Saturday 30th Jan

I spent the morning in bed recovering from a cruel hangover induced by fine wine from the vineyard and the most expensive tequila from the hotel bar. Who would have thought that such high quality ingredients could create such a toxic combination? I gingerly spent an agonising hour packing my suitcase in order to move into a cheaper hotel room as I was now on my own expense. Then reception said they’d give me the same room at a cheaper rate anyhow, which they’d failed to mention when I’d booked it the day before.

I did some great sightseeing once I’d figured out how to navigate the SF transport system. I strolled along Embarcadero and the piers, enjoying the unseasonably fine weather. I admired the sea lions on Pier 39, although I gather most of them have jumped ship. I went to buy a smoothie and ended up in a ridiculous conversation with the guy behind the counter. I told him I was in SF for a laser conference (easier than explaining the meaning of “solar cell” or “opto-electronic”) and he wanted to know whether my job involved tracking sharks with lasers. I confirmed that it did. Then, as a physicist, he wanted my expert opinion on “Copenhagen”. I told him I thought the summit had been a failure, but it transpired he really wanted to know my views on Heisenberg and Bohr’s interpretation of quantum mechanics. He then babbled pseudo-physics at me for 15 minutes before I could escape.

I returned downtown via one of the fabulous San Francisco cable cars. It’s a sort of tram that pulls itself up perilous hills by clinging to a cable embedded in the road. Happy tourists can hang out the edge, and the friendly driver took some photos for me. En route back to the hotel I bought my favourite of all the American cuisine – a giant burrito. This was to keep me nourished for an evening and morning of work to come.