I am in San Francisco for a couple of days this week for a Google Developer's Conference. It is a good time, but I won't bore this "audience" with any technology details. I will say to keep your eyes out for the phones that are supposedly coming out this summer with the Google-sponsored Android operating system. Very nice. For those looking for the 3g iphone, you may want to wait and give this thing a gander.

I got into town yesterday about an hour late. So I had one hour to find my way into town for a tour at the Anchor Brewing company. I found and took the Bart (the San Fran subway system) to the appropriate station. I exited the subway and immediately started walking the correct way to the brewery. I knew it was a ways, but started walking anyway. After about 5 minutes, I decided I was disoriented and turned around to walk the other way. Another 5 minutes later, I decided I had no idea which way and I jumped in a cab. The driver started heading the way I was originally walking. He dropped me at the brewery about 5 minutes late, but the tour had just started and I was able to jump right in without missing much at all.

The tour was pretty quick. It is a relatively small brewery. Not Yazoo small, but small considering the wide distribution (50 states and over 100 countries, i think). Two unique things about their brewery is that their brewing takes place in old copper kettles. They are beautiful as far as brew kettles go. The other seemingly unique thing is that their initial fermentation takes place in these huge shallow pools instead of in an enclosed fermenter. The best part of the tour, though, was getting a 5oz. sampler of every beer(6) they are currently serving, plus any more that we would like to have. They are very generous in their taproom. It should be noted that the taproom is only open to employees and people who take the tour.

From the brewery, I had a nice walk to the hotel. As I was leaving the brewery, I could see the hotel among the downtown high-rises... so I decided to walk the probably 2 miles to get there. I stopped along the way for a hot dog and another beer. I got to the hotel and experienced the easiest and quickest check-in process of my life and headed up to chill out in my room for a while.

For dinner, I started walking towards a brewpub I had looked into before. The 21st Amendment Pub was a cool, downhome brewpub with good beers on tap. Last night they were $3/pint and the other people I met at the bar were raving at that good price. Apparently, beers in San Fran are typically $6-7 apiece. Crazy. Anyway, I had a few beers and dinner and had some good conversation. Twe two main people I talked to were 2 software developers, one local and one in town for business (not the conference). One is a principal Engineer with Sun. Kinda funny, but I guess the concentration of highly skilled people around here is pretty high. So anyway, I had a red ale (which I had read is one of their best - and I would agree it was very good), a watermelon wheat beer (complete with a wedge of watermelon on the rim of the glass) and a Wit beer. All were very good. I went home and went to bed.

Today has been about the conference. Very cool stuff. Pretty exciting.. but the coolest part is that the stuff I am seeing is accessible. This is a developers conference, so it is all about how to use the tools that Google is providing. Tonight I am at the conference "after hours". Free drinks, food and a bunch of video games, wii stations, pool tables, music, couches for relaxing (which is where I am presently) and more good times coming up(Flight of the Concords are performing in an hour or so). Google does know how to throw a party.

Maybe more tomorrow.

Cheers.