Well, the home datacenter is more or less back together, and the office is much quieter with the new server (or, rather, without the old one). Still a few details to be sorted out, but overall it's working.
This afternoon, I ventured down to San Jose for the Embedded Systems Conference.
Parking was a problem. Typical big-city politicians: build a big, ego-boosting convention center, name it after one of their own, and forget the minor detail that people will have to get there somehow. Not only was the Convention Center parking garage filled, but so were the other nearby garages... I eventually found a lot about 5 blocks away that had space.
On to the gathering... it was BIG! I spent 4 hours stolling around the exhibit hall, and I'm sure I missed quite a bit.
Lots of interesting stuff (FPGAs, microcontrollers, development tools), lots of stuff for which I don't have any particular use (single-board computers, expensive development tools).
I wasted a fair amount of time shooting the breeze with various old-timers (loosely defined: anyone who remembers what core memory was, or the name of the company that made the original 6502, or the previous meaning of "Flip-Chip").
This time, I was being a bit selective about gathering literature, so I didn't end up with a stretched arm. I didn't actually buy any development kits, either... though I did pick up a discount coupon for one, and had a close look at another. Sooner or later, I'll pick an FPGA family to play with, and buy the kit....
Anyway: lotsa shiny stuff, and a long time on my feet. If I'd gone yesterday (instead of staying home migrating to the new server), I would have been in mud boots instead of office shoes, on account of the weather, and maybe my feet wouldn't have gotten so tired....
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