Linux World 2008

How long did it take to fly to San Francisco from the UK? Around the same length of time it took to play six showings of the Iron Man movie, one after the other. Everyone else in the cabin seemed to be asleep, and I was left alone and awake in the dark watching the flicker from a dozen different screens silently playing Iron Man. I never want to see Robert Downey Jr's stupid beard ever again.

But it was worth the effort. San Francisco is a wonderful place, and we've had a couple of days to acclimatise to the size of the food portions and the strength of the beer. There seems to be a local tradition for brewing IPA, all of which is over 6%. Combine a pint or two of that with some jet-lag, and I lose the ability to string a sentence together - I know, what ability...

Anyway, we're here for Linux World, which starts tomorrow. As we arrived on Saturday, we were able to do the tourist thing yesterday, walking from our hotel, through Union Square and across China Town before climbing the hill up to the Coit Tower monument (thanks Mike!). This gave us some exceptional views out over the bay and back towards the city. From there we headed down to Pier 39 before getting the cable car back up and over Nob Hill. The whole place has a friendly and relaxed atmosphere, and feels quite unlike most US cities I've been to.

If you're headed over this way for Linux World tomorrow, look out for us and say 'Hi'. I'll try to post an update on any cool stuff we discover. IPA permitting.