Back in January, after seeing photos from a DBO PAX West meetup, Stabbim posted how he would love to have a "true" Midwest meetup some day if enough people were interested.

6.5 people responded (Pyromancy commented as 'semi-interested' lol)
Since that thread, other DBOer's have expressed interest or have been volunteered as interested by other community members :)

Please comment to confirm or deny your interest in attending, or to add yourself to this list if you arent already on it. Open to any DBO'er, not just midwest residents.

Here is the List I have so far:

Stabbim, Dame, Breitzen, Beorn, CheapLEY, Kermit, Pyromancy
Nominated as interest-> Levi, BlackTiger, Atsumi, BlueRunner, SpeedRacer

DATES
Do any of you have any dates that you definitely could NOT attend on this year? (I have included a list of 2018 conventions below that may be of interest to community members)
I found a great place, but it is so popular it books up fast - current the only weekends left this entire year are SEPT 14-17, SEPT 21-24 and OCT 5-8th. And those will probably get booked up within the next few days too.. so we may want to reserve the space ASAP as they have an excellent cancellation policy.

LOCATIONS
(1) Des Moines: Stabbin was considering using his own residence for a small gathering, but mentioned concerns about the 'ancient electrical'
(2) Wichita? I think that is where you are Breitzen? Breitzen threw his home in as a potential meetup space as well. How many people could you comfortably host? There is some concern on that location for Beorn and others who are having to drive the farthest.
(3) Kansas City, MO: This seems to be within a few hours of half the people on the current list so I thought it would be a good choice. I also found a home on AirBnB where you can have up to 14 people, 3 BRs but 7 beds, 3 baths, multiple living / entertainment spaces, + 2 stand-up arcade games, a ping-pong table, skee-ball, and poker table. TVs in every room, large backyard plus deck and BBQ grill plus it backs up to a place called Zona Rosa shopping center than has plenty of food choices that we can WALK to - including a restaurant called 'Draftcade' that boasts a lot of Arcade games & pinball machines, generous food portions and large beer selection (60 taps) if thats your thing. There's also a tattoo parlor so we can all get matching DBO tattoos!! hehheh

Drive times to Kansas City, MO from:
Columbia, MO - 2hrs
FLW, MO - 4 hrs
Wichita - 3 hrs
Des Moines - 3 hrs
Minneapolis - 6.5 hrs
Dallas - 8 hrs
Nashville - 8 hrs

2018 CONVENTIONS:
PAX South JANUARY San Antonio TX
CES January Las Vegas
Dice Summit FEB Las Vegas
ECCC March 1 - 4th Seattle
GDC March San Francisco
WonderCon MAR 23-25 Anaheim
ConQuest MAY 25-27 Kansas City MO
Sakura-Con MAR 30 - APR 1 Seattle (Anime / Cosplay)
PAX East APR 5 - 8 Boston, MA
Demicon May 4-6 DesMoines IA (SciFi / Fantasy, Gaming)
FanimeCon MAY San Jose CA
A-KON JUN 7-10 Dallas (Anime / Cosplay)
E3 JUNE 12 - 14 Los Angeles CA (Devs & Industry Pros)
Anime Expo JULY 5-8 Los Angeles
SDCC JULY 19 - 22 SAn Diego
GenCon AUG 2-5 Indianapolis (tabletop & PC)
Off. Star Trek Con. - AUG 1-5 Las Vegas
RTX AUG 3 - 5 Austin TX
QuakeCon AUG 9-12 Dallas TX (Bethesda)
DragonCon AUG 30 - SEPT 3rd Atlanta (SciFi / Fantasy, Tabletop, Cosplay)
PAX West AUG 31 - SEPT 3rd Seattle WA
Rose City CC - Sept 7th Portland OR
NYCC OCT 4-7 New York City
BlizzCon NOV 203 Anaheim CA
The Game Awards DECEMBER (watch online)

Speaking for myself, I can do any of those dates. My vote is on Kansas City - my house probably isn't a realistic option right now. Someday the electrical system might get brought up to date, if I'm very lucky.

Speaking for myself, I can do any of those dates. My vote is on Kansas City - my house probably isn't a realistic option right now. Someday the electrical system might get brought up to date, if I'm very lucky.

Any of those dates work for me as well. Kansas City is only two hours from me, so that would be amazing.

At this point and at that point I expect to be limited to about an 8 hour drive. In the past I have done cross country trips straight through, but I just have too much crap now.

I can do Chicago any weekend I want if it matters. I am in Detroit. Anyway, I am a yes if you please limit my trip from Chicago to 3 or so hours.

Big cities I can do: St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, Madison, and maybe Minneapolis, but I doubt it. Also anywhere in Indiana and Illinois obv.

If not, NBD. Most people don't like me anyway.

I might be able to pull that off. Definitely interested.

If it’s in September, I’ll be in Michigan then. I might be interested in going.

I might be able to pull that off. Definitely interested.

I really hope you can!

I heard you and Speedracer host good LAN parties :)

Korny was telling me about the one you hosted in TN near Gatlinburg. Sounds like it was awesome. That's spot-on for my personal preferences for a meet-up / getaway ...cabin in the forest rather than a big city.

I heard you took them on a trail to a summit where you could see multiple state lines come together. I want to go!! :)

My mother and her sister take trips to Pigeon Forge / Gatlinberg almost every year. They both want to move to that area. I have never been before, but will likely be out there sometime this year. I will let you know when I might be out your way. I would love to go on a hike with you and your lady. It will have to be light to moderate difficulty though.

Add me to the invite list should you host another Blue's Backwoods LANboree!

~Kim

Looks like even St. Luis would be a long haul for you! It also makes the drive 9 hours for one of the people who first 'signed up' to go. :(

On another note.. I have been hoping someone would host a Great Lakes DBO meetup at some point. I have never been to any of the Great Lakes. It is high on my list of things to see / do in the near future.
Theres a good chance I will be in OshKosh WI this summer around the time of EAA Airventure (July). Maybe we can have a small get together then if you can make it over that way.. plus Beorn in Minneapolis and another community member who is moving from Kansas City to up in MN could join as well hopefully.

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The place I hope to get reserved for us (if we have atleast 10 people going) is very close to the airport so that's a bonus too for you and others interested in flying in

Let's have a Michigan meet up.

Blue is a must-have at any LAN. His stories can easily fill in any gaps in the activity schedule.

i had some longer and steeper hikes planned, but seeing how I nearly killed half of the group walking up the 1/2 mile path to Clingman's Dome, I decided to tone it down. Speaking of, I'm planning on doing a 30 mile backcountry hike in a few weeks that will go up and over Clingmans, so feel free to tag along for that. :)

Word of advice; If you want Kermit to come, don't plan it on the same weekend as a Bruce Springsteen concert.

I'm planning on doing a 30 mile backcountry hike in a few weeks that will go up and over Clingmans, so feel free to tag along for that. :)

Word of advice; If you want Kermit to come, don't plan it on the same weekend as a Bruce Springsteen concert.

Sounds like it'll be a nice trek. Sadly I don't think I could keep up. I am still in my 30's but have multiple back issues / injuries... and now have additional problems that are similar to having osteoperosis only its induced by medication I have to take rather than happening naturally with age. The *me* behind the Xbox that you all don't see is in quite a lot of pain most days. But I am stubborn and still try to have as many outdoor adventures as I can without putting myself in the hospital from severe pain :)

I think the longest and most grueling backpacking stint I did (many years ago now) was hiking to the peak of Mt San Jacinto from a town called Idyllwild in Southern California (where I grew up). Its approx. 20 miles and has over 5,000 feet elevation gain from start of the hike to the peak - the peak is at 10,830. The first time I did that trip I made the rookie mistake of buying new hiking shoes right before the trip (so they had NOT been worn in yet). I had horrendous blisters by the time we were only half way to the summit! But I was determined to make it. I did. But once I took my shoes off that was it.. could not get them back on, not even the next day (we camped on the mountain a couple nights) because my feet were so swollen. Anyhow, it was still awesome and fulfilling and one of my most treasured memories :)

The hike you took the others on was only a half mile? but very steep and a more wild rather than maintained trail I take it? I wonder if I could do it if I started early morning so I could take as many breaks as needed... hmmm

My last longer hike was climbing Thunderhead in the Smokies. Took 3 days. I had kidney stones. I was alone without pain killers. That was a couple of long nights.

youre insane? :)

Aren't bears common out there? You went ALONE? 3 days!?
and yeesh, kidney stones, what an awful time to have that hit!
That is an adventure I am sure you will NEVER forget!

you remind me of my friend Shaun. He is a crazy backpacker too :)

I've been lost at night and crossed logs over streams with no light. I've wiped out and fell down a mountain side, bending one of my poles around me on the process. 3 days with only a few bites of a dry energy bar. I've woke up in a rising stream. Got caught in a flash flood another time. Never had trouble with bears, but I was harassed by some really annoying chipmunks one night. A thunderstorm and pouring rain finally got them to leave me alone. I woke up one night with a horse chewing on my hammock. Hiked miles soaking wet and freezing. More blisters and chaffing than I want to remember. I spent an entire week hiking and fishing barefoot. Hiked the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado barefoot. Lost a lot of skin on that one.

I could go on. Better saved some for the LAN.

I fell down a mountain once too. One of my favourite things about going on multi-day hikes is that knowledge I could really hurt myself.

I like night hiking with no light, wildly underpreparing with food for short hikes (forcing me to eat stuff I find, but never truly putting myself in medical danger).

That kind of shit is where it's at.

midwest

no Omaha mentioned

what is this

(jk)

i had some longer and steeper hikes planned, but seeing how I nearly killed half of the group walking up the 1/2 mile path to Clingman's Dome, I decided to tone it down. Speaking of, I'm planning on doing a 30 mile backcountry hike in a few weeks that will go up and over Clingmans, so feel free to tag along for that. :)

Word of advice; If you want Kermit to come, don't plan it on the same weekend as a Bruce Springsteen concert.

Hey, I came to your LAN regardless! I just had to make an excursion in the middle of it.

I doubt this will be an issue in that keeping my track record of attending every show of his in my state since the 80s has gotten easier since he's banned my state.

The only weekend of the three that you listed that could potentially work for me would be October 5-8. I am definitely interested, and if it were only up to me I would commit right now... but unfortunately I'd have to consider myself 50/50 right now.

We could probably make any of those weekends work in Kansas City. We had been considering having a LAN at our place the weekend of October 20th (near Duluth). We'll have fiber internet, wired ethernet, and 4 TVs available plus 3 available beds and plenty of floor space.

Not sure if everyone wants to travel that far though.

midwest

no Omaha mentioned

what is this

(jk)

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midwest

no Omaha mentioned

what is this

(jk)

:) If it makes you feel any better I actually did consider Omaha!
I think it would make a good location.

This year I was going off the locations of people I knew were interested and what was easiest for the majority to get to, so that more people actually attend! :)

I take it you live near Omaha? Are you interested in coming to a DBO meetup in the KC area?
Looks like it's roughly a 3 hour drive.

(below is my silly little map I started of DBO'ers who were wanting a Midwest meetup)

Dang, are there that many of us in Missouri? I had no idea.

Dang, are there that many of us in Missouri? I had no idea.

Nor did I! ..until we started discussing this meetup back in January.

We are losing one from MO though, if I recall BlackTiger and his lady are moving to MN soon.
That is why he posted in this thread about having a meetup in Duluth later this year.

Actually, probably losing Me from Missouri this year too.
I have a job opportunity I don't want to pass up, but it is down in Arkansas, South of Fort Smith. I am heading down to start work in June, just taking minimal stuff to start with, giving it a few months to see if it's going to work out.

Actually, probably losing Me from Missouri this year too.
I have a job opportunity I don't want to pass up, but it is down in Arkansas, South of Fort Smith. I am heading down to start work in June, just taking minimal stuff to start with, giving it a few months to see if it's going to work out.

You're going to my old stomping grounds. Most of my family is back in Arkansas and my mom's side is all around Fort Smith.

I think you would lose most everybody save for Beorn (not that Beorn isn't awesome or anything, but a handful of DBO'ers is worth more than a single.. yadda yadda) :)

Here are the drive time comparisons:

to Kansas City vs. Duluth MN:
Columbia,MO - 2hrs vs 10 hrs
FLW, MO - 4 hrs vs 12 hrs
Wichita - 3 hrs vs 11.5 hrs
Des Moines - 3 hrs vs 6 hrs
Minneapolis - 6.5 hrs vs 2.5
Nashville - 8 hrs vs 14 hrs
Dallas - 8 hrs vs 16.5 hrs
Detroit - 11.75 hr vs 11.5 hrs

Do we know of any other DBO'ers out that way??
or anyone willing to fly-in for a Great Lakes get-a-way?
Personally I think that would be an awesome vacation area

I am highly interested. I was hoping someone would host a GREAT LAKES meet-up.
Looks like You and also Funkmon are both in good areas for that!
Not sure I could make it, but I am highly interested hehheh

Heck looks like "Thunder Bay" is just 3.5 hrs from Duluth, I could FINALLY get to use my passport!!

I might be closer to you in July.. I may be in OshKosh WI for a week or 2. That is still 5.5 hours from Duluth though.

We’ll be at Airventure in July as well.

Heh, remember that one time some admin posted everyone's city here before we realized the massive creepiness of it? Good times.

Yeah. I can think of at least 4 off the top of my head (although 2 don't necessarily pop up on DBO specifically anymore). And that's just the ones I KNOW about.

FWIW, you wouldn't lose me. 6 hours would still be the least drive time I've ever done for one of these, by a wide margin.

I still think Kansas City is the best overall option for the most people, though. Especially looking at your map.

I'd love to make this happen!

If we decided on Wichita, the place I think we could stay is nearby and is owned by a friend, so wouldn't cost us much, if anything (I'll inquire). Although it's admittedly not nearly as cool as the place in KC. lol

Dates that absolutely won't work for me:

• Aug. 17-19
  
• Pax West weekend (probably Aug. 31-Sept. 3)
  
• Oct. 5-8 may be out depending on if we're doing my daughter's birthday party that weekend

I'd love to make this happen!

If we decided on Wichita, the place I think we could stay is nearby and is owned by a friend, so wouldn't cost us much, if anything (I'll inquire). Although it's admittedly not nearly as cool as the place in KC. lol

Dates that absolutely won't work for me:

• Aug. 17-19
  
• Pax West weekend (probably Aug. 31-Sept. 3)
  
• Oct. 5-8 may be out depending on if we're doing my daughter's birthday party that weekend

Easy; give her an early birthday party the weekend before and she'll just think it's extra special!

Also, Wichita would be cool. It's a few hours closer even (for me)!

I actually live in Omaha. But currently don't know my vehicle situation. Have not been to KC yet (somehow?!?) even though I've been to Denver, Des Moines, and Sioux City.

I'll keep an eye on this though

We've already moved! We were in KC K though not KC MO. :D

Just throwing this out there - I'm always willing to carpool on these things, and Omaha isn't terribly far from me. So, if the vehicle thing is the only problem, you've got options.

There will be a LAN at our place eventually one way or another. No idea how many will show up, but I'll make a separate post once we're settled in and have decided on the specifics (including pics, our house has great views!).

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It's not looking TOO severe - just have to get a new wheel bearing for my 2007 Kia Sedona (which means I can carry a lot of people around). I'm looking forward to being able to drive past the city limits again at any rate. My last car couldn't go roadtripping.

Heh, remember that one time some admin posted everyone's city here before we realized the massive creepiness of it? Good times.

Do many people actually use their true cities of residence when they register on social sites like this??

Heh, remember that one time some admin posted everyone's city here before we realized the massive creepiness of it? Good times.

Do many people actually use their true cities of residence when they register on social sites like this??

I would guess that if they're inclined to share that info lying requires more effort. I don't think of this as a social site in the modern sense of that term. Claude's a very bright guy, but I don't think of him as an evil genius a la Zuckerberg.

I’m definitely interested, though if anyone’s passing through Chicago (or coming from here) I’d definitely prefer carpooling (& paying for gas) over taking yet another Greyhound.

Also Ohio is True Midwest, dangit. We got the requisite fields of corn, soy, and overwhelming sense of boredom!

Oh no, it was some IP tracking magic voodoo trickery. Which is why it was creepy as hell

So the awesome KC house with the skeeball, arcade machines, ping-pong and poker tables ended up booking out within a few days of my post. That place is extremely popular!

That said, this opens up more dates that we could have the meet-up on. Including hosting it sooner than 5-6 months from now :)

What do you all think of August 4th - 6th?
I am not free on weekends of Aug 11th or 18th
Breitzen mentioned 8/18th would not be good for him either
The weekend of the 25th is really close to PAX and may be a conflict for some.

September it turns out is a tricky month for a few people, myself included.

We could still do October 5-7, but BlackTiger is hoping to host a meetup up in Duluth MN on OCT 20th that at least a few of us are hoping to make it to so I don't want to stack meetups too close together because that may affect people's ability (time off, finances, etc) to make it to both.

KANSAS CITY or WICHITA?

KC still seems to be the popular vote and conveniently located for the majority of people wanting to go ...however Breitzen may have scored us a place to stay for free in Wichita!

BREITZEN: Did you get a chance to ask your friend if he would allow us to use his rental home free-of-charge for our meet-up? If he says yes, how many beds/baths (how many people can it accommodate)? Is it listed on VRBO or AirBnB?

@BlueRunner - if the meetup ends up being in Wichita rather than KC, would we lose you? What about flying in? If you book at least 5 weeks in advance you could get a ticket for $100 through Southwest. That's probably cheaper than the cost of gasoline.

@CheapLEY Wichita is around 5 hours from Columbia. Do you think you would still make it?

I don't mind driving. I do some pretty long hauls regularly. Flying might buy me more time there though. I would just have to see what makes sense.

@CheapLEY Wichita is around 5 hours from Columbia. Do you think you would still make it?

Yeah, that's still close enough for me. I'd probably go up to 7-8 if I had to, but that'd be my upper limit. 5 is totally comfortable for me.

I REALLY hate to further complicate things, but...

It did occur to me just now that my issues with hosting really only apply to a large group. I'd originally been thinking of a 15-20 person group, which is what a lot of these things have been typically. I don't think it's realistic to run that many consoles+TVs in my place, as mentioned previously. But... 6 or so (or 2 fireteams worth) is probably fine. So, just throwing that out there, depending on the number of people interested. My place does have some advantages:

• The layout is open. People in all rooms (and even the enclosed porch, if the windows are open) can see+hear each other.
  
• I'm less than 2.5 miles from the Des Moines International Airport. So close that walking from there is not unrealistic (I'm not suggesting anybody will have to).
  
• It's also super easy to drive to. Des Moines is at the intersection of two major interstates, and my place in particular is only one exit+one turn off of one of them.
  
• Des Moines also has a barcade, Up-Down. It's a 5-10 minute drive from my place, as is the rest of downtown, where there are some truly great eats like Fong's Pizza and Zombie Burger.
  
• Being so close to the airport, there are obviously plenty of hotels nearby if medical conditions and/or terrible personal habits require you to sleep separately from others. ;) I can't speak to the quality/luxury of any of them, though, having never had much reason to get a hotel next to my own house.

The only possible problem is that I only have one bed, and a couch that I personally don't like sleeping on (YMMV, I guess). So we'd have to make arrangements for air mattresses, cots, etc.

Ooof.

Changing venues to Wichita increases my drive time by almost 50% each way. Not that y'all aren't worth it, but that's a bit steep. I'd still prefer KC if possible.

Otherwise, I don't see a problem with the early August dates, and I can do early October, as well. But yeah, September isn't good for me, either.

I REALLY hate to further complicate things, but...

It did occur to me just now that my issues with hosting really only apply to a large group. I'd originally been thinking of a 15-20 person group, which is what a lot of these things have been typically. I don't think it's realistic to run that many consoles+TVs in my place, as mentioned previously. But... 6 or so (or 2 fireteams worth) is probably fine. So, just throwing that out there, depending on the number of people interested. My place does have some advantages:

• The layout is open. People in all rooms (and even the enclosed porch, if the windows are open) can see+hear each other.
  
• I'm less than 2.5 miles from the Des Moines International Airport. So close that walking from there is not unrealistic (I'm not suggesting anybody will have to).

Thank you so much for parenthetical. :)

[*]It's also super easy to drive to. Des Moines is at the intersection of two major interstates, and my place in particular is only one exit+one turn off of one of them.
[*]Des Moines also has a barcade, Up-Down. It's a 5-10 minute drive from my place, as is the rest of downtown, where there are some truly great eats like Fong's Pizza and Zombie Burger.
[*]Being so close to the airport, there are obviously plenty of hotels nearby if medical conditions and/or terrible personal habits require you to sleep separately from others. ;) I can't speak to the quality/luxury of any of them, though, having never had much reason to get a hotel next to my own house.

This would be me. I have terrible personal habits.

[/list]

Not that y'all aren't worth it...

BREITZEN: Did you get a chance to ask your friend if he would allow us to use his rental home free-of-charge for our meet-up? If he says yes, how many beds/baths (how many people can it accommodate)? Is it listed on VRBO or AirBnB?

I'm reaching out today. I'll report back.

@Beorn - yeah I was worried about that extra lengthy drive for you.

Free use of a vacation rental house is very tempting though, so I thought it was worth considering.

It's all still up for discussion. Kansas City, Wichita & Des Moines are all still in the running. Des Moines may be too far for Speedracer though, 11 hours not including stops :(

I'm also going to call out Stabbim here for you as he has said that he'd be happy to have you carpool with him. You get yourself to Des Moines and he will drive the rest of the way! :)

@Breitzen +1 at your response to Beorn. Made me "LOL" as they say these days..

I REALLY hate to further complicate things, but...

No worries! You're not complicating anything :)
It's good to know your place can still be in the running.
Des Moines is 11+ hour drive from Dallas, so not sure if we'd loose Speedracer.

...my (electrical) issues with hosting really only apply to a large group. I'd originally been thinking of a 15-20 person group, which is what a lot of these things have been typically. ...But... 6 or so (or 2 fireteams worth) is probably fine. So, just throwing that out there, depending on the number of people interested.

So far I think we have 6 'strong' YES's: You, Breitzen, Beorn, Levi, CheapLEY and Myself, plus 4 - 5 more who can most-likely make it but have further to travel so it's not definite: Speedracer, BlueRunner (+1)?, BlackTiger (+1)? and Kermit, and then we have some who are interested but unsure: Zumphry, FyreWulff, Pyromancy and Funkmon (if Des Moines). Plus one mystery person,Atsumi?, I think someone who knows her may want to reach out and invite her and let her know about it :)

So as of right now I'd say we will probably get at least 8 people, but there is already a potential of double that number.

[*]I'm less than 2.5 miles from the Des Moines International Airport. So close that walking from there is not unrealistic (I'm not suggesting anybody will have to).

It's good to be near an airport! We may have Kermit and other fly-ins :)

[*]Des Moines also has a barcade, Up-Down. It's a 5-10 minute drive from my place, as is the rest of downtown, where there are some truly great eats like Fong's Pizza and Zombie Burger.

I want to go to ZombieBurger!!
If this DBO meetup doesnt happen in Des Moines, I think I am still going to have to come by for a visit and a zombie burger! Maybe on my way / our way to Duluth MN in October to BlackTiger's place?! :)

The only possible problem is that I only have one bed, and a couch that I personally don't like sleeping on (YMMV, I guess). So we'd have to make arrangements for air mattresses, cots, etc.

yea that could be tricky :( I'll have to look in the garage and see what I could bring

I REALLY hate to further complicate things, but...

No worries! You're not complicating anything :)
It's good to know your place can still be in the running.
Des Moines is 11+ hour drive from Dallas, so not sure if we'd loose Speedracer.

...my (electrical) issues with hosting really only apply to a large group. I'd originally been thinking of a 15-20 person group, which is what a lot of these things have been typically. ...But... 6 or so (or 2 fireteams worth) is probably fine. So, just throwing that out there, depending on the number of people interested.

So far I think we have 6 'strong' YES's: You, Breitzen, Beorn, Levi, CheapLEY and Myself, plus 4 - 5 more who can most-likely make it but have further to travel so it's not definite: Speedracer, BlueRunner (+1)?, BlackTiger (+1)? and Kermit, and then we have some who are interested but unsure: Zumphry, FyreWulff, Pyromancy and Funkmon (if Des Moines). Plus one mystery person,Atsumi?, I think someone who knows her may want to reach out and invite her and let her know about it :)

I sent her a message. Count on me coming barring some unforeseen problem.

I'm starting to have concerns about Kansas City.

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This would be me. I have terrible personal habits.

[/list]

You're the only person I know who can't game in person without seeing a Springsteen concert first ;)

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This would be me. I have terrible personal habits.

Me too, but I’m not considerate enough to not make other people put up with them. ;-)

This would be me. I have terrible personal habits.

[/list]

You're the only person I know who can't game in person without seeing a Springsteen concert first ;)

No longer a requirement.

To all interested, take a look at the FTB events. I have created an "IRL" event for this meetup so people can sign up and we can better track how big of a space we need.

The event description links back to this thread as well so we can continue discussions as needed.

:)

To all interested, take a look at the FTB events. I have created an "IRL" event for this meetup so people can sign up and we can better track how big of a space we need.

The event description links back to this thread as well so we can continue discussions as needed.

:)

I just want to say thanks for putting in the time and doing the legwork for this. I really appreciate it, and I hope it's not as big a pain as I imagine it being in my head.

I'm very interested and I'm in the Midwest (Michigan, the most Midwestern state) but I don't know how far I can afford to go. I definitely can't afford a plane ticket, current bus and train prices may be doable but I'm not sure how bills and random expenses are going to be the next couple months and how much the prices may change. Specifically I'm in southwestern Michigan, near Flint. Setting it closer or putting it later in the year should make it clearly possible to have the money. If anyone else in southern/western Michigan wants to go, carpooling could help a lot.

Unfortunately that weekend is too close to Airventure for us.

Unfortunately that weekend is too close to Airventure for us.

I understand.

I'm pretty bummed right now as its looking very doubtful I will be able to make AirVenture this year... I finally live close enough to be able to make it up there (under normal circumstances), but.. sh*t happens. Doesn't look like I will make it after all.

I just want to say thanks for putting in the time and doing the legwork for this. I really appreciate it, and I hope it's not as big a pain as I imagine it being in my head.

No problem :) I really don't mind helping set this up at all.
Yes it does get tricky / time consuming some times because I hate to leave anyone out, but.. its fairly impossible to get both a date and time that works for everyone who would like to go.

I might be game too, depending, since I know Stabbim in real life. Could be fun!

Financial stuff is looking much better now; I'm still interested.

Are we pretty set on the dates listed in the FTB event? We're getting close to time for me to have to confirm vacation time if those are going to be it, and I just want to double check.