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**Tech GoH for PenguiCon 2.0 in TwoThousandFour, NiftyGuest in TwoThousandThree and TwoThousandFive**

**Jeff "Hemos" Bates Bio**

Jeff Bates is probably best known as hemos on Slashdot.org. Hemos says: “Having had the somewhat dubious pleasure of being friends with Rob Malda since sixth grade, I’ve been one of the earliest people submitting to Slashdot, and actually gave half the money for the domain name when we switched from Chips’n’Dips. Silly me — I just wanted a good domain name for an e-mail address. 

“Little did I realize that the site would continue to grow and grow. In the recent years, I’ve continued to be part of Slashdot, but also run OSDN’s online group, which includes sites like Sourceforge.net, Freshmeat.net, Linux.com, Newsforge.com, Thinkgeek.com and a whole slew of other sites. It’s been an interesting time, alright, with the dot-bomb implosion, but thanks to the power of OpenSource, we’ve survived and thrived. 

“During the time, my house burned down twice, and last time I was in Tokyo working with our Japanese counterparts, their office building in downtown Tokyo burned. The lesson here? Don’t mess with my pyrokinetic powers. And, if you are an insurance company stay very very far away.

“I enjoy comics (Cerebus, The Sandman (duh), Thieves & Kings, Hellboy, The Incredible Hulk. I also enjoy reading everything from terrible fantasy/ScienceFiction to massive works of historical non- fiction. I usually like my books heavy enough that holding them up to read counts as aerobic exercise. 

“In terms of computer gaming, I blame Sid Meier’s Civ series for the chronic sleep loss that has defined my life. As well, the Baldur’s Gate series was good, but if you want to go retro, the Krynn gold box series is still one of my favorites, as is Bard’s Tale. 

“I currently live in a secret cave somewhere in Eastern Michigan with my wife, and two daughers, one of whom is the most powerful baby in the universe.”

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Jeff is also involved in providing material for, and managing other websites owned by the OpenSource Development Network, Inc. (the current owners of SlashDot), and is also a big fan of The Onion. He and RobCmdrTacoMalda also launched the site Everything2.

The nickname "Hemos" is a mangling of the name of a plant found on Michigan dunes. That probably indicates something.

**Jeff "Hemos" Bates' schedule for PenguiCon 2.0 in TwoThousandFour:**

Friday 8:00 pm Ballroom A/B **Opening Ceremonies** 

Friday 10:00 pm Keweenaw **Comic Book Legal Defense Fund** 

Saturday 2:00 pm Ballroom A/B **Autograph Session** 

Saturday 5:00 pm Keweenaw **Spotlight on Slashdot.org** 

Saturday 6:00 pm Da Vinci’s **Banquet** 

Sunday 10:00 am Keweenaw **Keeping up in Science & Tech** 

Sunday 11:00 am Ballroom A/B **Blogs as Literature**