MACNA 2016 San Diego

[metrokat]

Still in for the party room!

Maria made this flow chart! My head was spinning looking at flight options.

[Mariaface]

My favorite part is right in the middle, where All Roads Lead To MACNA

[Mariaface]

Flight booked

[metrokat]

Flight booked

[Sancho]

Raffle tickets go on sale May 1st. Rumor has it they might be giving away a car!

[dpoltsdsu]

Are people still down for a Nano Reef get together or something? We may be able to go to the Gaslamp one night or something?

[gabe3eb]

On the fence. Would be really cool if there was going to be a nano-reef.com meet-up at a bar closeby. Would also be sick to get shirts. I'd def rock a n-r shirt.

[StevieT]

I can try and arrange a N-R meet up the week before and post details here. We will be down plenty early so I can scope out the scene. Ideally it would be at one of the hotel bars.

 

With the reception and banquet Fri/Sat that can throw in a variable but Thursday night is usually good for this kind of stuff. Yet depends on when everyone is coming in.

 

Or we just say Saturday night after the banquet, and since on average the banquets tend to suck you can duck out after dinner. They don't go late anyway. Remember you sleep when you get home, not at MACNA.

 

What would everyone prefer?

• Saturday Night
• Thursday Night
• All out Chris funded N-R party room

 

I can have something to hand out at the inTank booth with info.

 

Or Chris can splurge for a party room dedicated every night for a N-R Party!

[Christopher Marks]

I can try and arrange a N-R meet up the week before and post details here. We will be down plenty early so I can scope out the scene. Ideally it would be at one of the hotel bars.

 

That would be great! I'm a MACNA newb, so we really need your help! I'm familiar with San Diego, but less so this particular area of hotels. Staying close to the conference center is probably best for attendance, I get the sense most people are staying at the conference center hotel, right?

 

Saturday night would probably catch the most people, I'm guessing. I'm still trying to decide if I'm coming in Thursday afternoon or Friday morning, since I'm driving, but I'm pretty sure I could make Thursday work if that's the preference.

[StevieT]

 

I get the sense most people are staying at the conference center hotel, right?

 

 

 

Yes most will stay at the conference hotel. Best deals plus events and no transportation needed while partying. In the past I have rarely left the property Thursday through Sunday

 

Saturday night would be the best idea. Plus that allows me to promote it for two days in the booth.

 

Once I get there a week ahead of time I can get the bearings of the place. I'll look at the layout ahead of time as well. But this looks to be a big place so shouldn't be hard to find a bar that isn't the main one. That way we don't have to fight too much with the regular attendance.

 

The Friday night reception is off site this year, they are providing buses. This is pretty well attended and usually a fun party. So it wouldn't be a good night for this kind of meet up.

 

 

 

I arrive in SD on the 3rd, the show starts the 9th.

[gus6464]

Anyone MASNA members? They will get access to the floor an hour before everyone else.

 

Also I live 15 mins from the conference so I can carpool some people to a meetup place like gaslamp or whatever. Although there are good bars in north and south park which is not very far from mission valley.

[Christopher Marks]

Ok, I booked a room at Town & Country as well so I'll be close. My wife is coming with me too!

 

A meetup in North or South Park would be fun, they're just south of the conference hotel across the interstate, but transportation might still be too much trouble for everyone, probably a $12-15 Uber/Lyft ride each way.

[supernip]

me and chris gonna get all hipsterish up in this

[Felicia]

Yay! Glad to hear you're attending, CM Now it will be an official NR party. I went to MACNA two years ago in Denver and there were really not many NR people. I was sad to not have a NR meetup or anything at that one.

 

I vote for Saturday night after the banquet. The banquet is over early, so its perfect to just head to a bar for after dinner drinks from there. I'm not coming down Thursday since that would mean taking another day off work, so I'd prefer Saturday for that reason too.

[supernip]

wait no. saturday nights are prime lab hours

[metrokat]

<---- For CM

[yoshii]

 

Once I get there a week ahead of time I can get the bearings of the place. I'll look at the layout ahead of time as well. But this looks to be a big place so shouldn't be hard to find a bar that isn't the main one. That way we don't have to fight too much with the regular attendance.

 

At a recent SD Reefs meeting, some organizers said they were working on getting lots of mini bars set up around the pool/plaza area

[jimmyree]

At a recent SD Reefs meeting, some organizers said they were working on getting lots of mini bars set up around the pool/plaza area

Drinking at the pool, that's like a convention prerequisite isn't it? The smell of chlorine in the air and the potential for so many things to go wrong/right all in one night.

[StevieT]

At a recent SD Reefs meeting, some organizers said they were working on getting lots of mini bars set up around the pool/plaza area

Now we're talking my kind kind of event. We could take over one of these. On property is the only way I can manage/help just because of way it works, I rarely leave during the conference.

[pa1ntbru5h]

Just booked my rooms and tickets to MACNA 2016!
This will be my first aquarium convention/expo and I'm super stoked!
Hope to get to know some of you there!

[Matteo]

this is a 12hr road trip for me....tempting!

[HM3105]

We booked our flight. We'll be in the Wednesday before!

[metrokat]

[blkhwkz]

Not sure why that video says you can't get them past TSA for carry on. That is wrong, there is an exception to the liquid amount for live animals. I brought a bunch back from MACNA last year and will do it again this year if I buy stuff. Had a small cooler bag like that one. I have precheck so told them what I had, they asked to test the water or run it through x-ray, my choice and off I went. Total time in security, under a minute. Amusingly enough, since I had to check my luggage to keep my corals as my 2nd carry on bag, my checked suitcase was opened and inspected by TSA.

[Felicia]

Not sure why that video says you can't get them past TSA for carry on. That is wrong, there is an exception to the liquid amount for live animals. I brought a bunch back from MACNA last year and will do it again this year if I buy stuff. Had a small cooler bag like that one. I have precheck so told them what I had, they asked to test the water or run it through x-ray, my choice and off I went. Total time in security, under a minute. Amusingly enough, since I had to check my luggage to keep my corals as my 2nd carry on bag, my checked suitcase was opened and inspected by TSA.

My understanding from speaking with TSA at the Denver airport after MACNA 2014 was that yes, there is an exception for the amount of water in the case of "live animals". However, the problem is that most TSA agents aren't going to be able to tell that a coral is a "live animal" and at that point its up to their discretion whether they let you take it through or not, so its a risk. Fish however are always fine since its obvious that they're alive and swimming. It seems like its hit or miss with corals depending on what TSA agent you get. Its honestly safer and easier to just put them in your checked bag. TSA might inspect the bag, but that's fine. They're not going to do anything to your coral.