Ka!

Today was the last day of the conference, and I must admit that I was a bit burned out. I skipped going to a lot of it. As usual, I started the day off with a nice long walk. Then, after breakfast, I listened to a few of the papers being presented, and then went off to purchase tickets for Ka. Instead of going back, I went up to my room, called my parents, and then called T-Mobile to try to get my phone fixed. It may have worked, but I need to give it time.

After this, I went and watched a couple of presentations, but I couldn't stay in my seat, so I walked around in back. During lunch, I did another walk, and didn't actually get anything but a Starbucks to eat. I watched the remaining presentations--one from my seat and the rest I listened to while pacing the back. Again, I decided to skip the last workshop and do some more walking.

After my walk, I changed for dinner, had a nice Italian meal in the hotel--more costly than all the food I had bought combined since leaving (although most of my meals were covered in the price of the convention). I then went to the Million Dollar Challenge, watched a bit of it, but once again left early. I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time for the show.

I had seen Ka before, but it is by far the best Cirque De Soliel I have seen. Even now, I would be ready to see it again. The theater is impressive, but the stage--a multi-tonne robotic platform--is absolutely awesome. The show is full of flying, falling, special effects and pyrotechnics. Plus, the story is very clear. I had a great seat. I just wish I could have shared the experience with Sarah.
 

Tomorrow I go home and get to see her again. I'm glad, because I miss her.

Another Amazing Day

Well, it doesn't seem possible to get enough sleep. It could also have something to do with sitting in lectures for the better part of the day. Either way, I was once again having difficulties staying awake. However, there were a couple of times that I did not have any trouble.

This morning, I sat down at an empty table to have breakfast, and Randi sat down next to me. Well, he actually left a chair between us, but I quickly remedied that when he went to get his food. He is just a brilliant man; sharper at 86 than I ever was. And he is so friendly. He told the table stories, but made sure to include everyone at the table. He did a couple of magic tricks, and kept joking that I was laughing. Actually, I believe that I was grinning from ear to ear.

I also got to watch a live recording of the Skeptic's Guide to the Universe, where they revealed a new Rogue. It was so wonderful seeing one of my favorite podcasts recorded live. I find it fascinating that sometime next week I will be walking to work and listening to it again on my iPod. But wait: the fun didn't stop there! I also got to watch a special private recording of the Skeptic's Guide. This one only had 30 people. It was a fascinating episode where George Hrab interviewed the Rogues. There was even a part where Bob and then George started crying. It was touching.

The SGU was not the only interesting part of the day. Today was the day I went to the James Randi Celebration, a party to remember all the good he has done for so many people. I was at the table closest to the stage. Actually, I had been in the front row--just behind the VIP seating--for the entire conference. I was good at getting there early.

What an amazing day at The Amazing Meeting!

Skeptic's Guide to the Universe Charity Dinner

I woke up today completely dead, and about 30 minutes before things started. I had only gotten 5 hours of sleep, and the Mai Tai (or more) that I had had last night was lingering. There was also about two hours of lectures on a person whom I had never heard of, and I was having trouble keeping my eyes open. However, I was front row, center. I also saw Al again, whom I had met the first day I was here, and saw a couple other people whom I had met yesterday. Then there were the new people I met. It seems to be very easy to meet people here; everyone is so friendly.

Today was the day for the Skeptic's Guide to the Universe charity dinner. The food was okay, but the event was great fun. Jay Novella sat at our table and talked with us throughout the meal. He is so friendly; talking to him is like seeing a friend you haven't seen for a while. I really like him. At the event, there was a charity auction. One of the things up for bid was a guest rogue spot on the SGU, which went for $3,700! The winner got a standing ovation.

The SGU also decided to do a private recording in addition to their normal public recording, possibly partially influenced by me asking Steven Novella about it during registration. I will be going to that tomorrow, and am really looking forward to it.

I did not leave the hotel the entire day today, and I am off to bed now to try to catch up on some sleep. Actually, I only left the conference hall once to get my cookie, and was only gone for 15 minutes.

Day One of TAM

I am at The Amazing Meeting, and I learned today that the name is accurate. I have no words to describe the experience outside of amazing. The workshops were well constructed and informative, as well as entertaining. Even more surprising, however, were how accessible the people that I consider to be my heroes were.

Going to the first workshop, James Randi (The Amazing Randi) was standing near the registration desk, personally greeting people. He was not only happy to have his picture taken with me, but he sat and talked to me for a while. After I was done there, I saw Steve and Jay Novella and was able to talk with them as well. I spoke with Jay a couple of times throughout the day, and he was extremely friendly, despite everyone wanting to have a piece of his time. Meeting the cast of the Skeptic's Guide to the Universe for me was a lot like a teenager meeting the singer of their favorite band.

My first workshop was "1`0 Years of Skeptic Podcasting - A Panel Discussion". This was more stories of some of the things that can happen while running a popular skeptical podcast. We had the hosts of the SGU, Skepticality, and The Skeptic Zone.

The next workshop was "Asking Good Questions," where we learned how to phrase questions in a manner that is conductive to getting pertinent information in an argument in a non-threatening manner. After a break for lunch, I went to "Investigating Mysteries: 10 Practical Tactics to Unravel the Uncanny". This workshop focused on how to research claims that are very unusual, such as the bishop who claimed he had invented a TV that allowed him to watch events that had happened in the past, after the bishop had died and the device had been "lost".

The final workshop of the day was "SGU Presents: How to Argue". This was a wonderful discussion about how to form arguments depending on your target audience. One of the main points was that you need to have a goal, and convincing the other person that they are wrong is not a good one. The first thing you should do is find common ground and agree upon premises. Asking short, directed questions that encourage the other party to come to a logical conclusion on their own is one way to proceed. However, sometimes it is appropriate to tear someone apart. Other times it might be appropriate to coax their true beliefs out, not in order to change them, but to let others who were listening to the person know just how crazy they are.

After the workshops, we went to the Welcome Reception, where I sat down with a bunch of people I had never met before, and had wonderful conversations. I even had a person with a PhD in astrophysics explain time dilation for  me. He said that there is only one speed, and that is the speed of light. We are all moving at the speed of light, but through time. When we start to move through space, you are taking length from the time axis and adding it to the distance axis. A calculation of the hypotenuse gives a correct value for time dilation.

I'm off now to find the best Mai Tai in Las Vegas. I'm hoping that I'll make it to bed by midnight tonight.

UPDATE:

Fremont Street was absolutely amazing. It was a several block wild party with four or five live bands, light shows, zip lining, and people everywhere. One band, while introducing their next song, welcomed us to the drunkest street in the United States. I must admit that I was among the people giving it that name. I had eventually found Frank's Tiki Lounge, and they did indeed have good Mai Tais. However, there were Cocktail type bars there, throwing bottles and pouring drinks, and I had to have a couple of those as well. It was overwhelming and a blast.

On the way back, I couldn't find the bus stop, possibly because I had a bit too much to drink, and I walked past the Stratosphere before I finally caught a bus. Then I got off at Caesar's Palace, wanting to see the shops, which were closed. I wound up walking back from there, but not in nearly enough time to get a full night's sleep.

The Amazing Meeting

Today I flew to TAM. I was supposed to be meeting a friend here, but he got sick and used up his vacation pay, so I am here alone. This was only the second time that I have flown by myself. I was a little worried that I hadn't done everything correctly, and that they wouldn't let me on the flight. I was worrying needlessly, however. I made it through security without any problems, and was one of the first people on the plane. I even had a window seat with an empty seat next to me.

When checking into the Tropicana in Vegas, I was standing behind Massimo, from the Skeptically Speaking podcast. I was told my room would be ready in just a short while, and after two hours, I decided to go for a walk. I walked the entire length of the strip, and purchased a bus pass on the way back. I wanted to make sure I got back in time to register. I still hadn't received a text saying my room was ready, so I went to the front desk. They had somehow forgotten to notify me, so they gave me a $50 voucher.

During registration, I saw James Randy, but I was too shy to go up and talk to him. I probably should have because this was most likely my only chance.

After getting my room, and getting settled, I went to the Drinking Skeptically in the lounge. I felt uncomfortable, but started talking with another person who was also sitting alone. We wound up going to Chili's together for dinner. Oddly, after we ordered the same thing, a bacon cheese burger, I found that he was also a software developer. Al liked to talk, so I could sit and listen, and not have to worry about saying anything stupid. Again, my shyness poking through.

Tomorrow the conference begins.