SELEM 2021 Sign-up Thread

[singlemode]

Hi friends! Gettting caught up on things in here but I will 1000% be there, can't wait!

Apologies to any of you who have reached out in the past few months-ish and not gotten a reply, I'm still alive I promise! Trying to keep my head above water with the unexpected developments life has thrown at me in the past 18 months has been....challenging, to say the least, and has required way more mental cycles to deal with than I'm used to. "I'll catch up and get back to my side projects in a week when I have more leftover brainpower" quickly became a couple weeks, then maybe a month, suddenly that was 2 months...and here we are! Crazy how time flies when you're measuring it in "days since last incident" and getting double digits on the scoreboard is a rarity...

But for now, I'm officially free of all other obligations until 8/17 and can finally focus 100% on making my plans here; I seriously can't wait to see what you all have been up to! I wasn't planning on much in the way of hardware complexity to bring this year -

• I've got some significant work to do on my beyond setup before it can return to baseline functionality and am in the middle of reworking my computers anyways, so no need to make any room for my table in the club
• If that basic 1.5" 15' black triangular truss I've brought in the past could be useful for anyone's setup, call dibs and it's yours for the week
• I was for sure gonna bring some ions up to hack on, the normal spare parts I've always got, 150' each of red/black hose, a couple PCAOMs/drivers/etc....anything else I can bring to help out someone else's rig lmk
• I haven't read the whole thread yet but saw a couple mentions of wanting to stream content - I'll catch up on the rest of the posts momentarily but if any of my infrastructure could be useful it's all available, and I'll be reachable normally online for the next few weeks at least if you wanna make plans

Since I won't have my own big setup to build on load in day, I'm happy to help anyone else load in/set up too - lmk!

[buffo]

Glad to see you'll be able to join us, Will! Just added you to the list. And no worries - I have a large T-shirt for you (because I always order a few extra).

Your assistance during load-in on Sunday will be *GREATLY* appreciated! Not sure yet how much help we will have, so any extra is always a plus. We will be getting started around 10 AM. As for the truss, if you have the room, please bring it.

Ethan is planning to set up a live stream, but he was hoping to chat with you about the specifics. I think he has most of the hardware he needs, but he was asking questions about your media server, so if you have a spare moment you might want to give him a ring and talk about it.

Working on ions sounds like fun. I know that David Francis is planning to bring some of his ion gear, and I'm sure Brad Stockdale will have a few lovely toys as well. Note that we do have access to 480 V 3 phase (with cams) in this venue, in case you want to bring a large frame and fire it up.

For the 208 3 phase we might need to hack into one of the panels on the loading dock, because the one disconnect we have access to is only fused for 30 amps per leg. But we have bucket-loads of power available in the panel - just need to wire our own pigtails. Note that if Jeff (rgb-gas) can make the trip, he should be able to bring some of his 3 phase distro gear and cable with him. But if not, then we can always run out to Home Depot...

Adam

[singlemode]

I'm totally down to kick in for whatever power distro gear we need to acquire to make things work, especially if it's something that can return to SELEM every year. I remember talking about that briefly at SELEM 2019 as something to consider doing for the next one (pretty sure that was after we spent way longer than reasonable tearing our hands up trying to find non-corroded copper), count me in for whatever! I've got some random pretty beefy copper to dig though, if there's anything that could make useful pigtails or jumpers I'll bring it.

I wish I had some ions chunky enough for 480, but if this is going to be an annually available thing now...anyone selling a sabre?

[Lazerman121]

If I show up for less than 24hours can I get a discounted ticked xD.
Honestly I most likely won't be there this year. I used up my vacation time for a trip to the west coast last month. That being said I am kind of tempted to show up Tuesday as I am off of work. Though with traffic it may not be any shorter drive time than Newton .

Edit: hows the wifi. I expect a contentious live stream .

[Mattronium]

I will be attending SELEM this year.
I am not sure what the current situation is with hotel room availability. I am wondering if there is anyone who would share a hotel room with me. So if someone has an extra bed or hasn't reserved a room yet and wants to room with me, let me know.


P.S. As a side note, I'll be driving from Michigan, so if anyone is somewhere along the route, carpooling is an option.

P.P.S For the Mystery YAG laser I posted in the SELEM buy/sell, if anyone might be interested I need to know before, as I will ONLY bring it if someone might be interested in it as it is very heavy.

[j4cbo]

Hey, I’m not a first-timer, I was there in 2015!

I hate to be the one to bring it up, but the news about the delta variant (and breakthrough cases in particular) is getting more and more concerning - a few months ago it was seeming like we wouldn’t have to worry about COVID much longer but delta has thrown a wrench in that for sure. What are our plans around masking and testing?

[buffo]

Yikes!

Sorry Jacob! You are correct; I had forgotten that you attended in 2015. No disrespect intended, dude!

Regarding COVID risks, we are still planning to follow the recommendations of the Delaware State Legislature, which basically mirrors the CDC's recommendations. Thus, masks are optional, but recommended, for anyone attending SELEM.

====RANT MODE ON====

Given that we are all educated, responsible adults, my hope was that everyone who attended SELEM would have already received their vaccine long ago, especially since the vaccine is available for FREE at just about any major drug store (Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, etc) as well as many of the grocery store pharmacies (Wal-Mart, Publix, Kroger, etc). That being said, we are NOT going to be checking for vaccine cards at the gate or anything. (Papers, please! )

However, if you have not yet received your vaccine, have a look at this website, which lists the pharmacies that have the vaccine available. At many pharmacies you can even choose which vaccine you want to get! (If you have this option, keep in mind that the mRNA vaccines - Pfizer and Moderna - have greater effectiveness against all strains.) If you are not yet vaccinated, please, please, PLEASE, go get your shot immediately. (Unless you are immuno-compromised, of course.) If you won't get the shot to help yourself, get it to help the people around you. We are facing a global pandemic that is killing 10,000 people every day across the globe. Now more than ever we need to all come together and do the right thing for the common good.

Because I am considered a health-care worker (EMT), I got my first shot (Pfizer) in mid-Jaunary, and I got my second shot on February 2nd. (Yes, Groundhog day... ) So according to the CDC's guidelines, I am fully vaccinated. But many physicians are calling for a third booster shot to be given 6 months after your second shot, because it dramatically increases your resistance to the very contagious Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus. Many other western nations are already implementing this 3rd shot for their citizens, but the CDC hasn't adopted the policy yet for the USA.

After speaking with my doctor, I decided I was not going to wait for the CDC, so I went out and got my 3rd shot on my own. I got it on August 2nd, which was exactly 6 months to the day after my second shot, and my booster was also the Pfizer vaccine.

How did I get it? Simple. Just go to any pharmacy and tell them you want a vaccine. When they ask you if you've already had a shot, just tell them that you had your first shot a little over a month ago, but you lost your vaccination card. They will issue you a new vaccination card that shows you receiving your "second" shot, but if you still have your original vaccine card, you can then prove to anyone that you've actually had 3 shots - the two originals plus the booster. OK, it's a little dishonest, but if you are in the at-risk population like me (diabetic, over 50, and living with other at-risk persons), I don't see a big moral issue here.

For those who are worried about side effects, the booster shot was NOTHING. The first shot made me very tired (had to take a day off work) and gave me a sore arm for a day or two. The second shot was much the same, except that my arm actually developed a red spot for a day and was *very* sore. But my booster shot was no big deal. I didn't feel tired the next day, and although my arm was a little sore, there wasn't any swelling or redness, and by the afternoon it felt completely fine. So, yeah, it gets easier! And now I should be about as well-defended as possible against COVID, including the highly contagious Delta variant.

And make no mistake: the Delta variant is no joke. It is 50% more communicable than the standard, or Alpha, version of COVID. That means that Delta is far more contagious than the flu, or even the common cold. In fact, Delta is about on par with Chicken Pox when it comes to transmission rates. (Yikes!) If you haven't gotten your vaccine, please, go get it right now. Today. It takes less than 15 minutes. There is nothing political about this; it's a public health crisis that has killed over 630,000 people in the USA alone, and over 4.2 million people worldwide. Don't be the next statistic!

====RANT MODE OFF====

All that being said, I am planning to bring a mask with me to wear at certain times during SELEM. (Have you seen some of the cool LED-equipped masks you can buy on Amazon? Seriously - check it out; it's a way to have some fun while still being safe.)

There will be no mask-shaming at SELEM, so if you want to wear a mask, feel free to do so. Of course, we will also have hand sanitizer available in multiple locations.

Adam

[eightdot]

Well guys, this is a sad, sad day.
Due to Covid and living in a Schengen country i am not allowed to fly into the USA ;-(
It is with great regret that i have asked for a refund for my plane ticket.
I just called the hotel after receiving a confirmation of my room (when i just cancelled yesterday), but Jennifer of the Elkton road Holiday Inn Express said it was all cancelled now and gave me a cancellation number (which i think is strange, i do receive confirmation digitally and not receive a cancellation message, hope i am not being screwed...)

So if someone is still looking for a room with 2 beds, i just gave up mine that i booked for Reinder and myself.

It really saddens me to be part of all the fun, the great food Brad makes, all the banter, the new tricks, the old tricks , meeting new people, meeting the people i met in 2019, the drone flying and maybe the sightseeing.
I don't want or need a refund for SELEM, maybe you can use it to buy some drinks for people that have had a rough year due to Covid, but i hope it is still possible to receive my shirt? That would be at least a nice memory of something great i am about to miss.

Sorry for all the inconvience this causes, i know Brad and Buffo work so hard every year to make it happen and i am really sorry i am not allowed in even while i am fully vaccinated with Pfizer twice (last one 16th of July).

X1000

Same here, I was really hoping to meet you all.. maybe next year..
don't want or need a refund for SELEM, feel free to do something fun or usefull with it.. but i hope it is still possible to receive my shirt? if so feel free to combine shipment with Hobbybob's

[telmnstr]

No flecom this year?

I dropped in on his arcade when I was in Florida a month or two ago and hung out a bit. Sounded like he was on the fence at the time. It's a long haul and on top of it during a work week, but I am just guessing.

The good news is their awesome arcade is expanding yet again!

Bummer if he doesn't make it to SELEM.

[cfavreau]

Is it possible to get a meal plan for the week? I have a few food allergies and would like to be prepared if I can. If not, no big deal. I can chicken wing it. Thanks!