California "winter"

While a big chunk of the US is freezing its butt off California has summer. It's mid January and the Bay Area is expecting record highs in almost all spots around San Francisco. The average is 13 to 16 degrees warmer than usual. Damn do I miss my hometown!

Merry X-mas!

Merry X-mas everyone! Hope everything is well with you and that Santa's being nice to you and all :-)

I'm in Sweden at the moment and there's no X-mas feeling at all, with the temps in the mid 40s this very X-mas Eve. But I don't mind. Winter is not my plate, as you know ;-)

Gearing up for Xmas

SantaCon 2013 kicked off yesterday in San Francisco. But to be honest this pic by Michael Short should be considered typical of SF anytime of the year. Everything is there. Such a great shot.

Photo: Michael Short

"Happy Thanksgiving"

Stewie on a landline yesterday: "So you guys think Brian is gone? Just you wait and see. Oh, by the way: Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy your stupid turkey. Me, on the other hand, am gonna set things straight!"

The wizard of id resigns

John Carmack leaves id. Not really a game designer but hell of an engineer, he can fuse software and hardware like no one else. What will he do now? Keep on with the Oculus Rift project, presumably.

The One and Only (?) is out

On Friday the 22nd, the Xbox One was launched in the US. Microsoft reports of more than 60 million zombies killed in Dead Rising 3 on this very first day alone. What a crazy and understandable way to start the Holiday season, guys ;-)

Photo: Gerardo Mora

Our special blend

Gas prices are in general 40 cents higher per gallon in California than in the rest of the US. Everyone from out of state who comes to the Golden State usually wonders why. Well, it's because California has a high gas tax and - this is not so widely known - it's own special fuel blend to fight air pollution. There are only a few selected refineries that can produce it and this "blends in" in the equation. You can read more about it here.

Photo: The Chronicle. Pay cash and you get a discount!

Going to Amsterdam

Going to Amsterdam over the weekend to meet Sarah. She has flown in from Cairo and we are taking our chance to meet of course :-)

From phone

West coast in my heart

In the Stockholm subway Scandinavian Airlines are advertising for their newly opened destination San Francisco. I feel homesick to the bones when I see it. Especially now when it's freezing cold and the friggin dark season is here.

From phone

Our sweet Sausalito

A remodeled house on Alexander avenue in Sausalito is on sale. Asking price? $7.195 million. Follow the link if you want to see what you can get in Sausalito if you dig really deep in your pockets. Speaking of Sausalito, our house there is now in the hands of a young executive couple until May next year. Feels great to know someone can take care of it while Sarah and I can't be there.

Photo: Jason Wells

A controller steaming with possibilities?

Yesterday Valve revealed their Steam PC game controller. This little fella uses haptic feedback which basically makes this controller a device which should satisfy keyboard and mouse users as it is "allowing precise control over frequency, amplitude and direction of movement". Read more here.

Tri-level home in Oakland

A Victorian for less than $1M? In San Francisco? No, no, no... in Oakland. My personal experience of Oakland is over all good. And I think I could live there. But Sarah, who has so much more experience of the Bay Area would never in her life move there. But she said on the phone from Hong Kong she likes this tri-level home right smack in the middle of Oakland Great Lake neighborhood.

Photo: OpenHomesPhotography

Does China have a Chinatown?

When Sarah's in Hong Kong she usually bombards me with photos. This time around she is reacting on how dirty the streets and street buildings are while most skyscrapers are shiny and beautiful. She also thinks Chinatown in San Francisco is more colorful than the real deal. But isn't that just typical? Isn't everything more colorful in SF, Sarah? ;-)

What is this, seriously?

Am I gawking at an example of neo-colonialism taken seriously or simply a piece of art?

Stockholm subway, September 5 2013.

From iPad

No snow in sight

Nice late summer weather in Stockholm.

From iPad

Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day ya'll! It's the first time since 2009 I'm not in the US to celebrate. Feels kinda weird. But Sarah's in muggy Hong Kong working and I'm in chilly Stockholm working so we both have to suck it up. No Labor Day holiday for us this year. We're saving it for later ;-)

No fire without smoke

After already arrived in Sweden since a couple days and Sarah in Hong Kong, though with a few days delay via Dubai, we got a pic from our friends in Nevada, close to Reno and Lake Tahoe. The big Rim Fire in Yosemite is spreading and the smoke is spreading even further, actually much further. Maybe you don't see anything special in this pic but the truth is in the distance there should tower beautiful mountains - now it's a smoky haze. Our friends are pretty pissed, because who wants to live in a house that smells like a Ranger's cabin?

The flight

It's a 4-hour flight to O'Hare. Been there before. Sarah doesn't mind the airport but my experience of it is no good. Hope this time will change my opinion.

From iPad

Gate 94

The San Bruno mountains with the ocean layer on top and parts of South San Francisco
can be seen from our Chicago bound gate at SFO this Wednesday morning.

From iPad

Stuffed

Our friendly neighbor Terry is driving us and our luggage to our rental apartment in SF. Sarah and I are flying together to Chicago tomorrow and then Sarah will go for a 3-week working trip to Hong Kong via Dubai. I'll be heading back to Sweden. This is her stuff for her trip. It fills up a whole friggin car (!).

From phone