Barcamp Canberra: Like coming to home to somewhere I’ve never been

Life is a mystery, everyone must stand alone. I hear you call my name and it feels like
Home.

- Madonna, Like a Prayer

Going to BarCamp Canberra was like coming home to old friends I’ve never met.

Welcome to BarCamp Canberra!!!
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A more coherent may never  be forthcoming, so I just record a few impressions now…

1. From the BarCamp twitter timeline – Main Room: Raffaele on “Using the Dark Force (sales)” and a GTD presentation by Gav and Steve in Room #2

Invisible Frisbee!
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I met Gavin Jackson at the end of his presentation @ 12.20. He’d mentioned using a GTD extension to manage Gmail. I said “Want to do a GTD presentation?” He booked the spot, and we presented on GTD. His slides, my excel timekeeper o’ doom, and group participation.  Three hours is the shortest time frame I’ve ever collaborated myself into a presentation.  Mad props to Gavin for being up for the challenge at short notice with a co-conspirator he’d only just met.

2. Stephen Dann (@stephendann) in Main Room presenting on … something good I’m sure! I’m in Room #2

Bwhahahahah! Sufficiently good, that it won a prize.  Oooh wah ahh oooh know that some good is gonna happen!  Slides are up on the presentation – of course, my students should feel free to poke fun of me for presenting on the challenges of teaching commerce students about geek culture and the internet.

3. BarCamp was like home. We spoke a common language, jokes I made about technology worked, and they knew about the Clint Eastwood Firefox movie.  I mean, it was heaven to be amongst friends.

4. Photos from the BarCamp (from Ruth Ellison and Stephen Collins) that involve me hacking the timetable (I am Team Yellow), implementing old skool twitter once my wireless connection proved to be well dead, pacing the boards (I need a windup key on my back), explaining the size of the fish,  impersonating one half of Buddy Christ, and finally, reiterating the size of the fish that I caught with the Geek-i-odic Table
All up, I’m in for future BarCamps, and getting myself involved a lot more in the BarCamp connected community.  I had to pike on dinner to head home and collapse from the exhaustion (I was slightly peopled out, and somewhat post presentation comedown crash). Next time, better planning, 20cc of adrenaline, and definite plans for the dinner. Oh, and a new laptop that does have wireless capacity.
Prize winners at BarCamp
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