Keycon West Organizational Thread

[mkawa]

VENUE

The corporate offices of 724support.com, longtime geekhack supporter, and chief hohogged by samwisekoi -- who we all owe a HUGE THANKS to for letting us use his offices for this gathering!

The address of  the KeyCon West 2014 meeting plate at 724support corporate is:
724support.com
Stand Sure Systems
1077B Independence Ave
Mountain View, CA 94043
650-967-9070


Mountain View is between San Jose and San Francisco, on what is commonly known as the South Bay Area, or 'The Peninsula'. Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, Redwood City, San Jose, Saratoga and so on are all close by (except in traffic -- yeeurgh).

AIR TRAVEL:

There are three airports you can fly into: San Jose International (closest to the venue), San Francisco International (the only one of the three airports with a BART/medium rail station), and Oakland Airport (there is a shuttle service to the closest BART station). Oakland is slightly further than the rest of the airports from the venue, but traffic is the main determinant in travel time (although note that San Jose and San Francisco are an hour away in good traffic).

GROUND TRANSPORTATION:

There will be an undetermined number of cars, and it's difficult to get a count on cars before the day of, since we encourage people to carpool whenever possible, etc. so _most_ activities involved in the con -- eating, gawking at keyboards, chatting, more eating, etc. -- will be in walking distance from the venue.

However, IF you need a ride from or to the airport, please post in this thread, so that we can arrange for you to get from and to home. I will have my car, but it only seats one. 724support.com VAN IS AVAILABLE FOR MASS TRANSIT. NOTE: public transportation in the south bay is spotty. BART only covers the east bay, and san francisco. The furthest south it goes is millbrae, which is still quite a ways from the venue.

Here is a map of the BART routes: https://www.bart.gov/stations

To get further south on public transportation, you need to take Caltrain: http://www.caltrain.com/stations/systemmap.html

Note that while BART is considered medium rail and runs fairly often, Caltrain is a commuter heavy rail system, and has much more limited weekend service: http://www.caltrain.com/schedules/weekendtimetable.html

Another great way to make short trips in the Bay Area is Uber. If you're not familiar with Uber, it is a crowdsourced taxi service based on a smartphone app. You simply request a ride, and the nearest system car is routed to you. Be prepared to be on the ball with the driver on getting where you want to go. Uber is less expensive than a taxi service because its drivers are laypeople who contract as drivers for short periods of time that are wholly determined by their desire to drive people around.

ROLL CALL!

Who is attending Keycon West?

LIST:

CptBadAss
dorkvader
HOFFMAN, MAN OF MYSTERY
Input Nirvana
samwisekoi (well, it's his office)
vibex
haata
jdcarpe
HASHBAZ
acantha
kurplop + ic07
jacobolus (+2)
hcry4
Smasher816 (+2)
spopepro
nuclearsandwich +1
WASDkeyboards (sunday, afraid of loud noises and bright lights)
ebacho
lingj
sonicrevolution w/ qwerky
evilHMB +3
V1ral + (2-5)
yicaoyimu
massdrop (2)
clacktalk
CM Storm Nurumu
damieng?
keyboard.io?
YOU?

-------------------------

TENTATIVE ITINERARY:


FRIDAY JULY 11: at most a nighttime happy hour thing for people to go from the airport to to meet fellow nerds before the festivities start and to relax somewhere after potentially long flights. and by happy hour i don't necessarily mean some thingamajig at a bar, but really anywhere we can hang out for a while that is accessible to people getting in

DINNER STARTING 6-7PM AT EITHER A LITTLE STAR PIZZA OR ZACHARY'S PIZZA LOCATION IN BERKELEY/OAKLAND/ALBANY

SATURDAY JULY 12: the meetup will start in the morning, potentially as early as 8-9am, and we'll probably close up and leave the venue by 5pm. after that, we'll try to give people some time to either wander around or clean up at their hotels/other places they're staying, and then do a large dinner at someplace than can accommodate gigantic parties of nerds. lunch on saturday will probably be delivered or eaten at a nearby strip mall, but expect fast food.

KEYCON SATURDAY: 9A-5P AT VENUE. LUNCH WILL BE COSTCO PIZZA AND/OR COSTCO FOOD COURT SPECIAL ORDER, DELIVERED TO VENUE.

PRESENTATION TIMES: START @ 1pm with PROJECT RAVELLO

LIVE STREAM: MULTIPLE CAMERAS, INCLUDING CPTBA HEADKENDAMACAM, PRESENTATIONS + SHOW FLOOR

DINNER: MOUNTAIN VIEW, TBD

expect presentations to start at about 11:30am and last until the early afternoon. there is a separate conference room in which the presentations will be given (some remotely even!), so you can wander and chat even during the presentations


SUNDAY JULY 13: Same deal as Saturday, except the dinner will probably be much smaller, and the afternoon more hectic as we try to get people who are flying out to their respective airports.

KEYCON SUNDAY: 9A-5P AT VENUE. LUNCH WILL BE A WALKING TREK OUT TO LOCAL FOOD COURT. POSSIBLE PRESENTATION SPILLOVER

DINNER: SMALL, TBD.

------------

POSSIBLE OUTINGS:

computer history museum

------------

PRESENTATIONS:

1-1:30PM techkeys.us PROJECT RAVELLO ANNOUNCEMENT
1:30pm-2pm haata ON THE VARIETY OF ELECTROMECHANICAL SWITCHING MECHANISMS
2-2:30pm dorkvader SENOR HALL AND HIS A/EFFECT
2:30pm-3pm cptbadass METALS: PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY AND PROCESSING aka iiiII HAVE hooOOKS FOR HANDS OH MY GOD I'M A MONSTER
3pm-3:30pm hoffman POLYMERS: CHEMISTRY AND PROCESSING
3:30pm-3:35pm mkawa THE SMALLFRY KEYBOARD PROTOTYPE
3:45-4:15pm haata MASSDROP CO-PRESENTATION

[Vibex]

Me!

[CPTBadAss]

Yes I'm still going, there's a few others who may not chime in from my t-shirt buy who have indicated they're going. I can post their names later but Haata is definitely in and mkawa should be there yes?

[codyeatworld]

i will be there

[CPTBadAss]

So if this is the organization thread, I have questions.

- When is start and end time?
- Address?
- Are we doing presentations?
- Should I come up with a schedule?
- Will there be group meals planned like last time?
- Who is down for ice cream time?
- Who wants to see CPTBadCam?

[hashbaz]

Remind me when/where this is?

[mkawa]

724support.com
Stand Sure Systems
1077 Independence Ave. Suite B
Mt. View, CA 94043 USA

start time is tentatively 9am.

[jdcarpe]

I need to sell some stuff so I can buy my plane tickets, but the plan is to be there.

[hashbaz]

724support.com
Stand Sure Systems
1077 Independence Ave. Suite B
Mt. View, CA 94043 USA

start time is tentatively 9am.

Date?

[CPTBadAss]

7/12/14-7/13/14

[mkawa]

it will basically be all day 7/12 and 7/13. we might try to arrange for a happy hour type thing for introductions and hanging out on friday night. saturday night and sunday we will have ultra-cool big dinners somewhere. lunch will be delivered on both days.

[acantha]

i will be in attendance at least some portion, depending on what activities are happening on which days.

[mkawa]

for those who are flying in, please get cptbadass and i your itineraries once they are set. for some, we should be able to coordinate rides from SJO. if you're flying in at an odd time, i highly suggest uber

[CPTBadAss]

I'm flying in late Friday night and leaving early Monday morning. I couldn't get flights for a better price at different times and I'm out of vacation. Think my arrival time is like 2300 or something on Friday and my outbound flight is like 0800.

[mkawa]

this is also a good time to start collecting food restrictions. things we need to know: food allergies, vegetarianism, veganism, lactose intolerance, pescetarianism, pork exclusions, red meat exclusions, whether you would like to imbibe

[HaaTa]

Massdrop will likely be attending (probably 1-2).
keyboard.io might have someone there.

[jacobolus]

I’ll be there.

[dorkvader]

this is also a good time to start collecting food restrictions. things we need to know: food allergies, vegetarianism, veganism, lactose intolerance, pescetarianism, pork exclusions, red meat exclusions, whether you would like to imbibe

for me (and likely at least one other):
Tea, coffee, alcohol are out.

Pretty easy.

I'm flying in late Friday night and leaving early Monday morning. I couldn't get flights for a better price at different times and I'm out of vacation. Think my arrival time is like 2300 or something on Friday and my outbound flight is like 0800.

they gave me like 3-4 weeks vacation I think. I didn't use any of the actual "annual leave" and they're paying me for the 56 hours I had of it when I left.

It's crazy, 'cause 25 year guys get even more.

[HoffmanMyster]

Yayyy, Keycon!  I still haven't bought my ticket      but I will do that shortly.  And it's good to know about SJO being better for possibly getting a pickup ride.  I'll try to work it out so I'm going there.  And with this going all day Sunday I'm glad I didn't buy my ticket yet because now I can ask off Monday and hopefully stay for the whole event.   

[mkawa]

in addition to itineraries, can people without a place to stay let everyone know? sharing hotel rooms would be an extremely good idea.

it's looking like i'm even going to be staying at a friend's house, so i'm afraid i won't have a place for people to crash

also, is anyone up for board games at the actual con?

[hcry4]

I will be there.

[Smasher816]

I'll be there. I'm travelling with my dad and have some family out there so housing shouldn't be an issue.

I would be up for some boardgames. Slight lactose intolerance but it shouldn't be a big deal as long as there is no cheesecake

[CPTBadAss]

in addition to itineraries, can people without a place to stay let everyone know? sharing hotel rooms would be an extremely good idea.

it's looking like i'm even going to be staying at a friend's house, so i'm afraid i won't have a place for people to crash

also, is anyone up for board games at the actual con?

I'm going to be staying with a friend. And I can send settlers of catan out. I'd be interested in playing board games.

[jdcarpe]

also, is anyone up for board games at the actual con?

Axis and Allies, or D&D?



I PURCHASED MY AIRLINE TICKETS!

[mkawa]

risk variants are a favorite of my friends up there, but the idea might be to have a table for pick-up board games that people can play. d&d is probably too involved for a single day, but axis and allied, catan, dominion, etc.

[CPTBadAss]

If we're planning activities, I vote we post a schedule soon . Also I'll have Catan either sent or brought with me unless someone else has it.

Also we need Cards Against Humanity.

[Spopepro]

I plan on attending. I'm in SF, and have a car, so I can help a bit with transportation if people have needs.

I also have munchkin, if that would be fun.

[jdcarpe]

Okay, so if you post in this thread and let mkawa know that you will be at Keycon, I'm planning on bringing nametags for everyone. I think they look nice, personally, but you'll have to wait until Keycon to see them for yourself.


I'm flying into San Jose on Friday, and leaving Sunday afternoon. I'm not paying for checked bags (American Airlines), so what I am bringing will be minimal. I wish I could bring my entire collection for you guys to see, but logistically, that ain't happening.

[mkawa]

munchkins are cool

[SpAmRaY]

I wish I could bring my entire collection for you guys to see, but logistically, that ain't happening.

That would probably require renting a uhaul truck and driving

[jdcarpe]

I wish I could bring my entire collection for you guys to see, but logistically, that ain't happening.

That would probably require renting a uhaul truck and driving

Or at least a cargo van. )

[mashby]

I wish I could bring my entire collection for you guys to see, but logistically, that ain't happening.

That would probably require renting a uhaul truck and driving

Or at least a cargo van. )

Road Trip!

[HaaTa]

I wish I could bring my entire collection for you guys to see, but logistically, that ain't happening.

That would probably require renting a uhaul truck and driving

[mkawa]

no worries about bringing keyboards if you're out of town. i can probably fit a 20th of haata's collection in the fiat XD

[CPTBadAss]

I'm bringing keyboards. You can't stop me! But what should I bring? I think I can bring 3-4. Kingsaver was requested by a few people so that's coming. But what else?

[jdcarpe]

I'm bringing keyboards. You can't stop me! But what should I bring? I think I can bring 3-4. Kingsaver was requested by a few people so that's coming. But what else?

Man, you have to bring your KMAC. that thing is like your travel companion.

[Smasher816]

Also we need Cards Against Humanity.

I got it. Just the plain set, no expansions or anything. I can pack it if you want...

[CPTBadAss]

BRING IT SMASHER816!!

And ok. KMAC and Kingsaver. One more board

[mkawa]

CBA knows the story of me bringing an SSK through security at BCIA (beijing airport)

[CPTBadAss]

I'm not telling that story in the forums. That can be something we laugh about at Keycon and on the Keycon stream

[jacobolus]

You misspelled my nickname! (Also, I’ll probably drag 1-2 others along.)

[Smasher816]

BRING IT SMASHER816!!

Alright, lol. I can do that

[hashbaz]

I don't have a ton of exotic stuff but I can bring basically my entire collection since I'm local and will be driving down in a car.

[mkawa]

maybe i'll build an SSK assembly during one of the days. who knows! it's keycon. it's like a box full of surprises, but it turns out that the surprise is that inside is another box WITH A SURPRISE IN IT

[mkawa]

oh, i will definitely have an SSKr and the first prototype Ti JD40 (aka The Smallfry) with me.

[HaaTa]

I will not bring my entire collection, even though I'm local...I'd need a uhaul...

I'll bring a large selection of rare stuff though

[mkawa]

updated with a tentative itin and invitations for presentation proposals

[Smasher816]

I wish smallfry was still around and on the role call list. I think it would have been fun to talk to him and get to know him.

I'm just curious. But is there anyone else attending around my age (18)? I got no problem with being on the younger side of things.

[Vibex]

I wish smallfry was still around and on the role call list. I think it would have been fun to talk to him and get to know him.

I'm just curious. But is there anyone else attending around my age (18)? I got no problem with being on the younger side of things.

I'm 18, so you won't be all alone.

[HoffmanMyster]

I wish smallfry was still around and on the role call list. I think it would have been fun to talk to him and get to know him.

I'm just curious. But is there anyone else attending around my age (18)? I got no problem with being on the younger side of things.

I'm 18, so you won't be all alone.

I used to be 18 at one point, so I can pretend I'm 18 if it makes you feel better.

Actually, no.  Cause I wanna drink.  So I'll be at least 21.