RailsConf is less than three weeks away now but there is still time to sign up if you're interested in coming. With the recent reduction in the hotel price ($99) it might be worth considering. Here are a few more reasons to go this year in no particular order:

1. Excellent Speakers -- Last year was my first RailsConf and I was blown away by the quality of the speakers. Pretty much every single session had both an interesting topic and an engaging speaker. Some sessions are better than others, but overall I think the speaker quality was quite high. The slides are always available online and usually very high-quality.
2. Convenient Location -- This year the conference will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada for the first time. Las Vegas is easy to get to from almost anywhere in the United States. There really isn't a better location in terms of the sheer number of direct flights other than perhaps Orlando Florida. The conference will also be held in the actual hotel where attendees will be staying. With an action-packed schedule this really adds to the convenience since you won't be traveling back and forth from the hotel to the conference center like last year. It's all right there under one roof.
3. Hiring Opportunities -- At last year's RailsConf there was a shocking number of companies who were interested in hiring qualified Rails programmers. Every time I sat down there was some brochure or business card laying there mentioning that such and such a company was looking to hire. So if you're looking to switch jobs or to find out more about the kinds of jobs that are out there this is a great opportunity.
4. Creativity Boost -- RailsConf is also a great opportunity to come up with new ideas and inspiration for your next 12 months of programming. With all the great talks and ideas floating around your head will soon be buzzing with exciting new ideas to take back to your existing job. It's a great opportunity to take a break from the daily coding march and to gain some new perspective.
5. A Chance to Network -- The conference is also a chance to meet all those people you have been chatting with online over these past several months. All of your favorite bloggers will be there plus those people whom you've been working with on your favorite open source projects. It's fun to put a name with a face and have more in-depth discussions that are not really possible online.

So if you haven't already signed up for RailsConf go and do it now. It's definitely worth the time and money.  If you decide to go, make sure to say "hi" if you see me there.