We just spent a long weekend in Miami and the NY Times Sunday, April 6th edition runs an article in their Travel section about Miami “Babylon on a Budget: A Weekend Challenge by Matt Gross. His first paragraph is absolutely spot on and I will shamelessly quote it directly: “There’s a very fine line between tackiness and glamour, and in Miami Beach –itself a very fine strip of sand- that line sometimes vanishes. Is that maximum blonde’s minimal swimsuit cringe-making or heart-racing? Is the hotel pool scene high-class or crass? Is the cityscape, which veers from boxy condo towers to candy-colored Art Deco, an architecture buff’s dream or nightmare?” This much is true: the people are the best scenery. Hu-ah.
We stayed at the Shore Club, itself a very expensive hotel designed in the Art Deco way. The bellboy who helped me with my bags and spoke with a thick Long Island accent called it matter-of-factly a “party hotel” -and he wasn’t kidding. On Sunday after 3 in the afternoon, the whole place literally boom, boom, boomed with loud club music until at least 3 am. (Does anyone report to work on Monday morning in Miami?). Around 2.30 am we staggered to the nearby elevator to the comfort of our rooms. And speaking of which, the rooms were quite spare. One hotel attendee said she was reminded of a hospital’s décor in remarking on the hotel’s lobby. I will say the party and the restaurants –Nobu and Ago- were on the whole were good, although as a New Yorker (ok, a New Jersey guy who has spent a lot of time in NYC), I was put off by the service. Our waiter at Nobu looked more put upon than happy to serve and was slow, slow, slow. The Shore Club automatically tacks 18% onto your bill, so there goes the motivation to provide more attentive service. To be fair, however, I’m told that’s the way it is anywhere in Miami.
When we arrived on Sunday, we had lunch at the Puerto Sagua, a restaurant featuring inexpensive Cuban food and heaping plates of white rice with black beans and sauce. I’d recommend eating there. Eliot got the pork chops and I had a grilled tilapia. For the price, you can’t beat it.
So what does this have to do with Oracle software licensing or copyright or software asset management? Absolutely nothing. But please, there’s more to life than that, right?