John Melesky

Back home again (bless Amtrak’s “Quiet Cars”—the conductor sternly ordered no fewer than four passengers to shut off their cell phones and put them away).

The day was rainy, and (as expected) the participants were all a bit groggy. Although i had brunch with a friend beforehand, i could have dined on waffles.

The second-day presentations were a little more low-key. There was a popsicle-stick craft session, during which i made a very sturdy flyswatter, and a buggy slingshot-powered sled. There was an informal chat on pidgin (the IM client formerly known as GAIM), an interesting robotics demonstration, and a couple chats about startups, funding, and startup schools. The day was rounded out by a few sessions on local things: planning BarCamp Madison, the technical peer group in Milwaukee, and suchlike. At this point, though, i was on my way to the train.

“One thing which has struck me after attending a couple BarCamps is this: sometimes you have to JFDI.”

One thing which has struck me after attending a couple BarCamps is this: sometimes you have to JFDI. Whatever it is, whether running a BarCamp locally, presenting at a conference, starting a company, just doing it is the way to go.

It’s something we’re all (or at least most) aware of, but it’s so easy to fall back on the day-to-day. Heck, i’m a freelancer—my work changes weekly—and i’m still guilty of falling back.

So it might be time for me to JFDI. I need to come to grips with what “I” is.