Megafest 8.1

Megafest 8.1 is planned around Labor Day 2009 at monarch.festing.org. The current plan is for Festing from Friday evening, 4 September through mid-day Wednesday, 9 September.

Hermes: "Labor Day? That phony-baloney holiday crammed down our throats by fat-cat union gangsters?"

Fry: "That's the one."

Hermes: "Hot damn. A day off!"

Summary

• Date: Labor Day 2009
• Venue: monarch.festing.org
• Attendees: Yanthor, Anya, Jaeger, Kiesa, Calvin, Humblik, Zan Lynx
• Content:
  • Jaeger: Megafest 8.1
  • Kiesa: Fest
  • Yanthor: Megafest Update

Schedule

Jaeger plans on opening the Festing Grounds on Friday evening, 4 September. Monday is Labor Day; he'll also take Tuesday and Wednesday as vacation days.

Those living out of state have indicated their intention to drive to Colorado on Friday evening and depart on Wednesday afternoon.

Events

During early planning of the Megafest, Humblik expressed interest in some sort of hike [1]:

Is there a trail you might suggest, Jaeger, that would be a fairly easy hike, have good scenery, and a great view from the top? You can keep in mind that I'm from a rather flat state and am easily impressed by almost any mountain I climb on.

Jaeger thinks he should be able to come up with something [2]:

I could probably come up with something. I might be tempted to suggest Rocky Mountain National Park as the best scenery per mile.

Candidates include the Bear Lake area of Rocky Mountain National Park and Lake Isabelle above Brainard Lake in Indian Peaks Wilderness.

Regarding hiking gear, Jaeger notes [3]:

Those interested in undertaking some sort of Megafest-related hiking expedition may need to bring extra gear not normally associated with Megafesting. I should be able to provide most of the gear you need (packs, water bottles, rain gear), but you'll need to bring shoes. In early September in Colorado, you're unlikely to encounter snow or ice on the trail (unless you really want to, of course), so any comfortable walking shoes should do.

Religious services

Kiesa has volunteered to provide transportation to any Megafestors interested in attending church Saturday morning. (She expects this will not be particularly popular in the general case but that some may be interested.)

Food

Saturday, 5 September

Breakfast

• Jaeger: Buttermilk waffles

Supper

• Jaeger: Miso soup and Sushi, with edamame in the shell, some sort of peanut-rice dish, and Tozai "Snow Maiden" (junmai nigori) sake.

Edamame in the shell is usually served with sea salt sprinkled over the pods. We did not have sea salt on hand, but I sprinkled garlic salt from a grinder onto the edamame, which worked pretty well; the garlic gave the edamame more flavor than I've previously experienced.

Sunday, 6 September

Breakfast

• Jaeger: Jaeger's potato dish and Bavarian bakery pastries

Supper

• Yanthor: Some sort of "David's Stew" and mac&cheese combo, which sounds a bit bizarre

Monday, 7 September

Supper

• Kiesa: Chocolate Stout Cake Made 1/2 the cake batter and put into 2 8" cake pans and baked for 35 minutes (next time, might try 30 min). Made a full batch of the frosting. Didn't use Dutch cocoa, instead just used regular cocoa.

Logistics

The arrival of Calvin portends some changes relative to the current Megafesting trend; he takes up one of the upstairs bedrooms, and his stuff is well on its way to colonizing the main level as well, though his parents are trying to keep the colonization under control. (The child-proofing is another story.) Yanthor and Anya get the upstairs guest room by default, leaving several options for additional attendees:

• The main couch on the main level, which can be outfitted with suitable bedding. During the sleep cycle, the cats can be shut into the basement if desired.
• A thin, portable cot-sized bed roll can be deployed, with suitable bedding, on any available carpeted space in the house. (This is identified as the "yoga mat", though it is a bit thick for actual yoga.) Now that the basement is fully carpeted, it may make for a compelling sleep location, though the presence of the cats may make this undesirable.

Movies

Jaeger suggests:

• Sunshine (2007): Grim and beautiful sci-fi film that slipped through my radar the first time around.
• Speed Racer (2008): Silly, but amusing. Probably better late at night, especially while intoxicated, certainly in high-def. Jaeger's review

Voting

On Tuesday night, 8 September, Megafestors voted (on paper) for events.

	Yanthor	Anya	Humblik	Jaeger	Total
Settlers of Catan	45	35	20	50	150
Munchkin	20		30		50
Puerto Rico	35	35		50	120
Other		30	50		80

2000 Megafest 0.0 • Megafest 0.1 • 2001 Megafest 1.0 • 2003 Megafest 2.0 • Megafest 2.1 • 2004 Megafest 3.0 • Megafest 3.1 • Megafest 3.2 • 2005 Megafest 4.0 • Megafest 4.1 • Megafest 4.2 • 2006 Megafest 5.0 • Megafest 5.1 • 2007 Megafest 6.0 • Megafest 6.0.5 • Megafest 6.1 • 2008 Megafest 7.0 • Megafest 7.1 • Megafest 7.2 • 2009 Megafest 8.0 • Megafest 8.1 • Megafest 8.2