[penguicon-general] A couple of thoughts about programming

[Jer Lance]

On 4/29/07, Greg <greg_b at rocketmail.com> wrote:
> --- Tracy Worcester <tracy.worcester at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Just a few ideas off the top of my head.
> >
> > *   "Please Tell Me I'm Not Too Old to Get a Better Job" panel:  get
> > four of five people who've gone back for degrees, have them talk
> about
> > the life hacks they had to do to make it happen.
> > *  "Ask a Nurse" panel (I'd need internet access)
> > *  "I'm Underemployed/Unemployed/Self-Employed!  How Do I Get
> > Insurance?"
> >
> > I suspect there will be panels eventually on specific health topics,
> > such as type II diabetes, STDs, how to eat health(ier) at con and
> > home.  I just don't know if they'll happen this year, since I've
> > talked to Gerald about being Volunteer Wrangler.
>
> As the unofficial Wet Blanket, I thought Penguicon was getting off
> track when they had the medical and food tracks, but really, these
> would be soooo off the radar it isn't funny.  There has to be a point
> where you have to say, "This falls outside the spirit of Penguicon".
>

Which begs the obvious question:  What is the spirit of Penguicon?

Allow me to elaborate:

I'm the new guy, so what I *THOUGHT* Penguicon was happened to be
tremendously wrong, and that became obvious upon walking in the door.
Penguicon, as 4.0 and 5.0 have illustrated beautifully, is not merely
a showcase of Linux and SciFi/Fantasy concerns.  It might very well
have started that way, no question, but it certainly isn't that today.
 From my somewhat outsider's perspective, Penguicon celebrates the
stuff that "geeks up" the geeks, to steal a phrase from a friend.

I mean, lets be honest, if we want to stick to the "spirit" of
Penguicon, our programming would virtually disappear.  Webcomics?
Kind of a stretch to put them in SciFi/Fantasy in most cases?
Brazilian Beef?  Geeks with Guns?  LN2 Ice Cream?  Live Journal stuff?
 Chocolate and/or Fudge? Anything by Aegis?  Chupaquesos?  Martial
Arts Demos?

I think it's safe to say that a big part of what makes Penguicon more
fun is that it is a huge collection of geeks and fen bringing the
things that excite THEM to the con, and showing it off to others.
When we are up to, roughly, ten tracks this year because we have such
widespread interests and such talented attendees that they want to put
these talents on display, I get excited.  To then say that somehow,
medical talks aren't "Penguicon" enough but a trip to the firing range
is... well, that seems disingenuous.  There are entire tracks within
the programming that are just not my cup of tea, but I don't think
they're non-Penguicon... I think they're an indicator of how our
interests vary, and I think it creates a better con experience.

Of course, I also just like to pontificate, so.. I suppose you have to
take that into account too. :)

-- 
-jer
jer.lance at gmail.com
http://users.livejournal.com/jer_