Okay, mark sent me the notes from wednesday, and here's the cleaned up stuff.
Linucon! A combination science fiction convention and linux/open source expo. Is it a science fiction convention where it's exceptionally easy to check your email? Is it a technical conference where you can buy pocky while dressed as an elf? The answer to both is "yes, and so much more..." Our Featured Guests include: Eric Raymond - President of the Open Source Initiative, author of The Art of Unix Programming and The Cathedral And the Bazaar. Eric also speaks (Quenya? Sindaran? I can never keep J.R.R. tolkien's elvish languages straight), will be giving a talk on the history of science fiction, and participating in the LARP. Steve Jackson - President of Steve Jackson Games, publisher of Illuminati, Car Wars, Gurps, Munchkin... Also co-founder of io.com, one of Austin's largest Internet Service Providers. Those of you who have missed Lego Pirates or Chaos at other conventions, he's bringing both. Howard Tayler - Cartoonist behind the online comic strip Schlock Mercenary, and manager of Novell's Groupware for Linux product line. He owns over 350 science fiction paperbacks, and once ran a music publishing company (Sanctus Records). Eric Flint - Author of numerous science fiction novels as well as the man behind the Baen Free Library (www.baen.com/library). Yes, a author has convinced his publisher to put the complete text of his novels on the web, without even requiring users to log in to view them, and sales of his books went up significantly. An Anime mystery guest (we have somebody in mind, it's a question of them not knowing their schedule far enough in advance to confirm). --- Our science fiction side has three main tracks this year: an anime track, a literary track, and a gaming track. We'll have cosplay (and a Masquerade), filk (think "acapella karaoke, often original"), a well-stocked dealer's room, panels, author readings and signings, birds of a feather sessions, an art show. The con suite will have caffienated Jello and ice cream made with liquid nitrogen. There will be a live action role playing game (LARP). The video room will be playing around the clock. Both gaming rooms (computer and paper) will also be open 24 hours. Our technical side ranges from deeply technical (linux kernel architecture, security, network administration) through midly technical (web design, using Linux on a laptop, ) through not particularly at all (computer gaming, digital art, electronic publishing, machinima)... Bring your laptop for free wireless internet access. There will be panels, tutorials, birds of a feather sessions, and an installfest. Our featured guests will go head to head in a first person shooter elimination tournament (the "celebrity fragfest"). Saturday night there will be a banquet in honor of our featured guests (tickets for that are extra, but you get dinner out of it). ---------------------------- Other notes: Pending local guests we should invite: > > 1) Maybe from Elizabeth Moon > 2) Maybe from Fred Gallgher > 3) Maybe from Bruce Sterling > 4) Try to contact Richard Garriott > 5) Definite from Steve Jackson Pending non-local guests: We've budgeted for five airplane tickets: Two are allocated to confirmed guests (Eric Raymond and Eric Flint). One is allocated to a confirmed guest (Howard Taylor) who might potentially have his trip sponsored by his employer (Novell). If so, that frees up one extra plane ticket. One is allocated to an unconfirmed guest (Fred Gallagher). I'll bug him at Penguicon, which he'll be attending, and try to get him confirmed enough that we can put his name on future flyers. That leaves one free ticket. Potential names that ticket could be allocated to include Dennis Ritchie, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Pete Abrams, John Kovalic, Robert Asprin, Wil Wheaton, John Maddog Hall... (If you have suggestions, yell out...) But at the moment, it looks like we're not making a decision until either Fred confirms or after Penguicon. So that's one travel slot that's free, and one that could free up if Novell sends Howard, and one travel slot that might free up if Fred doesn't come (but we NEED an Anime headliner). > ---------------------------- > > 6) Hit UT. (Call for papers.) English department for SF panelists. And > stuff. > 7) See Rob Garriott's Page for people to contact > http://home.hiwaay.net/~rgregg/ultima/collectibles/OriginPeople.html We may have Richard Garriot's email address, I'll check... > 8) Call Funimation in Houston and ADV in Dallas > 9) Men In Black (MiBs) - Steve Jackson to help staff gaming stuff > 10) Get people to be in the art show (IE, artists) > 11) Remind Troy to setup the recording of panels > 12) Ask Eric Flint about other local authors for the literary track > 13) Firm up relationship with Mario Kart guy. > 14) Need to contact local LUGs. > 15) Talk to Dell's Linux arm and IBM Linux Technology Center > 16) Apple - Marketing Division in Austin (Possibly) > 17) People to run Filk. > 18) Art Show Person (To actually manage it) > 19) Head of Dealer's Room (Someone on steve jackson's team possibly) > 20) program book > 21) con suite/green room - person in charge > 22) (See about Praxiar about Liquid Nitrogen phone: 512-389-2323) > 23) Contact Water Joe people for caffeinated jello > Head of Literary Track - Eric Flint > Head of Gaming - Steve Jackson currently > Head of Anime Track - Don't have one currently, but probably need to fly > them (Provisionally Fred) These people may turn into Guests of Honor. In that case, Eric Raymond would be our Linux Guest of Honor and if we get Richard Garriot or John Carmack either would make a good computer gaming guest of honor... Rob
