| Current mood: |  happy |
GEEKSTOCK
I haven't been blogging much for quite a while, for various reasons: to get more "productive" stuff done; because there are plenty of other better blogs out there to read; because I haven't really been too crazy about writing. But this weekend I had... an experience.
Geekstock.
That's probably the best way I can think to describe it.
This weekend I was part of what is sure to be the first Make Magazine Maker Faire of many to come. I wanted to be part of it from the beginning, but then I even got an unsolicited invitation from them to be part of it. I knew going into this that it was going to be just right -- my kind of crowd, both audience as well as other participants -- but what surprised me was just how large, and how successful, it turned out to be.
I would have been pretty pleased to see a conference hall full of DIY types showing off their geekery. And I got it: plus another hall, and another, and a garage, and three more halls, and a few stages, outdoor booths, and more. I met people from many cities, from both coasts, a few from other countries. Major camera crews: news channels, those Mythbusters guys, local, national, internet, all over. I showed off the Thimbletron for the weekend, and got interviewed and filmed by The Tonight Show (Leno) and CNN, at least. It was like a science fair without competition; a safehaven for geeks, of all stripes, to just be geeks.
A steam-powered vehicle, electric mini-cars, RFID implants, soap bubble fu, 3D printing, rocketry, blinky jewelry, insect robots, Segway polo, a working replica of a PDP-11 computer... and this was just in the hall I was in.
It didn't hurt that one of my promo photos of The ECC was used in an article plugging the Faire and was printed in the SF Chronicle, not to mention appearing at the top of their web page one day. But ECC hardly needed the boost -- it was non-stop both Saturday and Sunday, a constant parade of curious minds, all wanting to know just how the hell you make music with a fistful of sewing thimbles. And I showed 'em -- again and again and again and again, giving demonstrations almost constantly from open to close. I finally had to tear myself away from the booth on Sunday to give myself 30 minutes of hit-and-run visits to other booths, every one of which were doing simply amazing things that I would have gladly lost an hour to. Unabashed, nerdy, brainy, lovely, smartass fun.
In a word... GEEKSTOCK.
There are 4,500+ photos on Flickr.com from the Maker Faire... so far. I took a few and might put those online (elsewhere) at some point. But for now... I could use a little lie-down. I'm exhausted, exhilarated, spent... and happy.
- tm
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trademark_g) wrote,
