Quote: billryanLet's have it the 23rd, with a pre party the weekend of the 19th and post party the next weekend.
I might have trouble with a double-weekend trip to Las Vegas following closely upon an 18-night cruise. Besides, to do that I would have to pay both the airline change fees and the first weekend's elevated room rates that prompted me to consider changing the flights. I'm too much a cheapskate for that.Quote: WizardA certain forum member has a birthday on the 23rd as well.
If the gathering winds up set for the 26th, my tentative plan would be to arrive on Wed the 23rd, and I had been pondering whether suggesting a birthday meet-up as a pre-party event would be a good idea or an intrusion on family plans for the occasion. And I wasn't clear whether the above mention of the birthday was a hint or rather pointing out a conflict with the billryan suggestion.
You will find yourself to be full of vim and vigor as a result of partaking of the hostel's exotic breakfast.Quote: DocI might have trouble with a double-weekend trip to Las Vegas following closely upon an 18-night cruise.
The Wiz revised that in this post (back one page), quoting my comments in which I repeated my preference. I would never have thought about basing the decision on a widely-published random number.Quote: SOOPOOIt ain't being midweek. Wiz said he is allowing Doc to pick the weekend. DOC.... Pick whichever weekend you prefer. I think the sooner it is defined the better for all.
I agree with your final sentence and hope that the answer is known tonight rather than waiting until tomorrow evening.
Quote: DocI agree with your final sentence and hope that the answer is known tonight rather than waiting until tomorrow evening.
Okay. If Doc declines to choose and the vote is still tied at 12:01 AM Monday morning, then I will flip a coin when I wake up.
Does anyone know if waxie22 put in a vote? If so, it should be deducted as he is not welcome to attend if I have anything to do with it.
Quote: WizardOkay. If Doc declines to choose and the vote is still tied at 12:01 AM Monday morning, then I will flip a coin when I wake up.
Does anyone know if waxie22 put in a vote? If so, it should be deducted as he is not welcome to attend if I have anything to do with it.
Mike, I know you always find this hard to believe, but many forum members are stoked just to meet you. They will go to great lengths, as this WoV meetup attests, to rub elbows with you. We, your adoring fans, want you to be happy to attend a meetup. If you do not want Waxie there he will not be welcome at the table. You have everything to do with it.
Any interest in a limited edition "Off to see the Wizard 2018" shirt?
Speaking of executive decisions, I suggest we keep the time and location of this private. If any of you would like to have a voice in the discussion of either, please PM me.
Sure... as long as I get to pick Bruce to be on my team first =).Quote: PokerGrinderThis got mention in the D Day thread. Would anyone be interested in a pick up game of basketball at spring fling?
Also: In the POLL thread The Wizard decreed the 19th as the final date? Is this accurate and accepted by all? Want to confirm before I book 3 plane tickets.
Quote: PokerGrinderThis got mention in the D Day thread. Would anyone be interested in a pick up game of basketball at spring fling?
The reason I have not committed to the Spring Fling itself is that I may need shoulder surgery, as I have been sidelined from Bball since October. I would not want to travel if in a sling. I am going to see a surgeon as I have an appointment later today. They will want to do an xray first which will in all likelihood be negative. Then I'll need to be scheduled for an MRI. Then assuming I 'need' a rotator cuff repair (my guess) I will have the discussion about when. Since I can still golf with only minimal discomfort if he doesnt think waiting will make it worse I'll probably wait until autumn. I can still shoot now, just cant raise arm directly overhead. We shall see.......
I am fine with the executive decisions. As for the date, it turns out that (1) I will keep my original plane reservations (no change fees) and (2) I was able to book my rooms at a reasonable cost -- Wed-Thu nights at one place and Fri-Sun nights at another. Still need to book a car.Quote: WizardI'm going to make an executive decision and say that May 19th it is. ... Speaking of executive decisions, I suggest we keep the time and location of this private.
As for the main gathering time and location being private, I think that means that in addition to a head count, there will need to be the equivalent of sign-ups, possibly vetting of attendees, and someone who takes responsibility for letting the "approved" attendees know the final selections. For now, I will say that my wife and I wish to attend.
PG, if you (or perhaps someone older than you) had suggested this anywhere between 15 and 60 years ago, I would have loved to. At this point, I don't think the old bod would be very competitive. Craps is about the most strenuous game I play these days.Quote: PokerGrinderWould anyone be interested in a pick up game of basketball at spring fling?
Yeah. I do a balanced exercise routine. One arm for dice and one for drinking.Quote: DocCraps is about the most strenuous game I play these days.
I need to see May's slate of offers to know for sure, but I might be able to help with hotels if anyone needs access to a discounted rate.
Quote: rdw4potusI'm in for the meetup and gambling, out for basketball. I'm not sure about the severity of the issues with unwanted guests. Are things so bad that we'd want to change the meeting time or venue from previous years? We've developed a pattern that has worked well - do we need to change it to protect anonymity of some members?
I need to see May's slate of offers to know for sure, but I might be able to help with hotels if anyone needs access to a discounted rate.
Yes the WoN saga has made a different location and keeping it private sadly necessary.
As far as the rooms I’d be interested in what kind of deal you could get. My offers have all but dried up in Vegas since I’ve spent so little time there the last two years. Do you mind PMing me when you know?
Quote: PokerGrinderYes the WoN saga has made a different location and keeping it private sadly necessary.
As far as the rooms I’d be interested in what kind of deal you could get. My offers have all but dried up in Vegas since I’ve spent so little time there the last two years. Do you mind PMing me when you know?
After paying $10 a night in Asia it has got to be tough to pay normal rates here. We have flown so many times for under 50 that I feel like I am getting ripped off if it is not that cheap.
Quote: PokerGrinderYes the WoN saga has made a different location and keeping it private sadly necessary.
Could someone please explain why the details of WoV Spring Fling should be kept secret?
I guess I just don't see the recent postings about WoN et al as warranting such a degree of paranoia.
A secret gathering also has more cache to it.
I assume people will have to email the wiz or his designee in order to learn the details, and the inquirer will be "vetted" to make sure they're "approved."
Which is no biggy, unless as I said you didn't sign up way in advance, are not on the list, and just thought it would be a neat spur of the moment thing.
Me, Id suggest keeping it public.
To excerpt a bit from FDR's first inaugural speech: "...let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror..."
Quote: PokerGrinderThis got mention in the D Day thread. Would anyone be interested in a pick up game of basketball at spring fling?
Sure! I hope it will be a good long game. My only strength is to outlast you younger men.
Quote: RomesAlso: In the POLL thread The Wizard decreed the 19th as the final date? Is this accurate and accepted by all? Want to confirm before I book 3 plane tickets.
Yes, the 19th has been decreed.
Quote: SOOPOOThe reason I have not committed to the Spring Fling itself is that I may need shoulder surgery, as I have been sidelined from Bball since October. I would not want to travel if in a sling. I am going to see a surgeon as I have an appointment later today. They will want to do an xray first which will in all likelihood be negative. Then I'll need to be scheduled for an MRI. Then assuming I 'need' a rotator cuff repair (my guess) I will have the discussion about when. Since I can still golf with only minimal discomfort if he doesnt think waiting will make it worse I'll probably wait until autumn. I can still shoot now, just cant raise arm directly overhead. We shall see.......
SLAP tear here. Thought maybe you'd be putting me out, now thinking maybe I'll see you in post-op. Or, more likely, you'll be done, healed, and BIA while I'm still stuck in comp hell ><
Anyway, y'all have security concerns, I know a guy who'll work for little more than a bus ticket ;) Until then, awaiting the annual trivia reveal.
Yeah. I just hope that if I'm able to hitchhike all the way to Vegas for the event, I get to hear SOOPOO's erudite lecture on the origins of the song and the oft-used phrase "shuffle off to Buffalo".Quote: SOOPOOPick whichever weekend you prefer. I think the sooner it is defined the better for all.
I apologize for the extra security this time. I don't want to get into details why, lest I break any forum rules on protecting privacy, but believe it to be in our best interests.
If you have any suggestions/requests for a location, feel free to share that in your PM.
Quote: WizardI am going to take an executive action, departing from tradition, and am going to keep the time and location of Saturday event "need to know" only. What I am asking is everybody interested in attending please PM me an Email address. I promise to BCC it in any group communications and not use it for any other purposes. Also, I will be screening requests to come to ensure the interested party is a long-time member in good standing, or this significant other of said person. I do ask those attending to not share information about the time and place with anyone.
I apologize for the extra security this time. I don't want to get into details why, lest I break any forum rules on protecting privacy, but believe it to be in our best interests.
If you have any suggestions/requests for a location, feel free to share that in your PM.
My only recommendation is someplace that we have not done it at before because if there are stalkers those are the places they will start.
The world is changing, but not necessarily for the better.
Quote: MrVToo bad it's come to where we have to use the internet version of the old "cone of silence" to arrange a social meet 'n greet but there appears to be a need for such a measure and I do not question this decision as "the show must go on."
I loved the "cone of silence" running gag. It never got old. On a former forum my handle was an obscure character from Get Smart.
I'm open to some kind of private discussion area, perhaps invitation-only Facebook group, but don't want to fuss with it. I'd rather dust off the Cone of Silence.
p.s. Remind me to torture you with Get Smart trivia, should we ever meet.
Quote: WizardI loved the "cone of silence" running gag. It never got old. On a former forum my handle was an obscure character from Get Smart.
I can imagine you going by Siegfried or Hymie.
Quote: DRichI can imagine you going by Siegfried or Hymie.
Good guesses but I was known as Simon the Likeable.
I rarely watched Maxwell Smart and Co.Quote: WizardI was known as Simon the Likeable.
Was "Simon the Likable" anything like the True Lies character known to Helen as "Simon"? He was the spy who drove the Corvette and was sometimes referred to by Harry (Helen's husband) as "Carlos the Jackal"? It seems that some ladies really liked that Simon, while other folks just did not take him seriously.
Last year in July my wife did head to a bachelorette party and left me with the kiddo for a couple of nights. Of course she was easier to take care of back then (3 months old and not mobile yet) than she is now (just about a year and wreaking constant havoc). I could potentially pull out that trip as a chit and see about a weekend away. But I will probably save that chit for some future time, or rather just leave it alone which would probably be the best course of action from a marital harmony standpoint.
Also owning a house will eat in to your bankroll in a serious way. If i were to head to Vegas today I could only feasibly gamble a couple hundred bucks, which would not give me the same feeling of action to which I have become accustomed. It's not that we're poor, but not very liquid at the moment. And using our emergency cash fund or selling some stock investments to gamble with is something even I would wince at, heh.
Maybe next year or the year after I will re-join you folks; the spring flings/WovCons/random meetups of past years are always fond memories. Like that time ahigh came and we played craps at Casino Royale and at least a couple of us bet the don't pass while he was rolling. Or when I got "backed off" from the MSS craps table since I had been barred from BJ earlier in the same day (still find this hilarious and stupid). Or that time I spilled beer on teddys's shoes. Ah the salad days.
Incidentally my card counting skills are very rusty, and I usually legitimize these trips to my wife by balancing +EV action with -EV to some extent. My last session counting cards was in February 2015 and I haven't practiced since. At this point I would have to start practically from the ground up, refresh on BS, and probably go with a balanced count this time since it's been long enough that I could probably retrain without too much effort to ignore the red sevens. I should do this anyway, with the Wynn Boston Harbor opening up sometime. Well, I've got until summer 2019 at the earliest.
I seem to recall that a few of us asked the craps pit supervisor whether he was concerned that you might be counting pips.Quote: AcesAndEightsOr when I got "backed off" from the MSS craps table since I had been barred from BJ earlier in the same day (still find this hilarious and stupid).
Quote: DocWas "Simon the Likable" anything like the True Lies character known to Helen as "Simon"?
I don't know; never saw True Lies. The only clip I could find of Simon is dubbed in Spanish.
Direct link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c779Ft85IQ4.
True Lies was a bit of a spy movie spoof (though not like Get Smart) with Arnold Schwartzenegger as an undercover spy whose wife thinks he is a nerdy computer salesman.
I think you would really, really enjoy True Lies. It's a very funny, sarcastic script, great action scenes, and in some thematic respects sort of mirrors your life. I bet it would make your top 25 if you're in the mood for a good time when you watch it.
Definitely a favorite of mine. Not going to spoil it any further.
Quote: AcesAndEightsI have a serious itching for a Vegas trip but it's not in the cards for a while. Having a kid will do that to your gambling trips for at least a few years :).
Last year in July my wife did head to a bachelorette party and left me with the kiddo for a couple of nights. Of course she was easier to take care of back then (3 months old and not mobile yet) than she is now (just about a year and wreaking constant havoc). I could potentially pull out that trip as a chit and see about a weekend away. But I will probably save that chit for some future time, or rather just leave it alone which would probably be the best course of action from a marital harmony standpoint.
Also owning a house will eat in to your bankroll in a serious way. If i were to head to Vegas today I could only feasibly gamble a couple hundred bucks, which would not give me the same feeling of action to which I have become accustomed. It's not that we're poor, but not very liquid at the moment. And using our emergency cash fund or selling some stock investments to gamble with is something even I would wince at, heh.
Maybe next year or the year after I will re-join you folks; the spring flings/WovCons/random meetups of past years are always fond memories. Like that time ahigh came and we played craps at Casino Royale and at least a couple of us bet the don't pass while he was rolling. Or when I got "backed off" from the MSS craps table since I had been barred from BJ earlier in the same day (still find this hilarious and stupid). Or that time I spilled beer on teddys's shoes. Ah the salad days.
Incidentally my card counting skills are very rusty, and I usually legitimize these trips to my wife by balancing +EV action with -EV to some extent. My last session counting cards was in February 2015 and I haven't practiced since. At this point I would have to start practically from the ground up, refresh on BS, and probably go with a balanced count this time since it's been long enough that I could probably retrain without too much effort to ignore the red sevens. I should do this anyway, with the Wynn Boston Harbor opening up sometime. Well, I've got until summer 2019 at the earliest.
Right before our first child we went to Vegas because we were worried it would be the last in a long time. Our oldest just turned 6 and in those 6 years we have been to Vegas 9 times. Prior to that I had only been 6 times. You will figure it out. Trips have changed and our spending is way lower than it used to be but we still have a blast.
True Lies came out in 1994. If you are interested in seeing it and can't find easy access, Wiz, l can bring the DVD when I come out for Spring Fling. You should be able to find time to watch it at least once while I'm out there and give it back before I leave town. No inconvenience or expense at all for anyone, and you get to check out a bit of what other nerds find entertaining.Quote: beachbumbabsWizard,
I think you would really, really enjoy True Lies.
Quote: DocTrue Lies came out in 1994. If you are interested in seeing it and can't find easy access, Wiz, l can bring the DVD when I come out for Spring Fling. You should be able to find time to watch it at least once while I'm out there and give it back before I leave town. No inconvenience or expense at all for anyone, and you get to check out a bit of what other nerds find entertaining.
Yeah, I couldn't find it on Amazon Prime video or Netflix. Not sure who has it locked up atm. Fox was the studio. James Cameron was the director. A couple of ground-breaking stunts, especially for Jamie Lee Curtis. Fantastic action sequences in 2 particular parts.
Personally, I think anyone who has managed to go 25 years without seeing it isn't missing all that much.
Quote: billryan... soft core porn( very soft core)
You may have just pushed the right button for the Wizard, and me.
Quote: billryanI watched it recently, after perhaps twenty years. I'm not sure what to say about it. Weird mix of buddy comedy, romance, soft core porn( very soft core), with some stunts that were great, others that fell flat.
Personally, I think anyone who has managed to go 25 years without seeing it isn't missing all that much.
If you keep in mind that they meant to mock the entire secret-agent genre, but still provide some genuine moments, I think it's a much better movie. If you try to take it seriously, like the Daniel Craig Bond films (excellent)as opposed to the Sean Connery Bond (excellent for very different reasons), it doesn't work.
I enjoyed The Last Action Hero more, campy as it was.
Maybe I am just easily amused.
As for True Lies, I totally agree with BBB... except the part about the Wizard maybe enjoying it. I don’t think it is his type of movie, not silly enough, and not serious enough. I’m afraid he would find Schwarzenegger too irritating. As for me, it is one of my favorite films, mainly because of the limousine chase sequence which played very well on the theater’s big screen. Great direction by James Cameron.
Quote: beachbumbabsQuote: DocTrue Lies came out in 1994. If you are interested in seeing it and can't find easy access, Wiz, l can bring the DVD when I come out for Spring Fling. You should be able to find time to watch it at least once while I'm out there and give it back before I leave town. No inconvenience or expense at all for anyone, and you get to check out a bit of what other nerds find entertaining.
Yeah, I couldn't find it on Amazon Prime video or Netflix. Not sure who has it locked up atm. Fox was the studio. James Cameron was the director. A couple of ground-breaking stunts, especially for Jamie Lee Curtis. Fantastic action sequences in 2 particular parts.
I remember the Oscars that year, Forrest Gump kept winning in every frickin' category and it was pissing me off. For visual effects, Forest Gump beat True Lies for Lieutenant Dan wearing green socks so it looked like he had no legs (with the green-screen technology). Meanwhile, True Lies had some elaborate hydraulic green screen setup to do a bunch of the effects on the fighter jet. Way more complicated and impressive. WTF Academy, lol. I wonder what the odds were on that pick...
1. Movies about an alien or robot takeover -- Like AI, I Am Legend, Promethius, Ex Machina
2. Extremely edgy movies -- Like I Tonya and the Florida Project.
3. All Stanley Kubrick movies since the movie 2001.
Action and comedy movies tend to rate lowest with me.
Hmmmm.... Doc, rdw4potus, beachbumbabs, MrV, PokerGrinder, and (can't even guess which) one of the locals. Did I come close? What about SOOPOO and Romes? (I'm just guessing that WoN is not on the list.)Quote: WizardNames on the Spring Fling Email list so far: 6
As for True Lies, it might not be the kind of flick that you care for, but it does seem that you had success finding it on Netflix, unlike bbb. You might be amused by the extreme difference between the two "Simon" characters that led to this discussion in the first place.
Quote: WizardAlso, just put True Lies on the top of my Netflix queue. If you want to bet on whether I'll like it, have at it. If you follow my movie reviews the three main types of movies I like are:
1. Movies about an alien or robot takeover -- Like AI, I Am Legend, Promethius, Ex Machina
2. Extremely edgy movies -- Like I Tonya and the Florida Project.
3. All Stanley Kubrick movies since the movie 2001.
Action and comedy movies tend to rate lowest with me.
Have a good drink before you start the movie, and a second one in hand to sip. Your enjoyment factor will multiply appreciably. :)