I was visiting my friend Amy Kerr on Saturday afternoon, and noticed that her new ceiling fan/light fixture was still in the box. Her tall guy-friend that was going to install it had to go out of town for work for an extended period of time, and wasn't able to install the fan before he left.
No problem, says I. I've installed a few ceiling fans in my time, and it's not that big a deal. We have a couple of hours to kill, want to do it now?
Step One: Remove the old broken ceiling fan. Amy looks for the small step ladder, which can't be found. No problem, the ceiling is "normal" height, and I can reach just fine standing on the kitchen chairs, and the removal of the old fan goes just fine. The old celing mounting bracket for the old fan is still in good shape, and I should be able to use it. Hurray! One less thing to have to remove and replace.
Step Two: Assemble the new fan. This, too, goes relatively well. This fan has a few more pieces than the last couple I put together, but the directions are pretty good. I put the motor housings together while Amy attaches all of the fan blades where they need to go (this one has to have them added prior to the final step, where many fans have that as the last step instead). It feels weird having help! The last few ceiling lights and fans I installed I did all alone. Help is much better!
While I'm looking at all of the parts, I realize that the construction of this fan requires use of the ceiling mounting bracket that it came with, due to the two small screws on the bottom where the cover for the ceiling part is supposed to attach. Okay, no problem. I'll just climb back up and remove the old mounting bracket, and install the new one.
Problem Number One: Amy lacks a Nut Driver. That would be the tool you need to add or remove a nut from a screw (No, there was no way in the world you could get at that nut with a wrench. I tried that, too.). Since I hadn't been planning this Fannish Adventure, I did not bring my toolbox. So, off we go to Home Depot to purchase tools.
Back at Amy's again. By the way, it's getting dark now, and we have to break out flashlights since it was easier to turn off ALL the power to the condo. Amy is repriesing her role as Follow-Spot operator, and shining the flashlight onto the ceiling so I can remove the nuts from the screws, and take down the old mounting brackets. No sweat once you have the right tool.
Next, I go to install the new mounting bracket... only the screws protruding from the ceiling are too short!!! (It is useful to note at this point that the addition of a ceiling fan in the living room was not part of, nor planned for in, the original construction. I would love to know how those bolts came to be sticking out of the ceiling.) Well, bummer. Now what? Ah, I know, there's just some foam rubber glued to the back (ceiling side) of the mounting brackets, so I removed it. Problem solved. Now the screws are long enough to get the nuts back on.
Problem Number Two: The slots for the ceiling-mount screws on the old bracket are ever so slightly larger than the ones on the new bracket. Once you have the nut on the screw on one side, the screw on the other side just fits into the slot on the other side. There is ZERO room for the nut.
After much cursing, several attempts to just get it to go on anyway, and several rounds of drop-then-pick-up the nut, I admit defeat. It's just not going to go. And you can't hang a heavy ceiling fan with only one side of the mounting bracket attached. That is just a disaster in the making.
Fine, we say. We will just screw it into the ceiling from the underneath side, and round up a 1.5 inch screw. However, my attempts to force said screw into the ceiling, over my head, with just a regular screw driver, were all for naught. I could make it do no more than put a big dimple into the popcorn plaster.
I have an electric drill at home, and I'll just bring that tomorrow. Shouldn't be any problem at all with a drill. I can make the traditional starter hole, and then use the drill to put the screw in as well (yes, I own tools, and I know how to use them!). We'll have that fan up in no time tomorrow.
I secured the black and white wires that were now dangling from the ceiling (didn't want any chance of them touching each other), Amy turned the power back on, and we went to go sing Christmas Carols with some friends, followed by a party at some other friends' house. A great evening was had by all.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Loki vs The Gift Bag
Last night as I was finishing up some Christmas presents and putting them into a pretty paper gift bag, well… Loki happened!
He insists on examining every bag, jumping in and rooting around. Sometimes I pick up the bag he's climbed into and carry him around.
This time he stuck his head into the bag by way of the handle, and got his head stuck! This, of course, freaked him out, and he started speed-lapping the apartment, with the bag still attached! I had to chase him down through 3 rooms, while he was still doing time trials. After I caught him in the dining room and determined that he wasn't in actual peril (he, of course, did not agree), I took his photo before removing his new fashion accessory.
Next I retraced his route to find the gifts that had been strewn about, and the rest of the now-destroyed bag. All items were located, and none of the gifts had been damaged. Whew!
Not 10 minutes later Loki climbed into another tote bag.
Like I said before, he needs a brain.
He insists on examining every bag, jumping in and rooting around. Sometimes I pick up the bag he's climbed into and carry him around.
This time he stuck his head into the bag by way of the handle, and got his head stuck! This, of course, freaked him out, and he started speed-lapping the apartment, with the bag still attached! I had to chase him down through 3 rooms, while he was still doing time trials. After I caught him in the dining room and determined that he wasn't in actual peril (he, of course, did not agree), I took his photo before removing his new fashion accessory.
Next I retraced his route to find the gifts that had been strewn about, and the rest of the now-destroyed bag. All items were located, and none of the gifts had been damaged. Whew!
Not 10 minutes later Loki climbed into another tote bag.
Like I said before, he needs a brain.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Hosting Convention Panels 101
I think they need to make convention panelists take a course on "How To Be A Convention Panelist," because this weekend at Worldcon has made it clear to me that far too many of them don't know how to do it.
I attended more than one panel where the "moderator" did more talking than anyone else. On one panel the moderator would barely let the panelists make a comment, then would tell each of them why she thought they were wrong.
At another panel, one of the panelists got very far off topic in the first five minutes, and just rambled inanely on and on. The moderator did nothing to reel the guy back in, or make him shut up. I actually left that panel after about ten minutes of the crazy off-topic monologue. I could no longer stand it, and it wasn't the discussion I showed up to listen to.
One panelist sat sideways the entire time, talking to the guy next to him, and would never speak into the microphone. That, combined with his 90MPH speech pattern, made it impossible to either hear or understand him.
One guy kept sitting really far back, not speaking into the microphone. The audience had to yell "Mike!" at him every single time he spoke. And he always looked so put-out that he had to sit up straight and repeat the beginning of whatever comment he had started to make.
I'm sure you couldn't actually get the panel participants to show up for a taining session. You'd never be be able to get them all to show up at the same time and place. So, I think all conventions should give every panelist an instruction sheet when they arrive, and be made to read it before they are allowed to participate in a panel.
Here are my suggestions of what the instruction sheet should say. Feel free to copy and use this in its entirety, but kindly give me credit for having written it.
1. Use the microphones and use them properly.
I attended more than one panel where the "moderator" did more talking than anyone else. On one panel the moderator would barely let the panelists make a comment, then would tell each of them why she thought they were wrong.
At another panel, one of the panelists got very far off topic in the first five minutes, and just rambled inanely on and on. The moderator did nothing to reel the guy back in, or make him shut up. I actually left that panel after about ten minutes of the crazy off-topic monologue. I could no longer stand it, and it wasn't the discussion I showed up to listen to.
One panelist sat sideways the entire time, talking to the guy next to him, and would never speak into the microphone. That, combined with his 90MPH speech pattern, made it impossible to either hear or understand him.
One guy kept sitting really far back, not speaking into the microphone. The audience had to yell "Mike!" at him every single time he spoke. And he always looked so put-out that he had to sit up straight and repeat the beginning of whatever comment he had started to make.
I'm sure you couldn't actually get the panel participants to show up for a taining session. You'd never be be able to get them all to show up at the same time and place. So, I think all conventions should give every panelist an instruction sheet when they arrive, and be made to read it before they are allowed to participate in a panel.
Here are my suggestions of what the instruction sheet should say. Feel free to copy and use this in its entirety, but kindly give me credit for having written it.
1. Use the microphones and use them properly.
- The ones used in convention centers and hotels are NOT omni-directional. You have to face them, and speak directly into them in order to be heard by your audience.
- Do not sit leaning back in your chair with your face four feet from the microphone, because it won't pick up your voice. The audience is going to get very tired of having to shout "Mike!" at you for the entire panel.
- Speak at a normal level. Do not shout and break everyone's eardrums, or whisper and give everyone a stress headache from trying to hear you.
- If there aren't enough microphones for for each person to have their own, then be polite and share. Nobody likes a microphone hog.
2. This is not a TV chat show. It is a panel discussion.
- Don't turn sideways during the whole panel, speaking only to your fellow panelists and ignoring the audience. This will produce some bad results.
- A: If the microphone is in a stand on the table, you won't be speaking into it properly (see point 1 above), and the audience won't be able to hear you.
- B: it gives the audience the impression that you don't care about them, or care if they hear what you have to say, making you seem like an arrogant prick.
3. If you are too shy to speak in front of an audience, then politely decline when asked to be on a panel. The fans will understand. In general, it is better to have a reputation as a shy person than as an arrogant one.
4. If you happen to be one of those people who really do hate your fans (yes, there are such people), then please decline all convention invitations and stay home. The fans don't appreciate being insulted, and can tell when you don't like them.
5. If you are the moderator, then please moderate.
- Moderator doesn't mean "star of the panel," so in most cases you should Shut The Frak Up! Yes, sometimes the moderator can, and should, participate. But note that is participate, not dominate.
- Your job is to keep the panel on track for the Topic, since that's what the audience showed up for.
- Politely reel in or axe conversations that have gone astray.
- Keep the panel-hogs from usurping all of the talk time.
- Seek out comments from panelists who aren't talking enough. Someone in the audience showed up to hear them speak, too.
- And since this seems to need repeating to many moderators, remember that you are the moderator, not the star. Do not be the one who is the Panel Hog.
6. If you desire to be invited as any sort of guest to a future convention, then think of every panel you are on as a type of audition. You never know who is in the audience. If you seem arrogant, or uncontrollable, or difficult to deal with, you could be passed over as a future guest simply based on your actions on a panel.
Monday, September 6, 2010
AussieCon 4, Day 4
Sunday, 5 September 2010
[NOTE: The photos will be added later. For now, just the Blog.]
[NOTE: The photos will be added later. For now, just the Blog.]
Frak frak frak frak frak. I came back to the hotel room last night to drop some stuff off before heading out to the parties, and decided to work on uploading photos to Flickr for a few minutes first. I fell asleep with the computer in my lap. By the time I woke up, the parties were long over. Darnit.
On a good note, it's stopped raining. However, the locals seem to say what we do in Florida about the weather: just wait a bit, it could start raining again!
It's Father's Day here in Australia. So, Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there.
* * * * *
I finally got the Sydney photos uploaded and labeled, and the blogs to go with them posted. I'm seriously thinking of posting the rest of the blogs tonight to get caught up, and doing the photos later. I can edit the blogs to put the photo links in when I get them done. Maybe on the train Tuesday, if I can get the air card to work.
I am eating Brekky (Aussie slang for Breakfast) in the Pensione Cafe. Eggs Benedict and cafe mocha. They do poached eggs with a runny center. I don't recall having them that way before. Then again, I don't have either poached eggs or Eggs Benedict often, either.
Now I'm off to the convention for a Noon panel on whether or not the Doctor should be a woman.
* * * * *
Started chatting with a fellow convention-goer on my way out of the cafe, and continued chatting all the way to the convention center. Turned out to be Andy Porter from NY. I'd never met him before, at least not that I recall.
Ran into Alan Stewart when I arrived, who said some of his friends wanted one of the "My Ribbon Is Better Than Yours" ribbons, so I handed out a few, then headed upstairs to look for the latest newsletter (looks like the Sunday morning edition hasn't come out yet). I ran into Steve Francis and chatted with him for a bit.
* * * * *
12:00 Panel: The Case for A Female Doctor. Panelists: Kerrie Dougherty, Cat Valente, Carolina Gomez, Paul Cornell, Tansy Rayner Roberts.
Lively discussion. Absolutely the most packed panel I've seen so far (available seating to people in them ratio). General consensus seems to be that the fans would love to see a female Doctor. Someone shouted out they'd like to see the relationship between a female Doctor and River Phoenix. The panelists started making Zombie jokes. Obviously the person meant to say River Song, not River Phoenix.
* * * * *
13:00 Panel: Fantasy Before Fantasy. Science Fiction Before Science Fiction. Panelists: Ben Chandler, Rani Graff, Carol Ryles, Helen Lowe. About the older stories that were fantasy and science fiction before the more current stories we think of in that genre.
This should be an interesting panel, but they've managed to make it dull and boring. They also keep mumbling and not speaking into the microphonse, so we can't hear them, and I am in the second row. I think I'd rather jam toothpicks under my nails than stay in here, so I am leaving less than 10 minutes into the panel.
* * * * *
Chicago was running unopposed for 2012, so it's no huge surprise that they won. I went ahead and converted my membership to attending so I don't have to worry about forgetting later and having to pay more because the rates went up. I also snagged a "Dave in training" ribbon from The Dave, who was handing out the "Dave" and "Not Dave" ribbons.
I adore this city for their availability of coffee. I might have mentioned that before. There are coffee vendors all over the convention center. While the prices aren't cheap, they seem to be the same as the coffee shops and restaurants.
If you've been attending AussieCon 4, June Madeley wants your help with a survey. It's part of a larger research project on SF Fandom and Worldcon. www.surveymonkey.com/s/aussie4 June is the woman from Canada that was in the Penguin Parade tour I went on.
* * * * *
14:00 Panel: The Short Half-Life of Television. Panelists: Ginjer Buchanan, Jeanne Meally, Danny Oz. Great discussion about TV shows that ended too soon.
I was SO happy that Danny Oz mentioned Prey. I loved that show, and it seems nobody I know has ever heard of it. I chatted up Danny after the panel, and it turns out that he has all of the episodes on DVD! Now I may have a chance at a copy as well.
* * * * *
15:00 Panel: Science Fiction and The Television Industry. Panelists: Paul Cornell, Melinda Snodgrass, Ian Mond. It wound up going all over the place in terms of discussing SF on TV, including illegal downloading and DVD sales. Still, it was quite an interesting discussion.
T-Shirt idea: I Crave the Nerdieness of Past Decades. (What is the proper spelling of nerdieness?)
On the way out of the room after the panel I stopped to talk to a woman knitting socks, and mentioned that I may need more yarn to finish the baby afghan. Two local residents sitting nearby very kindly gave me the name of three stores in the city where I could buy yarn! I will have to go and have a look. Otherwise I will have to make the blanket shorter than the design calls for since I misjudged how much yarn I would need for the whole thing.
* * * * *
16:00 No panels sparked my interest. Time for a bathroom break. 8-)
Art Show! I so often miss the art show, because I forget until it's too late. I should go now, while I am between panels.
I managed to sell the last of my TARDIS phone charms to the lady giving me a bidder number for the art show. I saw one thing I really would have bought, only it was already sold via Quick Sale. Sometimes I wish the Quick Sales weren't allowed. I didn't even have a chance to bid on it.
I did see a necklace for sale by one of the artists that I like, but it isn't yelling at me that I need to give it a new home.
* * * * *
17:00 Panel: Boxcutters Presents: Writing Doctor Who. Panelists: Paul Cornell, Rob Shearman, John Richards.
I spent too long in the Art Show, and now there's no room left to do anything other than stand in the doorway. No thanks. I'll pass on the standing for now. At least it's a really crowded, packed panel. I believe it beats the previous Doctor Who panel on number of people to seating capacity ratio. The rooms seem to hold around 200 people.
* * * * *
I've decided to try writing fiction again. I haven't done it in probably 20 years. No, more like 25. But I've had a short story rolling around in my head lately, demanding to be let out, so I think I will open the door. Or is it a window?
Whenever I get it done I promise to share.
* * * * *
The program book says the Hugos are at 7pm. The updated Sunday schedule says 8pm. I'm not sure which to believe. Guess I will go downstairs and ask at the information desk. Although, they're not likely to know as they've not known the answer to anything else I've asked them. But I'll still give it a try.
And the answer is… doors open at 7pm, ceremony starts at 8pm. That now gives me about 1.5 hours to hobble somewhere, eat, and hobble back. The knee is in really bad form today, and the Achilles tendon on my left loot is acting up again as well. Grrrrrrrrrrr…
* * * * *
Just ran into Toni Weisskopf and Julie (I am so sorry, I forgot her last name) in the hallway and gave them ribbons. I'm still looking for the person with "I Can Has Rybn" ribbons.
* * * * *
I think I'm going back to my hotel now to dump stuff. There is a Pizza place with Take Away just around the corner from the hotel.
* * * * *
Stuff dumped. Blog post email sent. Pizza place only sold whole pies, and since I neither want to eat a whole pizza, nor wait on them to cook it, I went next door to Michel's Patisserie and got a yummy grilled ham and cheese sandwich. I was so hungry I ate it on the way back to the convention center. But I'm still hungry. Oh, well.
* * * * *
2010 Hugo Awards
I am sitting in the auditorium now, next to Dave Clark from Berkeley. I haven't had a chance to just sit and chat with him in ages since he's usually working in the Dealer's Room, but he's not this time. The people I sat behind at the masquerade last night are in the row behind me, and the people from Texas in 2013 are in the row in front of me. It seems that I keep seeing the same people over and over again, despite the size of the convention.
The awards ceremony was nicely done, and went quickly. They opted not to show clips from each of the dramatic presentation entries, which helped cut down on the length of the awards ceremony. And for a rare occasion, there was a tie for Best Novel.
For a complete list of the winners, please use this link: http://www.thehugoawards.org/
* * * * *
On a good note, it's stopped raining. However, the locals seem to say what we do in Florida about the weather: just wait a bit, it could start raining again!
It's Father's Day here in Australia. So, Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there.
* * * * *
I finally got the Sydney photos uploaded and labeled, and the blogs to go with them posted. I'm seriously thinking of posting the rest of the blogs tonight to get caught up, and doing the photos later. I can edit the blogs to put the photo links in when I get them done. Maybe on the train Tuesday, if I can get the air card to work.
I am eating Brekky (Aussie slang for Breakfast) in the Pensione Cafe. Eggs Benedict and cafe mocha. They do poached eggs with a runny center. I don't recall having them that way before. Then again, I don't have either poached eggs or Eggs Benedict often, either.
Now I'm off to the convention for a Noon panel on whether or not the Doctor should be a woman.
* * * * *
Started chatting with a fellow convention-goer on my way out of the cafe, and continued chatting all the way to the convention center. Turned out to be Andy Porter from NY. I'd never met him before, at least not that I recall.
Ran into Alan Stewart when I arrived, who said some of his friends wanted one of the "My Ribbon Is Better Than Yours" ribbons, so I handed out a few, then headed upstairs to look for the latest newsletter (looks like the Sunday morning edition hasn't come out yet). I ran into Steve Francis and chatted with him for a bit.
* * * * *
12:00 Panel: The Case for A Female Doctor. Panelists: Kerrie Dougherty, Cat Valente, Carolina Gomez, Paul Cornell, Tansy Rayner Roberts.
Lively discussion. Absolutely the most packed panel I've seen so far (available seating to people in them ratio). General consensus seems to be that the fans would love to see a female Doctor. Someone shouted out they'd like to see the relationship between a female Doctor and River Phoenix. The panelists started making Zombie jokes. Obviously the person meant to say River Song, not River Phoenix.
* * * * *
13:00 Panel: Fantasy Before Fantasy. Science Fiction Before Science Fiction. Panelists: Ben Chandler, Rani Graff, Carol Ryles, Helen Lowe. About the older stories that were fantasy and science fiction before the more current stories we think of in that genre.
This should be an interesting panel, but they've managed to make it dull and boring. They also keep mumbling and not speaking into the microphonse, so we can't hear them, and I am in the second row. I think I'd rather jam toothpicks under my nails than stay in here, so I am leaving less than 10 minutes into the panel.
* * * * *
Chicago was running unopposed for 2012, so it's no huge surprise that they won. I went ahead and converted my membership to attending so I don't have to worry about forgetting later and having to pay more because the rates went up. I also snagged a "Dave in training" ribbon from The Dave, who was handing out the "Dave" and "Not Dave" ribbons.
I adore this city for their availability of coffee. I might have mentioned that before. There are coffee vendors all over the convention center. While the prices aren't cheap, they seem to be the same as the coffee shops and restaurants.
If you've been attending AussieCon 4, June Madeley wants your help with a survey. It's part of a larger research project on SF Fandom and Worldcon. www.surveymonkey.com/s/aussie4 June is the woman from Canada that was in the Penguin Parade tour I went on.
* * * * *
14:00 Panel: The Short Half-Life of Television. Panelists: Ginjer Buchanan, Jeanne Meally, Danny Oz. Great discussion about TV shows that ended too soon.
I was SO happy that Danny Oz mentioned Prey. I loved that show, and it seems nobody I know has ever heard of it. I chatted up Danny after the panel, and it turns out that he has all of the episodes on DVD! Now I may have a chance at a copy as well.
* * * * *
15:00 Panel: Science Fiction and The Television Industry. Panelists: Paul Cornell, Melinda Snodgrass, Ian Mond. It wound up going all over the place in terms of discussing SF on TV, including illegal downloading and DVD sales. Still, it was quite an interesting discussion.
T-Shirt idea: I Crave the Nerdieness of Past Decades. (What is the proper spelling of nerdieness?)
On the way out of the room after the panel I stopped to talk to a woman knitting socks, and mentioned that I may need more yarn to finish the baby afghan. Two local residents sitting nearby very kindly gave me the name of three stores in the city where I could buy yarn! I will have to go and have a look. Otherwise I will have to make the blanket shorter than the design calls for since I misjudged how much yarn I would need for the whole thing.
* * * * *
16:00 No panels sparked my interest. Time for a bathroom break. 8-)
Art Show! I so often miss the art show, because I forget until it's too late. I should go now, while I am between panels.
I managed to sell the last of my TARDIS phone charms to the lady giving me a bidder number for the art show. I saw one thing I really would have bought, only it was already sold via Quick Sale. Sometimes I wish the Quick Sales weren't allowed. I didn't even have a chance to bid on it.
I did see a necklace for sale by one of the artists that I like, but it isn't yelling at me that I need to give it a new home.
* * * * *
17:00 Panel: Boxcutters Presents: Writing Doctor Who. Panelists: Paul Cornell, Rob Shearman, John Richards.
I spent too long in the Art Show, and now there's no room left to do anything other than stand in the doorway. No thanks. I'll pass on the standing for now. At least it's a really crowded, packed panel. I believe it beats the previous Doctor Who panel on number of people to seating capacity ratio. The rooms seem to hold around 200 people.
* * * * *
I've decided to try writing fiction again. I haven't done it in probably 20 years. No, more like 25. But I've had a short story rolling around in my head lately, demanding to be let out, so I think I will open the door. Or is it a window?
Whenever I get it done I promise to share.
* * * * *
The program book says the Hugos are at 7pm. The updated Sunday schedule says 8pm. I'm not sure which to believe. Guess I will go downstairs and ask at the information desk. Although, they're not likely to know as they've not known the answer to anything else I've asked them. But I'll still give it a try.
And the answer is… doors open at 7pm, ceremony starts at 8pm. That now gives me about 1.5 hours to hobble somewhere, eat, and hobble back. The knee is in really bad form today, and the Achilles tendon on my left loot is acting up again as well. Grrrrrrrrrrr…
* * * * *
Just ran into Toni Weisskopf and Julie (I am so sorry, I forgot her last name) in the hallway and gave them ribbons. I'm still looking for the person with "I Can Has Rybn" ribbons.
* * * * *
I think I'm going back to my hotel now to dump stuff. There is a Pizza place with Take Away just around the corner from the hotel.
* * * * *
Stuff dumped. Blog post email sent. Pizza place only sold whole pies, and since I neither want to eat a whole pizza, nor wait on them to cook it, I went next door to Michel's Patisserie and got a yummy grilled ham and cheese sandwich. I was so hungry I ate it on the way back to the convention center. But I'm still hungry. Oh, well.
* * * * *
2010 Hugo Awards
I am sitting in the auditorium now, next to Dave Clark from Berkeley. I haven't had a chance to just sit and chat with him in ages since he's usually working in the Dealer's Room, but he's not this time. The people I sat behind at the masquerade last night are in the row behind me, and the people from Texas in 2013 are in the row in front of me. It seems that I keep seeing the same people over and over again, despite the size of the convention.
The awards ceremony was nicely done, and went quickly. They opted not to show clips from each of the dramatic presentation entries, which helped cut down on the length of the awards ceremony. And for a rare occasion, there was a tie for Best Novel.
For a complete list of the winners, please use this link: http://www.thehugoawards.org/
* * * * *
21:00 Parties!
Crowne Plaza, Corporate Left: Chicago in 2012
Crowne Plaza, Corporate Right: Brotherhood Without Banners
Crowne Plaza, Bridge: Hugo Reception
* * * * *
After the Hugo Awards I walked over to the Crowne Plaza to check out the parties. I found the same group of Aussie fans I found on Friday night, and started chatting with them again. Turns out that two of them are going to the States, and are leaving from Sydney on Saturday on the same Delta flight I'll be taking home! I wound up chatting with two of the guys, Darren and Sully, for quite a long time, mostly talking about all the things that are different between the US and Australia: words and phrases, holidays, seasons, sports, you name it. It was a great conversation. Next thing we knew, it was after 1:30 am! No wonder the parties were packing up. Darren and Sully left to drive home, and a woman named Adrianne who had joined the conversation about a half hour before we all gave up, walked back as far as the 7-Eleven on the corner with me. Our hotels are on the same block.
Now I am back in my hotel room, updating the notes for my blog, drinking Vanilla Coke, and eating Sweet Chili with Sour Cream-flavored rice cakes before I go to sleep for the night.
AussieCon 4, Day 3
Saturday, 4 September 2010
[NOTE: The photos will be added later. For now, just the Blog.]
I had every intention of doing the laundry when I got back to the hotel last night, but I was just SO tired! I thought if I got a couple of hours of sleep I could get up, do the laundry, then go back to sleep. But that wasn't to be either. When the alarm went off, I just turned it off, rolled over and went back to sleep.
I woke around 9:30 to another rainy Melbourne day, and debated for a while on whether or not to do the laundry this morning. I'm sure if I leave it for tonight I'll just be tired again, and fail to do it once more. Then I realized that if I'd already gone and done it, instead of spending time debating it, I'd be half done, so I went downstairs and put the clothes in the washer. I wasn't kidding yesterday about having to wear my Darth Stewie pajama bottoms as pants today if I didn't do my laundry, but then I started thinking, they look just like plack pants, and it's a science fiction convention, so why not wear them? They are clean, after all!
* * * * *
I actually ate breakfast from the hotel breakfast bar. A raspberry and white chocolate muffin. They make marvelous muffins here in Melbourne, and they LOVE coffee. There isn't any place you can't get coffee, and they never offer only plain. I'm not sure anyone here even drinks plain coffee. You always seem to get a choice of flat white (with steamed milk), cappuccino, latte, etc.
* * * * *
Grumble. I should have remembered that hotel dryers take forever. I put it on low so I wouldn't fry my clothes, and 30 minutes later my clothes are still too damp to deal with. I had to go back up to my room to get money, then to the hotel front desk to get change for the dryer, so now I'm just sitting outside the laundry room since I am hoping that another 15 minutes will be enough. That's about the time it would take me to get back up to my room, and back down again, so I might as well just hang out down here. So I brought the computer with me so I could get caught up on a few things. The most annoying part is that this is taking longer than expected, and I am missing out on some panels I wanted to see today. With limited programming hours, that means I miss a lot. Oh, well. Can't be helped.
And... another 15 minutes in the dryer on medim still wasn't enough. I've had to put most of the clothes back in for another 15 mintues. Grrrrrr....
While I wait I am uploading photos from my first day in Sydney so I can post them to the blog sometime today, probably whenever I get back to the room tonight.
* * * * *
Hurray! Laundry done at last, and I can go back to my room, peruse the schedule for today, take a shower, and get to the convention center. Again, the last regular panel is at 5:00pm, and the only panel at 2:00 pm is the Guest of Honor Speech (today is Kim Stanley Robinson). At this rate, the 2:00 panel will be the first thing I make it in time for. Ugh. Like I said, oh, well.
* * * * *
Yay! The tram came less than a minute after I walked to the stop. I know it's only two huge blocks to the convention center stop, and another huge block to the actual convention center, but I'm trying to be as kind to my knee as possible, and give it a break from walking when I can. If I can ever find a doctor who is willing to really work with me on figuring out how to solve my excruciating knee pain, I'll literally be able to jump for joy.
I did make it in time for Kim Stanley Robinson's Guest of Honor speech. Hurray! Too bad the auditorium only has entrances from the very top in the back, and I can't do all those stairs. I may brave them for the masquerade tonight, though.
* * * * *
Yikes! I haven't been watching the news on TV, so just now heard there was an earthquake off the coast of New Zealand, which has affected Christchurch. My good thoughts and prayers go out to them. I hope everyone is okay.
* * * * *
14:00 Guest of Honor Speech: Kim Stanley Robinson. The plan for his speech was to be interviewed by Sean Williams, who was unable to attend the convention at the last minute due to illness, KSR interviewed himself. In interviewer mode he had on a jacket, which he removed to switch to interviewee mode. Very entertaining. Great speech about his life growing up, and how he became a science fiction writer.
* * * * *
Brilliant soul that I am, I discovered that I put my receipt into the site selection ballot box yesterday, instead of my ballot. In my defense, I put the piece of paper in they told me to, without looking at either of them. Duh. I should have checked. I got it sorted out, though.
* * * * *
Between the time it took for sorting out my site selection voting and waiting in line for coffee, I ran out of time to go to a 3pm panel. So, I popped into the Dealer's Room, bought an issue of Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, and attempted to purchase a really cool steampunk necklace, but they were all sold out. I got their card so I can check out the stock later. www.darknouveau.com.au
* * * * *
16:00 Panel: Just A Minute. Panelists: Paul Cornell (moderator), Jennifer Fallon, Patrick Nielson Hayden, China Mieville, Ellen Kushner, John Scalzi, and Cat Valente.
The panel was supposed to be in P1, but the room was locked. So after waiting for someone to come unlock the room, Paul Cornell announced that the panel would be held in P3, and the large group all walked to the other end of the first floor, only to find out that Kim Stanley Robinson was in P3 holding another panel. After another few minutes of waiting about in the hallway, Paul announced that we would be holding the panel in P1 after all. This prompted Patrick Neilsen Hayden to dub this "The Paul Cornell Convention Exercise Machine!"
After walking en masse to the other end of the convention center again, we were able to get into P1.
John Scalzi is hilarious. That's all I can say right now because I am just laughing too hard to type more.
Topics included "The Stars, My Destination," "Is Twitter Killing Blogs," "The Worst Book I Ever Edited," "Out of the Silent Planet," "Fantasy Is Better Than Science Fiction," "Beyond Lies the Wub," "The Two Towers," and "The Graveyard Book."
Even though the panel got a late start, it kept going until it was done as there was nothing in the room afterward. It was just too much fun to leave in order to go to a 17:00 panel!
* * * * *
I just heard someone's cell phone ring with the new Doctor Who theme. I really do need to figure out how to make ringtones for my iPhone.
* * * * *
Too late to join a 5pm panel without being a lost. The masquerade starts at 7pm, which means I should get in line by 6:30 in order to get a good seat. Right now that gives me an hour to find dinner, or I have to wait for after the masquerade. I've had snack food and two coffees today, but no real food. I should get something soon. But where?
* * * * *
I am already not liking the scent of just the one item I am wearing today that I washed earlier. It's made me sneeze at least once. I may have to wash everything again after all. (insert expletive here)
* * * * *
I speed walked across the street (as best as I could manage with the bad right knee and bad left ankle) to the food court at the Crown Casino since it was the closest place with takeaway food still open. I got wet getting over there and back since it's raining a bit harder now than it was earlier. Dinner was a hot-pressed chicken sandwich and a Coke.
I ate while sitting at tables near convention registration, and chatted with Pat Simms, Sue Francis, and John Stanley. John is trying to reach his travel agent about his and Jeanne's next travel stop, which is Christchurch, New Zealand.
Finally, at 6:50pm they opened the doors to the auditorium so we could find seats for the masquerade.
* * * * *
19:00 The Masquerade.
It did not, of course, start on time, but when do they ever at a huge convention?
I chatted with folks in nearby seats while we waited for the masquerade to begin, and wound up selling one of the TARDIS phone charms to a New Zealand writer named Sally.
This has to be both the smallest and most unusual Worldcon masquerade I've ever seen. The house lights were on the entire time, as were the stage lights. And rather than leaving the stage right after their presentations, they each stopped to have a chat with the Emcees, who asked questions about their costumes, and who made them. There were only a handful of entries, and none of them were mentioned as being in any class (Novice, Journeyman, Master). Only a couple of the entries were better than Novice anyway, and many entrants were first-time costumers, as well as first-time convention-goers. But all of them were entertaining.
The Emcees are telling jokes while we wait on the judging results. Only, one of them was a Twilight Zone story. The guy had been scheduled to be on flight 93 on 9/11/2001, but had changed his flight to return home a few days earlier.
The masquerade winners are listed on the AussieCon 4 Masquerade Page: http://www.aussiecon4.org.au/index.php?page=93
* * * * *
I am debating on going back to my hotel room to dump stuff off before going to the parties tonight. I am leaning toward yes since it is such a pain to carry the big tote bag around in crowds.
* * * * *
Parties tonight at 21:00:
Crowne Plaza Bridge: London in 2014
Crowne Plaza Corporate Left: Reno in 2011
Crowne Plaza Corporate Right: Texas in 2013 & New Zealand in 2020
Party tonight at 21:30:
CO Nightclub, 2nd Floor of Crown Casino: Brotherhood Without Banners (George R. R. Martin).
[NOTE: The photos will be added later. For now, just the Blog.]
I had every intention of doing the laundry when I got back to the hotel last night, but I was just SO tired! I thought if I got a couple of hours of sleep I could get up, do the laundry, then go back to sleep. But that wasn't to be either. When the alarm went off, I just turned it off, rolled over and went back to sleep.
I woke around 9:30 to another rainy Melbourne day, and debated for a while on whether or not to do the laundry this morning. I'm sure if I leave it for tonight I'll just be tired again, and fail to do it once more. Then I realized that if I'd already gone and done it, instead of spending time debating it, I'd be half done, so I went downstairs and put the clothes in the washer. I wasn't kidding yesterday about having to wear my Darth Stewie pajama bottoms as pants today if I didn't do my laundry, but then I started thinking, they look just like plack pants, and it's a science fiction convention, so why not wear them? They are clean, after all!
* * * * *
I actually ate breakfast from the hotel breakfast bar. A raspberry and white chocolate muffin. They make marvelous muffins here in Melbourne, and they LOVE coffee. There isn't any place you can't get coffee, and they never offer only plain. I'm not sure anyone here even drinks plain coffee. You always seem to get a choice of flat white (with steamed milk), cappuccino, latte, etc.
* * * * *
Grumble. I should have remembered that hotel dryers take forever. I put it on low so I wouldn't fry my clothes, and 30 minutes later my clothes are still too damp to deal with. I had to go back up to my room to get money, then to the hotel front desk to get change for the dryer, so now I'm just sitting outside the laundry room since I am hoping that another 15 minutes will be enough. That's about the time it would take me to get back up to my room, and back down again, so I might as well just hang out down here. So I brought the computer with me so I could get caught up on a few things. The most annoying part is that this is taking longer than expected, and I am missing out on some panels I wanted to see today. With limited programming hours, that means I miss a lot. Oh, well. Can't be helped.
And... another 15 minutes in the dryer on medim still wasn't enough. I've had to put most of the clothes back in for another 15 mintues. Grrrrrr....
While I wait I am uploading photos from my first day in Sydney so I can post them to the blog sometime today, probably whenever I get back to the room tonight.
* * * * *
Hurray! Laundry done at last, and I can go back to my room, peruse the schedule for today, take a shower, and get to the convention center. Again, the last regular panel is at 5:00pm, and the only panel at 2:00 pm is the Guest of Honor Speech (today is Kim Stanley Robinson). At this rate, the 2:00 panel will be the first thing I make it in time for. Ugh. Like I said, oh, well.
* * * * *
Yay! The tram came less than a minute after I walked to the stop. I know it's only two huge blocks to the convention center stop, and another huge block to the actual convention center, but I'm trying to be as kind to my knee as possible, and give it a break from walking when I can. If I can ever find a doctor who is willing to really work with me on figuring out how to solve my excruciating knee pain, I'll literally be able to jump for joy.
I did make it in time for Kim Stanley Robinson's Guest of Honor speech. Hurray! Too bad the auditorium only has entrances from the very top in the back, and I can't do all those stairs. I may brave them for the masquerade tonight, though.
* * * * *
Yikes! I haven't been watching the news on TV, so just now heard there was an earthquake off the coast of New Zealand, which has affected Christchurch. My good thoughts and prayers go out to them. I hope everyone is okay.
* * * * *
14:00 Guest of Honor Speech: Kim Stanley Robinson. The plan for his speech was to be interviewed by Sean Williams, who was unable to attend the convention at the last minute due to illness, KSR interviewed himself. In interviewer mode he had on a jacket, which he removed to switch to interviewee mode. Very entertaining. Great speech about his life growing up, and how he became a science fiction writer.
* * * * *
Brilliant soul that I am, I discovered that I put my receipt into the site selection ballot box yesterday, instead of my ballot. In my defense, I put the piece of paper in they told me to, without looking at either of them. Duh. I should have checked. I got it sorted out, though.
* * * * *
Between the time it took for sorting out my site selection voting and waiting in line for coffee, I ran out of time to go to a 3pm panel. So, I popped into the Dealer's Room, bought an issue of Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, and attempted to purchase a really cool steampunk necklace, but they were all sold out. I got their card so I can check out the stock later. www.darknouveau.com.au
* * * * *
16:00 Panel: Just A Minute. Panelists: Paul Cornell (moderator), Jennifer Fallon, Patrick Nielson Hayden, China Mieville, Ellen Kushner, John Scalzi, and Cat Valente.
The panel was supposed to be in P1, but the room was locked. So after waiting for someone to come unlock the room, Paul Cornell announced that the panel would be held in P3, and the large group all walked to the other end of the first floor, only to find out that Kim Stanley Robinson was in P3 holding another panel. After another few minutes of waiting about in the hallway, Paul announced that we would be holding the panel in P1 after all. This prompted Patrick Neilsen Hayden to dub this "The Paul Cornell Convention Exercise Machine!"
After walking en masse to the other end of the convention center again, we were able to get into P1.
John Scalzi is hilarious. That's all I can say right now because I am just laughing too hard to type more.
Topics included "The Stars, My Destination," "Is Twitter Killing Blogs," "The Worst Book I Ever Edited," "Out of the Silent Planet," "Fantasy Is Better Than Science Fiction," "Beyond Lies the Wub," "The Two Towers," and "The Graveyard Book."
Even though the panel got a late start, it kept going until it was done as there was nothing in the room afterward. It was just too much fun to leave in order to go to a 17:00 panel!
* * * * *
I just heard someone's cell phone ring with the new Doctor Who theme. I really do need to figure out how to make ringtones for my iPhone.
* * * * *
Too late to join a 5pm panel without being a lost. The masquerade starts at 7pm, which means I should get in line by 6:30 in order to get a good seat. Right now that gives me an hour to find dinner, or I have to wait for after the masquerade. I've had snack food and two coffees today, but no real food. I should get something soon. But where?
* * * * *
I am already not liking the scent of just the one item I am wearing today that I washed earlier. It's made me sneeze at least once. I may have to wash everything again after all. (insert expletive here)
* * * * *
I speed walked across the street (as best as I could manage with the bad right knee and bad left ankle) to the food court at the Crown Casino since it was the closest place with takeaway food still open. I got wet getting over there and back since it's raining a bit harder now than it was earlier. Dinner was a hot-pressed chicken sandwich and a Coke.
I ate while sitting at tables near convention registration, and chatted with Pat Simms, Sue Francis, and John Stanley. John is trying to reach his travel agent about his and Jeanne's next travel stop, which is Christchurch, New Zealand.
Finally, at 6:50pm they opened the doors to the auditorium so we could find seats for the masquerade.
* * * * *
19:00 The Masquerade.
It did not, of course, start on time, but when do they ever at a huge convention?
I chatted with folks in nearby seats while we waited for the masquerade to begin, and wound up selling one of the TARDIS phone charms to a New Zealand writer named Sally.
This has to be both the smallest and most unusual Worldcon masquerade I've ever seen. The house lights were on the entire time, as were the stage lights. And rather than leaving the stage right after their presentations, they each stopped to have a chat with the Emcees, who asked questions about their costumes, and who made them. There were only a handful of entries, and none of them were mentioned as being in any class (Novice, Journeyman, Master). Only a couple of the entries were better than Novice anyway, and many entrants were first-time costumers, as well as first-time convention-goers. But all of them were entertaining.
The Emcees are telling jokes while we wait on the judging results. Only, one of them was a Twilight Zone story. The guy had been scheduled to be on flight 93 on 9/11/2001, but had changed his flight to return home a few days earlier.
The masquerade winners are listed on the AussieCon 4 Masquerade Page: http://www.aussiecon4.org.au/index.php?page=93
* * * * *
I am debating on going back to my hotel room to dump stuff off before going to the parties tonight. I am leaning toward yes since it is such a pain to carry the big tote bag around in crowds.
* * * * *
Parties tonight at 21:00:
Crowne Plaza Bridge: London in 2014
Crowne Plaza Corporate Left: Reno in 2011
Crowne Plaza Corporate Right: Texas in 2013 & New Zealand in 2020
Party tonight at 21:30:
CO Nightclub, 2nd Floor of Crown Casino: Brotherhood Without Banners (George R. R. Martin).
AussieCon 4, Day 2
Friday, 3 September 2010
[NOTE: The photos will be added later. For now, just the Blog.]
I still say mornings come at the wrong time. At least I managed about 8 hours sleep, so it wasn't 100% impossible for me to wake up when the alarm went off. Now I have to get ready to meet Jeanne Meally & John Stanley downstairs. I'm not sure where we are going, but they said they know.
* * * * *
Off we go from our hotel on foot. It seems that where we are headed is not on a tram line. I've already walked my right knee into non-stop aching, but why should I let that stop me? I'll just hobble a lot and take loads of ibuprofen.
We head away from the hotel, in the opposite direction I've been so far, and walk along the Yarra River for a few blocks, past an enormous bird cage, and then cross the river just behind the enormous Crown Casino. Now I know where I am at least. We continue walking away from the casino toward some really tall buildings, headed for the one on the left of the clump we are near. I love all the buildings in this city! They are all so different from each other, and different textures. We wind up in front of the building that says "Eureka SkyDeck" outside, and head in. Jeanne brought a coupon, so we got in for $16.50 instead of $19.50, then boarded a swift lift to the 88th floor (the building is 93 floors).
This is a wonderfully shaped building for viewing the city. There are all kinds of sections that jut out, giving you the illusion that you are hanging out in space, because you are standing in a corner, yet you can still see the building next to you.
I walked all around the building twice, taking photos and looking at the huge city. There were sets of running letter signs displaying Melbourne trivia. Turns out that Melbourne is the second largest city in Australia. The most common name in the phone book is Smith. The second-most common name is Nguyen.
The only downside was the noisy school children running everywhere.
* * * * *
Back down to ground level. Jeanne needs to get to the convention center in time for a photo with the ANZAPA folks. I parted ways with them when we passed McDonald's so I could get lunch since I skipped breakfast this morning.
The McDonald's was quite interesting. There is no inside seating, it's all outside. And the restaurant is open to the outside as well. Interesting. I got the same thing I usually do, a quarter pounder with cheese. They have good beef here. Yum!
I also partook of the free WiFi, sending a couple of Tweets and reading Facebook updates. Then I headed back to my hotel to grab my badge and the baby afghan. I didn't feel like carrying them all morning while we were out walking. On the way back I stopped at a Gelatto bar for a small chocolate fudge. Yummy!
Back in the room. I sent out the emails and Tweets for the latest blog and photos I posted last night. Yahoo! Was being stubborn last night and not letting me send email.
Time to head to the convention center to make one of the 1:00pm panels I want to see.
* * * * *
13:00 Panel: I Could Do That Better! A team of panelists lead an attempt to generate the better blockbuster.
* * * * *
14:00 only one panel, Shaun Tan's Guest of Honor speech. I opted for walking about and chatting up other fans. Had a nice discussion with a couple of Aussie fans. We talked about all kinds of stuff from science fiction to politics to how kids are raised today. I know it sounds a lot for a 15-20 minute conversation, but it was quite fun. Also, I saw Norway from the Penguin Parade tour (I never did catch his name), making 5 of the 18 on the tour here for Worldcon!
Then I wandered into the Kaffeeklatsch room and found the bid tables, voting, the daily zine and the program update listings, and tables for fans to just sit, rest, and chat.
I sold two more of the TARDIS phone charms, so now have only 2 more left to sell. I also got 3 more ribbons for my badge: Chicago in 2012, I want the keys to a shiny new Australia!, and Bajan Rum Drinkers Down Under.
* * * * *
15:00 Panel: Writing Flash Fiction, which is defined as story of only a few hundred words. The panelists are Shane Jiralya Cummings, Jeff Harris, Martin Livings, Sarah Parker, and Amanda Pillar. Interesting discussion of the pros and cons of telling stories in this method. If you want to write, but aren't long-winded, this may be the format for you. Consensus among the panelists was that this format is best suited to horror, simply because you rarely have to do the world building required in fantasy and science fiction.
I did notice a trend in their discussion, which I also noticed yesterday in a panel, which is that people keep dismissing a stories simply because they've read something like it a hundred times. This is a disservice to new readers, whether they are new to a genre, or simply new to reading fiction, because they haven't read a hundred stories just like it. At least not yet. The "old and jaded" readers and reviewers need to remember that their personal experience is just that: their personal experience. Other people will have a different experience, and will have read different things.
* * * * *
16:00 Panel: Creating Believable Space Travel. The panelists are Greg Benford, Ian Nichols, Gerald David Nordley, Amanda Pillar, and Jeff Harris. Despite the fact that four of the five panelists are physicists, they missed the point. Or I did. I thought it was supposed to be about creating believable space travel for fiction, and they're discussing creating it for reality. None of them agree on how to do it, or why anyone would want to travel in space.
Google: Hand Wavium.
* * * * *
17:00 E. T. Has A Chainsaw - When Science Fiction and Horror Collide. The panelists are Christian Sauve, Bob Eggleton, and Foz Meadows. Strange panel where they mostly discussed horror movies they liked, and why. Very little audience participation allowed. I did learn that Bob Eggleton did some art work for the movie Sphere.
* * * * *
Again, the last panel of the day was at 5:00 pm. The only thing on the program for tonight is the Australia Awards. Not sure what that's about. The parties don't start until 9:00pm, so I headed down near registration to find Jeanne. She said a friend of hers wants one of the "My Ribbon Is Better Than Yours" ribbons.
I found Jeanne, met her friend Alan, and signed a card for Dan, who is in the Stipple APA, and lives in New Zealand, but couldn't attend Worldcon. Jeanne and Alan invited me to join them in a trek to Richmond to see the Art Deco ceiling in Alan's apartment, then go out to dinner.
So, off we go to catch the number 70 tram. But tonight is one of the Footy Finals (Australian football), so there are a LOT of people getting on all the trains. Finally, a number 70 arrives, Alan and Jeanne make it on, but there's no room for me. Jeanne makes it back off, and we wave at Alan from the platform as the train departs. No worries, I know what stop to get off, so Jeanne and I will take the next train and meet Alan there. After a few minutes, a number 70 arrives from the opposite direction, and there's Alan, coming back to meet us.
Finally we were able to get onto the next tram. We've just passed the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground), where most of the people got off.
* * * * *
We wound up visiting Alan's house in Richmond for a bit, and took photos of the very interesting art deco ceiling in the living room. He said when he moved in it was all white, and he painted it to make it stand out. Next we had dinner at a very nice Indian restaurant there in Richmond, and then caught the tram back to the CBD (Central Business District). Alan had to go back to his house for something else, so Jeanne and I made the return journey without him.
It had started raining again when we were eating dinner, but just the drizzing kind that still gets you wet if you are out in it long enough. Jeanne and I went to the 7-11 to buy laundry detergent. I have got to do laundry tonight, or I'll be wearing my Darth Stewie pajama bottoms as pants tomorrow. I just hope the detergent I got doesn't have too much smell to it, or I'll have to wash everything a second time with no soap to get the soap smell out.
Jeanne went back to the hotel to do her laundry, and went the other way to the Crowne Plaza to hit the parties. This time, there were four. 2 upstairs in the Corporate Lounge (UK, Ireland, and Continuum 7 on the left, and Texas in 2013 and New Zealand in 2020 on the right), and two downstairs (CSFG (Canberra Science Fiction Group) on the left, and Chicago in 2012 on the Right).
I hit the upstairs parties first, in the Corporate Lounge (glorified large hallway with some seating), where I learned WHY we are partying in the hall instead of in the hotel rooms. Apparently the Crowne Plaza decided that 1) nobody is allowed in a hotel room unless they are paid guests of the hotel; and 2) there can be no more than 3 people in a hotel room at a time. Right. I'm sure there's more than that just STAYING in some of the rooms. After all, the average price at this hotel is $250 per night! And it was supposed to be the party hotel. So now the party-throwers are having to join forces and share spaces. And boy, were those spaces crowded tonight. I had great fun chatting with all kinds of local fans, and giving out more ribbons. I traded someone for one from the MSFC (Melbourne Science Fiction Club). Oh, and I presupported the New Zealand bid for 2020. Even if it doesn't last, you have to admire their guts for starting their bid early! Eventually I made my way downstairs to the Chicago and CSFG parties, and chatted with more fans.
Eventually around midnight I decided that if I didn't go back to the hotel and do laundry, I'd never be able to stay awake long enough to get it done at all, and I headed back to the Penzione for the night. At least the rain had let up, and it was barely raining at all.
AussieCon 4, Day 1
Thursday, 2 September 2010
[NOTE: The photos will be added later. For now, just the Blog.]
My apparent need for 10 hours of sleep every night really sucks. I laid down on the bed last night for just a few minutes, and now it's 7am on Thursday already, and I'm still in my clothes. Ugh. I have vague memories of getting out of bed to get under the covers, though.
So, I should at least be able to make breakfast downstairs in the hotel this morning. And I need to find out what time the convention starts today.
* * * * *
Ah! I am pleased to see that the computer is now cooperating and will allow me to transfer the photos! I may actually get stuff posted online today!
* * * * *
Wow, that took longer than I expected, but I've at least managed to post the first round of photos and the blog as well. Whew!
Opening ceremonies is the first panel if the day, which is highly unusual for the conventions I've been to. It's at 2pm. The time now is 11:45am, so I still have time for lunch & registration. I just ate a breakfast bar and had some hot tea in the room for breakfast. I'm going to run out of breakfast bars. Oh, darn, I'll just have to visit a store to buy more. ;-)
* * * * *
ID-10-T Alert: make sure you know the PIN to your ATM card before you travel! Thank god I brought them both. I don't like the fees for SunTrust, but at least I can get cash.
I bought a one-week pass for the tram. It's cheaper than 5 days of single-day passes and it's good for all over the city. And this place knows how to do travel by trams!
* * * * *
I've got my registration stuff. Nobody in my P-Z line, so it was super-quick. We have badge cords from Borders Books, and black messenger bags from Voyager. Now I have an egg salad sandwich, salt & balsamic vinegar chips, a coke, and the pocket program to peruse.
* * * * *
Well, that's annoying. Dealers Room/Art Show doesn't open until 2pm, though the program book says Noon. We aren't allowed to take photos of the interior of the convention center that shows the structure. It's a terrorist thing. It's a fantastical, interesting building. Too bad I can't show you.
Also, they've quite missed the point of the VooDoo board at this convention. There's not a list of members to put push pins in with, or paper to leave private notes, just a flip chart on an easel, and a pen to write public messages.
So, back downstairs to wait around and see who I can find, and I run into Jeanne Meally and her SO John Stanley. I gave her the two TARDIS phone charms she wanted to buy, then wound up selling the other two I had in my tote bag as well. I'll have to bring the remaining four with me tomorrow. I bet I really could have sold a couple dozen if I'd had them, especially since there are no dealers here with anything like toys.
* * * * *
At $10/ hour or $20/8 hours for WiFi Access at the convention center, I don't think I'll be sending Tweets from my iPhone. I need to figure out what number to text Tweets from on the Aussie phone. I'll do that tonight.
* * * * *
14:00 Opening Ceremonies: the wrong room number was in the program book, but there were nice people directing us to the right room.
* * * * *
Ran into Juan Sanmiguel in the Dealer's Room. Of course the first thing he asked me about was Hurricane Who. No comment. And he's got a press ribbon because he's writing for Airlock Alpha, and they put him on several panels as a program participant.
* * * * *
Ran into Cheryl Morgan in the hallway. She just started a new online magazine. I'll have to check it out when I get back to the room. Salonfutura.net.
* * * * *
15:00 Panel: Spoiler Alerts - How to review plot-driven fiction without giving away the plot. There were five panelists, none of whom could agree on how to go about writing book reviews, never mind how to not give away the plot. Still a very thought-provoking discussion. And let's not forget the hypothetical story of the boy, his goat, and the aliens who land on his planet who can only communicate with the goats!
I will say that I disagree with two of the panelists who are paid book reviewers. Both are of the mindset that they will not say anything bad about a book. One woman's solution is to refuse to write a review of anything she does not like. The other, who writes for The New York Review of Science Fiction, solves the problem by always pointing out something about the book she likes. I think this is a dishonest approach to reviewing stories. If you are reviewing a story and do not like it, you should say so, and defend your opinion without being nasty. Then, as the reader of your review, I can decide if I disagree with your review or not. Perhaps you, the reviewer, don't like space opera. That's fine. But maybe I do, and could still find the book interesting where the reviewer did not. And it could go the other way around as well.
* * * * *
I ran into both Rob Shearman and Paul Cornell in the hallway and said hello.
I keep seeing convention center employees everywhere, some sitting at tables in the hallways, so I stopped to ask why. Turns out they are stationed outside each cluster of meeting rooms to assist with any AV issues that may arise. Wow! You don't have to search high and low for them, or wait 30 minutes for someone to show up from the opposite end of the building, or return from a lunch break in order to get something working again.
I wandered through the dealer's Room. Bought a copy of Son et Lumiere from the author, Ian Nichols. He autographed it as well. I signed up for an email notification from Douglas Van Belle when his book barking Death Squirrels is available. With a title like that, you just have to check it out!
* * * * *
17:00 Panel: Things To Do In Melbourne When You Are A Geek. Bookstores, an awesome looking library, street art (a.k.a. Graffiti), coffee shops, and how many Nicolas Cage movies that weren't the Wicker Man that were filmed here while it posed as American cities (Ghost Rider, Knowing). ACDC Lane (the sign is stolen frequently), Dame Edna Lane (the sign is too high to steal).
* * * * *
No more panels today. The last ones ended at 6pm. Headed back to the hotel to dump stuff in the room before heading out to dinner, and got on a tram that doesn't stop at my hotel. Sigh. I'm convinced that the ones that stop at the convention center don't stop at my hotel. I really need to find a tram map. This one stopped outside Krispy Kreme, and since I now know it has free WiFi, I popped in for coffee and a donut, and Internet access.
* * * * *
Back in the room for a bit to do another blog post and upload some photos. They are SO slow! It's 9:25pm now, so the parties should be going well now. Off to see, and find food for dinner. I shouldn't go without dinner two nights in a row.
* * * * *
I walked the two blocks to the Crowne Plaza only to find that the "Room Parties" were being held in a lounge that amounts to a wide hallway with some sofas. The right side was supposed to be held by one group, and the left by Anticipation (the 2009 Montreal Worldcon). They had a couple of bags of chips, a few crackers, and bottles fruit punch. I chatted with a few folks, but there was no open seating, so I only stayed about 30 minutes, then left in search of dinner.
Apparently, you aren't supposed to want to eat dinner this late at night. Not even the Crowne Plaza's restaurant was still open. That left me with walking another block down the road to the Crown Casino. I had a very nice spinach and ricotta ravioli, with a glass of sparking Australian Muscato. Both were very yummy.
* * * * *
I perused Friday's program schedule while I waited on my dinner to arrive, and found there isn't much I'm excited to see before noon, but lots in the afternoon all happening at the same time. So, I should be good to join Jeanne & John in the morning to go visit a sky tower here in Melbourne. I didn't know they had one. These folks don't do a very good job of advertising places of interest around town.
* * * * *
Since I was at the casino, I gambled a bit, but lost. Then I walked back to the hotel and got ready for bed.
My apparent need for 10 hours of sleep every night really sucks. I laid down on the bed last night for just a few minutes, and now it's 7am on Thursday already, and I'm still in my clothes. Ugh. I have vague memories of getting out of bed to get under the covers, though.
So, I should at least be able to make breakfast downstairs in the hotel this morning. And I need to find out what time the convention starts today.
* * * * *
Ah! I am pleased to see that the computer is now cooperating and will allow me to transfer the photos! I may actually get stuff posted online today!
* * * * *
Wow, that took longer than I expected, but I've at least managed to post the first round of photos and the blog as well. Whew!
Opening ceremonies is the first panel if the day, which is highly unusual for the conventions I've been to. It's at 2pm. The time now is 11:45am, so I still have time for lunch & registration. I just ate a breakfast bar and had some hot tea in the room for breakfast. I'm going to run out of breakfast bars. Oh, darn, I'll just have to visit a store to buy more. ;-)
* * * * *
ID-10-T Alert: make sure you know the PIN to your ATM card before you travel! Thank god I brought them both. I don't like the fees for SunTrust, but at least I can get cash.
I bought a one-week pass for the tram. It's cheaper than 5 days of single-day passes and it's good for all over the city. And this place knows how to do travel by trams!
* * * * *
I've got my registration stuff. Nobody in my P-Z line, so it was super-quick. We have badge cords from Borders Books, and black messenger bags from Voyager. Now I have an egg salad sandwich, salt & balsamic vinegar chips, a coke, and the pocket program to peruse.
* * * * *
Well, that's annoying. Dealers Room/Art Show doesn't open until 2pm, though the program book says Noon. We aren't allowed to take photos of the interior of the convention center that shows the structure. It's a terrorist thing. It's a fantastical, interesting building. Too bad I can't show you.
Also, they've quite missed the point of the VooDoo board at this convention. There's not a list of members to put push pins in with, or paper to leave private notes, just a flip chart on an easel, and a pen to write public messages.
So, back downstairs to wait around and see who I can find, and I run into Jeanne Meally and her SO John Stanley. I gave her the two TARDIS phone charms she wanted to buy, then wound up selling the other two I had in my tote bag as well. I'll have to bring the remaining four with me tomorrow. I bet I really could have sold a couple dozen if I'd had them, especially since there are no dealers here with anything like toys.
* * * * *
At $10/ hour or $20/8 hours for WiFi Access at the convention center, I don't think I'll be sending Tweets from my iPhone. I need to figure out what number to text Tweets from on the Aussie phone. I'll do that tonight.
* * * * *
14:00 Opening Ceremonies: the wrong room number was in the program book, but there were nice people directing us to the right room.
* * * * *
Ran into Juan Sanmiguel in the Dealer's Room. Of course the first thing he asked me about was Hurricane Who. No comment. And he's got a press ribbon because he's writing for Airlock Alpha, and they put him on several panels as a program participant.
* * * * *
Ran into Cheryl Morgan in the hallway. She just started a new online magazine. I'll have to check it out when I get back to the room. Salonfutura.net.
* * * * *
15:00 Panel: Spoiler Alerts - How to review plot-driven fiction without giving away the plot. There were five panelists, none of whom could agree on how to go about writing book reviews, never mind how to not give away the plot. Still a very thought-provoking discussion. And let's not forget the hypothetical story of the boy, his goat, and the aliens who land on his planet who can only communicate with the goats!
I will say that I disagree with two of the panelists who are paid book reviewers. Both are of the mindset that they will not say anything bad about a book. One woman's solution is to refuse to write a review of anything she does not like. The other, who writes for The New York Review of Science Fiction, solves the problem by always pointing out something about the book she likes. I think this is a dishonest approach to reviewing stories. If you are reviewing a story and do not like it, you should say so, and defend your opinion without being nasty. Then, as the reader of your review, I can decide if I disagree with your review or not. Perhaps you, the reviewer, don't like space opera. That's fine. But maybe I do, and could still find the book interesting where the reviewer did not. And it could go the other way around as well.
* * * * *
I ran into both Rob Shearman and Paul Cornell in the hallway and said hello.
I keep seeing convention center employees everywhere, some sitting at tables in the hallways, so I stopped to ask why. Turns out they are stationed outside each cluster of meeting rooms to assist with any AV issues that may arise. Wow! You don't have to search high and low for them, or wait 30 minutes for someone to show up from the opposite end of the building, or return from a lunch break in order to get something working again.
I wandered through the dealer's Room. Bought a copy of Son et Lumiere from the author, Ian Nichols. He autographed it as well. I signed up for an email notification from Douglas Van Belle when his book barking Death Squirrels is available. With a title like that, you just have to check it out!
* * * * *
17:00 Panel: Things To Do In Melbourne When You Are A Geek. Bookstores, an awesome looking library, street art (a.k.a. Graffiti), coffee shops, and how many Nicolas Cage movies that weren't the Wicker Man that were filmed here while it posed as American cities (Ghost Rider, Knowing). ACDC Lane (the sign is stolen frequently), Dame Edna Lane (the sign is too high to steal).
* * * * *
No more panels today. The last ones ended at 6pm. Headed back to the hotel to dump stuff in the room before heading out to dinner, and got on a tram that doesn't stop at my hotel. Sigh. I'm convinced that the ones that stop at the convention center don't stop at my hotel. I really need to find a tram map. This one stopped outside Krispy Kreme, and since I now know it has free WiFi, I popped in for coffee and a donut, and Internet access.
* * * * *
Back in the room for a bit to do another blog post and upload some photos. They are SO slow! It's 9:25pm now, so the parties should be going well now. Off to see, and find food for dinner. I shouldn't go without dinner two nights in a row.
* * * * *
I walked the two blocks to the Crowne Plaza only to find that the "Room Parties" were being held in a lounge that amounts to a wide hallway with some sofas. The right side was supposed to be held by one group, and the left by Anticipation (the 2009 Montreal Worldcon). They had a couple of bags of chips, a few crackers, and bottles fruit punch. I chatted with a few folks, but there was no open seating, so I only stayed about 30 minutes, then left in search of dinner.
Apparently, you aren't supposed to want to eat dinner this late at night. Not even the Crowne Plaza's restaurant was still open. That left me with walking another block down the road to the Crown Casino. I had a very nice spinach and ricotta ravioli, with a glass of sparking Australian Muscato. Both were very yummy.
* * * * *
I perused Friday's program schedule while I waited on my dinner to arrive, and found there isn't much I'm excited to see before noon, but lots in the afternoon all happening at the same time. So, I should be good to join Jeanne & John in the morning to go visit a sky tower here in Melbourne. I didn't know they had one. These folks don't do a very good job of advertising places of interest around town.
* * * * *
Since I was at the casino, I gambled a bit, but lost. Then I walked back to the hotel and got ready for bed.
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