Attending Florida Library Association Conference 2018

So I will be at the conference, focusing on getting the word out some more for our state's Outcomes and Standards.

But it's also the big weekend for the Orlando MegaCon. With Kaylee!

Busy busy busy.

I Survived MegaCon 2015

Barely.  My feet are still aching from all that walking.

Dear Orlando.  You need to install people movers at the convention center.  And benches.  You need one bench for every four people.  So what if you have to expand the floorspace another 10,000 square feet to accommodate?  DO IT.

Sigh.  Enjoy some pictures.  I shall cross-post with my political blog with more data.

I Survived MegaCon 2014 (cross-post)

I blogged about my MegaCon trip this past weekend over on my political blog rather than the writing blog here, I apologize... but hey I provided a link!

As for my writing, I attended (I tagged myself...and the guy sitting in front of me) a very packed World Building panel presentation (the panelist taking that photo, Bill Hatfield, found out the line for the presentation went out the door and along the hallway for the poor souls who couldn't get in: I'm pretty sure next year they'll get bigger rooms for the writing panels).  Got some good motivation to get my damned first novel finished...

The panel was led by Glenda C Finkelstein, author of Battle Cry; and co-hosted by Bill (William) Hatfield, of Captive Audience; by T.S. Robinson, of Battle-Chasers; and Jade Kerrion, of the Double Helix series.  Philip McCall was also a presenter but he showed up late, so nyah to him. ;-)

Met the authors afterward to thank them, and found out that - hey - Hatfield owned the Novel Ideas comic book store in Gainesville when I went to University of Florida!  Small world...

Kitteh Update 02/09: New Digs

Ocean decided to move again.  This time to a boxed-off corner of one of the closets.

I got a chance to lay down a towel after I took this photo, but still this is a situation because 1) I'm in the middle of moving to a new place and those boxes she's using as a nest are scheduled for relocation, and 2) she's gonna run out of places to nest.  I don't think the mama cats re-use the same spot.

Still, she did the move right as I was sitting there at the computer working on stuff (buying a Saturday ticket to this year's Orlando MegaCon), and I didn't even realize she was carrying her babies into the closet until I heard a tiny "mew".

Also, my downstairs neighbors (did I ever tell you I have a celebrity for a neighbor?) found out about the kittehs and they came by to take a look and go "awwwwwwwwww".  Mama Ocean was a bit defensive but relaxed a little once she recognized them (she had hung with them during her pre-adoption phase last November).

Not Really Off-Topic Over Here: Things I Learned at MegaCon 2013

this will be cross-posted to my political blog

With the goodness that is having a full-time job, I was able to afford another trip to the Orlando convention center for yet another MegaCon.

Things to note:
I'm pretty sure I noted this last time on my other blog.  There's a big early crowd showing up (by 8 AM) waiting for the main floor to open (10 AM).  There's a big open area where they had us lining up for the 10 AM opening.  They could have easily hired one of the cosplay groups - the 501st Legion, the GhostBusters, someone - to perform a couple routines on the floor while we wait.

You should never really go by yourself.  While going solo frees you up to go in any direction you want and figure out what discussions to attend or not, you do end up feeling a little left out and without anyone to share jokes and running commentary about all the costumes.

It's also hard to ask total strangers to take photos of you, especially when there's a very cute Wonder Woman cosplayer who did a very good job on the outfit, most of them are just half-heartedly sewn together but damn... anyway never had a chance to pose with her, if I had a wingman with me he/she/other gender could have taken the shot...

Also wik: Saturday is Costume Day.  ALWAYS go on Saturday.

AND always have someone on hand to help you with your costume.  Even the most durable helmet from a anti-libertarian video game requires a little duct tape.  Especially on a busy day like Saturday.

If you ever go to a comic-book / scifi / anime convention and decide to dress up yourself for Costume Day, don't be surprised if you get everyone and I mean EVERYONE asking you to stand and pose.  I accosted those two kids who came dressed as GLaDoS and Companion Cube to get a picture for this blog entry, and before they and I knew it a large crowd of other picture-takers surrounded us and kept them posing for minutes.  I spotted them later near the Signing area trying to stay out of the rush of traffic and GLaDoS told me they kept getting asked to pose over and over wherever they walked on the floor... and she was getting tired of gripping the Portal gun.  So if you plan on wearing an awesome costume... energy drinks.  And comfortable shoes.

That Stormtrooper was with the 501st.  He was working the target practice game area - yes, go ahead and snicker - and had just gotten hit in the inner thigh with a nerf bullet.  (No, not that kind of nerf)

There was another R2 unit working the floor again.  Those R2 droids are incredible, and everyone stops to pose and take pictures of them.  There's a group that build them, and I joked at the Jedi working the gateway there that if they unleashed all those R2-D2s onto the convention floor they would conquer all.

Ah, Deadpool.  My old nemesis.  How far you've fallen.  Tacos.  I ask you, why not the combo platter and get the burrito and enchilada as well?

Note that I mentioned earlier about going solo to the con.  I noticed they were offering a Speed Dating event in the afternoon, so I circled over to where they were hosting the event (over in a small corner of the convention hall, by the by.  What I found was a lopsided turnout.

There were about 15-20 women lined up for the event.  You can see it was kinda sparse.

And there were about 30-40 men lining up.  Not an honest balance of turnout.  Dear organizers: you might wanna have an online booking to see about what the turnout will be like, so you can go a little out of the way to get about 20-30 more women interested in showing up to date guys dressing up like Jayne and Riddler and... and... well there WAS a Hugh Jackman lookalike as Wolverine, ladies.

Not pictured: the huge swarming crowds.  Foot traffic again was difficult as people would either bunch around a table or vendor pavilion or else stop right in the middle of the floor when they bump into some friends.

Also not pictured: the awesome Artist Alley area where the struggling self-employed comic artists and craftspersons showed off their work and sold stuff.  Sadly, one of the artists I like to see at the MegaCon was unable to attend: Jennie Breeden's budget keeps her limited to the number of conventions she attends, and she made the decision to skip this year in order to attend some of the West Coast ones like in Seattle.  Well, that just means I had to waste my convention money buying prints from Jen Broomall, okay?  You see, I don't need... sniff... I don't to be slavishly devoted to one artist to... to... wait, what do you mean Jen doesn't have any Wonder Woman artwork?  /sulk  Well, okay, Peter V Nguyen has something with Wonder Woman in it...

Also also not pictured: the official Special Guest Artists area had its ebb and flow and well and I found myself in front of Amanda Conner's booth.  Basically the artist that showed women can draw the Good Girl stuff just like Adam Hughes can, and with a bit more taste and whimsy in the artwork.  I purchased a print she did of Catwoman but while I did she tried signing the MegaCon media guide I had innocently placed on the table while digging out my wallet.  She'd just been signing anything in front of her, poor thing.  I suggested she didn't need to autograph that, just the Catwoman print, so she did and I congratulated her on the great work she did on Power Girl and she said she had fun doing it.

Also also ALSO not pictured: Patrick Stewart and most of the regulars from Star Trek: Next Generation.  One, that would have cost me money: Two, there was no way to see Patrick Stewart at all considering the long line waiting to see him in the celebrity Signing Area.  The line for him circled the room.

Any other observations?  Oh yeah.  The shuttle bus service from parking lots to convention hall is helpful (parking is on one side of the convention grounds, away from the West Concourse that they always use), but it gets stuck easy in daytime traffic (the convention center is on a major city road).  Building an elevated transit car system - call Disney they can hook you up with something - would ease the regular traffic and make it easier for people to get to and from convention halls and parking lots.

That's about it.

Now, BACK TO WORK ON MY STORY-WRITING!