In Cleveland for SABR 38
Well, I’ve arrived in Cleveland, all ready for the SABR convention. Remind me not to take another 6:00 a.m. flight from Omaha to Chicago to Cleveland. I’m a bit tired, even with the nap I took after I got to the hotel.
Speaking of the hotel, the Renaissance Hotel here at Tower City in downtown Cleveland is a pretty nice place. Two things bug me, though. One, the hotel wants $13 a day for internet access in the room. C’mon, even Days Inn and Super 8 offer free WiFi. The Renaissance is behind the times. I just walked down to a Caribou Coffee in the Tower City mall, about 50 steps away from the hotel lobby, and logged on to their free wireless. That’s more like it.
The other things that is already kind of getting to me is the number of homeless folks that seem to be wandering around. Just on the way from the RTA train to the front desk (less than a block) I was asked no less than three times for spare change, and one guy tried to sell me a Willie Nelson CD from his pocket. Seriously.
Now, I’m not saying that these street people are bad, or suggesting that something “needs to be done” about them. I’m just surprised at how prevalent they are around here. As I write this, in fact, an older fellow wearing a sweater straight from Bill Cosby’s closet asked me if I had any change.
Anyway, the SABR folks are about to open the registration table, so I think I’ll head up there and see what’s in the goody bag this year. Last year in St. Louis, there was a very… eclectic, shall we say, mix of materials. Later on, I’ll have a rundown of what I find in my bag at this year’s convention.