OFFICIAL! MEETUP: San Francisco, CA - June 26, 2010

[netcrusher88]

Flight secured. Waited too long and had to fly Virgin to get the cheapest ticket at a time I could live with (such torture, being able to order 21st Amendment delivered to your seat on a touchscreen).

Lodging pending. Going to call around hostels during daylight.

[Alephra]

Hello!

Thought I'd let you all know that I will be attending with a hidden agenda not unlike Zith's. I will be bringing many many many brownies, novelties and tiny awesome things to give to complete strangers in an effort to support this 'cause'. (Not sure what said Cause would be, aside from Just Be-Cause...)
Anyways, I thought I'd let you all know ahead of time to alleviate any odd suspicions; the brownies contain NO addictive substances beyond chocolate, and the other things are not irradiated with deadly Huon particles or something or whatnot. (And that would be a marvelous coincidence on the date, yes? Too bad my Halloween costume isn't ready yet... )

If you let me know that you inhabit the fora, I will let you choose what you want.

I shouldn't be hard to spot. Look for the Jade Harley lookalike offering guidance.

[superglucose]

Everyone's favorite sugar will be there as well!

I'll also be there too just so there isn't an awesome overload

awesomest San Francisco sourdough bread

I may accidentally steal all of this and run fleeing into the night.

[Relsqui]

Hey, I'm totally one of those IRC people who never hangs out on the forum, but I'll be there. Can I get in on the baked goods anyway? <3

[MasterOfAll]

Hey. This is today! I'm really curious how many people are going to show up and how tough it is going to be to find a good parking spot. See y'all in a few hours.

[glasnt]

Have a good time, everyone!

And if you see her, say hi to Joee for me

[netcrusher88]

I am in the park, in line. This is pretty awesome.

[tagno25]

Are there any pictures yet?

[Aaeriele]

Some photos (spoilered for size):

Randall signing things:

Spoiler:

People gathered, a line for autographs etc:

Spoiler:

People gathered again, an xkcd kite flying overhead:

Spoiler:

More people! Picnic tables:

Spoiler:

And not-quite-picnic tables:

Spoiler:

xkcd cupcakes:

Spoiler:

More xkcd cupcakes:

Spoiler:

[Aaeriele]

Also, was nice to meet various people, including hendusoone, lanicita, and Jessica.

[superglucose]

TBH I didn't spread my name much, but I did have fun playing Mafia (IT WAS TOTALLY MASON!) and trying to figure out chinese jump rope.

Also, the bread and cheese were delicious, as were the scones, and the cupcakes, and the brownies, and even the peanut M&Ms that were provided!

[gravesro]

The meetup it did indeed happen.

Lots and lots of geeks wandering around with phone based GPS.

Loved the guy with the bobcat in the box get up.

Distributed at today's meet up was XKCD volume 0 service pack 1 "It upgrades xkcd: volume 0 with a small selection of all-new comics." My copy is 27 of 256.

[IonDragon]

I was there, and registered for the forums because of it.

And yes, SG it was me indeed.

[jadient]

Some photos are here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdigital/s ... 365460090/

Thanks to those who provided delicious treats -- they were greatly appreciated.

And Happy New Year!

[Aaeriele]

Some photos are here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdigital/s ... 365460090/

Thanks to those who provided delicious treats -- they were greatly appreciated.

And Happy New Year!

hah...I think my feet (along with my bf's...) are in the top-center of this one http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdigital/4 ... 365460090/

[RLabs]

I conveniently was able to attend due to seeing colleges even though I live on the East Coast. It was really awesome! Randall was there and gave autographs, made a speech, etc. Unfortunately, being in a hotel prevents me from making scans of the comics he handed out until about a week from now, but they're all pretty hilarious.

There was a lot of awesome stuff there, like kite-flying, xkcd cupcakes, and a stuffed bobcat-in-a-box. (I had to leave before I could ask, but I think I saw someone in a trenchcoat that may have been Aaron Diaz of Dresden Codak? Correct me if I'm wrong.) Also Alephra, thanks for the brownies, they were really good! (Also great Jade costume.)

[superglucose]

Can anyone put me in touch with the group from Stanford that wore labcoats?

[Relsqui]

I saw someone in a trenchcoat that may have been Aaron Diaz of Dresden Codak? Correct me if I'm wrong.

I think you're incorrect--he and Randall have met before, and he didn't come up and say hi. Also, if you mean the guy with the goggles and the epic beard and ponytail, I know who he was (but he'd be hugely flattered by the comparison).

I was the chick in the black and white stripes and spots mostly floating around the box of service packs.

[mrputter]

Oof, just got back to my hotel room now (after a long walk back via the Beach and the Presidio). But thanks everyone, it was a total blast!

Special thanks to John for humouring me and breaking out the Dominion.

Pictures when I get back to Calgary (assuming they aren't rendered utterly redundant by then).
- Sean, aka: wikipedian protester 2007, aka: bobcat-in-a-box guy 2010

[glasnt]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdigital/4 ... 365460090/

"Minions minions minions.. *small evil laugh*"

[netcrusher88]

Until I get home and upload some pictures from a machine that doesn't choke on directory listings and cringe at a simple levels adjustment, here are a few shots of mrputter aka bobcat-in-a-box guy aka Sean and someone in a yellow coat (sorry, didn't catch her name) with a flying ferret: http://netcrusher88.imgur.com/2E896

[Zith]

That was a lot of fun! I wish I had more time to take pictures of everyone, but I really hadn't anticipated becoming the cupcake guy; somehow it didn't occur to me that they'd be so photogenic. (Speaking of, I'm just crazy about this shot: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdigital/4 ... 365460090/ - mind if I pass it around the cupcake shop, jadient?) Thanks to everyone who ate my food, and a big thanks to everyone who relaunched my kite!

Having trouble uploading the few pictures I did take. But I have got this tiny little video of the kite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0McdR9lvqLg
Oh, did anyone capture the ferret launches? And I believe someone told me they had video of Randall seeing the cakes?

[dcnblues]

Zith, thanks for the bread and cheese, and the awesome cupcakes. Sorry I couldn't hang around long enough to see them distributed. The line did not move, much, and gave up after an hour. Really sorry I missed the speech too.

[jadient]

Speaking of, I'm just crazy about this shot: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdigital/4 ... 365460090/ - mind if I pass it around the cupcake shop, jadient?

Those cupcakes were awesome. Please use the picture, I'd be honored. I wish I'd been there to witness the cupcake distribution.

[Drain]

Looks like it was an awesome time

[Zith]

Those cupcakes were awesome. Please use the picture, I'd be honored. I wish I'd been there to witness the cupcake distribution.

Thanks! And don't worry about missing out on that, the distribution was about a two minute mad grab. My friend and I were just swarmed under. And there were still maybe two or three times as many people as cupcakes at that point.
The best of it was when Randall went to select a cake (he got first pick, of course). He first reached for "I love your sister" with a little chuckle before hesitating and struggling between three or four favorites - eventually going for "I love the whole world," it being vanilla on vanilla helping that along.

[jeanlucw]

Here's a video of Zith presenting Randall with the cupcakes. Man they were delicious:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWNbEml7ZeA&fmt=22

Randall eating one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9txkRcfc1w&fmt=22

Zith giving out cupcakes to everyone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6YGsbjn454&fmt=22

[superglucose]

I got to eat the internet! I had a friend call on our way back home and he was like, "Where are you?" IonDragon said, "Tell him we went to the internet!" and then I said "We were at the internet, until I ate it."

Super delicious cupcakes dude.

[tellumo]

Hooray! I had a great time; thanks, everyone.

Also: I found a baseball and glove near the site as I was leaving. I'm not sure whether any of us left it, but the details are below:

Spoiler:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/laf/1813887597.html

[DrTacoMD]

I was there too! Good times were had, and I even got a few good photos of the ferret attached to the kite. I'll upload them later!

(If you were wondering, I got the "I love this bakery" cupcake. It seemed appropriate.)

[mrputter]

So after all the time I spent punching numbers into my iThing, I would be terribly remiss not to actually publish them.

And so here we are: a graph (and the raw data) of everyone's^* arrival times to the XKCD meetup!

^* Up until 14:25, by which time too many people were streaming in for me to keep up. The data up until that time may also exhibit inaccuracies due to counting fail. See standard disclaimer at the bottom of every Slashdot poll.

[e^iπ+1=0]

Some photos from the meetup (warning: fairly large)

Spoiler:

We pinged Randall:


Randall and I:


Randall and It Should Be Real:


A guy named Sam and I:


ISBR wearing Sam's hat:

[Zith]

Love all the hats in those pictures.
So I promised pictures a long while ago, finally had the time and energy to fight with the malfunctioning bits, then give up on them and start a flickr account, then fight with that and then got it working. Enough excuses!
My pictures from the meet: http://www.flickr.com/photos/51805486@N ... 317719149/
Pictures taken of the kitepainting process, and its inaugural flight: http://www.flickr.com/photos/51805486@N ... 442451568/