Note to self: Do NOT visit Making Light on a morning during which you hope to get work done, even if lured there by a marvelously helpful discussion of heat stress. However pure your motives, you will fall into a hilarious metadiscussion, never to be seen again.

A couple of weeks ago, a reader noticed that Teradyne did not attend Semicon West, and asked why not. Tom Newman, Teradyne's VP of Corporate Relations was kind enough to return my call. He explained that Teradyne, like LTX, Credence, and other test companies, has been pulling back from US tradeshows for the last several years. Recently, Teradyne has focused on shows in emerging markets like Asia. He also explained that Semicon West has fallen during Teradyne's pre-earnings quiet period for the last several years, making investor relations events difficult. (The company announced earnings on July 19.)

Thanks for the question!