Would you like a free trip to New York City?

Posted by Greg Laden on September 7, 2008
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i-ee64dd57fe82b1613460420052ef2750-view_of_new_york.jpg

How would you like to win “a trip for two to New York City and exclusive science adventures only ScienceBlogs could give you access to? The trip includes airfare, four nights in a four-star hotel, behind-the-scenes tours of top museums and labs, and dinner with your favorite ScienceBlogger.”

All you have to do is to leave a comment on Scienceblogs with a valid email address (so we can contact you) or fill out the form on this page.

Oh, and be the one that gets randomly picked. To represent the millionth comment author.

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Comments

  1. #1 lylebot
    September 7, 2008

    “Dinner with your favorite ScienceBlogger”? What if my favorite ScienceBlogger is pseudonymous? Will they wear a paper bag over their head the entire time? Or make me call them by their blog handle?

  2. #2 Virgil Samms
    September 7, 2008

    A trip for two? Great; that would accommodate me and my ego. but getting the airline tickets issued in my pesudonym might cause complications. I guess I’ll have to pass.

  3. #3 Homie Bear
    September 7, 2008

    How about Canadians, are they eligible?

  4. #4 Mike Haubrich, FCD
    September 7, 2008

    I don’t know. I am not sure if I want to go to New York. It’s a big city and I hear that bad things happen to Midwesterners on the subway.

  5. #5 Stephanie Z
    September 7, 2008

    HomieBear, since the rules say, “If trip involves international travel, Prize Winner(s) must have valid passports in order to redeem such Prize,” I’d say yes.

  6. #6 david avery
    September 7, 2008

    I’m in.

  7. #7 df
    September 7, 2008

    It would be so difficult to choose one favorite blogger…

  8. #8 pkiwi
    September 7, 2008

    “Da da da-de-dah, de dah dah de dah-dah” now going through my head for the rest of the day (“New York, Ne-ew York”)!

  9. #9 Joe
    September 7, 2008

    Image credit?

  10. #10 Kevin
    September 7, 2008

    and if the winner is one of PZ (or others) many creationist loving trolls ands science bashers??

  11. #11 PZ Myers
    September 7, 2008

    That would be spectacular. If a creationist wins, I hope he picks me to join him or her in New York!

  12. #12 Alan Kellogg
    September 7, 2008

    Won’t go to New York City. Here’s what I will do.

    I stay home, visit science sites in San Diego, and visit with science types in town.

    With the money they save Science buys me the following.

    Maxed out iMac
    Maxed out duplex printer
    Extra ink
    Extra paper
    Maxed out scanner
    Maxed out external harddrive
    Civilization III and IV
    Various utilities and apps

    Finally, a trip to Mysterious Galaxy (local genre bookstore) with the money remaining.

  13. #13 Shawn
    September 7, 2008

    That’s awsome!

  14. #14 Shawn
    September 7, 2008

    Oops! I meant, awesome!

  15. #15 tocarde
    September 7, 2008

    What kind of labs would we get to visit?

  16. #16 Dan J
    September 7, 2008

    I just wanna know how Greg is gonna handle the quick flight to New York for dinner.

  17. #17 Kel
    September 7, 2008

    That is a really cool prize, it’s good to see that scienceblogs is trying to create an online community.

  18. #18 Onkel Bob
    September 8, 2008

    Random you say?

  19. #19 IBY
    September 8, 2008

    The chance of me getting it… So small…

  20. #20 Paladin
    September 8, 2008

    Is this offer available for non-US citizens, or does Seed assume everybody who uses the internet is American?

    Even if i’d have to pay for the plane, it would still be a great deal, but there is the question of visa, and i might get labeled as a terrorist/DMA criminal at the border, have my electronics confiscated and sent back (if i’m lucky).

  21. #21 vitamine73
    September 8, 2008

    Count me in!

  22. #22 Greg Laden
    September 8, 2008

    Interesting questions. I have no official answers, but I have some guesses.

    The chance that the winner will be a creationist troll of PZ’s is, what, about 15%? That would be interesting.

    I do know that the editors have spoken about pseudonymity with the pseudonymous, and each of us were asked to indicate if we would agree to go to dinner or not. I do not know what the pseudonymous have worked out, if anything. We all assume, of course, that PZ will be the guy going to New York anyway. But it is an interesting question. Similar questions come up when Sblings get together and photographs are taken.

    Yes, New York is a dangerous place.

    As for taking the money and buying a computer or something, I don’t know but I think that to Seed/Scienceblogs, it is not the money that counts, but the thought. Presume that you will also have to agree to having your picture taken meeting Nils Eldridge, etc. and eating at Tavern on the Green, taking the Staten Island Ferry, on top of the Empire State Building, whatever whatever. These photographs will then be used to promote science. Maybe they can get you on the Today Show. Whatever. Some geek with a new computer in San Jose is not going to do it for them!

  23. #23 TomJoe
    September 8, 2008

    I wouldn’t mind winning the trip to NY to visit my old stomping grounds, and who wouldn’t want the “behind the scene tours” but … what if I don’t want dinner with any of the ScienceBloggers?

  24. #24 Brent
    September 8, 2008

    I’m going to ask Jehova, Xenu, AND FSM for their help on this one.

  25. #25 Greg Laden
    September 8, 2008

    TomJoe: If you don’t want to have dinner with a scienceblogger (which I can totally understand) perhaps you can have diner with Ginny, our editor. She’s cool. Or maybe we can just send you to the Automat with some change, and you can pick something up to nosh in the park.

  26. #26 megan
    September 8, 2008

    yay, seems like every time I go home to visit the fam in NJ I manage to not-make-it to NYC. It would be good to stay focused on the city for once.

    I don’t know if I’d pick my favorite blogger or the one I think would be the most fun to goof off with, hmm…

  27. #27 TomJoe
    September 8, 2008

    Greg: Thanks for the suggestion. I was mostly kidding though, I know of a couple of science bloggers I wouldn’t mind sitting down and talking science with. Maybe if I win, I’ll hold a contest to see which Science Blogger wants to go to NYC and have lunch with me.

  28. #28 Greg Laden
    September 8, 2008

    Maybe if I win, I’ll hold a contest to see which Science Blogger wants to go to NYC and have lunch with me.

    OMG, it turns out the readers are smarter than the bloggers!!!

    We’re doomed!!!

  29. #29 Declan
    September 8, 2008

    I would love to travel to NY in the U.S and A to see your great high scrapers and large women sculptures, and also eat dinner with you at a revolving restaurant.

  30. #30 Onkel Bob
    September 8, 2008

    We all assume, of course, that PZ will be the guy going to New York anyway.

    Why? If I won, I might invite Nisbet just see that famous framing in action. I might just pick Orac because I suspect he’s in NYC and would know where to eat! (Other than H&H Bagel) Molecule of the Day would be another pick as they might bring some…

  31. #31 Alan Kellogg
    September 8, 2008

    Greg, you aint never been to Mt. Palomar.

    Or the San Pasqual Wild Animal Park.

    Or the San Diego Zoo.

    Or the Cleveland National Forest.

    Or the Anza Borrego Desert State Park

    Or Tecolote Canyon.

    Or Scripps Aquarium.

    Or Scripps Institute of Oceanography.

    Or the Salk Institute.

    Or UCSD.

    We even have our own sasquatch stories. How many sasquatch stories do you have out of NYC?

    Then there’s the annual Shakespeare Festival at the Old Globe in Balboa Park. With two stages even. The only Shakespeare festival where lines get interrupted by shrieking siamangs.

    And to top it all off, we’ve got a higher cost of living. And you want people to go to a looser town like New York. :scoff/snort:

  32. #32 Greg Laden
    September 9, 2008

    Alan, I’ve been to all of the places on that list, but not to the Shakespeare fest. To make up for that, I’ve had lunch at the Coronado, driven town to T, and I’ve been out amongst the whales near Pt Loma.

    I grew up in upstate New York in a town that, I kid you not, is the home of about half of the well known “ghost stories” of the mid 20th century (the other half are mainly from New England). Not far from where I grew up is a large lake with a sea monster called “Champy”. We were also the birthplace of the American Revolution and the Discovery of Electricity and stuff.

  33. #33 Brent
    September 9, 2008

    Greg you’re going to have to share some stories about your wonder years with Champy.