And most important... between now and the convention -
do not lose your badgeLosing badge is very very baaaaad....
Oh and one advantage of the ID checking thing when you get your badge, especially for those of you who hit a threshold age, such as 21 or at least old enough to switch from a kid badge to adult badge, is it allows us to verify that you really have reached that age by the convention time.
More reasons for checking badges: you can't get the cool swag bag unless you check in; we want to be certain that the badge YOU paid for is in YOUR hands (what if someone stole your mail, got your badge, and is attempting to attend the convention free???); we need to verify how many pre-registered people actually attend the convention (yeah, all intend to go to the convention when they purchase a membership, but life happens and some can't make it)