Week 11: Fishing For Volunteers


Next weekend is Hood to Coast, one of the largest and longest relay races in the world — and one that, like DAC, is only possibly thanks to legions of volunteers. The trailer for this 2011 documentary does a good job capturing the race’s atmosphere. (The full version of the film is available on iTunes and Amazon. By the way, who’s ready to sign up to do the documentary about DAC?) Hood to... » read more

Week 10: Tallying It Up


I’m sticking with the theme of financial housekeeping given the DAC-related meeting I’m off to this week. Several of us on the executive committee are getting together to audit the 2014 conference and begin budget planning for the 52nd DAC. Prosaic stuff, I know, though it’s an important part of being good stewards to our main sponsors, who I blogged about two weeks ago. Of course we’re... » read more

Week 9: Look Out The Window


When I grew up I was considered a rather difficult child. I couldn’t focus on a single task for long and sitting in the classroom, especially in elementary school, was sheer agony. I vividly remember one morning in third grade when, in the middle of a math test, I looked out the window and noticed a helicopter flying by. This was a notably more interesting fact than the numbers and equations ... » read more

Who Owns DAC?


In June I was chatting with an editor unfamiliar with DAC and he was wondering who owns the conference. It’s a fair question and I recall thinking I’d blog about it as part of my effort to boost understanding of DAC. After all, my goal is to let you glimpse behind the curtain and that means touching on the prosaic though very important issue of ownership. First, the basics. DAC is owne... » read more

DAC Is Starting To Heat Up


As we reach the midpoint of summer, it’s time to kick back and enjoy vacation and the sunshine. But don’t get too relaxed, because paper submissions are just around the corner. Turning up the temperature on paper submissions Last week I introduced you to DAC’s two technical program co-chairs Sharon Hu and Rob Aitken. They lead our technical program committee, a world-wide volunteer n... » read more

Week 6: Still In Wow-Land


While the conflicts around the world are overshadowing my complete euphoria, I have to admit that I’m still in Fussball wow-land right now. Germany won the World Cup! What an amazing goal from youngster Mario Goetze! Here is what the 22-year-old forward from Bayern-Muenchen had to say after the game: “Andre [Schurrle] put in a superb ball and I was able to control it on my chest, then someh... » read more

DAC’s Front Line…Soha, Chuck And Me


In Brazil the drama continues, though that may be understating what happened yesterday. I’m still rendered nearly speechless by the result from Belo Horizonte, where all sorts of history was made. Of course I’m thrilled that Germany has a chance to win its first World Cup since 1990, though like much of Fussball-fandom I’m stunned and even a bit unnerved at how easy they made it look in t... » read more

Thoughts On DAC While Watching The World Cup


Are you following the World Cup? I am. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m German, so soccer (rather, Fussball) is much more up my alley than football or baseball will ever be. When it comes to DAC planning, we are still at the fun, early stage of casting about widely for ideas and feedback. Mostly now we’re looking to prompt a bit of creative discussion, a challenge since the majo... » read more

More Simplicity Next Year


I briefly mentioned last week that I want to give you a glimpse behind the curtain of the DAC operation during the year. One goal of this blog is to give you some insight into the work the fabulous volunteers for DAC are doing. And that’s not only the 20 volunteers on the DAC Executive Committee. From the technical program committees all the way to the marketing committee, the event is entire... » read more

Kicking Off DAC 2015


The DAC executive committee closed the 51st DAC last Friday. And guess what? Right afterward we had the first planning meeting for next year’s conference, for which I’ll serve as General Chair. Because most attendees don’t really get a glimpse behind the curtain into these sorts of activities, I thought I’d experiment by blogging my way to next June in San Francisco. I plan to publis... » read more

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