Heads up: RLF Gathering 2009

[Deacon]

BTW, I voted I'll be there September, but even if we were stuck with April I'd be coming along regardless.

Nearest airport is Norfolk International Airport (ORF), about an hour and a half drive (IIRC) from the house.

[Martin Blank]

It may be cheaper for you to fly into Washington-Dulles (IAD) and then drive down. I made the drive down last year (due to United overbooking a puddle jumper by seven seats), and it's actually very pleasant, with much of the highway tree-lined and traffic relatively light after getting away from DC (and even then, it wasn't terrible). I'm considering doing the same drive this time, though both ways. It adds 200 miles or about 2.75 hours to each direction, but if you enjoy driving, it's not bad at all.

[tnitnetny]

I also only live about an hour from Dulles and can swing by on the way down. I plan on borrowing a mini van. So if anyone finds a cheaper flight into Dulles, I would be more then willing to pick them up so you don't have to go through the expense of renting a car.

The same goes for BWI. I know some airlines (southwest) have cheaper flights into BWI. I only live 5 minutes from that airport.

[Martin Blank]

The overbooking in my case came because they switched planes to a smaller model.

Overbooking is quite common, and usually in the range of one or two percent per flight, depending on the size of the plane. It's fairly common that someone misses their flight, and the airlines seat standby passengers instead. I've seen as many as a dozen people not given their tickets until only a few minutes before boarding ended for a 767.

Figuring out your destination airport should wait. A lot of airlines are still moving around flights after a recent treaty allowing more direct routes between international airports. Many of those won't start showing up for sale until November.

[Kits]

April is a no go, September is iffy but more feasable. Also No sharing a bed with Soapy this year?

[BtEO]

Anyone know how hard it is for a foreigner to bring along a laptop?

Provided you've sat down and read the rules at each of the airports you'll pass through (although for connecting flights you might not actually have (or be allowed) to leave the secure area^[1]) for laptops, and are well prepared based on that, you should be fine.

Most likely it'll have to be run through the xray machine on a separate tray to any other hand luggage (I was allowed to dump my wallet, keys, etc… alongside though) so if is you have a laptop bag filled anything besides the laptop they'll probably appreciate you removing the laptop while your in the queue. Also they may ask you to turn it on, so make sure the battery is charged.

Checked luggage will be far easier. But the TSA reserve the right to randomly inspect any checked luggage so they may attempt to turn on any laptop in your luggage. That said the list of things that can't be placed in checked luggage is actually fairly small compared to what can't be in hand luggage so they're less likely to be suspicious about whether your laptop is actually a laptop, or a carrier of some contraband, unless the sniffer dogs start up.

[1] Though the plan was that I wouldn't need to leave the secure area when changing flights at Dallas/Fort Worth – that my connecting flight was cancelled ended up changing the plan.

Edit: You can share with me if you want Kits.

[Kits]

Well, will you talk sweet british accented nothings in my ear all night? Cause that's a dealbreaker .

[Rorschach]

YOU VILL BE SEDUCED!
OUR LUFFMAKING VILL LAST VUN SOUSAND YEARS!

[Kits]

@Lucksi - I'd have to hear them in advance. Maybe I should hold auditions. Maybe I'll just sleep in bed with rkitect and Joanna. :O

[Sir Spankspeople]

I'm going to approach this gathering with cautious optimism.

After having to cancel not one, but TWO vacations this year, I'm kinda hoping to get my act together and take one for real in 2009.

Let's see if I can plan things a little better this time.

April might be more convenient for me, though, 'cause it's a lot easier to get away with my Winter/Spring job than my Summer/Fall job. Though planning around what's easier for me would be silly.

[ampersand]

Rorsch: ROTFLOL. Now I have Lucksi's voice matching that of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's voice.

[Deacon]

Ahnold? More like every Nazi officer ever.

[Mae Dean]

Actually, I would say Lucksi has more of the crazy old german scientist voice. Not an angry voice, it's more of the goofy, lovable german voice.

[adciv]

Ampersand, Scwarzenager is Austrian, not German.
Lucksi, is the dialect of German spoken in Austria similar to one of the German dialects, a different one entirely or is it High German?

[ampersand]

Yeah, I know, but I've never seen Hogan's Heroes, so I really don't know. The only other German voice I seem to know is that "Very Interesting...but stupid." guy from Laugh-In. I don't know where that voice came from.