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Post-TAM9 Thoughts

Wowbagger said:
It was, indeed, a very good TAM! It was sooo good, suspect the next one will likely regress to the mean. But, when it comes to TAMs, the mean is also very good.
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As long as 80%+ of TAMs are above average, I'll keep coming to them.
 
Second TAM for me, TAM5 was my first.

I'd have to say that it was a wonderful experience for me. Overcame my shyness from four years ago, and talked to many forum members and non-forum members.

Got to spend time with my favorite Chilean (Patricio Elicer) and got to know some Mexican fellow skeptics. And also took some pictures with some of my favorite forum posters. (Saganite, KingMerv, Wowbagger, Kochanski, Patricio and AdMan)

TAM also gave me some excellent ideas for starting my local skeptics club.

Getting all those autographs and photos and even talking with all my heroes made TAM all worth it, and the panels were extremely insightful. Hearing Neil de Grasse, Bill Nye, Carol Tavris, Pamela Gay, Richard Wiseman, Steven Novella, and being there with 1600+ skeptics was a comforting and reassuring experience.

Having said all that, I believe there are many ways TAM can get better, but I didn't write them down on the survey as I got these ideas after filling it out. I'll be sending JREF an email and see if they like them.

All in all, TAM9 was an awesome event. If my finances are the same or improve, I'll keep going to TAMs if my work schedule permits it.
 
Puggy said:
Second TAM for me, TAM5 was my first.

I'd have to say that it was a wonderful experience for me. Overcame my shyness from four years ago, and talked to many forum members and non-forum members.

Got to spend time with my favorite Chilean (Patricio Elicer) and got to know some Mexican fellow skeptics. And also took some pictures with some of my favorite forum posters. (Saganite, KingMerv, Wowbagger, Kochanski, Patricio and AdMan)

TAM also gave me some excellent ideas for starting my local skeptics club.

Getting all those autographs and photos and even talking with all my heroes made TAM all worth it, and the panels were extremely insightful. Hearing Neil de Grasse, Bill Nye, Carol Tavris, Pamela Gay, Richard Wiseman, Steven Novella, and being there with 1600+ skeptics was a comforting and reassuring experience.

Having said all that, I believe there are many ways TAM can get better, but I didn't write them down on the survey as I got these ideas after filling it out. I'll be sending JREF an email and see if they like them.

All in all, TAM9 was an awesome event. If my finances are the same or improve, I'll keep going to TAMs if my work schedule permits it.
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¡Saludos, Puggy! It was a pleasure meeting you. Lástima que no nos pudimos despedir.

Hope to see you in a future TAM, and elsewhere. TAM 9 really was a wonderful experience, and I think what makes TAM really great, even beyond the excellent presenters, are the camaraderie and friendships among the skeptical community that are built up.
 
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I, too, enjoyed meeting a lot of the forum-ites! You guys always keep me laughing!

I think it is brilliant that the Richard Dawkins Foundation is going to provide childcare at the major skeptic/atheist conferences. Even though my kids are teenagers it will make my life easier because my 14 year old is already trying to figure out how to be a counselor-in-training while I attend the conferences. Win!
 
Allecher said:
I think it is brilliant that the Richard Dawkins Foundation is going to provide childcare at the major skeptic/atheist conferences. Even though my kids are teenagers it will make my life easier because my 14 year old is already trying to figure out how to be a counselor-in-training while I attend the conferences. Win!
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Yes!

This hasn't been mentioned enough. Good for the RDF.
 
Allecher said:
I, too, enjoyed meeting a lot of the forum-ites! You guys always keep me laughing!

I think it is brilliant that the Richard Dawkins Foundation is going to provide childcare at the major skeptic/atheist conferences. Even though my kids are teenagers it will make my life easier because my 14 year old is already trying to figure out how to be a counselor-in-training while I attend the conferences. Win!
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AdMan said:
Yes!

This hasn't been mentioned enough. Good for the RDF.
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Yeah, this is an incredibly good idea!
 
RemieV said:
Never going back.
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That is too bad.

I don't know much of your history, but speaking only as a relative TAM newbie, this conference provides probably more energy and excitement to the skeptical movement than anything else.

Just for that, it's worth attending and supporting, IMO.
 
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AdMan said:
That is too bad.

I don't know much of your history, but speaking only as a relative TAM newbie, this conference provides probably more energy and excitement to the skeptical movement than anything else.

Just for that, it's worth attending and supporting, IMO.
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I worked for the JREF for three years, have attended six TAMs, and have been on one cruise.
 
RemieV said:
I worked for the JREF for three years, have attended six TAMs, and have been on one cruise.
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I do know that, which is why I am not questioning or arguing with your decision, just providing my POV.
 
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This was also my first TAM, and while I had a lot of memorable moments, one of my favorites was watching the birth of an internet meme from the man who invented the word "meme."
 

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Just a great TAM. And once again I want to thank those of you, whoever you are, for making it possible for me to attend. I had a great time. And you guys made this old SFN'r feel welcome, as usual.

Took the day off to decompress. I should have written something about TAM9 today but the whole thing is still in the incubation stage.

Anyhow, it was great seeing so many familiar faces, and several new faces.

Best TAM ever? For me this one tied with TAM4. That was my first, and in many ways the most special for me. But hey...
 
I enjoyed my first TAM very much. If I could have changed one thing, I would have made more of an effort to meet new people. Unfortunately, I am very sensitive to cigarette smoke (especially with the dry air giving me nosebleeds), and couldn't spend much time at the Del Mar because of that. :gasp:

Felicity
 
Flops said:
I enjoyed my first TAM very much. If I could have changed one thing, I would have made more of an effort to meet new people. Unfortunately, I am very sensitive to cigarette smoke (especially with the dry air giving me nosebleeds), and couldn't spend much time at the Del Mar because of that. :gasp:

Felicity
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I hear you... It would be nice if there were a non-smoking area to meet.
 
Chris RN said:
This was my second TAM (8 being my first) so I knew what to expect.
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Same here. I enjoyed TAM8, but had some reservations about a number of things (some of the panels and workshops, the reception, the keynote speech), all of which were pretty much fixed in TAM9.
I loved the panels, especially when they did not agree.
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I find panels can get a bit tedious, but this year's were strong, especially the space one.
I'm very glad that I volunteered with the JREF forums. It was a great way to get to know people and plan extra activities.
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I definitely felt more a part of things last year and this by volunteering, though I'm not sure there will be as many opportunities in the future. :(
I hope to continue to post here and get to know everyone better so that next year I know even more people. And it's just nice to be around people who think like me! ((kisses))
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Welcome!
TheClaw said:
Here's one I took:
[qimg]http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/imagehosting/thum_139514e25e14e60ea8.jpg[/qimg]

Also, this one is interesting because there was a ghost in the room that was invisible to the naked eye, but it showed up on this image. It's a long, diagonal ghost. Several people felt a cold wind blow through their beards:
[qimg]http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/imagehosting/thum_139514e25e1c2427ae.jpg[/qimg]
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You missed me in both of them. :( The IIG will release the "official" photos on their site, http://www.iigwest.org
 
Flops said:
I enjoyed my first TAM very much. If I could have changed one thing, I would have made more of an effort to meet new people. Unfortunately, I am very sensitive to cigarette smoke (especially with the dry air giving me nosebleeds), and couldn't spend much time at the Del Mar because of that. :gasp:

Felicity
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Yeah, me too - including the nosebleeds, starting Saturday. Although I really enjoyed a number of the speakers, and managed to introduce myself to a number of people (I'm not good at that), and met some great folks (yo, the Mutha and the Dolly! and Michael-from-Canada), the location in a casino is less than optimal in my opinion. I'm sure it's a great convention area and there's a major airport, etc., but unfortunately I probably won't go to another one unless the speakers are as exceptional as they were this year as well as interesting to me personally - if so, I'll probably try to stay elsewhere, which is what I should have done this year.

Everything except the freakin' casino was great, though. Like many have mentioned, Tyson, Nye, and many of the others were awesome. But I also wanted to mention DJ Grothe - wow, the JREF is lucky to have him on board. Articulate & I pretty much agreed with whatever he said...
 
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