I should have written this a month ago.
I learned a lot this year at Makerfaire Milwaukee. It was the first time I attended a Makerfaire as a presenter (really my daughter was the star of the show, but we hauled Sux0rz along for the ride), and it gave me a new perspective on the event.
The biggest take-away for me was the enormous amount of work put in by the team putting on the event. They were on-site working when we got there Saturday morning and after we left Sunday night.
I also learned that attending as a maker is something I want to do again