Feeling Like A 10 Year Old

So, one of my clients is having me write some software that's in the first responder industry - specifically, firefighting. Turns out, we have a major Fire Expo going on in Baltimore this week. So, because he couldn't make it, I decided I'd head up and scope out the competition.

I paid my $15.00 to get into the expo area, and was off and running.

Now, the last big show I was at was JavaOne quite a number of years ago. While times have probably changed, I'd still bet that you don't want to get into a my expo show is better than your expo show argument with a firefighter. At JavaOne they had fancy editors. At the Fire Expo, they had fire trucks. JavaOne, cell phone apps, Fire Expo, the Jaws of Life. I truly felt like I was a 10 year old, wondering around looking at all this fun stuff. If I had actually been a 10 year old, I probably would have gotten away with climbing on the trucks and trying on all the gear. But alas, I stuck to talking to the software vendors instead.

Here's a tip for all you parents - next time a fire show comes to town, drag the little ones to the expo and let them have a field day.