Every year, Penguicon invites a dozen or more people (authors, hackers, and entertainers) who are not full Guests of Honor, but are celebrities in their own right, and calls them Featured Guests (formerly "Nifty Guests"). They also invite former Guests of Honor as "Guest of Honor Emeritus". In 2010, this included author Jim C. Hines, musician Tom Smith, and open source advocate Eric S. Raymond. Wil Wheaton's cancellations Penguicon has invited Wil Wheaton as a guest of honor multiple times, but he has had to cancel each time. In 2009, Wheaton had to cancel the morning of the convention and wrote an apology letter which was read aloud at Opening Ceremonies. Tron Guy Jay Maynard debuted his self-made electroluminescent Tron Guy costume at Penguicon in 2004. After submitting photos of himself to Slashdot, he appeared in costume on Jimmy Kimmel Live. He has also been on America's Got Talent and a commercial for Duck Brand duct tape. Maynard says he "hasn't missed a Penguicon, and doesn't intend to." List of Guests of Honor In the media A Science Channel show, Outrageous Acts of Science, replayed a video from Penguicon 2006 in which Nifty Guest Howard Tayler recorded attendees dumping the remains of a dewar of liquid nitrogen into the hotel swimming pool. In 2010, Howard Tayler returned to Penguicon as a Guest of Honor and hosted a second video involving liquid nitrogen and the hotel swimming pool. See also Science fiction convention References External links Penguicon Website Penguicon Facebook community EncycloPenguicon Computer clubs Linux conferences Science fiction conventions in the United States