Aga Convention 2010, Nov. 11-14

[aaronnorth]

Happy happy!

AC

Can't believe you remember Short Circuit, that movie was terrible. In a good way.

we should do our own AC!

The lincoln aquatic plant society.

Now, that would be interesting. LAPS... At least you don't live in Surrey. Imagine Surrey aquatic Plant Society or SAPS...

If I did one in Miami, it would be MAPS....

But we digress!

There is the Sacramento Aquatic Plant Society

 

[waterdrop]

We Chapel Hill Aquatic Plant Society members are much more upstanding

I should visit here more often and attempt to raise my laugh IQ (if aquarium hobbyists are nearly as bad as engineering student clubs in the humor department, think how hopeless those of us are that hang out in the beginner section )

Hey, I really need to report some time on my recent visit to two aquarium shops in San Francisco... if my beginners would ever slow down asking questions...

~~waterdrop~~

 

[lljdma06]

We Chapel Hill Aquatic Plant Society members are much more upstanding

I should visit here more often and attempt to raise my laugh IQ (if aquarium hobbyists are nearly as bad as engineering student clubs in the humor department, think how hopeless those of us are that hang out in the beginner section )

Hey, I really need to report some time on my recent visit to two aquarium shops in San Francisco... if my beginners would ever slow down asking questions...

~~waterdrop~~

We would welcome more visits from you... What you really need to do is setup a nice planted tank and post a journal we can follow. You can buy yourself plants at the auction at AGA, but you can only purchase plants that I'm not interested in...

Llj

CHAPS does sound more respectable.

 

[waterdrop]

Believe me, the desire is there and this would be the place for my journal if I ever get it together. I know you guys would be gentle on me, I'm a slwooo learner (let's see.. Milwaukee versus Tunze...)

 

[lljdma06]

An update...

I've registered and paid, so I'm definitely going! I'll be making a mini-vacation out of it... Even have a dress to wear to the banquet... Opting for the chicken and mahi mahi, sounded delicious. The tissue culture workshop was sold out though

Happy Early Birthday to me...


llj

 

[lljdma06]

My nametag for the convention will feature my name and...

either this..



Or this...



I must represent TFF while there...

I'm getting excited, this will be loads of fun.

 

[ian]

Gotta be the blue one llj!

Blue is more noticable in you periferal vision, I wonder if you asked for an autograph?

 

[lljdma06]

Gotta be the blue one llj!

Blue is more noticable in you periferal vision, I wonder if you asked for an autograph?

We'll see what they put. I sent both. Here are the speakers for the convention.

Claus Christensen
Michael Kane, PhD
Ghazanfar Ghori
Jason Baliban
Karen Randall

Here is a link to their bios and what they'll be discussing...

2010 AGA Convention Speakers

I'm excited about the auction. I have to do some work on my 36g and prepare my 8g before I go. Gotta make room for more plants! I hear the auctions are huge deals...

 

[ian]

Some good speakers, Balibans tanks are great! He's supposed to be a real nice chap as well. It'll be a real good weekend.

 

[lljdma06]

Some good speakers, Balibans tanks are great! He's supposed to be a real nice chap as well. It'll be a real good weekend.

It is a good group. I have a lot of work to do this weekend. Need to waterchange the 36g and clean it up. Then I have to setup the 8g again. If I get plants, from the auction, need to actually plant them. So journal may go up quicker than expected.

Was planning to be inspired by some of my Italian pictures, but honestly, won't know what I come up with until I see what's available at the auction. Sometimes it's just better to let the scape happen. No planning. I know what I can grow and those are my limitations. I like the ember tetras, though, and I may revisit the crabs or try shrimps...

llj

 

[lljdma06]

Guess who just got into the Tissue Culture workshop?

My journey into planted geekdom is complete...

 

[lljdma06]

YAY!!! At Ft. Lauderdale...

Checked into my hotel, room is nice, life is good. Let the Convention begin! Well, actually, it begins between 6 and 9pm tomorrow with registration.

llj

 

[SuperColey1]

Should be a good weekend LLj.

Looking at that list I'm a little bit jealous.

JasonB who is a top bloke and down to earth which is always a good combo.

Ghazanfar Ghori and his Crypts. Very jealous.

Then Claus (ex Tropica) which should be an eye opener and educational.

The tissue culture should be good fun although not sure if you'll be getting home and setting up sterile booths etc. Is pretty intoxicating stuff but a lot of effort but then may interest you a little more than me. something I looked into and dabbled with when I started propagating. Lasted for all of 2 days until I decided just to do it as I had before. lol

Not overly keen on the Karen Randall one though. Always strikes me as overly critical in her judging comments. A little like those who put others down to keep themselves at the top. Saying that I am only going by those comments on contests. lol

The FAN visit looks good. Hope the free lunch is traditional vegetables etc. lol

Let us know all about it and any good info should be compiled into a Supercoley1 sized post for us all to read and take in.

AC

 

[Gill]

This is going to be amazing, have loads of fun, take loads of pix and post them on your return.

 

[lljdma06]

Not overly keen on the Karen Randall one though. Always strikes me as overly critical in her judging comments. A little like those who put others down to keep themselves at the top. Saying that I am only going by those comments on contests. lol

Took one look at her picture in her bio and came to a similar conclusion myself. Just kidding, also have been reading some of her stuff. I don't love it. This may be the lecture to skip, if I were to skip. Just something rubs me the wrong way. Read a Walstad article the other day and in the same issue I was reading, heating cables were mentioned. BLEH... Yeah, my low-light, no CO2, inert substrate tanks are going to go over REAL well... In all fairness, will read the other issues to see what is said. The Iwagumi article I read was interesting. It was like a little journal. Many entries started with, "clean (fill in the blank) algae today". I should try an Iwagumi with algae. That would be interesting.

The FAN visit looks good. Hope the free lunch is traditional vegetables etc. lol

The fare is supposed to be Cuban food, let's see how they do. I'm guessing sandwiches. If they get them from Miami, it stands a shot. If the food is from Ft. Lauderdale, it'll be bad. I'm excited about this visit too. In a round about way, it's where I get my plants. Really stinks having to order them from an outside vendor only to have them shipped back to Miami. Very stupid. I may have a chat with the owner to see if I can perhaps get plants from them directly, or at least learn where they sell their plants to in Miami, so I can by more direct.

This is going to be amazing, have loads of fun, take loads of pix and post them on your return.

Will do, Gill. Expect a Super-sized SuperColey1 post when it's all said and done.

Don't even get me started on the Auction, I have to do some reading about what plants I want to get and what to look for. Oooooo, let me post in my journal thread. The 8g...

llj

EDIT: Have some pictures of the convention site...