Local Angles from OOW

TCHO, a San Francisco chocolate company, had a booth. As an East Bay booster, I have to stay loyal to Scharffen Berger, one of whose founders recently died, and Charles Chocolates. Both just down the street from me, both offering factory tours and sometimes free samples.

Enterprising panhandlers stock up on conference swag. Hey, I think I saw one of those guys Wednesday afternoon in Moscone South. When they say Oracle is cheap, I presume that means it's hard to pick up unauthorized swag. True dat. You're more likely to see me in a 10-year-old DB2 t-shirt or IBM Toronto polo shirt than an Oracle logoed top. The employee OOW registration doesn't include the nice bag and reusable water bottle. Last time at HQ I needed to cart around a borrowed laptop, the closest bag at hand was not Oracle logoed and raised eyebrows in the elevator -- "what were you doing at THAT conference?". :-)

Former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown visits OpenWorld. I noticed the wheelie bags for laptops too. Glad to find out they're for ergonomic reasons, not to rush straight from Moscone to the airport with one carry-on.