Gustavo Noronha (kov) here. I was at that debconf too and I had a lot of fun even though I slept (or did not sleep due to it always being day) on a pillowless, sheetless mattress.

I am curious about what the sauna situation you mention was, I guess I was lucky to not be part of it (I did use the saunas, mind you, and was at the big sauna day).

That said, the moral of the story resonates a lot with me, being the author of gksu ;D