Category: Fun stuff

Random fun things

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BarcampCHS: Spread the word!

The 4th annual BarcampCHS is getting closer! Spread the word, invite your friends and family and come out to learn new things and share the things that you know!

You don’t have to be a great speaker, a professional or an expert in the field. You just need to be willing to share what you know with others or be interested in learning something new. Whether you’re just providing some tips and tricks about something you do a lot of, talking about more advanced topics or just want to present on something because it will force you to learn about it, it will be welcomed at BarcampCHS.

LEARN ALL THE THINGS!

These are the sessions I have lined up to present on

  • HamCamp: a Barcamp within a Barcamp where I hope to get other ham radio operators to share what they know with others. If this turns out well, there’s even the possibility of spinning it off into its own event!
  • How to become a ham radio operator: A bit about the ham radio licensing process, resources, how I got mine, and then what to do with it afterwards.
  • History of Computers Museum: This is less a session and more just a place for people to lay out some of their vintage hardware to show off and reminisce with fellow geeks.
  • CT Scanners: How do they work?: In which I leverage some of what I do for a living to educate others.

I can only claim to be mostly an expert in medical imaging, but I’m interested enough in ham radio to make me willing to share what little I know about it with others. I’m also looking forward to learning about things that others are willing to share.

Come on out to BarcampCHS and hang out, learn stuff and teach stuff!

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Dragon*Con lineup

Only a couple of days left until I head out for another DragonCon! As usual there are way more sessions and panels that I want to go to than there are of me to go see, and a good bit of my DC “schedule” is triple or quad-booked.
I tend to spend most of my time at sessions in the Science and Space tracks. There are a few celebrity panels I’d like to see, but the lines for them are generally really long and most of the time I don’t feel like standing in them.
There are a few “Have to go” sessions on the list though. Here are some of the sessions/panels with the highest probability of me being at.
Thursday
1730: DC Pre/Post Con Support Council meetup – Marriott Pulse Bar
1830: Girls of the Con Calendar Release Party – Marriott Pulse Bar
1900: Buckets o’ Rum meetup – Hyatt
Friday
1300: Famous Unsolved Codes – Hilton 201
1900: Up and Down the Dial – Hilton 202
Saturday
1000: DragonCon Parade
1300: Between the Candle and the Star (Babylon 5) – Hyatt International North
1730: Advanced Space Propulsion 101 – Hilton 203
1900: Higgs Boson – Hilton 202
2030: More Higgs Boson – Hilton 202
2200: Up and Down the Dial Scavenger Hunt – Hilton 202 (I’m helping with this one)
Sunday
1000: Adam West and Burt Ward (Batman/Robin) – Hyatt Centennial I
1130: Next Generation (Star Trek) – Sheraton Grand Ballroom A-F
1430: Astronomy Cast – Hilton 204
1730: Cryptography 101 – Hilton 201
1900: Katherine Kurtz – Hyatt Fairlie
There are other sessions and panels on the list that are on the “Would be nice to see” list, which means “If the line isn’t horribly long or I manage to get a good spot in line, I’ll go”. The rest of the time I’ll be wandering around, checking out all the people and the costumes, in the vendor rooms and hanging out in the various bars (usually at the Hyatt).
If you’re going to Dragon*Con, look for me and say hi. I’ll probably be wearing my blue Star Trek robe.

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Bring on Dragon*Con!

Heading out to on the annual pilgrimage to DragonCon in a few days.
This will be my 4th DC, and this year I’ll be marching in the parade with a few other friends. Excited about that. It will be fun seeing the parade from the other side.
DRAGON*CON!

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Saturn V Immensity

I’ve mentioned it before. The Saturn V is a big big rocket. Until you see it in person though, it’s really hard to imagine just how big it is. Then, when you do see it, your mind is boggled that they actually worked and sent people into Earth/lunar orbit and to land on the moon.
Eleven times.

And then you wonder why we haven’t kept doing it.

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BarcampCHS 4 planning

BarcampCHS 4 is going to be held November 10, 2012 most likely at the College of Charleston once again.

Planning for the 4th BarcampCHS is underway and things seem to be rolling along nicely so far. If you want to participate in the planning, we’re currently meeting every other week. Watch the BarcampCHS Facebook page or BarcampCHS Google+ page for additional information and updates.

We’re currently looking for sponsors and have a number of sponsorship levels available. Contact the organizers if you’re interested in becoming a BarcampCHS sponsor!

It’s also not too early to propose a session you want to present, or that you’d like to see presented. Visit the sessions page to see the current list of sessions and suggest/propose a session!