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CSICon 2017 - The Best Thing We Have for Bringing Back TAM Today!

Wowbagger

The Infinitely Prolonged
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Yes, most of us are sad that TAM's been gone for over a year, now.

Yes, CSICon is not exactly like TAM.

But, you know what? It IS a good conference in itself! And THAT should count for something!

In this thread, we can discuss this further, as well as index who is actually going. (There is already a separate thread for volunteering: http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=319340 )

Some Key Differences:
1. The average age skewered older last year, though that MIGHT change since the line-up this year seems to have a bit more young-person's appeal.

2. There is no central community hub, like the ISF, to tie people together. CFI does have a social circle, but it's just not quite the same... yet. (Maybe we can get more of them on ISF! And more ISFer's can attend!)

3. Not much of any kind of Del Mar Lounge equivalent. But, we had that same problem at TAM13, and things went relatively all right, mostly.

4. The conference meals, if you opt for them, not buffet-style, and there are talks during parts of them.

What is the same:
1. Similar quality presentations and workshops, etc.

2. GOOD, smart people all around! That's the BEST thing about any of these conferences, really.

3. Opening reception is good for schmoozing and hob-nobbing.

What Is Better
1. The party is a Halloween Costume party!! (and this year it is also 70's disco, apparently? It wasn't like that last year.)
Unfortunately, they set a high price to attend the party, this year. But, you can attend for free if you volunteer!

2. It had a smaller number of attendees, than the last TAMs, so it was easier to hob-nob with the celebrity guests, again. (Though, that might change over time, too.)

The Hotel
The Excalibur hotel is a bit of a dump, actually, but it's just fine if you don't actually care about the hotel, and only care about the conference.

Pre-Con Trips and/or Stunts, Anyone?
If there is enough interest I will start a separate thread on this. But, here are some options for doing something interesting or boring before the conference starts:
  • Insanity the Ride: I've been wanting to do this for a while, but either it's too windy, I am too overbooked with other things, or I come up with too many other lame excuses to chicken out on it. But, THIS TIME I'd like to actually do it, assuming it's actually running. It's on top of the Stratosphere. I already did the SkyJump. Any other takers for Insanity?!!
  • Zip-Lining "2.0": This will be the zip line down Freemont street. They have two lines: I already went on the better of the two, but I want to do it AGAIN, this time with a helmet camera! I forgot to order the camera last time.
    Optionally, we can try the lesser of two lines, as well, just for the sake of comparison or completeness or something.
  • Field Trip to the ol' South Point. Let's see what they put in place of the Del Mar Lounge for ourselves!
 
CSICon 2017

Does this always have to be in Las Vegas? The tackiest place on the planet.
 
LV is cheap and can handle thousand-person conventions. It also has some good magic shows for extra-curricular activities. I hate that you have to pass through the gambling areas to get anywhere in a LV hotel and that people can smoke in the gambling areas.

I'd love to go to NECSS again, but it's deep in NYC, which I think is worse than LV. I don't know why NYS can't find a place that's both accessible to public transit and has free parking. I've been to many gaming conventions that did just that.
 
SkepticScott said:
For fun, CSI has plans to go to the Tournament of Kings again. It's a RenFaire, but a RenFaire with more money for special effects than any other you've seen!
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I went to it last year. It is a reasonable amount of fun, but not worth doing twice in two years, I think. Maybe I'll see it again after four years.

thines said:
Does this always have to be in Las Vegas? The tackiest place on the planet.
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I, for one, wish it would take place someplace else, too. But, you really don't have to pay attention to the tacky outside world, if you don't want to. Focus on the PEOPLE and things at the convention. They are all awesomely smart and it's very refreshing from the outside world of insanity taking over the country.
 
SkepticScott said:
I'd love to go to NECSS again, but it's deep in NYC, which I think is worse than LV. I don't know why NYS can't find a place that's both accessible to public transit and has free parking. I've been to many gaming conventions that did just that.
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If you want free parking anywhere close to NYC, you'll end up at a Holiday Inn on the side of the highway in the middle of New Jersey, with an Applebee's attached. Not quite the draw that the city is.
 
> Not quite the draw that the city is.

That's just is. A noisy, congested, expensive city is a negative draw for me. I'm there for the convention. The times I went to NECSS I drove to SW Connecticut and took the train each day. But this isn't about my preferences, this is about why CISCon is worth attending.

It has good speakers; smart, skeptical attendees; and evening shows.

The hotel has a food court, stores you can window-shop, a walkway to the Luxor and Mandalay Bay.

I too wish it shifted around the country.
 
I'll try to make it again this year. It's always nice to meet with old and new friends, and to hear and meet good speakers.

Feeling a bit more like the TAM of old, with the SGU gang there. :)

But I think I'll also skip the Tournament of Kings this time. Not too excited about the Excalibur again either, but oh, well...
 
Don't care about the other attractions, but yeah, I would love to go to the South Point and just see how it looks. Had many good times there. Surprised that I actually have a soft spot in my head for a hotel and casino. SB
 
Hello, everyone! With CSICon coming up in only a couple of weeks, I will start paying more attention to this thread!

Here is an Updated Summary for y'all:

There are 4 Activities I would like to do, that other ISFers can join me on:

1. A Group Photo of ISFers

2. Visiting the South Point for a little while, just to see what it's like these days

3. Insanity the Ride, on top of the Stratosphere

4. Seeing a Show of Some Sort: Perhaps Mindfreak, because I heard it was slightly better than Believe, and I didn't get to see Believe because I heard that was terrible.
But, it doesn't have to be that one. If there's another show someone is aiming to see as a group, I might join you, possibly.


And there are 3 Windows of Time in which I would be most available to do them:

1. Thursday Evening, after 9:30 PM (after the Lawrence Krauss "Connections" thing.)

2. Friday Evening, after 10:00 PM (after the movie screening)

3. Sunday, after 12 Noon (after the end of the whole conference)

So pick a few from Column A and match them with a time from Column B, and perhaps we'll have some semblance of an ISF Group Activity Schedule!
 
gerdbonk said:
1. Sure
2. I have no need whatsoever to ever see South Point ever again.
3. No. I am sane.
4. I still haven't seen P&T!
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1. The time we do the photo will depend on when everyone else is around, and does not even need to be during the windows of time I gave. Though, the other activities probably do. Perhaps we can have the MC announce a time to the audience.

2. I barely have a need. I am just a tad curious to see what's in place of the Del Mar lounge, and stuff.

3. That's too bad. Insanity is the spice of life! Too much of it, and it will choke you; but just a sprinkle makes things interesting.

4. I had seen P&T a couple of times, but not in a while! Not even since Penn lost all that weight! Perhaps I am overdue for another viewing.
We would have to see which of the Windows has tickets available, of course. Do you have any limits for when you can see it or not?

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 
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