Originally Posted by Lazerjock
I haven't had this comparison before but now I'm not gonna be able to unsee it in any of my avatars!
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I haven't heard much chatter about which hotel people are staying at this year.
I remember Brad & Adam talking about another Holiday Inn the opposite direction from the one we used to stay at. I did some searching and think I found it.
It is 7.4 miles from the venue. Google rates it as a 4 star hotel. The only other 4 star I could find was the Hilton.
If you are a Holiday Inn member the price is $115/night for SELEM dates. That is cheaper than the old Holiday Inn.
The address is:
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Wilmington-Newark
1201 Christiana Road,
Newark, DE
I haven't booked yet. I wanted to hear from others where they are staying first.
Looks like Chris found a better place to stay!
That's a pretty good rate! I think the Holiday Inn Express in Elkton was around $120 per night, and even at that price point people complained that it wasn't a nice place to stay. (Recent reviews suggest that it hasn't improved by much - if at all.)
Considering that the HIE in Elkton, MD is around 6 miles from the venue, adding just 1.4 miles to go the other way up to the HIE you found in Delaware seems like a wash in terms of driving distance.
Actually, it might even be faster; since you'd already be in Delaware, you wouldn't have to worry about hitting the $4 toll on I-95 when crossing between Delaware and Maryland. Thus, you could jump on I-95 every day to go to the venue, rather than taking the back roads from Elkton. So while it's slightly further to drive, you'd be on the highway most of the time, so it's likely to be a faster trip overall. (And really, if we're only talking 1.4 miles, does it even matter?)
So, cheaper rate, nicer place, and basically a wash in terms of the drive? Yeah, sounds like the smart move to me. Nice find, Chris!
Here is a direct link to the website for the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Wilmington - Newark.
Adam
Start thinking about planetarium dome shows...
Just wanted to remind everyone that we will have an actual inflatable planetarium dome set up in the auditorium side of the venue this year. This is much larger than the igloo-style dome we had last year! For some idea of scale, here is a somewhat blurry picture of Mike Muhler inside the new dome...
The plan is to have a schedule posted where people can sign up to run shows in the dome. There will be time slots for "dome content" and time slots for regular "auditorium content". Even though the dome will have it's own sound system inside, we wouldn't want to be running shows in the dome and in the auditorium side at the same time. (The dome is great for blocking out light; it's completely dark inside, but it doesn't block any sound at all, plus it's large enough that it will block some of the auditorium projectors when it's fully inflated.)
Note that the dome only takes about 5 minutes to inflate, and it can be deflated in about a minute, so it's no big deal to switch from "dome shows" to "auditorium shows". Also, the blower that inflates the dome is damned near silent. You really can't hear it running unless you are standing right next to it, and even then, the unit is extremely quiet. However, we want to minimize the amount of people going in and out of the dome while shows are running, which is why it's important to have a schedule posted.
We are also encouraging people to bring beanbag chairs, or any other comfortable seating solutions, so we can all spread out inside the dome and get comfy while we watch the shows. I've got a pair of the "big joe" beanbag chairs that I'll be bringing, and I think Wil said he was going to pick up a few of those inflatable couches that looked like hot dog buns that we had last year, but we could always use more...
If anyone has shows that they want to run in the dome, be sure to sign up for one (or more) of the time slots. Better yet, if you have a plan for what you want to run, send it to Greg (Displaser) so he can get a schedule started ahead of time.
Adam
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I can bring one bean-bag chair if needed.
Please bring it Hank!
Adam
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For anyone interested, I'll be doing an informal presentation at 6pm on Thursday the 7th on the technology and compliance strategies surrounding laser pumped phosphor as light sources for projectors, stage lighting and flashlights. It's a weird niche of very new tech in the world of lasers and pretty interesting.
Last edited by araugh; Today at 11:26.
This sounds great, Adam! I know I'm rather ignorant when it comes to these new laser-based lighting engines, especially when it comes to compliance, and I'm sure others would like to learn more about this topic as well.
Only issue might be with the time - I think Brad may have had dinner planned for 6 PM; hopefully he'll post in this thread soon...
Adam
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