Seven reasons to be at ESC Boston this week

9/20/2010 4:15 PM EDT

• MedApps HealthPal wireless transmitter (1 p.m. Tuesday). There will come a time when this seems less like science fiction. Oh wait! That time is now!
  
• FitBit (2 p.m. Tuesday) is a wireless fitness-monitoring tool that uses MEMS and wireless technology to make you look like Jack LaLanne.
• Smart wireless residential thermostat from Radio Thermostat Company (3 p.m. Tuesday). You’ve always wanted to have a deep cell phone conversation with your thermostat while on vacation; now you can!
  

• Using Twitter in the embedded market place. You know, in your heart of hearts, you want to tweet like crazy. Find out how to join the cool kids and use the platform to drive audience.
• Social networking and your career (7 a.m Tuesday)
  
• EE Times Twitter scavenger hunt. You know you want to.
  

3. Vendor-topia. We’re obsessed with marketing ROI these days, but you know what? Serendipity still has its place. Wandering the floor of any trade show, whether it’s electronics or kitchen implements, brings with it its own surprises around every bend—surprises that are hard to plug into Outlook Calendar beforehand.

4. Hugh Herr, Tuesday keynoter: Herr heads the biomechanics research group at MIT. ‘Nuff said.

5. John East, Wednesday keynoter: East may pull out his legendary “how I learned what an angstrom really is” story, but even if he doesn't, he's one of the industry's best story-tellers.

6. The classes! This is where the rubber meets the road and it’s what keeps embedded systems designers passionate about what they do.

7. It’s back to the future in Boston. The Red Sox (3rd place) and Patriots (1-1) have tumbled back to earth, as have the expectation of Red Sox nation and Patriots nation. It’s almost like the 1980s again. The chowdah’s still fabulous, and the view (below) is still spectacular.