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Thread: Selem- 2009

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Knoxville, TN, USA
    Posts
    3,154

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by soforene View Post
    Hmm.. I recognise Buffo and Stuka (in their working clothes).
    Not sure about the others though.

    That's just wrong...

    Hmm, I wonder what Cat thinks about the detour her thread took!


    So, anyway, there's this SELEM meet in August...

    I dig these new icons, BTW
    RR

    Metrologic HeNe 3.3mw Modulated laser, 2 Radio Shack motors, and a broken mirror.
    1979.
    Sweet.....

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Charleston, SC
    Posts
    2,147,489,446

    Thumbs up Basic SELEM 2009 info

    Norman - I don't remember anything like that picture at SELEM last year.!. Maybe I was too busy looking at the lasers...

    In all seriousness though, Daedal is correct. SELEM 2009 is already booked. It will be held at the Newton-Conover Civic and Performance Place Auditorium over the weekend of August 15th and 16th. Also, thanks to Stuka for posting the links to the two most popular Bed and Breakfast Inns in Newton. I suggest you make your reservations now, as they tend to fill up fast.

    If you are planning to attend this event and you want to bring equipment, I suggest that you arrive in Newton on Friday around noon. We will have access to the venue from noon until 5 PM to load in equipment.

    Also, even if you aren't bringing any equipment, you are still encouraged to arrive on Friday, because at 6 PM Friday evening we all get together for dinner at The Artist's Cafe in downtown Newton. (*Great* food!) After dinner, we typically retire to the upstairs lounge for drinks, cigars, and a lot of laser chatter. This is the famous "Pre-SELEM Dinner Party" that you've no doubt heard about. (And it's a really wonderful time that you absolutely don't want to miss!) Normally we don't leave until the place closes at Midnight.

    SELEM officially begins at 10 AM on Saturday, and runs until midnight. We start up again on Sunday at 10 AM, and we run until around 5 PM or so. Then we pack up everything and clean the stage. We're usually out of there by 6:30 PM or so. Some people head home right afterwards, while others stay the night and drive / fly back home on Monday.

    This year there has been some talk about organizing a shooting expedition to one of the local gun ranges after SELEM. I haven't set that up yet, and truthfully I'll probably delegate it to someone who will be more involved with it (maybe Stuka or Mixed Gas...) I probably won't have the time to stick around for that part, saddly.

    If you stay at the Trotthouse Inn, Ann Steadman will give you a 10% discount on the cost of the room. (She does this for all guests that stay at her Bed and Breakfast, so long as they are involved with an event at the auditorium.) Not sure if the Peacock Inn does this or not though. The Trotthouse is filling up fast, by the way. Last time I checked, they only had 2 rooms left, and one of those was the suite. (The suite is a bit more expensive, but it has a large jaquzzi tub...)

    If all the B&B's are full, there is a Holiday Inn Express that is about a 10 minute drive from the auditorium. I haven't stayed there, but it looks very nice, and everyone else that has stayed there has enjoyed it. (It's just off Interstate 85, at exit 130.) Most of the overflow crowd from SELEM ends up staying there, if they can't get a room at a B&B. They offer free Internet, free continental breakfast, and a couple other perks. I think the rooms run around $90 per night or so...

    The event itself is just a little bit more structured than the Florida Laser Enthusiast's Meetings, but there is still a lot of time to just let fly with the projectors! We do block out a few hours for some professional lectures / presentations though. Not sure yet who the guest speakers will be for this year, but I'm hoping to have a few special presentations on tap. More details in a month or two.

    Spouses, partners, family members, and good friends are all encouraged to attend. If they are not interested in lasers, Charlotte is just under an hour away by car and offers all the entertainment amenities of a large city, including plenty of shopping.

    Children are not specifically disallowed, but this event really isn't appropriate for children. If you have an older child (teenager) that is very interested in lasers, you may bring him or her along, but you absolutely *must* take full responsibility for your child. There will be over $100,000 worth of equipment on stage, not to mention dangerous light levels and high voltage, water-cooled equipment. It's not a child-friendly atmosphere by any stretch. You have been warned.

    Funding for the event has yet to be determined. I'd like to do the knit-shirt thing again this year, as it worked out quite well last year. But I need to find out what the new rental rate will be. (Last year they said that it would probably be going up for this summer. Might be looking at $650 this time vs. $500...) I need to see if I can talk them down... Details to follow soon.

    But no matter what, we're booked for the event already. Details will be hammered out in the next month or two, and by May we'll be promoting it quite actively. The date is set in stone, so you can book your travel arrangements now. (I've had my room reserved at the Trotthouse since mid-February!)

    Adam

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Posts
    128

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Stuka View Post
    That's just wrong...

    Hmm, I wonder what Cat thinks about the detour her thread took!


    So, anyway, there's this SELEM meet in August...

    I dig these new icons, BTW
    Cat was about to not post anymore threads again! Detour nothing it was Twilight Zone.

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Knoxville, TN, USA
    Posts
    3,154

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by cat View Post
    Cat was about to not post anymore threads again! Detour nothing it was Twilight Zone.
    Yep, that happens - all in fun, usually!!

    Buffo's post pretty well sums up a typical SELEM weekend, but if you have any specific questions, feel free to ask.
    RR

    Metrologic HeNe 3.3mw Modulated laser, 2 Radio Shack motors, and a broken mirror.
    1979.
    Sweet.....

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Portland
    Posts
    1,354

    Default

    I'm pretty psyched about this year. So far, the plan is to drive.

    Road trip!

    -Jonathan

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Central Florida
    Posts
    7,067

    Lightbulb

    Trotthouse update... The suite is taken. Esther said I had to get that room if I wanted her to come. That is not an assurance she is coming, but is definatly +1 for my argument to get her to come.

    The Vanity Fair room is still available. That is the room I have stayed in the past two SELEMs.

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Posts
    128

    Default Esther has good taste!

    Why settle for a room when you can have a suite. I've been fighting Mt. Kenmore (aka washing clothes) and haven't made phone calls about a place to stay. I still need to find out which Holiday Inn Express is correct. I saw 2 listed.

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Charleston, SC
    Posts
    2,147,489,446

    Cool

    Here is the link to the Holiday Inn Express that most people stay at. It's very close to the venue for SELEM, and it's also easy to get to. The direct phone line to the hotel is (828) 465-7070.

    Google maps does show another Holiday Inn Express very close by, but this is a mistake; it's not actually a Holiday Inn at all. The next-closest Holiday Inn is about 10 miles away in Hickory.

    Also, Google maps has the location wrong for the Holiday Inn Express we usually stay at. If you search for "Holiday Inn Express Newton NC" using Google Maps, the one you want is choice "E". But the location is wrong. Switch to satellite view and zoom in on the map and you'll see that someone has added a comment at the intersection of hwy 16 and 10th Street NW showing where the hotel is. (You can also see the parking lot at that resolution.)

    To get to the Holiday Inn Express from Interstate 40, take Exit 130 and head north on state hwy 70A (otherwise known as 1st street West... Not to be confused with 1st Avenue!). Once you're on hwy 70A, you'll take your first right onto 10st Street NW. (Note that this is only a few hundred yards north of the Interstate, so be looking for it!) Stay on 10th street for about a mile, and just before it intersects state hwy 16, you'll see the Holiday Inn Express on your left.

    If you look closely at a map, you'll see that 1st Avenue North is also state highway 16. So if you're coming from the venue and trying to find the hotel, you turn left onto 1st Avenue and stay on 1st Avenue (it will become hwy 16) until you pass under the bridge for Interstate 40. Then you take a left on 10th street NW and an immediate right into the parking lot of the Holiday Inn Express. (You can see the hotel as soon as you pass under the I-40 bridge.)

    I asked about a group rate, but they said I needed to talk to the general manager, and she won't be available until Monday. So I'll have to call back then. Details to follow soon...

    Adam

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Marysville, WA
    Posts
    855

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by platinum View Post
    I'm pretty psyched about this year. So far, the plan is to drive.

    Road trip!

    -Jonathan

    Need a driving buddy?

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Portland
    Posts
    1,354

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by GooeyGus View Post
    Need a driving buddy?
    We'll have to look into that.

    -Jonathan

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