We attended Sys-Con’s Cloud Computing Expo in Santa Clara, November 1-4 (http://cloudcomputingexpo2010west.sys-con.com/). Overall, we thought it was a well-run and useful experience, although we did experience a few sales pitches disguised as “presentations,” which was annoying. And why was the wi-fi coverage so bad in the Hyatt–didn’t they realize that several thousand nerds would be trying to use the network? Isn’t that a weekly occurrence for them, being almost an annex to the Santa Clara Convention Center?

We were especially impressed with the caliber of the people on the exhibition floor, and security talks presented by Steve Riley of AWS and Bernard Golden of HyperStratus.

While in town, we were also able to visit The Tech Museum (http://www.thetech.org). Although we were hoping to see more about the history of technology, especially in Silicon Valley, the interactive exhibits were well done. We could definitely see that it’s a great place to bring hoards of students, to give them a chance to “touch” science.

It was so fun to be in our old stomping grounds–in fact, just a few miles from where we met, on De La Cruz Blvd in Santa Clara, at a long-gone startup.

But then we came back to San Diego and experienced that weird situation–the one where you’re gone for 4.5 days, but your laundry and your workload expands to the amount you’d usually see in a month. How does that happen?! Tired-but-inquiring minds want to know.