DBN trip to NYC

[Pete Nice]

I actually was thinking about rotating groups of guests into the studio for an hour each.

We originally wanted the DBN trip to be focused around the Studio visit, that was the entire premise of going, for DBN to "invade" the studio during the show. I guess it's not really fair to seclude others though.

But since I really have no problem with most of the people on the other forum, I guess they deserve to visit also. I guess Mercer and I could coordinate groups and time slots for people to go up once plans are confirmed. We could be the liaisons, me for DBN and Mercer for TOMB.

The fishbowl theory is interesting, but would need cleared with management. The fishbowl is right next to the lobby, so people could hang out in the lobby. You could easily manage 50 people in the lobby.

I think a Vegas convention would be a 2011 thing. I agree with Mercer, the first one should be in NYC where the show is. Then Vegas in 2011 would be great.

Honest LEE, I don't see more than 20 people going from out of town.

Off the top of my head here is who I can see going who do not already live in the NYC/North NJ area:

Mercer, Paul APBT, JIW, Iva, Beckster, AirHej, Brampton, DaveP, Derick, JoePa, Wes ID, Prezident, Hondo, J-Woww, Eddie your DJ, Jason in Tampa and BDH.

And that is just a random off the top of the head thing. I am not really familiar with the TOMB peeps, there may be more there. This does not include the people like Joe Fiore and Big Fan who already live in the area.

People like T have personal things going on that will cause them to miss it.

Others like Dildo, are all talk.

Other most likely will not make it in on time Friday to get to the studio from the airport/train station/bus station.

I personally would plan on coming Thursday night and my wife would be with me.

One thing, Mercer take note. We need AT LEAST 3 months advance notice on this. That is why their swallowschween and New Years Parties have never really had a lot of listeners, they do not give enough notice.

[Greg Mercer]

I am definitely aware of the logistics and advanced planning involved in something like this...that's why I wanted to start coordinating this now. If we can get all the details squared away by the end of the year, I think we'll be in decent shape.

I also thought about the fishbowl tonight at work. That would be helpful, but who knows if the higher-ups would let them use it...probably not. If there's a musical act coming in, they would immediately take precedent. If listeners want to come to the studio, the best way to do it is rotate peoples that can make it for an hour at a time. I know this forum wanted to "invade" but if we've got a crowd from both forums, there's no reason they can't join in as well. I agree with Pete and I being the go-betweens.

I would most definitely be coming to NYC at least two or three days ahead of time in order to do whatever is needed to prepare for the influx of people.

So far at the C&R forum, 32 people have said they would think about attending. That is a LOT of people. I don't know many of them would be from out of town or when they would arrive. Pete's list of out-of-towners encompasses most of the people that'd probably come. Irish Ben said he was interested but wasn't sure, and I do think dildo_baggins would come. Don't worry; Big Fan already made it clear that he wouldn't be coming, haha. ;-)

Datewise - Any of the months would be OK with me because I will come no matter when. I voted for May because I have this other pipe dream of getting tickets to see a Mets vs. Yankees game at Citi Field, haha. The chances of 10-20 tickets in one section being around will be about slim and none I'm sure.

I guess at this point we'll wait and see what dates everyone likes. I'll go ahead and put up a poll for the date using the same options you did here. We can combine numbers and use the month with the highest total. That's the best way to assure the most people can come.

If there are any other questions/comments, keep them coming!

[Pete Nice]

I hate to be Debbie downer, but I have organized things like this before. I take a Steelers road trip every year. Over 50% of people are all talk when it comes to Road trips. Eventhough over 30 people have said they would go on TOMB, I still hold tight on my number of 20 out of towners between the two forums. I would add about 20 or more NY/NJ/CT peeps though. Still, this to me would be a great turnout.

I am willing to put money on Dildo not attending. Dude lives about as far away from NYC as you can get without leaving the continent and I think he is full of shit also.

[Greg Mercer]

No doubt there will be "fake interest" in something like this when the shit hits the fan and time/money needs to be allotted. After we determine a month and/or fixed date, that's when we will see who really wants to come and who doesn't. Some people won't be able to attend depending on that date. I will take your advice seeing as though you've done stuff like this before.

If we get 40 people, that would be a pretty damn nice meeting.

Any ideas on other things to do? A meeting dinner and some sort of other function/night out would be fun.

[Beckster]

Finances will be the biggest decision factor... Barring i win the lotto (which I need to start playing).... It comes down to whether there is enough cash flow to finance a trip.

[Greg Mercer]

I'm hoping to get a few more votes on a month from this forum in the next day or two so we can go ahead and choose a weekend (or if desired, create another poll and narrow the month choices to two and pick from there). On the C&R forum, the overwhelming choices are May or June.

Please vote if you haven't already!

[Beckster]

I'm hoping to get a few more votes on a month from this forum in the next day or two so we can go ahead and choose a weekend (or if desired, create another poll and narrow the month choices to two and pick from there). On the C&R forum, the overwhelming choices are May or June.

Please vote if you haven't already!

Nussie T is preggers and due this summer... I know she doesn't want those months.

[chelofellow]

I am willing to put money on Dildo not attending. Dude lives about as far away from NYC as you can get without leaving the continent and I think he is full of shit also.

I agree 100%. He has said on TOMB that he is in for sure. But he has a business to run and a kid on the way in January. I live in the same city as him, and a flight to NYC would be over 600 bucks return with a connection in either Vancouver or Calgary. I've never known a guy that was more full of shit.

[Greg Mercer]

Well, these polls have been up long enough...

Across the two forums, June had the most votes with 16 total. May had 12 votes, April had 9, and July had 4. I know that this forum has most of its votes on April and the least on June, so this is where we run into trouble. Seems as though this forum wants an early date, but the other forum wants a later date - June won by a lot. There's always something difficult to planning these things...

No matter when we do this, some people are going to have conflicts or won't be able to come. There's almost no way to avoid it. I don't want to exclude people obviously, but if we're going to have a joint meeting, we have to try to set a date for when the most amount of people will come. I can't justify not having a meeting at all due to one or two people's absences.

Judging by the opinions given on both forums and the votes at this point, I think we should do one of two things:

1) Go by total popular vote and pick June. This would probably not make the members here happy since it seems those who might come want something earlier in the year. I would choose June 4-5 to hopefully get some of the May people as well. If you really wanted, you could take the whole Memorial Day week off from work, haha. :mrgreen:

2) Schedule two separate meetings for the two forums - one in April (I would say April 9-10, but if this someone has a better date in mind, that's up to you) and one in June. I'm not keen on this since it doesn't show much "unity." But, if it gets people to come that really want to come, I suppose it could be done. I don't know if I'd be able to come to both, but I could try.

We could add an option for a "middle ground" of May, but from the posts I've read, people either really like June or April. So unless there's a major push for May, I'd say these are the two options. Let me know what you guys think.

[Pete Nice]

I say go with June. That is what won the overall popular vote. As long as it is not on Memorial Day, the 4th of July o Labor Day, I am good. I have to work those three days, no if's and or buts.

I think Mercer might have a good idea with the first weekend of June.

Pro's:

1. It will not be too hot yet, so we will not be all sticky and sweaty the entire time.

2. The Mets are home and play the Marlin's so tickets should be easy to get.

3. The Yankees play Thursday night, June 3rd, for any early arrivals. It's against the Orioles, who suck, so tickets might be obtainable. They are out of town for the weekend though.

Cons:

1. This is most likely going to be during the Stanley Cup Finals and I will be in full Penguins mode as I have no doubt they will be in the finals again. If your a Flyers fan, you might want to skip this trip if that is the case.

2. Some people won't make it, but like Mercer said, that's gonna happen no matter when it is. Sorry T.

3. It is the start of summer vacation time. Hotels prices will already be in peak season.

[NussieT]

2. Some people won't make it, but like Mercer said, that's gonna happen no matter when it is. Sorry T.

That's completely understandable, it's my decision to stay out of the states when I'm 8 1/2 months pregnant too! I just in the future I will be able to attend at least one!

[Pokes28]

I would love to come. Though June time frame puts it square in the middle of vacation to Europe. If we go to Vegas in 2011, I will be there unless somebody is stupid enough to schedule it during football season.

[Pete Nice]

I would love to come. Though June time frame puts it square in the middle of vacation to Europe. If we go to Vegas in 2011, I will be there unless somebody is stupid enough to schedule it during football season.

Yeah, football season is always out for me too. February to August is when any trips should be, August might be out most weeks also.

[Greg Mercer]

Sorry about not checking in sooner on this, guys...I'm not neglecting the discussion; I guess my email notifications weren't working right or I turned something off. :praying:

The C&R forum is almost all in favor for a June 8-10 timeframe. I know that is a mid-week, but when we're trying to make sure that the guys will be in the area and will have a decent chance of being free, that made the most sense to me. So far there's about an 80% yes rate to those dates, and I asked that only people from outside the NY/NJ area to vote. It would cause people to have to take some vacation days, but travel is normally more inexpensive during the week which could help the costs. The Mets are in town on those dates, so I would definitely try to find a way to get a group of tickets for a game depending on who is committed to coming.

How does that work for you all?

[DaveP]

Being from southwest PA.. is it worth it to drive there? Am I going to pay out the ass to park my car for a few days?