February 15, 2006

Random HIMSS and San Diego stuff

  • There are so many people here it's overwhelming, particularly for a newbie like me. The San Diego Convention Center is probably bigger than quite a few small towns.
  • Almost nobody has a Mac. I've seen three since I've been here (counting mine), and probably a hundred PCs -- Dell and IBM, a few Sonys and other random stuff. Sign of more corporate folk? OTOH, someone saw my Powerbook and asked if he should pick up one of the new MacBooks. I told him if I had money I'd get one, even though it's a version 1. (Apple, please deposit my commission to: paypal://chris@cwinters.com.)
  • My hotel is a block or so away from SD's Little Italy. It's a few blocks of nice walking area: restaurants with patios, benches, etc. A number of the restaurants are of course Italian but there's an English pub, a mexican place, a sushi bar.</p>

    Monday I ate outside at a place called Zagarella's: salad and a risotto. Good stuff, and for the first time ever I really liked the black olives. (I keep trying them everywhere I go because I feel it's my duty as a vegetarian to eat olives.)

    While sitting outside I saw a number of the same people amble by, typically just wandering around with their sweetie in the comfortable evening air. Very nice, makes me want to move here with my sweetie. If only housing didn't start at half a million dollars...

    There was also a Hallmark moment: a mother and young (8?) daughter walked by several times, and one of the last times the mother said, "Do you remember when you used to love to hug trees? I'd say, "Where's the tree?" and you'd run to it and wrap your arms around it? Where's the tree?" And then the little girl wrapped her arms tight around her mother's legs, beaming.

  • Also right around the corner: It's a Grind coffee shop (@ India and Cedar). Free wireless, good coffee, mixed music and friendly people. Recommended.</p>

  • Hey, people, I understand that people need to come in and out of a room during a presentation. Fine. But please don't let the door slam after you pass through, it just means you're an inconsiderate asshole.
  • Look-a-likes I've seen: Cokie Roberts, Bill Clinton, Darrell Hammond imitating Bill Clinton, Randy Johnson. And a couple of resembles: the waitress at the Princess Pub and Grille to Winona Ryder, the bartender at Karl Strauss Brewery to Amanda Peet. (And when she tells you to order the bread pudding with cranberries -- believe her!) And former HIMSS chair John Glaser resembled David Hyde-Pierce, at least on the big screen and under a ridiculous hat.
  • Having the airport so close to downtown is fantastic.
  • </ul>

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