We attended our second science fiction convention, Norwescon 33, from April 1-4, hoping to attract some new [[Starfarers]] to join our active membership. We talked with lots of great people, got to hang out with sci-fi luminaries like Vernor Vinge and Cory Doctorow, and gained nine new [[FriendsOfSolSeed|friends]] on our email list (welcome all!), one of whom has also joined the wiki.
== Notes taken at the convention ==
=== Charles Radley ===
==== Conferences to look into ====
* Space Frontier Foundation conference
** San Francisco, NASA Ames Research Ctr
** July 20
** They use the term "newspace" a lot
* Int'l Astro Federation conference
** This year it's in Prague
** Biggest in world, about 10,000 ppl
* Int'l Space Development conference
** This year it's in Chicago
** Memorial Day weekend
** Not as expensive as some others
** Buzz Aldrin will be there
==== People to research or talk to ====
* Ben and Carrie Ann Higgenbotham, SpaceVidcast.tv
* David Livingston ... TheSpaceShow.com
* Dave Stewart, pres of Puget Sound chapter of NSS (right over there at the NSS table)
=== Nonprofit panel ===
* G. Robin Smith of Five Rivers Fundraising
** Performs as Ben Franklin
* Charles Radley, on boards of several nonprofits, also on local water board
** mainly there to listen to G. Robin
** Leeward Foundation submitted a 30-page package to become a 501(c)3, which Charles can send you
* Best resources: sofii.org, Showcase of Fundraising, Innovation, and Inspiration
** founded by Ken Burnett, who wrote ''The Zen of Fundraising''
** Ken's publishing company publishes "Tiny books"
** Charles: goodshop.com?
* Getting volunteers is a form of fundraising b/c it replaces the funds it would take to pay people to do that work
* G. Robin has done some fundraising in Canada for SCA, and contacted people in Australia and Europe for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
* Audience member: Putting money into PayPal is dangerous b/c they can close your account at any time if they don't like you
* Useful get-the-word-out techniques include interviews, YouTube, podcasts; "If you liked this podcast, send a few $"
* NSS is 501(c)3, vs. Space Corps is 501(c)4, vs. Space PAC: all related orgs but can't move $ between them in certain ways
* Holding raffles or other game-of-chance events is legally tricky
* Related nonprofits and for-profits
** Moon Society had a hard time getting 501(c)3 status because of association with for-profit Artemis Project
** Can have a "nonprofit" that makes profit but doesn't distribute it to shareholders
* There are 3 clients in fundraising: the charity, the investor, and the community
** Try to get ideas, time, and energy from investors as well as $ (builds genuine relationships)
** Tell the investors honestly when you screw up, and generally have an honest, straightforward approach
* "No" always means "Not yet"
* Read widely so you can connect your vision with other people's own interests (or at least find other ways to help them)
* Figure out all the different ways volunteers can help
* People don't retain info written in sans-serif
* Example: K-8 magnet school on the Olympic Peninsula that has been a 501(c)3 for 20 years
** Wants to build a sustainable building to get out of the 3 portables they're now in
** Include a community center, library, meeting space
** Advice:
*** Contact with Chamber of Commerce is important: ask them for business ideas/expertise
**** Ex. Lumber company can put up a sign advertising their sustainable wood lines
*** Don't "cap" the idea, make the investors part of the dream
*** Start with community event where "we just want ideas, leave your checkbooks at home"
*** Talk with other nonprofits in the area, also city, county, and state reps
=== Panel on "Space: Humanity's Best Hope for Long-Term Survival" ===
==== Participants ====
* G. David Nordley, former astronautical engineer, now writes science fiction
** General position: It's easier to go to space than to survive in the long term with just Earth's resources
* Guy Immega, science fiction author
** General position: The rest of this solar system is too hard, so we're stuck here until we find a habitable exoplanet
* Jim Frankel, Senior Editor of Tor Books
** General position: Unfortunately, we probably need to go to space because it may be too late to save the Earth
* Vernor Vinge, science fiction author and Norwescon Writer Guest of Honor
** General position: We may need a Technological Singularity before real interplanetary civilization becomes possible
==== Discussion ====
* Vinge:
** We will need to go interstellar to survive over geologic time
** Mentioned a guy named Martin Rees who thinks Earth is the home of the only life in the cosmos
* Nordley:
** We can give Mars a magnetosphere by running a tube around the equator
** Don't worry too much about NASA rules against impacting other worlds
** Exoplanets with free oxygen are taken, so we should avoid them
* Frankel: We need a longer view than the 1-to-3-year time horizon of a typical business plan, to understand that wrecking the Earth means killing potential future customers
* Vinge:
** Jerry Pournelle says major expansions of freedom occur in one of two ways, and a vast increase in available resources is one of them
** Neither business nor government are good at long-term thinking, but there are people with good ideas about it whose voices should be heard
* Audience question about asteroids and other small space colonies as a first step
** Immega: Biosphere 2 failed very badly; Lynn Margulis observes that we can't even make a self-sustaining ecosystem in a petri dish
** Nordley: We don't need a totally closed system, since resources are available even in space (and some can be shipped from Earth for awhile)
* Vinge: Lots of research has shown that we have no idea how big the minimum sustainable breeding population of humans would be
** Nordley: The number gets smaller over time
** Frankel: If you need extra genetic diversity, just pull some sperm or eggs out of a bank
** Audience question: But what is the minimum size to produce a viable culture and economy? (No real answer given)
* Audience question: Can going to space relieve population pressure on Earth?
** Nordley: Actually we ''could'' evacuate significant fractions of the population and build enough colonies for them
** Vinge: Not likely; Ben Franklin observed that people may just breed more if some of the popuplation is removed
* Frankel: Don't worry too much about the psychology of living in space or on other worlds; people are very adaptable; just look at how differently you have to live in Alaska
* Final question: Does leaving Earth, all by itself, make us posthuman?