By Aestetix:

I think it was the September [2003?] 2600 meeting in St. Louis that the idea was born. I'd collected a friend or two to attend a casual meeting, and for the most part it was. However, a guy named w1nt3rmut3 (apologies if that's misspelled) had come down from Chicago, with a friend from Milwaukee, proposing that we form a new meeting place somewhere in Illinois between us... essentially, merge the Chicago and St. Louis groups. Sounded like an idea worth considering to me, as I'm definately willing to drive a few hours when I know it'll be worth it. However, it would only be done every few months, a larger crowd... it was starting to sound like a con! There had been a lot of voice about throwing one in St. Louis, Gateway to the West and such, but it takes a lot more planning and preparation than a spontaneous meeting. A few days later, I pitched the idea to Elonka (who'd missed the meeting), and she responded with two things: one, taking three/four hours to drive somewhere for a single meeting for a single night was way overboard; she absolutely refused it. Fair enough. However, she said, what -would- be a fabulous idea would be to start a base of networking for the Midwest. She used the example of SE2600, where there was a main site set up with general links to different regional meeting pages, FAQs and a listserv. They were well enough connected and had enough money (and brains) running around that they even threw annual cons (PhreakNIC, @LANta_con, interz0ne). If we set up something like that, then all the Midwest talent could join and eventually realize our own con!

The newsletter article that documents how MW2600 was born . . .

Midwest 2600

I got word from one of the producers that my website will be mentioned on this show, sometime in February. I don't have an exact date yet, but will post here when I find out.

Elonka :)

The Saturday Night Solution on CourtTV.com

Courtesy of Penny Arcade ...

Normal person + Anonymity + Audience == Total F***wad

Not *always* true, but unfortunately frequently so.

Greater Internet F***wad Theory

Rattle wrote:

Looks like I'm spending New Year's in Albuquerque...

Sorry to hear it!

Update on my "stranded motorist" status: Albuquerque was declared as being in a state of emergency because of the snow, and because of all the stranded cars & trucks. As I understand it, every shelter/hotel was full, and hundreds of people just had to sleep in their cars, but the authorities were handing out blankets and supplies and checking on people. For myself, I had enough friends and family in the area that I had a place to stay, and someone loaned me a 4-wheel drive so that I could get around town even though my own car was stuck.

This morning, we were finally able to get my car out of the snowdrift, though it took a fair amount of shoveling. I still have a lot of ice to navigate to get back to I-40, but nmroads.com is the most optimistic it's been in days:

"Condition Fair: I-40 EAST AND WESTBOUND is re-opened to the traveling public. Use caution and drive defensively. POSTED MON JAN 1 AT 10:52 A.M. "

So my remaining hurdles are:

* See if I make it back onto the interstate
* See if I-40 Eastbound is open long enough for me to get to the Texas stateline
* See if I-40 is open all the way through the Texas panhandle (the area is high-altitude / high-wind).

If I can get to Oklahoma, the rest should be relatively uneventful.

Will keep you posted,

Elonka :)

RE: I-40 in New Mexico briefly re-opened, then closed again

This is a website provided by the New Mexico department of transportation. There's a graphic which shows the status of all the roads in the state, but I find the text version to be more updated on how things are going.

For me right now, the problematic part is the little "no access" symbols on I-40 just east of Albuquerque. On the text version, I scan for "Interstate 40" and review the driving conditions.

Elonka

New Mexico Road Advisories

Interstate 40 between Albuquerque and Tucumcari has been closed again due to numerous accidents and hazardous road conditions.

Looks like I'm spending New Year's in Albuquerque...

Elonka :)

I-40 in New Mexico briefly re-opened, then closed again

A crippling blizzard has brought life virtually to a standstill in parts of southern Colorado and northern New Mexico. Snowfall from 1 to 4 feet, driven by wind gusts from 20 to 50 mph, have lead to whiteout conditions, at times. ... Large stretches of I-25, I-40, and I-70 were shutdown, and numerous other U.S. and state roads were closed.

For Albuquerque, this was truly an historic snowstorm. As of Saturday afternoon, over 15" of snow had fallen at the "Sunport". Over 11" had fallen just on Friday alone, setting a new all-time calendar-day snowfall record. The average yearly snowfall in the city is only 12". By the time the snow finally winds down Saturday evening, this two-day snowfall event may push the all-time heaviest snowstorm on record in Albuquerque.

Or in other words, since I am currently stuck in Albuquerque, I may not be back in St. Louis by New Year's. ;) My car is currently in the middle of a snowdrift, with snow up to the headlights level, and the rest of the road is impassable except for four-wheel drives (Albuquerque isn't known for maintaining a large fleet of snow plows).

Right now I'm glued to the weather reports, basically debating whether or not I should wait for I-40 to re-open, or whether I should head south to I-10 via El Paso ...

Happy Holidays to everyone,

Elonka :)

Record-breaking snowstorm in New Mexico

Just one of those images that is better seen than described....

Elonka :)

Kitty Darth

ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES EVOLUTION OF E3EXPO FOR 2007

Washington, DC (July 31, 2006) — To better address the needs of today's global computer and video game industry, the 2007 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3Expo) is evolving into a more intimate event focused on targeted, personalized meetings and activities, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) announced today.

“The world of interactive entertainment has changed since E3Expo was created 12 years ago. At that time we were focused on establishing the industry and securing orders for the holiday season,” said Douglas Lowenstein, President of the ESA, the trade association representing U.S. computer and video game publishers and the owner of E3Expo. “Over the years, it has become clear that we need a more intimate program, including higher quality, more personal dialogue with the worldwide media, developers, retailers and other key industry audiences.”

The new E3Expo will take shape over the next several months. As currently envisioned, it will still take place in Los Angeles, described by ESA as a “great and supportive partner helping to build E3.” It will focus on press events and small meetings with media, retail, development, and other key sectors. While there will be opportunities for game demonstrations, E3Expo 2007 will not feature the large trade show environment of previous years.

Interesting... No more E-3? That's like hearing that Mount Olympus is shutting down as "too touristy". I wonder what the next step in its "evolution" is going to be....

Elonka

E-3 shutting down?

A new book of interest is The Mammoth Book of Secret Codes and Cryptograms, by Elonka Dunin (Amazon US). Why post this on a page about Dan Brown you ask? Simple - Dunin is most well-known for her work in decoding the ciphers of James Sanborn, the creator of the Kryptos statue at C.I.A. headquarters in Virginia. As I point out in my book The Guide to Dan Brown's The Solomon Key (Amazon US), Sanborn and Kryptos are quite likely to play a part in Dan Brown's much-awaited sequel to The Da Vinci Code. Dunin confirms as much in this short interview. Interestingly, she also has a personal comment from Dan Brown about the one degree discrepancy between the co-ordinates coded into the dust-jacket of The Da Vinci Code (again, see my book if you don't know about this), and the actual location of Kryptos:

I've asked Dan Brown about that. He just says, "The discrepancy is intentional"...It points to the general location of CIA headquarters, about 150 feet southeast of the sculpture. His books are basically treasure hunts. I think he's planning to do that in Washington, D.C. One of the "go here, get a clue" is going to be, maybe, "Kryptos."

An interesting piece of extra information, ne c'est pas?

Heh. Another author using *my* book, to promote *his* book. Ah, the tangled web we weave...

Elonka :)

Elonka Dunin, Kryptos and Codes | The Cryptex - News on Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code and The Solomon Key