Woe is me. I’m just too depressed to cover this week’s Macworld Expo since my beloved Tennessee Titans fell to the Baltimore Ravens in yesterday’s playoffs. Tennessee was favored by six points though I had predicted we’d only win by three. But after a great start, we got sloppy and the Ravens really soared. And there’s no joy in Nashville today.
Hopefully, this week will cheer me up, however. And since I’m in San Francisco right now, I guess Mac Publishing News Director, Jim Dalrymple will expect me to overcome my grief and cover the trade show. On Saturday, I flew from Nashville to San Fran to join the rest of the MacCentral gang to prepare for our intense coverage. Though the expos are exhausting, I love ’em. They’re exciting and I get to meet lots of Mac developers and fans. And SF is one of my favorite cities to visit.
My friend and ColorSync expert, Kevin O’Connor, gave me a ride from the airport to my hotel, the downtown Marriott. We took several delightful detours along the way. We had lunch at Flipper’s, a gourmet hamburger joint that makes a variety of exotic burgers — and some fantastic steak fries.
Kevin took me to see the mind-boggling architecture of the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption. Also known as the “Bishop’s Bendix,” the Catholic institution costs $3,200 a day to operate. That’s almost as much as it costs me for my “mocha fix” while covering Macworld Expos!
Then, before dropping me off at the Marriott, Kevin took me to Mitchell’s Ice Cream, on 688 San Jose Avenue. The ice creamery has been making award-winning ice cream since 1953. I had one scoop of chocolate caramel brittle and a “meaty coconut” whose name I forget. Both were fine. (I kid about my mocha habit, but my ice cream addiction is a real thing. I’ve put all of Ben and Jerry’s kids through college.)
I really like staying at the downtown Marriott. It’s close to a fine movie theater (the Metreon) on the rare chance I can catch a flick. There are plenty of coffee houses and places to get ice cream nearby, not to mention lots of fine restaurants. It has a fitness area (which I won’t have time to use after today). Best of all, it’s close to the Moscone Center, site of the 2001 Macworld Expo.
So keep reading. This week MacCentral is going to raise the bar on expo coverage. Count on it.