David Politis

So I’m down in San Diego this weekend as a representative of SOAR Communications to attend the 11th annual Bicycle Leadership Conference, a three-day event presented by the Bicycle Product Suppliers Association. (The weather is fantastic, by the way: mid- to upper-60s every day. Nice!)

Anyway . . . last night, my wife (Allisha) and I headed off for a little local cuisine with my cousin, Brad (and his wife, Leslie). In the end, we selected Sambuca, an Italian Bistro, for our dining adventure.

Located at 3888 4th Avenue, Sambuca is a white linen tablecloth, sit down restaurant where the meals are prepared behind glass to the side of the dining area.

They served a wonderful antipasti sampler plate, and each of us raved about our respective meals: shrimp primavera, filet mignon and chicken marsala. I had the marsala, and it was delectable. Total cost, without alcohol, was around $100.

Although the Website is weak at best, the food is not.

So if you’re in lovely San Diego and have a hankering for Italian food, check out Sambuca, an Italian Bistro. I give it a strong THUMBS UP!

As I mentioned in my 1/9/08 post on Utah Tech Watch, I got hit with a nasty cold down in Vegas while attending CES, the Consumer Electronics Show.

While taking a taxi from the Hilton to the Sands to get my luggage, I had my cabbie stop at a “qwik mart” to look for some cough medicine, ’cause by 4 p.m. Tuesday, I felt like I was dying. My throat was on fire, I had a sinus infection that made my head feel like it was about to explode, and I was starting to ache all over. NOT good. Thank goodness for NyQuil.

By the time I got to my boarding gate, I was ready to zone out. By the way, did I mention I liked NyQuil? In fact, I was asleep before the plane pulled away from the gate and didn’t awaken until we were less than 10 minutes out of SLC International.

A BIG THUMBS UP for NyQuil!

Anyway . . . if you haven’t had this cold bug hit you, your home or office, count yourself lucky. This is probably the worst cold I’ve had in several years. I finally feel better one week later after massive doses of antibiotics, decongestants and orange juice.

And to those of you I met and/or visited with in Vegas, my sincere apologies if you caught this same cold from me. I am VERY SORRY.  

It’s been awhile since I’ve tried this, but I’m writing this post from my BlackBerry.

In looking at the tiny screen on this phone, I see that many of the features/benefits found on WordPress have been stripped out. The result is that any special formatting I want to use in this and future posts will have to be added after the fact.

But for now, the stripped down version will work. This at least provides me a vehicle for blogging wherever I am.Very cool!

If you’re looking for great Italian food, you need to head to Ottavio’s in Provo.

Nestled in a modest location on Center Street just East of University Avenue, Ottavio’s Ristorante Italiano was a wonderful recent find for me.

Everything, the festive old world murals painted on the walls, the piped-in Italian music, to the prompt and attentive service, adds to the dining atmosphere. But it is the food where Ottavio’s excels.

I happen to love veal, so I try it often. And at Ottavio’s I was not disappointed as the Vitello Parmigiana was fantastic! Definitely five stars.

Come hungry, however, as the serving plates are actually platters that arrive heaped to overflowing — big meals that require carrying with two hands (or ample “to go boxes” once you’re done eating.)

And yes, I’ve been back, twice in fact.

In other words, I give a big THUMB’S UP to Ottavio’s in Provo.

[DISCLOSURE: My daughter, Alexi, recently began working as a server at Ottavio’s, as explained here. My sister-in-law Linda also works for the owners of Ottavio’s. The food is still great, however, as attested by these other reviews for the restaurant.]

So I just got back from my first refereeing assignment of 2008 for Church ball, and I didn’t totally suck — which is good.

It was actually my first real physical activity in six weeks since breaking my elbow and tearing some ligaments in my right arm. (Actually, it was a non-displaced radial head fracture, which means I cracked the head of the radius bone where it comes together into the elbow.)

It broke when I fell off a ladder the Saturday after Thanksgiving while putting up Christmas lights on our home. I landed with my arm fully extended, then rolled to my elbow and then my shoulder. Not fun!

But I did fare better than the other guy who ended up in the Emergency Room at Alta View Hospital earlier in the day. He broke his back. UGH!

Anyway, it took me about a quarter and a half to get back into the swing of reffing once again, which is about what it normally takes. It’s like your eyes and head have to get used to watching the bodies and not the ball before you start to see the fouls and plays actually unfold — particularly when you’re responsible for the off-side play.

Anyway . . . only one person fouled out and no one got “T-ed” up, so that was good too. Generally, technical fouls mean the referees have lost control of the game.