2025 Conference Series

In order of attendance, these are the conferences that I attended in 2025.
  1. Spring 2025 Energy Intermarket Surveillance Group (EISG) - Boston, MA
  2. SAS Innovate 2025 - Orlando, FL
  3. Western Users of SAS Software (WUSS) 2025 - Los Angeles, CA
Group picture with all of the Market Monitors - Boston (Seaport Hotel)
ISO New England (IESO) organized this trip.

This picture was taken outside of the Seaport Hotel in Boston, MA. ISO New England's Market Monitoring group organized this conference. I believe that most market monitoring entities sent a contingent (of at least a few people). I'm pictured on the far left. This really has been a great community of people to be part of. Few times in my life have I gotten to be immersed in such a large "think tank" of genuinely curious people.

Eric presenting at the EISG in Boston, 2025
Delivering a talk that I wrote on DQ/IQ at the EISG in Boston (2025).
Sitting on the steps of a library on the edge of Harvard's campus. My mom isn't pictured here but she was there with me.
Sitting on the steps of a library on the edge of Harvard's campus. My mom isn't pictured here but she was there with me.

My mom came to this conference with me and got to hangout in Boston while I attended talks. As a grown man, I'm touched that I had the opportunity to do something so nice for my mom.

eric and megan lieu
Meeting Megan Lieu - An awesome LinkedIn influencer
eric and frank abagnale from Catch Me If You Can
Meeting Frank Abagnale (Catch Me If You Can)
eric and dr jim goodnight
Meeting Dr. James Goodnight (CEO of The SAS Institute)

In the span of a couple of days in May, I got to meet some really cool folks!

eric and hot sake
Drinking hot sake on Ventura Boulevard the night before the conference began
eric and danny modlin from SAS
Met Danny Modlin again (met him originally at SAS Innovate in Orlando, but I didn't get a picture with him)
little akihabara in little tokyo in los angeles
While in Little Tokyo we came across a "Little Akihabara"

Mark Rouse and I went to WUSS 2025 (the "Western Users of SAS Software conference; yes, the founders were well aware of the acronym...). We had some neat encounters while we were there. I met a lot of people that I, regretably, did not get pictures with. I think that the coolest "claim to fame", at this conference, was getting to meet Susan Slaughter --- the author of "The Little SAS Book" series. She gave a 3-part lecture that covered the Essentials of SAS, and I sat in on all 3 sessions.

rebecca and eric
My girlfriend (Rebecca) and I
santa monica boulevard with a natural lens flare!
Picture of Santa Monica Boulevard at sunset on Thursday night (9/4/25). The lens flare was natural!

This conference ended up working out (the timing of it) in a way that I was able to take my girlfriend Rebecca with me. She hadn't had a chance to ever set foot in California (or even see an ocean!), so we remedied both of these problems with her tagging along.