Once you register for TONMOcon, please tell me if you will also tour MBARI. We have arranged this for 40 people in two groups of 20 at 1 pm and 3 pm on Friday, August 5. This is very special - public tours are only offered once a year. Big thanks to Angus and Tim for helping arrange this!

MBARI is in Moss Landing, 16 miles up the coast road from Monterey. Transport will be worked out closer to the date - so far, carpooling seems like the best option. If you know you want to join us for this tour, it would be great if people would post whether they will need a ride or can offer a ride.


Those of you who are close to Monterey may want to know that this year, MBARI's open house will be June 25. More info on that is on the MBARI site: http://www.mbari.org/about/openhouse.html.

Melissa

Thanks Melissa!

Everyone -- since this is limited to two groups of twenty, only the first responders will be guaranteed a spot. Please be explicit in your attendance intentions! (i.e., you plus 2 guests at 1pm, etc.)

Thanks Melissa!

Everyone -- since this is limited to two groups of twenty, only the first responders will be guaranteed a spot. Please be explicit in your attendance intentions! (i.e., you plus 2 guests at 1pm, etc.)

I'm confused-- replying to the poll sufficient to reserve slots, or do I need to PM someone or post here or something? I answered "me + 1 for 3pm" in the poll, although the +1 is tentative...

Hi Monty

Answering the poll is sufficient! I'm sorry I was unclear. I have you plus one on the list for the 3 pm tour.

Please let us know about changes after the poll or more complicated situations. Post new info in this thread or PM me.

Melissa

Oops, I voted without registering yet. I am hoping to go but can't quite confirm yet...

Sorry, I agree, this is confusing. Some clarifications:

1) I don't think answering the poll is sufficient! (You can vote when not logged in; it's not scientific enough). I suggest either posting a reply here, or if you want to disclose your interest privately, PM Melissa.

2) This has nothing to do with event registration, but as the time gets closer, anyone who signs up for MRABI will be checked against the register list, just to make sure it's all adding up.

Hope this helps!

:sad: I am soooooo jealous!!!! Hope you're aloud to take lots of pics!!!

I am planning to got to MBARI with my dad. Either time is fine.

Urk... Man.. I'd love to tour MBARI.. so it goes...
This will definitely motivate me to get myself to the next Tonmocon!
re: pictures.. YES please! I'm looking forward to pics from the various official (and unofficial) Tonmocon events/happenings!
(I'll mail a candy bar to the first person with a (live) ceph on their shoulder!)
ancora imparo,
-Paul :smile:

Yes -

I voted friends and family because my wife and daughter want to come!

Rich

Thanks, Rich. Knowing how many people are coming with you is really useful.

TTF, I really hope you can make it!

With TTF, the total for both tours is about 16.

Melissa

I'm going there too!

Can I be with the group that Squidman is in?

Eric, that's fine. For now, as Squidman is able to go to MBARI for 1 pm or 3 pm, I've made a note that he's flexible and will probably go with 1 pm. Should I do the same for you?

Melissa

So let me make sure I got this? I replied to the poll w/ me +1 for 3pm. Am I in? Is it too late? :confused: If I am in, I can bring a couple of octos or squids. My car seats 4 comfortably or 5 not-so-comfortably....

Eric, that's fine. For now, as Squidman is able to go to MBARI for 1 pm or 3 pm, I've made a note that he's flexible and will probably go with 1 pm. Should I do the same for you?

Melissa


Of course! Thanks!

I'm shooting for me plus one for 1:00 pm. Hope to see the rest of you there! :mrgreen: Now, where do we meet for this?

Mind if I ask what's the current list of poeple who are going?

So let me make sure I got this? I replied to the poll w/ me +1 for 3pm. Am I in? Is it too late? :confused: If I am in, I can bring a couple of octos or squids. My car seats 4 comfortably or 5 not-so-comfortably....

Great, this is the perfect answer - info on the number of people total (2) and news that you can bring three others! Thank you!

Octopus V, I've got you on the 1 pm trip, too.

Melissa

Hi Melissa,

Do you still have 3 sapces available for the 3 PM MBARI tour? If so, I'd like to reserve a spot for myself and 2 others. We can transport ourselves, but we'll most likely be in either a Ranger or a Mustang, so we probably can't help out much with transportation. :sad:

My wife and I are planning on driving our Corolla to the 3:00PM tour, so we'll have room for 2-3 others in back (tight fit for three, though).

Hi Melissa,

Do you still have 3 sapces available for the 3 PM MBARI tour? If so, I'd like to reserve a spot for myself and 2 others. We can transport ourselves, but we'll most likely be in either a Ranger or a Mustang, so we probably can't help out much with transportation. :sad:

Well, I've just learned that there will be one more in my party (who conveniently has a father who owns a home with an empty guest house in Carmel, meaning I won't have to sleep in a gutter :smile: )

So, uh, Melissa, you wouldn't happen to have 4 spaces available for the 3 PM MBARI tour, would you? If not, how about the 1 PM tour? We can provide our own transportation, but doing so fills our vehicle to capacity.

Hi all,

I do plan on coming to TONMOCon and would definitly like to take the MBARI tour. I plan to arrive Thurs. evening so I have no preference on the 1 p.m. or 3 p.m. slot. Stick me whereever is convenient.

Thanks in advance, and looking forward to this.

Steve

Purple tentacle, you may be the last 4 on the 3 pm tour! I'll check my notes, but yes, you four are all on the 3 pm tour. Shepmoon, you are on the 1 pm.

Apologies for making you wait for replies.

Melissa

Hi,

Well, my friends got me and my wife tickets to TONMOCON! - BIrthday surprise!! Go fig! *lol*

If its too late to register for the MBARI trip, that's cool. However, if there are any last-minute cancellations, pencil me in! :lol: I'm just happy to attend!

John

My vote of me plus one for 1pm is not recorded there? Am i still on the bill? Where are we to meet for this event?

You will enjoy MBARI :) . I'm working there now and it's a very nice place to visit for those who like high-tech oceanographic equipment :)

Enjoy !

Melissa,

Any room on any of the MBARI trips? Just loking for two slots....

John

Scubacastor,

I've been driving past Moss Landing for years now and wanting to take a peak inside.

Just saw MBARI once again; this time on the Military Channel. I have a lifelong obsession with airships - particularly Zeppelins - and there was MBARI off the California coast, exploring the wreckage of the U.S.S. Macon with an ROV. Great close-ups of the trapeze-launched biplanes, rotting on the ocean floor.

Hi John,

You're in for 1 pm!

OV, you are too!

See you then!

Sorry for my slow reply, I slept for more than 24 hours!

Melissa

The total I have today is 24-26, 8-10 at 1 pm and 16 at 3 pm (I have two maybes and one definite with me). Gregg and Shanlyn are not listed, and I hope they can make it. I'll re-read this thread to make sure, but for now there is space on both.

Wear your boots!

Melissa

Wear your boots!




May I ask why?

Wear your boots!


I think I've gotten a bit too fat for my wetsuit-- will that be a problem? :oops:

Squidman,

Boots ought to be worn to protect your feet from getting crushed by high tech heavy equipment on the decks of the MBARI vessel we'll be visiting. Plus, this isn't sunny So. Cal we're going to be visiting, so closed-toe shoes are probably more practical anyway.

I'm going to get my own tour tomorrow when I go to help dissect a few Humbolts. Lou even said that I could have one if I want. Don't know how I'm going to do that on a motorcylce, but I think I'll have to try. As long as he doesn't mind, I'll post some pictures later.

Your very own humboldt?! Maybe you should seat it upright behind you with it's tentacles wrapped around your midsection for the ride home! :grin:

I think I've gotten a bit too fat for my wetsuit-- will that be a problem? :oops:

I only wish we'd get to go underwater with the MBARI gear!

Pipsquek, is that Lou Zoidberg, TONMOcom presenter, giving you a humboldt?

Melissa

woah, that's so cool! I'm so jealous...

I only wish we'd get to go underwater with the MBARI gear!

Pipsquek, is that Lou Zoidberg, TONMOcom presenter, giving you a humboldt?

Melissa

Zoidberg!! From Futurama?

Yep, that's the one, Melissa. You can thank me for that presentation actually. He came into my store and saw Big Red about 3 months ago, so we atarted talking and he said that he had a few of them to dissect and would give me a call when the time came so that I could check it out. Anyway, one of the things I talked about was TONMOcon, and I told him who to contact, and that there were probably some spots available if he was interested.

So I went out there today. I didn't get much of a tour, and I passed up the chance to bring one home because dissecting it pretty much made it useless for me as a model, but I did learn some really cool stuff about squid. I also met one of the aquarist from MBA that takes care of the jellyfish.

I don't know when I'll get the chance to start on it but I have definitely decided to make one in the near future, but I still have some more research to do, and I have to finish the mermaid I have been working on.

Zoidberg!! From Futurama?

His photos at the MBARI site make him look a little more athletic than Futurama's Zoidberg - perhaps a future relative?

Thanks for the plug, Jonathan! Will we get to see Big Red?

Melissa

Yep, that's the one, Melissa. You can thank me for that presentation actually. He came into my store and saw Big Red about 3 months ago, so we atarted talking and he said that he had a few of them to dissect and would give me a call when the time came so that I could check it out. Anyway, one of the things I talked about was TONMOcon, and I told him who to contact, and that there were probably some spots available if he was interested.

So I went out there today. I didn't get much of a tour, and I passed up the chance to bring one home because dissecting it pretty much made it useless for me as a model, but I did learn some really cool stuff about squid. I also met one of the aquarist from MBA that takes care of the jellyfish.

I don't know when I'll get the chance to start on it but I have definitely decided to make one in the near future, but I still have some more research to do, and I have to finish the mermaid I have been working on.

wait..they keep jellyfish there!?

wait..they keep jellyfish there!?

Too many. When I was there in November, they had their regular display of jellies, plus a featured display called "Jellies: Living Art" or something like that. Looks like it's still there:

http://www.mbayaq.org/efc/efc_se/se_jla.asp

I'd love to see them swim around in a tank! Hope I'm not too late...

I'd love to see them swim around in a tank! Hope I'm not too late...

I believe both MBA has a permanent jellies exhibit, so you needn't worry about missing out on that. It sounds like there is also an extra one you might miss, but the permanent one is pretty substantial. I think Monterey was the first Aquarium to do a large-scale jellies exhibit in the US, and it was so successful that they made it permanent, and many other US aquaria have them now... I know Long Beach does, and I think the one in New Orleans does as well. So you should have jellies aplenty.

wow, cephs AND jellies. This is gonna be fun....

well, now that my dad's coming, is there one more space for the 1pm one?

Yes, Eric, definitely.

Melissa

thanks.

2) This has nothing to do with event registration, but as the time gets closer, anyone who signs up for MRABI will be checked against the register list, just to make sure it's all adding up.


Melissa,

Did you want me (and everyone else) to PM you with the names of the folks from my party so you can check them against the registration list?

Hello PT

If your buddies arrive with you, there is no need for us to get their names before meeting in person.

If you may show up separately, names could help on Friday. If people have registered and paid online, Tony may have their names. If you want to send me names, feel free.

Logistics about meeting on Friday for the MBARI tour to come as they are really determined. Driving directions, carpool thread, etc.

Melissa

Hi all. Logistics question: will there be some sort of shuttle or other plan for transportation from Monterey out to Moss Landing for the MBARI tours?

Thanks in advance and see ya'll in a week!

Shepmoon

Hi Shepmoon

I think we'll be able to get 9 people into the MBARI van for the 1 pm visit. As the driver is also our guide, it's carpooling or the bus after that. I believe a lot of people will have cars. I have the bus schedule. All of this should be in place sometime this weekend.

Melissa

Is it too late top sign up? If not my dad and I wish to say...CAN WE COME PLEASE? :lol:

Cephkid, we would be thrilled for you and your dad to join! Did you register?

There is space for the MBARI tour. 1 pm? 3 pm?

A heads up: Tom, our MBARI tour guide, suggested that with the numbers we have now, we might do well to have three smaller groups. Opinions? Nothing will happen earlier than what we've proposed already so don't fret over travel arrangements. We'll speak Monday and you'll read it here.

Melissa

YAY! Yes we did register (we DID do it right, didn't we tonmo? :lol: ), and we would prefer 3 pm (dad says it's to make sure we make it on time ;) .) As for having three smaller groups, as long as my dad and I (dad gets top-billing. He's paying for our-his and mine- tonmocon & plane tickets after all!) get on one, it sounds smart to me.

Yep, cya there CephKid!

I think we'll be able to get 9 people into the MBARI van for the 1 pm visit. As the driver is also our guide, it's carpooling or the bus after that. I believe a lot of people will have cars. I have the bus schedule. All of this should be in place sometime this weekend.


So should we all gather at the Aquarium Friday morning? Will the van be coming back to Monterey between tours? Gosh I'm nosy, huh?
:wink:

The time difference is against you while you are waiting for answers, Shepmoon. I have not heard yet. I do not expect that single person acting as chauffeur, tour guide and pen pal will shuttle people back and forth between the tours. There is a bus.

I wonder if meeting at the aquarium is a good plan (could be crowded, but it's easy to find). When Tom writes back, he'll tell us where to wait and I will not delay posting that info here.

Melissa

I certainly wouldn't recommend waiting in front of the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Crowded, not a quick enough egress from the city toward Moss Landing, etc. It would be a bit like waiting in front of an international airport terminal...

Ack, we won't meet at the aquarium on Friday! Tom was out of town last week, so he'll tell us where to meet him once he gets caught up at work.

I certainly wouldn't recommend waiting in front of the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Crowded, not a quick enough egress from the city toward Moss Landing, etc. It would be a bit like waiting in front of an international airport terminal...


LOL...it would be easier to meet in San Fran and commute !!!!

ick, then I won't know where since I'm off the internet when I get there.

I certainly wouldn't recommend waiting in front of the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Crowded, not a quick enough egress from the city toward Moss Landing, etc. It would be a bit like waiting in front of an international airport terminal...

Well, my notion (based on NOTHING since I've never been there! lol) was that someone could stand off to the side of the Aquarium entrance with a sign saying "TONMO" or "MBARI" and we could congregate around that person. I'll be able to check messages til Wednesday night. After that, I might just private msg ....Melissa? Erich?? ...someone, with my cell #.

Shep

Is there any reason not to meet at the conference center?

Having never been there, I don't know how big it is or how much of a pain it would be to locate people, battle traffic, etc.

There's no reason not to meet at the conference center (unless Tom tells us to meet him somewhere else) at 12:30 for the 1 pm tour. Wear footwear to protect your toes - no sandals! Look for the small woman in a hat, carrying a TONMO sign. If that changes, I'll make sure to tell you if you give me a way to reach you. If you are concerned about not having the information, please PM me with your name and a phone number. If the number is for your hotel room, please give me your full name as the hotel has you registered.

Now to mail Tom about this, so he knows where to meet us.

Those of you on the 3 pm tour - if you do not have your own transportation, please post a note in this thread and let's see if other 3 pm tour goers will be able to offer you a ride.

Melissa

I think it is this no-sandals policy that is keeping WK back East this year!

Seriously, though, according to www.weather.com for Monterey today it was supposed to be foggy and in the 50s F. Might be a cool weekend!

I've heard from Tom and we'll meet at the conference center at 12:30 to meet the MBARI van. 8-) That is One Portola Plaza. Here's a map:

http://www.monterey.org/mcc/locate.html

No sandals - don't you want all your toes? :nofeet:

Does anyone for the 3 pm tour need transportation to Moss Landing, where MBARI is?

just me being silly, but isn't it time to lock away the threads from TONMOcon 1?

just me being silly, but isn't it time to lock away the threads from TONMOcon 1?

Well, this one's not too useful, but I still have some pictures to get off my camera and post, so I hope that thread doesn't get locked down... (I need a "camera" or "photographer" smilie-- what's the protocol for submitting a new smilie .gif?)

Yeah... I know I still have work to do here as well... vids... someday.

This board was resting fine until you replied to it Chrono! :razz: