Tampa notes #4

Apr 13, 2007

After the morning’s Newt talk and my blogging presentation, and then a lunch with no keynote speaker (flight delays meant US News & World Report Editor Brian Kelly couldn’t get here in time), I needed to get away from the hotel — too much air condition and the feeling of being trapped, since there’s no shopping or restaurant district to walk to (although there is a beautiful boardwalk along the tidal mangroves). A short taxi ride later I was at a mall, where I found a wine bar called The Grape. I sat inside — too hot outside — and sipped Viña Sanzo Verdejo and nibbled an Irish Shamrock cheddar.

Later, there were buses to take us conference attendees to the Henry B. Plant Museum, a very cool historic hotel. On the way there, I chatted with Christopher Springman about his career as a photographer, corporate writer and now health radio producer.

At the reception on the patio, I caught up with Steve Baragona (working now at Infectious Diseases Society of America), met a few cool doctors, chatted with Carol Hyman, and talked with Jeff Molter (last time I saw him was when he treated me to dinner at Magnolia Grill).

A note about last night — Robin Miller was part of the Prairie Home Companion conversation, and before that topic she’d convinced us to get our vitamin D levels checked out, as many men seem to have low levels of this vitamin, and there might be a correlation to prostate cancer (I’ll search for the research and post later).

Anton Zuiker ☄