Barcamp, Balticon, and github

I made travel arrangements for Barcamp in Harrisburg. (Barcamp in Baltimore seems to be... dormant.) The Harrisburg Barcamp should be fun! At least the travel will be fun, as I can go by train.

I also registered for Balticon, the science fiction convention. (It runs just north of Baltimore every Memorial Day weekend.) Balticon has sessions for science fiction, hard science, and writers, which leads to an interesting mix of attendees. I always find clever people and interesting conversations.

This weekend I posted my first project to github. (github is a "clearinghouse" for git-based projects, allowing others to access them.) It was easier than I expected, which was a pleasant surprise. I don't know that "powerful" is the right word to describe github, but they are well-positioned for the sharing of software. I'm not sure about the word "leveraged" either. Perhaps "well-positioned" is the right phrase.

Because learning never stops

I'm planning to attend four conferences this year: three for software and one for science fiction.

The software conferences are: OSCON, Open Source Bridge, and the Central PA Open Source conference. The science fiction con is BaltiCon, and it is more of a writer's convention than science fiction convention.

I've looked at the costs, and I think that I can swing all of these. Of course, I plan to use my tricks for minimizing the cost of conferences. Those tricks are:

- Plan ahead
- Register early (and get reduced, early-bird rates)
- Use 'alumni' discounts, if available (O'Reilly conferences usually offer them)
- Book travel early (and get reduced fares)
- Use public transit (to avoid car rental and parking fees)

OSCON is in July, OSB is in June, CPOSC is in October, and BaltiCon is at the end of May.

Why attend conferences? Three reasons:

- Learn new things (or at least learn that there are new things)
- Get away from the daily routine
- Meet smart, interesting people

Learning never stops. We can always learn, always do something new.