2004 June 20

Hey gang – mind if I have a virtual heart-to-heart with you? As you probably know, life has been very busy for me down here in Southern California. I’m four years removed from Iowa, and eight years into producing Lockergnome. We announced our fourth-annual conference a few months ago, and I’ve watched it blossom into something completely different than what it was in the beginning. I hope you don’t mind my decision to bring Gnomedex back to its roots: the people.
No open bar, no Comedy Central – just a whole bunch of geeks gone wild on their own volition. Since ~50 people had signed up when we were still promoting the “liqueur” angle, we’ll be honoring that offer with drink tickets. It’s Gnomedex 4, plain and simple. Yes, we’ll have parties. Yes, we’ll have speakers. Yes, we’ll have panels. Yes, we’ll have fun. Yes, we’ll have sponsors. Yes, we’ll have WiFi. With these two adjustments, we’ll also keep the original spirit that made our convention so successful in years past. That’s what I really want (more than anything else).
So, there you have it. Gnomedex 2: Attack of the Gnomes. Gnomedex 3: Fellowship of the Geeks. Gnomedex 4: Geeks Gone Wild.

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Hit the new Harry Potter flick last night; spent half of our time watching commercials before the coming attractions started. I used to love going to the movies. I even loved the pre-show trivia and sponsor presentations. But, if I want commercials, I'll stay at home and watch network television. If they let us in for free, it'd be a different story, but we spent a total of $25 on tickets and a cherry slurpee. Might as well have waited for the Special Edition DVD in a few months, eh? At least, that way, we'd own than a memory – and probably a fatter wallet. It's getting to that point, really. Although, recent disc rentals have also sported the “sit through this preview before the main attraction can start” routine. My Fast Forward button has almost worn clean through!

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