I'd make an effort to attend in Boston, but unlikely anywhere else.
I'd likely show up for anything in the eastern half of the country. I'd suggest getting away from New Year's Eve and toward a warmer time of year.
I'll make serious effort to come. New years eve is difficult.
I prefer charlottesville / DC.
Would something like Memorial Day weekend be easier? I'm going to go insert that in the poll as an extra question.
I want to go. I have to figure out how muchh I'll be doing to take care of my parents if the rest of my family does nothing
Would February or March be possible?
I do think something like Memorial day would work better (or insert your random late Spring/early Summer weekend here--after colleges are out/before summer vacations start).
If it's easier for people if we avoid big holiday weekends, then sure.
I'd make a serious effort. In practice any of the northeastern areas are much more likely than further afield due to cost (bus cheaper than plane) and Memorial Day is more likely than New Year's Eve since I tend to be in Europe for the latter and I'm always in Europe through at least the 28th.
In Boston, New Year's Eve would be no problem.
1: So you travel the world, get involved with hookers and drug gangs for SCIENCE, and yet won't jump on Amtrak for a weekend for the blog? We sure know where our SATs put us.
While I'd love the convenience of having it in NC, this area is easy to get to but not so easy to get around without a car. So there's that.
I'd make an effort; 1, 2, maybe 3 would work; not NYE though.
13: Surely a wild time could be had by all in an RTP conference center? We could have presentations and everything.
Wouldn't that kind of be hilariously awesome but also actually awesome to have a lecture series by Unfogged commenters? I would love to hear the 20 minute TED talk by pretty much everyone here on their area of expertise.
Boston just after NYE would be perfect for me! But I think it would be a little cruel to mess with people's NYE plans, which are sacred. I would try to get to anywhere. As of right now I have no idea where I will be living next year, if I will have an income, or what my holidays will be, but I would definitely try to make it!
If we were to do it in Boston I could put up 1 or 2 people, although my place isn't super convenient transit-wise. But I would try to make it to any of those cities. Why would we end up in DC? To me it sounds the least appealing.
p.s. your links aren't working.
Oh, those are supposed to be fill-in-the-blanks, not links.
I'd make an attempt to attend anywhere northeast of the DC-Chicago line, preferably amtrak accessible. Maine is cheap in the offseason.
UNFOGGTED. TEDFOGGED. UNFOTEDx. Or a Pecha Kucha.
We should all start working on our power-point shows...now!
A.
I'd prefer DC, Philly, or Austin, because of either airfare or the presence of others.
What apo said goes for me too. I would prefer a non-NYE date and a location in the eastern half of the country, but would also still try to make it work on New Year's in the west.
I like DC or Boston for the public transportation; renting a car seems like an annoying extra expense. Of those two it seems like DC wins out for accessibility to more commenters, since it's drivable for the VA / NC / PA / MD people.
Why would we end up in DC? To me it sounds the least appealing.
My thinking went that it probably had easiest mass transit to a house that was big enough to house a lot of people. Just cost and convenience, basically.
19: o god I'm too dumb to go to unfodegadodecadronicon.
Maine is cheap in the offseason.
It sounds like there's a lot of interest in going with Memorial Day over NYE, (which I'm totally on board with), but things will probably be a bit more expensive.
But really, I'll take donations, and I really think we could still keep costs down (as long as people are willing to ask for help with airfare, etc, from the donation pool.)
26: No! Your TED talk could be a cool video like the one you did that time!
Of those two it seems like DC wins out for accessibility to more commenters, since it's drivable for the VA / NC / PA / MD people.
Of course, maybe there are as many Boston and Providence people as all of those places combined.
29: Yeah, but let's face it--who wouldn't flee Providence at the first opportunity?
I'm very unlikely to be able to travel regardless of the time. Time away is just too tight this year.
I think meet-ups sometimes sound like "All the pain of smalltalk with strangers plus it's noisy and expensive, so why again would I attend?" But I swear they're fun. It's not strangers, it's me. You know me.
That actually made me think, for a split second, maybe even .9 of a second, that going to a meet-up might be fun. And then I remembered that I hate leaving my house and do it as little as possible. But good job! If you can get me to think that a social event might be fun, you could have a definite future in event planning.
12: I might try to go somewhere else. But I know my own laziness, and it's definitely less than 50-50.
Realistically, I'm extremely unlikely to make anything Boston (and not just because I hate Boston, though I do, I'd make an effort for you all but it's a 6 1/2 hour flight). I'd be a maybe for something in DC or NY or Austin, since those could be combined with seeing relatives. Memorial Day could work, can't do NYE this year. Anywhere in the Western half of the country increases my chance of attendance substantially, but it sounds like no one else would come.
Time away is just too tight this year.
Does it matter that we're talking about 2013?
Like asteroids and Earth, I've come close to a couple of meetups without making contact. But people seem to enjoy attending. 50-50 on East Coast. Or England! Can't we camp wherever asilon and family camp? Alas, I'm traveling on Mem Day.
Pittsburgh is (was?) an airline hub and parts are so cheap we could probably rent a house and destroy it.
Seriously, I would try very hard to make it to a big meetup, though I have less idea than ever what our future is going to look like. I certainly have no other travel plans.
Also, shouldn't Stormcrow or someone figure out where the plausible geographic center is for our commentariat, based on state location. I'm thinking somewhere between Pittsburgh and Kentucky -- Appalachian Hillbilly con 2013!!!!
43: Are we discounting teo and all the non-US commenters there?
Hmm. You're right. 27 miles off the East Coast of the US Con 2013!
I discount everybody west of the Mississippi.
37: Not really if you mean January 1.
40: We lost our hub but do have cheap houses.
40: I think CLE is where you want to go for the 8K housing these days.
I'd come, especially if it were in DC. 75% if it were in New York or some other easily accessible eastern city.
Even though I don't really comment any more! But I still read the comments, you guys. I don't really know why that is.
27 miles off the East Coast of the US Con 2013!
We need to get a whole bunch of South American commenters right away so that we can have it in the Caribbean.
You know where there's a cheap, central airline hub and a commenter with a house -- Dallas. Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking? Blood in the Streets Con 2013.
but it's a 6 1/2 hour flight
I'd love to come, but I'd say 40:60 against. I'm even farther away than Halford and that's a long trip to make for one party no matter how much fun. But I will definitely try (and, as I said last time, if I can't come I'd still chip in for the slush fund).
NYE would actually be better for me then memorial day, but it sounds like that's the minority.
cheap, central airline hub
Indianapolis?
All the far-flung commenters could dial in by Skype and have little robots representing them at the party.
I'd go to any of those cities. Always looking for an excuse to go to Austin but 1) I also like staying close to home and 2) travel has become a minor ordeal b/c diabetic cat.
But for a weekend it's not tough to arrange and I go to Boston and DC a lot anyway. So yes, I am very likely to attend, especially in the DC-Boston corridor. But I can't stop thinking of it phonetically as un-fuh-GEH-duh-CAH-duh-con.
All the far-flung commenters could dial in by Skype and have little robots representing them at the party.
Can I have a very large robot instead?
Yesterday I found myself on a Red Line car mostly populated by cosplayers, which was somewhat surreal, so I think we should try to have the whole thing on a train and leave the other passengers guessing about what's going on.
I'm a good chance, but not a certainty, of showing up anyplace -- the deciding factor is going to be competing family obligations, not location. What about a more offbrand holiday, like Presidents' Day or MLK Day weekend? That gets us the off-season cheap lodging, but not a holiday people are going to have plans for.
Come to think, though, I'm a government employee. I get those holidays off but I don't know that everyone does.
have the whole thing on a train
Word.
Those Amtrak bathrooms really are quite comfortably large.
Wouldn't that kind of be hilariously awesome but also actually awesome to have a lecture series by Unfogged commenters? I would love to hear the 20 minute TED talk by pretty much everyone here on their area of expertise.
Finally I can add an "Invited Talks" section to my CV!
I could probably do Boston but not traveling anywhere else.
If you were serious about talks I could probably use a conference room at work, and we have large robots.
W00t!1
I'm 75% sure of any East Coast meet up. As for location: I've never been to Pittsburgh (or south of the DC suburbs). But sightseeing probably isn't so much the point of this.
The only way to make it fair for the non-East-Coasters would be to have it somewhere roughly equally inconvenient for everyone. Yakutsk?
If you go to Pittsburgh, JM, you can eat a sandwich that will make Halford weep.
I would love to hear the 20 minute TED talk by pretty much everyone here on their area of expertise.
"Why American Infrastructure Sucks: Because You Suck, American Voter."
67: What's the paleo take on French fries?
The paleo diet hates the French, I think, because they weren't around on the veldt.
Surely the Gauls were around, no? I'm pretty sure Caesar wrote something about Crossfit.
pretty much everyone here on their area of expertise
What makes you think everyone here HAS an area of expertise?
What should I get for lunch? Help me, oh internet, with this pressing question. (I want something fattening.)
N.B.: One's knowledge of life in the Roman world comes largely from I, CLAVDIVS and the novels of Lindsey Davis.
What should I get for lunch? Help me, oh internet, with this pressing question. (I want something fattening.)
A big plate of carnitas!
Something with lardo, for that paleo thing.
Am I the only one who finds it confusing if you should write "67 to 74" or "74 to 67"? I can make a coherent sentence out of both versions -
"67 holds the answer to 74"
"74, direct your attention to 67"
twenty five or six to four or something.
30: Hey! We have a lovely town here.
As for the poll, I'll go with "A" and "3 or 4."
I always read "n to m" as "n is addressed to m". ALWAYS.
I believe the Gauls had agriculture, and lived mostly on grains, which makes them lame.
Did anyone else see the pictures if the big Vercengetorix (sp?)theme park that opened in France? That seems nice and crazy.
I don't think you can get a french-fry sandwich around here. Sure, you could special order one, but why would you?
Carnitas are delicious. Not sure the hole-in-the-wall Mexican place has them. The fancier Mexican place, strangely, does not.
I'm 75% likely to come except on NYE, which I can't do. Anyplace on an airline hub is great, but someplace with added tourism value and convenient mass transit is preferred.
(As an aside to those on the fence: UFDC was incredibly fun. I encourage each of you to look into your hearts and consider how much fun it would be to have a rager with people you've never met that you totally know. And if we can get the Neil TEW and JM to come, we might get a dance-off for the ages!)
Flippanter, will you bring Lunchy to the Unfoggedecadron? That would be an efficient way for us all to get a chance to meet her.
I believe the Gauls had agriculture, and lived mostly on grains wild boar and magic potions, which makes them lame invincible.
Fixed that for you.
I'd put it at 50/50. Definitely not New Year's or MLK weekend, though.
85: She is likely to have professional obligations during the holiday season, I think. Also, it is tricky enough convincing her not to be jealous of the woman who is as close to a big sister as I have ever had, so I think "Meet my Internet friends!" might be a bit dangerous.
Gotta tell her about us some time!
I don't really see how the conclusion in 89 follows. Can't internet friends just be internet friends?
OT: A friend of mine has apparently gone on a few dates recently with an actor who, in one of his not-particularly-Internet-adored roles, lost several fights to Wesley Snipes (I think the money quote is something like "My hand! My fuckin' hand!"). I have to wait until they've been dating at least six months before asking him to act out scenes from that movie with me, right?
Wouldn't that kind of be hilariously awesome but also actually awesome to have a lecture series by Unfogged commenters? I would love to hear the 20 minute TED talk by pretty much everyone here on their area of expertise.
"Protein folding and intellectual property law: harnessing the synergies"
I would move heaven and earth to defend the life of Chairman Gonzalo come to the Unfoggydecon. As far as cities, somewhere with cheap flights from MSP would be preferable. In terms of places that have people I could stay with who are not commenters, that's pretty much limited to NYC, Portland (ME), Santa Cruz, LA/Irvine, and Philly. But if we were getting a big house, that wouldn't matter as much I guess. Timing is pretty open ended. Whenever, essentially, with a very few specific dates that wouldn't work. Unless I get a better job for more money, in which case I probably wouldn't have much vacation time stored up, so it would have to be a fly-in-fly-out in 48 hours type of deal, but it would be easier to do then, if I indeed had more money.
I hope that is all clear.
I can give presentations on various themes in the cinema.
I'd obviously prefer DC and would definitely come if it were. I'll contribute a bottle of single malt in remembrance of the first UnfoggeDCon.
59: MLK weekend next year is also Inaugauration weekend. DC would always be hard for cheap houses, but that weekend would be impossible.
Too late! Enchiladas. Banh mi tomorrow, though.
My talk will be entitled "Halford on Halford: An Intimate portrait.". Book now for this once in a lifetime opportunity to learn success tips from this living legend.
I have to wait
until they've been dating at least six months
before asking him to act out scenes from that
movie with me, right?
That's awesome. I really liked that movie, and its sequel. I think it depends on which scenes you had in mind. shooting bullets at his face and asking him to dodge them should probably wait til you've built a real rapport.
I am a 'maybe'. Odds are better with an east coast location, especially Boston (if I get the job).
98: Not "Robert Halford: An Erotic Life"?
I'm likely to come whenever and wherever, within reason. But who can say what responsibilities the coming year might bring?
I like the idea of presentations, and of a Dallas Blood in the Streets Con. McManus could give a talk on Japanese cinema, or revolution, or more plausibly, both at once.
I will show for this, whenever and wherever it occurs.
I'd say I'm an A for locations on the Boston-DC axis and B- elsewhere, subject to custody arrangements. The agreement says I have the boy MLK and Memorial Day and am free Presidents Day next year, but the ex has been pretty cooperative about as-needed accommodation thus far.
I will bring wine but will not insist on talking about it.
104: Thank heavens charter schools can function without being straitjacketed by sclerotic union rules.
Oops, now I think I was confused about the movie/actor in 92/99; I had in mind Snipes's vampire movie. Oh, well.
Seeing all the ALLCAPS in the recent comments sidebar makes me think the site has been spammed, except the commenters are real and the post title is the spam.
In other words, I'd probably make an effort, provided I'm employed and my hypothetical work schedule allows it. I want to stay on the west coast, but I don't know how likely that is. So I could end up near one of the suggested places.
43: figure out where the plausible geographic center is for our commentariat, based on state location.
I was doing this mentally, both for continental US and full. If you base it on ease of getting to you could well end up with Chicago*, which is what we did for a while for a global conference associated with my work despite no individuals actually being located there. And it would be kind of an UnfoggedRootsCon.
*Have it at O'Hare (or Hartsfield or DFW)-- a modern meetup for a modern world.
I never understand why the geographic center isn't plunged deep into the earth. How do you incorporate NZ and Narnia?
If it were to be in Pittsburgh let me be the first to volunteer Cosma as host.
110: You constrain it...but a lot people at polar opposites does make the concept less useful and destabilizes the solution (a small change can send it to the other side of the world). It occurs to me that the surface answer might in fact always be the "within-the-sphere" solution projected onto the surface (which would be consistent with the observation above), but I'm not sure if that is true.
WTF is this all about?
Par for the course?
So what are we gonna do at this thing? It's not worth a cross-country trip unless there are sacrifices to the old gods, knife fights, and nudity.
I count as an old god, right?
I assume you all will compete in Games for my entertainment.
So what are we gonna do at this thing?
The first one was mostly drinking and punching Spencer Ackerman in the flak jacket.
110, 112: A bit of searching indicates it is not that clear. As a practical matter I think this works, form x,y, z vectors for all the points with origin at the center of the earth (all will have length=earth's radius) and find the average vector. The closer the averaged vector is to the surface the more "meaningful" projecting to a centroid on the surface will be.
Back in the day when the US had its states together they didn't worry about the details. In 1918, the Coast and Geodetic Survey found this location by balancing on a point a cardboard cutout shaped like the U.S..
The second one was watching/not-watching a football game followed by stepping around Labs and Teo not having sex on the dance floor. Ahem.
Also I got into a weird argument with an attendee who was not of Unfogged, but who introduced himself as Jake, and I said "Jake? Oh wow, I didn't think you'd be here!" He was quite affronted when he thought I was disappointed that he wasn't actually Jake (of unfogged). Weird.
So, you know. That's what people do.
In 1918, the Coast and Geodetic Survey found this location by balancing on a point a cardboard cutout shaped like the U.S..
But what sort of projection did they use to get the cut-out?!?
knife fights
I'm sure ttaM will set up a venue in Glasgow if you ask him nicely.
This isn't changing the impression I had that the geographic center stuff was mostly made up BS.
Taking into account the practicalities of actual travel, one "merely" creates a travel utility function (based on some metric, a combo of cost, time, means, whatever) and evaluate it for each potential participant* and meeting locale pair. Minimize that and you're don. One could add potential dates as well I guess, or try to weight locales by non-travel characteristics. Any of the weighting schemes add a degree of arbitrariness, of course).
*Can be weighted by factors such as likelihood or desirability of attendance (or what have you).
We should also take elevation into account.
120, 122: I don't know, and yes that would matter. They no longer endorse an official position.
Oscar S. Adams, Senior Mathematician for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey wrote in an early essay on the subject, "Since there is no definite way to locate such a point, it would be best to ignore it entirely... the conclusion is forced upon us that there is no such thing as the geographical center of any state, country, or continent." But then he concedes, "This is a case in which all may differ but all be right."
Taking into account the practicalities of actual travel, one "merely" creates a travel utility function (based on some metric, a combo of cost, time, means, whatever) and evaluate it for each potential participant* and meeting locale pair. Minimize that and you're don.
Let's have it at a saddle point, LAYDEEZ.
"Since there is no definite way to locate such a point, it would be best to ignore it entirely... the conclusion is forced upon us that there is no such thing as the geographical center of any state, country, or continent."
Well, that's infuriating. A solution exists, if everything is well-defined.
punching Spencer Ackerman in the flak jacket
Not a euphemism.
127: if everything is well-defined.
If Oscar S. Adams didn't have balls, he'd have probably have written the same thing. I think the lack of an accepted definition is the crux of the issue. Maybe this is an opportunity for a mathematically-inclined interested party to set things right.
120: You could make an accurately curved piece of cardboard and balance that.
The United States is a circle whose circumference is nowhere and whose center is everywhere.
130: Islands being a bit problematic, but then who cares about them?
Solution: use not a cardboard cutout, but a cutout of a heavier material in comparison with which the about to be mentioned struts or underprops are of negligible mass, and then attach the islands to the main mass using struts made out of balsa wood or something.
JSTOR article on doing the math for the 48 contiguous states.
No amount of math is going to answer the "what kind of center?" question, though.
M/tch & I would make a major effort to be there wherever and whenever it was.
Austin - ideal in oh-so-many ways, including cheap beer, brisket for Halford and Megan, and the river next to heebie's house
D.C. - relatively easy for us
NYC - appealing, but too expensive
elsewhere in the mid-Atlantic or Northeast - workable
anywhere else - we'd try
I actually think Pittsburgh or Cleveland would be great. We could kick off a tour of the underappreciated cities of America.
Airfare for Memorial Day or any other holiday is going to be more expensive.
No amount of math is going to answer the "what kind of center?" question, though.
The poverty of science!
Note that the first post was made on Feb 25th.
133: Assume an osmium section of a surface of a sphere.
M/tch & I would make a major effort to be there wherever and whenever it was.
This should seal the deal for everyone. Not that it wasn't awesome to meet the rest of y'all at uDConII, but hanging out with Kraab and M/tch was super particularly awesome.
Only Labs could possibly disagree, having been an unhappy participant in a M/tch-initiated group hug.
having been an unhappy participant in a M/tch-initiated group hug.
After we disoriented him by forcing him into the back of a tiny rental car and driving halfway to Denver.
You should reveal the location as a puzzle like they did for the xkcd meetup so that only the worthy can find it. I think the unfogged equivalent would be burying it towards the end of a nosflow post.
I think the meetup city should satisfy a lipogram on 'e'.
I wish I'd been able to go to the second Unfoggedcon, which seemed more meetup-y than party-y.
I would go if you happened to pick a convenient time/place, but it's hard for me to get away during non-break times and I am not well-situated to travel to any of the places on the list.
142: St. Louis, Kansas City, St. Paul (but not its twin), Chicago - all mid-US locations.
This seems to be an open access version of the paper I posted from JSTOR.
Also Washington, Austin, Pittsburgh, Boston, Indianapolis, Columbus, Dallas, Atlanta...
Oconomowoc, America's lipogram city in the heart of lipid-rich dairyland.
99: Have you read Harry Knowles' review of the sequel? It is pretty much guaranteed to cause disgust and despair for this godless culture.
For the record, it was an ironic group hug.
But maybe a little too ironic?
Anyways, UnfoggedCon! Hooray!!
150: I just checked that the friend of a friend who was in that movie is still married, so at least I don't have to worry about his dating prospects, I don't think.
151: And Branson loves Groups!
But maybe a little too ironic?
I think it's clear that Labs does not understand irony.
second Unfoggedcon, which seemed more meetup-y than party-y
One thing that was nice was that we scheduled some things in addition to the party, like a pre-meetup the night before and a tour of the National Gallery of Art by world famous art critic Armsmasher.
I felt pretty cheated, though, since Ogged didn't show up after saying he would.
I would likely try to make it to this. I have no idea where I'll be living next year, but it's unlikely to be somewhere close to any of the suggested locations. Hopefully I'll have a real job, though, and enough money to make the travel relatively easy.
Osmium is flammable and toxic. Iridium is not much better.
DC would be good for me. Merida is very nice, reasonably priced, small enough so that there's no need for transit. Hard to get to though.
I was thinking I might go, but then 114-116 made me worry this was some kind of a trap.
"Congratulations, peep, you've been chosen for a very special honor..."
I felt pretty cheated, though, since Ogged didn't show up after saying he would.
I was always pretty gobsmacked that someone would buy a plane ticket, but then not board the plane, because they were worried they were getting sick.
166: Feeling a little sick didn't stop Dr. Ain.
164: You should go, peep. I'll be your second!
To go to this, I think I would have to pretend to be someone less embarrassing, like a lurker, or TOS.
168: That's sweet, Thorn, but if you really wanted me to go you'd have said you'd take my place.
170: I was hoping you'd be flattered enough not to notice. Foiled again!
Should I make H-G happy by actually filling in her poll the way she apparently intended?
Nah.
NYE is not going to happen, maybe not even if it were in Pgh.
Same deal with MLK Day.
Memorial Day or other holidays are generally plausible for me.
But, to be honest, I'm probably not going unless it's Charlottesville (AB's alma, so I could probably get her interest), Austin (cos it's awesome), or Philly (proximity plus nearby friend/family accommodations). Maybe DC, but it's so spendy.
For none of those locations am I more than 50/50. Maybe Austin 60/40.
However, I would take on lots of coordination and provide housing and food if y'all came to Pittsburgh. So I'll treat the location decision as pretty much a referendum on whether or not you like me.
We'd certainly be very extremely likely to attend a meetup/party in Cleveland or Pittsburgh -- the only thing that would prevent us would be if we had some unavoidable other commitment for that date. If Cleveland, we could probably host. NYE is probably a non-starter, though, because of family obligations.
With other places, it's really hard to say -- if we weren't feeling too over-traveled around whatever date it was, we'd plausibly make it to a party in DC, Chicago, or NYC, with meetups in Boston or further less likely to happen.
If Cleveland, we could probably host.
At least in the sense of providing a venue and some tasty treats. I am terrible at being a coordinator, though.
It sounds like the thread consensus is to aim for Memorial Day weekend, 2013? I actually consider this a hugely successful thread for generating such a clear-cut answer! Well done, everyone!
Also, Memorial Day weekend works better for me, too.
Hooray! Put it on your calendars!
For location, I'll start pricing different locations six months out or so, and offer another thread polling different locations with more information, at that point.
I'm a little logistically puzzled by the 'big house' thing. Is the idea to literally rent a place big enough for everyone to stay? Are there categories of house like that for rent? (It'd be kind of funny to take over a cheap motel for a weekend.)
166: Feeling a little sick didn't stop Dr. Ain.
I think Bob made the same joke at the time (here). I appreciated it then, and I appreciate it now.
What I'm going on is what my extended family, and my college friends, have done on assorted occasions. It all depends on how many people want to pile in a room vs. want their own room.
Basically, it's often even pretty easy to get two big houses in close proximity, and I'm sure there'd be a hotel nearby if people want more privacy. I'd probably split the cost of renting the house by bedroom, and people can team up in a bedroom as they see fit.
Basically, I would hope to get the price around $80/night/room.
(Actually, Memorial Day will be definitely more expensive. But that had been my general line of reasoning.)
people can team up in a bedroom as they see fit
If the party's successful, this is exactly what I'd expect to happen.
It all depends on how many people want to pile in a room vs. want their own room.
Maybe I'm a much bigger diva than everyone else on unfogged, but I don't really want to stay in a room with several other people. Much as I love you all.
180: I'm with you. (In spirit, that is. I want my own damn room with a door that closes.)
(We wouldn't be able to put everyone up, of course.)
180: I too am a precious flower like . . . Blume.
I possibly would, if I were there by myself (and I have no idea if I would be.)
Or, perhaps get a block rate at a hotel, and rent their party room? Maybe everyone would prefer that.
Well, a big house is starting to sound silly to me now.
Where does one such houses readily available other than at the beach?
(Or Cleveland, where we could take over an entire block of empty houses in a safe, quiet neighborhood.)
I must admit, the "everybody stays in houses" thing strikes me as a bit weird in this context. I was thinking more like "a house that a few people stay at and which is the location for the party, and then people stay wherever". Like the previous unfoggidycons, but without the party being anywhere that anybody actually lives.
Maybe I will be rfts's neighbor and we can have a two-house rager!
I was thinking more like "a house that a few people stay at and which is the location for the party, and then people stay wherever"
I mean, this is kind of what I was thinking. I'm feeling protective of people who are worried about cost, and I keep trying to phrase things as broadly as possible to that end.
I think the big house idea works well for groups of people who know each other well and have a certain level of comfort with saving money at the expense of privacy, but this group is not likely to fall at quite the right places on those spectra for it.
There are some 20 room houses or small hotels available on VRBO. Looks like we could get a gigantic 20 room estate in Provincetown (bonus: super gay) for $150/room/night. That would be pretty fucking awesome, actually, despite being in New England.
Detroit! We could just meet up at the airport, and then scout around for a couple of big abandoned houses near each other. It'd be cheap and environmentally friendly.
Unfoggedecadecon Tulum 2013! We'll get like three houses in a row on the beach!
I think a rented house is actually a really good idea as a location for the party (since it doesn't have the built in time limits/lurking staff of a function room), and I assume that some people would very much appreciate the low cost, central accomodations. Just doesn't seem like it would work for everybody, or a majority of people. Just the orgy crowd, or whatever.
Maybe I will be rfts's neighbor and we can have a two-house rager!
Do it!
Also as a general hang-out spot - head over to the big house if you feel like being around other people. Retreat to your hotel room/home base otherwise.
Unfoggedecadecon Tulum 2013!
Oh man. I know this is a joke, but it would be so awesome.
197: No, not really, since I was glad to see someone be in favor of a central house.
198: right. Which definitely argues for someplace a bit more urban than some of the other options.
It's too bad everybody doesn't live in California, because Palm Springs is made for this kind of thing. Literally, in fact.
Hmm, there are no houses at all available in DC on VRBO, for any period of time.
Which definitely argues for someplace a bit more urban than some of the other options.
I think all the options are sufficiently urban to make this doable, actually, though finding an appropriately located house would admittedly be trickier in some.
because Palm Springs is made for this kind of thing. Literally, in fact.
Oh man this would be so perfect. I could even totally hook us up with some good pre-party dining. DO IT.
Hmm, there are no houses at all available in DC on VRBO, for any period of time.
I don't think of VRBO as an urban phenomenon. My sister's house is listed on VRBO, but she's out near Asheville.
We could try to get the "wedding" rate at a hotel. I'd room with anyone who doesn't snore (even now that I'm a "real" faculty member, I share conference hotel rooms with 2-4 other people). I'd go anywhere within easy driving distance of the mid-Atlantic.
But yes, there should be TED-like talks and drunken knitting/crocheting.
Can't we just make Becks et al. move back in together?
Can't we just make Becks et al. move back in together crash Becks' wedding for unfoggedecadecon?
I mean, come on, check this one out. This is not atypical of Palm Springs. Waterfall!
This one basically has multiple sex grottos. Come on East Coasters, that's worth a trip!
I was about to say "it might not be all that expensive to rent places in Aspen in the off season," and then I started to hate myself.
I have no idea why I'm talking up Indianapolis, which isn't any more central than Chicago but consider this one.
Multiple levels, various shaped windows, various tile, ceiling shapes and designs, Outside decking with huge trees and just overall flexibility of the property. 7k ft. Ball Room available behind the house at discount. Additional Room for 6 available next door in earthly style apartment and a discounted rate.
Additional Room for 6 available next door in earthly style apartment
I only feel comfortable in apartments in the style of Pluto.
various shaped windows
Oh, you know, squares, rectangles. Maybe an oval. All sorts of shapes.
"VRBO" is the cryptic inscription left on one of the few surviving beams of a rented house by the first group of blog commenters ever to try out this kind of party.
A decent-sized house would be great, even if only a few people were actually staying there. Some considerations:
1. The Flophouse was awesome, but too small for the number of people who showed. Something with a bigger common area and especially a porch and/or yard would be good.
2. The two previous convos were loud. You'd want something with neighbors far enough away that they wouldn't call the cops.
In my head, the perfect location would be a big cabin in the woods, but I guess that conflicts with public transportation criterion.
A big house would be sort of fun for a weekend, assuming there's enough places to sleep and not in a French ski resort sort of way (fifty to sixty sqft per person and one bathroom per five or six gets a bit claustrophobic)
From a review of the house linked in 202: "Very clean, modern, and classy place, in a safe quiet rural setting"
202 s/b 212 -- the "Mansion for Rent, 15 Minutes from Downtown,Unique and Relaxing"
210 Thomas Kinkade's heirs have already put up his retreat for rent?
The fact that they called that house "classy" perhaps gives us reason to doubt all their other claims.
A third vote for Palm Springs. Indeed, I'll probably be here for New Year's for a third time, with 17-21 people.
In general, I'm a 50-50, not in for New Year's (unless Palm Springs, in which case I'll swing by!), would enjoy seeing Austin again, or any East Coast location. It might be a good idea to move this into a Google Doc at some point?
Here's a thought: Benton Hot Springs (campground or B&B) on a full moon in summer. We'll rent out the whole site, and I'll take everyone to the sand dunes.
Far, far away from convenient ports of entry and transportation options. But just lovely.
Wait, I wasn't voting for Palm Springs. I said it would be perfect if everybody lived in California. It's a pain in the ass to get to for people who don't.
Talk of Palm Springs makes me think we should go somewhat further north in the desert, and make it Labor Day, not Memorial Day...
216's points are absolutely right. We also might not want to forget that people did spill (dump, by mistake of course) drinks on the floor, and too fancy a place could make that problematic. A city/town in which at least *someone* is familiar with the locale makes sense, if only because: what do you do with all those trash bags full of empty cups and whatnot? If you see what I mean.
193: Detroit! We could just meet up at the airport, and then scout around for a couple of big abandoned houses near each other. It'd be cheap and environmentally friendly.
Heh. I just watched this video about a guy who lives in the abandoned Packard factory in Detroit. But then in searching for the link I came across this story about a string of recent fires there..
We could have simultaneous West and East meetups, renting two webcams and projectors so one wall of each room seems to lead to the other meetup.
NickS, that's a nice area of Indy. Peep, DK and I are all in easy driving distance, as are probably others I'm not thinking of now. There's not a lot in the immediate area and I don't think puboic transit would be great, though cabs were cheap when Lee and I last stayed in the city a few years back. There would need to be some cars to be able to make trips to the fantastic yarn store with the great discount room, which would be reason enough for me to make the trip.
(And J Robot, I'd room with you if you're still looking for someone when the time comes.)
the perfect location would be a big cabin in the woods, but I guess that conflicts with public transportation criterion which is the perfect setting for people to start disappearing one by one. Working movie title: Cry, Cry, Masturbate, Die.
223: I think you missed the fine print:
There are no hook-ups.
I would pretty definitely not make it to Palm Springs.
Working movie title: Cry, Cry, Masturbate, Die.
Subtitle TBD, candidates: An Unfogged Horror Story or An Unfogged Romance.
I'd go if I got to hug M/lls again. Or wear sifu's hat.
Time for front pagers to do a zipcode choropleth of unfoggedteers. Need to hold it at the COL weighted center of mass or something.
Oh, I would love to come. Highly unlikely though. I didn't know when Memorial Day is, but it seems to be when we have a bank holiday, and in fact when schools are having their half term week's holiday, so I drifted off into, well maybe we could all come over, but then realised it would be just before kid A's GCSE's, which doesn't seem like a time to be doing long haul jetlaggy holidays.
99: Have you read Harry Knowles' review of the sequel? It is pretty much guaranteed to cause disgust and despair for this godless culture.
I actually really liked the sequel, but yeah, that review made me question my judgment, and just generally feel dirty.
237: Wouldn't want to overdo it. You know how I cherish my dignity.
239: And turns out there's an app for that.
245: I get Davenport, IA or Peoria IL (excluding international commenters and Teo). Looks pretty clear that Chicago would be the most central transit hub.
VRBO has a surprisingly large number of homes in Chicago. I'd totally go there.
Oh, I can't come. Forgot to say that.
246: Yes, mine was close to Davenport as well. US (including teo because I'm not an anti-Semite).
What y'all need is a ranch, a few trailers, and a lot of tents.
I favor the East Coast. But am flexible. I'll probably go most places. Chicago sounds good. Lots to do and we can make a pilgrimage to the holy sites such as New T HS and his mother's house. (I kid. I kid.) As to dates, I'd like a time when the chosen place isn't freezing.
I can kick in on the scholarship fund too.
We could all attend the Gathering of the Juggalos.
I kind of like the idea of going to a warm climate in winter that's not too expensive. I have friends moving to Tucson that I'd like to visit. Is there anyone in Arizona who could host.
I've never been to Palm Springs, but now I'm kind of eager to go, because my cousins basically had to kidnap their Dad from a semi-abusive woman who had dragged him to Florida and Texas, and they got him in Palm Springs.
By memorial day I'll be done with all my moving around and there's a good chance I'd be able to make it.
Hold on, what's the midpoint if we exclude all the Jews?
No point in being half-assed about this thing.
As it requires no actual effort on my part, I have been boycotting Arizona for years.
In my head, the perfect location would be a big cabin in the woods,
There'd probably be a lot of options in the Berkeley Springs WVa/Deep Creek MD area that would be central to midlantic drivers and not too far from airports. You could probably rent all or most of the cabins at a single location and just have a big rolling party. That's actually a scenario that would be most appealing to me - plenty of opportunity for spousal retreat and/or splitting off into subgroups.
The cabins we always go to for MLK weekend would be perfect, except the location (Cook Forest, north of I-80) is no good. But it's 19 cabins in various clusters, outdoor fire pits and such... ideal in a lot of ways.
BTW, VRBO has a condo on Mt. Washington, overlooking the Golden Triangle, for $60/BR/night. Rooftop deck. A million hotel rooms within walking distance (if you include the incline in the walk).
252: Early August Cave-of-the-Rock, Ill. (southern so closer to St. Louis). Been there for a few years in a row, so probably will be there in 2013.
We'd try to come to anything in the midwest or midatlantic. I like the idea of cabins or camping. Count us as 50/50. And if it's around Cleveland we can put a few people up.
I know about Tuckerman Ravine (and the avalanches), but I never heard of a Golden Triangle on Mt. Washington.
I've bBeen there for a few years in a row, so probably will be there in 2013.
Too colloquial, JP.
A million hotel rooms within walking distance (if you include the incline in the walk).
How many as the crow flies?
262: I would find no shame in having attended that event with my misguided rust belt brethren and cistern.
Ah PGH. Seriously, I was thinking of NH.
Labs! Hooray!
Also, I would just like to point out that during Unfoggedcon 1, I shared a sofa with Chopper, whom I had never met before. It was a narrow sofa, and we slept head to toe. I believe that somebody slept on the grody rug next to the sofa but was not in fact in a condition to verify that. Point being: this will be an occasion upon which norm-bending will be appropriate.
Wow my personal COG appears to be nearest to Winnemucca Nevada.
268, 269: Tribune, Kansas for me. (And thanks for including me in the earlier calculation, JP.)
Mine's near the delightfully named Pinch, WV.
267: a night I remember fondly. The next morning was a bit rough, though.
I also really like the idea of renting a big house and having that be Party Central, so to speak. I'm flexible about rooming with others, and interested in saving money, unsurprisingly.
273: No, it used to be something else.
As a long-time lurker, can I hide in the bushes outside?
A bit to the southwest of Gander, Newfoundland.
Personal midpoint that is, figuring out what the current midpoint for all the commentators is something done better by those who remember where everyone lives.
I feel like I don't chime in enough that my vote should count, but for the record, I would be a "maybe" leaning towards making the effort, assuming I got over my lurker shyness. I am curious to see what the people who make up this community look like face to face - and I would probably be willing to travel wherever. Boston would be easy. New Years Eve would be absolutely perfect timing, too.
274: Do you snore? Do you like fiber arts?
257-258: Works for me!
267: Sounds a lot like every college debate tournament I ever attended. Does this mean someone will carve an ice luge?
When I was a TA in my early/mid-20s in the early/mid 2000s I made a few references to Simpsons episodes from the early/mid 90s that few students got. Now, there are college students who have never lived in a world in which the Simpsons were not on tv, and who may not even have been alive at the time the episodes I referred to first aired.
Wrong thread. I am going to repost in the correct thread, like an old man who tells the same stories again and again.
I don't think I usually snore, and though I don't myself partake in the fiber arts, I did once take a many-hour train trip into rural Bavaria solely to purchase ~1200 euros of hand-dyed yarn, which I think should establish my credentials as someone willing to go along with knitting-related endeavors.
215 + 216 + 230 was perfect.
141: You should reveal the location as a puzzle like they did for the xkcd meetup so that only the worthy can find it.
After this comment, and based on this thread, I was convinced that someone would declare that the location would be at the center of the continental US, without defining "center" and we'd all have to figure it out on our own.
And that the date would only be revealed by solving some horrendous math problem, the answer being number of seconds since the UNIX epoch started.
Further to 267: Matt let me sleep on his couch at UnfoggeDCon 2 and was very nice about it as were his roommates even the one who was friends with McMegan.
284: Plus the other thread tells us we can be grouped as an age cohort. J didn't specify how close to your age she is, but I'm already 32 and so I may get to be the oldest and boss everyone around or however it works.
We could have simultaneous West and East meetups, renting two webcams and projectors so one wall of each room seems to lead to the other meetup.
I think I would get too jealous watching the westerners frolic under the waterfall.
I'd make an effort to attend. All of those cities are about equally good for me; and New Year's Eve is fine.
111: I would be delighted to host it if it's in Pittsburgh.
Surely 290 settles it? My house is within a 15 minute, rather pleasant walk of Cosma's, and could accommodate a half dozen in varying levels of comfort/closeness.
Hell, I'd even host a brunch the next day (assuming brunch starts at like 3 pm, if my sense of these parties is correct).
Oh, and there's a big, mid-priced (I think) hotel a couple blocks from Cosma's, various other B&B type places nearby (plus a super high-end place in an old mansion that I used to live in, long before it was super high-end). Easy transit to Oakland, where Pitt and several more hotels are.
If Cosma wants to let us destroy his househost this thing, I think we'd be fools not to let him.
Plus, it's right by the hospital in case anything happens.
Oh, it occurs to me that I could most usefully offer family-friendly accommodations, including the hiring of a babysitter for the big night. We even still have a crib.
There are nonstop flights from Boston to Pittsburgh, which makes it just fine by me.
288: For real. Halford doesn't get a sex grotto if we all don't get a sex grotto!
I'll go over to Cosma's and dig you people a sex grotto if it means no more whining. Sheesh.
The east busway is kind of grotto-like.
297: And Cosma would get his own sex grotto and quite possibly a Modern Love column!
I don't think Moby really understands what a sex grotto is.
If we rented this cave lodge in Arkansas, then Branson's just an hour's drive to the north.
300: As long as you can have sex in it and it is below grade, I think it qualifies.
302: One man's mineshaft is another man's sex grotto.
Oh, Cosma, hai. No need to be bound to any obligations based on my impertinent joke. K thx bai.
(But May is a good time of year to visit Fallingwater if a bit early for the Rhododendrons, but who knows with the warm weather. Also generally good rafting water levels on the Yough.)
302: Plus bonus bus fume huffing.
As long as you can have sex in it and it is below grade, I think it qualifies.
You must have better luck on the EBA than I do.
245: Mine's just off the junction of Cty Rd 5 and Hwy 13 in Burnsville. Kind of a homebody.
Posted in wrong thread: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m0f2Dm6x6A&feature=related
275: COG: Bedford, Iowa.
Let me guess that one of CC's goals is to pull that thing way up into South Dakota somewhere before he goes (I suspect getting it into Montana itself would take moving further north and west).
245: Also, I put in all the cities of people I could remember here, and then aggregated the various center points, and wound up with Iowa City, IA. I think it is amusing that the official website refers to "The City of Iowa City, Iowa." But you gotta know the territory.
I went to an academic conference last summer and there were a ton of people from the University of Iowa there. The word "Iowa" appeared about 20 times on each of their poster presentations, with everyone being from the University of Iowa Graduate School of This or That, Iowa Something Research Center, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA.
310: And a lipogram on 'e', so it's eligible.
My sister went to school there. She said there was a brief class to teach the soon-to-be graduates how to act on interviews. The teacher noted, with derision, that native Iowans will drink beer from a bottle even if given a glass. I think maybe the teacher was over reacting to having had to move to Iowa.
309 -- And live a lot longer. I'll be happy to make it to Omaha. Western suburbs and exurbs of Omaha.
A friend went to med school there. She picked up a long distance running hobby, because there was nothing else to do but run, and keep running.
I think maybe the teacher was over reacting to having had to move to Iowa.
Was it this guy?
As stated in the link in 308, SLC really makes Des Moines look second rate.
Parodie, Cosma, and others who chimed in the last half of the thread: I think it's likely to be Memorial Day weekend rather than NYE, based on the first half of the thread.
Western suburbs and exurbs of Omaha.
Lincoln?
313: Hmm, sounds like Stephen Bloom.
There are standards and there are standards, one of my favorite vignettes from William Least Heat Moon's Blue Highways. Deep in West Virginia:
"Ain't from around here, I see."
"How's that?"
"Wiped that beer bottle off fore you swigged on it."
If it is Charlottesville, I could provide a big house, with a ton of land for camping. We would also have Stanley's place, and we have a winery nearby....
We could get loud there. Stanley's band could play.
Did I mention wine?
The problem I foresee with Cville as a location is the need for a car. You could certainly get here and get around quite a bit using only public transportation (indeed, Witt did so), but not having a car would be annoying (especially getting to and from the nicely appointed country house that Will mentions), a problem that's easily solved by being in a larger city with trains that run underground at all hours of the night.
a larger city with trains that run underground at all hours of the night
That certainly disqualifies Boston.
304: I felt no obligation.
318: Even better.
323:
Agreed. Just throwing it out there.
Plus, Stanley's band!
284 & 287: So it sounds like we're 30, 31, and 32-year-olds who appreciate yarn. This will be epic.
328: Purlist seeks fabricist for binding-off, reverse single crochet. No boomers need apply
You: rides a crochet rocket. Me: purling through outer space. Let's knit together and stitch out right.
331: Accompanied with a classic cellphone mirror pic of a guy in a knitted codpiece.
Approximately 1 mile from my house. En route, you would pass Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and several of the city's finest restaurants.
Just sayin'.
I never knew that was there. I had no idea the that Pittsburgh could support so many (i.e. two) yard stores.
As for "unfogdecadecon", with six month's warning like 175 says, I'd have a better-than-80-percent chance of going to anything in the northeast corridor with decent public transportation. (In the original post's terms, I guess that's an A to Washington, Boston or Philadelphia.) I'd be practically certain to make it to something in DC and could probably offer someone a couch to stay on, but a gathering on Memorial Day in DC seems like it would be crowded.
And since I see Pause Endlessly in this thread at least once, I have a question I've been meaning to ask him, and it's vaguely on topic for that matter. Could you get in touch with me? The e-mail address in this link should work, or if it doesn't, you can leave a comment on my blog. Not a huge deal, just something I've been curious about for a while.
335: Two is nothin'. There's one two blocks from work and one six blocks from home and that's just on this side of the river.
Good lord. I'm offering you people sex grottoes and landscaped waterfalls in Palm Springs and you're looking for locations near yarn stores. Yarn stores in Pittsburgh.
337: There were two that close to me, but one closed. Capitalism, I guess.
338: I dunno. It would be somewhat depressing to be sitting around in a sultry sex grotto and everyone starts talking about their most recent bike mods.
334: I find it profoundly disorienting, the way that SLiberty has gone all hip and cool the past few years. I lived and worked not far from there in the '90s; the only thing there at the time was the AAA office. So weird.
340: Exactly. Rob, let us know when you're offering us sex in Palm Springs, not just grottoes in which other people have had sex in the past.
341: The AAA office is still there.
334: Stock up on Iron City, I'm comin' to Pittsburgh!
341: That's the astonishing thing. It would be one thing if a (largely) dead neighborhood simply got taken over by big boxes (which, to be clear, are a big part of the story). But what's happened is that a ton of non-big box, non-mainstream stuff is coexisting with it all. I have some theories as to how and why it's working this way, but they might be ad hoc, rather than predictive. The important thing is that there's at least a chance that it's sustainable, that there will still be interesting, independent places in East Liberty in 10 more years.
I missed the desolate years. I didn't completely move here until 2003 and was rarely in that area before then.
I can't believe no one noticed that J Robot, trapnel and I are planning a yarn-and-sex grotto, which is obviously way better than Halford's bacon-and-sex one. Wait, actually it probably isn't.
345: Went to Union Pig & Chicken. Mixed reviews. I did quite like the brisket. It was all so ... purposeful. My kids decided it wasn't so much hipster as hipster exploitation (or hipsploitation as it became). Curious if you've reviewed it yet.
340, 342 -- I'm in the leading to water business, not the making you drink business.
348: another week or two; it still hasn't been open 2 months.
I did go to get lunch on my own dime. Fantastic pulled pork, decent slaw, tooth-achingly sweet baked beans. Why, Kevin, why?
As for hipsploitation, I'm not sure what to make of that. The chef/owner is an interesting guy, but I'm not sure he can be pigeonholed. What he's doing in his 3 restaurants varies really widely, but with a pretty strong commitment to excellence throughout (beans aside).
FWIW, the table tops are made from trees cut down in the city - hipster or not, that's great.
It would be somewhat depressing to be sitting around in a sultry sex grotto and everyone starts talking about their most recent bike mods.
I have a cut-out seat, laydeez.
I missed the desolate years. I didn't completely move here until 2003 and was rarely in that area before then.
It's funny, because your remarks about the city's (lack of) apparent amenities often seem to me as if they are about Pittsburgh circa 1993 rather than Pittsburgh now. Where did you live right before Pgh? Was it somewhere lots bigger and richer?
352: Columbus*, I think.
I have the same thoughts about Moby's comments some times. It's not like there was some golden era when the roads were all nice and well-maintained in Pittsburgh (city wasn't so strapped for cash, but the overall road system was worse when I first was around in the late '70s and 80s).
I can't believe no one noticed that J Robot, trapnel and I are planning a yarn-and-sex grotto [...]
Seriously! (And trapnel, re: the other thread, I thought you were 40-ish because for some reason I assumed everyone here was about a decade older than I.)
Don't let X fool you. We are all 47. And by "we" I mean me, sitting in my basement and going bald.
