First things first: Let’s clear up the term “hacker.”

“The media have taken ‘hacker’ and associated it with ‘criminal,’ ” said John Benson, a Kansas City hacker. “It really means someone who is passionate about technology and taking it to the next level.”

Benson founded The Cowtown Computer Congress, Kansas City’s hacker hub, last year. The nonprofit co-op is housed in a cave 85 feet below midtown.

Down there you’ll find projects in various states of completion, a dry-erase board marked with equations and codes and an assembly of computer geeks sipping beer and brooding over laptops.

You’ll also see a zombie robot named Gustav and a fully functional old-school Macintosh.

“You know, if you ever want to play ‘Oregon Trail,’ ” Benson said.

Members pay $30 a month to attend meetings and access the space anytime.

They collaborate on hardware and software projects — anything from three-dimensional printers to laser graffiti.

Some projects are practical, such as a cyber security system. Others are whimsical, like a T-shirt canon that co-founder Bill Swearingen assembled from parts he found at Home Depot.

“It shoots 100 yards — about the length of a football field,” Swearingen said.

The group also donates its time to improve the Web site for the JayDoc Free Clinic, operated by the University of Kansas Medical School.

“It’s like adopting a local charity,” Benson said.

The Congress contains about 40 members, whose ages range from 10 to 60s. Mostly dudes.

The common denominator?

“People who have a passion for learning outside of what they do,” Benson said.

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infobox-hr-separator /> infobox-head>So you want to be a hacker
For more info about Cowtown Computer Congress, go to blog.cowtown computercongress.org.

To join, send an e-mail to membership@cowtown computercongress.org. You can also check out a meeting at 7 p.m. Thursdays at 3101 Mercier St. Memberships cost $30 a month, $150 for six months, or $275 a year.