Yeah, I had actually seen most of those before. I think I can find you guys.
If nobody minds, I’d like to come, especially since you guys are going to be right by my place. (I live near the Tysons-Pimmit Public Library)
More eye candy:) Yay!
If I could drive half way accross the country I’d be SO down for meeting all of you. Have fun though! No fighting!! 
Welcome, gobear!
Tris
OK - I just looked at those pics and WOW! It’s funny how you just never imagine what dopers actually look like! Love the shirt Polycarp and iampunha, I’m at a loss for words :).
And Tris! Wow!
Have a great time you guys!!
You will be pleased (or something:)) to know, dreamer, that you won’t be missing out on much relative to not seeing me … I fully intend to wear a shirt tomorrow;)
Thank god for that. 
I should be showing up on my motorcycle, as I have for all the get togethers I have been to. Just look for the guy with long hair and boots. Oh and are we making the name Adams so that it makes it a bit easier to find each other?
Yes, I will get a table for the Cecil Adams party. It is traditional, now isn’t it?
We are at t minus 18 hours and 36 minutes, and we are go for lift off.
Tris
Splash down! Mission complete.
Thanks to everyone who came, it was delightful. We came, we marched, we had chowder! Oh, wait, no chowder, but we did have olives! Some of us got olives, anyway. The quick ones.
And we all saw phantomdiver kissin’ iampunha. I believe Firefly has art.
There were all those noted here, except that Edward the Head was not there (hope you are all right, Ed). There was also a charming non doper who joined us, although since she has no board name we will have to refer to her as Charming ND until she decides to log on. Until tonight she was a friend of Lucretia, but now she is a friend of ours. And of course the delightful RT & Mrs. Firefly attended as well. Ultrafilter, and Gobear filled out our table for nine, as we awaited the arrival of Gadot.
Of course, as the cognoscenti need not be advised, Gadot never shows up, so Polycarp got his chair. Thereafter there ensued much eating of food, frolicking, and of course voices raised in . . . volume. We were not invited to leave. Come to think of it though, we weren’t invited to return either. Oh well, the place was too noisy, I suggest a nice library, next time.
Thank you to one and all, for an evening of enjoyable repartee, as well as kindness and humor. I wish fighting ignorance was always this much fun.
Tris
A truly lovely evening and I don’t even mind the partial neckache I have now.
Y’all rock. Just that simple.
Thank you, 'Punha, for the ride home, albeit my boyfreind was put out that I hadn’t called him. <shrugs nonchalantly> It was ultracool meeting your mom too–gotta get her out to Doper gatherings more often.
The evening was indeed lovely. Meeting Polycarp and Triskaidekamus was great–but, guys, you gotta put your haloes on a dimmer switch.
Lucretia was enchanting as always, as was her non-Doper friend, Ruth. RT and his adorable wife were great to hang with, too.
And Ultrafilter is megacute!
Why thank you, kind sir. For those wondering, gobear is far from a slouch in the looks department.
I had a great time tonight. This was my first real dopefest (I had dinner with hermajestylorna once), and I think I’ll go to a few more.
And now I can say I’ve sat at the same table as Tris and Poly. Let me tell you, it is an enjoyable experience.
Of course, I don’t mean to imply that anyone else’s company was less enjoyable. I’d be lying if I said that.
Sitting three inches from Tris and two feet from Poly ranks way up there in “Fondest Dopefest memories”.
That was quite an evening! When Mrs. F. and I got there, we were pointed to the bar, where Triskadecamus, Lucretia and her gorgeous friend Ruth, ultrafilter, and gobear had already gathered. iampunha found us in the bar and joined the repartee shortly before they found us a table.
Once in the dining room, phantomdiver joined us at the table, and the party was complete except for our guest of honor. We kept sending search parties out for him, and eventually I found him in the bar, where they’d sent him to find us. :smack:
I was down at one end of the table, so I largely missed out on a scintillating theological discussion with Polycarp, Tris, and gobear as participants. But I had a great time talking with Tris and especially phantomdiver, who I hope attends many more of these events. And it was great meeting ultrafilter, whose posts I’d long enjoyed. (I won’t even spill his dirty secret on the board! ;))
After we got back to the Firefly manse, Poly and Mrs.F. and I stayed up until about 1am, talking and playing with the cats. This morning, I’m the only one up so far, but later on, conversation will resume over pancakes and bacon.
Wow, iampunha, you were right, that was lots of fun! I’m even going public to post this:
iampunha was right and I was wrong. I had a terrific time!
It was just lovely to talk with all you guys. Like Firefly, I wish I could have heard more of the theological discussion, but that place was just too danged loud. I had to keep asking Firefly to repeat himself, proving that he really is younger than I am. 
(Could somebody please point me to the official SD smiley site so I can do this right? Thank you.)
And as a bonus, I found out that Tris is a brat! For those of you who don’t know, this is a term of art, worn proudly by those of us who grew up in the military. What a treat!
Firefly, I don’t suppose you could get Mrs. Firefly to sign up and post? She’s a sweetie! And if she forces you to sleep on the sofa, you richly deserve it!
iampunha, I notice that you are not at home this morning. Please notice that I am not freaking out. Now – comb your hair, darn it. It’s much, much prettier when you keep it clean and combed. Look at Lucretia’s gorgeous mane. I rest my case. And BTW, please note that I have logged in on the home 'puter, albeit in the old Netscape, whereas you prefer the new one. Don’t post as me again, mmkay? Love you, honey. ::kisses her firstborn while he is not expecting it::
Lucretia, gobear, ultrafilter, Charming ND (looks like Charming Notre Dame to me, being as how iampunha’s next younger sister goes there), and of course our learned and justly-revered guest of honor, Polycarp, I hope to speak to you more at the next Doper gathering near me. Y’all seem very cool.
phantomdiver
Well, it took a good two years, but I’m not officially wishing I hadn’t introduced my mother to this place…
Sigh. A simple typo turns an otherwise (almost) amusing post into a thing of confusion (and this would be different from normal HOW, exactly? Gah.).
Find: not
Replace with: now
It was a wonderful evening, even though I spent a lot of it going “What?” “Say that again?”, (I second Tris’s suggestion for a nice quiet library next time.)
All the usual suspects it was as wonderful seeing you all as it always is, it was great seeing Tris again and meeting ultrafilter and phantomdiver for the first time, and of course, I can now say I’ve met Polycarp, so my night was a definite success.
And CharmingND thought you all were “really cool and interesting” so I think I may have gained another recruit for the Master…bwa hahaha!