Mannerisms

Next week is the semiconductor industry's annual treat, the Future Horizons conference.

No one thinks that the quality of the loos in the Ritz Hotel gives any clue to the quality of civilisation, but it’s arguable that, if the quality of public loos matches the quality of the loos in the Ritz Hotel, then the level of civilisation is pretty high.

Quite the nicest foreign tea-shop, apart from Florian’s in Venice, is Tricolore, just off the main cross roads of Tokyo’s Ginza shopping district.

All that Welsh Methodist puritanical bit seems to have hit a cherished part of Sony’s heritage, the replica of Maxim’s restaurant in the basement of the Sony building in the Ginza has been sold by Sony Corporation.

Here in Budapest for the MEDEA+ annual conference I reflect that it’s better to have dinner in a restaurant than an art gallery.

This is the last post of 2007.

May you escape the curses of flu, sub-prime, family squabbles, long sermons, insufficient alcohol, useless presents and burst pipes, and enjoy love, laughter and prosperity for ever after.

Next post, on Wednesday January 2nd 2008, will be:

THE TEN MOST IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES BEHIND THE TRANSISTOR

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