Mike Butcher

So I arrived in San Francisco on Saturday only to be met with another heat-wave to replace the one I’d left behind in London. Oh joy. At least my hotel in Palo Alto, off El Camino Real, turned out to have air conditioning that worked! The Sunday morning was cooler when I met tech writer Mark Haas, (pictured) who had been introduced to me by old friend Steve Carlson, whom Mark met in Budapest in the 1990s. It’s definitely a small world. After breakfasting at the excellent Bette’s Oceanview Diner Mark and I proceeded to re-enact the broad plot of Sideways, with him definitely playing Miles to my Jack (minus the philandering bit I hasten to add). We drove up into the hills near San Francisco, into the Russian River vineyard region to taste a few wines and take in the scenery. Noticeable stops included the Roshambo winery which is attempting to demystify wine with some tres moderne events like a Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament. Monday I met with Yahoo!, Guba and Mobi TV, of which more later. Tuesday is the start of AlwaysOn@Stanford, when more blogging begins in earnest…