The Sword and Laser discussion

Come out to discuss Sword & Laser with other members in the Maryland, DC and Northern Virginia area!

We meet for second breakfast/lunch on the last Saturday of each month to discuss that month's pick and whatever else we've been reading/enjoying lately.

Currently we are meeting for lunch/second breakfast at McGinty's Public House (http://www.mcgintyspublichouse.com/) in Silver Spring, MD.

There are two parking garages within close walking distance that are free on weekends:
Wayne Avenue Parking Garage: http://www.silverspringdowntown.com/g...
Town Center Parking Garage: https://www.silverspringdowntown.com/...

It is also nearby to the Silver Spring Metro Station: http://www.wmata.com/rail/station_det...

Covid Note: Please be vaccinated (and ideally boostered). In theory we're returning to in person meetups, but this may vary from month to month.

Upcoming Meetings
We are going to keep meeting via Discord for the time being

Saturday April 30, 2021: (McGinty's) @ 12PM - RSVP: https://discord.gg/Y7RZwQNURw?event=9...
Saturday May 28, 2021: (TBD) @ 12PM

Right now I'm swamped but once work stuff eases, I could try to coordinate something. I'm out near Dulles airport but have family in Columbia so can make Maryland or DC or Virginia work...

I am also closer to Baltimore but would be willing to meet someplace central to everyone. Unless someone else volunteers I'm more than happy to wait for your schedule to clear TK......my wife is the organizer in our family so if you're willing.... :)

I'm a bit south of you folks, in NC, but have a nephew in MD I'd like to visit; could make it a twofer once in a while.

I'm in NoVA, pretty much where Terpkristin is by Dulles airport.

Like Rob Prime I live closer to Baltimore but DC is most likely a better meetup location. Fantom Comics is a great place that just opened up on DuPont Circle, and I know they want to get events going.

Just north of DC; prefer suburbs (MD/VA/Baltimore), but if the group gets going we can sample lots of options.

So I was thinking.

Maybe, without much coordination from either locale, we could try to meet up in one of two places:
1) the "easy" option is to meet up at Barnes & Noble in Tyson's. We could maybe hang out there or actually start at one of the restaurants near the store (such as Gordon Biersch or there's Brio and some others...only one I rule out is Coastal Flatts because I'm allergic). We can grab a big table (maybe need reservations?), talk about books, and then go wander into B&N....

2) There's a kinda hippy-ish coffee shop/book store/restaurant called Busboys & Poets with multiple locations. Given that we're more or less all outside of DC, the Hyattsville location might be easiest. Anyway, we could meet there and talk about books over food. http://www.busboysandpoets.com/

Would either of these be interesting? If yes, are there some weekends in the next 2 months (I'm thinking mid-day on a Saturday or Sunday) that might work?

Does getting to Tyson's involve a lot of city-drivin? I've never been. If not, my vote definitely goes to it. Getting to Busboy's looks like a kind of stressful drive.

As for weekends, not this saturday or the next but saturdays from then on out I think would be fine by me!

I guess it depends what your define of "city driving" is. The mall is off 495, you take the Chain Bridge Road exit and the mall is right there. Or you can take the exit for route 7 and hit it from a different side. The area has a LOT of things and, as you might expect, a LOT of people, many of whom are dumb. But it's not like driving downtown. And if you take the most direct route, you'll only have to deal with mall idiots...who are sort of ubiquitous for malls.

Or, if you really don't like the idea of driving, you can hop on the Metro and get to the Silver Line, which has a stop at the mall. Of course, if you're coming from anywhere but the west, you'll have to Metro into the coy to get to the silver line.

I suppose there might be options in Silver Spring (no idea what they put into the old Border's store) or farther north, though I suspect some oft fellow Virginians might not come if it's too far north, just like if guess Marylanders won't come too far into VA. Tysons is an ok compromise, it takes about 45 min-1 hour to get there from my parents' house in Columbia, MD (as always, traffic depending), and is about 30isj minutes from my house in Ashburn.

Coy = city in previous post. Too hard to edit on phone.
Oft = of my

Phone typing, could have been much worse.

Ok, if it's not like driving downtown I'm definitely game.

terpkristin wrote: "a LOT of people, many of whom are dumb."

I concur :)

I'm above Baltimore so Hyattsville would be easier for me but it wouldn't be that much further to Tysons once you hit the beltway so I'm game for whatever works best for everyone.

Tyson's is a bit of a hike, but doable if it's a Saturday. Sunday less so because of work the next day. I'll be more likely to want to rush off early.

I'm busy the next three weeks, but could probably swing most Saturdays after that until Christmas apart from whatever weekend my December game night ends up being, and even that wouldn't be a total deal breaker because those are usually Fridays (like tonight!).

Oh and hyattsville is much closer and would be my preference. I'd be more likely to come on a Sunday if it was there.

All these things are in my area! (Gaithersburg)
Hmmm, Guardians of the Galaxy is still playing at Tysons...

Bumping this up..

If I have this correct we've got:

TerpKristin
Rob (me)
Rob Secondus
Ctgt
Ralffie

Interested so far in one of the two options Kristin suggested. It seems like Hyattsville is the favored location so far.

Who else is interested, and when do we want to do it?

With the holidays fast approaching the sooner we get something on the calendar the better most likely, or nothing will happen until next year.

What's in Silver Spring these days? It's not that much farther from my area and closer for the northern people.

I was going to look at that this weekend then life happened.

I went to Silver Spring once in 2005 to see Raiders of the Lost Ark on the big screen for the 25th anniversary. That was the first/only time I've been there I think. Though I might have gone there for Ghost in the Shell 2 as well.

Needless to say I don't Silver Spring at all. Hopefully someone else can chime in on it.

Well, parking is a lot easier there as is access if people want to Metro. And there are a lot of restaurants. I can't check from work and don't want to do it on phone but will check tonight.

Silver Spring has a book store..but it doesn't look like there would be a place to meet in it.

I'm not sure what else to search for. A coffee shop or something?

"The Starbucks in hillendale shopping center is spacious" -a friend from silver spring.

Um. Where is the Hillendale Shopping Center? Google tells me it's nearer Baltimore than Silver Spring.

Silver Spring's book store is a dinky thing, yeah. What used to be a Borders is apparently a clothing store (lame).

I keep trying to think of places that have food and books (if possible) though honestly, I'd err on the side of food. We all probably mostly buy books online anyway, but can always find a reason to eat. :) ;)

Another thought is Rockville. Not as far for the northerners as Tyson's, not as far for people near me as Silver Spring. There's a Barnes & Noble off Rockville Pike, which is one of the bigger ones (linky). There's a Starbucks in the same plaza, if that's what people are into, and I think there's a matchbox just up the road from it (which I really like), in addition to normal chains in the area....

Looking at my life, it looks like it might be hard for me to make it this year but I'm willing to give it a go. I'm having surgery on 12/15 (nothing too major) so will be out of commission for the rest of the year after that, before then I have a big meeting at work and some family obligations. But....definitely open to trying to make this work some Saturday.

So, dates? The only days I'm absolutely no-go right now are 11/15 and 12/13. 11/29 may be tough, as well, but that's Thanksgiving long weekend and I have no idea what other peoples' plans are. My difficulties have nothing to do with Thanksgiving and more to do with the Terps...

PS my votes are Rockville or Busboys & Poets in Hyattsville. Both look to have parking and shouldn't scare away those who don't like driving in cities. Though if we do Hyattsville, I don't recommend going there on a Terps home gameday, traffic will be stupid.

Yep after checking Hillendale is not at all in Silver Spring, but distant suburbs. Any date that isnt' this weekend is fine by me, and place a-ok, especially if there's parking and I don't have to drive through the city.

If we do a Saturday, any week this month this month should be OK. Though after Thanksgiving could be iffy.

Rockville is doable too. There has to be some options in Silver Spring though. We just need someone who knows the area to tell us. :-P

I just spent half an hour chatting about this with a friend who lives right there. The places that are easy to park in Silver Spring are not book-y and the places that have books are a) small and b) non-conducive to parking. Her suggestion is the Hyattsville Busboys, though it IS city-proximal, it has decent parking. Terps home games (11/15 and 11/29) will make it tough, though.

Plus, if there's city-driving concerns, it's much more like driving in DC than in a suburb.

Though I'd still go there if people wanted just to meet at a restaurant. They have a Lebanese Taverna and an Austin Grill and a pub of some sort and some other things.

So if we were to do 11/22, who'd be in?

And where would you prefer to go? Options:
Hyattsville, MD Busboys & Poets
Silver Spring, MD some random restaurant
Tyson's Corner, VA Barnes & Noble and/or some restaurant in mall
Rockville, MD Barnes & Noble and/or some restaurant in area

So long as they have free parking and or are near a metro stop I'm fine.

Is there a place where the Terp games won't interfere?

Saw this thread yesterday and Terpkristin was nice enough to poke me on twitter for it :) Interested in getting together though my familiarity with stuff out of the N. VA area is quite lacking so anything easier to navigate to would be my only preference. 11/22 is probably the only November date I could swing and food would be nice.

Rockville and VA will be places Terps games won't screw up but there's no game on the 22nd (well, it's away), so it's a good time for anything.

Sounds like we just need a poll (series of polls) for picking both a time and a date.

I usually use doodle.com for setting up dates, but that wouldn't help much for location. Is there a site we could use that would let people pick both?

The 22nd is fine for me, I'm going to favor locations with less driving typically but as I said so long as they have free/easy parking or a convenient metro stop the location won't sway me too much.

Really it will just be the social anxiety of meeting a bunch of strangers from the internet vs. staying at home more than anything. ^_^

Hey, just saw this! Haven't been around anywhere near as much lately, need to start up again.

Are we talking lunch, dinner, linner? I'd prefer daylight myself. Being near a bookstore not important to me. Prefer adequate parking. Rockville or Silver Spring known to me, others mentioned not so much.

I'm in Reston, so am up for future gatherings. I won't be able to do the 11/22 meet up, but maybe the next one!

Hey you guys - there's a comic book convention in Herndon this weekend called ShatterdomeCon. Not sure if you want to make it an official meet-up or not.

I'm going to be at a booth with my books, but I wanted to share in case anyone was interested in coming out for the con itself. I think it's going to be a good time, and it's local!

I'd be there for the 22nd, but I'm already signed up to man a booth in Richmond for the VA ComiCon. No rest for the weary :)

Bump again. Are we still going to try for the 22nd? Have we settled on a place?

At this point the 22nd still works for me. Busboys and Poets seems fine to me but I'm flexible.

Sorry I dropped off the face of the earth. Work is nuts and I seem to have gotten something, I literally slept all day yesterday.

So 11/22 it is.

Food seems more important than bookstore (we can chat about this month's pick over lunch, let's say). So the options are:
- Busboys & Poets Hyattsville (Google Maps makes it look like there's parking but not sure how much/if any of it is reserved)
- Something in Rockville (suggestions Matchbox or La Madeleine)
- Something in Silver Spring (suggestions Eggspectation or Austin Grill)

I'm suggesting things that have food for all types. My personal fave restaurant in Silver Spring is Mandalay, which if you're ever in the area, I strongly advise you try. http://www.mandalayrestaurantcafe.com/

Provide feedback by the 19th, please.

We'll plan to talk about Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and everybody "bring" 1 other book they want to discuss/tell the group about.

Heh. The rate I'm reading lately I'll be lucky to finish the book by the 22nd. Thankfully it's short. :-)

I like Eggspectation. They actually have good wings, though pricey.

I still favor Busboys though, simply due to commute. We can always try a few places to figure out the best combination of distance, parking, and food choices for everyone though.

The distance difference to Silver Spring is pretty minmal for me though, but as I recall Silver Spring you have to pay for parking, though it could just be that I didn't know where I could park free.

Could have a conflict now on the 22nd & really won't know closer to the 19th. Getting assigned homework? I'm so screwed. Guess I'll be cramming DADoES the night before. :)

BTW: Going thru the thread DC was mentioned then it just disappeared as an option. Did I miss something?

Jeff wrote: "BTW: Going thru the thread DC was mentioned then it just disappeared as an option. Did I miss something? "

I think no one simply volunteered any locations there and/or spoke up about it again. It seems like most of the people responding are in Maryland (I think) so maybe that's skewed it up more this way?

I know personally I'm not likely to go to DC unless it's a weekend and near a metro stop. If someone has a place that fits that description, I won't be opposed.

DC is my 2nd least favorite city in the world (that I've been to). I used to like it more when I lived North of the city but living west, it's SUCH a pain to get in, I've grown to hate it (to say nothing of how broken I am makes Metro hard). So since no one was pushing for it, I didn't spend too much time thinking about DC. But there are a few Busboys & Poets downtown as well as Teaism in Penn Quarter that would work, as well.

When coming up with places, I tried to find places roughly between Baltimore and Dulles. Hyattsville is about a round hour from where I live, Rockville is ~40 minutes, Silver Spring is in between (ish). I knew it was roughly the same from outside of B'more.

So this is what happens when I get excited and don't consult with my better half. Seems I/we do have a commitment on the 22nd at 1 pm. We haven't talked about a time yet, I just assumed we were shooting for a lunch hour time frame so if that is the case I will have to wait until the next meetup. So sorry folks.

So the 22nd may be flaming out. I'll ask T&V to mention it, if possible, on the show so that anybody who listens but doesn't come to the forums regularly may be able to jump in.

I can't do 11/15 (STEM fair thing), 11/29 (TERPS TERPS TERPS), or 12/6 (work work work) or 12/13 (too close to surgery) but am happy to help organize if required.

S. wrote: "Hey you guys - there's a comic book convention in Herndon this weekend called ShatterdomeCon. Not sure if you want to make it an official meet-up or not.

I'm going to be at a booth with my books, but I wanted to share in case anyone was interested in coming out for the con itself. I think it's going to be a good time, and it's local!

I'd be there for the 22nd, but I'm already signed up to man a booth in Richmond for the VA ComiCon. No rest for the weary :) "

I wished I'd realized about the Herndon event before it was too late. Of course, I also feel mightily stupid that I didn't realize that the World Fantasy Convention was in DC this year...

*facepalm*

Please feel free to post other news of local things in this thread! :)
I hope it went well for you. :)

What's your recovery time TK? I don't mind waiting until after the first of the year.

I created Polls for the next 3 months, so we can hopefully get a better feel of people's availability. It's anonymous so you don't have to give your email or real name (though please use the name you go by on good reads) unless you want to get updates on people filling it out.

I use the "yes-if-need-be" option to mean "maybe". I marked the afternoon slot as "after lunch" because it kept trying to change afternoon to 12:00PM.

We can figure out an exact time once we have a better idea of the best date and general time for people with further polls if needed. For now this will hopefully give us a better idea of whose interested and when.

I've already filled out mine for all 3, if you have any questions, let me know. It's pretty straight forward though.

The sooner we get things on people's calendar's the better, so they don't end up making other plans.

November: http://doodle.com/7vzuvswz4vz6npbn
December: http://doodle.com/9auf8nbdy4wscf8e
January: http://doodle.com/fbcf4xsu38c6758k

Hope I did it reasonably. Yes means "preferred time", maybe means "good chance it's doable", no means "known conflict". Except there's a definite conflict in December I don't know the date of yet, and I might always have a sudden conflict (live with 90-year-old parents).

Ctgt wrote: "What's your recovery time TK? I don't mind waiting until after the first of the year."

TBD. If it goes as we expect (and hope), should just be a few weeks. It better be, because I have tickets to PAX South in late January!! ;)

We'll see how the response to Rob's polls goes (I'm going to vote in just a minute). January may work best for all, but either way, I do want to get a good turn-out! Just remember that some of us in "NoVA" are still a ways out, too. So places around the beltway-ish or in the city with Metro access are probably good starting points, places half-way-ish between Baltimore and where I am (ish) which is near Dulles Airport. :)

Oh crap I did the Nov. poll wrong. Everywhere I put "IfINeedBe" I meant "Yes." I didn't read the directions. My January responses assume the surgery goes as expected.

Yes, I am a rocket scientist.