Who is coming and where to go?

[DZ]

What?!?! No Clandesity??? Its just not going to be the same without his
Eleventy-Billion Watt Ar/Kr We gonna have to figure something else out... Hmm, how about using a telescope pointed to the sun, and fiber launch the beam into the building! That might make up for Clandestiny not being there!

David

[clandestiny]

Mr Zurcher, you are making this hard on me, I think the politcal term
for your unsavory tactics would be called " laser baiting "

[DZ]

HeHe! Hey man, whatever it takes to get you there!

[buffo]

how about using a telescope pointed to the sun, and fiber launch the beam into the building!

And watch whatever the fiber is pointed at promptly burst into flames!

Seriously though, it may be that we will only have solid state lasers at this event. Not that it will be a problem, since if Dreambeamz shows up I'm sure he'll bring his projector, and it's got a 1 watt CNI green inside that is actually making 1.3 watts! Plenty bright...

Remember folks - this whole complex has NO WINDOWS. (windows = light pollution) This means when you turn the lights out it will be as dark as a cave inside. So even a 15 mw laser is going to look great, so long as we've got a little fog in the air. Once everything is set up I expect that the room lights will probably stay off. I plan on bringing a couple *small* lights to provide just enough illumination to move around in the room. We all should probably plan on doing that. Something small, like a battery powered camping light.

Now, if anyone *does* have a large frame ion laser that they'd like to bring, SPEAK UP NOW! I need to make arrangements with David if we're going to need 3 phase power or water cooling. They do have these services available, but we need to plan ahead. So far, everyone has said they are planning to bring 110 volt equipment only.

Who's bringing the Everclear?

Actually, I'm glad that you brought that subject up, Steve-o. I have a feeling that alcohol will be prohibited on the site. That's purely a guess on my part, but given that it's a research institute I think it's likely. I mentioned this to David in my e-mail to him. We'll see how he responds. While it would be nice to have a real party, they may not want a bunch of drunk laser geeks stumbling around their building! (Actually, I don't think anyone would get wasted; at our FLEM gathering the most anyone had was three beers, and that was over a 14-hour-long event!) If they allow alcohol, great. If not, well, it will be a hell of a good time nonetheless!

Re: sound system. Good idea David... I don't know about amps though. (Audio isn't my specialty.) Maybe you and MechEng3 can work something out between the two of you... Though even if you just have the smaller amp, between that and the system that MechEng3 has, I think we'll probably be OK. I don't think loud music will be an issue, since most of the regular staff at the institute only works Monday through Friday.

Re: the types of music... Everyone bring a computer with your MP3's on it and we can pass the RCA jacks around! If the majority says the music is "too hard" (or even "too soft") then we try something else. Fair enough? (I like the idea of 4 or 5 guys running their projectors "live" and playing along with whatever song happens to be playing. Sounds totally cool...)

As far as bringing telescopes - hmmm. On the one hand, the institute will surely have better equipment than even the most well-heeled amateur astronomer would. But on the other hand if one of their experts is there, he/she may be able to give you some pointers as to how to better use your own telescope. I guess it's really up to you. If you want to pack it and carry it up there, I'm sure they woulnd't have any problem with you setting it up and using it. But you may decide that it would be more fun to gaze through their telescopes instead. (Of course, using their telescopes will probably increase the total cost, because they'll have to pay someone to come in and run the telescopes for us.) Then again, how often does one get such a chance? I'd say it will probably be a bargan at nearly any price. (I'm up for it if the rest of the group is.)

Re: what else to bring... Just about anything goes. I like the mirrored ball idea. You can scan one of those things with an RGB abstract and get amazing colors shooting all over the place. The same thing goes for lumina effects. (I've got a small crystal thing that I've been meaning to try out...)

Just thought of something... If we decide we'd like an Internet connection, we can probably get one for like 10 bucks. (At least, according to the rate sheet.) That might be cool - we could post live updates on PhotonLexicon as the event progresses... I don't think it will be fast enough for real-time video, but we could at least post some pics and comments from time to time... Just a thought.

By the way - if anyone has a friend or neighbor that they'd like to bring along, that's totally cool. We don't need 10 laserists with projectors, we just need 10 people. 15 people would be better still.
EDIT:

Mr Zurcher, you are making this hard on me, I think the politcal term for your unsavory tactics would be called " laser baiting "

Ok Paul, then grow some balls and tell your boss you need a vacation! Clear you calender, tell your clients you need a break, and if you have to - hire a couple flunkies to keep the wheels turning while you take a weekend off to play with lasers like the rest of us at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute in North Carolina. There, now I'm guilty of laser-baiting too! Is it enough to pry you away from your busy schedule? You know we'd love to have you there dude... (Pretty please?)
/EDIT:
Oh yeah, something else: It is possible that some of the folks that work at the institute may decide to drop in and see what all this laser show stuff is about. I told David that we would not have a problem with staff or guests joining us. (But we didn't want to be open to the general public, because of potential problems with CDRH rules.) If it ends up that there are *lots* of people, we may need to set up a couple tables to keep the clueless folks away from the business end of the projectors. But, again, this will be on a weekend when nearly everyone is home, so I seriously doubt that we'll have a lot of guests dropping in. I also told David that we'd be willing to explain how we're doing all this to anyone that asked. (Who knows? We might pick up a few new memebers on PhotonLexicon as a result!)

Keep the ideas coming guys! This is really starting to sound great! (And if it works out as well as it sounds, we could make this a regular gig with the institute... Maybe even open it to the public one day if we can work out the CDRH issues. Something to consider!)

Adam

[MechEng3]

Are the interior walls of light color? Or will I need my screen?

[clandestiny]

Here is the story- I will be involved in a series of out of town events from the 1st of August till the 17th. from the 11th through the 17th, I will be in Memphis. Originally that gig was two seperate private events to which I am providing lasers. The client had been after me to provide live sound and lighting for six other shows that week. I normally dont bother with live sound
due to the hassle and lack of pofit margin. However I finally gave in- and sent a
quote which I was sure they woudn't go for. Well, they did - so now I am locked in all week.
It may be possible to fly in to N.C. Saturday am, then fly out to meet up with my gear on Sunday- If someone can shuttle me to the airport, but this is all speculation at this point. I have to see how it goes as the time draws nearer-

[steve-o]

GREAT! I'm sure we can arrange something!

[buffo]

Heh! I had a feeling if we goaded Clandestiny a little bit he'd come to his senses and decide to attend! Hope to see you there, Paul!

Mike: Yeah, I think we'll need your screen to display on. In fact, if we can get one from Paul as well that would be great. Not sure if that's possible though, because they may be in use at the show he'll be doing in Memphis that week.

I don't know what color the walls are painted. My guess is that they are a neutral shade. (After all, the place was built by NASA, so I don't expect we'll see a lot of mahogany and oak panneling.) I'll check with David Clavier though. (He did mention that he could provide a small display screen like the one's used for slide projectors, but I don't think that will be large enough for us.) Worst case, I'm sure we could display on the walls, but a screen is always preferable.

Paul: There are two airports that are within driving distance to the Institute. The Greenville / Spartanbug airport in South Carolina, and the Ashville airport in North Carolina. I'm sure we can get you a ride to and from the airport. Also, if the laser gig is finished by the 17th, then you should be all set because we don't actually start until the 18th... Something to keep in mind.

Adam

[steve-o]

i like lawrence welk and motley crue (playing at the same time)

[buffo]

Guys, you aren't going to believe this...

I just got a letter from David Clavier at PARI. He said it is going to cost us three thousand dollars to hold SELEM at the institute. 3 grand!!!

Here is his letter:
Adam,

Thank you for your interest in PARI and in putting this request in writing. It helps clarify your needs for me.

You mentioned your tight budget. PARI would not be able to be as economically viable for your group as your previous venues. As a not-for-profit public foundation we do not receive government subsidies. Our operating budget is about $3,000 per day. Our normal operating hours are Monday-Friday from 7:30 am – 5:30 pm. We are not normally open on weekends. There is little or no net from the amount we charge for people who stay overnight when you take into account food cost and staff time. For overnight programs we usually require a 20 person minimum. Some of our staff would need to be on site for any weekend program.

With all that taken into consideration, if you can guarantee us and prepay $3,000 for your Saturday-Sunday event, we will provide rooms, meals and a presentation area with necessary electrical connections for your group.

Please let me know if you are still interested in pursuing this event on August 18-19 at PARI.

Thanks,
Dave

So now we're right back to square one. We still need a venue, and we need one fast! I'm going to contact the Catawba Valley Arts and Science Center tomorrow and see if they have any other ideas that might work. (The lady I spoke with had some suggestions, but once I found PARI I thought we'd be all set so I never looked into them. Now that PARI is out, I guess I need to check back with her and see what else she has available.)

Anyone know of any other venues in North Carolina that we could use? (At this point, I'd take a school Gymnasium!)

Damn... It's always the venue. That's the key. (And the hardest part, it seems!)

Adam