This year was the first time I went to DEF CON. For those who don't know, DEF CON is one of the world's largest hacker conventions. It's different things to different people, but basically, if you're a geek, any sort of geek, you will likely find your people there. It's become mainly focused on cybersecurity, but there's also a lot of hardware and electronics stuff there too.

Overall, it was a very useful experience, and I learned a lot. I only went to one talk, which was somewhat interesting, but highlighted the problem of how niche some security work is. Just because *someone* did it, does not mean it is now unsafe to use forever. (It's fine to get a robot vaccuum, the world will not end) The main things I did this year were get lost in the maze of hotels and casinos, take a passing glance at most villages, and find smaller groups of people to talk with. It was extemely busy this year, so most of the villages were full to bursting. I wasn't quite ready to be crammed into a small room to do something I had no clue how to do, so it usually was "Hi, bye, thanks for the stickers." The contest area was really cool, it had a bunch of interesting things to do, and it seemed like the least crowded in-use place. There was a MUD (Multi-user dungeon) ran by EvilMog on a bunch of old-school computers, which was interesting to play. I didn't have much time before to read up on how/what a MUD is, so I was a bit lost, but there was a chat function where someone tried to explain it, but after a bit I took a break. I had intended to come back and try a bit later, but then I got sidetracked, and that plan dissapeared.

The part I found most inviting for me was the smaller groups that formed. The was an unoffical contest called Hard Hat Brigade, where people bought hard hats and customized it. For me, that meant adding an LCD display, lights, and stickers. For others, that meant sticking a mini-sun on their head with a ton more LED's, or making a functioning 3D-printed clock part on their hat. It started as a way to make people ask questions and interact more, and it succeeded in it's goal. The people running it were very friendly, and I enjoyed talking with several of the people. The other group I eventually discovered was the Lonely Hackers Club (LHC). It's a pretty big group for people who are coming for the first time or by theirself. They had a room in Harrahs, which was near-impossible to find, but then they had a sticker table to trade really cool stickers, and I got stuck there for several hours. (I can't say no to shiny things) Hanging out there was the best part of the whole trip. Everyone was friendly, willing to talk, and laid-back. Something that deterred me a bit from the villages was the need to know something about the village's topic, but there was no such thing at the LHC. A lot of people shared extemely helpful advice for my future and important things to consider.

Thoughts on the less-enjoyable part of DEF CON. This isn't meant to be complaints. DEF CON is created by the community. To me, it means that if something isn't good enough, it's up to us to make it better. I already have an idea for one thing, but it will require a lot of luck and nice things to happen to make it real next year.

First off: newbies. It's just so much. Yes, there's the advice to not go to the recorded talks. Okay, now what? If you have a specialty, there's a village for you. But a lot of villages don't have much in the way of "I know nothing, what's this all about?" and helping those people. This is the one thing I don't have a definite solution for, and I'm sure people will say "That's not what villages are for" but I'm bad at listening to those people. If the villages had a small thing for people to experience what the village is about, without prior knowledge, I think that would really help. The lockpicking village, for one, had hands-on tables where people could learn to pick locks. I'm aware that's an easy one to teach to beginners, but villages like the Embedded Systems village might benefit from even just someone to answer stupid questions from new people. It sounded interesting, but I walk in and it's 30+ people on computers, and I have no clue what's happening. Something like "We're [village name], we do [things] and here's some applications of it, and how you might see it in the real world" would be very helpful.

Another thing. There isn't a lot for new people to do after 6:00pm. There was the Blue Team Pool Party one night, which I didn't go to, but it seemed to be mostly drinking and people who had a reason to be there. The rest of the parties were ones that you had to be in the know about, or have a good friend to take you. The LHC had a room open until Saturday, but there isn't a single, cohesive event for everyone to get together. An idea I have, and it may be too unrealistic, is to have a "noob party" on Friday or Saturday. It'd be a place for whoever to meet up and talk, and it'd be open to anyone. It would be open to all ages, and people who know what they're doing are welcome as well, but for the most part it'd be aimed at the people who are new and aren't sure what to do. The goal would be for them to meet new friends, and have a group they can come to without any expectations.

On a personal note, I know it's Vegas. I've seen the naked people in the streets posing for photos. I've been through the smoke-filled casinos. I know it's a desert and there's nothing interesting. But is it impossible to have evening events that aren't "meet up and go drink" or "go to party and drink"? I do not drink. I have no intention of ever drinking, at all. And so far, my options seem pretty limited of what there is to do aside from sleep at night. I've seen several comments from people who don't drink for various reasons, saying that they don't go to parties much anymore. Part of my idea for the "noob party" is to make it open to those people, and for teens who don't fit in at the kid's party or the adult parties. I think it's become a part of the culture, and it won't change anytime soon, but it wold be nice to have a space that doesn't fit in with that culture.

A general observation, neither good nor bad. The ratio of men to women at DEF CON seemed to be roughly 50:1 most of the time. The ratio in the tech industry is around 3:1, and it's strange that there are so many less women, especially at a place that seemed inclusive and welcoming (of course, I'm in the vast majority, so it doesn't count for much). I'd be interested to know why women choose not to go, or if they lack the opportunity.

Nerdwear: This is my one real complaint, becuase most of you need to up your game. A lot. WHen I was planning for DEF CON, I asked how much nerdwear is acceptable. (Nerdwear= lights, tech, cool stuff, anything that isn't normally seen in daily life) The answer I recieved was that there is no limit. So, like an idiot, I pack my button jacket. A 5+ lb thick black denim jacket, nearly completely covered in 3 inch metal buttons. It's weird. I love it. I also made a hardhat, and brought that along. First day, I wear the hard hat, everyone looks at me like I'm crazy and too weird for them. There were a few fellow hardhat folks, and a few people with a cool backpack or badges. But for the most part, it was t-shirts and shorts. The most boring, blend-in-with-the-crowd stuff. Since I run on spite, and everyone seemed to think I was weird for wearing a hardhat, I wore the button jacket the rest of the time. The stares stopped, and sveral awesome people asked questions about the jacket and/or hardhat, or complimented me. There were a few more people I saw with cool stuff, but for the most part, there was little in the way of nerdwear. While a lot of people there are computer folks, and not as much hardware-interested, it'd be nice to see more people make stuff, or show off what they've made. In one of my many nebulous ideas, I might have a coin, sticker or cool thing for people with cool stuff.

Last thing, then I'm done. Thank you all for making DEF CON an amazing place. I felt welcomed, even though I probably came off as a bit strange. I'm used to being the only one who sees something cool and wants to figure out how it works and use it differently, and I was right at home with the people there. I'd accepted I was always going to be that one weird guy, but it made a difference to find that there were others like me, and that weirdness was welcome. People warn of the DEF CON blues, but they don't tell you that it is isignificant compared to the feeling of finding where you belong. Thank you all for creating a fantastic community.

I swear I'm not evil, but the whole time I was writing this I took delight in not adding closing tags to any of these paragraphs. Of course, there's worse hidden in this code, but you don't need to know that.