The trip started off well as I was able to use some of my AirTran credits to upgrade to business class. This is always a nice perk since I tend to classify myslef as a ‘bigger’ guy and the extra space is welcome. Another item I was excited about when I got on the plane was the ability to surf the internet from 40,000ft thanks to GoGo internet services. Before I left for Atlanta, I was able to find a promo code on Twitter so that you could try it out for your first time for free… Sweetness! I used the service for over 4 hours (on a 5 hour flight) and overall I was pleased. I was able to do everything that I wanted to do, including checking emails, surfing the web, reading the news, and even remoting into my home computer back at the house.

Once I got to SFO, I got my bags and headed to get on the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) that would take me downtown and on to my hotel. Note: I’m a big fan of using public transportation when it’s a logical option. In my case, the BART takes you to within a block of my hotel, and it’s only $8.10 each way. Compare that to $40 for a cab or private sedan or $20 for a shared van service, it’s a wise economical choice. Also, before I left the airport, I purchased a 7-day MUNI pass, which allows me unlimited rides on buses, light rail, and street cars.. This, again, for $24, was a cheaper alternative vs taking a cab, renting a car, or fumbling with tickets and cash everytime you wanted to go somewhere in the city. Now, figuring out the system map requires a few advanced degrees in following the colored lines on a multi-colored map! Ha!

So, back to the post, it took roughly 30 minutes to get from SFO to the Embarcadero station, and then walk to the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero. I was able to check-in without any problems, etc. My room was on the 7th floor facing the bay and overlooking the Port of San Francisco. Room was kinda small but nice. After I got everything settled, I decided to head on over to the Mocscone Center to register with the conference, get my swag, etc so I wouldn’t have to do that with 44,000 other people on Sunday. The Moscone center was about a 20-25 minute walk from the hotel… what the heck, it’s good for me, right? So, once I returned to the hotel, I saw a mass of people headed away from the bay. Note: Fleet Week started that afternoon, and featured an airshow that included the Blue Angels. Apparently the Blue Angels had to cancel their Saturday show due to weather / fog / low ceiling. Dang it! I had a great view of the Bay Bridge (not Golden Gate) from my room and was hoping to capture a few good pics…

The rest of Saturday I spend finding places to eat down in Fisherman’s Wharf and just doing the touristy thing… Dinner toped off the evening at a trusted, local favorite, California Pizza Kitchen

Sunday was the official start of the Oracle OpenWorld conference. There were no ‘official’ sessions, but several of the user groups had sessions ranging from developer topics to database administration and more. I attended the following IOUG Sessions:

- CSI DBA – Anatomy of a Database Upgrade
- The Top 10+ Things You Should Know About your Databases
- System Administration 101: Tips for DBAs

That evening was the official start of the conference with a joint keynote from the SUN and Oracle CEOs. Scott McNealy, Sun Microsystems CEO, was funny in that he took stabs at competitors, such as IBM, Microsoft, etc with his standard Top 10 list. He also talked about innovation and how the SUN / Oracle merger will not get rid of popular Sun products, both hardware and software, including MySQL, Java, Solaris, but rather invest in them more than Sun has ever done so.

After the keynote, LarryEllison, CEO of Oracle, treated all conference attendees to food, drinks, and music under the Howard Street Tent. This tent was huge… so big that a block of Howard Street had to be blocked off so that it could be constructed!

So that was the official start to my first Oracle OpenWorld conference! Much more to come in parts 2 and 3 of the series! Part 2 will include Monday and Tuesday’s events, and then Part 3 will include the last 2 days of the conference and 3 days of play in San Francisco!

Stay Tuned…

Back in August, I was selected as the monthly Spirit of Excellence award winner. You can see my picture in the Sept 22 edition of the Auburn Report.