You know it's Oracle OpenWorld when they get ready to close Howard Street

Yes, folks, it's that time of year again when a certain part of San Francisco turns into a sea of red, and San Francisco drivers have to look at alternate routes.

The San Francisco Appeal has all of the closures, but the one that affects the most people is the complete closure of Howard Street between Third and Fourth Streets. The closure begins at 8 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 16 and lasts through through 3 p.m., Friday, Sept. 24.

But there's a new closure that is very, very important. Mason Street will be closed between Ellis and O'Farrell beginning on 2 a.m. Saturday, September 18 and lasting until 10 a.m. Friday, September 24

Why is this closure important? Because if Mason Street weren't closed, Justin Kestelyn would get hurt very badly. Bob Rhubart explains why:

The OTN Lounge has moved from its old digs on the third floor of Moscone West to the Mason Street Tent, between the Hilton and Nikko hotels. To be more precise, the OTN Lounge hasn't moved to the Mason Street Tent, it has become the Mason Street Tent.

Occupying the entire block from Ellis to O'Farrell, the Mason Street Tent is the new home for all the swag and activities you used to find in the OTN Lounge, and much, much more.

Oracle OpenWorld attendees (unfortunately, not including me this year) - this is the only time that you'll be able to sit in the middle of Mason Street, drink beer, and get away with it.

Incidentally, regarding the "sea of red" I mentioned earlier - it was recently revealed that Mark Zuckerberg is partially color blind, and blue is the one color that he can see really well - hence the predominant blue that is used for Facebook online properties.

Does Larry Ellison have a partial color-blindness where he can only see red?