Tetch Talk Ep 3 – BattleBots Competitor Craig Danby

One thing I like about this is that I get a chance to talk to people in new ways and about things I wouldn’t normally. Sometimes they’re people I’ve never spoken to before (like Jarid Scott), sometimes they’re people I’ve swapped a few messages with online but never anything in-depth, as with Peter Sunde, and sometimes it’s people I’ve known for decades, as here. Yes, I’ve known Craig for over 20 years, from when we were both teenagers starting out in Robot Combat together in the UK around 2000, but we almost met earlier….

So we explore 20 years of Robot Combat, including the differences between the US and UK combat, one of the more fun incidents at an event (where a fan favourite all-but explodes at an event I’m running safety for, and he’s running the antweight competition) and the progress since the late 90s, from hobby to sport. And again, I want to thank Craig for his time in the interview. He can be found at TeamDanby.com

Dragon Con 2019 Panels

So, yet again, I’m listed as an Attending Pro for this years Dragon Con, and you’ll be able to find me at a grand total of 7 events, 6 panels, and a race.

This year I’ll be speaking on the EFForums, Robotics, TrekTrack, and BritTrack, while I’ll be a judge (and possibly cameraman) for the Splendid Teapot Race, run by the Robotics and Alternate History tracks.

Dragon Con 2018 Panels

Once more, it’s panel time.

Once again, I’m an Attending Professional this year, and that means panels, but this year’s a little different. I’m only on the one Brit Track panel, and two EFF track panels, but I do get to add another track to my list, as the Alternate History Track joins Science, EFF, Robotics, and Brit-track as ‘participators’.

Future of Robot Combat – Dragon Con 2017

• 

2018 makes it 20 years since I first started with Robot Combat, joining Liverdyne Robotics in 1998, and while we could look to the past, we also have to look to the future.

Drone Legislation: A Bird’s-Eye View of Federal, State, & Local Regulations – Dragon Con 2017

This has taken me a bit to get to, and for that I apologize. For me things come in cycles. July through November I work with a High School Marching Band, as their videographer, Then there’s christmas concerts/events.

In the middle of that is Dragon Con, and between pre-event prep and then recovering (which as I’ve already noted, was MUCH harder this year) and then catching up on things, so some videos slip through the cracks, and I forget about them, until the new year when it quietens down, and I can fill in gaps.

So it was with this panel. It’s now late January, and I’m just getting this out.

Drone Legislation: A Bird’s-Eye View of Federal, State, & Local Regulations

Location	Sheraton Atlanta 4-5
Date	Sunday, Sep 3 2:30 PM
Duration	1 hour

This panel will discuss some of the bills that have taken flight & sometimes crashed & burned. We give practical examples of how drone enthusiasts can advocate for themselves.

Speakers

• K`Tetch
• David Maass

Now, remember, I’m extremely tired at this point, and I REALLY want to thank Dave Maass for stepping up and helping me keep going during the panel. He could see I was flagging. Dave is always a top bloke, and makes me wish I was a better man, someday as good as him.

Other thanks go to Jason Brown of the Chaos Corp for loan of Short fuse (stripped to am empty shell – no batteries, no electronics – to meet event rules) for a demonstration. It’s a bulky bot for me to demonstrate with, and not much else. especially with the drive down to Atlanta, and the small rooms while he’s trying to get his own bots running for Robot Battles.

Me holding Short Fuse, while Dave gathers his thoughts

Dragon Con 2017 Panels

Yes, it’s that time of year again, when I share my panels and where I’ll be. Last year, due to back problems, I couldn’t go, as I explained then (giving you audio/videos of past panels instead) followed by taking a look at a common Dragon Con myth during the convention itself. This year though…

Proposed DHS Rules May Cause the Deaths They Claim To Prevent

Back at the end of March, the Department of Homeland [in]Security issued rules stating that all electronics larger than a smartphone should be checked instead of kept in a carry-on on flights into the US from 10 airports or on 9 airlines from mainly Muslim countries in the middle east and north Africa. This was following claims by US and UK intelligence that terrorists are smuggling explosive devices in various consumer items to ‘target commercial aviation’.

Not only does this not pass the smell test (anyone looking to bring down an aircraft with explosive devices won’t matter if it’s in the cabin or the hold, boom is boom) the idea that it’s going to go through some sort of super-secret screening is laughable when red-team penetration tests find it trivial to get prohibited items onto aircraft (including people with no ticket who bypass security screening), but many airports already require carry-on electronics to be x-rayed, and often swabbed for explosive residue. What’s more, I remember seeing ‘explosives smuggled on board’ hysteria since Pan Am 103 almost 30 years ago, where Czech explosive Semtex was suspected to be in everything from fake muesli to electronics following the use of just 12 ounces (340g) to blast a 50cm hole in the 747’s hold.

Dragon Con 2016

So, this is normally the time I’d release my schedule of panels for this years Dragon Con, so people interested in seeing me (both of you) can look there instead of sending me a message the usual way.

I was actually down for several panels, but a week or two back I realised I wouldn’t be able to attend for a uniquely American reason – Medical Bills.

Back in May it was the High School Graduation of my eldest (yes I’m that old), and going to watch it meant sitting on bleacher seats and that aggravated a back injury I’ve had for a few decades.

Now, were I back in the UK, this wouldn’t be an issue, I’d go to the doctor, get referred to a specialist or the hospital if needed, maybe spend some money on a prescription or two. However, this is the US, where no chance to make a buck can be allowed to go by. As a result, the money put aside for Dragon Con (yes, I have to pay for everything except my badge, despite both me and my wife being track assistant directors – me the EFF track, my wife with Signage) has gone to medical care instead.

In Memoriam: Lee Reherman

Lee Reherman — better known to many as American Gladiator, ‘Hawk’ — died February 29th in California. He was 49.

Some might wonder what difference that makes, as we seem to have a glut of famous people of all ages dying at present, but Lee had a role you won’t see if you look at his Wikipedia page as I write this. He was BattleBots™ very first host at the Long Beach, CA event back in 1999.