From: Diva Las Vegas organizers (dlvorg@geekbabe.com)
Date: Wed Aug 30 2006 - 08:24:51 CDT
In this mailing:
Org List
Annie + 1
Church and Sunday
Strong Saturday Ending
Boating and Roommates
Ph00d
Summary schedule of activities
Administrivia
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Org List:
This is the DLV 2007 Organizational Mailing List (dlvorg@geekbabe.com)
Replies to this message will be forwarded to the DLVORG list and not
the DLV-Announce or DLV-Discuss list.
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Annie + 1:
This past week did not generate much activity from the Org group. I
know, it's the dog days of summer, but we still need to be thinking
about how we are going to end the DLV 2007 week with a memorable ending.
Densie commented on the organ and Sunday thing, and the rest of this
mailing is dedicated to a "few" of Annie's thoughts, comments, and
suggestions. :)
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Church and Sunday:
Denise McCracken writes:
>The calendar certainly is fleshed out, for this early in the year. I
>still think it would be cool for more newer attendees who have never
>hosted an activity to step up to the plate and propose something new.
>Don't be shy...I've proposed a few activities over the years, some of
>them ridiculous, but one of them was taken seriously and many people
>enjoyed it. This is a somewhat eccentric crowd, and you never know
>what they're going to go for.
>>My profession is as an organist - recording and playing live for
>>weddings, funerals and at the crematorium but my main love is the
>>theatre organ - the mighty Wurlitzer, Barton etc. I would love to give
>>a mini concert for the attendees at Diva if I could find a suitable
>>venue.
>I, for one, would like to hear a few tunes on a really large, and
>really loud, pipe organ. My favorite is Fugue in D Minor, and I love
>horror music, but I'll listen to church music if it's lively and
>powerful. As an aside, I also need an organist to play some original
>music for Evangelist Wars, I'm not sure whether or not a religious
>person would be interested, because the game makes fun of religion, but
>if you are, please email me off of the DLV list, evangelistwars@cox.net.
>Last year, I missed my first DLV since 1998. The trip to Vegas and
>seeing some old friends was a high point in my year, so I really hope
>to make it there in 2007.
.....................................
Annie writes:
>>Comments?
>Of course! :) Sorry if I'm being long-winded this week.
>First of all, there's no question about MCC services happening this
>coming year -- twice. I'm 99.99999% sure that we'll have some of our
>people at services both the Sunday before and the Sunday after DLV.
>I edited the FAQ question on the subject to reflect this:
>+What if I want to attend religious services when I'm in Las Vegas?
>+Although DLV 2007 does not occur on a Sunday this year, there will be
>+groups of our people attending services on both the Sunday before and
>+the Sunday after DLV. Details will be announced on our mailing list.
>. . .
>>Since the current schedule is not full, I'm hesitant to put anything on
>>the schedule for church that either precedes or follows the official
>>DLV dates.
>I agree.
>We should not consider any extensions, formal or informal, until
>we have the schedule totally solid and the volunteer commitment for
>a rich set of activities for the entire period, most importantly, the
>evenings on Friday and Saturday.
>>>and I would be prepared to add my name as a volunteer to make this
>>>possible. The morning would be taken up with the church service, the
>>>afternoon at somewhere like the Venetian in the piazzas and the
>>>evening doing something retro. This year there were various acts like
>>>the Platters, Drifters and Coasters in the Sahara and a take-off of
>>>the Rat Pack in, I think, the MGM Grand. One of those entertainments
>>>after dinner on Sunday evening could be possible.
>Grace, those are very good activity suggestions, but I would suggest
>that you consider coordinating them as part of the regular lineup of
>activities, as there are several places on the schedule where these
>would fit.
>Hanging out at the Venetian would fit just about any afternoon there
>is, and the Rat Pack and/or P/D/C would be an excellent option for the
>multi-track Wednesday evening schedule, or as a second track option for
>Tuesday or Thursday.
>I know everybody appreciates your enthusiasm for the added Sunday, but
>please understand that we need to focus our effort on the timeframe we
>have committed to, and in particular, one of our first priorities needs
>to be the prime evening activities of the weekend.
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Strong Saturday Ending:
Annie writes:
>>We all know it's a long week and people are a bit tired by Fri.-Sat.
>Which brings up a related question, is DLV too long? Are people indeed
>getting so burned out by Saturday that they wouldn't attend something
>really-really-really super if we had it?
>>and some are leaving those days so that certainly has to be considered
>>overall.
>Historically, we've had more arrive for the weekend than leave just
>before the weekend. Our overall count has been highest on Friday and
>Saturday since way back when. My guess is that we had at least 100 in
>town (combined out-of-towers and towni^H^H^H^H^Hlocals) on our final
>Saturday ever since 2003.
>Where did all of them go those evenings?
>(Actually, I think I know the answer, but I want others to do some
>thinking and see if they come up with the same.) :)
>>What I would propose to try is just have evening events scheduled those
>>last days only....no daytime activity.
>I don't think we have to go that far. We just need to be realistic.
>We've learned from experience that an intense activity of almost any
>kind can and will spoil the turnout of a subsequent activity. We have
>to watch the intensity and the timing of daytime activities on
>Saturday, as we do of daytime activities on the weekdays.
>Over half of our survey respondents this year reported at least
>occasional time crunches that resulted in missed activities. That's our
>cue to watch for possible timing and fatigue issues as we plan for next
>year.
>However, I don't think fatigue and burnout are responsible for our
>mediocre turnouts.
>>The SBS social was a success but I could envision someone being tired
>>out for the evening after a nice afternoon event, especially if they
>>had a few drinks and may not feel like going through the effort to get
>>ready for night events.
>Somebody correct me if I am wrong on this, but I attended the SBS
>Social and I think we had a headcount of about 30 or so.
>That's 30 out of 100. Even if we assume those 30 partied so hard at
>SBS that they were comatose by 4:00pm, where did the other 70 go that
>evening? (It was my impression that it was more or less the same gang
>at all Saturday activities this year.)
>>Perhaps DLV will never get a strong finish based on these two
>>observations?
>Let's see ... how do I put this? How do I say this without using the
>termed "sucked"? :)
>IMAO, we haven't had a strong finish since 2003 because our prime
>evening activities on Saturday evening just haven't attracted most
>of our people.
>Let's review:
>For 2004:
>+Saturday, May 8:
>+ 9:30am Claude Hall Gun Show (Cashman Field - MS)
>+ 11:00am Garden Party (Mindy's residence - SV)
>+ 5:00pm Happy Hour (TBD)
>+ 7:00pm Michael Cagle Show (Tramps - SV)
>If you'll remember, Tramps closed at the 11th hour, and we substituted a
>dinner at San Remo and a gathering at Flex. {said while twirling raised
>index finger}
>If either of them drew more than 25% of our people, then I was blind
>that day. :( Very poor, very weak ending. :(
>For 2005:
>+Saturday, April 30:
>+ 11:00am Rain standby date VOF Tour (Valley Of Fire - MS)
>+ 2:00pm English High Tea (Four Seasons - MS)
>+ 5:00pm Happy Hour (Carluccio's - MS)
>+ 6:00pm Dinner (Carluccio's - MS)
>+ 11:59pm Rocky Horror Picture Show (Paradise Theater - SV)
>We did have a fair (but not great) turnout for Carluccio's that night.
>IIRC, we had about 60 bodies. (Where were the other 40-50?) Yes, I know
>we had some who just went to Zingers on their own, and some who went off
>to dinner on their own, but combine those two groups and it's still far
>less than 40-50.
>However, nothing after Carluccio's until RHPS. Again, a fizzle-out. :(
>And, for 2006:
>+Saturday, April 22:
>+ 1:00pm SBS Social (TBA)
>+ PM Movie outing (Theater)
>+ 6:00pm Happy Hour (Spotlight Lounge)
>+ 7:00pm Dinner (Tony Romas)
>+ 9:00pm Buck Wild show (Sahara)
>This year, SBS was our strongest Saturday activity. It was not intense
>enough to fatigue everybody who attended. I saw many of the same faces
>at Spotlight Lounge for Happy Hour that evening.
>I know there were issues about timing at Tony Roma's, so some who would
>have otherwise attended missed the show, but if I'm correct, if we
>combine the total we had at Tony Roma's with those we had at Buck
>Wild, we maybe had half of our bodies accounted for.
>Was it that Buck Wild just failed to draw enough interest from our
>group?
>This year we did such a great job filling the evenings of the weekdays
>with popular and exciting things to do. Most evenings had multiple
>options, very few of which were duds.
>The 2006 weekday schedule seems to be reflected in the emerging 2007
>schedule. If it ain't broke ...
>However, we need to work on the final weekend evening schedule. Let's
>continue this discussion and get some ideas on the table.
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Boating and Roommates:
Annie writes:
>>1. Was there enought of a turnout for the boat tour on Tuesday - to do a
>>repeat? If so, I will co-cordinate it w/ someone.
>We had a grand total of three. I enjoyed it. Very laid-back. Had a few
>drinks, took in the scenery, got some great shots from the fantail.
>We did have a few more who wandered to the assembly point, but they
>decided not to go upon arriving, for one reason or another. ??? ????
>There were some erroneous weather reports that morning that may have
>caused a few to skip it entirely.
>They (the ubiquitous "they") also told me that some others came to the
>dock but found the cruise to be sold out.
>Yes, I think it's worth repeating. Since most of the attendees have not
>gone on it yet, I think there's a large potential audience.
>>I'm willing to handle the roommate matching again this year.
>One item that concerned me is that this year we had just as many report
>a negative experience with roommate matching as reported a postive
>experience.
>Were you aware of this? Have you heard any feedback as to why this
>happened?
>11 respondents indicated that they would be interested in roommate
>matching for next year, so I agree that it's worth repeating.
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Ph00d:
Annie writes:
>Not to monopolize this issue of the mailing, but ...
>>please make sure we can get fed if we show up at the appointed dinner
>>time. I had not eaten the night of SAuede for 8 hours and I REALLY
>>needed food.
>It's easy and tempting to blame the issues at Suede and Bahama Breeze
>on the management and staff, but ...
>I think the situation at our two frequently-named restaurants is a two>
>way street, and we have to do our part. There were complaints about lack
>of seating and service at both, but as I think more about it ...
>I'm hoping that Nora will have a "Come To Jesus" talk with the managers,
>particularly at Bahama Breeze, regarding capacity and staffing. That's
>part of it, but not all of it.
>We need to enforce our capacity limits via the waiting list more
>closely. We seem to just say f*-it and let everybody, confirmed,
>waiting list, and even walk-in, just seat themselves, assuming
>that the no-shows will make up for the waiting list and walk-ins.
>It's worked more or less until this year, when it bit us at Suede. I was
>signed up for dinner at Suede, but I didn't immediately jump on a seat
>so I didn't get one. I and some others (who were also signed up but
>found no seats) just went next door to Milanos and then re-joined the
>group later.
>We need to remind the waiting list folks, at the door as they arrive,
>that they are to wait until the designated dinner time before they
>claim a seat in the dining area.
>We admonish the attendees that signing up is a commitment to attend, but
>it's also our commitment to provide a seat to those who follow the rules
>and sign up.
>>How do I know the food is good at both places if I did not get served,
>>I was fed by other girls that felt sorry for me....lol.
>Bahama Breeze and Suede do have good food. I don't remember hearing any
>complaints about the food at either place this year. However (comma) ...
>AFAIC, Bahama Breeze now has two strikes regarding service. :(
>Even if we do not consider the non-service in the lower "overflow" area,
>the staffing in the main area, for our agreed-upon capacity, was
>marginal at best. A few of our people who were thinking of skipping it
>this time decided to give it another chance, having been assured that
>service would be adequate.
>Unfortunately, comments indicated that they did not find it to be such.
>I'm hoping that the word that got out about the lack of service will not
>impact the turnout on one of the prime evenings this coming year.
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Summary schedule of activities:
Preliminary and subject to change.
Monday, April 23:
1:00pm Lunch With Ginger (TBD)
6:00pm Happy Hour (Suede - MV)
7:00pm Dinner (Suede - MV)
Ev Welcome Celebration (Suede - MV)
Tuesday, April 24 :
AM Lake Mead Boat Cruise (Lake Mead)
1:00pm Lunch With Ginger (TBD)
PM Skydiving With Or Without Densie (Golf course)
Ev Night Of The Soiled Doves IV (CR - SV)
Wednesday, April 25:
AM-PM Diva Las Vegas Invitational Golf (Golf course - MS)
AM-PM Art Tour (TBD)
1:00pm Lunch With Ginger (TBD)
PM English High Tea (Four Seasons)
6:00pm Happy Hour (Various)
7:00pm Eating Out Night (Various)
7:00pm EON Milanos option (Milanos - MS)
7:00pm EON Blue Ox option (Blue Ox - MS)
7:00pm EON Nora's choice (TBD)
9:00pm Alternative Bar Crawl (Various - SV)
Ev Slot Tournament (Blue Ox - MS)
Ev Fremont Street Experience (FSE - MS)
Ev Theater Night (TBD)
Thursday, April 26:
1:00pm Lunch With Ginger (TBD)
Ev Production Show (TBD)
Ev Limo Tour (TBD)
Friday, April 27:
1:00pm Lunch With Ginger (TBD)
6:00pm Happy Hour (Bahama Breeze - MS)
7:00pm Dinner (Bahama Breeze - MS)
Saturday, April 28:
1:00pm Lunch With Ginger (TBD)
PM SBS Social (TBD)
Ev Production Show (TBD)
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Administrivia:
This is the Diva Las Vegas 2007 organizational list.
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Diva Las Vegas 2007
April 23 - 28, 2007 (tentative)
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
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