New Idea: "Lasers and Lattes" morning event at SELEM
Hey Everyone!
I wanted to share this with all SELEM attendees. Adam Raugh from X-Laser is proposing something he calls "Lasers and Lattes" for the cafeteria display/show-off area this year. I think it's a great idea; this sort of participation is what started SELEM in the first place.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Araugh
Lasers and Lattes:
Objective - To create a friendly atmosphere for people to show off their custom creations of all kinds. No matter if it's a high end single mode rig with Saturn scanners or a "ghetto-fabulous" unit with dichros and mirrors held in place with hot glue, or even a commercial projector that has been gutted, modified, or otherwise tweaked.
We are seeking to create an environment where the focus is on the hardware producing the show and all the work that goes into building or modifying your own system. The goal is to emulate a "cars and coffee" type of event.
Why? To bring a focus to this portion of SELEM, especially with the resurgence of home builds over the past 2 years. Home builds have long been an important part of the event, but for the most part their exposure is scattered and limited to chance encounters. This provides a window where people can show off their gear or check out what other folks are doing without a direct conflict with other popular events, that way everyone interested can still find time for all the other awesome things SELEM has to offer.
Proposed scheduling and location: SELEM Thursday and Saturday, 10AM to 12 noon in the Cafeteria. No set events or schedule conflicts within that time window. This is simply an opportunity to set up and show off what you've got or check out what other people are doing. The cafeteria will remain open for this kind of thing throughout the week but these time periods won't be counter-scheduled.
Refreshments: Coffee and donuts will be available for free courtesy of X-Laser but if you want an actual latte or something fancy it's up to you to bring it.
Basic rules:
Safety first - all projectors must be aimed in safe direction before being powered on
Open hood policy - projectors must be opened when shown
Obey placard requests (if the sign says don't touch, then don't touch!)
Keep negative opinions to yourself. Don't be a jerk. Someone might be just beginning their homebuild career, so don't crap on their work just because you could build something better or don't like their choice of parts
I've never actually attended a "Cars and Coffee" event that Adam refers to above, but after speaking with him we both agree that the idea here is to have a low-key social event where interested folks can have a good chat over a cup of coffee and a snack. Just a nice way to start the morning... :)
It's basically what the cafeteria display space was already intended for, but the whole "Lasers and Lattes" idea is to formalize a time period early on where the bulk of the people who want to see this kind of thing can get together and check out what's on display. That way you know who to talk to later in the day when you think of more questions to ask!
Also, I would like add that I'll be bringing my Keurig machine again this year, so we'll have an assortment of coffees available. But if you want a true latte with hot or steamed milk, you'll need to bring your own milk steaming machine, as I don't have one. (I will make sure there is milk available, however!)
Adam plans to print up some little display signs on card-stock so people can fill out some basic information about their projector(s) if they want. Things like what lasers were used, what scanners, how long did it take, how much did it cost, etc, along with your name so people can remember who made what.
And as he mentioned above, we do need to have some ground rules.
Regarding safety, I think the best idea is to have display tables arranged around the room like last year with the projectors pointed towards the outside walls to ensure the floor where people are moving about remains as a safe zone. We also need to be mindful of scattered light - especially when projectors are operating with portions of their cases removed. (Light leaking through or spilling around scanner mirrors, for example.)
Note that non-laser display items can be placed pretty much anywhere, including on tables in the middle of the room. (That's where I plan to put my RC quadcopter stuff, for example.)
Obviously everyone will be expected to keep their hands off other people's stuff unless the owner has put up a sign specifically allowing people to touch things. (Example: if DZ has an analog console set up, and he wants you to play with it, he'll put a sign on it saying so.)
And finally, don't offer advice to someone unless it's asked for. We want to encourage people to bring whatever they are working on, no matter how small or simple it may be.
Adam
