridder" building too. It always reminds me of that '70's cop show - "Knight Rider". But Knight Ridder were, I believe, two guys who bought that local paper, the "San Jose Mercury" and made a ton of money and thus have their name up on a big building here.


The "San Jose Bar and Grill" was marginally more exciting, a relative term. But it was full of people shouting and randomly clapping their hands at this strange sport on the huge tellys that seem to fill American bars. I'm very noise sensitive so I find this behaviour very annoying.

This bar is near the light rail line, you can see a train outside through the window in this shot.

Dennis Hopper

I was trying to tell my Persian friend that the stability balls reminded me of space hoppers. But I don't think they ever had space hoppers in Iran, even under the Shah. I wonder if there still would have been a revolution in '79 if they had them there? Don't suppose it would have made a difference, but I loved my space hopper in the 1970's. Intriguingly enough, when I imported the image into iPhoto the software labeled is as "Library 1970". I'd say this hopper was more vintage 1973 myself.

Seven Random Facts

My sister (magnusmog.blogspot.com) has asked me to do seven random facts about me. I'm not sure what the rules are, but I'll give it a go.

1. When I was at primary school, I went through a period of believing I was an alien from another planet. Some people may still believe that.

2. Twenty years ago today I met my favourite ex-girlfriend in the above Kirkcaldy pub.

3. My favourite lyric is from Pink Floyd's "Piper at the Gates of Dawn". "Mathilda Mother" - "For all the time spent in that room, the dolls house darkness, old perfume". I think Syd Barrett must have been visited by the god of songwriters when he wrote that. Its such a good lyric that I could sleep with that under my pillow for the rest of my life. I remember putting Syd Barrett's first solo record on at a party in 1984, I was convinced it would change everyone's life. But they just wanted U2 on instead - the '80's eh?

4. My favourite food is pizza, my favourite drink is Stella.

5. Throughout my life my heroes have been, in rough chronological order: My Gran, Doctor Who, Avon from Blake's Seven, John Lennon, Syd Barrett, Harold Wilson, Neil Kinnock and Billy Bragg.

6. I'm fascinated by words and song lyrics. If I ever have children, I'll tell them that being good with words is a huge asset. I have often persuaded people at work to do something or other and then thought, "I'm not that convinced of that myself, how did I persuade them? I was talking crap."

7. I love valves. I think they are a thing of beauty. But I do reluctantly accept that if my iMac had to use valves, it would be the size of my whole apartment. At least.

8. I'm naturally contrarian and always breaking rules, so I've done 8 facts now and I don't know the requisite number of other people with blogs to tag, so I can't do that.

I think my sister's facts are better than mine - whatever happened to sibling rivalry?