The fire regs have been pretty constant. They've squashed some really good entries. Last year we had an entrant using a chain saw which got squashed at the last moment because the fire marshal wouldn't accept the engine exhaust, so an electric chain saw had to be substituted: just not the same. In a previous year one proposal that I fought ahrd for was for a traditional Indonesian cannon used at festivals to shoot confetti into crowds. It was made of bamboo and fueled with kerosene. Totally wonderful, but it freaked the fire marshal.

The issue really was just timing. I was out for too long. I guarantee that there will be no shortage of potentially dangerous hardware :-) at JavaOne this year. The schedule is jammed.