Sun Tech Days, Milan

I just flew into Milan today from Las Vegas and are my arms tired! Sorry folks. That Borscht Belt joke has been rummaging around in the back of my brain for quite a while and it needed to get out.

I did in fact fly into Milan today. I'm here to cover the Sun Tech Days event that begins tomorrow, September 26, with Community Day events: NetBeans Day, GlassFish Day, Open Solaris Day, Mobility Day, and University Day. I plan to spend most (if not all) of my time tomorrow at GlassFish Day.

Here are some initial thoughts about Milan -- a city I had never been to before today:

• It's got a wonderful express train from the airport to the center of town. The airport I'm talking about in Malpensa. It's the one that handles international flights. It's new, modern, and far, far away from Milan. Linate airport is a lot closer to the city, but apparently it only handles domestic flights. In any case, there's a terrific express train that goes from the Malpensa airport to the Cadorna section of downtown Milan. The train is clean, fast, and only costs 11 euros -- an order of magnitude cheaper than a cab ride into the city from the boondocks. And the train station is right in the airport. No need to take a bus or a tram to the train. Go down an escalator from the airport main floor and you're there.
• It's chock full of graffiti. On the buildings, on the buses, on windows, on people -- O.K. not on people (grafitti on people, that is, tatoos, is more of an American tradition). Apparently grafitti goes back to the days of ancient Greece and Rome. So I guess the Milanese are keeping their classical roots intact. After seeing all this tagging, I'm dumbfounded that the express train(see the first item above) was as spotless as it is. Maybe it's just too hard to spray paint a speeding locomotive. And even harder spray painting a speeding locomotive as it passes under high voltage lines.
• The pace of life is much slower than the U.S., except in traffic. Stand in line at a hotel waiting to check in and you're liable to spend your entire day there. That was my experience checking into the Quark hotel. BTW, isn't a quark an atomic subparticle? Don't atomic subparticles zip around at near-light speed? Perhaps this is the anti-Quark hotel? There I was late this morning waiting to check in at the hotel, standing behind one couple ahead of me and watching as four well dressed gentleman standing behind the front desk tried their hardest to actually not check in anyone. Eventually one of these folks decided it was time to do some work -- or maybe he couldn't stand the sight of the beard that I had grown during my line stay. In any case, he was very courteous and pleasantly told me after checking his computer that my room wasn't ready yet. Grrrrr. I thanked him kindly and strangled him in my thoughts.

  Of course this sort of molasses pace of existence contrasts with the death defying feats performed by Italian drivers all hours of the day. They all seem to play a game called going full speed, let me see how close I can get to the Vespa scooter in front of me without actually maiming the driver. And everything on road is accompanied by the horn-blaring salute. My belief is that horn honking is taught to Italian children before they learn to walk. Occasionally Italian drivers do take their hands of the horn, but only to avoid carpal tunnel symptoms.

• Not sure if Tech Days is here. Later, after my room was ready, and after I shaved, showered, and rubbed off most of the jet lag, I went back to the front desk (waited again) and asked where the Sun Tech Days event was going to be held. I'd been led to believe that the event was being held here at the hotel. But the response from behind the front desk was the stunned retort "Sun Tech Days,? I don't know what that is." Hmmmmm. I'm sure it's around here somewhere. I'll try to find someone after dinner. BTW, people eat dinner here late. Restaurants are closed in the afternoon and reopen after 7 P.M. So it's best to eat breakfast and lunch at the same time or do what the Italians do. Sleep the early afternoon away and then eat to your heart's content.

Arrividerci until tomorrow.