@KellyLawrence – ugh you’re making me feel like i’m less dedicated than I should be.

@fry – don’t worry someday we will all get to attend virtually online and the price will come down^^

Las Vegas in the middle of summer should be fun. It’s not hot enough down here, anyway.

I also got to meet Phil Plait at the Skepchicks party, which was hella, hella cool.

I am not trying to be overly critical, but wouldn’t Las Vegas be up pretty high on “the list of the most expensive places to hold an event”? I mean, sure, it is no Boston, but still, you say Las Vegas, I think $$$. Four-hundred and twenty-five dollars, that would buy a lot of pasta.

As for the price, it really isn’t expensive comparatively. Hell, it costs more just to stay at a hotel in a major city for the same period of time (Las Vegas itself excluded). I recently attended an industry convention with 4x the price tag of TAM, and which I could only reasonably attend less 1/4 of the talks that I actually wanted to see, and there were a dozen or more going on at any one time. I guess the difference is it’s more difficult to get your employer to pick up the bill for TAM.

I wasn’t intending on returning to TAM this year simply for the time off it requires and I wanted to do some sight-seeing/tourism with that time instead. However, that lineup is pretty bad ass.. Neil Tyson, Bill Nye, Larry Krauss, P&T, PZ, Richard Wiseman, not to mention those who were there last year (Adam Savage and our beloved Phil Plait, for example). I may have to reconsider.

Last year was my first TAM and I recommend it if for the atmosphere alone. Yeah, it’s a lot of preaching to the choir (though not entirely) but hell, it’s nice just to be in a like-minded crowd for a change and it’s a great place to find inspiration.

“It’s Skeptic Circle Jerk Central! The same old speakers! The same old audience! All assembled in an array of smug self-righteousness to proclaim how ‘teh smart’ they all are for being skeptics and how ‘stooopid’ the rest of the brooding proletariat remains!”

Been hateful much lately? You know, sometimes it just feels good to be around like-minded people. RC car enthusiasts, sports fans, religious people, sci-fi nerds, teachers, vegans, skeptics…just about everybody needs to at least occasionally feel a sense of community, to feel free to be who they and to express themselves without feeling like an outsider.

If we seem smug sometimes it’s because we’re human. We’re pretty sure we’re right about a lot of things. But then, so are you. So’s the guy who just walked past my window. So are most people. And you get a room full of rapture ready weirdos, pot smokers, skeptics, or anyone else whose life is at least partially defined by a big idea and, well, they’ll act like they’re on to something big.

We’re on to science. We’re on to trying to not be gullible. We’re on to reason, learning and a sense of wonder about the world around us. It’s pretty freakin’ awesome.

You should totally go!

Yes, TAM is always pricey, but that’s because of huge expenses in the form of overhead for JREF to hold it. I helped run one of these events, and the expenses were daunting. If the JREF could lower costs, I imagine they would. Also, many other top-flight conferences cost more; the American Astronomical Society meeting, for example, is actually more expensive, and doesn’t have meals catered.

I’ll note there are lots of free or less-expensive skeptical events during the year as well – NECSS is coming up, and many areas have skepticamps or Skeptics in the Pub type things. The JREF also sponsors and supports many of these events. The JREF is aware of the cost of TAM, but it’s also the flagship event for the foundation, and a way for the non-profit to raise funds.