A new look for nerds

Goggles and gears: Steampunk themed Clockwork Con invades Austin this weekend

Steampunk Convention-goers showing off their genre style.

This weekend, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Austin, I’ll be in the midst of hundreds of fun-loving retrofuturists for Clockwork Con 2012. I’m excited and a little scared.

Clockwork Con is like any convention where enthusiasts gather to share their performance of the things they share in common. But whereas businesspeople go to conventions to discuss new financial ventures and technology advancements, Clockwork Con is a convention dedicated to a science-fiction subculture known as steampunk that, according to some, has been brewing in the collective imagination of humankind since H.G. Wells invented the time machine. In other words, Clockwork Con is a raging nerd party.

Steampunk—reportedly named such by Kevin Jeter, author of a celebrated Wells spinoff fiction called Morlock Night—is a pulp genre come to life. The milieu of Clockwork Con exists in an alternate reality where steam power and mechanism remain the height of technology. Caitlin Kittredge, a fantasy author whose works borrow from (and contribute to) the steampunk canon, describes the genre as “sort of Victorian-industrial, but with more whimsy and fewer orphans.”

For the uninitiated: expect top hats and stovepipes, aviator caps and goggles, corsets, vests, fat ties and pocketwatch chains. Expect blimps, airships, dirigibles and propeller balloons. Expect entertainment in the order of burlesque, mime, staged combat and live action role playing. Live music will be furnished by the likes of steampunk bands with names like Steam Powered Giraffe, Marquis of Vaudeville, DJ Doctor Q and Master "Bones" Jangle & the Voodoo Island Cannibals.

Friday’s panels feature discussions on the steampunk bestiary, steampunk spiritualism, steampunk taxonomy, and steampunk literary tropes. The day closes with a comedy show, a magic show, a burlesque show, a dance party, and a mysterious offering called “Meet the 5 Emperors” which may or may not be an initiation ritual.

Saturday is the densest of the convention’s three-day run. In the morning, members of Austin tabletop gaming outfit Cracked Monocle take center stage for a two hour demonstration of their flagship project, a meticulously crafted clockworks-and-steam dice game that’s created substantial buzz on Kickstarter in the last few weeks. Throughout the day, attendees can pick up tips on corsetry, haberdashery, steampunk piracy, vintage hairstyling and proper roleplaying techniques and etiquette.

Panels on leatherworking and alchemy kick off the day on Sunday, followed by philosophy, millinery and a mad science contest. A brief entrée into steampunk belly dancing leads us to the final panel of the event, “An Airship as a Business”, after which a round of closing ceremonies will put Clockwork Con to bed.

Day passes are priced at $30, $35 and $25, respectively. Three-day admission runs a cool sixty bucks. A tea room and vendor’s quarters will provide refreshments and souvenirs throughout the mornings and afternoons. If you need a pair of cog earrings, a leather watch strap or a new pneumatic actuator for your pet automaton, the steampunk dignitaries at Clockwork Con might be able to help you out.

Are you ready for it? Because this is nerd to a whole new level. I can't wait.

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Clockwork Con takes place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Austin. Follow Justin on Twitter for dispatches from the belly of the steaming beast.

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Defensive Driving

Austin-based Tesla faces new probe focused on remote driving feature

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating 2.6 million Teslas.

Federal regulators have opened an investigation into 2.6 million Teslas after reports of crashes involving the use of company technology that allows drivers to remotely command their vehicle to return to them, or move to another location, using a phone app.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also said Tuesday, January 7 that Austin-based Tesla did not report any of the accidents. Tesla is under order to report crashes on “publicly accessible roads” involving vehicles being operated through its autonomous driving technology.

The new investigation follows another probe launched in October looking into the company's “Full Self-Driving” system after getting reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian. That investigation covers 2.4 million Teslas from the 2016 through 2024 model years.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

One driver filed a complaint after a crash while using Tesla's “Actually Smart Summon” technology and NHTSA is looking into another three similar incidents based on media reports, the NHTSA said. The agency is looking into 12 total incidents reported by users of the technology.

Each of the vehicles failed to detect posts and other parked vehicles, according to the NHTSA.

Regulators say the vehicles struck objects because the users had "too little reaction time to avoid a crash, either with the available line of sight or releasing the phone app button, which stops the vehicle’s movement.”

Shares of Tesla Inc. slid more than 4 percent in late afternoon trading Tuesday.

Musk has complained that U.S. regulations are too onerous and are holding back the development of self-driving cars. Ethics experts are worried that once President-elect Donald Trump takes office, Musk will push him to ease oversight of Tesla, which just suffered its first decline in annual sales in more than a decade.

Musk donated an estimated $250 million to Trump's presidential campaign and is a frequent guest at Trump's Mar-a-Lago, vetting cabinet nominees and meeting with foreign heads of state. Trump has put Musk in charge of an advisory group, the Department of Government Efficiency, that will recommend where to cut government expenses and staff at federal agencies and reduce regulation.

The NHTSA said it will look into the top speed that Teslas can reach when users deploy its “summons” technology, as well as restrictions on public roads and line of sights requirements. It also said it expects to check for any “connectivity delays" with the app that could result in increased stopping distance.

Tesla’s Model 3 owner’s manual says that its “summons” feature is designed for use only in parking lots and driveways on private property and is disabled on public roads.

The new probe covers 2016-2025 Model S and X vehicles, 2017-2025 Model 3, 2020-2025 Model Y equipped with Tesla's Full Self-Driving driver assistance system.

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