Entry tags:
SMOFCon 2018 Day 1
SMOFCon actually started today (although it informally kicked off yesterday with the Con Suite opening), with programming starting at 1 PM. That gave Lisa and me time to go for a walk after breakfast. With the latest round of storms cleared, it was decently sunny, and we walked down to the shopping center where we had dinner last night, then beyond that to the Lucky grocery store and then to the Japanese restaurant where we'd signed up for one of this evening's dinner outings.
( Returning to the Hotel )
I didn't have a full-blown lunch, but joined my manager for next year's Worldcon, Jesi Lipp, for lunch in the hotel restaurant, where we talked about next year's WSFS Business Meeting (Jesi is the Chair; I'm their deputy) and WSFS governance in general, about which Jesi will be conducting a discussion on Saturday that I definitely plan to attend.
I attended panels this afternoon about what hotels are looking for from groups like ours, and then later in the afternoon, a presentation about the Worldcon Heritage Organization, the non-profit organization that looks after the large amount of historical exhibit stuff about Worldcons, including most notably the Hugo Award trophies seen at most recent Worldcons. The WHO group is very much looking for people who are willing to do the work that's needed to keep these exhibits alive. It's not so much money (that can be found) but people points they need.
Lisa scratched from the dinner outing (allowing another person to go) and went to bed early, partially so she could be in better shape to be up late recording the "Fannish Inquisition" tomorrow night.
Because we drove, I could use my minivan again to shuttle members of our dinner party the roughly 1 km from the hotel to the restaurant. I ended up having to make two trips each way because we only had two vehicles for ten people (including the drivers). It was a nice dinner structured with each of us talking about what got us into convention attending and why we stayed.
After dinner, it was the usual circuit of socializing, playing games, and smoffing. Unlike Worldcon, we're not all running around working on stuff and have a chance to relax. Furthermore, because so many key people in Worldcon fandom are here, some issues that might take weeks to resolve through e-mail could be settled in mere minutes by a face-to-face conversation. E-mail, chat, conference calls, and other tech are wonderful, but sometimes nothing beats talking directly in person with the people who are responsible for things.
I'm really enjoying myself. Saturday, of course will be the really long day, and it's likely that anything I write about it won't actually post until sometime in the we hours of Sunday morning on account of I'm both a participant in the "Fannish Inquisition" as a director of CanSMOF (which is bidding to host the 2020 SMOFCon in Montreal), a part of the support team (carrier of gear for Lisa), and also director of the Probability & Statistics Seminar happening directly after the Inquisition. I'm not expecting to get off site for dinner tomorrow, because both Lisa and I will need to eat early so we can get set up for our respective responsibilities.
( Returning to the Hotel )
I didn't have a full-blown lunch, but joined my manager for next year's Worldcon, Jesi Lipp, for lunch in the hotel restaurant, where we talked about next year's WSFS Business Meeting (Jesi is the Chair; I'm their deputy) and WSFS governance in general, about which Jesi will be conducting a discussion on Saturday that I definitely plan to attend.
I attended panels this afternoon about what hotels are looking for from groups like ours, and then later in the afternoon, a presentation about the Worldcon Heritage Organization, the non-profit organization that looks after the large amount of historical exhibit stuff about Worldcons, including most notably the Hugo Award trophies seen at most recent Worldcons. The WHO group is very much looking for people who are willing to do the work that's needed to keep these exhibits alive. It's not so much money (that can be found) but people points they need.
Lisa scratched from the dinner outing (allowing another person to go) and went to bed early, partially so she could be in better shape to be up late recording the "Fannish Inquisition" tomorrow night.
Because we drove, I could use my minivan again to shuttle members of our dinner party the roughly 1 km from the hotel to the restaurant. I ended up having to make two trips each way because we only had two vehicles for ten people (including the drivers). It was a nice dinner structured with each of us talking about what got us into convention attending and why we stayed.
After dinner, it was the usual circuit of socializing, playing games, and smoffing. Unlike Worldcon, we're not all running around working on stuff and have a chance to relax. Furthermore, because so many key people in Worldcon fandom are here, some issues that might take weeks to resolve through e-mail could be settled in mere minutes by a face-to-face conversation. E-mail, chat, conference calls, and other tech are wonderful, but sometimes nothing beats talking directly in person with the people who are responsible for things.
I'm really enjoying myself. Saturday, of course will be the really long day, and it's likely that anything I write about it won't actually post until sometime in the we hours of Sunday morning on account of I'm both a participant in the "Fannish Inquisition" as a director of CanSMOF (which is bidding to host the 2020 SMOFCon in Montreal), a part of the support team (carrier of gear for Lisa), and also director of the Probability & Statistics Seminar happening directly after the Inquisition. I'm not expecting to get off site for dinner tomorrow, because both Lisa and I will need to eat early so we can get set up for our respective responsibilities.