Somebody tried this last year, and it died from lack of interest. So, I’m asking ahead of time so as not to repeat the mistake. Are there enough Albany-area dopers to make an AlbanyDope worthwhile?
I may be wrong, but I’ve noticed a few “Albany,” “Schenectady,” “Troy,” and “Rensselaer” tags in the location field lately.* Not to mention the ubiquitous “Upstate NY” label. That can be misleading, because New York State is kinda’ big, and nobody wants to drive from Ithaca to Albany just to meet a bunch of other 'net geeks. Plus, there are actually people in NYC who think Monticello is “upstate.”
I know what you’re thinking. Albany dopers are lame because of the following:[ul]
[li]I’m shy. The thought of actually meeting people in the flesh gives me the vapors.[/li][li]What I really like about the SDMB is the anonimity. If I met people in person they would be able to put a real name and a face to my posts, and I would feel inhibited.[/li][li]There’s nothing to do in Albany, so why bother?[/li][/ul] That was me five minutes ago, but I posted this, so I got over it. Right? You can too.
I just want to make sure that there is a modicum of interest before I expend any effort to organize something. Are you out there? Do you want to try?
*Okay, I haven’t actually seen “Rensselaer.” There has to be somebody.
Of course it’s possible! Anything’s possible as long as you believe!!!
OK, enough of that smartass hijack. I just wanted to say that if I lived anywhere near you, I’d definitely want to meet. But then, I feel a deep spiritual connection with anyone who survives and engineering curriculum. So anyway, I’ll keep my fingers crossed that you meet a buncha Dopers and have a neato-spiffy time!
Troy, you say? Last I checked I lived in Troy. Man, that just hit me. I live in Troy. No offense to all the great people who did/do live in Troy (such as Uncle Sam), but I just fail to see the charm it has.
As you may have guessed, I do go to RPI. I’d be up for some kind of fest.
Ah, c’mon. We could go downtown and spend 3 hours trying to find a parking spot, 2 hours to get into a bar, and 1 hour to get a drink.
Anyway, I think an AlbanyDope is doable. I think that I may have a list at work of area Dopers that I started to keep track of a while back. I had the same thought as you, and never followed through (for similar reasons you listed). That plus, what if I threw a dopefest and nobody came?
I know there are some other area dopers – racinchikki (she hasn’t moved yet, has she?), RealityChuck (who I met once at a dopefest in Toronto, of all places), and, um, some others I can’t remember off hand. According to this map of Dopers of the United States, done a while ago by, er, I’ll go with demo, there is also Serendipity and Flymaster. (I love that map, BTW; too bad it’s not being kept up to date by someone.)
I had the same thought, too. I’m still here, 45 minutes away from where I-90 meets I-87, on the other side of the river. I’m only 20, though, so bars are a problem.
We could go to the New York State Museum and visit the Hall of Dead Animals!
I must admit, however, that the museum is cool. They still have that diorama with the Indian chucking the spear at the deer. You know it, 'cause it’s been there since the building opened.
Of course, there have been problems with it. The fact that it’s a static display with running water kind of makes everything look paralyzed. They also remove things for maintenance from time to time.
When they took the deer out for a couple of months the poor guy just looked stupid. “Uh, I guess I’m throwing this spear at that grasshopper.”
I didn’t know they had a room full of fire engines. I’ve been to the fireman’s museum in Hudson (took Gunslinger there last March), and they have a huge collection of fire engines that they wouldn’t let me climb on. Jerks.
Do they still have the forest fire simulator where you go in the little room the size of an elevator and it sounds like a forest fire? I forget what, exactly, the point of it was but it scared the crap out of me when I was little.
Well, I’m in Troy. I’d think about it, but I’ll be leaving at the end of the month, so I may not be able to make it. If you come up with something good, though, I’d certainly consider it.
Give it a chance – it’s only been a day. These things seem to take some time to get up a head of steam. Maybe we could do a one-day dopefest – afternoon activity/evening dinner – rather than one of those all-weekend debaucheries they have in them there big cities.
