Poor Logistics

I was intending to print the question cards for Match Game SF last night in my office, because the printer on my desk there handles index cards better than the one at home, but when it came time to print, I realized that I'd forgotten to bring the stock of blank cards with me. Phooey! And I'm working from home today and Monday, so it will have to wait until Tuesday, the day before I leave. On the brighter side, this means that some of the new questions I've received from dinogrl can go into the mix, further reducing the stock of recycled questions, which will probably please the panelists if nobody else.

( More Behind the Scenes )

If it isn't clear (and based on some comments, it may not be), I'm not criticizing Westercon 61's management for any of their decisions in how they've scheduled me. They have very good reasons for doing what they're doing. I've run programming myself at a convention larger than this Westercon is likely to be, and I understand the juggling act. What you're reading here is the fretting and fussing of the show's Executive Producer. We've always come together and made the show work, "all right on the night," you might say, even though it raises my blood pressure along the way.

Meanwhile, I need to get back to work on writing a user manual for an application I wrote for my department at work so that I can concentrate on Westercon preparations over the weekend.

Train to the Game

Thanks to melchar and gil_liant, who went in on the ticket purchase with me and will give me a ride home, I can take a Capitol train up to Coliseum rather than having to drive over to BART. And because I happen to have four unused tickets between Centerville and Coliseum, I'm not out of pocket any further money to get up there tonight.

I do have the choice between going a little too early (the 4:49 train from Centerville) and a little later than I would like (arriving Coliseum only about ten minutes before first pitch). I'm choosing early, so I'll end up seeing a lot of batting practice, but that's okay.

There were lots of A's fans in the stands at AT&T park Emperor Norton Field when the A's came to play the Giants. I hope to see lots of orange and black in the stands at the Oakland Coliseum tonight. Let's make this an "Orange Friday" field trip!

Well, the Company Was Good

I was halfway to the train station this afternoon when I realized that I had forgotten my orange Giants shirt and my radio, but by then it was too late to return without risking missing my train. The train was right on time. The assistant conductor of the Amtrak Capitol yelled at me, "This is not ACE!" as I started to board. (Because there is an ACE train to Stockton that calls not long after this Capitol train to Oakland and Sacramento, people boarding the wrong train is a recurring problem.)

I called back, "I know! Baseball! Coliseum!" The reason she thought I might be getting on the wrong train was that I was wearing my ticket pouch around my neck; many ACE passengers carry their proof-of-payment tickets on such pouches so they can doze on the trip back to Stockton without the ACE conductors having to awaken them for their tickets.

As I mentioned, I got to the game way early -- before the gates opened, even. I walked 1 2/3 times around the Coliseum before they opened Gate D, which happened to be the nearest to my seat. This was only the second time I'd been to the Coliseum, and the first time for a regular season game. I had lots of time to look around the place. It's not quite as dumpy as Candlestick Park, but it does have that rather cold, forbidding look about it. The concessions are better over at the Giants ballpark, too. After making a circuit of the place, I decided to get a giant atomic hot link and a soda. As I was heading from the hot dog stand to my seats, I came upon gil_liant and melchar, who had just arrived. They went off to get some food and I went to our seats.

( The less said about the game, the better, but if you insist... )

In the middle of the eighth inning, with the A's up 4-1, lots of people started heading for the exits. A loud A's fan two rows ahead of me started heckling the Giants fans for leaving early. He turned around and looked at me and said, "Oh, well, you're still here."

Perceiving that everyone around us was in a good-natured mood, even us Giants supporters, I theatrically stood up, affected great offense, and loudly declaimed to all around us, "What do you think I am, a Dodger fan?" That got a laugh from everyone.

The Giants went down tamely in the top of the 9th, and we made our way out to Trey and Barbara's car. The backup getting out of the game was not nearly as awful as those I remember from my days fighting my way out of Candlestick Park. I guided Barbara in to the place here in Fremont and thanked them for the ride and a fun evening at the ball game. I would have preferred if my team won, but it was still enjoyed myself: "Worth what I paid for it," as we say in BASFA reviewing-speak.

More Donations to the Retire Kevin's Worldcon Debt Fund

Why yes, I did read page 9 of The Drink Tank #173, why do you ask?