Defcon Readme

[A]

6. Yes I did use the jakuzzi. I enjoyed it. Don't have one at home. Didn't have to pay extra for it.

Don't be so sure about that. Have you looked at the pictures of what goes on in said jacuzzi? It might be fun at the time, but I don't think those red spots are gonna go away by themselves. ;)

[erehwon]

Hydration, hydration, hydration...

Can't say that enough in the desert!

There are some damn nice hydration backpacks on the market, I bought one four years ago and it was one of my best non-tech purchases for attending Defcon and other events in outdoors or in the desert. Pack along 100oz of water, Gatorade, Madori Sours, whatever...

Dress for the desert, light colors, white, tan, wear your black at night. Run down to the Indian part of town and pick up some of those manjammies the cabbies wear, you might look a little silly, but you're not wearing them to be stylish, you are wearing them to be comfortable.

Of course Highwiz won't be getting any style points from Mr. Blackwell's worst dressed list, but if you think you can get away with wearing a tin foil swimsuit at Defcon, more power to you! :D

[DJ Jackalope]

I just had a really good time reading the whole "readme".

Call me masochistic if you will, but its way too fun to read stuff like "dont bring black t-shirts" where that's all we sell at DC (I had some white ones for sale, phew!) and the ear plug thing was funny too, sorry guy, i was part of the TEN speaker mayhem at Pool 3 thanks to two systems joining forces. <thanks guys!>

If DC is still going on if i ever have kids, that's the first trip they will take solo.

miss lope.

[dYn4mic]

The readme is good in that is incorporates "What goes through the minds of newbies." Now we know what we have to BOLDFACE in the next con instructions!

Thought he might not understand otherwise... but true.. it was prob. not necessary.

[alklloyd]

I had no idea the MOD/LOD war was still on. Can we still get t-shirts?

I asked ericb that at SC95 and he was out then. Damn shame, I wanted one too.

Al

[ndex]

Actually my "dialup over cellular" gets me 230k speeds max, 100k at the least.

Oh, are we going to turn this into a vicious neener fest?

[astcell]

Actually my "dialup over cellular" gets me 230k speeds max, 100k at the least.

[spahkle]

If you can't get away from email, about the best approach is dial-up over cellular. Yeah, it's slow, but you can at least stay in touch with the office and are essentially isolated from the AP's infrastructure. Just something to consider.

Couldn't agree more (use sprintpcs myself). Edited original post to reflect.

[astcell]

The readme is good in that is incorporates "What goes through the minds of newbies." Now we know what we have to BOLDFACE in the next con instructions!

[dYn4mic]

I think your readme is stupid..... and pointless for MANY reasons... many have already provided.. but the most basic one stands out for me.... This is your first DEFCON you are in no position to provide a readme....
I stopped reading after the first few sentances because it shows that you are not like most of the people that go to the con. I wasn't really worried about sleeping, or earplugs... are you kidding?
Maybe do yourself a favor and stay in your plastic bubble next year so that all the heat, noise, partaying, airport security, alexis park rooms and vegas heat won't bother you.

Or.. just be quiet and say thanks... Learn to listen.

[skroo]

Not interested in the East Coast vs West Coast bullshit.

I had no idea the MOD/LOD war was still on. Can we still get t-shirts?

[macuber]

Being a fellow FAQ/Readme Author I thought I would share some honest insight on your "readme".

1. I did socialize, I just didn't feel like partying. Let's just say the thrill of waking up lying in my own vomit and/or in a house/city I didn't recognize wore off long long ago.
Judging from the posts about those who suffered from alchohol poisoning, I'm thinking that may have been a good idea.

2. Where did I say I didn't buy anyone a beer? I just didn't buy YOU a beer, an omission I will rectify next year :-)

3. Yer right novels would be better than tech. Actually one of the speakers suggested "Between Silk and Cyanide" about a WWII cryptographer that sounds interesting.

4. As far as networking goes, I got my share done. Perhaps next year, now that I know the lay of the land I will explore more of that.

5. I'm bringing my laptop. I like it. Obviously alot of other folks who came felt the same way. No I don't care for irc.

6. Yes I did use the jakuzzi. I enjoyed it. Don't have one at home. Didn't have to pay extra for it.

7. Yes I should have taken a direct flight *kicking* myself

8. Liked the linen pants idea...gonna try that next year

9. Go to Hope....couldnt get off from work then, besides don't particularly like Hope. Not interested in the East Coast vs West Coast bullshit.

Like I said folks this thing wasn't aimed at Defcon veterans.
Don't be so damn hypersensitive about the partying thing. It's not a knock against anyone. Party if ya want, smoke if you got em.

[octalpus]

WTF are you babbeling about?

If your first trip away from home is DC, your going to lead a REALLY fucked up adulthood.

My first unsupervised trip from home was DC. :D

[renderman]

<Rant>
Forget trying to strike a balance between Learning and partying, do both to thier full potential!

Case in point, DC12: Partied, drank, competed in the WD competitions and generally got into the usual Defcon Mayhem and did'nt see a single presentation.

You might ask How I am learning then?

6 years of Defcon teaches you alot of things, such as to goto one of Vegas's many pawn shops and grab a VCR for cheap and alot of tapes. Record the presentations you are interested in for later perusal at your leisure and sobriety.

You may not be able to ask questions, however most of the presenters are an email away after the con.

Quality might be less than stellar, but the information is there and can be reviewed easily.

So those who attend nothing but talks and miss out on a truely vegas expereince, it's your choice, but You don't know what your missing
</Rant>

[AlxRogan]

If you can't get away from email, about the best approach is dial-up over cellular. Yeah, it's slow, but you can at least stay in touch with the office and are essentially isolated from the AP's infrastructure. Just something to consider.

2nd for this one. I had to pull some files down in prep of the WarDrive competition/registration setup. At the time, the AP's wireless was still unstable, so the cellular/pcs dialup was a lifesaver. The latency sucks ~400 ms, but downloads were about ISDN speed, plus not having to worry about being DOSed back to the Bronze Age. ;)