SAN FRANCISCO–Tim Westergren could be thought of as a modern-day Santa Claus with a bag …

By Sunday evening, the weekend is wearing off. Usually. Last Sunday, I had my doubts: gently dozing through The Simpsons‘ closing credits, I heard a snatch of conversation so bizarre it had to have been a hallucination. Fortunately for those with reality issues, new technology now exists to help work out which side of the blood-brain barrier such voices originate. …

When Packard Bell said it has some cool stuff to show us, we should have guessed the venue would be the Absolut Ice Bar in Mayfair. The evening was pretty cool (ho hum) — we were greeted at the door by a pair of well-trained huskies, checked out some products in the warm room, then froze our ears off in the …