Holy crap, what an amazing time.
I attended quite a few technical panels this year, so that I could learn things that might level me up as an Ops Engineer. That mission was a success, and I came away with pages upon pages of notes, as well as a couple of panel suggestions for next year. It may not be your typical technical conference, but there was a whole lot of generalist and introductory information available.
I did get to see a bit of the literature track this year, and was impressed (as usual) with what i found. There seemed to be less debate about whether or not self-publishing was viable, and more debate on how to go about it properly and professionally. Thumbs-up to that.
I missed out on the retro gaming room. Unfortunately, I had booked that entire day with panels, except for the first hour that the room was to be open. Unfortunately, the people running the room were late in setting it up, so I missed out. I heard it was fantastic, and hope that it will return next year.
Cosplay wasn’t limited to anime characters that I was unfamiliar with this year! There was a Kaylee from Firefly, and there was a G1 Soundwave, complete with heat-sensitive rubsign! Her chest piece was even playing the video of CGI Transformers dancing to Gungam Style!
I successfully handed out the last of the Remembrance ribbons. That is, until I find more in wacky storage locations throughout the house. I’m fine with pretending that they’re all gone in the mean time. On the other hand, I received more ribbons than I ever have before. More than once, I had to adjust the badge lanyard to prevent my ribbon chain from drooping too low. Now that I’ve moved it into my journal, it takes up four pages. The bottom ribbon, and now my favorite, says “RIBBON HOARDER.”
The best part of Penguicon, top to bottom, was seeing old friends and making new ones. While Alex, Peter, and I did the Three Musketeers thing through much of the con, I ran into a ton of old friends, was introduced to a slew of awesome people, and even got up the courage to introduce myself to a blogger I’m a fan of, and compliment his nails.