GooCon: Siesta Key

Scott Hardie | March 24, 2008
It is my great pleasure to announce GooCon: Siesta Key, a live event that will unite us in person for a whole weekend in Florida! If you're interested, visit that link for details before reading more.

We've talked about getting together in person for years. Back when I ran a fantasy RPG on this site in the late nineties, we had four "weekend parties" over four years, and they were great fun, but getting five people together across several counties is a lot easier than getting potentially several dozen people together from across the nation. I first tried to organize a GooCon in 2006, but my apartment complex had restrictive terms for their clubhouse, and I was unable to find any other clubhouse (or actual house) that would take us. In 2007, I planned to host it in Chicago, and went so far as to rent a hotel ballroom for the occasion. While the room was cheap (a few hundred), the equipment rental turned out to be exhorbitant ($5000) and the food cost even more, and once again I had to give up.

Hopefully, the third time will be the charm. We owe gratitude to Jeremiah Poisson and his fiancée Ines, who booked his 30th birthday party on Siesta Key last fall. Their facility turned out to be perfect for the GooCon event I had in mind: Private, so we could rent out the entire mini-resort if we wanted, modular, so we could only rent out some of the cabins if we had fewer guests, and best of all, affordable. $200 for three nights in Florida and five meals is one hell of a bargain. It might not fit within everyone's budget, especially with airfare added, but I hope it's a reasonable cost for everyone.

I tried to represent every section of the site in the weekend schedule, saving some of the lightest fare for Sunday evening since I anticipate some guests leaving then. The schedule is absolutely open to suggestions for improvements. I'm sure some of you can come up with even better ideas for having fun as a group.

It will be a dream come true for me to host this event in person at last, after years of disappointment. I hope this announcement gets you as excited about the event as I am!

Scott Hardie | March 24, 2008
Fyi, a few people knew in advance that this was coming. Before I announced it to the world, I wanted to solicit opinions of several site users as to cost, schedule, whether they'd attend, and more. Since many of my own longtime friends would be more inclined to come, I sought feedback from people with whom I have little or no outside relationship. No disrespect was intended to anyone left out. :-)

Aaron Shurtleff | March 24, 2008
Well, hell, I'm here already, so count me in, and count on me to help out with volunteering, carpooling, etc. I'll be sending you a check...soonish. I have to put the cash together. This is an awesome idea!

Amy Austin | March 24, 2008
The oversight may be on my own part, but... where should I send the check, Scott?

Scott Hardie | March 24, 2008
Glad to have you, Aaron! Thanks for offering to help.

Amy, my address is on the Sign Up page. I'd post it here, but that page is protected so that only registered users see it. I'm glad to have you too. :-)

Eric Wallhagen | March 24, 2008
Excuse for a reasonably inexpensive weekend in Florida? Count me in. Can't say I know most people on this site all that well, so it'd be nice to meet people, and the price is certainly right.

Steve Dunn | March 24, 2008
Scott, you really put a lot of thought into this! I'll have to check my calendar, but this seems like a great way to meet folks in person. The price certainly can't be beat.

Matthew Preston | March 24, 2008
This looks like fantastic fun! Count me in, no doubt. Depending on how much time I can take off of work I will gladly help out carpooling, etc. October can't get here quick enough.

Aaron Shurtleff | March 24, 2008
Oh, golly. Now I might have to decide which XQC post is my favorite. I'll probably go with the long one with the song lyrics! :D

I'm also curious how the live RB will go. Are you planning on making up the bands on card stock or something? That might be quite an undertaking.

Steve West | March 25, 2008
Workin' on it. Looks possible, even probable. Look for my check!

Scott Hardie | March 25, 2008
Excellent! We're off to a great start!

I have had years to plan the live GOO event in my head, so I know pretty much how that will go, but RB is still up in the air. One thing that I would like to try, which might be better in exhibition games than in a competitive tournament, is prearranged games featuring themed cards. We've had a few themed matches, like bands named for colors or animals, or bands with drug problems or legal problems, that sort of thing. But we're limited by what we have in our labels. A prearranged match would be ten cards in an envelope, ready to be played by anyone, whether you own the cards or not. For a tournament with prizes, I don't know whether to let you play with your own cards since you know them best and have earned them, or to give everyone prearranged cards since that evens the playing field. I do know that some of the prizes will be special cards to add to your label.

As for GOO: We randomly send three players at a time to the front, sitting and facing the screen, holding Jeopardy!-style buzzers (I've seen these for sale). A gooed-but-recognizeable celebrity is slowly revealed on the screen, one block at a time in a 6x6 grid, while I read off biographical details about the celebrity that gradually get more specific. Buzzing-in freezes the goo and gives you one guess; correct and you get a point, incorrect and you're silent while the others proceed. Best score out of ten goos advances you to the next round of the tournament. Each round gets harder. Small prizes (like candy grab bags) for all, good prizes for the winners. The main problem that I foresee with this method, besides possibly keeping the viewing audience quiet (a problem with any live game), will be balancing the tournament if we don't have a good number of players to make it fair (the ideal being 27). Some players might wind up with byes.

Suggestions are more than welcome.

Eric Wallhagen | March 25, 2008
Here are some of my thoughts for RB. (I'm sure I'll have more later, I'll post as they come to me.)

Coloring could be a problem. The options I see would be a) double-side the card w/ a different color border on each side, or b) just single side the card, then once it's on the table use and othello like black/white token to show who presently owns it. I like the later, as it allows the game to be played with your hand hidden.

I like the idea of prearranged exhibition matches.

As for the tournament. I say give everyone a random pack of 10-20 cards of equivalent level. Each round should probably be either best of 3, 5, or first to 2 wins, or something to that effect to take ties into account. The level for each round should also be random, and uniform, rather than giving one of the two players the option to chose one that might be more in their favor. Then as the tournament goes on, do a swiss style pairing (winners play winners, losers play losers, and in later rounds you play people with similar record.) After each round, you could do one of a few things. Either a) give a new card only to the winners of that round, b) give new cards to everyone, with winners getting higher rank cards, or c) force a 1-card trade rule for each round (full round, not each game.) Eventually it'll culminate in the last two people with undefeated records playing for the title. The advantage to this over doing a more typical tournament bracket, is everyone gets to keep playing, rather than getting "knocked out" of the tournament, and even if you say, lose your first round, you could come back with straight wins after that to end in a decent position.

Scott Horowitz | March 25, 2008
While I'd love to come, I think this year may be difficult for me. I think it's a great idea, and maybe we can rotate locations in the future. I'll know more as we get closer to the date, but as of now, I don't think it's gonna happen

Scott Hardie | March 26, 2008
Sorry, Scott. It wouldn't be the same without you. I hope things turn around and you can join us. :-)

Eric, thanks for the good suggestions! I'm not decided how I'll do color, probably either painted tokens that can be placed on top of the cards, or colored panels underneath that are larger than the cards. There's nothing saying the real cards have to have the same design as online.

As for the tournament, I think that sounds like a fine way to do it. If you've been reading other discussions, you know how I feel about brackets. :-) RB demands one-on-one competitions so it would be a challenge to come up with something that isn't a bracketed tournament, Swiss-style or otherwise.

I'm tempted to expand RB into two separate events on the schedule, one for fun exhibition games where we can just goof off and play themed matches and let newbies try it, and another that's a more serious competition with a prize. What's stopping me is that the RB playership is only about a quarter of the overall user body. Let's see how the signups for GooCon go and maybe we'll have enough RB people out of the total to support two separate events.

Aaron Shurtleff | March 26, 2008
Just to help out, I am located north of Scott, so, for me, making a couple of runs to Tampa International Airport and/or the Saint Petersburg/Clearwater Airport to pick up anyone is not out of the question, but the Sarasota airport is the closest. However, sometimes you can find better deals at different airports, depending on the airline or what not. So, if the flights are more reasonable to either other airport, I'm game. Of course, that's slightly more driving, and we might have to arrange to pick up a few people (I got an SUV), but the drive isn't wholly unreasonable.

The only caviat is that rush hour traffic around Tampa can be tricky, but usually just getting into Tampa, not leaving. So flying in between 4:30 and 6:00 might not be the best...

I kind of feel like, since I'm not having to worry about airfare, I'd be willing to put in a little extra in driving costs, if it can help people make it out!

Now watch 40 different people all fly into Tampa! :)

Amy Austin | March 26, 2008
RB demands one-on-one competitions so it would be a challenge to come up with something that isn't a bracketed tournament, Swiss-style or otherwise.

And this is why it's more appropriate for RB than for GOO... personally, I'm fine with this type of set-up for this type of game.

Thanks, Aaron... I personally would prefer to be flying into Tampa or Orlando... but I have other peeps in Florida, too -- and who knows... it might just be a one-way trip for me, in which case I won't be flying in, but driving. Too far off to think about these things right now...

Jackie Mason | March 29, 2008
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Scott Hardie | March 29, 2008
We have our first confirmed visitor! Matthew Preston's payment has been received. I'm keeping an eye out for others.

Jackie and Amy, we'll be glad to have you however you get here. Aaron, I appreciate the offer to help, and I might just take you up on that. I'll try to coordinate carpools using local drivers once we get close to the event.

Jackie Mason | March 29, 2008
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Amy Austin | March 29, 2008
Jackie, I look forward to seeing you there -- along with many others -- I hope you will make it.

Like I said before, it could well be a road trip for me too, which I'm pretty certain costs more than airfare right now. Not at all looking forward to that... especially since it will involve a whole lot of other things if it does come down to it. ;-(

Scott Hardie | April 1, 2008
We have another: Steve West has confirmed his attendance. Glad to have you aboard, Steve!

Steve West | April 1, 2008
I've no doubt, the pleasure will be entirely mine. Can't wait.

Scott Hardie | April 25, 2008
Aaron Shurtleff has joined the event! Here's looking forward to a blog recital, if he's up to it.

Who will be next?

Aaron Shurtleff | April 25, 2008
I'll do it, but I'm not sure which to do... I might make it a vote in my blog... ;)

How about some more ladies?! Let's not make this a sausage fest, y'all! ;)

Scott Hardie | April 25, 2008
Aaron asked how many people (minimum) we need to make it official and rent the place. I'm undecided. Miah Poisson has rented from this place before, and he says they're fine with making changes to your appointment, for a small fee. I may take the checks sent already and merely rent the main cabin, or wait for a couple more checks to arrive and then do so, but we could rent the main cabin and then expand the reservation as additional people sign up later. Either way, whoever sends a check will get 1-2 weeks notice before it's deposited.

My fear is that numerous people will sign up at the last minute, when it's too late to rent additional cabins because they're already booked by other parties. But if I book all the cabins now to guarantee the place, I might wind up losing a lot of money if turnout is low. It's a dilemma. What's that London insurance company that will insure anything, any time? Maybe I should get them to insure my rental in case not enough people show up. :-)

Some of you can't decide until near the event, but if you are able to sign up early, it would be appreciated. You'll get a refund if you have to cancel later. Thanks.

Joanne Martin | April 29, 2008
I'm going to try and get Jeff. Jake and Dan to come w/ me. Have to plan though, after all Jake is starting high school in the fall. Homework may be a factor.

Lloyds of London is the insurance company the insures peoples legs, hands asses etc.

Scott Hardie | April 29, 2008
We'd love to have you there if you can make it, Joanne! Having a whole family present could shift some game dynamics, especially if we try a few team games.

Kelly Lee | April 30, 2008
No worries, Aaron. I've got enough boobies for like, three women. It's not all sausage.

Jackie Mason | May 6, 2008
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Scott Hardie | May 6, 2008
I hope to have you there, Jackie. It'll be a lot of fun. Me, I won't get a refund, but that stimulus check will be welcome whenever it eventually gets here.

Jackie Mason | May 29, 2008
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Denise Sawicki | May 30, 2008
I was meaning to say earlier, I really don't think I can go either... sorry...

Amy Austin | May 30, 2008
:-( Are Kelly and I going to be the only four women there???

Lori Lancaster | May 30, 2008
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Amy Austin | May 30, 2008
See 4/29 post at 11:49PM EST... ;-)

Lori Lancaster | May 30, 2008
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Aaron Shurtleff | May 30, 2008
HUUUUUGE...tracts of land!

*cannot resist random Monty Python reference*

I would say better a maybe not than a definate no, but then I'm not makig the reservations. I'm still holding out hope that everyone's schedule will magically clear up, money will rain from the heavens, and a great time will be had by all. But that's just the kind of illogical optimism I have from time to time! :D

Scott Hardie | June 5, 2008
Jeremiah Poisson plans to attend with his fiancée Ines Sarante, though they haven't officially registered yet. There's one or more additional women, depending on your math.

Aaron Shurtleff | June 5, 2008
Scott, I ain't touching this new math with a 10 foot pole!

But I am glad to hear that Miah and Ines will be there!!

Steve West | June 5, 2008
I believe you meant a 20 foot pole (I think).

Amy Austin | June 5, 2008
Ummm... are we still talking about the women in attendance? o-O

Aaron Shurtleff | June 5, 2008
I'm talking about Scott's comment that, with Ines, we have "one or more additional women, depending on your math". Even I, in my reduced mental capacity, know better than to make any comment about that statement when the person spoken of will have their knee within striking distance of my crotch at a point in the future.

And, yes, I do speak from experience when I say that I would fear the knee over the foot, when it comes to unwelcome crotch contact from irate womenfolk!

Tony Peters | June 5, 2008
Aaron that sounds like painful research

Amy Austin | June 5, 2008
Oh, I understood... it was *Steve's* "new math" that I was questioning... ;-)

Aaron Shurtleff | June 5, 2008
I wouldn't call it research. Research sounds purposeful. It was more of a life lesson.

A painful life lesson.

Scott Hardie | June 16, 2008
We are booked! The resort has confirmed that we have a reservation for October 24-26. So far, I have only booked the main house, which sleeps up to nine people. If more people sign up like I hope, we'll rent additional units, if they're still available. I acted now because they're beginning to fill up.

Aaron Shurtleff | August 15, 2008
We're within 75 days!

I re-offer the offers previously. Anyone needs in from Tampa or Saint Petersburg/Clearwater airports, let me know ahead of the weekend, and I'm there.

And again, it's not too late to come, you all! :)

And Scott, I do expect to hear about how I can help you out on this, too! >:)

Erik Bates | August 16, 2008
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Amy Austin | August 16, 2008
So, Aaron...

Would that offer hold up for, say... Gainesville? ;-)

I haven't sent my money just yet (waiting for a PayPal claim to be resolved/refunded), but I do plan on going... and I guess now's as good a time as any to share that it will, in fact, be a one-way trip down South for me -- but I'll be arriving short on funds... and confidence, too.

Aaron Shurtleff | August 16, 2008
Can we make a quick stop at Cafe Risque on the way through? :) Rumor has it they bare all! *lol*

For people who have never been through Gainesville area, there are about 10 million signs for Cafe Risque, a gentleman's club where couples are welcome and they claim to bare all. I think they claim to have trucker's showers too. :) I always laugh!

Amy Austin | August 16, 2008
Hahaha... sure, whatever you want... ;-D "Gentlemen's club"??? I *never* heard CR referred to in this manner. "Trucker's showers"? I bet.

Aaron Shurtleff | August 20, 2008
Seriously though, I think I can pull off the Gainesville trip. The pick up isn't going to be trouble, but the return drop-off will require some fancy use of vacation time... I should be able to work it out. Unless you plan to stay in the area for a while after the GooCon. Scott, our cottage reservation goes through to Monday morning, or are we out of there after 8:00 Sunday night? We'll work out times.

Of course, after being stuck in the car with me for the trip in, you might rather walk back to Gainesville, but we'll see how things go... :)

If anyone else needs a pick up, let me know. I guess Gainesville regional airport is an option now, but I don't know how economical it is to fly there... It would have to be an earlier flight arrival, though, I think, since I need time to drive back to Sarasota. We can discuss and plan.

65 DAYS!!!!

Scott Hardie | August 23, 2008
We have another participant: Amy has confirmed! I'm sure I'm not the only one thrilled to have her. :-)

I anticipate the confirmation of Jeremiah & Ines any day now, at which time I intend to book a second cabin. Other site users are very much still welcome! We have room for more.

I will write more details shortly; very busy today. To answer Aaron's question, we have the house from Friday afternoon through Monday morning. I plan to tweak the schedule a little for a smaller number of participants; more details soon.

Aaron Shurtleff | August 23, 2008
That ruins the sausage fest!! What will I do with the schnitzel costume now?!? ;)

Amy Austin | August 23, 2008
Wait a minute... I thought Kelly already ruined it?

Aaron Shurtleff | August 23, 2008
You can have one token girl, but two is too many, obviously!!

Lori Lancaster | August 24, 2008
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Scott Hardie | August 26, 2008
Here's how GooCon changes with a smaller group:

- Certain events won't take as long. We won't need five hours to play the goo game with only a handful of players, though I do intend to stretch it as long as I can.

- Some events don't work well without an audience (namely "Discuss This" and "Blogs Over Barbecue"), so we can scrap them or go ahead with different expectations.

- We don't need every moment of the weekend scheduled, since it's much easier to coordinate a small group. We can introduce gaps in the schedule for spontaneous non-site activities like fishing & canoeing, lounging poolside, playing video games & board games, or just hanging out talking.

- We can leave the resort, eating out or taking a tour or going to the beach or doing something else around town. Two cars beats a large caravan. (I wouldn't mind eating around a table at the nearby teppanyaki restaurant.)

- We can decide as a group when to end GooCon. I had to book the resort through Sunday night, but with a large group, I figured most would leave on Sunday afternoon/evening and a few would sleep over that night. With a small group, we can decide together and coordinate based on each other's plans.

Before I go changing the schedule, I thought I should ask you attendees what you'd like to see different, based on a smaller group. The foremost question to me is, who intends to stay over on the final night, and who intends to leave on Sunday? The other questions are easier to solve, like activities. I know Miah will want to play Rock Band if he's there.

With the smaller group, what might work better than a fixed schedule would be a list of possible activities, doing whatever off the list we feel like doing at the time. If we don't get to a certain activity by the time it's over, that means it wasn't attractive enough to begin with.

Steve West | August 26, 2008
I prefer the concept of a scheduled GooCon. Let's keep GooCon what it is intended to be. A list of scheduled activities that I know I'll enjoy based on the company that will partake. A scheduled GooCon gives it definition. I worry that a formless event will be nothing more than a family reunion type event. Not that there's anything wrong with that if that's what we all devolve into, but I want this to be the standard on which future events are based.

I'm all for spontaneity if we so choose (so to speak). But let's try to shape the scheduled events into what works instead of preconceiving what they should be. We must do "Blogs Over Barbecue". I need to hear Aaron's slightly crazed rant because it will absolutely influence my reading future blogs. I'll hear his demented cackling as I'm reading them. I need to hear Scott's rage and Kelly's sardonic witticisms. I can't wait to actually hear Amy's sarcasm to which print does no justice. My own offering will be comparatively meager, I'm sure.

You guys are such a fun group and I plan to take full advantage of, "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers..."

Aaron Shurtleff | August 26, 2008
...and sisters! Let's not get all sexist up in here. :P

Like there wasn't enough pressure to find a favorite blog posting for me! :( I still need to find a good one. I'm taking suggestions... :)

I think I mentioned this earlier, maybe in a private message, but I have avoided seeing No Country For Old Men to this point, knowing I'd be seeing it at GooCon, so that must stay in, in my opinion! :) I'm planning on staying to the end, but that's really really easy for me to say!

I also find myself slightly concerned about adding too much at this point. We know what we're expecting, and I'm sure everyone has something they are excited about. I think the best thing to do is discuss it on site. If everyone is kind of bleh about doing something, then we can it and move on to something else, you know.

And I'm all about the Rock Band, too, so tell Miah it's going to happen!

Steve West | August 26, 2008
Hey, Shakespeare said it, I just repeated it. Sexist bastard.

Amy Austin | August 26, 2008
Like there wasn't enough pressure to find a favorite blog posting for me!

That's a no-shitter there... I fear that I am wholly incapable of living up to Mr. West's expectations -- but then... for some reason, I'm often told that I'm "funny" even when I really have no intention of being so... even when, in fact, I am being quite serious. I can only think that, a la Stephen Colbert, it might be a case of suffering from too much gravitas. ;-p

And hey... at least you blog regularly -- there's no way I'd want to sift through any of my handful of entries for a reading, beatnik or otherwise (but yes, *expect* a Mike Myers in So I Married An Axe Murderer-type reading if the issue is forced)... I think I'll delete them all first. ;-ppp

Denise Sawicki | August 26, 2008
If I was there, which I won't be, I'd need to embarrass myself at Rock Band singing... Let's just say I don't actually sing well, but I get a good enough score most of the time... I know the tricks...

Amy Austin | August 26, 2008
LOL... I really wish you would come, Denise...

Aaron Shurtleff | August 26, 2008
Well, Denise, while we would wish you would come (and you still could!), I am sure someone will take up the microphone in honor of you. I would vote Amy, but I've heard rumors it takes a lot to get her singing... ;)

Lori Lancaster | August 26, 2008
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Amy Austin | August 27, 2008
No "rumors" about it... though it just *may* be possible that I've immatured a little bit over the years...

And no "requests" from anyone who won't be present to bear witness! (And no, that doesn't mean free passes for the rest of you... Aaron!)

Lori Lancaster | August 27, 2008
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Amy Austin | August 27, 2008
No "Hit Me With Your Best Shot".

;-)

Aaron Shurtleff | August 27, 2008
Oh no. I forsee Amy, Steve West, and myself getting down with a riotous version of "Yeah" by Usher (feat. Lil Jon and Ludacris). Having not heard either of the other two members of my esteemed trio's voices, I don't know who will be giving the smooth vocals of Usher a try (I would vote Steve), but I will be playing the part of Ludacris, spitting rhymes like a madman. And Amy would be giving it her all on Lil Jon's "YEAH!" parts (he does have an occasion other word or two...) We'll have to start the choreography soon.

All this you could be missing by not attending. Think about that for a minute.

Oh, yeah. You want to come. You know it. It's not too late. :)

Aaron Shurtleff | August 27, 2008
My outfit's ridiculous
In the club lookin' so conspicuous
And Rowl! These women all on the prowl
If you hold the head steady I'ma milk the cow.

LOLOL. My co-worker Steve thinks I'm crazy now. And he's so right! :P

Take that and rewind it back, Amy's got the beat to make ya booty go [CLAP]
Take that and rewind it back, Steve West got the voice to make ya booty go [CLAP]
Take that and rewind it back, Aaron got the flow to make ya booty go [CLAP]

You all do know the song, right? :D

Scott Hardie | August 27, 2008
I will be there. What if I don't want my booty to go [CLAP]?

Steve West | August 27, 2008
I second that. Also, I believe I've described myself already as a white guy trapped inside the body of an even whiter guy. Not a chance I'd do that song justice. Although I could probably make my booty go [CLAP] if I tried hard enough.

Amy Austin | August 27, 2008
WHAT?!! O-KAY!

(Also, I somehow suspect it's much easier to make your booty *get* the [CLAP], myself...)

Aaron Shurtleff | August 27, 2008
Well, I'm sorry, but as mentioned, between Amy's beat, Steve's voice, and my flow, ya booty will go [CLAP]. That's just how we roll.

Aaron Shurtleff | August 27, 2008
And let me be clear (before someone else says it...):

Aaron's flow does not make your booty *get* the [CLAP]. It makes your booty GO [CLAP]. Don't be gross!

Amy Austin | August 27, 2008
Let *me* be clear... I did not go there -- you did!

Aaron Shurtleff | August 28, 2008
It was a pre-emptive strike, because if I didn't say it, someone else would have, and I would be left looking silly!

Tony Peters | August 28, 2008
kinda like now right???

Aaron Shurtleff | September 28, 2008
Under 30 days now to Super Great GOO Con I, in case you hadn't heard... ;)

I take it from the amazing silence that (with the one exception) none of the attendees are going to need me to drive them to GOO Con. If this is wrong, or if it changes at the last minute, let me know. I can't promise I'll be checking e-mail or the site at the very last minute, but a good week's worth of notification would be AWESOME! ;)

Scott, anything you need from me, let me know. I know I should have offered earlier but... no, wait, I did offer earlier. I guess my help is unwanted...or unneeded. Never too late, though, Scott. I'll need to work it out around two separate jobs, though, so the more notice the better! :)

WOO HOO!!

It's still not too late to come!! I know that it hasn't worked yet, but I'll keep saying it! :)

Lori Lancaster | September 29, 2008
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Steve Dunn | October 3, 2008
I kept the dream alive on this as long as possible, but it is now clear beyond doubt that the weekend of October 25 is a no-go for me. I am sorry to miss a chance to meet so many of you and participate in Scott's thoughtfully-planned activities. Hopefully it will go very well and there will be another one!

Have fun!

Jackie Mason | October 7, 2008
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Scott Hardie | October 8, 2008
Jackie & Steve, sorry to hear you can't make it, but thanks for considering us for so long. I do hope we can stage another of these in a year or two, located further north to make it more convenient to reach. Photos will be online afterwards.

Scott Hardie | October 11, 2008
Jeremiah Poisson and his fiancée Ines Sarante are in! Any other last-minute additions to the guest list?

Aaron Shurtleff | October 22, 2008
Any last last last minute additions? It's never too late! ;)

But, seriously, pics will be posted (I'm sure), and everyone will be super bummed that you aren't here. :(

Unless you surprise us all by coming!!!

And, yes, I am talking directly to you...and yes, I am being vague about who I'm talking to to make it seem that I'm talking to everyone, but this message is totally just for you. You know who you are. :D

I wonder if anyone is falling for this...

Sarah Kyle | October 23, 2008
I would have loved to come but considering now that I have a newborn child I can't leave him and really don't want to travel that long.. I love siesta keys considering I used to live in sarasota.. Damn why couldn't this have happened before I got pregnant?? lol.. You all have fun and I so wish I was there.. But mom duty calls here at home

Erik Bates | October 23, 2008
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Erik Bates | October 23, 2008
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Scott Hardie | October 27, 2008
Many thanks to Aaron, Ines, Kelly, Matt, Miah, and Steve for making this a weekend to remember. I had a great time! Extra thanks to Steve for being the unofficial photographer – his photos are coming. I don't know if it was said here yet, but Amy had to drop out at the last minute; she was gone but not forgotten.

Here's a rough outline from my perspective:

Thu 10pm - I nearly give myself a heart attack trying to get everything done on time. (244 goos in one day and more; what was I thinking?) Kelly & I pick up Matt at the airport. We stay up late eating tacos and catching up.

Fri 11am - Kelly had to work, so Matt & I pick up Steve at the airport. It's the third time I've met someone new from goo.tc, and somehow all three have been at airports. He was just what I imagined him to be, friendly and good-humored and at ease with us. He was also surprisingly versed in the site; I kept starting to explain old references, only to learn that he already knew about them from TC or the site history. Way to do your homework, Steve. :-)

Fri 12pm - We meet Aaron at the Linger Lodge, a weird local restaurant. The lack of grouper on the new menu (Steve had looked forward to it from the old menu online) turned into a running joke over the weekend. Steve snapped lots of pictures of the odd décor, and his camera wound up taking most of the pictures over the weekend.

Fri 2pm - The four of us stock up on drinks and snacks for the weekend, including a decorated cake for goo.tc's 12th anniversary. We head to the rental house and unload the car in the cold, wet rain. Steve is the only one of us wise enough to catch a nap that all four of us need. We cut out paper Rock Block cards, with the conversation interrupted frequently by "Cool! I didn't know [this band] was in the game!"

Fri 7pm - Kelly & Miah arrive with a PS3 and Rock Band (thanks Miah!). We play a site trivia game, with questions like What was the original name of Jackie's blog? and Who just became the first player to guess 1000 goos correctly? Everyone gets at least a few answers right, but Steve dominates the scoreboard, winning a "yo mama" comebacks notepad.

Fri 9pm - While Miah leaves to get Ines so they can eat separately, the other five of us head out to a late dinner at Patrick's. Football dominates the conversation. We're all tired and wet but glad to be together at last. On the way back, my car blows a tire; I'm very grateful for the help getting the spare in place.

Sat 12am - Finally all seven of us get together. We watch No Country for Old Men; reception is mixed. We're wiped out and head to bed.

Sat 10am - Kelly cooks a big breakfast for everyone. I finish up some code for the live goo game event. The band "Userrank 10" is invented in Rock Band, with instruments passed around. Rock Block is played on cards now and throughout the weekend, as a competitions chart is slowly filled in.

Sat 2pm - We head to the nearby Lobster Pot for lunch. Miah & Ines are the only ones who order lobster.

Sat 4pm - Celebrity Goo Game Live at last! The game is played like Jeopardy!, with categories represented as columns on a big blue board. Gambling on daily doubles and final goos exists to shake up the dollar amounts. Ribbons go to the top three finishers each round, with bigger prizes for everyone at the end based on total dollars earned. Steve, Aaron, and Matt claim the first three ribbons. Everyone has lots of fun riffing on celebrities and writing joke answers on their dry-erase tablets when they're stumped.

Sat 9pm - We fire up the grill, with Matt & Kelly doing most of the cooking. Rock Block is played while we scarf down the food. Various people make use of the dartboard Kelly brought.

Sat 11pm - Second round of the goo game goes to Aaron, Matt, and Ines. By this point, we're all slap-happy from lack of sleep, and laughter reaches the highest mark all weekend as we crack each other up riffing on the game.

Sun 8am - Steve & I leave early to buy a new tire for my car. He provides sound advice on how to handle the site, mainly on the topic of what I should worry about and what I shouldn't. He also rightly suggests that I be more assertive about the schedule in order to keep us on track, giving me a lot more to think about in the process than he realized. We share insights about other site users (no gossip) and talk about the future of the site. I realize what will one day force the end of Celebrity Goo Game if it lasts that long: Google or some other company will create a tool that lets you supply an image on the web and it will find you other images that match that one closely, probably intended to help debunk doctored photos fed to the press. I can take photos from print sources and elsewhere not indexed by Google, but not many.

Sun 11am - After a little more RB & RB, we settle in for round three of the goo game. The final results are close, going to Matt, Aaron, and Steve. By now, Aaron has a huge lead in overall dollars and looks difficult to catch.

Sun 2pm - Miah & Ines discover that old friends are unexpectedly in town, so they politely depart for the rest of the day. The other five of us go to the Columbia Restaurant and have a great Cuban meal. A text message from Erik Bates, wishing us well, gets smiles all around the table. I unwittingly act out an old blog post, satisfying the "blogs over barbecue" event on the schedule. After we buy souvenirs for loved ones at the gift shop, Aaron gets a call from his wife, who is sick and needs his help. We're all sad to see him go, but on the drive back to the rental house, we cram in as many questions from Discuss This as we can. Many thanks to Lori Lancaster for being the only one to send in questions; they got us going. After we get back to the house, we scarf down cake, catch up on the Browns game score, and send Aaron off with consolation prizes for the games.

Sun 6pm - We play Scene It! and test our movie knowledge. I win a magic loops toy. "Discuss This" spontaneously continues as we ask each other questions that reveal unexpected things about each other. Steve asks (imo) the most revealing question, what flaw about ourselves do we most wish we could change. I knew Kelly's answer, but I was surprised at Matt's, and I learned something about Steve with his. (Sorry, we agreed not to share. What happens at GooCon stays at GooCon.)

Sun 8pm - The final round of the goo game has three players instead of six, so everybody gets a ribbon. Matt finishes ahead of Steve and Kelly. The big winner turns out to be Steve, who earns just enough to pass Aaron's total score and become the overall winner, taking home a trophy for his effort. The rest of the prizes are classic toys like a ball and paddle, a yo-yo, a tiny plastic orchestra, Gumby, a slide whistle, and more.

Sun 11pm - We lack a DVD player to watch another movie and too many people are gone to play another game, so we cook up leftovers and settle into an unwinding & cleaning period. Rock Block prizes are given out: Steve finishes one victory ahead of me for the overall highest score, taking home Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in a 25-CD set compiled by Kelly in a metal case. Other prizes include Kiss and Elvis puzzle cubes, a Hard Rock Cafe teddy bear, an Ozzy Osbourne vampire model car, and more. Steve turns in for the night, and the other three of us are about to do the same when Miah & Ines return to say goodbye and thanks for a great weekend.

Mon 8am - I take Steve to the airport, then Kelly & I take Matt to the airport. Kelly is sick and I'm exhausted, so we sleep for most of the day. The weekend is over. We're not sure when or where it will be, but we are sure that there will be another GooCon.

Steve West | October 27, 2008
Photos are on the way as I'm typing this so I'm sure Scott will post some soon. This event was everything it was touted to be and everything I expected it to be. All good. There was so much good fun, laughs and camaraderie that it was almost overwhelming. Scott is absolutely the coolest guy I know. Matt may be the funniest guy I've ever met and Aaron is just as crazy (in his charming way) as he presents himself on the site. Kelly - madame, I'm charmed. Miah and Ines were a lot of fun and need to appear on the site more! I'll blog about this I'm sure but for now, thanks Scott. You actually went way beyond all expectations to make this the most well spent time I've had in a long time.

Amy Austin | October 28, 2008
"...gone but not forgotten" -- thanks for that epitaph, Scott. ;-)

No, but seriously... thank you for taking the time and effort to journal the events for us, Scott -- as Steve says, it sounds exactly as I would have expected it to be... only not quite as good, since I wasn't there. (That can be taken a couple of different ways, I realize... I'll allow it. ;-P)

In my mind, I already knew to expect Scott's ultra-coolness, Matt's hilarity, Aaron's craziness, Kelly's graciousness, and the fun (perhaps mingled with a bit of envy) of getting to know Miah & Ines... along with Steve's relative domination of the games -- I'm just broken-hearted about not being able to confirm for myself... or to make every effort to stomp you all, Steve in particular, with defeat (haha, get it? de' feet? ...sigh)

Yeah, I knew I'd be missing out. Here's hoping really hard that I'll be able to make it next year. Right now, I'd just be grateful for a better mood & situation next year... and that feels like *really* high hopes just this moment. I'm glad it was big fun and success for y'all. ;-)

Steve Dunn | October 28, 2008
Sounds like a great time. Sorry I missed it!

Steve Dunn | October 28, 2008
Sounds like a great time. Sorry I missed it!

Scott Hardie | October 28, 2008
EDIT: Photos have been moved to the GooCon page on the site.

Amy Austin | October 28, 2008
Awesome. Love the pics -- thanks for the smiles. ;-)

I especially love: Matt's Halloween costume (who knew George Peppard was lurking beneath, waiting for a mere cigar to spring to the surface!), Aaron't silly hat, Steve's "I'm a Wiener" ribbon, Kelly's self-portrait, lobster... mmm.... lobster...

I think I saw Ed on the wall at that restaurant (Patrick's), too, come to think of it...

Amy Austin | October 28, 2008
Oh, yeah, and I forgot to mention that Ed & I had the same thought many, many times:

I realize what will one day force the end of Celebrity Goo Game if it lasts that long: Google or some other company will create a tool that lets you supply an image on the web and it will find you other images that match that one closely...

Lori Lancaster | October 28, 2008
[hidden by request]

Amy Austin | October 28, 2008
We watch No Country for Old Men; reception is mixed.

I bet! I just finished watching it myself. Did the words, "What the fuck?!!" escape anyone else's lips when the credits started?

Aaron Shurtleff | October 28, 2008
I totally disregarded the Do not put anything except toilet paper in the toilet rule...often and with glee! :P

And, OH, did Miah get himself in trouble letting the hot foreign waitress tie that bib around his neck! *hee hee*

And Brainiac totally worked, since I won the GOO game the night I drank it!! Yay!!

Aaron Shurtleff | October 28, 2008
Also, please note that the Linger Lodge was a weird restaurant before I got there, thank you.

And I had lobster bisque at the Lobster Pot, so nyah! :P :)

The slide whistle picture was dubbed (by me) as looking like it is worthy of the Safe For Work Porn site, which got a giggle out of a few people, at least! :)

And thanks to Amy's comment, I now have that one song stuck in my head...
"Somebody told me
You have a boyfriend
Who looks like a girlfriend
That I had in February of last year" :D

Scott Hardie | October 28, 2008
Amy: We were too tired to have that animated a reaction, but yeah, people generally seemed unsure what to make of it.

Aaron: Right before you left, you laughed about flushing four things down the toilet at once. Right after you left, the toilet broke and wouldn't flush any more. Matt thanked you for giving him one more thing to fix.

Jackie Mason | November 13, 2008
[hidden by request]

Amy Austin | November 13, 2008
Yeah... Aaron's ex-girlfriend!

Aaron Shurtleff | November 13, 2008
God I miss her...

No I don't! :D

Scott Hardie | November 21, 2008
The flat tire at GooCon was a sign. We had another one today, and a friend recommended replacing the other two tires because they were about to go. Why couldn't the decorated cake have led to three more decorated cakes a few weeks later?

My current thinking about the next GooCon is:

1) A year seems too short, but two years is definitely too long. Maybe every sixteen months? That would put the next one at February 2010, and we could time it for Oscar night. I remember how tired we were on the final night, and zoning in front of the TV sounds perfect for winding down the next one.

2) As fast as a year goes by, we'll miss GooCon if we don't have it next October. Maybe every anniversary weekend is right after all.

3) Having it in the midwest would make it accessible to a lot more people. I would have to delegate finding a place to someone else. Then again, I've looked online, and found a few decent places not far from Chicago and St. Louis. This is my favorite so far, though it doesn't mention wi-fi.

4) As convenient as that location will be, wouldn't it be more convenient to stick with what we know? We have a good place already that we could return to each time and focus on the event rather than the venue. If we're doing the next one in February, Florida beats Illinois.

In other words, I'm conflicted. What do the rest of you think?

Steve West | November 21, 2008
Chicago in February sounds like a 'snowed in at the airport' moment waiting to happen. But I'm not from around there so I don't really know. Florida in the winter-time (close enough) was part of the appeal. I'm game for wherever though.

Steve Dunn | November 21, 2008
I'd rather take a kick in the balls than fly to Chicago in February.

Lori Lancaster | November 21, 2008
[hidden by request]

Amy Austin | November 21, 2008
I'm raising my hand to volunteer wedgie and/or kickball duty... in Florida. And if I were similarly equipped, I'm afraid I'd be right there alongside Steve. (Of course, summer in Chicago can be brutal, too -- I remember plenty of "black flag days" at boot camp in July... and heat waves that were killing people. Given an only-in-Chicago choice, I think I'd brave the snow first.)

As much as I really, really, really want to see Lori at one of these things, though, I also know that I probably don't stand a snowball's chance of seeing *anyone* if it isn't in Florida again. The whole reason I was even able to at least consider and entertain... up until the "last minute" anyway... the idea of going was because of the imminent inevitability of my return to Florida on an indefinitely-termed basis. It would feel like cruel and ironic twist of fate if the next one were to be held somewhere in the Midwest -- inaccessible to me, I am certain, based on my current projections -- and I could not attend while I am... *right there*, in Florida! And I was sooo looking forward to the Florida setting with everyone... swamp-themed restaurants with gator tail and... grouper... This would be a good way to make me cry, I think.

Lori, can't you come alone? Or plan a week-long Disney combo trip???

Lori Lancaster | November 21, 2008
[hidden by request]

Scott Hardie | November 21, 2008
Here I sit in Tire Kingdom, in the same chair where I sat talking to Steve four weeks ago, and I think, no way is a year too soon to see you all again.

Aaron Shurtleff | November 21, 2008
Well, on one hand, having it close to "home" is hella convenient. On the other hand, travelling around and seeing cities I've never been to would be awesome, too. Chicago in February does sound a wee bit intimidating, but I'm not adverse to cold, after all, so that doesn't bug me too much (I would think it's the wind that gets you anyways, but I could be wrong). Plus, it would be nice if other people could attend due to changing the venue to closer to their home, as opposed to GOOCon becoming just a get together for a same small group that can get to Florida. I'm kind of conflicted, too, really. :)

I think, time wise, if we were having it here in Florida every time, a year should be a good time frame, and we can probably get like a standing reservation on the beach house (OK, it's not really a beach house, but still...). But, I think if we change up the location, we might need the extra time to get everything together. Although, going back to the yearly stay-here thing, I didn't actually get to help out doing any of the planning or anything (AT ALL!), so I don't really have a reference into how much work really was involved on getting everything together for the first GOOCon, so I don't know that I can say what a decent amount of time is. That might have to be up to whomsoever is doing the planning.

Jackie Mason | November 22, 2008
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