From: Diva Las Vegas organizers (dlvorg@geekbabe.com)
Date: Wed Mar 11 2009 - 09:14:37 CDT
In this mailing:
Org List
ORG updates
Laundry list
Weak spots and full spots
Karaoke and Irish Pub
Bar Crawl
SBS and Monday evening
Harmony nail spa
Wednesday activities
Magic's A Drag and Friday dining
Friday night dancing
Working schedule
Administrivia
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Org List:
This is the DLV 2009 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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ORG updates:
There have been several changes and updates to the schedule
over the past week or so. Please take a look at the summary
schedule below, paying particular attention to the items you
are involved with, and sanity check things. I have noted what
I consider to be strong spots, weak spots, and overloaded spots
below.
Time is creeping up on us and we want to have things mostly
solid in about three weeks.
We broke 150 in terms of validated attendees. We now have 154
signed up, which includes 29 SOs. Out of these, the Magic
Machine says 121 of them will show. When looking over the
roster, yes, I did see a few chronic no-shows on there, as
we typically get. We will see the validated total and the
show-up projection numbers continue to diverge as we get
closer to the event, since many of those who will sign up
between now and then are "cold" newcomers who have a much
lower show-up rate.
Speaking of SOs, there is some movement on the SO gathering,
but details were not available as of press time.
We did have one individual who was finally cancelled for no
valid response to the validation message. In addition to the
machine-generated nag-o-grams, I sent two personal notes
trying to explain what was needed. If anybody else wants to
try to salvage this one, write off line and I will send you
the details.
Any takers on this one?
. . .
It's been reported again this year that an attempted validation
response was bouncing. This particular one was from a msn.com
address, but I suspect that it may also apply to hotmail.com
and a few other related ones as well.
If you use msn.com or hotmail.com (or anything, actually) and
ever get a bounce message, please immediately send the bounce
message to me at annie@annie.net.
This (bouncing mail from msn and hotmail addresses) has been
reported in the past, but we never received anything which
was conclusive enough to troubleshoot.
I'm probably going to set up a "DLV Emergency" mailbox on one
of the freebee providers to be used in case things like this
repeat.
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Laundry list:
I want to thank all for keeping the focus on planning activities
and moving things along. This list has been less of a "nag list"
than it ever has as long as I can remember.
. . . . .
* Friday dining. Nora needs some relief! See below. We could use
one other dining option in addition. See notes and discussion
below.
. . .
* Boat Tour Breakfast?
Need advice here. According to the Bradley's BBQ website, the
restaurant does not open until 10:45am. Britney, what should we
do on this one?
. . .
* Pre-DLV gathering location?
Now that it's legal. :)
I kind of assumed this would be at the Alexis Park, but due to
the brouhaha I'm not so sure.
Venue suggestions?
Remember, it has to be "safe" enough for the newbees and also
such that the oh-so-mainstream folks won't feel claustrophobic. :)
. . .
* Pity Party:
Need a decision on the day and timeslot, please.
. . .
* Greeters
Let's review the volunteer list for greeters. I have the
following signed up for this:
Kimberly Kael, Britney, Nora, Annie
Any omissions? Any additional volunteers?
. . .
* Check-in
Likewise I have Crystal and Nora signed up to do check-in.
. . .
* Printed schedule
Kimberly Kael, is your offer to compose a "pretty" .pdf of the
schedule still on? If so, I'll be in touch as we want to include
this in the single-page handout that will be given to the
attendees when they check in.
. . .
* Power Exchange?
Do we want this on the schedule? Going twice!
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Weak spots and full spots:
Our schedule is firming up nicely. Between now and activity
sign-up time we need to solidify things. Anything that needs
a sign-up or a headcount needs to be solid before April 15,
and it would be nice if these were solid around April 1.
We also have to take a good look at the overall schedule
situation, from both macro and micro perspectives.
With the newly-added activities, we have a few places which
are now at capacity in terms of how many concurrent activities
we should have.
We also have a few spots which still need our attention.
There is only one "big gun" left to be placed on the schedule,
meaning one that will definitely influence the turnout of
anything it's up against. That is the Pity Party, which will
possibly be on Thursday, but has a chance of being on Wednesday.
When this is in place, we may have to adjust some of the more
"portable" activities.
. . . . .
Let's look at our weaker spots first.
Weak spots:
1. Monday after the Welcome Celebration.
I would like to see some plans for things that will keep the
group together following the Blue Ox. Sure, some will probably
choose to hang around the BO and drink or do whatever they have
going on, but many will scatter to the winds unless we keep
things going.
Ginger has some thoughts on this below, but as Ginger implies,
I don't know how practical they may be.
2. Friday dinner.
Although Friday has firmed up a bit, I think we need to have
one more dining option and at least one more activity option.
I would like to see a good overall participation in DLV on
Friday by offering options that will appeal to most every
attendee.
We currently have dancing covered (see below) unless we have
another personnel issue.
I think we need some kind of a nongaming, nondancing, non-loud
social option in this timeslot.
For dinner on Friday, we currently have Nora's choice at Komol
and the Upscale option at Roy's, as well as the dinner part of
the Murder Mystery at Glamour Boutique.
Nora would like to be relieved of the Komol hostess commitment,
(to those not yet coordinating anything, this is one place we
really need your help!) plus I think we need one more dining
option in here to round out things and cover our estimated
in-town audience of well over 100.
3. Saturday late evening:
This is our last night, and I do think it would be a Good
Thing<tm> to keep as much of the group together as we can.
We do have the "Ending Bash" on the schedule following dinner,
but if history is an indicator, the crowd tends to scatter
after dinner. I think we either need some kind of a hook at
the BB to keep the crowd around there, or definite plans for
some kind of an after-dinner thing.
. . . . .
Full and overloaded spots:
I would say that assuming we don't lose anything that all
daytime timeslots are adequately filled, with Friday daytime
filled to capacity. Additional daytime activities need to go
somewhere other than Friday.
Tuesday evening, IMAO, is solidly filled. A bit fragmented
with the timing of the magic show, but I think there will be
something for everybody in there with a well-rounded slate.
Wednesday or Thursday may become overloaded when the Pity
Party is scheduled. We may be asking those who have more
"portable" activities on those evenings to move them to
less-congested evenings.
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Karaoke and Irish Pub:
Susan writes:
>I'm so excited. My plans just changed on Monday and I will be
>able to attend DLV2009. I have 2 activities that I am willing
>to organize that might help solidify 2 weak spots on our
>schedule.
Good to have you with us, Susan, yes, we welcome your input
and activities.
>On Wednesday we could have a karaoke night at Goodtimes. Sheila,
>who some of you may remember from Hamburger Mary's, hosts from
>9PM until 1AM. I attend regularly and it's not too loud.
I've got this on the schedule. As we've discussed, the Limo Tour
can handle only 30-some and this would be a good activity for
those who are not riding. We've done karaoke in the past, but
not over the past couple of years. It was always well liked.
The only conflict I see on the horizon is that if the Pity Party
ends up on Wednesday (Kim does not want it on Wednesday), you'll
be up against a "big gun" which will dilute your turnout.
I realize that this one is fixed as to the day and will not be
"portable", so if the PP ends up on Wednesday, it will be your
call as to whether to keep karaoke on the schedule.
>On Thursday I suggest an inexpensive alternative to dinner at
>Bellagio's. Mcmullan's Irish Pub is reasonably priced and the
>food is excellent. I've been all over the menu. I go there all
>the time and the staff is friendly. We've been there many times
>and have always been treated as valuable customers.
>I've had as many as 6 girls there without incident. Mcmullan's
>is an authentic Irish pub with a bunch of small rooms.
>If we go ahead with this a head count would help so we could all
>be in the same room. There website is mcmullansirishpub.com where
>you could check out the menu.
Ok, I'll get this on the schedule too. Thanks. Unless I hear
otherwise I'll put it at the standard dinner time of 7:00pm. Do
you want a Happy Hour at 6 at McMullan's?
I've put this down as "sign-up requested for headcount" on the
activity sign-up notes.
The only thing I would suggest is that you possibly remain
flexible on the day for this. If the Pity Party ends up on
Thursday, you will then be up against two "big guns" (NSD and
PP) which will definitely dilute your turnout. If that's the
case, I might suggest you move McMullan's to Tuesday or Friday.
>I have come aboard late this year and I wouldn't want to
>conflict with any other event. If either or both of these
>suggestions work, let me know and I'll get the ball rolling.
The only conflicts I envision would be big gun activities which
would spoil your turnout on either of the above. The only two
activities which we're not going to second-track against are the
Welcome Celebration on Monday and the Ending Bash on Saturday,
since we want both of those to get as good a turnout as can be.
All other timeslots are open for additional activities within
reason, as we need to watch the balance in the schedule as we
continue to round it out.
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Bar Crawl:
I (Annie) have taken charge of this for the past several years.
I have something else I want to do Tuesday, so I'm offering this
up for grabs.
I've enjoyed doing this in the past, and I'll probably volunteer
to do something like this at future DLVs.
We need somebody (HINT: Those who currently are not coordinating
any activity this year) to adopt this. Yes, this would be a good
one for a first-year volunteer.
This does not require any real "busy work" to speak of. All you
really have to do is to select a starting bar and agree to be
there to welcome the others, and have some tentative plans of
other bars to visit as the evening progresses. If you're not
familiar with the bars, then the Big List on the DLV web
site (http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/vendors/) will familiarize
you with several of them.
I've always concentrated on safe venue "alternative" bars,
since part of the draw of this has been the desire to get out
and party in outfits that you would not want to be seen at the
Charles Bar. :)
A mainstream bar crawl is not out of the question, that being
up to the coordinator, but keep in mind that much of the draw
for this is the greatly relaxed dress code.
The only caveat I would suggest to whoever takes it is to keep
an eye out for anyone who is driving who appears to be over
the limit and if so, suggest that somebody else take the keys
or else everybody in that vehicle take a taxi. I've only had
to do this once in several years.
Volunteers?
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SBS and Monday evening:
Ginger writes:
>I think the southern belle society is alive enough to do a
>gathering Sat if you want me to set it up.
Yes, please. I'll get it on the schedule. :) Thanks.
May I assume this will be at Blue Ox?
>Also Kay suggests a late movie on Monday maybe if we can't find
>a show late enough to get the welcome party in first. I've done
>movies enough to be comfortable but I don't know about taking
>20 others many of whom may be newbies with full bladers.
My gut feeling is that after the WC, the gang will want to do
something more participative, like dancing, gaming, clubbing,
karaoke, or just going to a lounge to converse.
A movie or a show would be a possibility, but the more I think
of it, you may not get that many followers. Only way to find
out for sure is to try it, however. :)
20 newbees who need a bio break? (LOL!) :) This is a very good
point. I know that if I had been sitting at the Blue Ox from
maybe 5:30 to 9:00, consuming 1.5 beers per hour or so, I could
not sit through a 100 minute film without multiple visits to
the loo!
In any case, please let us know if you want to move forward
with any of these ideas.
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Harmony nail spa:
Norma writes:
>The only criterion I can think of, upon which to make a decision
>for what day, would be the estimates of attendance at the Golf
>and the Art Tour events.
>If you have a "feel" for which would be "slimmest", I'll pick
>that day. Otherwise I'll just flip a coin.
>Let me know.
My "feel" for such a thing is that golf will probably have a
slightly higher count than the Art Tour in terms of bodies who
actually show up, but that both will be within the same order
of magnitude.
Looking at last year's numbers, Golf had 25 sign-ups with an
estimated real-world turnout of about 18.9. Art Tour had 29
sign-ups with an estimated turnout of 19.7. These are only
machine-generated turnout wild guesses based on a number of
factors.
It's difficult to compare apples to apples when comparing Golf
with the Art Tour. Golf is of interest to only a certain
percentage of our attendees, but for those to whom it is of
interest, it is of extremely high interest. The golf fans will
do golf no matter what it's up against.
The Art Tour, however, will catch more of the people who find
it of casual interest, perhaps those who just wake up and want
something to do and people to be with. It does have some very
high interest fans, and moderate interest fans as well.
Therefore, I think that the Harmony Nail Spa would compete more
for participants against the Art Tour. My suggestion is to go
for Tuesday against Golf, but it's your call.
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Wednesday activities:
AJ writes:
>I'll be doing a gathering on Wednesday evening as an alternative
>to the limo tour. This will take place after the trevi dinner.
>Gathering will take place at the eastside lounge at encore.
>This is the lounge overlooking the pool. No signup or headcount
>needed. Hope this helps.
Thanks, AJ.
We'll get this on the schedule with one caveat. If the Pity Party
ends up on Wednesday, we may ask you to move this to an alternate
evening, since this is the most "portable" of the after-dinner
activities (Limo Tour, Karaoke, Encore) on Wednesday.
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Magic's A Drag and Friday dining:
Nora writes:
(partly from a conversation)
>It looks like both nights represent a problem. I was hoping to
>have a lower price alternative to what is already scheduled.
>If we do the Magic's a drag show with the show ending at 8 to
>8:15 then we have to eat later. In that case I will pick the
>Cantina Mexican restaurant at the Tuscany hotel for 9:00. If
>we do not do the show then let's call it for the Cantina at
>7:00
Thanks, Nora. I'll get it scheduled for Tuesday EON night,
with Nora's Choice EON timed for after the show.
If we get enough sign-ups for a discount, all the better. If we
get very few sign-ups, we can cancel it and move Nora's Choice
EON to the usual time.
. . . . .
>On Friday I was hoping to go to support Holly at the murder
>mystery show. That is also scheduled for 7:00. If there is no
>one else willing to host the Friday night EON dinner then I
>will call it for Komol Thai restaurant.
The way things stand as of this day, hour, minute, and second,
yes, we definitely need your dining option in there.
If we get another volunteer for Komol (HINT: Those who are
not yet coordinating an activity) and/or a volunteer for some
other dining venue (HINT!), then we will not be in the crunch
that we are for this timeslot.
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Friday night dancing:
AJ writes:
>I've received word that my friend has returned to work at Luxor.
>So I am planning the following.
>Informal after dinner gathering at the Company Lounge at Luxor.
>Company has a tapas style appetizer menu and a full range of
>drinks. My friend will take very good care of us. I plan to be
>there around 9pm. Dancing at the LAX nightclub after say 11.
>We will enter as a group. However there are no special
>arrangements. No bottle service, no table arrangements. All
>drinks and cover charges on your own. Must conform to LAX
>nightclub dress code, strictly enforced.
Can you please summarize what the dress code for LAX is so
we can post this to the final detailed schedule?
I looked on the web, not much help. "Dress code enforced" was
all I could find with no details. (Jeesh, even their "Contact
Us" page was flashy-flash!)
>Must have and show appropriate government issued ID for proof
>of age. Must be 21 or older. No signup or headcount needed.
>So as long as my friend is working at Luxor on Friday nights,
>this is where I'll be. Hopefully this activity will stand this
>time.
>I'm not planning a dinner beforehand. I've got my hands full with
>this.
Thanks, AJ, it's on the schedule.
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Working schedule:
Diva Las Vegas 2009 schedule
Tentative and subject to change
All times Pacific Daylight Time
Monday, May 11:
11:00am: Studio Lites Open House (Studio Lites) - mv
1:00pm: Lunch With Ginger (Sahara Buffet) - ms
2:30pm: Roundtable Discussion (TBA) - sv
6:00pm: Happy Hour (Blue Ox) - mv
7:00pm: Dinner (Blue Ox) - mv
8:00pm: Welcome Meet and Greet (Blue Ox) - mv
Tuesday, May 12:
8:00am: Diva Las Vegas Invitational Golf (Desert Rose) - ms
1:00pm: Lunch With Mary Beth (Rio Buffet) - ms
6:00pm: Happy Hour (various)
7:00pm: Magic's A Drag show (Krave - Harmon Theater) - sv
7:00pm: Eating Out Night (various)
7:00pm: Milanos option (Milanos) - ms
7:00pm: Dicks Last Resort option (Dicks Last Resort) - ms
7:00pm: Joes Stone Crab option (Joes - Caesars) - ms
7:00pm: Quiet evening at home option (See notes) - sv
9:00pm: Post-show dinner (Cantina - Tuscany) - ms
9:00pm: Activity options (various)
9:00pm: Night At The Movies (TBA) - ms
9:00pm: Pajama Party (See notes) - sv
9:00pm: Pub Crawl (various) - sv
9:00pm: Minus-5 (Mandalay Bay) - ms
9:30pm: Theater Night (Palazzo) - ms
Wednesday, May 13:
10:00am: Art Tour, morning session (tba) - ms
1:00pm: Lunch With Ginger (Paris Buffet) - ms
2:00pm: Art Tour, afternoon session (tba) - ms
6:00pm: Happy Hour (Trevi) - ms
7:00pm: Dinner (Trevi) - ms
9:30pm: Limousine Tour (Caesars) - ms
9:30pm: Karaoke (Goodtimes Lounge) - sv
9:30pm: Drinks at Encore (Encore) - ms
Thursday, May 14:
2:00am: Charles Bar (Bellagio) - ms
11:00am: Glamour Boutique Open House (Glamour Boutique) - sv
1:00pm: Lunch With Ginger (Harrahs Buffet) - ms
5:00pm: Night Of The Soiled Doves (CR) - mv
6:00pm: Local Happy Hour (Bellagio - Petrossian Bar) - ms
7:00pm: Local dinner (Bellagio) - ms
7:00pm: Irish Pubbing (McMullans Irish Pub) - ms
Friday, May 15:
9:00am: Boat Tour Breakfast (Bradleys BBQ) - ms
9:00am: Pistol/rifle shooting (Desert Lakes) - ms
12:00n: Lake Mead Boat Tour (Lake Mead) - ms
1:00pm: Lunch With Ginger (Bellagio Buffet) - ms
1:00pm: Lunch Without Ginger (Sahara Buffet) - ms
2:00pm: High Tea (Four Seasons) - ms
6:00pm: Happy Hour (various)
7:00pm: Dining options (various)
7:00pm: Upscale option (Roy's) - ms
7:00pm: Murder Mystery interactive option (Glamour Boutique) - sv
7:00pm: Affordable option (Komol) - ms
7:00pm: Do your own thing option (You tell me)
9:00pm: Activity options (various)
9:00pm: Socializing option (TBA) - sv
9:00pm: Gaming option (Paris) - ms
9:00pm: Cocktails and Tapas (Luxor, Company Lounge) - ms
9:00pm: Do your own thing option (You tell me)
11:00pm: Late-night options (various)
11:00pm: Acoustic Jam Session (Zodies) - mv
11:00pm: Dancing (Luxor, LAX) - ms
Saturday, May 16:
1:00pm: SBS Social (tba) - mv
6:00pm: Happy Hour (Bahama Breeze) - ms
7:00pm: Dinner (Bahama Breeze) - ms
8:00pm: Ending Bash (Bahama Breeze) - ms
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Administrivia:
This is the Diva Las Vegas 2009 organizational list.
One address for all items regarding this list, additions, removals,
changes, submissions, questions, etc.:
dlvorg@geekbabe.com <--- NOTE: all lower case
Diva Las Vegas 2009
May 11 - 16, 2009
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
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