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Planning to come? Join #minicon on
efnet, and visit the Minicon Web
community!
Since the
events
of September 11th, the airlines are
fucked, so they're offering insanely cheap fares to just about everywhere.
Alaska Airlines sent me spam advertising
a $99 roundtrip fare to Las Vegas,
which was quickly matched by all of the other airlines. A visit to
United Airlines' website later (by way of
Travelocity), my roommate
Cyben and I
were on our way to Las Vegas.
The next step was
finding people to accompany us. I called Pollywog, who was drunk on Coors or
something equally horrible, and
he immediately agreed to go with us. As soon as he sobered up, Pollywog
backed out, but not before he convinced
Wilx to come along.
I picked up tickets for XBS at the airport (relaying his credit card number
to the agent via cellular phone), and Rim-D, after some consternation, agreed to
join the fun. From Alaska. After checking the prices of plane tickets from
Ketchikan, he bought tickets from Seattle. He then climbed in his van with a
case of canned salmon and a box of No-Doz, took a 6 hour ferry trip to Prince
Rupert, British Columbia, Canada, and drove more than 24 hours straight through
to Seattle, arriving just in time for the 2600
meeting. Next, I called
Barkode,
who was attending a party at lizx's house. While stumbling around drunk
evading the spotlight from a police helicopter (I swear I am not making this
up), he tentatively agreed to join us. Unlike
Pollywog, he was still interested when he was sober, and managed to get the
time off work. Then things spun rapidly out of
control. At this point, events have reached the girth and velocity of an
angry rhinocerous. But more on that later. While Barkode and I were finalizing plans on irc
later the following evening, half of #916 decided to join us. The roll
call now includes TProphet, Wilx, Barkode, Kubla, Patch-P0, Pac-Bell, far_call, Rim-D,
XBS, dreckhead, junk, jolly, jdb, phelix, phear, and Cyben,
priest, kermit zsnark, noid, trippy, asphyxia, jagged,
skrike, mry0y0, lilmatt, humperdink, the drunken whores crew, and
the list is still growing--I've honestly lost track.
Some Perspective
There are a few sellouts who backed out at the last minute, citing
all hell breaking loose at work. Here's some perspective. If YOU are
considering selling out, remember that kermit is doing CONSTRUCTION WORK at LABOR READY to come, cstone has
no idea how he's going to pay his rent after buying plane tickets from
the dirt farm industrial hellhole Midwest, and
Wilx is preparing to be fired for taking time off work without
authorization. And this doesn't even
mention the amazing story of rim-d, which I scarcely believe to be true
even though he's staying at my house. These people all blow my mind. So
ask yourself--where would you rather be if the world ends this weekend?
Your crappy cubicle at your crappy job doing something that
nobody will remember in 3 weeks anyway, or in Las Vegas? I know you'll
make the right choice.
Super Secret Incredibly
Important Update! So many of you
incredibly awesome people are coming that we now have our very own block
of suites at the Alexis Park! So
here's the deal. The rate is only $69 a night, and if we book 30 rooms, we
get an *ENTIRE BUILDING* to ourselves... and you know what that means (see
below for more debauchery information--void in Newfoundland and where
otherwise prohibited).
Now, if you've ever been to
Las Vegas,
you understand that unless you know someone, you can never get this kind of deal on a
suite during the weekend
(if you don't believe me, check the regular rates on the Alexis Park's
Website). Especially on a weekend where there is a ton of stuff going
on even for Las Vegas, including a 40,000-attendee Nascar event, a convention involving every True Value hardware
store in the country (of all the random things), and the worldwide Oracle
developer's convention. As it
happens, we know someone, and huge props to pac-bell
for arranging this for us.
The Alexis Park is a resort and spa, with spacious, tastefully-appointed
suites. There is no casino (which you'll definitely appreciate if you've
ever walked through a noisy, chaotic casino with a pounding hangover), a
spa and a unisex hair salon are onsite, and there are pools, jacuzzis and
gardens to enjoy. An excellent bar is onsite, where the drinks are strong
and the prices are reasonable, and rumor has it that a karaoke DJ will be
spinning all weekend! If
you'd like to try your luck, or get a bite to eat, the famous Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
(and the Las Vegas Hard Rock Cafe) is just across the street. Of course, the
famous Strip is also nearby.
Anyway, there are only 30
rooms available at the Alexis Park, and they're going fast. DARE YOU DOUBT ME,
PERIWINKLE? As of tonight (10/9) there are only 9 rooms left!
Don't
get stuck without a place to sleep! Call
1-800-582-2228 now, and tell the reservationist that you're attending Minicon.
If you call the Alexis Park and they're full,
let me know and I'll try to make overflow arrangements. Failing
that, the Amerisuites is
also nearby, and the St. Tropez is next door.
Both hotels still have a few rooms, but they're not as nice, cost more, and
are rapidly selling out.
YOU CAN STILL GET CHEAP PLANE TICKETS!
(if you consider it a technical challenge)
The airlines are fucked! Everything must go! Huge
super sale! If you want to get a good deal on a plane ticket, start with Travelocity and the
Expedia Fare Calendar feature (both
services require that you register for a free account, and Expedia requires
that you enable browser cookies). These are the two easiest ways to
find a good deal close to the dates and times you want to go, and these
fares are always what I use as a starting point. Flexibility is the key when you're looking for the best deals;
you may have to fly at times that are less convenient, use a different
airline than usual, or take a connection to get the best price. But
hey--it's all part of the fun!
If you waited until the absolute last minute
possible: Check for weekend specials directly on the airlines' Web
pages.
America West has a hub in Las Vegas, and posts new specials every Wednesday.
National Airlines is based in Las Vegas, and offers some Web-only
specials at random intervals. Finally, if you live in the Pacific Northwest,
Alaska Airlines posts new specials
almost daily. You may be able to "land" a cheap fare this way.
If you're a really cheap bastard and can be
extremely flexible: Try Priceline and gamble before you even
get to Las Vegas! Click
this link to get a $25 bonus added to your ticket bid (this link came
from the Bidding For Travel
Web board). Hotwire is similar to
priceline, but they tell you the price up front, with no bidding required. I
usually check the Hotwire price first, then try to beat it on priceline. Things you should know about both: you won't know the airline or the
time you're flying until after you buy the tickets. You'll get a better
deal if you allow red-eye flights and more than 1 connection. And remember, if you
miss your flight, the airline is under no obligation to put you on a
later
flight (although most airlnes will let you stand by for another flight on
the same day; you can use this to your advantage if you want to take an
earlier flight).
IT'S PROBABLY ILLEGAL IN ARKANSAS!
A lot of people have somehow misheard that this event
will be a "Devotional Retreat." This is not, I repeat not,
the case, unless you consider praying to the porcelain god... oh, never
mind...
The scandalous rumors that a debauchery suite will be arranged at the Alexis Park are no longer rumors. In fact, there will be
TWO debauchery suites! If you have no concept of the sheer degree of
insanity that can occur when two debauchery suites are involved, or if your
name is Jesse Helms, then you'll probably be shocked enough at the sight to
champion new decency family values morality legislation. But then everyone would have to ask
what you were doing in a debauchery suite, anyway! We'll have at least 2 DJs
spinning all weekend long, including d&b... awyeah.
If you aren't on the roll call and you would like to be, please let me know.
Bring your cool friends with you, leave your smelly annoying friends at home
(3y3 h4v3 0pZ in #h0t3l!*&^$!(*&$ +b b1zz4tcH!#$!($@&), and
come ready to have a great time. Feel free to send
me an e-mail message if you'd like additional information, or would like me to post when you'll be arriving, where
you'll be staying, etc.
XBS seems to think that this is an actual con. He
says he's going to speak about MAC OS X in the bar, while taking
many shots of tequila. Be sure to embarass him. Other than
this, we're not aware of any other actual content.
I'll look forward to seeing you all in Las Vegas!
TProphet
P.S. All right. I'm getting a lot of messages from people in the bulk
e-mail business thinking that this is MONEYCON. This has nothing at
all to do with making money fast, and I don't need a diploma from a
prestigious non-accredited university, either!
P.P.S. All right, how to put this? NO ORGY IS PLANNED IN THE
DEBAUCHERY SUITES. I can't believe how many people are asking this.
GET OVER H2K, PEOPLE!
TProphet plans no private orgies either, even if you are as cute as this.
P.P.P.S. Yes, there will be women at Minicon. Most of them will be
there with their boyfriends. The good news is that there are
tons of great clubs
in Las Vegas. And if you're gay, yes, there will be guys at Minicon.
Most of them (such as TProphet) will be unattractive and single. The good
news is that there are two great gay clubs just 2
blocks away.
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