Strange Passions Info

Software developers have a wide range of interests. The Strange Passions track is a bit of fun to explore those non-development topics that might not fit in any other conference. Talks should be 15 minutes in length and can be submitted only by conference attendees. The actual talks will be chosen by popular vote of the other attendees.

1. Call opens: August 28th, 2009
2. Call ends: September 30th, 2009
3. Voting ends: October 2nd, 2009
4. Conference date: October 23rd, 2009

Speaker Information

All Strange Loop speakers receive free admission to the conference. If speakers have already registered (as they must to submit talks for Strange Passions), then their money will be refunded.

Sessions

Strange passion talks will be given either on Thursday night at Blueberry Hill during the happy hour OR on Friday before the final keynote at the theater. When you submit a talk you will be asked whether you are available at each of those times. Whether you are assigned to the Thursday night or Friday afternoon session, the setup will include a projector for computer hookup and audio as with any standard speaking setup.

At each session a crowd favorite will be chosen and presented with the fabulous prize of a genuine Klein bottle! Shown here:

Topics

So what kind of topics are appropriate for the Strange Passions track? Anything *non-technical*. DO NOT submit a talk on a programming language or library. DO submit talks about your own passion or an interesting subject like Thelonius Monk, the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, Guernica, Tai Chi, waffles, single-hemisphere sleep, string theory, Klingon law, or whatever else you find interesting.

If you want inspiration, try:

• TED talks
• Best Presentations - 2008
• Java Posse Roundup lightning talks

Selection

As mentioned above, keep in mind that talks will be chosen by popular vote. Write an interesting title and abstract. Make it fun but make it interesting!