There are certainly pockets of steampunks who can get together in 'real life', but there aren't any very close to me, which makes me sad. It's a tiny thought in the back of my head when I consider moving to the northwest, because most of the shenanigans seem to happen out there. And there are a number of communities on lj for steampunks, but I'm not very active in any of them. I kind of wanted to make contacts off the computer first. That being said, there are much more comprehensive and precise explanations out there. :)

That sounds like an excellent present though, and I'd love to see some of your jewelry.