Idiotprogrammer Blog

Category: attending

  • Details of my September Europe trip.

    I’ll be leaving Thursday night from Houston and meeting a Ukrainian student friend of mine  in Stuttgart Germany Friday night. I’ll stay in Germany for 3 days, go to Ireland for 8 days, return to Stuttgart to catch a plane to Tirana (where I’ll spend 8 or 9 days). I plan to visit friends in Vlore, Tirana and Prishtine, and then return home on Saturday Sept 27.

    It’s a convoluted journey–why it’s much cheaper to go from Stuttgart to Tirana via London seems bizarre; I’m looking into the possibility of not returning to Stuttgart, but just traveling by land from Ireland to London (where I could catch the second part  of my Stuttgart-London-Tirana trip). Travelling by bus or train would be much more fun than waiting an extra day in an airport.

    Update: It now appears that I am not allowed to skip the Stuttgart to London leg of the trip. Apparently that violates the original and they would have to cancel the second leg. Oh, well. BTW, after trying different variations so I didn’t have to go back to Stuttgart, the cost soared to $3200 (double the original ticket price). Crazy airplane economics!)

    Description of Trip (Summary)

    Depart Houston Thur Sept 4 8:00 PM IAH British Airways
    (stop London)
    Arrive Stuttgart, Germany Fri Sept 5 10:45 PM

    Depart Stuttgart Tue Sept 9 6:00 AM Swiss Airline
    (stop Zurich)
    Arrive Dublin Tue Sept 9 10:30 AM

    Depart Dublin Wed Sept 17 11:15 AM Swiss Airline
    (stop Zurich)
    Arrive Stuttgart Wed Sept 17 6:05 PM

    Depart Stuttgart Thur Sept 18 7:00 AM British Airways
    (stop London)
    Arrive Tirana, Albania Thur Sept 18  7:45 PM

    Depart Tirana, Albania Sat Sept 27 8:40 PM British Airways
    (stop London)
    Arrive Houston Sun Sept 28 2:40 PM

    Trip Details:

    Stuttgart Details: Sommerrain train stop S2, S3

    Here is my travel insurance policy

  • Update: Going to SXSW March 8-11

    I’ll be heading to SXSW in Austin. I’ll be there between Saturday morning and Tuesday night. I’ll be staying part of Wednesday in Austin, then leaving for San Antonio on March 11. I really don’t plan to do a lot of blogging during that time, although I will encounter a lot of blogworthy topics, so who knows.

    Here is my SXSW calender and my SXSW Twitter page . I was hoping to tell a story at Fray Cafe on Sunday. Unfortunately most of my stories are not within the 5-8 minute time frame, so I’m not sure what I can pull up. Shit, it takes me 5-8 minutes just to say my name. Here is the general SXSWi panel schedule.

    There’s a possibility that I will stop by Barcamp Austin 3 (probably not) and participate in an XO Meetup with Anne Gentle

  • Owlcon Gaming Event (Rice University, Houston Feb 8-10)

    I don’t have the exact details but I’ll be attending Owlcon Gaming Convention in Houston to play Dungeons and Dragons all weekend. I am excited.

    I used to play Dungeons and Dragons for about 4 or 5 years. More precisely I used to be the Dungeon Master (I generally sucked as a player). In high school I organized 100-150 for a three round D&D tournament (which was a fund-raiser for my church–they had a liberal pastor there apparently).

    Truthfully I haven’t touched the game in 20 years although I recently bought the 3.5  books (DM’s Guides, Monster Manual and Player’s Handbook). I don’t have time to dig up the links, but apparently Gary Gygax had a protracted battle over ownership of the trademark, and independents have spun off with their own own version of Dungeons and Dragons (called d20)  that allows modules to be created and published without the need for licensing. A sometimes commenter on my blog Preston Dubose is involved in Midnight Cellar, a Texas-based publisher of game modules and extras for various systems (including D20 D&D).

    It’s funny. The game rules are extremely complicated, but the secret to D&D is that the players don’t need to understand the rules that well. They need merely to involve themselves in the story and their character (and contribute ideas to the other people in their party who do know the rules). 

  • Tellebration Storytelling Event: November 17 (Houston)

    What? Tellebration Storytelling Event

    When? Saturday November 17, 2:00 PM  (Important: Note the Changed Time!)

    Where? Dharma Cafe, 1718 Houston Avenue,Houston, Texas77007 (see website & map).

    Cost: (Includes Light Buffet/Coffee) $10 (HSG Members)/$12 (non-HSG guests)

    I’ll be not only attending the event, but I’ll also be telling a story. For more details about this event and other events put on by the Houston Storytellers’ Guild, check their website.

  • SXSW Interactive Price Increase

    Unfortunately, it looks like prices for SXSW Interactive have increased precipituously. Early bird rates have increased from $250 to $350.  Although this is merely acknowledging the popularity of the Interactive session, it will no longer seem as awesome a deal as it used to be. Still it’s good deal if you haven’t gone before.

    In other words, I’m still waiting to hear if a panel I proposed will be accepted. Yes, the fact that I include the URL after the voting is over indicates how unlikely that scenario will be.   I can’t predict whether I’ll be able to make it this year.

  • Gecko Gathering Saturday September 22, 2007

    Host: Brian Herod
    Location: Willow St. Pump Station, 811 N. San Jacinto, Houston, TX View Map and Photograph
    When: Saturday, September 22, 7:00pm
    Phone: 713-480-6303

    Website

    (I’ll probably be telling a story at this event. It should be lots of fun)

    From Brian’s announcement:
    Beginning in September, in the spirit of those geckos gathering, a unique Houston venue coupled with a special story theme will be announced monthly. Those interested in telling stories to the theme can contact Jay and Brian by e-mail and will be put on the program for the coming month. A new venue and theme will be announced at each Gecko Gathering.

    Geckos will be gathering to hear and tell stories on September 22, 2007, from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at the Willow Street Pump Station, 811 N. San Jacinto in downtown Houston. Stories will be spun around the theme “The Way of Water.” We drink it, we swim in it, we waste it; it comprises over 80% of our physical being. It will not only be served at our Gecko Gathering, it will serve as our story theme for the evening.

    Check the website for more information or to sign up to tell a story.

    Gecko Gathering, a new storytelling/spoken word venue in Houston, Texas, was inspired by New York City’s Moth. In the eyes of the producers, Gecko Gathering is intended to help re-energize the Houston Storytellers Guild in particular, and the storytelling community in general. By choosing a theme and coupling it with a unique venue we hope to atttract tellers who will share stories (original, literary, folk or personal) that share some truth or wisdom about how one “makes their way” in this world, so that listeners and tellers can learn and grow as a result of the story sharing process.

  • Ploneability Higher Education Workshop: November 7

    I’ll probably be attending the Ploneability Higher Education workshop at University of Houston on November 7.  Registration is free.

    I don’t work at a university per se, but my plone/ebook implementation should be relevant to people at the university.  Plus, I used to teach at a university in another life.

  • Presentation (August 25): Optimizing for Reading: The Art and Science of Presenting Content

    This Saturday I’ll be giving a presentation with Gerry Manacsa at Barcamp Houston.

    (See my post-presentation wrapup here)

    Subject Optimize for Reading: the art (and science) of presenting content
    Date: August 25, 2007. Probably 10:00 AM. (There is no set schedule, but we’ll probably be presenting before noon).
    Location: Houston Technology Center
    Cost: Free! (as is attendance at Barcamp Houston).

    • Reading on the Web: Why It’s Awesome, Why It Sucks
    • The Agony (and Ecstasies) of Intensive Reading
    • Packaging Content (and implications for content creators)
    • How hardware is constraining (and liberating) the way we read
    • Ad-supported content (i.e., “How Not to Irritate Readers”)

    Robert Nagle is a Houston-based fiction writer and associate editor of TeleRead, a site about ebook technologies and publishing.

    Gerry Manacsa is a senior designer for Wowio Ebooks, a site that publishes and distributes free ad-supported ebooks. He is also a Houston resident.

    Recording/Notes I’ll try to record this session and make the mp3 available when I can. (I’ll post the URL here and possibly elsewhere when it’s ready). I’ll try to put the presentation up as well.

    Show and Tell : As an added bonus, we’ll have lots of reading gear, ranging from the low-tech to the high tech.

    By the way, feel free to say hi to me if you show up!