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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13476 Posts |
 Posted - 12/31/2006 : 13:11:22 [Permalink]
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Well now…
The TAM event is getting close now. For those of you who are wondering, (and you shouldn't be if you have been reading this thread) yes, I am going. We haven't quite reached our goal, so It may be a bit of a strain, but since the discount for registering was up on November 30th, I had to register before knowing for sure If our goal would be met.
To those of you who made a donation to get me to TAM5 I can't thank you enough. You are way cool!!!
So far, the donations have paid for my registration and the hotel. So that part is covered. Thanks!
Outstanding are traveling expenses and food. If we reach our goal, a portion of the traveling expenses will be paid for because I got a very reasonable fare from American West Airlines through Expedia.com. (We were going to drive, but that became not feasible because we can't leave until Thursday afternoon on the 18th, and would miss the registration and reception event. Plus, everyone I talked to said I was crazy to even think about it considering the price of gasoline coupled with a long and boring drive.) That will still leave food, which can be pricey in Vegas. Lucky for me, on Friday and Saturday, breakfast and lunch, and breakfast on Sunday are included in the registration. That leaves mainly dinners, plus a couple of meals (Thursday and Sunday) from out of pocket.
So that's about where we stand now. Three weeks to go. Three weeks to goal…
Again, thank you for making this trip possible!!!
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Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
Posted - 01/03/2007 : 21:25:25 [Permalink]
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| And all the stories I heard were that food was cheap as hell in Vegas. Or is that just the crappy buffet food? |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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@tomic
Administrator
USA
4607 Posts |
Posted - 01/03/2007 : 21:44:51 [Permalink]
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Food is cheap in Vegas if you know where to look. New York, New York has a deli with incredible sandwiches. You can also get a Coney Island hot dog for a song or grab a slice of pizza. Apart from that food on the strip can be outrageously expensive. Get off the strip just a little and it's just like anywhere else where everything is brought from a long way away into the desert. Not as bad as, say, Hawaii but from what I saw the legend of cheap food is a myth. My best meal in Vegas was at a place called Rum Jungle in Mandalay Bay. Drinks, a lot of drinks, and dinner was well over $100 a person but it was worth it.
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Gravity, not just a good idea...it's the law!
Sportsbettingacumen.com: The science of sports betting |
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard
USA
4574 Posts |
Posted - 01/03/2007 : 22:09:14 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Dave W.
And all the stories I heard were that food was cheap as hell in Vegas. Or is that just the crappy buffet food?
I think what such stories often fail to mention is that one first needs to drop about a grand at the craps table before being offered things like free food or other comps.
P.S. So does this mean that there has been enough money collected for Kil to make the trip for certain, even if he'll need to tighten his belt a bit while there?
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"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman
"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13476 Posts |
Posted - 01/03/2007 : 22:58:37 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by H. Humbert
quote:
Originally posted by Dave W.
And all the stories I heard were that food was cheap as hell in Vegas. Or is that just the crappy buffet food?
I think what such stories often fail to mention is that one first needs to drop about a grand at the craps table before being offered things like free food or other comps.
P.S. So does this mean that there has been enough money collected for Kil to make the trip for certain, even if he'll need to tighten his belt a bit while there?
Yes. I am going. Hopefully I will not have to tighten my belt too much... |
Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13476 Posts |
Posted - 01/03/2007 : 23:03:07 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Dave W.
And all the stories I heard were that food was cheap as hell in Vegas. Or is that just the crappy buffet food?
Food was cheap in Vegas at one time. Before the corporations took over... When organized crime ran the place, rooms and food were cheap. |
Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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McQ
Skeptic Friend
USA
258 Posts |
Posted - 01/03/2007 : 23:03:08 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Kil
quote:
Originally posted by H. Humbert
quote:
Originally posted by Dave W.
And all the stories I heard were that food was cheap as hell in Vegas. Or is that just the crappy buffet food?
I think what such stories often fail to mention is that one first needs to drop about a grand at the craps table before being offered things like free food or other comps.
P.S. So does this mean that there has been enough money collected for Kil to make the trip for certain, even if he'll need to tighten his belt a bit while there?
Yes. I am going. Hopefully I will not have to tighten my belt too much...
David, I think you're in luck.
Enjoy TAM5!
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Elvis didn't do no drugs!
--Penn Gillette |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13476 Posts |
Posted - 01/12/2007 : 09:36:11 [Permalink]
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As you probably know by now, our goal has been reached. I want to thank you for making my trip to TAM5 possible. Please know that I am incredibly grateful to our SFN members for your amazing response and generous donations. You didn't have to do it but you did.
Just so you know, there will be plenty of out of pocket expenses for me, still, and that will be my contribution to this trip. But I just couldn't have made this trip without your help. No way…
I will be taking pictures and writing up my adventures and if I can, perhaps I will be able to post something on the site while Im in Vegas. I'm hoping but there is no guarantee about that.
Anyhow, thank you! I can't say it enough! SFN has the coolest membership of any skeptic forum on the Internet!
Now, if only those darn shirts and buttons arrive on time…
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Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
Posted - 01/12/2007 : 10:47:17 [Permalink]
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If I remember correctly, you don't fly much (if at all), so to make your trip more enjoyable, Kil, don't forget to read and understand the TSA item restrictions well before you fly.
And before you get to the security checkpoint (while you're waiting in line) take everything out of your pockets (except your ID and your boarding pass) and all metal items, and stuff it all into your carry-on bag(s). Much easier and faster than putting things into the little white plastic bowl right before going through the magnetometer. Don't forget your belt.
Hold onto your boarding pass as if your trip depends on it. It does.
Oh, and you'll be more comfortable on the plane if you just leave all the crap you took out of your pockets out of your pockets. |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 01/12/2007 : 14:41:34 [Permalink]
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So glad you get to go, Kil, and I'm so proud of our members for making it possible (even I gave a pittance, but not two pittances, just a single itty-bitty pittance remittance).
quote:
Originally posted by Kil
quote:
Originally posted by Dave W.
And all the stories I heard were that food was cheap as hell in Vegas. Or is that just the crappy buffet food?
Food was cheap in Vegas at one time. Before the corporations took over... When organized crime ran the place, rooms and food were cheap.
I've heard the same. I had a long talk with a guy who worked as a high-level accountant in Vegas, post-Mob. He had many conversations with old wise guys who were by then out of the casino business, but still hanging around. He told me that it's really true the Mob is out.
The Mob built Vegas, and they knew what they were doing. He says that generally, things were much better for the marks in the bad old days. The corporations don't have the cunning, hands-on knowledge of human nature that the Mob had. The mob knew: Give 'em cheap everything-else, then fleece 'em at the tables. For the high rollers, free drinks, comps on rooms and meals. And if one were not a gambler, Vegas could be a fine, cheap place for a vacation.
That's the way God meant Vegas to be.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
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@tomic
Administrator
USA
4607 Posts |
Posted - 01/13/2007 : 23:01:28 [Permalink]
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Tell me about it. I could mix business with pleasure and write the trip off. TAM being the "pleasure" part of the trip, of course. I could rub elbows with skeptics and then go rub everything else at the AVN expo
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Gravity, not just a good idea...it's the law!
Sportsbettingacumen.com: The science of sports betting |
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beskeptigal
SFN Die Hard
USA
3834 Posts |
Posted - 01/14/2007 : 00:56:22 [Permalink]
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Or he could have been stuck in some airport closed on account of an ice storm.
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
Posted - 01/14/2007 : 21:12:24 [Permalink]
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There were reportedly 30,000 people showing up for the AVN Expo. Randi hopes to see 800 people at TAM5 next weekend.
Skepticism really needs a better "hook." |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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McQ
Skeptic Friend
USA
258 Posts |
Posted - 01/14/2007 : 22:02:18 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Dave W.
There were reportedly 30,000 people showing up for the AVN Expo. Randi hopes to see 800 people at TAM5 next weekend.
Skepticism really needs a better "hook."
You mean I could have stayed in Vegas after this expo and seen TAM5? Dammit! I wish I had known that. Oh well. AVN was fine, but it's no TAM5.
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Elvis didn't do no drugs!
--Penn Gillette |
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