(appeared in DemoNews issue 117, February 23 1996) =-------------------------------------------[Things to Know about NAID]--[GD]-= _____Introduction Last year around this time, I constructed a checklist for those planning to go to NAID. This list included several things which one might need for the trip. Once again, we are nearing that time when we will embark on our journeys of varying length and direction to get us to NAID 1996. Therefore, I think it is crucial that you know the following information before planning your trip. _____Weather Being moved from mid-April to late-May, NAID will hopefully have a different climate this time around. Instead of the snow we were met with last year, we can hope to be rewarded this time around with shorts and t-shirt weather. However, a computer's processor actually works better when it is colder, so expect your demo to run slowly on the competition machine this year. I heard the organizers tried putting the CPU into a tank of ice cold water, but the test results came back negative. _____Driving If you are driving, you will need to exercise extreme caution on the streets of Montreal and surrounding areas. This is because Canadian drivers do not act the way you expect them to. When driving on a busy street, you must be careful that others do not cut you off. To be sure of this, locate a vehicle with Canadian license plates and tailgate them for as long as they continue going in your direction. This will also prevent the oncoming traffic from seeing your license plate and labeling you as a "tourist" complete with complimentary hand gestures. _____Bathrooms Last year, the small number of females associated with the demo scene were incorrectly overlooked. Due to this, the bathrooms were not adequately labeled. As a result, some females at the party place were accidentally using the men's bathroom (that is until one male came out of the showers and was discovered by a female.) In other words, guys, if you want to show off your stuff, this time you'll have to use the women's bathroom. _____Sleeping In the Hornet NAID report, we all saw a photo of a guy and a girl together in the same sleeping bag. Now, I am going to assume that their intentions were strictly to conserve space while packing their belongings. May I recommend an alternative for couples who intend to share sleeping bags at NAID to take turns sleeping. This will leave more space in the sleeping rooms for others, as well. It will also mean that your sleeping bag gets not 8, but 16 hours of use in one day! That effectively doubles its usefulness. _____Eating With all the activity at NAID, it can be at times difficult to set aside some time to grab a bite to eat. There are people you want to go chat with, take pictures of, and perhaps work together with on a competition entry. Since you never know when you might get a free moment to hit the snack bar, I suggest you always keep a napkin tucked into your waist. Messy eaters may also want to wear a bib under their chins. You will be ready to eat at a moment's notice, and your clothes won't get stained. _____Conclusion If you are able to follow these simple suggestions, you should enjoy NAID thoroughly. The first step to having a good time is effective planning. If you do follow these guidelines, please remember that I am not responsible for any odd stares, point-and-giggle, or blushed-face effects which you may experience. If you would like to check out the NAID WWW page, set your web browser to the following URL: http://www.autoroute.net/~naid If you would like to contact the NAID organizers, send email to the following address: naid@autoroute.net GD / Hornet - gd@ftp.cdrom.com