Clutch
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Posts posted by Clutch
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I would think you get into liability issues if you start putting down cigarettes or adult magazines in a place where kids could get to them. The other stuff seems safe.
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Just saw a blurb on this. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/akira-toriyama-dies-dragon-ball-creator-anime-dead-age-68/
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Another thing I have noticed is that some places are charging extra for credit versus debit. Had that happen at the car repair shop the other day. You get some safeguards with credit cards which are not available in debit cards.
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41 minutes ago, EdKitten said:
Gosh, I had no idea other places were making it hard to use cash, or not accepting it at all. Locally, there's two places that don't use cash anymore (I'm near DC now). There might be more, since I don't go to every store, of course.
Yeah, a pre-paid card sounds like the way to go.
Hopefully, with Otakon's pre-registration, they'll want to use their own computers/ipads, so the registration will be like last year.
P.S. Sorry it took a while to respond -- I use public computers, so sometimes it takes a while to get to them. 😵
Before you purchase a pre-paid card, read the fine print on the back. The one I bought could not be recharged, but it did say the funds would never expire. Not all cards had that last bit. Also, the one I had did not have a chip in it, and only the stripe on the back. Some sale terminals which only have a chip/tap method, so the cashier has to swipe the stripe on their register instead. Going to keep the used card around to use as a dummy.
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A few years ago I went into a D.C. coffee shop for a cup. Place my order and dug out my cash and they told me they don't take it. Had to cancel the order. I suspect you will find fewer places down there who will accept it. The Safeway in D.C. is probably one of the few places that will be cash all the time. Even the home centers are starting to make it difficult to use cash. 1 register takes cash, the rest use credit card or electronic payment, so I wave people through until I can get to it.
I picked up a pre-paid card and used that where cash was a no-go around the convention last year. Plan to do that again.
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On 1/1/2024 at 12:39 PM, Zelkova said:
This was probably me and yes I had literally just been informed of what to do and you caught me at the start of me doing it. I was replacing someone so they could go on break for a bit. You just happen to get the luck of the draw to be one of the first I assisted.
Thank you for volunteering to assist. I don't think people appreciate all the hard work people do for Otakon.
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@Daniel Perales - Thought about this yesterday. Assuming you did the same thing I did and moved the little slide which says shipping and billing addresses are the same. Try filling in both separately and see if that lets it push through. Am going on the assumption that filling in the 2nd one manually overrides any saved information.
Someone else registered me in the mean time, so I haven't been able to try this myself.
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On 11/21/2023 at 8:32 AM, MattTheMinion said:
In most cases declines come from address mismatches with what the card issuer has on file. In particular, Amex is a real stickler for everything matching exactly. Although a similar thing can happen if you are using a disposable card/gift card, and you haven't registered an address with it.
Funny thing about addresses. When you go to get certain documents renewed, they want to see 2 forms of ID. If the names are different (middle name, middle initial, etc.), they will reject the renewal. Go to the local government office to update one of the IDs and they say "Oh, looks like the Post Office changed the city name on your address." Depending in which database you look, the town name is one or the other. The Zip Code is 5 digits or 9 digits. Really annoying. I tried all combinations, but none of them worked. Not sure how you can reach someone to just get the information they have removed all together.
On 11/20/2023 at 3:30 PM, Daniel Perales said:I've been getting that with the exception that It showed how many $70 badges were left. Then, it declined my first credit card (which I know that there's more than enough funds on it), then I went for another. Still rejected my next card. Then the next one. Then I had a notification that the badge was no longer around.
I got the "Sold Out" of the $70 after I made a refresh, so I tried the $75 instead. Still rejecting my cards.
Did someone else register you before? I was wondering if I was being blocked because someone else added me when they registered in the past. My credit card is not from a regular bank, which made me wonder if they only accept the big name cards.
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I keep getting a message "payment failed" when trying to submit it. Tried 2 separate browsers at least 4 times each. Guessing the $70 rate is gone, but it won't display the $75 rate. Disappointing.
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Isn't Otakon the original one for the East Coast? Where do the attendance numbers land for those other conventions compared to Otakon?
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1 hour ago, KyoKyo said:
It's funny, back in 1994 Otakon was probably viewed by the locals as some fringe gathering of geeks and weirdos. Now, when I walk into my local Five Below they have Miku posters and my local Target has Spy x Family manga right on the "featured" front shelf. By 2007, Best Buy had an entire aisle devoted to anime DVDs. It's crazy to think how quickly anime has become popular.
I think anime/manga peaked and is on the downward side of the curve. F.Y.E., Spencer's, Hot Topic, etc. started carrying anime related material when it became hot, but the selection is going down slowly. Now it is just one genre out of other popular ones.
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On 10/23/2023 at 8:53 AM, Daniel Perales said:
I have an idea: Otakon should bring back these life-sized anime character boards and display them throughout the convention center.
They had Bean Bandit, Lum, and Ranma-chan, if I recall. Maybe if they made them into sign posts it would be worth it. Otherwise, those have limited novelty to today's anime crowd. You would also have to pay licensing fees for their use today. Back in 1994, Otakon was flying under the radar and could get away with using the character boards.
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We were the 300. 😀
Wasn't there a comic book store near the Days Inn where we were looking for a Ranma book?
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I tell Revan to check the guest list for any new convention. There have been a few that looked like vaporware, with no guests 4 Months before the date. Thought there was one convention which shut down the week before it was supposed to start. If you prepaid for admission, you take your chances. At some point, you saturate the market for anime/comic book/horror/sci-fi conventions.
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I don't hold hope for this board being up much longer, let alone new galleries being added. 😟
Been on these boards since they opened, but they seem to be abandoned.
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There is no Post Otakon 2023 forum so far. In the past one was made within a few weeks after the latest Otakon. Asking because I don't want to miss Registration when it opens. There was no announcement about hotels going active and I stumbled upon that by accident.
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2 hours ago, Daniel Perales said:
There's only a few of us (probably less than a handful), left who were there at the time.
I would have to look, but don't think I took any pictures that year. If I did, they were on film and I was not very good with the camera.
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134.40 seconds just to reload this page.
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9 hours ago, TomDent said:
I think it would be pretty cool to bring back some guests from the first few years of Otakon. Not sure how many are still active in the industry or con scene, but it would be a nice throwback. And maybe industry guests from anime that debuted or was super popular in '94.
They will have to break out the Bean Bandit, Lum, and Ranma standees again, and set up the Dealer's Closet.
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I was curious about the Cambria Suites. Has anyone stayed there in the past who can provide their feedback?
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Unless Otakon is releasing further blocks, I don't see the Hampton Inn on the list any more. Managed to get one there after the Marriott Marquis errors. As I said at work today, "Now I know how Swifties feel."
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Marriott Marquis kept throwing resource lock errors trying to book and then was sold out in 60 seconds. Disappointing.
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10 hours ago, TnAdct1 said:
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
- Even with the line control, trying to get in on Saturday is still a mess for those who are carrying bags. While I understand the safety reasons for it, bag checks are sadly still slowing things down and creating long lines.
Not disagreeing with your statement, however, there were many attendees who did not have their bags opened and ready for inspection. The security personnel doing bag inspection in the Marriott had to keep stating to have their bags open and ready. Otakon should probably have signs posted earlier in the lines stating that fact to help the line flow, but they can't control people not being ready.
One a side note, repeat instructions may be good to have on sign boards to save the staff from shouting as much. A sign with an arrow pointing left (held high enough to see further away) would be a visual clue to herd the crowd for the Dealer's Hall. Another sign near the escalators would help with that control, in my opinion. Signs can be re-used (like the map boards) to be a lower cost expense. I also thought the staff having glow sticks or wands to point people in the correct direction may be useful, maybe fun. I could imagine someone doing a little dance move with the glow sticks pointing someone to the left (Move to the left. Move to the left. Uh hah...). My point being that in large crowds you can see things before hearing them over the din.
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Just found out about this. Thought someone would have posted it already in the Announcements area.
https://www.otakon.com/info/hotels/
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Do all hotels supported by the con have discounted parking?
in Otakon 2024
Posted
I don't recall any parking discounts when we were in Baltimore. More that you were guaranteed a space in the lot, and they would fold the daily parking charges into your bill.