First of all, thank you to all the people who came by to solder things with us. I had a blast teaching and will absolutely be back to do it again next year. The planning phase for DC34 has already begun. We learned a lot of lessons this year and will be coming back well-prepared for the chaos.
The gear from iFixit was a surprise to me. Even more surprising was the fact that there was no one (except me) to set it up or make use of it. I ended up running a soldering workshop for the duration of the con with zero preparation. It was incredible. I could feel the spirit of DefCon flowing through me. This is what it’s all about. Take the dive, get to hacking, and help others do the same along the way.
Looking forward, I plan to do soldering workshops at PhreakNIC and BSides Nashville. We’re in the early stages of planning a badge/SAO for those conferences, but the plan is to use a single circuit design for our next few projects to keep things simple and make sure we get some reps in building and running the circuit before next DefCon. If all goes well, you’ll like what we have in store.
I went to two family dinners while at DefCon with some of my found family. This isn’t something we have done historically; however, I’d recommend it to everyone. Pick your people carefully and take them out to dinner. At a conference like DefCon where most people are collecting receipts to put in expense reports and very meticulously keeping track of where they’re spending money and how much they are spending based on per-diem allocations, training budgets… You get the picture. It’s nice to commit to a single meal where you’re all paying with personal cards/cash or one of you is kind enough to pick up the ticket. The decrease in stress, however marginal, is well worth the investment and the celebration of those closest to you is priceless. If you do nothing else at your next conference, take some friends out to dinner with the mindset that this meal is for your family, and remember, skids eat free.
We did one at an Italian restaurant. Food was served family style, and we capped the meal with a round of Fernet Branca (which most of us enjoyed as intended). It was an absolutely delightful experience and one I’m not likely to forget any time soon. The second was a much more “normal” American restaurant experience; however, we did make a point to order a couple appetizers to share. The details of what was discussed or who all attended are largely unimportant. The important bit is that we took a moment to break away from the chaos of the conference and enjoy a meal. Not as a group of drunken hackers feeding off of the chaos of the week, but as a group of friends taking time to check in while we’re all in the same city.
I’m not going to divulge any details here to protect the identity of my skids (said with the utmost love and respect for anyone on the beginner grind). That being said, I have to mention that I am very proud of the achievements of all the n00bs we brought along this year. Each of them achieved a very uniquely successful DefCon walking away with more swag than any of the vets and more opportunities than any of us could have hoped for. They absolutely killed it, and I’m incredibly excited to see where they go from here.