Embedded Systems Conference, Boston 2016

From left to right, we have Tammy, Max, Mark, and Jack
Yes, we're all standing. Max is really that much taller than the rest of us!

Unfortunately, I'm not able to attend the Embedded Systems Conference in Boston this year, which is on April 13 & 14. Just too much going on at work right now, and I can't get away. You'd almost think I was important or something!

Now, I'm a big fan of Clive "Max" Maxfield, who happens to be the Editorial Director at Embedded.com. He's a wizard among engineers, and we have a bunch of similar interests and have both done some wicked cool projects. He's also a gifted writer (I have a couple of his books and read his columns regularly). Anyway, hero worship aside, we've corresponded numerous times, but had never met face-to-face. So when I read that he was going to be attending this year's conference, I sent him an email inviting him to dinner. He had already made plans for his evenings up here, catching up with colleagues and friends, so he, instead, invited us (my wife Tammy and me) to join him at City Bar Boston Harbor at the Westin Boston Waterfront Hotel. As it turned out, there was a private function going on there, so we instead went to M. J. O'Connor's Boston Pub, also located in the Westin. It's a very comfortable Irish Pub with a friendly, laid back atmosphere and excellent food. No one had any trouble at all finding their way, and before long we had maybe two dozen folks catching up, swapping stories, and generally having a good time.

My wife, Tammy, isn't an engineer, but she does speak geek. She's a Pediatric Physical Therapist, but we've been together long enough that we speak each other's language to a fair degree. She had no trouble conversing with my fellow geeks, and Max especially made a point of including her in the conversation.

Also in attendance was Jack Ganssle, who was one of the very first Embedded Systems gurus I ever ran across. I was reading his column in Embedded Systems Programming way back when it was actually printed on paper! These days, I follow him on Embedded.com. I've had the opportunity to meet him in person a bunch of times over the years, both at Embedded Systems Conferences and at training classes he's held. He's a very nice guy and super knowledgeable.

Max was diligent in introducing folks around, but I'm afraid I don't remember everyone. That's my bad, and a real pity because it was a great bunch of people. Among those I do remember:

Peter Anderson is an Embedded HW/SW Engineer whose first experience with microprocessors was the Intel 8008 in 1974. Mine was with the 8085 way back in 1985.

Duane Benson is another luminary I'd hoped to meet, and I did, shortly before Tammy & I left for the evening. I first ran across his work when Max mentioned a project they were collaborating on. He's a veritable font of information on things like PCB layout and DFM.

David Gerber is a writer and editor who has also handled legal, technical, and business responsibilities for Gerber Scientific. Yes, that Gerber - his dad, H. Joseph Gerber, is the man behind the Gerber file format. If you've ever made a printed circuit board, you ought to know the name. David is presenting "The Incredible Story Behind the Gerber PCB File Format" at ESC, but was kind enough to tell us the story last night.

I also found out that David's time at RPI overlapped with mine for about a year; he graduated the year I started. Definitely a small world! He also spoke with Tammy for a while about her work with kids (she works in a school system providing physical therapy to students with a wide range of medical, cognitive, and physical issues). He asked some very insightful and probing questions, the kind you don't normally get in a casual conversation, like, "What have you learned from your patients?" and, "How do you handle working with patients that have progressive (or terminal) conditions?" Tammy was very impressed that he took such an interest in her work.

Well, there you have it. I think I can safely say that a great time was had by all - and before the Embedded Systems Conference even started! I once again lamented that I wouldn't be attending this year, but I promised Max that I'd do my best to attend ESC Minneapolis in September. During our walk back to the car, Tammy even told me that I ought to go! Well, geez, now that I have her blessing, there's really no excuse not to, is there?