tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3304302673132222419.post5510903822438653857..comments2023-11-09T22:51:59.986-05:00Comments on Dreaming About Other Worlds: Event - Balticon 50, May 27th - 30th, 2015Aaron Poundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11747596648152141394noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3304302673132222419.post-78339313770094849362016-06-15T10:37:15.658-04:002016-06-15T10:37:15.658-04:00@Frank Probst: When reporting on a convention, the...@Frank Probst: When reporting on a convention, there is always a fine line to walk between pointing out problems and making allowances for the fact that the work is all done by volunteers. There were other issues that came up at the convention that I didn't comment upon, mostly because they were the normal hiccups that one expects to have happen at a fan-run convention. As you note, the programming issues, however, were really a serious problem - serious enough that I think they went well beyond what might have been expected of a volunteer organization.<br /><br />I can't speak for all of them, but many of the alumni seem to have been willing to sign books after other events - so long as their schedule allowed. I was able to have Jody Lynn Nye sign a book after her reading, and Stephen Barnes was gracious about signing books after his Monday morning presentation. I believe Michael Flynn would have been willing, but he was sporting a broken right arm and I thought getting a picture with him was probably a better option.<br /><br />Finally, I agree that the hotel was the biggest problem with the convention. The layout was bad, and the staff were worse.Aaron Poundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11747596648152141394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3304302673132222419.post-31305014968466001402016-06-11T16:38:30.612-04:002016-06-11T16:38:30.612-04:00I know conventions are a lot of work for people to...I know conventions are a lot of work for people to run and that these are fans who are essentially donating their time in order to make the event happen, so I hate to pile on, but I wasn't able to get even draft of a schedule until a few days before the event, and I was disappointed to find that the autograph signing for Guest of Honor Alumni Jo Walton, Allen Steele, Nancy Springer, Joe Haldeman, Steve Miller, and Sharon Lee was at 5 PM on Friday afternoon. This was before the Opening Ceremonies at 7 PM, which is what I based my travel plans on. So I arrived at the hotel at a little after 6 PM (during the fire alarm) and missed the signing. Joe Haldeman was gracious enough to sign books after his talk on Saturday. I'm not sure about the other Alumni.<br /><br />That being said, I think that the big problem was simply that this was not a good venue for a con, not only from the perspective of the floor plan, but also in terms of the hotel staff. Even if the space had been perfect, I think the outright hostility of the hotel staff would be enough to justify avoiding this venue in the future.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11368752955215150518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3304302673132222419.post-25550456442811636372016-06-11T11:14:31.950-04:002016-06-11T11:14:31.950-04:00@Elne Clare: Sorry for the error. I'll amend t...@Elne Clare: Sorry for the error. I'll amend the description to say "young woman". I'm glad she made a formal complaint. The hotel security at the event was out of control.Aaron Poundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11747596648152141394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3304302673132222419.post-68827874135885855092016-06-10T23:19:37.733-04:002016-06-10T23:19:37.733-04:00The "teenage girl" actually is a young l...The "teenage girl" actually is a young lady who is 32. She will be happy to know you thought she was in her teens. As her mom I was very proud of her and her friends who won Best in Class for Workmenship in the Master Class. Seeing her talking to the police when she and her friend made a formal complain against the hotel.Elne Clarehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03489441283176395249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3304302673132222419.post-29544855401972734332016-06-07T20:53:26.084-04:002016-06-07T20:53:26.084-04:00@Dorothy Kurtz: That sounds terrible. I hope you g...@Dorothy Kurtz: That sounds terrible. I hope you get better soon. I had heard that the fire alarm was caused by a smoke machine, but I wasn't at the convention yet when it happened and I have been given conflicting reports of what happened, so I left that out of my write-up.Aaron Poundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11747596648152141394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3304302673132222419.post-86606148292814260662016-06-05T21:12:27.234-04:002016-06-05T21:12:27.234-04:00The humidity in the hotel, plus the people coughin...The humidity in the hotel, plus the people coughing gave me a bad cold, and I am now coughing. I also lost my voice. By the way, that fire alarm was caused by a "smoke effect" at a dance in the hotel.Dottyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08856272244632111793noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3304302673132222419.post-67762702562676282692016-06-03T18:18:58.135-04:002016-06-03T18:18:58.135-04:00@Joanna: I'm sorry that happened to your party...@Joanna: I'm sorry that happened to your party. Go ahead and link to any page you think has a readership who should see it.Aaron Poundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11747596648152141394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3304302673132222419.post-72174464212808046362016-06-03T17:22:37.442-04:002016-06-03T17:22:37.442-04:00Good evening,
That was my bid rep (who was a troo...Good evening,<br /><br />That was my bid rep (who was a trooper) for NOLA 2018 who got burned in the atrium. Our party was shut down by both security and con staff on Friday night. I still don't know why. We were really disappointed. Thanks for the write-up. Oddly, it feels better to know that there were overall issues with the hotel. <br /><br />Can I link this to the Journeymen of Fandom facebook page? Perhaps a pre-con meeting with hotel security could prevent some of these issues. Who knew we needed one for our silly pajama parties.<br /><br />Thanks,<br /><br />Joanna RiversUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03183857466206070518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3304302673132222419.post-64172841321466056742016-06-02T08:28:41.275-04:002016-06-02T08:28:41.275-04:00@qiihoskeh: Thanks. I have updated the post concer...@qiihoskeh: Thanks. I have updated the post concerning floor usage.<br /><br />As far as scheduling glitches are concerned, staffing problems might explain them, but that doesn't excuse them. Balticon 50 had some serious programming issues, and that is a problem no matter what caused them.Aaron Poundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11747596648152141394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3304302673132222419.post-68011716416704368632016-06-02T03:00:00.500-04:002016-06-02T03:00:00.500-04:00Hi! The floors used for panels etc. were the 5th t...Hi! The floors used for panels etc. were the 5th through the 11th. The 12th floor was used for the con suite and the green room. I understand that the scheduling glitches arose from staffing problems.qiihoskehhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06729684109780848463noreply@blogger.com