Damn! SELEM has ended and I have to wait 51 weeks for it to return!
WOW, what an awesome event! As I say every year, this was the best SELEM yet. We had a wide range of interesting and fun presentations that filled the majority of four days. I saw many of them and thought all of the presenters did a great job. Where else can you listen to folks like Aron Bac's walk you through the young and exciting days of lasering with AVI?? Thanks to all of you who took the time to prepare presentations to educate and entertain the rest of us!
The auditorium had more new content than ever before. We saw hours of awesome new content from recognized masters like Mike Dunn (firstlight_mike) and Chris (Swamidog). (Mike: I still have "Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round" stuck in my head.) We also had great new shows from up-and-coming talent like Jason (SaltyRobot) and Theo (Kang). There were even combination live interactive content from David Z (DZ), David F. (CountFunkula), and Tom Salt. Fun stuff!
I admit I have not spent much time in ClubSELEM in the past (thumpy-thumpy music makes my old ears hurt). This year Sean (Soulfeast) generously handed me a pair of ear-plugs and he and Newlin put me on Rick's (Hitechvoop) rig controlling six of the thirty or so beautiful lasers that were set up in the Club. A bit to my surprise, I had a friggin' blast! In fact, I think it was my favorite hour and a half other than simply chatting with folks. Thanks to all the guys who contribute the equipment, effort, controllers and time and allow folks to play with them in the Club - its awesome!
Speaking of chatting with folks, this is the best part of SELEM for me. We had a very well attended event this year and it presented all of us the opportunity to chat with folks that share the lasering passion. Old friends and new friends were to be found everywhere though-out the event. I just scanned the list of signed up attendees and count at least 30 people that I had a fun and in-depth one-on-one conversation with this week. Not to mention, where else can you chat with the CEOs of three major laser companies over a beer or glass of wine? My sincere thanks to Adam from X-Laser, Bill from Pangolin, and Francis from Laserworld for coming back to SELEM again and again to hang out with us enthusiasts and taking the time to answer our numerous questions and generously helping us out. I think the bottom line is if you weren't having fun chatting and learning from folks at the event . . well, you simply weren't trying!
As always the food was awesome. Catering master and all-around-awesome guy Brad (Bradfo69) took great care of us for lunches and dinners. I can't imagine a SELEM without Brad! Many thanks to Adam (araugh), Bill (Pangolin) and Francis (Laserworld) for sponsoring dinners for a big bunch of hungry laserists. It is extremely generous of all of you!
Thanks to everyone who took the time to set up and break down the facility. It takes a ton of effort to get this stuff up and running and then break it down after its over. These are the unsung heros that make SELEM the awesome event that it is.
I'm sure I'm forgetting tons of folks, but there's one guy that I simply can not close without thanking: Adam Burns (Buffo). I've only been to SELEM for the past six years, but it was clear to me at my first SELEM that it takes passion, dedication and talent to arrange the biggest and most-awesomest laser enthusiast event on the planet. I don't think there are many folks who could manage this herculean event that many of us attendees/helpers plan our year around. I wish I had a better phrase to use than just a simple "thank you", but when I think of what Adam does for us, I really am at a loss for words.
I can't wait for next year!
-David
"Help, help, I'm being repressed!"