Defcon 17 suggestions

[kallahar]

So with socializing being a priority for Defcon 17, here's my suggestion:

Get the hotel to rent us the top 5 floors of the monaco tower, including all the penthouses.

I know they don't want to, they have their bullshit "the reservation system won't let us" answer, but it would seriously solve many problems.

1) casual con-goers would know that a bunch of semi-public parties are up there.
2) There would be zero noise complaints against the top floor
3) it would be easier to float between parties

The only drawback could be the crowds, but you could have someone checking ID's or whatever at the entrance to the hall and top of the riv to satisfy their "no one under 21" rules

The penthouse got busted every single night, and always because of noise complaints because the idiot hotel puts normal people near the top floor. stupid.

Kallahar

[hackajar]

Re: Defcon 17 suggestions

For the record, the parties get complained on by Defcon attendee's in past. That is why parties in "Top of the Riv" must have their sound systems approved before they can go up there.

[0x58]

Re: Defcon 17 suggestions

That is retarded, if DefCon attendee's can't stand the music they have come to the wrong conference. That is entirely lame.

[CP99]

Re: Defcon 17 suggestions

That is retarded, if DefCon attendee's can't stand the music they have come to the wrong conference. That is entirely lame.

The penthouse got busted every single night, and always because of noise complaints because the idiot hotel puts normal people near the top floor. stupid.

Kallahar

Normal people != DefCon attendees.

I had a great time at top of the riv both nights I was up there.

[hackajar]

Re: Defcon 17 suggestions

CP00 - Yes, but you didn't make it to the only party that didn't get broken up on Sunday, WTF?

[astcell]

Re: Defcon 17 suggestions

How about we all sign legal waivers so we can be in the pool if a person has a scratch on their face?

[CP99]

Re: Defcon 17 suggestions

CP00 - Yes, but you didn't make it to the only party that didn't get broken up on Sunday, WTF?

Heey, I think I made it down there for a bit after bartending at top of the riv.

[Abby_Normal]

Re: Defcon 17 suggestions

For the record, the parties get complained on by Defcon attendee's in past. That is why parties in "Top of the Riv" must have their sound systems approved before they can go up there.

I had a very nice chat with Riv security, and they gave us a list of things that will prevent future problems. They also let us start the party back up.

Over all, they were pretty cool. Much better than in the past.

[0x58]

Re: Defcon 17 suggestions

Normal people != DefCon attendees.

I had a great time at top of the riv both nights I was up there.

See Hackajar's post ....

[r3db0x]

Re: Defcon 17 suggestions

Considering the constant increase of attendees at the con, I'm wanting more small groups and meetings throughout the day so I can still meet new people of like minds and not feel so socially overwhelmed. Groups with very specific purposes, like Jackalope's EeePC mod group (we got there right as you were finishing up, poo!). If there was another catch-all room full of open tables like the contesting area, these little meetups could all happen around each other with folks popping in and out (instead of separate, scheduled rooms they probably couldn't fill up). The meetings wouldn't even have to be listed in the official programs, we all do fairly well with word-of-mouth, forums, Twitter... and signs on tables.


Along those lines, I was pondering a t-shirt hacking station, of sorts. A table where I could set up a sewing machine and some very basic soldering gear so we could tear apart con shirts and put them back together again with LEDs, EL wire, additional straps, blah blah blah. I always a) get t-shirts that don't fit well, and b) wish everything in my wardrobe lit up, beeped, reacted to light, or displayed some sort of information. There seemed to be a lot of people at the con this year that were very new to hardware, and I can't imagine an easier way to get started than to make a few quick LED circuits.

[paint]

Re: Defcon 17 suggestions

How about we all sign legal waivers so we can be in the pool if a person has a scratch on their face?

can i second that ? i got changed for the goon party then the pool was closed by the time i got back .

I also think full rental of pent house is a good idea.. but would it be easier if say.... we get the number of pent house and the dates , get like 3 or 4 or so people to reserve them in blocks a year ahead of time ? that way they can't say their system can't handle it since it's multiple reservations .

also...... one night with open bar.. even if it's a "paid" party......


other then that . maybe assign space to talks based on popularity..... not to pout down the MUD guys but a their were like 25 people in a full room . that would of fit nicely in a more intimint Q&A room or break out room.., and made room for a more popular talk..

while people were sitting on top of each other in other rooms..
**cough** hardware hacking .. **cough** I'm really hoping they get more space next year . that was a lot of fun , and everyone was very kind..

also think we could get any more hardware vendors in... i was just at siggraph..... seriously wow.. 3-d scanning and robotics . and led games and motion sesing cameras.. would love to see what THIS group would come up wth to use them for..


oh and a new media type art contest .. like we have the lazer wall.... might be fun doing some high tech arts and crafts ..

[afterburn188]

Re: Defcon 17 suggestions

while people were sitting on top of each other in other rooms..
**cough** hardware hacking .. **cough** I'm really hoping they get more space next year . that was a lot of fun , and everyone was very kind..

FYI: The HHV is getting two skyboxes next year, so it should have a lot more room!

I also dislike the idea of moving talks based on popularity to Q&A sessions. If it was good enough to get into defcon, it was good enough to get a track. I was at the 25+ person talk you speak of and I think it was well done... It would be very difficult to arrange talks based on popularity more so than it already seems to be. On the other hand I really enjoyed the Skybox talks which were more personal and went into much more depth. I hope the 303 guys have them again next year!

[Abby_Normal]

Re: Defcon 17 suggestions

How about we all sign legal waivers so we can be in the pool if a person has a scratch on their face?

From what I understand, that wasn't the real reason the pool got shut down. I was told that it had more to do with the naked girl in the pool.

[paint]

Re: Defcon 17 suggestions

FYI: The HHV is getting two skyboxes next year, so it should have a lot more room!

I also dislike the idea of moving talks based on popularity to Q&A sessions. If it was good enough to get into defcon, it was good enough to get a track. I was at the 25+ person talk you speak of and I think it was well done... It would be very difficult to arrange talks based on popularity more so than it already seems to be. On the other hand I really enjoyed the Skybox talks which were more personal and went into much more depth. I hope the 303 guys have them again next year!

that's great they'll have more space next year . i was very impressed on how no one torched themselves with that many irons on.

.. but the other concern was more for how to get the most out of the space..
hand dandy map
if a certain talk only draws a very small group it really does make more sense to use a smaller space so a larger space will be open for a talk that will draw more people..

if you look at there map, where the contest area is could be broken to 7 and 8 ,
8 would of fit the contests still , and if i remember correctly when i was planning my wedding we used rectangular tables because they sat more
( although the round tables are more fun)
. so the questions is always , how many attendees are being projected and where they'll actually end up sitting.

7 could be for mid sized talks. (50 or 60 seats)






any way just thinkin'.

[Abby_Normal]

Re: Defcon 17 suggestions

Perhaps the B&W should be a dry, all ages event. Right now the under 21 crowd don't have many options at night. There are lots of places in the hotel to get booze outside the ball for the rest of us.