There is an upcoming event that is likely to be of interest to many of the visitors to this forum.

The first weekend in May, there will be a combination Linux/open source and science fiction convention in Warren, Michigan (just north of Detroit) -- Penguicon! It will be structured like a science fiction convention, combining fun with some serious discussion.

http://penguicon.sourceforge.net

The two lead speakers ("Guests of Honor") are Eric S. Raymond (author of "The Cathedral and the Bazaar") on the Open Source side:

http://www.catb.org/~esr/

and science fiction author Terry Pratchett (author of the very-funny "Discworld" series of books):

http://www.co.uk.lspace.org/

This is considered a regional convention, but it has the potential to be a major event. We are likely to draw a large contingent of science fiction fans from as far away as Chicago and Toronto, but we are also likely to draw a good number of Linux and open source folks from all over. If the first one is a success, there will be more. I'm hoping, personally, that we can invite Klaus Knopper himself to one in the future.

Eric is an excellent speaker and an interesting guy. He's been to several of our science fiction conventions over the last several years; he's been a major inspiration for this event. Check out ESR's article on the intersection of open source users' groups and science fiction conventions, upon which Penguicon is based -- this will give you some idea of what to expect:

http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/sfshows/