We've got a ton of new talks being posted over the next few days! Some of the most exciting that we've selected include Genes and Proteins: A wayward Hacker's Foray in Bioinformatics where tchell will be discussing how DNA and proteins work and how us hackers can understand what they do and hack the science behind them!

Also announced is Using Low-Altitude Balloons and Kites for Imaging, Sensing, and Networking which will discuss how to make low cost drones for all sorts of awesomeness using balloons and kites. The talk cover all of the uses for this technology as well as the safety guidelines that they have to operate under and MathewL's experience with the Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science.

Want more info on what to expect at the camp? We put together some info on the location, layout of the camp, and all of the talks, workshops, parties, and other activities that you'll find at the camp to give you an idea of what it'll be like. More detailed info on rules and regulations, check out our Campsites info page on the wiki or for our Frequently Asked Questions.

ToorCamp speaker Sai, who will be speaking on Cognitive Science for Hackers, just started a YouTube Channel on Cognitive Science to give you an idea of what to expect at ToorCamp this year. It's quite staggering the difference between our perceived fears and statistically what we should really be afraid of. Thanks Sai!

As an effort to get the local tech-inspired artist community involved with ToorCamp, we are offering a program where you can apply for a grant to fund building your art project and/or transporting your existing art project to the camp. Need some gas money for bringing out your flamethrowers? Want to bring out your singing tesla coils from the midwest but need some money for shipping? Want to build a giant glowing ToorCamp logo out of EL Wire and need some funds for materials? We're here to help! For more information on getting an art grant please contact artgrants@toorcon.org.

Part two of our video series captures the test construction for our PRIME Dome at ToorCamp. In this build, we only constructed the first seven tiers of the PRIME Dome, giving us roughly a 17 foot ceiling. The completed PRIME Dome will have nine tiers and will be 25 feet tall and 50 feet wide. The PRIME Dome will also include a stage and electricity for lighting, a speaker system, and a video screen for the ToorCamp talks and workshop sessions. The experience gained from this test construction is invaluable. Not only will it prepare the installation crew for a safe and efficient build, but it ensures all of the pieces match and fit. Plus, once we are on location the nearest hardware store is over an hour and a half away!

To see the video of how we constructed all of the struts, check out our blog post on Part 0.

We're proud to announce a couple more workshops, first off there's Lock Picking Practice & Skills, which is part of our Lockpicking Village at the camp, which sets aside some time for people to stop by and learn how to lockpick or dust off their skills and spend some time trying out some new locks. The workshop will also cover making your own picks and how to properly care for the picks you have.

We also have a workshop that will teach you to calm your mind by teaching 5-7 different meditation techniques. Our plan is for the workshop to be done on the beach and should be a real treat! Definitely don't miss Meditation for Hackers.

Talks for today start off with one that presents makeyourlaws.org which is a new project to gradually bootstrap a direct (liquid) democracy, everywhere. This talk presents the basic ideas behind the project, addresses common questions about practicalities of direct democracy, and how fellow hackers can help create systemic change in their governance. Come check out Make Your Laws.

Also accepted is Penetration Testing with Metasploit which is a class that teaches the basics behind harnessing Metasploit and other tools such as nmap and the Social Engineering Toolkit to perform penetration tests.

The first round of pre-registration is closing on May 1st so make sure to register before the prices go up! Also, the first round of the Call for Papers is being finalized on May 1st so submit a talk ASAP before slots run out!

We've got a couple of security talks for you today. First off we have Robert R talking about the issues he deals with while defending over 1 million sites and around 100,000 attacks daily giving a good profile of web app vulnerabilities and backdoors that are common in this day and age in his talk, State of web app sec.

Also, we're proud to have Georgia Weidman talking about the new Smartphone Penetration Testing Framework, a DARPA Cyber Fast Track started project, and how you can use it to find vulnerabilities in modern smartphones, in Introducing the Smartphone Penetration Testing Framework.

We have a couple of exciting talks for you today. The first is Rob Eby showing how you can use ham radio equipment to send email, for those of you who just can't go without email, in Communication breakdown: Sending & Receiving email via Amateur Radio.

Second up is Robin DeBates who will discuss mental health challenges in the hacker community, warning signs, and things that you can do to help keep up on your mental health in Hacker Mental Health Meet Up.