I’m going and will look for your forehead.
…
That “forehead” comment looks quite strange now that I realize you said you were going to tape BoF to your badge and not to your forehead.

I thought you meant you were going to look for the Mark of the Beast that all of us atheists have on our foreheads. You’re out of luck, though. We always keep it covered with makeup.

Buy you a beer if you’ll accept.

Actually, I don’t drink. If you can find a sugar-based root beer, I’ll happily accept that! (Inferior corn syrup root beers are always sometimes occasionally rejected acceptable under severe drought conditions.)

I’m arriving Wednesday afternoon. Wednesday and Friday nights are officially free, although I have tentative plans to go shooting. (No, not guns. Liberals can not be seen in public with guns. It would be too embarrassing, since we’re all working so hard to overturn the Second Amendment. First on the list is abort more babies. Second thing on the list is take away everyone’s guns.)

What I mean is I have tentative plans to go night shooting with my awesome camera. Better offers will be considered. And by better offers, I mean where the hell are my blog groupies? I’ve been toiling away at this blog for over three years now, and I don’t have one freakin’ groupie! We’re all staying at the same hotel, ladies, so just pick up the phone, and I’ll give you my room number. You don’t even need to bring the Sharpie. Just the canvas.

I wish I could, but we just don’t have the time or funds to do it this year. Maybe, next year.

I know that problem. I was barely able to make it to both TAMs 6 & 7 because of unemployment problems that barely got resolved in time. I had to miss TAM 5.5 for that same reason.

But if you have the luxury of planning ahead, you should try to make it to at least one. I originally thought it would be mildly interesting, so for the first three years, I kept finding convenient excuses for why I couldn’t/shouldn’t go. Then I finally went to TAM 4 and had a blast. As good as the speakers are (and Neil deGrasse Tyson last year was phenomenal), it’s really the other attendees that make it worthwhile.

For 363 days of the year, I feel like Superman living with a small piece of Kryptonite. Turn on the TV. There’s Oprah (Kryptonite). Change the channel, and there’s Jenny McCarthy (Kryptonite). Pick up the newspaper (you remember those), and there’s the horoscope (Kryptonite). Turn on the TV news, and there’s a credulous story about some psychic “helping” a kidnapping investigation (Kryptonite). Turn on National Geographic channel, and there’s some ridiculous UFO documentary (Kryptonite).

Then I go to TAM, and for a few short days, the Kryptonite is removed.

(Interesting. My spell checker knows Kryptonite, but not Oprah. Oh, how wonderful it must be to not know Oprah!)

TAM London, it’d better be good :p

Sigh

- reader Richard in Ottawa