[dlv] Diva Las Vegas updates, suggested hotels, etc. ...

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This is the Diva Las Vegas 2013 announcement mailing list.

If you no longer desire to receive this list, see list
removal instructions below.
. . . . .
In this mailing:

Seasons Greetings
Suggested hotels for DLV 2013
Diva Las Vegas 2013
Registration and Things To Come
Important security alert
Administrivia
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Seasons Greetings:

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy New Year to you and yours
from the volunteers and organizers of DLV!

Welcome to those who joined our mailing list. If you have any
questions or concerns, please let us know. We're looking forward
to seeing you in person this coming April.

This will be the last general mailing regarding DLV for 2012. We
will begin regular DLV mailings in January of 2013.

If you're new, please be sure to read our Frequently Asked
Questions list, our Introduction To DLV, and our About Us pages
on line at the following URLs:

http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/
http://www.geekbabe.com/expect/
http://www.geekbabe.com/aboutus/
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Suggested hotels for DLV 2013:

The DLV Organizers Group has just agreed to name the following hotels
as our Suggested Hotels for Diva Las Vegas 2013:

(in alphabetical order)

1. Harrah's Las Vegas
2. Paris Hotel and Casino
3. Tuscany Suites

For Diva Las Vegas, you are free to stay wherever you wish. There
are no requirements to stay in our suggested hotels.

We make these suggestions for the following individuals:

1. For those who are unfamiliar with Las Vegas hotels in general or
unfamiliar with which hotels are TG-friendly.

2. For those who, for any reason, wish to stay in a hotel in which
other DLV attendees will be staying.
. . . . . . . . . .

A few notes on each hotel ...

Harrah's:

Harrah's is a very large midscale casino-hotel located in the heart
of the Center Strip, just north of the Imperial Palace.

This year, we're suggesting this as a replacement for the Imperial
Palace, which has been one of DLV's favorite hotels since 1997.

The adjoining Carnaval Court offers attractions and entertainment
day and night.

Very attractive hotel rates have been reported this year!
. . . . .

Paris:

The Paris is a very large upscale hotel-casino located just south
of the "Four Corners" Flamingo-Strip intersection.

The Paris is the first major Strip hotel to actively invite GLBT
business (note that they have included the T).

The Paris is very nice, but not cheap! It also tends to be crowded,
particularly on the weekends. Countless shops and eateries grace the
property. The Eiffel Tower is a major attraction and offers a
spectacular view of the Strip!

One caveat: Although the Paris promises that their staff will be
TG-friendly, this is a very large casino-hotel and tends to be crowded
at times.
. . . . .

Tuscany:

They say that all of their rooms are "suites", but many say that
they are simply large hotel rooms!

The Tuscany Suites is a smaller midscale casino-hotel located just
east of the Las Vegas Strip on Flamingo Avenue. The Tuscany rooms are
spread about in several low-rise buildings instead of taller hotel
towers. This makes the Tuscany ideal for those who do not wish to
enter and exit by way of a crowded hotel lobby.

The Tuscany is not recommended for those who will not be driving a
vehicle and do not have pre-arranged rides to DLV activities. Taxi
service can be spotty at the smaller off-Strip hotels such as
Tuscany.

Important Note: When comparing rates, please consider that the
Tuscany adds a mandatory $14 per night "Resort Fee" to your bill.
. . . . . . . . . .

So, why aren't we suggesting the Imperial Palace this year?

The Imperial Palace is the only Las Vegas hotel which has housed
DLV attendees each and every year throughout our history. The IP
has been a DLV Suggested Hotel every year that we have been making
suggestions.

This year the Imperial Palace is under transition, in conjunction
with the Linq Project, a major center-Strip entertainment undertaking.
The IP will be re-branded "The Quad" as part of the project.

There are too many unknowns as of this time for us to suggest, in
good faith, the IP for DLV 2013 attendees. We are suggesting instead,
Harrah's, next door to the IP, as our center-Strip lower-priced hotel
option this year.
. . . . .

So, why aren't we suggesting the Artisan this year?

This is mainly due to complaints received on the DLV 2012 attendee
survey, mostly having to do with noise at night.

We'll still be using the Artisan for various activities this year,
but we don't want to suggest it to those who desire a good night's
sleep.
. . . . . . . . . .

Some specific targeted suggestions:

The least expensive option will most likely be Harrah's, although
some very attractive rates have been seen for Tuscany as well.

The "safest" option will be Tuscany.

The best choice if you want to be near the largest number of other
DLV attendees will be Harrah's.

The best option if you will be needing rides with others will be
Harrah's.

The most luxurious option will be Paris.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Diva Las Vegas 2013:

Although our daily schedule will not be published for some time,
here are some of the highlights which have been decided up on at
the time of this mailing:

Our two major maximum-attendance gatherings are all set for Monday
and Friday of DLV week. Although details are not solid, these will
be similar to our large gatherings in DLV 2011. Big thanks to Cynthia
and Bev for their proactive organization of these activities.

We'll be having a daily morning coffee session. Katie's Koffee
Korner of DLV 2012 will be expanded and held daily, most likely
at a slightly later time.

Of course we'll have our daily "Lunch With Ginger" (or with an
alternate host or hostess) sessions for 2013. We'll concentrate on
reasonably-priced lunch venues for this, as requested in feedback.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Registration and Things To Come:

Re-registration for previous attendees will open January 1, 2013.

Shortly after the first of the year, those who have attended in
recent years will receive an invitation to re-register. This will
contain a link to the re-registration screen. This will allow a
very quick and convenient re-registration with only a few mouse
clicks.

New attendee registration for members of this mailing list will
open on or about February 1. If you are reading this via an e-mail
personally sent to you, this does include you.

General registration for DLV 2013 will open on or about March 1.

Activity sign-up will open the last week in March, 2013. This is
where you tell us which of the many optional activities you want
to do. Those who are registered for DLV 2013 can expect to receive
a personal activity sign-up e-mail during the last full week in
March.
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Important security alert:

Please do not get upset if you receive a message from "geekbabe.com
Abuse and Security" with the subject "Important e-mail security
notice to {you}." (Please don't shoot the messenger!)

Over the past week we've seen an increased amount of spam and
junk mail coming from obviously-compromised e-mail accounts. Many
of these are from names which are well-known to us. :) It's also
obvious that many of the victims whose accounts are compromised are
totally unaware that spam (or worse) is going out in their names.

This note from us is composed automatically, but reviewed, approved,
and actually sent by a human.

This note specifically includes the e-mail addresses out of the
user's address book or contact list which were revealed to all
recipients of the spam.

If you are ever a victim of this type of user account hijacking,
this procedure is known to be effective in getting the situation
under control:

This is not some kind of esoteric malware. Cases such as this can
usually be traced to an incident where the account holder has been
deceived into revealing their password to the account.

If you received the note described above, the following procedure
has been known to easily fix things in most cases.

1. Using a known-clean computer system (not the one you normally
use to access your compromised account), log in and change your
password to a new password known only to you and not used on any
other systems.

2. Before you use the computer system you usually use to access
your account, perform a virus/malware/spyware sweep using any of
several available security programs. This will remove such things
as spybots and keystroke loggers which may have been used to steal
your login credentials.

3. In the future, be very careful when clicking on any links in any
received e-mail, when opening any attachments received via e-mail,
or responding to any request to "verify your password" received in
e-mail.
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Administrivia:

This is the Diva Las Vegas 2013 Announcement mailing list.

This list is limited to announcements and other high-importance
items.

Replies to this mailing will be forwarded to: dlv@geekbabe.com
Submissions/questions should be sent to: dlv@geekbabe.com
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. . . . .

Diva Las Vegas 2013
Sunday, April 14 - Friday, April 19
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
. . . . .


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