Escapade and some Verizon stuff
Mar. 11th, 2008 12:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tenayaPerhaps I was in the wrong state of mind but this con left me underwhelmed this year. Perhaps I just had a bad case of the grumps.
So, my report is under the cut and don't read it if you feel it will dampen your squee.
ETA: and apparently we could have been exposed to Whooping Cough at the con. Well, it's best to have a heads up....
First off, we were expecting the Verizon people this Monday. On Thursday I meant to leave by noon to beat the traffic and have some time to enjoy downtown Ventura. But the Series 3 Tivo I bought (an open box but the two salesmen swore it had all it's parts) had missing parts (like the remote and the instructions.) I returned it to one Best Buys and drove to another city to pick up an unopened box, brought it home and set it up. I heard a noise outside and it was a Verizon work crew. Huh? At least this time there was an English speaker amongst the group. We talked about what they were going to do. The woman on the phone said it would be an ariel drop but these guys said they specialized in burial connections and that he'd double check and come back on Friday. :::sigh:::
So, I finished setting up the Tivo, making sure it was connecting via the phone line which took a couple of hours. I coached mom on the importance of going to check on it and making sure it was connecting multiple times because we needed it to download the Fall software version as it will make setting up to FiOS smoother. By then it was 5:30pm and when I checked the traffic website I saw my freeway had a three car pile up on it. So, I cooled my feet until the CHP page had them towing the cars away and the little lights that indicate freeway speeds went from red to yellow. Why should I sit in traffic when I can sit at home? Finally, the trip to Ventura at 7pm when very smoothly.
The Crown Plaza is an adequate hotel; I loved the location and the free wireless, can deal with the small bathrooms, but have issue with the noise, and the maid service. Hello? Two people need two sets of towels, including a bath mat. The alarm clock would make little buzzy noises at the oddest times and it woke me up. The guy slapping the papers down in front of each room at 4am woke me up. The trains going by woke me up. Now, you can't do anything about the trains, but the rest of it, yes, there was room for improvement. I'm a night shift person and am used to sleeping through noise but not the noise from newspapers falling or the clock near my head suddenly buzzing. We did unplug the clock on Friday morning, and when I checked out, the lady at the desk said cell phone usage did that. Huh. Anyway, I ended up sleeping only about 4-5 hours per night and that makes me cranky and fall asleep during the day. Hrmph!
There were a few good panels I attended, including the one about fannish history. I was able to attend two photoshop workshops and I found those very, very helpful. And the one about where to find free stuff on the net was super cool, too.
Somewhat interesting panels were the few show related ones of SGA and Torchwood. I missed SPN because of the schedule. I missed the Non-con panel because of scheduling. And two panels managed to piss me off. One was unpopular ideas which was all in good fun until one fan stood up and said Daniel Jackson isn't that attractive, isn't that special and can die...and stay dead--and she said it in that special gleeful tone of voice. Whoa. Suddenly, not so fun. Suddenly I'm having PTSD flashbacks to having gleeful, spiteful shippers taunt the Daniel fans and reveling in behaving in the rudest ways possible because TPTB gave them the POWER to do it because they were right and now Daniel was dead dead dead and that was just so fantastic and did I shout in your face again that YOUR fav character is dead and you and your section of fandom can just crawl off in the corner? Obviously, this is my button, my problem. But, I noticed when someone else stood up and said Rodney McKay isn't that attractive, they did not add he should die and stay dead. Big difference. One can state you think your friends are nuts for rhapsodizing over an ordinary looking man, but where's the IDIC and tolerance when you state you want a character dead and gone? I know, I know...my button. But she hit it dead center.
Yeah, my enjoyment of the con had ice water tossed onto it. The next panel was about psycho fans and guess who was moderating it? Uh-huh. So, I got to hear about the psycho fans that campaign to get a character back--and while she took swipes at the Daniel fans and how they ruined SG1 for her, her biggest complaint was about the save Janet campaign. You know, I know there was a campaign for that but I didn't get involved. I wished them luck but honestly, they weren't that intrusive. They did what they wanted to do and it was very peripheral to me. I don't see why the foaming at the mouth, personally. Now, the truest thing at this panel was the question about who amongst us *hasn't* had our psycho fan moments? And that's a really good point. Especially as I observed said fan and her friends in the restaurant that night, their loud conversation I could easily hear on the opposite side of the room, and the leaping up and down at the door to the kitchen. Yeah, yeah, the vid show was about to start and the service was incredibly slow, but you if you want to talk about people who stand out from the social norm, get thee to a mirror.
Vid show. I'm sorry but I was disappointed. I know my tastes are mundane when it comes to vids so I'm sure the show was actually very good. By the end of the show I was quite tired and sleepy enough that I gave up trying to staying up until they showed the season ender of SGA and just went to bed. It was the night we lost an hour of sleep anyway. Not that I could sleep past 4am. Newspaper--THWACK!!! :::sigh:::
Sunday had the usual buffet breakfast (but had cream cheese and no bagels--go figure) but it was at the top of the hotel with a spectacular view. Very, very nice. Gorgeous day. And I did go out of the hotel a few times to walk along the boardwalk. And I actually did stay for a few panels that day instead of hightailing it for home.
Speaking of which, by the time I got home and stopped to food shop along the way, I was exhausted and went to bed. Woke up at 1am, watched some TV, back to bed, woke up to do some decluttering before the Verizon guy arrived. We had filled the trash and the recycling containers before he arrived and we still have lots to go.
The Verizon guy was very nice, very professional. He explained where stuff needed to go and because the phone line enters the house above my mom's bedroom, the FiOS ONT and backup battery needs to go in her room. Installation will be rescheduled once we get her room presentable.
Oh, to backtrack some, they did a buried line on Friday. We lost a few plants and some paving stones were tossed about. Apparently, they have a missile that through the magic of compressed air, burrows like a mole underground through the yard. Judging from the bedlam, they redirected it twice to zigzag through the yard, missing the gas main. So, we can say Hurray for that, eh?
And now, I need to do more sorting tomorrow and remember to go get Ark of Truth, the SG1 direct to DVD movie. Since it's been in the 80s, the weeds in the yard will have to be dealt with soon. I'll take some photos so you can feel my pain. *g*
I've been fretting about when to schedule my Hawaiian cruise next year because the humpback whales are there from Christmas to Easter. That conflicts with the usual time Escapade is, but since they never set on the date until late summer or fall, I suddenly feel free to pick whenever I want. Maybe I need to give the con a rest--and that feels like a good decision for me.
Now the choice to friends lock or not. Normally, I rarely flock a post but will I find nasty little anti-Daniel rants if I don't? Let's find out.
So, my report is under the cut and don't read it if you feel it will dampen your squee.
ETA: and apparently we could have been exposed to Whooping Cough at the con. Well, it's best to have a heads up....
First off, we were expecting the Verizon people this Monday. On Thursday I meant to leave by noon to beat the traffic and have some time to enjoy downtown Ventura. But the Series 3 Tivo I bought (an open box but the two salesmen swore it had all it's parts) had missing parts (like the remote and the instructions.) I returned it to one Best Buys and drove to another city to pick up an unopened box, brought it home and set it up. I heard a noise outside and it was a Verizon work crew. Huh? At least this time there was an English speaker amongst the group. We talked about what they were going to do. The woman on the phone said it would be an ariel drop but these guys said they specialized in burial connections and that he'd double check and come back on Friday. :::sigh:::
So, I finished setting up the Tivo, making sure it was connecting via the phone line which took a couple of hours. I coached mom on the importance of going to check on it and making sure it was connecting multiple times because we needed it to download the Fall software version as it will make setting up to FiOS smoother. By then it was 5:30pm and when I checked the traffic website I saw my freeway had a three car pile up on it. So, I cooled my feet until the CHP page had them towing the cars away and the little lights that indicate freeway speeds went from red to yellow. Why should I sit in traffic when I can sit at home? Finally, the trip to Ventura at 7pm when very smoothly.
The Crown Plaza is an adequate hotel; I loved the location and the free wireless, can deal with the small bathrooms, but have issue with the noise, and the maid service. Hello? Two people need two sets of towels, including a bath mat. The alarm clock would make little buzzy noises at the oddest times and it woke me up. The guy slapping the papers down in front of each room at 4am woke me up. The trains going by woke me up. Now, you can't do anything about the trains, but the rest of it, yes, there was room for improvement. I'm a night shift person and am used to sleeping through noise but not the noise from newspapers falling or the clock near my head suddenly buzzing. We did unplug the clock on Friday morning, and when I checked out, the lady at the desk said cell phone usage did that. Huh. Anyway, I ended up sleeping only about 4-5 hours per night and that makes me cranky and fall asleep during the day. Hrmph!
There were a few good panels I attended, including the one about fannish history. I was able to attend two photoshop workshops and I found those very, very helpful. And the one about where to find free stuff on the net was super cool, too.
Somewhat interesting panels were the few show related ones of SGA and Torchwood. I missed SPN because of the schedule. I missed the Non-con panel because of scheduling. And two panels managed to piss me off. One was unpopular ideas which was all in good fun until one fan stood up and said Daniel Jackson isn't that attractive, isn't that special and can die...and stay dead--and she said it in that special gleeful tone of voice. Whoa. Suddenly, not so fun. Suddenly I'm having PTSD flashbacks to having gleeful, spiteful shippers taunt the Daniel fans and reveling in behaving in the rudest ways possible because TPTB gave them the POWER to do it because they were right and now Daniel was dead dead dead and that was just so fantastic and did I shout in your face again that YOUR fav character is dead and you and your section of fandom can just crawl off in the corner? Obviously, this is my button, my problem. But, I noticed when someone else stood up and said Rodney McKay isn't that attractive, they did not add he should die and stay dead. Big difference. One can state you think your friends are nuts for rhapsodizing over an ordinary looking man, but where's the IDIC and tolerance when you state you want a character dead and gone? I know, I know...my button. But she hit it dead center.
Yeah, my enjoyment of the con had ice water tossed onto it. The next panel was about psycho fans and guess who was moderating it? Uh-huh. So, I got to hear about the psycho fans that campaign to get a character back--and while she took swipes at the Daniel fans and how they ruined SG1 for her, her biggest complaint was about the save Janet campaign. You know, I know there was a campaign for that but I didn't get involved. I wished them luck but honestly, they weren't that intrusive. They did what they wanted to do and it was very peripheral to me. I don't see why the foaming at the mouth, personally. Now, the truest thing at this panel was the question about who amongst us *hasn't* had our psycho fan moments? And that's a really good point. Especially as I observed said fan and her friends in the restaurant that night, their loud conversation I could easily hear on the opposite side of the room, and the leaping up and down at the door to the kitchen. Yeah, yeah, the vid show was about to start and the service was incredibly slow, but you if you want to talk about people who stand out from the social norm, get thee to a mirror.
Vid show. I'm sorry but I was disappointed. I know my tastes are mundane when it comes to vids so I'm sure the show was actually very good. By the end of the show I was quite tired and sleepy enough that I gave up trying to staying up until they showed the season ender of SGA and just went to bed. It was the night we lost an hour of sleep anyway. Not that I could sleep past 4am. Newspaper--THWACK!!! :::sigh:::
Sunday had the usual buffet breakfast (but had cream cheese and no bagels--go figure) but it was at the top of the hotel with a spectacular view. Very, very nice. Gorgeous day. And I did go out of the hotel a few times to walk along the boardwalk. And I actually did stay for a few panels that day instead of hightailing it for home.
Speaking of which, by the time I got home and stopped to food shop along the way, I was exhausted and went to bed. Woke up at 1am, watched some TV, back to bed, woke up to do some decluttering before the Verizon guy arrived. We had filled the trash and the recycling containers before he arrived and we still have lots to go.
The Verizon guy was very nice, very professional. He explained where stuff needed to go and because the phone line enters the house above my mom's bedroom, the FiOS ONT and backup battery needs to go in her room. Installation will be rescheduled once we get her room presentable.
Oh, to backtrack some, they did a buried line on Friday. We lost a few plants and some paving stones were tossed about. Apparently, they have a missile that through the magic of compressed air, burrows like a mole underground through the yard. Judging from the bedlam, they redirected it twice to zigzag through the yard, missing the gas main. So, we can say Hurray for that, eh?
And now, I need to do more sorting tomorrow and remember to go get Ark of Truth, the SG1 direct to DVD movie. Since it's been in the 80s, the weeds in the yard will have to be dealt with soon. I'll take some photos so you can feel my pain. *g*
I've been fretting about when to schedule my Hawaiian cruise next year because the humpback whales are there from Christmas to Easter. That conflicts with the usual time Escapade is, but since they never set on the date until late summer or fall, I suddenly feel free to pick whenever I want. Maybe I need to give the con a rest--and that feels like a good decision for me.
Now the choice to friends lock or not. Normally, I rarely flock a post but will I find nasty little anti-Daniel rants if I don't? Let's find out.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2008-03-11 01:31 pm (UTC)And wow, humpback whales in Hawaii sounds really, really cool.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-03-11 06:40 pm (UTC)Yeah, the whales go down there to have babies and there is much leaping out of the water. I saw them feeding up in Alaska and that was pretty amazing. Seems like a nice book end in my travels, to see them at both migratory points.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-03-11 07:10 pm (UTC)And yay for ickle wee whales!
(no subject)
Date: 2008-03-11 01:35 pm (UTC)And I've actually had whooping cough....
(no subject)
Date: 2008-03-11 07:01 pm (UTC)Escapade is now more costly but I've always enjoyed seeing my friends and having a "girl's weekend" at the seaside. It's easily one of the cheaper cons I go to.
There's just been some attacks lately on the Daniel fans. Hello? The guy came back on the show in 2003 for another four seasons. Bitterness runs deep apparently.
Anyway, since the con didn't sell out I've got time to decide to buy a membership later...once I'm not so disappointed and sad.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-03-11 11:59 pm (UTC)I've learned that no matter how idyllic I think a fandom is, eventually there will be a schism re pairing or something else, or the snarky down-the-nose thing going on about something And I've never been in a fandom that's had a huge crack in it, like some. But I went through something similar (though not with 'die, die!') in Hornblower fandom, so I can relate.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-03-17 03:05 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-03-11 04:56 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-03-11 06:42 pm (UTC)My sleep cycle is still split in half so it's not entirely the hotel's fault. *g*
(no subject)
Date: 2008-03-11 07:45 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-03-12 06:55 pm (UTC)I forget the last time I was at Escapade, I think I stopped going around the time I got into SG1 and out of Pros.
Should've stayed in Pros. At least that show was OVER and nothing could change.
I actually only watch one show on TV: SPN. Other than that it's netflix DVDs or the food channel, travel, discovery, HGTV channel. Nothing scripted in the evenings. Heck, if it weren't for mom, I wouldn't even have cable.
Which has nothing to do with Escapade.... *G*
Wanna come pull my weeds?
(no subject)
Date: 2008-03-17 03:03 am (UTC)They were saying Pros is still going strong. Do you still keep up on them?
The mod of the Psycho fans was someone by the name of Spring. She was also moderating a panel on gastric bypass surgery.