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Southeast LinuxFest 2016

I know I've been dormant for over a year on my blog, but that's about to change :) I'm still working at System76 and still loving it, of course. One of my favorite parts about my job is travelling to open source tradeshows. This past weekend was Southeast LinuxFest in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was absolutely fantastic!

This was System76's first time sponsoring SELF, and it was everything we hoped for. The conference was well-organized, accommodating and full of quality attendees that were generally interested in our products. It also helped that we gave away a 14" Lemur Laptop. The laptop giveaway caused a brief Twitter Storm, showing off the many faces of me, along with the many anxious laptop seekers.
Sake Bombs and Booth Buddies!

Do you ever make 'Booth Buddies' when you go to conferences? Or do you prefer working across and next to the same people for a whole weekend without saying a word? I'm not a fan of awkward, so I make sure to establish booth buddies as soon as possible. At #SELF2016, we were closest to Linode and Ubuntu. Booth buddies are not only great for jokes between heavy traffic periods, but for hanging out prior to the tradeshow sponsored social events. We decided to head to Fuji for some Hibachi and Sake Bombs. If you want to laugh, here's a brief recap of the Booth Buddy Dinner in a slideshow :)


Overall, #SELF2016 was a tradeshow to remember and definitely requires my attendance next year. I definitely want to sponsor, host or organize one of the nightly parties next year.

When it's all said and done, a heavy meal and a ridiculous alcoholic beverage are usually in order. We picked Midwood Smokehouse for our pre-airport rendezvous conference-closer. Bacon-infused vodka Bloody Mary (AKA Hangry Mary) is pretty much all I need to say... or remember :)

"Hangry Mary" from Midwood Smokehouse in Charlotte, NC

That's a #Self2016 Wrap! Linode and System76 Cheers to a fantastic weekend!