SAINTCON Day 1

It was a good day at the first day of SAINTCON. I was able to see a number of people that I only see once, maybe twice per year. I didn't even get to the convention center before I started running into folks! I've worked from home for 18 years now, so sitting down to talk with folks is a real pleasure.

I also assembled three mini badges to add to to my conference badge. I keep getting mini badges, so I'll probably do some more soldering tomorrow.

About 10 years ago, someone decided to make an electronic badge for their conference and the idea has spread like wildfire. These usually show some info, might have a game on them, or can be reprogrammed to use in hobby projects.I have a container full of these badges. Then mini badges became a thing. People design their own mini badges to connect to the larger conference badge.

SAINTCON's badges always have sockets for a few mini badges. You can also by circuit boards to hold one hundred mini badges. Or get one that is a little bit of art in a printed circuit board and powers several mini badges.

This years badge is actually part of a conference game. I'm not sure what you win by playing, but folks are having a good time running around trying to figure out how to play the game. We have a small comic book that tells a story with hints about how to play the game. The rest is up to the attendees to gather with their teammates and figure out how to play from there.

Today was a renewing day. I feel pretty good. Pretty tired after walking around or looking through a magnifying glass at tiny electrical components, but still good. It's really nice when you have a few days to step back from the day to day tasks of your job and play around with things that are very different to you.