Nov 12 - SF Yerba Buena Free day - thanks Oracle!

• Oracle has officially taken over San Francisco. At least for a week around the Mascone Center. White and red banners drape buses, sidewalks (they lay their own plastic tiles on every the sidewalk), and busstands. Throw in a street shut down, a police task force, and selling out every hotel within a 7 mile radius, and you have Oracle Open World.
  
• One of the assets of having a few hundred million dollars to finance your own user conference is the ability to have all the local museums agree to be free for a day on Saturday Nov 10th. Since I'm already an SF Moma fan, I skipped that and pressed on to the Museum of African Diaspora (aka MoAD), the California Historical Society, and the Academy of Sciences.
  
• It's amazing who comes out of the woodwork for the low low cost of free. Nonetheless, it was sort of a rush tour, but the rainy Saturday made this museum day a huge success.
  
• My favorite museum hands down was the MoAD. I can't believe I look at it everyday through my tiny windows, and never stepped inside. Open almost 2 years, MoAD has wonderful exhibits. The highlight was the featured exhibit about what the world eats. Globalization takes on an interesting twist on how small most of the world has come when it comes to packaged goods and available food crops. My favorite part was the itemized costs of all the food in local dollars and in USD. A week of food was $500+ USD in Germany, while in Mali it was about $30. It was a great way to spend a Saturday. Thanks Oracle!