MicroCon host nation preparations

 This picture was posted over on Facebook by the host nation(*) with the caption, "How many big boxes does it take to carry a hundred or so goodie bags? Four and counting. I'm sure glad I don't have to bring most of them home again!"

(*) For reasons I won't get into here, both Saint-Castin and Sancratosia backed out of MicroCon at the last minute, leaving the Aerican Empire to finalize preparations and host the conference on their own. Fortunately, the MicroCon community is stepping up and volunteering to assist in any way necessary.

MicroCon 2025 - two weeks to go!

 We are just under two weeks from MicroCon 2025, which will be held at the Ruby Foo's hotel in Montreal, QC. This year's event is being hosted by three micronations working together, including the Aerican Empire, the Newgraviate of Saint-Castin, and the Principality of Sancratosia. I know the rulers of all three micronations, and I'm quite confident that this will be an amazing event. (UPDATED to reflect new realities that came out shortly after this was originally posted...)

At this point, there's about 44 micronations and 115 people registered to attend, shattering all previous records for both.

Slabovia is, of course, attending, and I'll be on a panel discussion with other former MicroCon hosts, and might also be giving a separate talk, time permitting.

We've also been busy preparing various things to give away at the conference, because that's always fun. One of the things I'm most amazed with and proud of is pictured below - these are custom-printed Lego(tm) pieces we had done by Marc at Million Prints. He does great work!

Micronational Hall of Excellence

 A few years back, I was privileged to be asked to join the Board for a new body being formed, the Micronational Hall of Excellence. Since that time, Slabovia has kept her seat on the board and two votes in the voting body, and we intend to remain a part of this august body for as long as they'll have us.

Previous inductees have included names that ring through the history of micronationalism, including Emperor Norton, Prince Leonard of Hutt River, Prince Roy of Sealand, and Statssekreterare Lars Vilks of Ladonia, as well as a number of micronational leaders who I've been privileged to consider as friends and colleagues, including President Kevin Baugh of Molossia, Queen Anastasia of Ruritania, Queen Carolyn of Ladonia, Prince Jean-Pierre IV of Aigues-Mortes, and Grand Duke Travis of Westarctica.

Voting is currently under way for the 2025 induction, and while I can't comment as to the vote results, I can say that there are a number of deserving nominees, both historical and current.

Re: That last interview

 Available now on iHeart Radio, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify!

Another interview!

 Today, I spent over an hour talking to His Royal Highness, Prince Stephen of Dracul for his podcast, Micro Improvement. I'll post the link once this episode is live (February 7th?) but you can find the podcast on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Now in its third season, so far this year the podcast has talked to Dr. Eric Lis (Emperor of the Aerican Empire), Queen Carolyn of Ladonia, and Sultan Randy Williams of Slowjamastan.

My talk at the Digi Micro Summit - December 28, 2024

 Today I was pleased to give a talk entitled "Find your niche: Making an impact in the micronational community" at the 2024 Digi Micro Summit.  You can see the recording of the video below:

While you're there, you can also watch Zar Antonov's presentation on medals, uniforms, and flags!

Press Release

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Slabovia Participates in Cyber Competition

[SLABOVIA] Elements of Slabovia’s cyber command, Slabovian Cyber External Network Threat Defense, Reconnaissance, and Operations Planning (SCENTDROP), recently participated in the Fall 2024 National Cyber League (NCL) competition.

The NCL competition, now in its eleventh year, annually sees more than 10,000 secondary and post-secondary students participate individually and in teams in a competitive online arena that simulates real-life cyber-threats. Challenges in NCL include cryptography and password cracking, open-source intelligence gathering, application exploitation, and web application attacks, among other areas.

The Slabovian contingent captured 2175 points in the individual game, finishing well within the top 500 competitors overall, and 2570 points in the team game, placing them within the top 10% of competing teams.

His Royal Majesty, King George 2.0, who spoke at MicroCon 2023 in Joliet, IL about “Cyberwarfare as an Existential Threat to Micronations”, led the Slabovian effort. An internationally recognized expert in cybersecurity, His Majesty recently joined the faculty of City University of Seattle, where he will lecture on this area to undergraduate and graduate students.

When reached for comment, His Majesty stated, “In the modern, connected era, cybersecurity touches almost everything we do. We are very proud of how Slabovia performed in NCL, given that this was our first time competing, and We expect even better results in future competitions.”

The NCL Commissioner, David Zeichick, said, “The NCL Competition provides the opportunity for students to gain mastery of practical skills through well-designed challenges,  covering the major aspects of computer security.”

For more information about National Cyber League, see https://nationalcyberleague.org/

 

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