You buying?

Aren't I always?

You buying?

Aren't I always?

No, a lot of the time you're just holding. You do share though.

There are some nice things about living near the airport in a small city. 30 minutes from door to departure gate.

-- MWE

I think I was there.

You were, and I was happy for it.

So where is the 2016 convention going to be held?

McCoy Posted: August 04, 2014 at 11:55 AM (#4763858)
So where is the 2016 convention going to be held?

The Valley of the Sun.

That's straight from F.X. and Foghorn, following the post-convention Board meeting.

I'm sure it will be fun, but I was hoping for Pittsburg.

Back in post 51 Mark Armour wrote,

On occasion, SABR holds what I like to call a "hotel convention". That is when you arrive at the hotel, and do not leave until the convention is over (with the exception of the ballgame). This is what Phoenix would be like. Frankly, I am expecting the same thing in Houston.

Have you ever heard the term "bottle episode"? "In episodic television, the term bottle episode refers to an episode produced inexpensively and restricted in scope to use as few non-regular cast members, effects, and sets as possible. Most bottle episodes are shot on sets already built for other episodes, frequently the main interior sets for a series, and consist largely of dialogue or scenes for which no special preparations are needed. The etymology of the phrase originates with a similar term used on the set of the original 1960s-era Star Trek. Cast and crew members of the show use the phrase "ship-in-a-bottle episodes" for episodes that took place only on board the Starship Enterprise."

That's what Houston was, that is what Phoenix will be. We never leave the hotel, and it will have fewer SABR members than usual.

We never leave the hotel, and it will have fewer SABR members than usual.

As soon as I heard Phoenix I was thinking the same thing. Pretty excited that the hotel and date has been set for Chicago. Already got a room setup for it. Now all I need to do is actually attend. I had a room lined up in Philly as well but didn't go. But I think I Chicago in June might be a better motivator for me to go than Philly was.

You get your ass there, McCoy. Do not fail.

I was hoping for something besides Phoenix, though places like Houston and Phoenix do have their advantages. When we are in a vibrant downtown (as we were in Denver and Boston, among many others), a lot of people split off and go out at night, or even during the day. In DC, I missed a few panels or presentations I would normally go to in order to, for example, tour the White House (which was a block away) or visit the Library of Congress. In Boston we were blocks from several great restaurants and museums. Philadelphia drew people out of the hotel. This past weekend, the hotel bar (which was huge and airy and basically fantastic) was hopping every night -- no one (that I know of) was down the street at some other, better bar. People were either at the hotel bar, or they were in bed asleep.

It makes for a pretty social convention. There are worse things. I suspect that the convention next summer will be more fractured, as everyone gets pulled out of the hotel.

It's probably too far for you guys but about an hour north of the hotel in Chicago is my family's supper club located right on Lake Michigan. So if you're making a trek up to Milwaukee to watch the Brewers stop in and get a beer for 3.50 and giant slabs of meat at prices not seen in cities for probably 3 decades or so.