Some thoughts on Defcon and what to plan for next year.

1. Research the talks a bit more. This breaks down into several points:
   1. Think twice about talks given at both BlackHat and Defcon. It seems too much to ask speakers who made 75 minute talks for BH to trim a bit to comfortably cover 50 minutes at DC. They either have to rush or not finish, or both. Sadly, most of the better talks fall into this category, and it really sucks that they all had to stop short in their material.
   2. Check the presentation materials early to avoid highly technical, focused talks that won’t benefit me. Sitting in a code-related talk in code I don’t write can be interesting, but ultimately not too beneficial.
   3. Check the presentation materials to avoid overly shallow talks that don’t give any information other than stuff I already know.
   4. Check whether the talk has been given before. Either I can catch the talk elsewhere because it’s been given at 3 other cons, or the speaker may be pretty raw or even English-challenged.
2. Get into some parties, do less talks.
3. Print out some self-promoting swag. I obviously am not trying to make myself or the site some pillar of information or profitable venture, but it is nice to be able to spread the word and get involved a bit more. I’d like to print some personal cards with contact info on them, maybe print a few cool t-shirts that have my name or site address, and maybe something else like a little scrolling LED on my backpack with the site address.
4. It’s vacation! Go alternative! I might think about dyeing my hair next year a bit bluer (professionally done) or bring some clothes for the parties/balls. Defcon is really a great place to just kick back and do whatever isn’t the normal fare for work/days, so one may as well experiment.