SELEM 9 - August 12-16th 2015 - Sign up now!

[BlueFang]

Wow... as one of the newbie SELEM attendees, all I know is that my brain is completely full of new knowledge. I hope I can retain half of what I have learned over the past week.

Indeed, thanks needs to be showered over all that were involved in putting on this event. Starting with the projector alignment / scanner tuning tutorial where I g̶r̶a̶c̶i̶o̶u̶s̶l̶y̶ selfishly volunteered my horribly out of tune projector to be fixed, and miracles were performed by Buffo on the scanners and Hitekvoop on my alignment woes...

I also learned a little bit about the "types" of lasers, though this is an area where I need to learn a lot more. I am at a disadvantage in that I started with this hobby in the era of "plug-in-play" projectors, and when my projector had it's green laser die during the show, it became immediately obvious I need to learn more about what is going on inside these magic pixie dust machines:

Me: Hey Buffo, it seems like my laser has decided to stop playing green...
Buffo: So the diode is dead?
Me: uhhh... all I see is red and blue...
Buffo: Is it a DPS@# module or a SS#$# module?
Me: Uhh... it was green!
Buffo: Yeah, well, you should know what kind of module based on how it looked
Me: Uhhh... hmmm... it WAS green! Now it is black.
Buffo: Lets take a look at it... ok, that is a DPSS green - they are known to die... let's go see if we can find one in the buy-sell room.

Anyway, that's the kinda thing that happens at SELEM.

Other things to note:

• I now know where Newton, NC is... even though I was born and raised in NC, and had never previously heard of Newton, I now know where this lovely little tiny city is.
• Thanks to all those that provided the food. It was awesome. There is not much time to eat - but it was there when it was needed (also thanks for the abundance of diet soda)
• The multi-rotor / FPV flight from LazerJock was intriguing... It is something I have been trying to avoid as much as possible - I don't need something else that sucks me in...
• The shows... WOW.... seeing a swami show in real-life projected onto a giant auditorium screen is something that is hard to describe. Your brain is moving at 1000 miles per hour, and then you sit down in the auditorium and just go wow at all of the shows. The battle between SaltyRobot and Swami was awesome (not really a battle - but fun to label it as such). The beam shows from DKumpula and Newlin were crazy. Oh, and you could also sit there and watch AnthonyGarcia do his magic while explaining what is going on in his head while he is mashing buttons... (note: it is not just mashing buttons - it is all by design)
• The presentations... soo much learned. Swami gives away all of his technical mastery of LSX - as well as his artistic thought process - yet you soon realize, that making shapes that match perfectly to the music is nothing short of artistic brilliance... not technical competence.
• The Z-5 console... ohhh... that is one of those things you really have to see live and in person to understand the wow factor. I mean, it's just sitting there and you can twiddle knobs as your heart desires and drool over the workmanship.
• Newlin - The picedit tutorial was awesome... So many things to learn... Also, what is the official count of NC natives at SELEM? Do we win the prize for most represented state?

[Lazerjock]

I safely landed the Cessna in Orlando yesterday afternoon. Once I hit the Florida border it seemed the entire state was peppered with small thunder storms. I was hoping to get in ahead of them but ended up zig zagging all the way home. My on board ADSB weather paid for itself again. Thank you Brad for getting up early to take me and my gear to the airport.


Thank you all for the kind words about my multirotor presentation. Thank you Jonny (Blue Fang) for letting me use your helicopter during my presentation & flying it during the outside portion. You are a very skilled pilot.


There are too many people working behind the scenes to name them all without forgetting someone. Others are much better at it that me so, let me just say. Thank you.
I think that without things like the Fire Dept. showing up and the power going out it wouldn't be SELEM. They're the little adventures that make it what it is.


I had a great time and can't wait for SELEM 10!
Chris

[Lazerjock]

Car is partially packed and almost full. This Econ Box gets mileage but has no room.

Hand towel and iPad cover all set.

Attachment 48110

Totally awesome! I wish I would have seen this earlier. I would have hit you up at SELEM for what ever you had to sell.

Chris

[swamidog]

i've got some some pics here:

https://www.facebook.com/swamidog/me...6814043&type=3

if we're not connected on facebook, here's the same pics on g+

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/1...03027801281281

[Lazerjock]

Love them! Great shots. Thanks for posting.

[JohnYayas]

Thanks for sharing the photos. Now I feel like I was there!

[Bradfo69]

I nominate Swami "Official SELEM Photographer". Although.... there are a lot more people have to post.

[buffo]

I am so tired... If only they sold sleep in bulk form. I'd stock up now in preparation for next year's event!

What a great week though! Thanks to everyone who helped make this year's SELEM a resounding success. Despite several challenges (including a fire alarm monitoring company that apparently can't tell the difference between 2 PM and 2 AM despite having it explained to them TWICE), we still managed to keep everything running smoothly. I believe this was one of the better SELEM's, both in terms of attendance and in terms of adhering to the schedule.

We are already discussing plans for next year. The dates are tentatively set for August 10th through the 14th. We might add an extra day though. Time will tell.

For now, I look forward to seeing more pictures and video from this year's event. I also look forward to getting caught up on my sleep! But it sure was fun folks... It sure was fun!

Adam

[polishedball]

358 days!! .................................................. .

[HankLloydRight]

What a great weekend! I came to SELEM last year as a complete noob, and this year drove down with a car full of gear and left with even more.

I want to thank everyone involved! But especially Adam who no matter how busy, harried, and exhausted he was, he ALWAYS makes time to answer any question you may have. And a HUGE thank you to DZ who transplanted the Alphalite box (I bought from Adam last year), into a new Pelican case. I'm so so happy with the results, and glad I got to know DZ a little bit better than I had.

Thanks to Ed Keefe for an enlightening discussion on economics, money, retirement, work, life, and death.

As soon as I left SELEM on my way out of town on Sunday heading towards Charlotte, I hit a detour around the center of Newton which was blocked off. It was a classic/collectors car show! I am also a big "car guy", so I couldn't just drive by without stopping. Hundreds of classic and cool cars lined both sides of the two main streets. I briskly walked down one street, and up the other. I wish I had more time, but it was a nice surprise at the end of SELEM. If they schedule this again for the same weekend as SELEM next year, I have to make it a point to spend more time. Here are a couple of nice cars I spotted (personal favorites).