Suellen remembers
Notacon 5
April 4-6, 2008

- Page 2 -

To see Notacon page 1 (click here).  


Other thoughts on Notacon ... sometimes I think I think too much.


Jason Scott, one of the first speakers on Friday, explained how it seems to be necesssary for younger people to occupy their minds with more than what is going on in front of them at the time.   I noticed that most of those attending had their laptops out and were doing something on it throughout the presentation.   Is this the wave of the future?   Were they taking notes?   Were they playing games?   I don't know.   How did the speaker feel about this?   Apparently he didn't mind.   As one of an older generation, I still feel the need to at least act like I'm paying attention to the speaker.   Would I take my laptop into a church service and take notes?   No way.   Would I take notes with paper and pencil ... maybe.   Is there a difference?   Probably not.   On a computer, I could be playing games instead of listening.   With paper and pencil, I could be doodling or preparing a menu for that night's dinner.   I think the biggest distraction is that the laptop is usually so much larger than a notebook would be.   But how about a PDA?


Are cell phones a distraction?   Well, that's a definite "maybe."   I don't think anyone turned theirs off ... including me, but mine hardly ever rings.   Again referring to Jason Scott, it appears that even the speakers weren't immune from ringing phones.   In the situation that I saw, when his phone rang, it was part of a continuing joke among his friends ... what will he do with his phone if it rings during a presentation?   In that particular case, he threw it across the stage.   I saw several people leave presentations to take phone calls.   However, I don't think anyone actually sat through a presentation and talked on their phone at the same time.


Notacon is sometimes referred to as a "hacker conference."   I mention this because the news media doesn't differeniate between those who break into other computers to do damage and those who can do it but don't because they're just not "those kind of people."   In the Notacon program booklet, there were "Rules and Regulations."   Among them ...

"5.   Do not hack, crack, phreak, socially engineer or otherwise infiltrate your way into any hotel or conference network device, phone system, service, or access point."

"6.   Do not hack, crack, socially engineer or infiltrate anyone's computer or device on the network unless that person has explicitly stated that the machine is 'fair game.'" Then goes on to state it is in everyone's best interest to help those who don't have the expertise to protect their equipment from invasion.

One guy almost got himself into trouble with the "Management" because he had gotten into another's laptop and then told that other person what he had done.   There was no damage ... just an e-mail sent, I think, ... but, in my opinion, that was not the point.   He just wasn't supposed to come in contact with any information on another's computer without the other's permission.



During a Saturday presentation by Bruce Potter on computer security, two guys brought in a shmooball canon made from PVC pipe attached to a leaf blower or something similar.   It wasn't until I took a long look at my pictures when we got home that I realized what was on the screen when the canon was being shot.

BTW, Bruce is one of the founders of Shmoocon.   For several years, Nerf-type balls have been provided to the attendees to throw at speakers during presentations.   These balls have become collector's items.   A box-full was brought along to Notacon to "entertain" the audiences.   During this presentation, there was a lot of entertainment.


At the Closing Ceremonies, it was mentioned that someone had lost their wallet.   The wallet was turned in at the Registration Desk and returned to its owner before the owner even knew he had lost it.   Several cameras were left behind and returned to their owners without incident.   This is the way a group of people should act toward one another.

Joe and I are square dancers.   Purses and other belongings are often left on chairs while their owners are off dancing.   It's good to be able to do this without worrying about what might happen while we're gone.   I once lost a shawl, but there was another in its place.   I think a wife asked her husband to pick up hers, and he didn't know the difference.   It could have been weeks later before she realized the error.

© 2008   Suellen      May 21, 2008       e-mail me