WHYcast transcript episode 17

Disclaimer

This is the full transcript generated using AI tools and some human oversight. It may contain errors. Please review and correct obvious mistakes before publishing.

Transcript 17

Nancy: Hi, and welcome to the WHYcast episode 17. I’m Nancy. I’m Ad. We are the hosts of the only podcast about a hacker camp in the universe. This volunteer-run event will take place this year in the Netherlands, approximately 42 kilometers above Amsterdam, from August 8th to 12th. So, Ad, what are we talking about today?

Ad: We’ve got some more exciting news about the ticket sale. We have the regular weekly Where to Hack. We don’t actually have a history lesson, but we do have a very cool interview with Alex and Pepijn, Vacancy of the Week, and a listener question that might turn into a tiny history lesson, Light.

Nancy: So, we do have a history lesson, but not quite—sort of.

Ad: It’s not a lesson. It’s just a look at the past.

Nancy: Very cool. Okay, that’s always good. I think Alex also has some cool stories from the past in his interview, and Pepijn is a nice, young new person. He does not want to call himself a hacker yet—maybe. We’ll see after a while. It was great to have him on the show.

Nancy: So, the ticket sale—oh my goodness, we’re almost there. Almost halfway.

Ad: Almost halfway. Yes. If you still want to join in with the predictions, go back to episode 15 on YouTube, and in the comments leave your guesses.

Nancy: But what are we talking about if people are listening for the first time?

Ad: If you’re listening for the first time, we are currently just past 1,600 tickets at the time of this recording. Once we hit 1,750 tickets sold, we’re halfway—and you could win this awesome WHY pin.

Nancy: Yes. It’s a WHY logo you can pin on your backpack or anything. It’s nice and shiny.

Ad: All you have to do is go to episode 15 on YouTube and in the comments there leave your guess: when will ticket 1,750 be sold?

Nancy: It will become easier. Right now we’re at 1,631, and we sell approximately 10 to 15 tickets per day.

Ad: I think it’s a day-ish. Don’t help them too much.

Nancy: Okay. I won’t help it. Let’s see. But it’s good news. We’ve also already sold a lot of cool merchandise. You can find the link to the merchandise in the show notes. We’re not making a lot of money from it, but it’s so cool.

Ad: It’s awesome. Really cool.

Nancy: There’s UV paint and a hat that has a towel on the inside.

Ad: I mean, it’s great.

Nancy: And I did some calculations: when this episode goes live, you only have 42 days left for the current ticket price—the nerd tickets—before the price goes up. So 42 days left. We still love numbers.

Ad: Yep.

Nancy: Especially the number 42 and other nice numbers. We love nice numbers.

Ad: Yeah. So, you could get your Valentine a ticket at the current price.

Nancy: Valentine’s is soon. You can give a geeky Valentine’s gift by buying a ticket.

Ad: Yeah. And at Valentine’s I will be at an event, but even sooner there’s FOSDEM.

Nancy: Each week we share where to find why-minded people—Where to Hack. There will be a lot of why-minded people at FOSDEM, February 1st and 2nd in Brussels, Belgium. It’s the first time I went there in 2014. It’s really been a while. The second time was a couple years back, and I’m going again. I think around 15,000 people focus on open source hardware, software, content—open anything. It’s a cool event with lectures, a market, and almost any open-source tool you can imagine.

Ad: Have you ever been there?

Nancy: I haven’t—but they claim 1,002 lectures, so I should go sometime.

Ad: It’s every year, so you can go next year too. This year we’ll be there with the white lights Henry brought. You can find us by the lights, otherwise we’ll be bouncing around handing out stickers and maybe doing interviews. Let’s see how it goes. I’m not sure how my day will run, but we’ll be there with people from WHY.

Nancy: Very cool. We will link the information in the show notes, of course.

Ad: Yep. Speaking of interviews, we tend to have them at events with people in the community, and one of those people is Alex.

Nancy: It was very cool to meet Alex. Thanks to NetSmurf for hooking us up. Alex was at the very first edition in Paradiso, which wasn’t really a camp but the start of it all. He’s been away for a couple years and is back. I spoke to him at CCC Congress in Hamburg because he was helping out Noctair. He’s a crazy cool dude. Here’s that interview.

Nancy: I am here at CCC Congress with Alex. Alex has a very…

Nancy: Long history with Dutch Hacker Camps. What was your first Dutch Hacker Camp? I think you were in Paradiso, right?

Alex: I was in ’89 at Galactic Hacker Party in Paradiso. I was 17 or 18. I was mostly very impressed with all the stuff going on there. Then HIP was the first real camping camp for me in ’93. By that time I was more involved in the cyberpunk movement. The BGP source code was still illegal to export from the U.S., so American cyberpunks brought boxes of printed source code. They OCR’d it here—OCR was terrible—so every page had errors. They printed a CRC on each page and used software to check the scans. Volunteers kept checking pages and then grabbing more beer. By the end of HIP we compiled BGP legally outside the U.S. for the first time.

Nancy: That’s so cool.

Alex: I was DJ for that mission—brought my DJ kit and ran a three-day party while everyone checked source code.

Nancy: Very good. Any reaction to that action, or was it mainly within the scene?

Alex: Mainly within the scene. That was one of many things that pushed back on the crypto export ban. You could ban it, but you can’t. BGP was already outside the U.S., but now it was legal.

Nancy: Very cool. Later you organized events too, right?

Alex: Yes. I got more involved around 2005. That one had a lot of rain—10 centimeters of water in my tent. We took out all the RCDs (circuit breakers) and replaced 15 mA ones with 500 mA ones—no more power outages but less safety. My laptop ended up underwater except on my backpack, so it survived. I felt a bit of tingle when I stood in the water but I was fine.

Nancy: It’s a lot of work to organize an event.

Alex: It is. On the night before opening we were running like headless chickens. Someone handed me a stack of AutoCAD drawings for 1,800 chairs—the fire department was precise about spacing. They sent it back six times. Three CCC folks arrived and asked if they could help. They stood there at 2 a.m. directing 20 people to place chairs exactly by the map. Only hacker events run like that.

Nancy: So are you planning to come to WHY, or any other camp stories? You also did HAL in Switzerland, right?

Alex: I didn’t do much there. In 2009 my son was born, other priorities. I didn’t attend camps for a while. Last year I came to Congress again and took him. He was four at the time. He enjoyed it and wants to go again. Are you planning to go to WIPE?

Nancy: Yes, with him.

Nancy: Any particular things you want to see?

Alex: There’s always so much interesting stuff. I like the whole DIY experience. I spend more time talking to people than at talks. You’re not just a consumer here; you’re part of creating the event. That’s what makes these events great.

Nancy: Absolutely. Very cool. Thank you so much.

Nancy: Alex said you have to interview Pepijn or he won’t feed him. This is not a joke. Pepijn is Alex’s son. Here’s Pepijn.

Nancy: We’re at CCC Congress in Hamburg. Introduce yourself.

Pepijn: My name is Pepijn. I’m 15. My dad’s from the NOC, so I’m here helping and volunteering.

Nancy: You’re a 15-year-old hacker—do you think you’re a hacker?

Pepijn: No. I don’t understand anything. I’m just happy to be here.

Nancy: What makes it cool to be at a Hacker Event or Congress?

Pepijn: It amazes me how difficult things can be, but people here make it look easy. I’m trying to learn what’s happening. It’s fun to ask someone what’s on a screen and have them explain for half an hour. You learn what it means.

Nancy: You came first last year and wanted to come back—why?

Pepijn: The simple beginner talks are fun. You spend an hour and know so much more. It feels good to learn.

Nancy: How do you get more young people to events like this?

Pepijn: Simple 101-level talks aimed at beginners. Last year I skipped talks I thought were too hard; this year I understood five or six. Good speakers answer questions well. That gives a good feeling. More beginner talks for younger audiences will bring more young people.

Nancy: What themes interest your generation?

Pepijn: For me it’s talks by Ad. I like gaming—video games or programming games. Every young person games. If people make talks about games, the younger audience will come.

Nancy: Anything else?

Pepijn: If you’re unsure, just go to one event and see. You might think it’s not your thing, but most first-timers really enjoy everything. Try it out. Events in other countries can be fun too.

Nancy: Thank you so much for the interview.

Pepijn: No problem.

Nancy: I’ll let you know when it’s online. Thanks. Great.

Nancy: So now we know how to attract younger people—simple talks and gaming. He still says he’s not a hacker; I don’t believe him. Very cool.

Ad: So it’s good to have our Vacancy of the Week. One that stood out is the Quiet Zone or Silent Lounge, which needs decoration and designs. It’s a place to relax, to unwind if you’ve had enough blinking lights, music, and people. Just bask in the quiet comfort for a bit.

Nancy: Especially since we have a lot of neuro-spicy people who need a quiet spot.

Ad: This is your chance to make people happy with cool designs. If you’re looking for purpose, go for it. And yes, there will be Wi-Fi everywhere—even in the Silent Lounge—because we’re hackers. Expect wired internet (1 Gb or even 10 Gb), plus “Datenklos” (data toilets) scattered around the field containing network gear. You can plug your tent into one; instructions will be on the wiki. There’s encrypted wireless with username/password that can place you on different VLANs and firewall rules (camp-only, internet-accessible, outbound-only, etc.). If you set up your own village, follow the wiki channels, turn transmit power down, and don’t spin up too many access points. Full network guidance will be on the event wiki in a few months.

Nancy: This will be my last episode recorded from south of Europe. Shout-out to Hackerspace Valencia: Ignacio made amazing laser-cut business cards (wood, metal, plastic) with RFID to my LinkedIn. I’ll share pictures. Thanks again! If you’re ever in Valencia, visit your local hackerspace—you’ll meet lovely, talented people. We had a brunch last Saturday and met cool project folks. It adds extra spice to your holiday.

Ad: If you have questions or feedback, leave a comment on YouTube or email WHYcast@WHY2025.org. All links are in the show notes below. We’ll see and hear you next Friday.