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Sensors Expo in San Jose CA next week — Parallax Forums

Sensors Expo in San Jose CA next week

TubularTubular Posts: 4,621
in General Discussion
I'm really tempted to look at the Sensors Expo next week, but its end of financial year crunch time, and long flight each way.

It would be awesome to see all the sensor companies in one place, and get ideas for what will work well with P2

Has anyone here been to these in the past? I think maybe Parallax exhibited there some time ago

Comments

  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    Tubular wrote:
    Has anyone here been to these in the past?
    My company exhibited at both Sensors Expo Chicago (Rosemont) and Sensors Expo San Jose back in the '90s. Both were a considerable waste of time and money.

    Well, okay, we were able to take the train from Rosemont to downtown Chicago to listen to blues and eat amazing tapas. Frankly, of all American large cities, Chicago ranks with me at the very top. So it wasn't a total bust. And from San Jose (which totally sucks), we could escape to Santa Cruz and Capitola in the evenings for great seafood.

    So, yeah, visit the Expo for a short time, then head to the coast in your rental car if you want to make the trip worthwhile.

    -Phil
  • frank freedmanfrank freedman Posts: 1,975
    Can't remember who put it on a few years back, but someone put on an expo such as this, but it was entirely virtual. No travel, just good presentations and product info/demos. It was all scheduled out like a regular expo for the different live presentations, viewable later if what you wanted overlapped. Heck, they even had some of the usual trinkets and marketing trash. Just had to wait a bit for the snail mail to arrive. Did not have to put up with TSA, flying cattlecar class, crappy food etc. Wish someone would do it again.
  • TubularTubular Posts: 4,621
    I really like Chicago too. I think it started with some kind of nostalgia due to Blues Bros (lower Wacker drive car chasese etc), but I've been there maybe 4 times and it hasn't let me down. It seems to have improved over the years

    The first time I had a job to do in Oak Park and got introduced to Frank Lloyd Wright architecture, wooden elevators and Ernest Hemmingway books and Oscar Weiner hotdog vehicles. But no matter how I tried, the bus drivers couldn't understand my pronunciation of 'oak' as in 'oak park' due to my accent, which led to some scary moments. I have similar trouble ordering 'coke' as in 'coca cola' and have to fall back to 'sprite', sometimes.

    How about the sensor expo from an antendee's (rather than exhibitor) perspective, Phil? You're a bit of a sensor fan aren't you? Couldn't all those sensors in one place waiting to be P2ified be a good thing?
  • TubularTubular Posts: 4,621
    frank freedman wrote: »
    Can't remember who put it on a few years back, but someone put on an expo such as this, but it was entirely virtual. No travel, just good presentations and product info/demos. It was all scheduled out like a regular expo for the different live presentations, viewable later if what you wanted overlapped. Heck, they even had some of the usual trinkets and marketing trash. Just had to wait a bit for the snail mail to arrive. Did not have to put up with TSA, flying cattlecar class, crappy food etc. Wish someone would do it again.

    Thats a nice idea, Frank.

    I find it important to wander between the stands to help absorb things, for whatever reason. And not spend the whole day there but come back the next if possible. That seems to work best for me.

    Phil's suggestion of escaping to Capitola in between sounds good. I remember going to Monterey for the aquarium, and artichoke soup...
  • KeithEKeithE Posts: 957
    FYI - San Jose actually has a blues scene.

    Tues nights - https://akikumar.com/tuesday-night-blues-jam (also check https://akikumar.com/shows)
    Thurs nights - http://littlelousbbq.com/calender/ (Was run by Aki until recently)
    Not San Jose, but close enough? https://rwcbluesjam.com/home
    (There are probably some I don't know about)

    Much credit is due to David Barrett http://www.schooloftheblues.com (drop in lessons are an option ;-)

    Right down the street from Xilinx - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Greaseland-Studios/342714399120182 see also https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/10/19/how-a-tiny-san-jose-studio-became-a-nexus-of-blues-world/

    Quite a variety of asian foods in the area too. e.g. San Jose has a wide selection of Vietnamese cuisine.

    But yeah as a vacation destination it does seem to be a bit lacking, unless it's part of a wider bay area tour. There are tons of interesting places within driving distance. Public transport is not good though.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,250
    I could have a small sensors expo all by myself. The central focus would be "cool sensors I have hoarded and stored and never used." Too doggone busy at work.

    Sort of a good news, bad news thing. I'm in huge demand for a never-ending stream of freelance electronics jobs. Steady money and having fun, but no time for the fun random experimentaion I lov to do. That's why I've been much less active here lately. But someday I hope to dig out and get back to normal...!
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