This is our second post in a series on our Featured Guests – check out our previous post for more great people coming to Penguicon this year!  We will be maintaining a full list on our This Year at Penguicon page.

Amal Graafstra – Dangerous Things

Pioneer of the DIY RFID implantation movement, Amal has been helping hobbyists and biohackers explore RFID technology since implanting his first tag in 2005. Since then, he has authored the book “RFID Toys”, spoken at various venues including hacker clubs, TEDx, and a number of universities.

He has also co-authored a peer-reviewed research paper on the subject of DIY RFID implantee subculture for the ISTAS 2010 symposium on technology and society, and is the founder of Dangerous Things, a company that creates and sells biohacking implants. Check out their booth in the Maker Market!

 

Joe Greene – ARTEMIS

Joe Greene is a UNIX Admin and Linux enthusiast of 20 years. He’s hosted and assisted with Artemis events at various conventions including GenCon, Starbase Indy, InConJunction and Who’s Yer Con. He also hosts a monthly Artemis event in Indianapolis.

His unusual setup utilizes Linux, Wine and other Open Source technologies to run Artemis and expand the experience to include inter-ship communications, streaming all from customized Linux USB sticks. He also presented the Critter Crunch and Critter Course robotic competition events at Penguicon for five years.

 

Mikey Mason – MUSIC COMEDY

Mikey (She Don’t Like Firefly, Best Game Ever) is a full­time stand-up comedian whose work has been featured on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio, DrDemento.com, Nerdist.com, MTV Geek News, SyFy’s Blastr.com, Time Magazine’s Techland, and on theFuMP.com.

He has made multiple appearances both on NBC and at the legendary House Of Blues, headlined on all four coasts and performed at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas, Geek Media Expo, Browncoat Ball, and RPG conventions across the US. He is also a proud media sponsor of Can’t Stop The Serenity, a fundraiser for Equality Now, and performs at least one CSTS each year.

 

Colin Charles – MARIADB

Colin Charles works on the MariaDB Server at MariaDB Corporation. He has been the Chief Evangelist for MariaDB since 2009, with work ranging from speaking engagements to consultancy and engineering works around MariaDB. He lives in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and had worked at MySQL since 2005, and been a MySQL user since 2000.

Before joining MySQL, he worked actively on the Fedora and OpenOffice.org projects. He’s well known within open source communities in Asia and Australia, and has spoken at many conferences to boot.

 

Our Maker Market is chock full of artists from our community who make everything from paintings to leather to unique electronics.  This year, our makers are not reselling anything – it all comes from them.  This post highlighting our makers is the first in a series – be sure to check them out during Penguicon!

If you’d like to contribute to our tech track programming, please use our form to send in submissions.  Thanks Kevin for doing such a great job! Our tech track already has over 70 event hours.  Check in with us for panel highlights from other tracks as we get closer to Penguicon.

• An Introduction to Docker: What are Linux Containers?- with Nathan LeClaire. Heard about Docker and curious to know more? In this talk Nathan LeClaire, an engineer at Docker Inc., will go over some of the “what”, “why”, and “how” of Linux containers. Docker has emerged as an exciting new way for developers to build, ship, and run applications and eliminate the pain of moving them from computer to computer to computer. We will be going over some fundamentals knowledge as well as the direction the technology will be taking in the future.
• Cryptoparty, Penguicon Edition- with Susan Sons. Susan returns for this popular session. Everyday encryption for the general public. Learn to protect your hard drive’s data, browse the web anonymously, encrypt your email, and more in this hands-on workshop. Absolute beginners are welcome; we will have volunteers on hand to provide you with software and help you learn to use it. Bring your laptop along to get the most from hands-on activities in this session.
• Getting involved in the Open Source community- with Tom Callaway (Red Hat), Ruth Suehle (Red Hat) and Emily Gonyer (GNOME project). Whether you are into circuitry, soda, 3d printing, DIY furniture or software, there is an open source community for you. This panel answers questions like “How do I find them? What can I do to introduce myself? How can I help?”
• MariaDB: The New MySQL in your LAMP Stack- with Colin Charles (MariaDB) Come to understand what MariaDB is all about, the new features it has compared to MySQL, and why you want to use it. Learn about security, user management, multi-source replication, keeping your slaves as fast as your master, and a lot more. This will be fast-paced at 50 minutes, but you’ll leave with a lot of new things to try.

Check out our other posts coming soon for more great people coming to Penguicon this year!  We will be maintaining a full list on our This Year at Penguicon page.

Tom Callaway – Red Hat Linux

Tom Callaway has been at Red Hat since early 2001. Currently, he works on the Open Source and Standards team, handling community outreach for the Gluster Filesystem, University Outreach, 3D printing support, and Fedora special projects.

He is a founding member of the Fedora community, has served several terms on the Fedora Board and Fedora Engineering Steering Committee, and maintains more than 300 Fedora software packages.

He is also the co-author of “Raspberry Pi Hacks” (O’Reilly, 2013). In his limited spare time, he enjoys science fiction, pinball, gaming, and geocaching.

Sarah Elkins and Phil Salkie – LN2 Ice Cream

Phil Salkie and Sarah Elkins enjoy geekery in a variety of flavors, like the liquid nitrogen ice cream they serve at Penguicon.

Phil is an industrial automation engineer, and Sarah is a software configuration manager. They’ve enjoyed coming from the East Coast to Penguicon since 2007, giving presentations, dancing, and making friends.

Thanks to co-conspirator Jen Hamilton, all the other LN2 helpers, and appreciative ice cream fans — it wouldn’t be nearly as much fun without you.

Tom Smith – Music

There’s every other singer out there… and then there’s Tom Smith. Tom is NOT your ordinary comedy musician.

With the lyrical complexity of Ashman and Sondheim, the vocal fireworks of Meat Loaf, the comedic timing of Robin Williams, and the dynamic physique of the Skipper from Gilligan’s Island, the only thing he won’t do is be boring.

Tyson Gersh – Michigan Urban Farming Initiative

Tyson Gersh is a senior at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, studying Psychology. An active member of the Michigan community, Tyson is the Co-founder & President of the Michigan Urban Farming Initiative (MUFI) – 100% volunteer-run 501 (c)(3) non-profit based in Detroit’s North End Community that uses urban agriculture as a platform to promote education, sustainability, and community empowerment.

Laying at the intersection of social justice and social innovation, MUFI’s on-the-ground efforts are largely based in community and economic development.