My GenCon report is: we went to Denver instead. No particular gaming relevance... heck, we didn't even hit a game store while we were there, nor track down any Phoenyx folks (it was a bit of a whirlwind tour). Anybody else have an actual report?
My GenCon report is: we went to Denver instead. No particular gaming relevance... heck, we didn't even hit a game store while we were there, nor track down any Phoenyx folks (it was a bit of a whirlwind tour). Anybody else have an actual report?
On Tue, Aug 15, 2006 at 10:11:23AM -0500, Karen J. Cravens wrote: > My GenCon report is: we went to Denver instead. No particular gaming > relevance... heck, we didn't even hit a game store while we were there, > nor track down any Phoenyx folks (it was a bit of a whirlwind tour). Were you supposed to go? > Anybody else have an actual report? Not I...wrong country. -- Chuk Goodin cgoodin@sfu.ca Alien Light GM http://www.phoenyx.net/alienlight
On Tue, 15 Aug 2006, Chuk Goodin wrote: CG>Were you supposed to go? Way back when (it probably still says so on some GAMERS web pages), GenCon '06 was supposed to be a Phoenyx Gathering. But with Carl's new job (and accompanying lack of vacation time), and with travel expenses and so forth, no, we'd decided some time back that we weren't going. I've pretty much decided, what with the deteriorating focus on roleplaying games and the increasing requirements to give up Constitutional rights involved in air travel (geez, I'm starting to sound like a Libertarian or something), that it's not worth it unless they move it to a city that's (a) within driving distance and (b) is worth visiting outside the con. Like, say, Denver. I'm not actually sure what Denver's convention facilities are like, though, and its traffic is horrendous. CG>Not I...wrong country. Hey, we're farther from Indy than many parts of Canada are. (Toronto's downright close, relatively.) Though from there, you're affected by the insanity even if you drive... -- Karen J. Cravens silver@phoenyx.net
On Tue, Aug 15, 2006 at 11:04:36AM -0500, Karen J. Cravens wrote: >I've pretty much decided, what with the deteriorating focus on roleplaying >games and the increasing requirements to give up Constitutional rights >involved in air travel (geez, I'm starting to sound like a Libertarian or >something), I deeply resent the (British) government's actions, in that elementary data security _does_ now require me to wrap my passport in metal foil (RFID chips can be reliably copied at 30-50m away with present hardware, and the crypto has been cracked). I don't like feeling like a nutcase... -- Roger, gaming grognard Lots of role-playing stuff: http://tekeli.li/
> > >I deeply resent the (British) government's actions, in that elementary >data security _does_ now require me to wrap my passport in metal foil >(RFID chips can be reliably copied at 30-50m away with present hardware, >and the crypto has been cracked). I don't like feeling like a nutcase... > > > That doesn't sound nutty to me. Just hope the damn chip stays in your passport. It would be a little harder to wrap your arm in foil. If someone got the information from your passport and you suffered a financial loss as a result, I wonder if you'd have any legal recourse? Becky
Karen J. Cravens wrote: > (geez, I'm starting to sound like a Libertarian or > something), Not just you. I caught myself using the word "sheeple" in a blog rant yesterday (don't go looking for the word on the page, my gate security caught it in time). John Reid's enough to turn anyone into a Libertarian.
On Tue, Aug 15, 2006 at 02:58:33PM -0500, Tim Hall wrote: > Karen J. Cravens wrote: > > > (geez, I'm starting to sound like a Libertarian or > > something), > > Not just you.Me, too! I have a professional conference in Baltimore that I'm going to at the beginning of October. It's a looong drive, and a quick Southwest flight... but I'm starting to think, hmm, driving....? If there is a possibility of having to wait 3 hours in security lines and so forth, then the travel time driving is only a factor of two longer than the total travel time flying. Of course, the problem is, the conference goes through Friday, and I need to be back by Saturday morning. Re: cons, I've only ever been to ones in Nashville. There is Hypericon, which is a small SF/etc. convention that has a wee bit of gaming at it. Both years it's happened, I've tried to run a Fudge game, but didn't get enough players, alas. It's possible I may one year go to DragonCon, since it's within driving distance. (Atlanta really is a reasonable drive from Nashville.) However, it's at a bad time-- Labor Day weekend is after classes start, and Vanderbilt doesn't take Labor Day off. Plus, the hotel rooms still make it quite an expensive trip. Hypericon is great because I can sleep at home.... -Rob -- --Prof. Robert Knop Department of Physics & Astronomy, Vanderbilt University robert.a.knop@vanderbilt.edu
On Tue, 15 Aug 2006, Roger Burton West wrote: RBW>I deeply resent the (British) government's actions, in that elementary RBW>data security _does_ now require me to wrap my passport in metal foil RBW>(RFID chips can be reliably copied at 30-50m away with present hardware, RBW>and the crypto has been cracked). I don't like feeling like a nutcase... I don't have a passport (it's hard to get too much farther from a border than Wichita is: http://www.geocities.com/mapguygk07/HiPlains/GeoCenter/hiplains_geocenter.htm) but IIRC they still haven't managed to get the epassport thing together here. (googling) Hmm. This page mentions "updated security features" in the future tense, but hastily moves on to "look at the neat pictures!" http://travel.state.gov/passport/eppt/eppt_2501.html At any rate, you could always microwave it. You want to get a bunch of other people to do it too, for it to be effective. Say, fifty people a day, and friends, they may think it's a movement. -- Karen J. Cravens silver@phoenyx.net
On Wed, Aug 16, 2006 at 05:29:56PM -0500, Karen J. Cravens wrote: > At any rate, you could always microwave it. You want to get a bunch of > other people to do it too, for it to be effective. Say, fifty people a > day, and friends, they may think it's a movement. Of course, a RFID-nuked passport probably means guaranteed "extra screening" at every airport, plus the presumption that you're a passport-forging terrorist bastard who wants to blow up everything good. And maybe some anal probing, even without being abducted by aliens first. 'Cause, ya know, only people who want to surrender to terrorists complain about invasive security procedures. 'Cause, ya know, the government is just doing all of this to protect us, and you should be happy. 'Cause, ya know, if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. 'Cause, ya know, ignorance is strength, war is peace, and freedom is slavery. -Rob -- --Prof. Robert Knop Department of Physics & Astronomy, Vanderbilt University robert.a.knop@vanderbilt.edu
On Wed, 16 Aug 2006, Robert A. Knop Jr. wrote: RAKJ>Of course, a RFID-nuked passport probably means guaranteed "extra screening" RAKJ>at every airport, plus the presumption that you're a passport-forging RAKJ>terrorist bastard who wants to blow up everything good. And maybe some anal RAKJ>probing, even without being abducted by aliens first. Well, that's why you have to get *everyone* to do it, yeah. -- Karen J. Cravens silver@phoenyx.net
Karen J. Cravens wrote: >On Wed, 16 Aug 2006, Robert A. Knop Jr. wrote: > >RAKJ>Of course, a RFID-nuked passport probably means guaranteed "extra screening" >RAKJ>at every airport, plus the presumption that you're a passport-forging >RAKJ>terrorist bastard who wants to blow up everything good. And maybe some anal >RAKJ>probing, even without being abducted by aliens first. > >Well, that's why you have to get *everyone* to do it, yeah. > > > If this dumb idea catches on, I think you'll have a longer line for the microwave than you will at the security checkpoint. Becky
> My GenCon report is: we went to Denver instead. No particular > gaming > relevance... heck, we didn't even hit a game store while we were > there, > nor track down any Phoenyx folks (it was a bit of a whirlwind > tour). > > Anybody else have an actual report? Well, I went, but I spent most of the con GMing so I didn't see much outside room 107. One of my 8 AM games had to be cancelled due to only one player showing up (GC computer said it was sold out), but the others went off well. The other GMs I talked to, which was hardly a representative sample, seemed to have the same result -- one, maybe two games that didn't go off, but those that did were generally well-attended. I know one GM was complaining about his table being double-booked twice, and someone billing himself as a GenCon event staffer told him he had to expect that sort of thing to happen. Sorry, I don't have a name of the staffer, all I know is that it was someone with an official GenCon shirt who had permission to ride a Segway around the convention when they weren't in use for the obstacle course ... and who apparently doesn't know squat about customer relations. I'm also not the only GM who had unanswered questions about the "GM Rewards" program they're starting up. According to the program book, the Indy convention center will be going through renovations, which means less space available for game rooms. So, GenCon has come up with some sort of ranking system that they claim will let them give better GMs priority for the best spaces and times. Apparently they'll be doing player ratings of GMs as part of it ... but they don't say how the ratings will be done, what the criteria are, or if the GMs will ever be informed about their ratings. Hopefully this doesn't mean I'll be downgraded for not allowing Attacks Of Opportunity in a Hero System game (I had one player ask about that twice), but who knows? Leah
On Tue, 15 Aug 2006, Leah L Watts wrote: LLW>I know one GM was complaining about his table being double-booked twice, LLW>and someone billing himself as a GenCon event staffer told him he had to LLW>expect that sort of thing to happen. Sorry, I don't have a name of the LLW>staffer, all I know is that it was someone with an official GenCon shirt LLW>who had permission to ride a Segway around the convention when they LLW>weren't in use for the obstacle course ... and who apparently doesn't LLW>know squat about customer relations. I met one of those in '94, when I was hobbling around in a hip-to-ankle brace and discovered, after limping up the long ramp, that the handicapped doors were locked. Hilarity ensued. LLW>I'm also not the only GM who had unanswered questions about the "GM LLW>Rewards" program they're starting up. Sounds like trouble. -- Karen J. Cravens silver@phoenyx.net
