CodeMash: Today's The Day!

I'm trying to finalize all of my email and blogging before throwing some clothes into a bag, loading up my pickup truck with sponsor swag, books, t-shirts, and other conference material that have been piled up in my dining room for a week, and then jumping onto the Ohio Turnpike to head out to Sandusky to help set up CodeMash.  The organizers are arriving mid-day, and sponsors will start to arrive soon after to set up their booths.

Don't worry: the conference itself doesn't officially start until tomorrow (Thursday).  But, if you're arriving this evening (Wednesday), try to get there around 5:00PM or so to check in.

We recognized that there would be a nice crowd of attendees arriving today, so there's an Expert Panel on programming languages scheduled for 7:00pm this evening as a pre-conference event.  Immediately after, Bruce Eckel will be introducing the concept of Open Spaces (this is another "something extra" that we're offering to enhance the conference experience).  Open Spaces is a little bit like Birds of a Feather, but from what I can gather, it's even more ad hoc and informal than BOFs typically are.

Of course, maybe you just want to swim tonight, and that's perfectly alright!  Make the most of the venue, which is a beautiful indoor waterpark.