Clutch

The staffers in that morass on Saturday were shouting, but getting muffled out in the throng of people. Great way to burn out their voices too. Megaphones might help, but more electronic message boards throughout would be better. If you could read a sign instead of shouting the information you could get a better response. quick edit: Better signage at the security check-in would help get people through more quickly. Put up 3-4 static signs in the line path saying to put your electronics on a specific side, to make a gap when approaching the scanner, to hold your arms apart at the scan, an

Unfortunately, we are all at the mercy of the other guests in the hotels. I think it was pre-pandemic where the couple in the next room decided to have a fight. Screaming and throwing things at 2 in the morning. Another time, I was stuck next to a party room where they were making noise until about 3 AM. Other times you have people talking full volume, or yelling in the hallways. The doors and walls don't muffle that much. The Marriott Marquis has a couch and table located in a space near the elevators. A few years back some group decided to have a party there and you could hear the

I can't knock Otakon for some of the crowd control issues. They are a group of volunteers. So unless a lot more people volunteer to steer crowds, their choices are limited. Then you have the selfish people who cut lines, which leads others to follow.

The Good: The red jacket guy and Otakon Staff handling the lined to the Marriott Connector. They were doing the best they could in a bad situation. The Bad: Overcrowding. I waited in a line to get to the Dealer's Hall, only to not get much of a look at any of the merchandise. There were a solid wall of people near any table. The top of the escalator's near the Game Hall was a mad mess, as was the bottom end of the escalators. The stairs had been closed off to go down to the Connector level and a giant mass was trying to fill 2 elevators to go down. That was when the police had thing

The Marriott Marquis was sold out of two bed rooms within 3 minutes. I tried to book one, and they were already gone by the time I hit the Book Rooms button. Refreshed a minute later and everything was sold out for any room configuration.

I have said this before, but I will not be joining any social media sites for Otakon content. They will need to post all updates on Otakon.com for me to see them. Otakon does not promote the forum that I have seen, so there is no new blood. Kids now are all Tik Tok. The old/popular posters are not posting any more. Nothing from Alabaster, Cousin Sue, Fadamoore (apologies for any misspellings)?

Please reboot the server or something. It is still taking a while to load pages.

Forum is running slowly again. Throttling from the heat?

I almost thought about taking a Raspberry Pi, but did not want to pack the keyboard. Staples had a folding keyboard on clearance, but it was still priced pretty high. Who remembers WebTV?

There is (or at least was) a grocery store near the convention center. Rather than pack food for the trip, we just stop in there and take things back to the hotel. The rooms usually have a refrigerator so we are golden.

I don't remember if it was last year or the year before, but I went into one of the local coffee shops and placed and order. When I pulled out cash they said "we don't accept cash". I told them to cancel the order. However, I wondered if this is a trend down there. Was thinking about getting one of those pre-paid Visa cards to take with me for the trip.

Last year's Metro card I saw an article a while back which said hotels are dropping the free lotion, shampoo, etc., so I would not count on them being there. If you call the desk for them they may charge a premium. Those little tooth care bags my dentist provides come in handy. Usually bring an extra day's clothes in case of spill or something.

Yearly reminder on things to bring with you. An umbrella Cell phone charger Your medications Your vaccine card (if not using the applet) Masks 2 pairs of shoes (let one pair air out between days 🤣) small water bottle ear plugs (personal preference based on volume levels these days) hoodie and/or pants (if you are prone to getting cold in air conditioning) [can't tell you how many ladies in their light Summer dresses folding their arms over tightly to try and keep warm in the grocery store] No spelling or grammar errors this time, I hope

Back in the day, there would be pages of posts on the forum this close to Otakon. Only a few of us still use it. Won't be surprised if it just disappears one day. I'm not joining any Zuckerbook, et al, just to get information on the convention. If it is not posted on the Otakon web side, I will miss out. 😢

It is best to use a bag with as few pockets as possible. The bag checks take much longer if you have to go through a dozen pockets. Also let the security person know if your bag has a magnetic catch, because it affects the wand.

Didn't Otakon Vegas have a mascot with long blonde hair? https://vegas.otakon.com/

If the venue is skimping on the air conditioning, they are just asking for problems. My office cuts off the AC at night and it it always hot when you arrive in the office. My guess is that it would cost less to maintain the temperature than having to kick into high gear to cool the room again. One of the reasons I am avoiding the office in the Summer.

Here is the web page for the policy: https://www.otakon.com/info/covid/

Yep. Been slow for days now.

Video Girl Ai Bastard! All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl: Nuku-Nuku (original, not Dash)

I still have my faded Otakon 1994 shirt, badge, and program packed away. 🥰 Is the Scanticon still around? The conference center in the middle of a field? That place had some cool tech, like remote controls to dim all the lights, awesome seats, and a central video control room.

It is tough recalling the layout of the building, but I still remember the Bean Bandit and Lum standees. Don't recall taking any pictures that year. Although I have not been taking pictures at the last few Otakons, either. 🥴

Saw this linked through Digg, and thought it belonged here too. Amazing effort by the artist.

I thought they are released for booking pretty early. Is there something holding it up?

It has been slow for at least a week. Pages take 30 seconds or longer to load. Did a quick F12 trace on the page and the slowness is coming from board.otakon.com.