Current Post On Trae’s Blog:
So right now I'm sitting in my living room, kind of exhausted, looking at a green chair that used to sit in my Grandmother's living room. This weekend was eventful, and I'm tired.
Crysta and I went down to Milwaukee so we could spend father's day with my parents (along with some other family members). We went to the Brewer's game on Sunday, and like any game of baseball, it was a good time. I've never been a huge sports person, but I love watching a good live baseball game.
Honestly it was an amazing day.
Before I left town on Saturday though, I swung by the local No Kings protest here in Eau Claire, and then spent a chunk of time at the local Pride celebration. I tend to be a bit of a shut in these days, so with all the awful stuff in the news it was nice to remind myself that there are good people in the world willing to stand up for what's right and for each other.
My grandmother passed away not that long ago, and one thing I had my parent set aside for me was a chair. I realize that it looks a bit more gold in the photo, but trust me when I say it's green in real life. This morning I loaded it into my pickup and drove it across the state and got it into my living room. I loved this chair as a kid, and importantly... it swivels. And when I was growing up adults would always yell at me not to spin the chair. Well guess what, it's my chair now.
And no one can stop me from spinning.
I dunno -- it was just a lot of stuff in a short amount of time. We also went out to dinner after the baseball game yesterday, but I think I'll give my full opinion on that later this week in a different blog post. Because we went to a restaurant none of us had been to before, and uh... I have thoughts.
That was vague. I'm being vague. You're just going to have to be okay with that.
![Nerd & Tie[dot]Social Forums](https://www.nerdandtie.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/natsocial-nicepreview-square-300x300.png)
I’m assuming the question is ?
Looks like Jasper was named .
Curse my stupid ineptitude with tags!
Probable question: http://www.unconventional-comic.com/2010/10/closing-confusion/
Jasper named: http://www.unconventional-comic.com/2013/10/the-final-question/
Had to search the archive to find his question, though I then have to ask if it’s been a repeat issue, why not get the contract updated?
That said, I sorta hate Q&A sessions, because 90% is the same stuff that gets asked every single year. And of that, 90% is something the convention can’t do anything about.
‘The vendor hall was crowded.’ ‘So don’t go there. Then at least others don’t have to squeeze past your fat ass.’
‘You didn’t have the panel I wanted.’ ‘So run it yourself.’
‘There were two panels I wanted to see at the same time.’ ‘Join staff, set the schedule yourself.’
‘This event wasn’t run right.’ ‘Join staff, run it yourself.’
‘Parking was bad.’ ‘Ride the bus.’
‘I didn’t get to spend time with the Special Guest.’ ‘Neither did 2000 other attendees. You are not special.’
…..I might be a little bitter…
I look at the Q & A part of the closing ceremony to be the part where you make a request and the staff tells you why they can’t do that. Like you said only 10% of that is something and maybe among that, on 5% of that can get implemented. I said this a long time ago but with that said I still see the closing ceremony to be rather unproductive and to a huge extent, depressing.
Sometimes it isn’t as simple as just updating the contract. Some hotels put very specific restrictions on serving food to the public and abiding to those rules can be costly, especially if the hotel requires the con to purchase the food through its own catering services. Hotel food is usually not cheap and when push comes to shove, it makes a con suite kinda frivolous financial-wise because those funds are better spent on equipment, con space, security measures, guest fees, and other expenses.
Note, there is a huge difference between a con suite and a staff lounge. I’ve been to cons that feed staff, volunteers, and guests, but not attendees. The guest get fed via their contract and the staff/volunteers as part of a bartering system, which is a legal form of payment for services in the state I live in.
Regarding the comic though, it sounds more like this one person asking the same question every year rather than it being a repeated issue. You can’t please everyone, so sometimes it’s not realistic or doable to cater to a small group who want a specific thing.
Anthrocon did away with the Q&A in closing ceremonies years ago. It had become long, drawn-out and unproductive, and it was evident many of the people were just grabbing a moment of our chairman’s attention (he’s a popular guy).
Instead we developed an online survey to collect feedback, and keep the closing ceremony brief and positive: thanking the Guests of Honor and other notables, announcing the total amount collected for charity, total attendance and fursuit parade numbers, etc. Takes about half an hour.
Great Idea. Also by that point, everyone is tired and ready to go home. Also almost everyone is gone by then that sounds more productive.
As y’said. There were also a share of ‘I love this con *snif* *bawl*” that were sweet to hear but took up valuable time.