All the Sex 2.0 info you need (a.k.a. World’s Longest Post)
TRANSPORTATION: From the airport, follow the signs to Atlanta’s humble (by New York/Boston/Chicago/DC standards) transit system, MARTA. Take the North or Northeast line (not like you have any other options) to the North Avenue station. Exit the station at the corner of North Ave. and W. Peachtree St., and the Marriott Renaissance is diagonally across the street. Here is a MARTA rail map, and here is a map showing the location of the station and the hotel.
Maps with driving directions to/from the airport, hotel, and 1763 are available here (if the embedded maps aren’t working, just click the links). If you are taking a cab, be sure to print directions to bring with you, because 1763 isn’t a place most cab drivers will just “know.” There are also phone numbers for several cab companies on the directions page. With rare exception, Atlanta isn’t the kind of city where you just go out on the street and hail a cab.
We’re renting a van to run a shuttle between the hotel and 1763 in the morning. It will leave at 8:00 a.m. Please be on time if you want a ride, as space is limited.
In the afternoon, we will run a shuttle leaving at 5:00 p.m. You are responsible for finding your own transportation to and from the Flesh and Fetish Ball (or anywhere else) that night.
Some local conference participants may be willing to drive carpools in their own vehicles, as well. Please work this out amongst yourselves.
HOTEL: When you check into the hotel, please remind them that you are with Sex 2.0. Otherwise they might conveniently “forget” to credit us your stay.
REGISTRATION: You’re probably tired of hearing me say it by now, but I’m just reiterating because I just know a few random people will show up Saturday morning and get pissed off that they can’t just walk in if their name isn’t on the list. Registration in advance is mandatory. If your name is not on the registration list Saturday morning, you will be turned away. This is to ensure the confidentiality and security of our participants’ identities.
Online registration will be open until 5 hours before the start of the event (so that’s… 3:30 a.m., if I’m calculating correctly). So even if you’re waiting until the last minute to decide whether to come, you’ll still be able to register in advance.
Your name will be listed as the name you indicated to be printed on your badge.
PHOTOS/RECORDING: When you pick up your badge, take one of three different-colored stickers: Green means “It’s okay to photograph/record/video/quote me.” Yellow means “Please ask first.” Red means “Do not photograph/record/video/quote me, or else Amber will smite you.”
FOOD: Boxed lunches from Atlanta Bread Company will be available for purchase for $6 each, cash or check. There are also many restaurants near 1763. Please remember that 1763 will have snacks and beverages available for purchase all day long. Please support Sex 2.0 and 1763 by “buying in” instead of going out! (Total concession sales [not including the boxed lunches] are subtracted from our venue rental fee.)
Snacks available at the concession stand include a variety of potato chips, Doritos, Fritos, Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Mountain Dew, and bottled water.
INTERNET ACCESS: There isn’t native wifi at 1763, but the always-awesome Steve Eley has agreed to bring a wifi router and set it up the morning of the conference. So, unless there is a demon in the tubes, we should have internet access!
WEATHER: The 10-day forecast predicts scattered showers, and temperatures in the 60s-70s. Bring an umbrella.
BEFORE PARTY: Regina Lynn is hosting a reading and discussion about her new book, Sexier Sex: Lessons from the Brave New Sexual Frontier, 8:00 p.m. Friday night at Charis Books and More (one of our fabulous sponsors). Details available here.
There is a pole dancing party 9:00 p.m. Friday night. It is open to women only and you must register ahead of time. Currently there are only five spots left! If you have questions about it, just email me.
Some folks were talking about hitting the Clermont Lounge later on Friday night. I highly recommend this.
AFTER PARTY: There is a Flesh and Fetish Swinger’s Ball Saturday night at 1763, hosted by Swinging Atlanta; 9:00 p.m. – 4:00 a.m. Bring your Sex 2.0 nametag and get in at a discounted rate: $35 for single guys, $25 for couples, and single ladies free as usual. Brent Futo, founder of Swinging Atlanta, will be at Sex 2.0 to answer any questions you may have.
Tiffany Brown put together a wonderfully comprehensive list of other fun stuff going on in Atlanta that weekend. Of particular interest is the film screening of “SEX: The Revolution.”
THE LAW OF TWO FEET: Simply put: your experience at Sex 2.0 is what you want it to be. At any time, if you’re not learning what you want to learn, if you’re not getting what you need, you have every right to depart the session you’re in and move to a different one, or none at all.
THE LAW OF NULL SPACE: You are very likely to learn the most in the spaces between sessions, at lunch, at breaks, etc. when you can just talk and hang out with people. Be ready! Have your notebook out, your business cards handy, and be ready to learn at the most unlikely times.
STILL HAVE QUESTIONS? No problem! Just email the Google group and someone will know the answer, I swear!
See you next weekend!!
OMG huge list of important Sex 2.0 info
We’re slightly over a month away from Sex 2.0, so here’s a crap-ton of info for you…
TRANSPORTATION (pt. I): If you’re flying into Atlanta, you can take MARTA (North or Northeast line) from the airport to the North Avenue stop. The hotel is diagonally across the street (map here). Or you can take a cab and it should cost about $30.
TRANSPORTATION (pt. 2): We are planning to rent at least one van (possibly more, depending on how finances work out) and run shuttles between the hotel and 1763. Several local folks have also volunteered to carpool. And of course you can always take a cab or rent a car. I’ll be posting detailed directions soon, so no one should get lost! :)
LODGING: When you make your reservation at the Marriott Renaissance, please use this link. Or if you are making your reservation over the phone, be sure to specifically mention that you are with Sex 2.0 and want a room in our block. And when you check in, please remind them again that you’re with Sex 2.0.
REGISTRATION: Yes, it’s true, even people who are session leaders have to register. I wish I could comp session leaders’ entry fee, but sadly the money just isn’t there for it. (And there’s also the whole unconference thing where it’s supposed to be a lack of hierarchy… but I am not getting into one of those debates again!) Seriously though, I wish I could, but it’s simply not possible. So just a heads-up if you haven’t registered, the price is $40 until March 28.
WIFI: There will be wifi, thanks to Steve Eley’s gracious offer to bring and set up a router! Sure, it might get a bit slow at times, but what do you expect with a bunch of nerds gathered together?
PROJECTORS: There will be two digital projectors, thanks to Jennifer Williams coming to the rescue and loaning them to us! (We’re only renting one screen though… so maybe the other one can project onto a wall.) If you will need a projector for your session please let the group know as soon as possible, in case there are any conflicts.
FOOD: We’re planning to order a bunch of box lunches. We’re going to low-ball the number we order, since at PodCamp we ended up with a ton of leftover food and it wasn’t cheap. If anyone has any special dietary needs, please let me know as soon as possible. We’ll make every effort to accomodate people’s needs.
PRIVACY: The way we’re planning to handle protecting people’s privacy/identity/etc. is to use these arm bands that Chris Penn proposed.
VOLUNTEER POSITIONS: Theoretically, since it’s an unconference, everyone is supposed to be a “volunteer” to an extent — that is, make the conference what you want it to be. But there are a few places where we need people to be committed to a specific task for a certain length of time. These will include working the registration desk (probably 3 different shifts), taking the money for lunch (probably 2 people), and helping with set-up/take-down. In the next few weeks I will be able to say with more certainty what we need, and at that time I’ll post a for-real list!
POLE DANCING: There are only a few spots left for the Friday night pole dancing party, so register soon if you want to attend (women only). It will be awesome.
That’s all for now… more to come soon!
Deadline for early-bird registration tomorrow
If you want to come to Sex 2.0, register by tomorrow in order to take advantage of the $10 early bird rate. On Monday, registration goes up to $40.
For those who were wondering, there will be a few volunteer opportunities. If you’re interested in one of them and have already registered, I’ll refund your money when you commit to the spots. I just need to wait a couple weeks until some of the money situation (as in, do we have any) gets sorted out before I’ll know how many and what type of spots there are.
