From: erikb@tic.com (Chris Goggans)
Subject: HoHoCon announcement
Originator: riddle@aahsa.tic.com
X-Submissions: eff-austin@tic.com
Organization: none
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 1992 02:25:52 GMT

[Updated Announcement - October 27, 1992]


dFx International Digest and cDc - Cult Of The Dead Cow proudly present :


                              The Third Annual


                               X M A S C O N

                                    AKA

                               H 0 H 0 C O N


                           "WE KAN'T BE ST0PPED!"


Who:   All Hackers, Journalists, Security Personnel, Federal Agents,
               Lawyers, Authors and Other Interested Parties.


Where:                         Allen Park Inn
                             2121 Allen Parkway
                           Houston, Texas  77019
                                   U.S.A.
                            Tel: (800) 231-6310
                            Hou: (713) 521-9321
                       Fax: (713) 521-9321, Ext. 350


When:      Friday December 18 through Sunday December 20, 1992



                          HoJo's Says NoNo To HoHo
                          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HAY!^@!*%!$1#&! We beat our own record! This year, thanks to one certain
person's complete stupidity and ignorance, we managed to get kicked out of
our first chosen hotel 4 months in advance. Needless to say, this caused
some serious confusion for those who called to make reservations and were
told the conference had been canceled. Well.. it hasn't been. The story
is long, but if you wish to read exactly what happened, check out CuD 4.45.

The conference dates are still the same, but the hotel has changed since
what was originally reported in the first update, which made it's way
throughout Usenet and numerous other places, including CuD 4.40. If you
haven't heard about the new location, please make a note of the information
listed above.


                          What Exactly Is HoHoCon?
                          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HoHoCon is something you have to experience to truly understand. It is the
largest annual gathering of those in, related to, or wishing to know more
about the computer underground (or those just looking for another excuse
to party). Attendees generally include some of the most notable members of
the "hacking/telecom" community, journalists, authors, security
professionals, lawyers, and a host of others. Last year's speakers ranged
from Bruce Sterling to Chris Goggans and Scot Chasin of Comsec/LoD. The
conference is also one of the very few that is completely open to the
public and we encourage anyone who is interested to attend.

Or, as Jim Thomas put it in CuD 4.45:

"For the past few years, a conference called "XmasCon" (or HoHoCon) has
been held in Texas in December. As reported previously (CuD #4.40), it will
be held again this year from 18-21 December. For those unfamiliar with it,
XmasCon is a national meeting of curious computer aficionados,
journalists, scholars, computer professionals, and others, who meet for
three days and do what people do at other conferences: Discuss common
interests and relax."


                           Hotel Information
                           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Allen Park Inn is located along Buffalo Bayou and is approximately
three minutes away from Downtown Houston. The HoHoCon group room rates
are $49.00 plus tax (15%) per night, your choice of either single or
double. As usual, when making reservations you will need to tell the
hotel you are with the HoHoCon Conference to receive the group rate.

Unlike our previously chosen joke of a hotel, the Allen Park Inn is not
situated next to an airport and this may cause a small inconvenience for
those of you who will be flying to the conference. The hotel is centrally
located so you can fly in to either Intercontinental or Hobby airport but
we are recommending Hobby as it is 15 miles closer and much easier to get
to from the hotel. Here's where it may get a little confusing -

If you arrive at Hobby, you will need to take the Downtown Hyatt Airport
Shuttle to the Hyatt, which departs every 30 minutes and will cost you
$6.00. When you get to the Hyatt, get out of the shuttle with your luggage
(for those who may not of figured that out yet) and use any of the nearby
payphones to call the Allen Park Inn (521-9321) and tell them you need a
ride. It's just like calling Mom when you need a ride home from glee club!
The hotel shuttle will be around shortly to pick you up and take you to the
aforementioned elite meeting place, and that ride is free. If all this is
too much for you, you can always take a cab directly to the hotel which
will run you about $20.

If you arrive at Intercontinental, you will need to board the Airport
Express bus and take it to the Downtown Hyatt ($9). Once there, just follow
the same instructions listed above.

We are in the process of trying to get the hotel to provide constant
airport transportation during the conference, but they've yet to give us a
definite answer. It is quite possible that we will have our own shuttle to
bus people between the airports and hotel, so if you'd prefer a faster and
more direct method of transportation, it would be helpful to mail and let
us know what time you'll be arriving and at what airport. This will give
us a chance to coordinate things more efficiently.

Check-in is 3:00 p.m. and check-out is 12:00 noon. Earlier check-in is
available if there are unoccupied rooms ready. Free local calls are
provided, so bring dem 'puterz. I don't know if cable is free also, so
those who wish to rekindle the memories of yesteryear may want to bring
their screwdrivers. The hotel has both 24 hour room service, and a 24 hour
restaurant, The Nashville Room. Call it a wacky coincidence, but the hotel
bar is called the ATI room and like most of Houston's similar
establishments, closes at 2 a.m. Good thing Tony still works at Spec's...

This time around, the hotel is placing the conference guests in the rooms
surrounding the courtyard/pool area. We are once again encouraging people
to make their reservations as soon as possible for two reasons - first,
we were told that if you wait too long and the courtyard rooms are all
taken, there is a chance that you'll be situated at the complete opposite
end of the hotel, which isn't so bad if you don't mind walking all that
way back and forth outside in December. Secondly, there is no other hotel
exactly next door to this one (the closest is about 5 minutes away or so),
so if for some odd reason all the rooms get rented, you'll get to do some
nifty traveling every night.


                                 Directions
                                 ~~~~~~~~~~

For those of you who will be driving to the conference, the following is a
list of directions on how to get to the hotel from most of Houston's major
freeways that bring traffic in from out of town:

I-45 North or South: Exit Allen Parkway on the inside (left side) of the
freeway. Take the Studemont/Montrose exit off Allen Parkway, then make a
u-turn at the bridge and head back towards downtown. The hotel will be on
the right hand side.

290: Take 290 to 610 South, then take I-10 East towards downtown. Exit
Studemont. Right on Studemont, left on Allen Parkway. The hotel will be on
the right hand side.

I-10 West: Exit Studemont. Right on Studemont, left on Allen Parkway. The
hotel will be on the right hand side.

I-10 East: Take I-10 East to I-45 South and follow the same directions from
I-45 listed above.

I-59 North or South: Take I-59 to I-45 North and follow the same directions
from I-45 listed above.

Call the hotel if these aren't complete enough or if you need additional
information.


                             Conference Details
                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HoHoCon will last 3 days, with the actual conference being held on
Saturday, December 19 in the Hermitage Room, starting at 11:00 a.m. and
continuing until 5 p.m. or earlier depending on the number of speakers.

We are still in the planning stages at the moment, primarily due to time
lost in finding a new hotel and getting contracts signed. We have a number
of speakers confirmed (yes, Goggans will be speaking again) and will try to
finalize the list and include it in the next update. We are definitely
still looking for people to speak and welcome diverse topics (except for
"The wonders and joys of ANSI, and how it changed my life"). If you're
interested in rattling away, please contact us as soon as possible and let
us know who you are, who you represent (if anyone), the topic you wish to
speak on, a rough estimate of how long you will need, and whether or not
you will be needing any audio-visual aids.

We would like to have people bring interesting items and videos again this
year. If you have anything you think people would enjoy having the chance
to see, please let us know ahead of time, and tell us if you will need any
help getting it to the conference. If all else fails, just bring it to the
con and give it to us when you arrive. We will also include a list of items
and videos that will be present in a future update.

If anyone requires any additional information, needs to ask any questions,
wants to RSVP, or would like to be added to the mailing list to receive the
HoHoCon updates, you may mail us at:

                            dfx@nuchat.sccsi.com
                           drunkfux@freeside.com
                       drunkfux@ashpool.freeside.com
                            359@7354 (WWIV Net)

                           or via sluggo mail at:

                           Freeside Data Network
                             Attn: HoHoCon/dFx
                             11504 Hughes Road
                                 Suite 124
                               Houston, Texas
                                   77089

We also have a VMB which includes all the conference information and is
probably the fastest way to get updated reports. The number is:

                                713-866-4884

You may also download any of the conference announcements and related
materials by calling 713-492-2783 and using the username "unix", which is
unpassworded. The files will be in the "hohocon" directory. Type "biscuit"
if you wish to gain an account on the system. You can find us there too.

Conference information and updates will most likely also be found in most
computer underground related publications, including CuD, Informatik, NIA,
Mondo 2000, 2600, Phrack, World View, etc. We completely encourage people
to use, reprint, and distribute any information in this file.


                Stupid Ending Statement To Make Us Look Good
                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HoHoCon '92 will be a priceless learning experience for professionals
(yeah, right) and gives journalists a chance to gather information and
ideas direct from the source. It is also one of the very few times when all
the members of the computer underground can come together for a realistic
purpose. We urge people not to miss out on an event of this caliber, which
doesn't happen very often. If you've ever wanted to meet some of the most
famous people from the hacking community, this may be your one and only
chance. Don't wait to read about it in all the magazines and then wish you
had been there, make your plans to attend now! Be a part of what we hope to
be our largest and greatest conference ever.

Remember, to make your reservations, call (800) 231-6310 and tell them
you're with HoHoCon.



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