Hi All,

As some of you know I am hard at work on setting up an escape artist/handcuff collector convention to happen next year in Las Vegas.

I am looking to collect e-mail addresses of people who would like to be kept in the loop on the progress as they are potentially interested in joining us.

If you are interested, or know people who might be, please send me the e-mail addresses of these/those people.

Thanks

cliffg37@verizon.net

As long as you are in the planning stages, don't forget about us geezers who will never be able to attend another convention again no matter how much we might wish to. We would, however, be able to attend a "virtual" convention via the Internet or Web cams. Link into PayPal and the Post Office and we would even be able to buy stuff and have it shipped to our geezer/hovels.

Just wanted to second the virtual Geezer Convention! I'd definitely be in on that!

There's the one great idea from giberish. just have a "virtual" convention via the Internet". Cliff you can host it. talk about what you would have actually had on display, talk about who might have attend and pretend to talk and interview them. Have photos of collections, youtube videos of those who didn't attends act to broadcast and drawing, sketches of how the whole real convention might have looked like if it had ever happened. Get those who are logged in the view to pay in advance so you make money and the next year you might be able to run a reality convention. If people are not up for making this happened and won't attended, there is really no point. The only thing that will get any convention off the ground is the greed to make money and profit. If the whole thing is done on a budget and dumber down to save a buck or too, then it will stay a talk fest for the next 10 years. Less talk more action.

The other thing to bear in mind, Cliff, is that if anyone gives you anyone else's email address and you use it without their permission you would be breaking data protection laws in the UK (don't know about other places).

Just something to bear in mind when asking for people to collect a list of emails for people who may be interested. Like I said this may be OK in other places - but in the UK ... not so much. I know it's a vastly different scale but a company has just been fined the largest ever fine for contacting people without being invited to do so. Admittedly they were phoning millions of people several times a day. But it's the same set of laws.

Dave,

You are quite correct. The U.S. has a very similar set of laws. Perhaps I should have specified that giving me other's e-mail address should be with their permission, and only for the specific purpose of potential convention news.

Jim,

Not sure about that one. I have zero technology skills in that arena. It is an interesting idea though. I don't think I'd want to stream the entire convention, but maybe parts of it. Maybe another participant will know how to do that.

I withdraw my giberish.

Great spirits have always encountered opposition from mediocre minds."

― Albert Einstein

Don't dare put yourself in the shoes of Albert Einstein. It's an insult to intelligence, his. When someone posts an ill conceived idea or an odd thought, then it is quiet reasonable to point it out. The reply by Dave to you asking to pass on email address was correct. Compliments to his (Dave) great spirit. Your quest for making a convention has been going on for years and never getting anywhere. You seem to be asking everyone else what to do or how it should be done rather than doing it. The late Norman Bigelow did the same thing for nearly 15 years (might have been longer). When a convention was actually held, he said he might come but would get a room and if anyone wanted to visit him in the room, then they could make an appointment! He never did show at any escape convention. Lots of talk and no action.

And if you put up the money and time to get a convention off the ground, don't you think streaming it over the internet would be counter productive to getting a return on your input??? please tell me. It's like Westinghouse's comment to the Teslar and electricity created from his coil, "where are we going to put the meter?"

which leads me to a more fitting quote. 'Its hard to soar like an eagle when you’re surrounded by turkeys'

I think you have mis-credited the quote Ian. "Where are you going to put the meter," was not from Westinghouse, it was from J.P. Morgan. Morgan shortly there after cut off all funding to Tesla. This left Tesla's dream of free electric power in ruin and forever unfinished. Most scientists agree it would not have worked anyway. Oddly, the main reason it would not have worked is a matter of distance. Not too long before that Tesla and his AC current beat out Edison and his DC current for largely the same reason.