Camp 2019: Schedule
The ORD Camp schedule is unique in that it evolves as the conference goes on.
You will write up what you want to talk about during the first night of ORD Camp. There are time slots on Friday and Saturday, people will check the boards each hour and decide what they want to attend.
Friday, Jan 25th, 2019
| 2:00pm-5:00pm | Registration, Hanging out, drinks, and badges |
| 5:00pm-6:15 | Neighborhood meetings for half the ‘hoods and dinner for the other half. See the flyer you received on arrival to know which room you’re in. |
| 6:15pm-7:30 | Dinner for half the ‘hoods and neighborhood meetings for the other half. See the flyer you received on arrival to know which room you’re in. |
| 7:30pm-9:00pm | Welcoming Plenary (Zach, Fitz, others) and scheduling on boards |
| 9:00pm-10:00pm | Ignite! |
| 10:00pm-Midnight | First Round of Talks |
| Midnight-1:00AM | Late-night snack |
| Midnight-4:00am | Late night talks, Activities, socializing, making music, hacking, and games |
Saturday, Jan 26th, 2019
| 10:00am | Breakfast |
| 11:00am-1:00pm | Talks |
| 1:00pm-2:00pm | Lunch |
| 2:00pm-6:00pm | Talks |
| 6:00pm-7:00pm | Dinner |
| 7:00pm-10:00pm | Talks |
| 10:00pm-11:00pm | Plenary |
| 11:00pm-Midnight | Late-night snack |
| Midnight-6:00am | Late night talks, Activities, socializing, making music, hacking, karaoke and tabletop games |
We can’t tell you what the content will be for 2019 because the content is defined on the first evening of the conference by the attendees. What we can give you is a list of a few of the talks from years past. This is a list of some of the past talks that people are still talking about: but remember, these aren’t your typical powerpoint one-way lectures, they tend to be discussions with the majority of the talk attendees contributing. In many cases, the “presenter” acts more like a curator or discussion leader, and frequently comes to the talk with only the kernel of an idea of what they want to talk about: You’re guaranteed to learn something. When it comes to ideas and excitement, almost everyone says that they leave with more than they came with:
- A talk by an amateur bodybuilder on coping with grief, mere weeks after he’d lost his son to a miscarriage
- A talk about horseback archery and how to train and work with horses
- A debate between the former CEO of Monsanto and a local organic chef on the merits of genetically modified organisms vs. organically grown food
- Dean Kamen spoke about, among other things, a water purifier he invented that is the size of a dishwasher that he’s shipping (with a power source) to villages in third world countries
- A talk on listening, which included playing a number of audio stories in a dark room
- 3D printing, cheap milling, and the future of desktop fabrication
- A copyright activist and the former CEO of Playboy debating the merits of copyright (with the activist providing lots of interesting historical background and some geek cred, and the CEO talking about DVD sales cycles and consumer behavior).
- Cirque de Soleil’s prop design process, a combination of creativity, technology, and sheer geekery, with insights coming from all around the room.
- Hands on circuit bending: Build something new out of old electronic toys
- How to make incredible slow-cooked barbeque and how to build a community around food. This included, of course, huge piles of barbequed food, including a barbeque sauce made almost entirely of pork (!)
- How to throw a punch
- Kitchen Knife Skills
- Charles Babbage was a Douchebag: A history of computing
- PTDS (Personified Teeth Dental Signs)
- Cartographic stories from Chicago history followed up by The 2010 Census + the Future of Chicago
- How to tie a bow tie
- All about flesh-eating bacteria
- The intricacies of bourbon, rye, and scotch. Included a tasting of over 40 different kinds.
- House hacking: sharing stories on the restoration of your old house
- The zombie apocalypse, with the main highlights being the woman who grew up in an apocalypse cult and then ran away to NYC but still had all of her “end of the world preparation” instincts and had a list of things that could go horribly wrong in NYC and a talk about preparations for when Mount St. Helens erupts.
- How to crack a bullwhip
- The Science of Taste: the food science behind Wrigley gum
- The YouTube insult generator
- Taking aerial photos using kites
- The Science of Happiness: statistics and information
- How to pick locks, followed up by Breaking and Entering 102
- Producing a print-on-demand book that is basically a 60+ page press and registration check for on-demand printers….basically, a book that you could buy to instantly determine the quality of a printer’s printing service, and designed by students
- The Secrets of Pac Man (from the guy who made the Google Pacman doodle)