Dragon*Con Lessons Learned
In the infosec world (and others), it's always good to write up a report of WTF happened. The key part of this is the Lessons Learned section, wherein you take the important points from this time and impress them on your audience so they know for next time.
- "The Party" has definitely moved to the Marriott.
- Standing in line for an hour for a good panel is totally worth it if you have friends and coffee in line with you.
- D*Con organizers do not get "trending topics" in some areas. Or in other words, let's watch how the Mad Scientist's Ball will continue to be the red-headed stepchild of the Con unless someone hears the pop.
- The recent DragonCon dj's are more full of win than the older ones, even if they do play 80's tripe. A full, active dance floor all the way til 6 AM is a sign that someone is doing something right!
- MC Chris rocks the house and puts on the best show of the con, even if you can't make out most of the words . . .
- Steampunk is a lot like goth with the sepia knob turned up.
- Getting to see Jar Jar Binks dance to Thriller and then have him be spanked and beheaded in front of a crowd of 500 people at 5 AM in a hotel ballroom is something everyone should do at least once in their lifetime.
- Your friends are becoming famous when you shout out their name and everyone else in their entourage turns around to look, but not them.
- The Metro Diner does good eggs benedict, but awful Caesar Salad. The Westin Sun Dial Bar has the best chicken nachos ever, and the Cruxshadows eat at Hooters.
- Old British Men (Patrick Stewart, Terry Gilliam, Anthony Daniels and Malcolm McDowell) have more charisma in their little finger . . . And can get away with murder if they want to.
- Julie Benz may be hot, but don't expect any deep conversations.
- The fastest way to root out every creepy guy in a 100' radius is to put a small asian woman in a short vinyl dress and boots and have her walk through a crowd. Or maybe that's just every guy within a 100' radius period.
- R2D2 is one heck of a chick magnet. Bumblebee doesn't do too badly either.
- Mario is a hell of a lot sexier when he is female.
- Why is Captain Kirk climbing the mountain?
I'll add to this more if I think of any, or if people contribute.
However, the MOST important thing for all those of you who are going to go "next year" (or at least say that you will: GET YOUR HOTEL ROOM NOW. SERIOUSLY, LIKE THIS WEEK, MANY OF THE HOTELS ARE ALREADY ACCEPTING RESERVATIONS FOR 2010.
With the room, all things are possible. For those of you with no dough, I think only the Hilton requires a big deposit, and I'm not sure who would want to stay there unless there was no choice. Stop the excuses, book the room, and start the savings account.
sorry, no pix posted yet by moi, but I'm sure if you look around, you can find a few tens of thousand online already.