San Francisco!

Folks,

A couple of things I found interesting in San Francisco...

1. H & M clthing store... I never noticed these stores before, but there are
two around Union
Square area... and I had 3 daughters with me, and they noticed. I knew I was in
trouble when
I followed them in and there was a stairwell landing full of bored stupid men
and a very long
line of women at the cash register. I laughed at them at first but then found
myself with
them after a long while.

The clothes are inexpensive but stylish (so they tell me). Since they were
inexpensive, my
daughters reasoned I was not spending very much on them. My daughters made up
for the
low prices with volume.

2. You've all bought potato chips or candy or a soda pop from a vending machine.
Well, the
Apple computer line of iPod products are available from vending machines in San
Francisco.
You insert your card, push A 7 or whatever, your card is charged, and the
ishuffle or iPod
nano or whatever drops down in the chute for you to take your machine. There are
iPod
accessories and Sony PSP players in the same vending machine.

3. Speaking of China, Grant Avenue has stores that seem to have learned from
Shanghai Tang
inasmuch as they are finally competing on design. Made in China products but
designed for
the USA market. Check out "Old Shanghai" for a good example.

4. A Korean maker of flat panel screens decided they could make money if they
hired USA
designers to build cool products around their screens. See Hannspree at 400
Sutter... again
my daughters went crazy over the very attracrtive items. I recognized one item
from the
Hammacher Schlemmer catalog, so they are wholesaling... I worry when people try
to make,
import and retail. The store may hurt them.

Cheap Hotel: Grant Hotel on Bush...$60/night, 2 blocks from Union Square; $15
meal, Uncle
Vito's on Bush - $50 meal, Rue Lepic, 2 blocks away.

John

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