“Great. More political bullsh*t. She probably doesn’t know what a shell is.”

That was the dismissive comment I overheard from a guy sitting next to me during the Fireside Chat at Defcon. The session featured Anne Neuberger, the National Security Council’s advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technologies. Despite her impressive background—spanning computer programming and system analysis—this guy’s outdated biases were evident. It’s a reminder that even in the tech world, we still have some hurdles to clear.

But I wasn’t going to let that comment overshadow my Defcon experience. The event was incredible! I reconnected with DJ Jackalope, who’s transitioned from a Splunk acquaintance to an internet sensation. It was fantastic catching up with her and procuring some of her cool merch.

I also spent time with some hackers from SouthBay Wasp, Irvin Underground, and the San Diego Defcon groups. I even ran into Mr. Bill at the Hard Hat Brigade village. He handed me a hard hat, sparking some exciting new ideas for future hacking projects. I am thinking of turning the hard hat into monster based on the Hash Monster. I want to mount an ESP 32 Cheap Yellow Display Board (CYD) off Amazon, as well as a Hallowing eye from Adafruit along with some cool LED lights!

I finally managed to score a Shell on Demand Appliance (S.O.D.A.), though I didn’t have much chance to dig into it. That’s something to look forward to for next year—if I don’t run out of time again! And to top it all off, I hit a lucky streak at FountainBleau on the way home, winning $351.50 from a free play.

Defcon was a fantastic experience filled with inspiration and new opportunities. Here’s to more events where we can push boundaries and challenge biases in the tech world.