My friend and very funny skeptic Christian Walters wrote what I think is a fairly tidy summary of his TAM 7 experience.
Some quick notes on it:
1) I was in on one of his van rides, doubled over due to the van’s low roof while sitting on the lap of some woman whose name I didn’t catch. I think she works for one of my staff. Anyway, he’s right about Vegas night air.
2) He’s also correct about the people in his audience, or lack thereof. He was gallant enough not to mention me, but in fact I was not there, as I missed half the paper presentations due to incessantly being run around by various JREF needs. The irony of now being part of the JREF is that I can no longer experience the whole TAM, um, experience. I was present for my own talk, however. At least, I remember being there.
3) Christian makes me laugh a lot.
4) If you were at TAM you’ll laugh a lot too. No guarantees for non-TAMmers. YMMV.
Also, awesome skeptic and podcaster D.J. Grothe just posted his own glowing review of TAM. It makes me think we should do this every year.
July 28th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Man, I really want to attend the next TAM. But you should have it some place else. Las Vegas scares me. <,<
July 28th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
You have staff?!
July 28th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
I was present for my own talk, however. At least, I remember being there.
Oh, great, another ‘hoax’
J/P=?
July 28th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
He has nice staff. They are very friendly.
July 28th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
He’s funny — and I was not at TAM (grumble grumble).
July 28th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
Dear Phil,
OK, so I know I am not allowed to post any responses to your blog (or Log as my mom would say) due to my sass…. but in regards to point #1:
pbbbblllt!
Love,
Allison
July 28th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
Wow, thanks Phil!
I thought I saw you in the back in the earlier presentations, but I don’t think I saw you stand still for more than a couple of minutes the whole weekend. I knew you were around when Maria would say “be right back, gonna go hug Phil.” (But when I say that, she just says “oh, leave him alone, he’s probably busy.”)
Anyway, if you want to learn all you can stand about tips to help attract and keep visitors to your web sites, Tim and I can give you the short version at Dragon*Con. If you want to learn far more than that, we can give you the whole thing
July 28th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
Ugh, you’re so f’cking vintage.
July 28th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
“Awesome skeptic blablabla” just posted dimwit-sh*t, godda tellya ! I’m so open-minded, hayyeah ! Crystallized my opinion so much, nobody on this bloggg’sss gonna opppose. Afraid of incalculable-babble oppsition so much,will suck up to any trend ! Please call ! No idea where we’re going, muddy brick-faced no-name lane ahead !
July 28th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
I just hope they remembered to plug the microphones in this time, the audio in the TAM 6 DVD was horrorable.
I killed two chicken and danced around in the full moon, praying to my GOD so the sound would be better this years, you can thank me later.
July 28th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
@Woodguard
Sounds like a scene from True Blood this week. Now that is a religion I can get behind.
July 28th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Gee, Leander, jealous much?
July 28th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
@kuhnigget
Hmmm, I thought Leander was some sort of buggy incoherent chatterbot?
July 28th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
@ shane:
Hm. If so, he/she/it seems to hold a grudge. Gadzooks! The bots have evolved!
July 29th, 2009 at 1:05 am
Oh no, he’s got staff – I hope he has no intention of guiding us with his staff and rod (as some catholic priests are known to do). Now where did I put my flameproof suit …
July 29th, 2009 at 5:11 am
Found a great “article” about Creationism btw. It’s so close to the way creationists argues that it scares me
http://newsarse.com/2009/05/where-is-the-missing-link-between-the-missing-links-ask-creationists/
July 29th, 2009 at 10:20 am
Phil did indeed get stuffed bodily into the van. Some poor minion who was already under his thumb was suddenly under his butt. I have no idea how he got out.
But he did, and you will be happy to know The Amazing Tie survived.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/skepchick/3721423899/
July 29th, 2009 at 11:46 am
Phil: I want to thank you again for all the help you’ve been in so far as getting TAM together and having it pulled off so well.
If I may just make one comment/suggestion: I really liked your own talk and question and answer sessions at the past TAM’s. I realize now you being the president of the JREF makes you more of an integral part of the whole affair, but I really would have liked it if you took off your “JREF President” hat and put back your “Bad Astronomer” hat in order to give one of those excellent presentations.
Your presentation at TAM-5 on the idiocy of the “Apollo Hoax” theories was really one of the best parts of that meeting. I realize you have to mix it up a bit and not give the same presentation every time, but I could have easily sat through that again and lets not forget that there are always new people at these meetings to experience it all.
Any chance you could fit in one of your space-science presentations and Q&A sessions at any of the upcoming TAM’s?