NIWeek Tips and Tricks

[jgcode]

It would have been cool if she belted out a tune at the end.

Maybe they should have got these guys to do it?

[Daklu]

"Authentic cowboy boots?"

What makes a cowboy boot authentic? Has it been pre-worn by an authentic cowboy? Does it come complete with cow dung stains?

[Francois Normandin]

"Authentic cowboy boots?"

What makes a cowboy boot authentic? Has it been pre-worn by an authentic cowboy? Does it come complete with cow dung stains?

In the latter case, it's got to be dried for at least two weeks if you want to take it back with you. (Question 11d)

On a related note, I was in Texas last February and attended a small rodeo event. I was browsing the shops and asked the cowboy hat vendor if his hats were American-made because I didn't want to buy something imported from the other side of the globe. He hesitated just enough that I understood it was made in Mexico, but since Mexicans also were cowboy hats, I thought it was authentic enough.

[Michael Aivaliotis]

My tips and trick for NIWeek 2010. Probably applies to any NIWeek.

• Go to The Gingerman on Sunday night. The Gingerman has turned into the unofficial pre-show kickoff for LAVA members. You can go there whenever, but most of us start showing up late after the sun goes down. They have a backyard patio, so don't look inside the restaurant. Walk all the way through the back doors!
• Don't spend money on food. NI feeds their guests well. Also make sure to get to the keynote early because they serve breakfast in the halls outside the keynote area. Lunch is served between 11:30am-1pm at the exhibit hall.
• Don't sit in your hotel room. If you don't know where to go after the convention center closes for the day, then go walk on 6th street. You're bound to find someone from the show walking around. A lot of us like hanging out at Buffalo Billiards. Check in there. In any case, you'll love the live music wherever you end up.
• Don't rent a car. You won't need one. Austin is a small city and you can probably walk everywhere you need to go.
• Beware of Drunk Catchers: These are huge openings in the ground between the sidewalk and the road. Norm almost lost a leg in there. They say it's to drain the water quickly to prevent floods. I think it's to trap drunken NIWeek attendees.
• Use Twitter on your mobile phone to keep track of where all the cool people are and what their doing. You want to be cool too don't you, what's wrong with you? Follow LAVA and also follow the followers of LAVA. Also follow: NIWeek, LabVIEW.
• Come to the LAVA BBQ: If you don't have a ticket, sorry. Also sorry, if you're a vegetarian.
• Hang out at the JKI Booth: I'll be there (Booth 841 in the exhibit hall) and so will many other LabVIEW Champions and friends of LAVA. If you're going to hang out at someone's booth, then it should be there.
• Make it to all evening activities: NI sponsors many night time activities. Find out about them and join in. They're always fun.
• Don't hang out at Coyote Ugly: Many of us cary cameras and we will take compromising pictures of you and put them in the Gallery.
• Post your photos to the LAVA Gallery: Just go to the NIWeek 20xx category, create an album and then post them in your album. You can also post photos directly from your iphone with the new iphone app.
• Attend the keynotes: Even if you've got a major hangover, try to wake up for the keynotes. They're awesome!
• Only attend the Advanced Sessions: Trying to make it to all the sessions is impossible. Pick the ones that give you the most bang. For me, it's the Advanced LabVIEW sessions in the Software Development Track. (Shameless Plug). BTW, bring a sweater or fleece, just in case. The session rooms can become very cold.
• Talk to people: Above all, it's about meeting with everyone you couldn't at any other venue. All the folks on LAVA and the Dark Side. Most of all, the NI developers of LabVIEW. Find them, track them down, thank them for their hard work and then complain about all the features that are still not in LabVIEW. PS: Jeff Kodosky, the father of LabVIEW can always be found hanging at the show (Tweet if you spot him).

I also want to mention that I will be posting videos every day from NIWeek for those that can't make it. I can do this because I'll be using my iPhone exclusively to capture video, do the editing and uploading to Youtube. Subscribe or RSS feed it here.

[jgcode]

Don't sit in your hotel room. If you don't know where to go after the convention center closes for the day, then go walk on 6th street. You're bound to find someone from the show walking around. A lot of us like hanging out at Buffalo Billiards. Check in there. In any case, you'll love the live music wherever you end up.

I went there last night for a feed as they were playing Versus.

The Billards tables look interesting - I have not seem that game in a pub before.

Don't hang out at Coyote Ugly: Many of us cary cameras and we will take compromising pictures of you and put them in the Gallery.

The ladies last night dancing on the bar disturbed me. The memory will only be erased through time (or copious amounts of alcohol).

I don't know if it was just me, but I think you should also mentioned those large insects that fly at you and attack you (I had to change my underwear and I still had no idea what it was!).

[iyeager]

... (or copious amounts of alcohol).

Check.

-Ian