General Technics

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General Technics (GT) is a loose organization of techie science fiction fans who are interested in do-it-yourself technology. GT was founded in 1975 and still thrives through such activities as convention parties, fan gatherings, a very active electronic mailing list, an apa (APA-Tech), and a fanzine (PyroTechnics).

Originally discussed by Tullio Proni, Steve Johnson, and Jeff Duntemann, they made specific plans at Windycon 2 and were organized by the end of the year. Early members included Gus Flassig, George M. Ewing, Jim Fuerstenberg, and Mike O'Brien. GT is named for the huge corporation in the novel Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner, who gave Johnson permission to use the name.

Membership, while loose, quickly became national, meeting at MidAmeriCon in 1976. Beginning the following year at ConFusion, the club had an influx of Michigan Tech students and alumni who had been part of the Permanent Floating Riot Club, and the groups have continued to overlap. At one time, dues consisted of postage stamps mailed to Jeff Duntemann, then editor of PyroTechnics, but now the club only collects funds from members who turn up at its parties.

The now international but still largely Midwestern club typically sponsors a suite that members and friends use as a hangout during Worldcons and other conventions. GT holds an annual fan gathering, sometimes called Berserker (for the Fred Saberhagen series), on stamp sands near Houghton, MI, in the U.P. (property owned by member Guy Wicker), as well as convening at IsherCon.

While GT has a presence on Facebook and a website, much of the group's communication is conducted through a daily mailing list. Some of the older women members participate in a private Facebook group, "The Cranky Women of GT."

Official website.

Well-Known GTers[edit]



Club 1975
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