Gold rush

I recently spent some time in California. I suffer from earthquake-o-phobia (no one has invented a term for that yet, as far as Google can tell me) and for the entire duration of the trip there I could detect a tension in me. When the plane took off from San Jose airport, I was relieved to be off the ground.

But while I was there I did find time to wander around with some friends and see the sights when I wasn't attending talks or meetings.

The most surprising thing about San Jose was the total lack of rush hour traffic of any sort. We are so used to seeing overhead shots of clogged freeways that I assumed it would be the same here. Walking around town was a very pleasant experience.