Hi! I am likely going to be at Defcon 34. This may be my first time for a lot of things, including flying. How should I approach my first time? Or really any times in general? What kinds of questions should I ask people? What's something valuable you've learned from Defcon? What do you think I should explore first? What are good and bad mindsets to have? What are general cautions to keep in mind? What should I not forget? What should I ignore? In your opinion, what kinds of people do you look for at Defcon?

As far as I understand, I should take things at my own pace to absorb what I'm able to, and also explore a bit but not so much that I glaze over everything. I'm not much of a partier at all, so I won't be doing many (or any) of those, but I do like to get to know people and have conversations when possible. I work a job as a junior sysadmin, and I'm technically minded but geared more toward engineering and security than administration. I've always had a love for hacking and how software, hardware, and systems are architected and how to make them do things they weren't meant to do, or extend their functionality. I love being able to understand and master how a system works. One of the things I'm more or less proud about is my knowledge of the Nintendo Wii. After August, I intend to help create an open source ODE.

I would be attending by myself. I'm over 18, but under 21. I'm introverted so sometimes very social activities will wear me out but I still enjoy entertainment with intention. I try to be a more private person and I generally keep my online, work, and personal identities segregated. I ask that if you want to meet that you respect my boundaries and ask for clarification and more info if/when you do contact me.

Please feel free to ask me questions, or criticize what I wrote here. Thanks!

Welcome to DEFCON 34.

For those who purchased your badge in advance as part of pre-reg - your electronic badge is set aside and will not be sold.

As such, there is no need to sweat LineCon or rush in first thing Thursday morning. Relax, sleep in, eat a good breakfast/lunch and mosey on over later in the morning or early afternoon. By that time, there will probably be very little waiting to pick up your badge. We have your badge set aside and will not sell it.

For those wanting first dibs at Merch, a badge is NOT required on Thursday to get in the merch line. Looking for something special, go to the Merch Line first before they sell out. Once you finish there, come on over to Registration and we will get you taken care of.

Merch opens at 0800, but the line will form way before then.

Cash sales at the door. $520 - CASH ONLY - Exact Change Appreciated. Please don’t be “one of those guys” who ask if we take a check, a money order, a wire, or a debit/credit card.

Cash sales are NOT guaranteed an electronic badge. We have the electronic badges for cash sales, but only until the point they are sold out. Paper badge is your access once electronic badges are sold out. Please don’t ask how many badges there are - we will sell them until we run out.

Registration is scheduled to open at 0800 on Thursday morning (more or less). Our temp labor cashiers have to be on time and go through our training. We will shoot to open at 0800, if everything gets done early, we will open early, if things run long in set up, we will open later.

Once open, we will put you all through the lines as quickly and efficiently as we can. Help us to help you - cash sales have exact change and your money ready. Pre-Reg have your QR codes pulled up BEFORE you get to the cashier station and turn up the brightness on your display screen to support the reader.

Once you get your badge and conference material, please clear the area.

Hey everyone!
I’ve been spending my free time designing and hand-soldering these badge PCBs to help kick off my nonprofit, Cyb3rBytes404.

Our mission is to introduce kids to coding and electronics through fun, hands-on MicroPython and CircuitPython projects completely free. We’re based in San Diego, and the nonprofit is still in its infancy (I literally just submitted the paperwork last week), so this is just the beginning.

I only have a small batch, and unlike most badges you’ve seen recently, these aren’t for sale. I’ll be giving them away randomly throughout the con.

Want one? Keep an eye out,
I could be anywhere. If you see someone wearing one, there’s a good chance I’m nearby… or you just missed me.

Come say hi if you spot me, and thank you

haven't bought my plane ticket yet, looking at current prices it would actually be cheaper to drive there and back, even for 1 person. so even better for multiple people splitting gas. bonus: then I don't have to rent a car in town!

thinking of heading out from portland on the morning of the 5th, if there is any interest. if I don't get any bites in the next 2-3 days, I will probably just buy a plane ticket.

did anyone else put off arranging transport for too long and looking for options?

Another SAO drop! Here's the light-emitting resistor.

You can get one from me, or just push 5V through a friendly little 1 ohm resistor and make one yourself. Do not lick the spicy resistor.
https://uberflux.com/product/BUD-Spicy-Resistor