Tommy Lee333 and Tammy Renee
We had a ball at the event it was definitely worth the drive.
now that i have met all of you at the show if i didn't give you one of our cards some of you asked where our band videos are well here is the address.
www.tntbandrocks.com
www.youtube.com/tommyandtammy1
looking foward to getting to talk to all of you on here. really glad i found this site.
but my scanners went out right after the show so if anyone knows where i might get a good set cheap (i know there is no such thing) but if you do let me know thanks again and God bless everyone of you.
SELEM... a newbie perspective
For me, this whirlwind began only a few short months ago and within that time, I've aquired three RGB systems, a 250 mW green, two software packages (LD2000 AND Moncha 2.1) BOTH with laptops, joined an online forum of people who are still speaking a lot of Greek, and took a leap of faith to drive 1,000 roundtrip miles, explaining to work and family that I was going to attend some event in the sticks of N.C. that people can't even agree how to pronounce. (There's a 12-Step program for this in the end, right??)
I arrived late Saturday night after a long day at work, an even longer drive and, after checking into the hotel, with a certain amount of trepidation, made my way to Newton to find this theater. After some assistance in direction from the local police, I arrived and the first thing I encountered on the front steps was moderately intoxicated revelers who were just barely able to slur out that Adam was the person I needed to find and get checked in. I was directed into a room filled with fog, wires, laptops and monitors scattered everywhere and in the back of my mind thinking, "What the heck have I gotten myself into?" I'm not the type of person who easily walks up to people and begin conversation to begin with (although public speaking to large groups and "running the show" comes very naturally) and immediately knew I was far, far out of my element. "These are REAL laser people." (Hell, I didn't even know what's inside the case.) Retreating to the safety of the dark theater, what struck me next was that after a month of online counseling about the dangers of laser light, I (along with everybody else) was being hit with beams. (Must be an enthusiast thing, I thought.)
After getting back to the hotel, I tried valiently to stay awake and engaged in the conference room but it was a losing battle. THIS was the place I was finally gonna get some questions answered and, although I'm a night owl, I just couldn't do it.
The next day brought about a little more of the same. I figured if I got there early, I could start trying to actually meet people. 9:15 a.m. found me sitting in the parking lot and the front door was locked. Nearly an hour later, is when I discovered the fact that everyone was actually already inside, having come through the stage door. Duh. (God... I'm such a newbie to this.) As the morning slowly dragged into afternoon with everyone seemingly absorbed in getting these shows running, I finally went out for lunch and upon coming back, decided that, "Your only going to get out of it what you put in it." Finally I approached Marc from CT Lasers about some goggles I was going to buy and within a few short minutes, the magic began to happen. We got to working on an alignment I needed taken care of and gradually began meeting more people and was dissappointed at how quickly 5 p.m. rolled around. The rest of the event was a blur and by the time I HAD to leave on Monday night, Casey was still going strong and I could have easily stayed a few more hours. The idea of arriving home at 5 in the morning and heading right to work was the only thing that moved me out of my chair.
All in all, it was a fantastic event and for uninitiated people reading this, you only have to attend SELEM once to fully understand why this has become the premier enthusiest meeting in the country and why attendence surpasses something as big as the ILDA cruise. This is a great bunch of people who seem patient enough to help the new people and knowledgable enough to affect the future of the hobby as a whole. Many thanks to Marc, Dan and Adam from X-Laser, Bill Benner from Pangolin, Casey Stack, Mixed Gas, Blowfly, and the ones who don't even realize how much I learned from them like Flecom, Allthatwhichis, Mark from my stomping grounds of Delaware (who I expect to see throughout the year); those whose screen names I'm forgetting and of course, Adam Buffo. I am looking to be much more involved in my "sophmore year" (including perhaps bringing the sound system) and if you told me it was next week, I'd be packing the car already. As soon as we know a date let me know!! I'll need to likely jump through some hoops with work but, have learned the big advantage of getting there early and being rested.
~Brad
PS - I've read this thread a number of times throughout its creation. Quite frankly, as I read Beamann's comments, it really drives home an even more important aspect of last weekend. My son's mother is legally blind as well and I can't fathom the thought of what that must be like. And, if a bunch of self admitted geeks can get together and in the process of sharing their love of light, food, and uh, hops, can give the gift of an amazing colored memory to a visually impaired person, that's a pretty special thing too.
