The Strangeness that is San Francisco

Maybe I just have a twisted, warped sense of humor, but a number of things struck me as funny while in San Francisco for Oracle OpenWorld earlier this week. The strangest thing I heardTuesday, 10am. Stockton Street.

I'm disappointed that I missed the first half of what surely must have been an interesting conversation near Union Square. I didn't even turn around to see who was so loudly and clearly voicing their opposition to crack, but I did find it to be the funniest thing I'd heard all day, given that it was taken completely out of context. I mean, did dude really need a better reason than 'it could kill you' to make this momentous decision? All I can say is, "good choice, buddy".

The strangest thing I sawWednesday, 10am. San Francisco International Airport.

Something about the fanny pack and a cowboy just made me fall into fits of internal giggling. The fanny pack is not something one expects to see on someone dressed as though he just walked out of a Marlboro ad. Maybe it's just me, but it was just funny as hell to me. Perhaps the sight of this guy is why dude on Stockton Street won't do crack?

The strangest FUD I heard

Tuesday, 5pm. Moscone Center

At first I was appalled to hear this coming out of a Sun representative, even one whose primary purpose was to entertain conference attendees. But it makes sense. The only vendor making money on selling operating systems these days is Microsoft, and we're betting its days are numbered there also. RedHat makes money off services and support, not the OS, and Sun, having given up and made Solaris 10 free for all comers, has to give users a reason to want to use Solaris over Linux. The best reason it could come up with is SCO's lame licensing claims??

Come on, guys. Give it a rest. You want me to use Solaris 10, fine, tout containers and some of the other nifty neato keen features in the OS. Don't give me FUD - I had some for breakfast, thank you.

The strangest drink I hadTuesday, 6pm. Buca di Beppo on Howard Street.

I had to do some research on this one after trying this drink at dinner with BEA, because I was absolutely certain after one sip that this was actually Everclear. You know, Everclear - you get it in Tennessee/Kentucky from a guy in overalls and barefeet who barely speaks English but damn does he know how to make alcohol. (Yes, that's experience speaking) Apparently they take a grain alcohol and soak it in lemon peels for 3 weeks, which means that this shot is supposedly just as strong with lemon as it is with alcohol. Believe me, the alcohol is stronger. Trust me on this. The food was great though, so try it if you get a chance.