BayCon, Gangsta style
Whew! That was one long weekend!
Here's my Baycon Recap
Friday
Mad packing on 5 hrs of sleep. Kimmer was up 'til 2 the night before deciding what to pack, so I barely got to sleep by 1 and was up, as usual, at 6. Threw stuff in bags, then in car. Printed map to Hotel just in case. Map not needed -- I have a pretty good memory for this stuff.
Drive to SJ was uneventful until we decided to stop in Milbrae for In-n-Out. That is the worst shopping complex layout ever! Despite a late start and the fact that warriorfoo now lives all of 15 mins from the Hotel, Kimmer and I were there first and I skillfully negotiated some pretty good rooms. Unpacking was relatively uneventful, and I made the panel I wanted to go to on the Future of Gaming: Console v. PC.
Panels
Surveilance Society, 4:00p Monterey
An excellent panel, though it focused more on extreme paranoia than the daily reality of surveilance. Apparently, the FBI doesn't care what underwear I have on. This was the first of a few panels with Andrew Clark, who turned out to be a cool gamer as well as a well-spoken, informed panelist.
Gaming: Console v. PC, 5:30p San Carlos
Kimmer pointed out later that aside from Laurie, the female panelist, she and I were the only females in this one. Guess I'm still a minority, since Kimmer ws there because I was. The discussion was excellent and in-depth. To no-one's surprise, the verdict was a draw. I think I'll bring all my game systems next year -- just for fun, unless they stick me on a panel. I really enjoyed asking questions that made the panel say "wow, now that's a good question!" I am such a geek.
Outfits
Driving down was just sweats and a my tank top from E3 (I play games).The evening saw us all in Catholic Schoolgirl outfits. Anyone at Josh's party on the seventh floor should be able to tell you what underwear we were all wearing. Thank you, Ian, for inviting us!
Saturday
A little sleep makes all the difference. Yoga with warriorfoo after a morning hot tub was exquisite. Overall, Saturday's panels were a bit of a bust. Oh well, loads of fun, still.
Panels
Compelling Hall Costumes, 10:00a Redwood
Where the *bleep* is Redwood?!? Running late, but it was all good since I totally crashed the panel dressed as Wonder Woman. According to the criteria put forth in the panel, my costume was very compelling. I didn't learn much about costuming, but got the names of a couple of conventions and groups to check out.
Billing What You're Worth, 1:00p Carmel
Interesting. Mostly for freelancers and indipendant contractors, but some good tips were in there.
Trailer Park, 4:00p Fir/Oak
Hmmm. As usual, I only knew the answer to 1 trivia question (Who does the music for most of Tim Burton's films? Danny Elfman). Can't wait to see Willy Wonka. Forgot my pen, so I only have a fuzzy list of what movies looked good.
Breaking into Gaming, 5:30p San Carlos
I'm starting to see some of the same faces in my gamer panels. It's all good, though, as Justin can clearly amuse me for hours on end. Good man, that. This was a really good panel, but the least good of the gamer panels. All the panelists were programmers and had been in gaming for quite some time, so their experiences were less relevant to newbies than I would have liked, but it did give me the opportunity to chat with Paul Kwinn of Shaba Games -- a very cool man.
Outfits
Daytime was Wonder Woman -- a smashing success despite my having gained about 8 lbs since fennec's husband made my belt. Many photos should be up once everyone gets home and dumps their cameras.
Evening saw us all doing our own thing. Note to self: DO NOT wear the "Rogues do it from behind" shirt to this Con.
We went to a few parties, I took a nap, then went to silverkun's bachelor party for an hour before passing out completely.
Sunday
More yoga to start the day out right. Some really good panels, too.
Panels
Blogosphere vs. Workosphere, 10:00a Cedar
Again with the familiar faces. Good info. Lesson learned: never blog about anything you don't want work to know about.
Future of Forensics, 1:00p Santa Clara
Very interesting. Good info for warriorfoo's books. Lesson learned: criminals are almost universally dumb.
Plastic Molding & Casting, 2:30p Redwood
Joined by inside_edge for this one. Pages of scrawled notes. This is the answer to all my costuming prayers! Michael Sarkisian was a fantastic instructor and I learned an enormous amount.
Armor Making for Costumers, 4:00p Carmel
Neat! This group is looking familiar, too. Guess I spend too much time in these panels. Got some good tips on materials to use, paint techniques, construction cheats, etc. I also got to wear some killer armor.
Outfits
Crossdressing during the day, I was in slacks, a tuxedo shirt, a corset, and tailcoat. Oh, and Kimmer's hat. The worst bit was in the Forensics panel where I had a burp stuck from chugging tea. ick.
Evening was the Wonder Widget. Lots of corsetry, vinyl, and collars. Cool as it is, I may decline next year as it really curtails my socializing. We waltzed as a group, stopped in at the room of a nice but rather normal young man we'd met earlier (I think he was so shocked he didn't know who we were), did the hokey pokey to bad music, and paraded about. There are a couple of pics on www.flickr.com (keywords baycon, 2005) courtesy of Kent.
Monday
Short day turned long as I ended up hanging out with one of the panelists from all those gaming panels.
Kimmer has got to learn to move faster in the mornings at Con -- I was ready to check out ages before she was.
Panels
Classic Video Games, 1:00p Pine
OMG, dying of laughter. How many times did Tim crash Justin's emulator? Oh, yes, give the panelist with ADD the joystick -- this should be good. Panel was "moderated" by an enthusiastic young man affiliated with the Computer History Museum. Loads of fun. Got singled out of the audience ("A lot of you are looking familiar," says panelist Tim, "especially you." Maybe 'cause I'm the only girl in these things?). The fun never ends and I must remember not to go to these things corseted as it hurts to laugh in a corset!
Hiss & Purr, 4:00p Pine
Loads of Purrs and only a few minor hisses. Clearly we all thought it was a good Con! When I got called on, I was described as the girl with the necklace-thingy. The audience all told the chairman its a collar.
Outfit
Black leather corset, black pants, stacked shoes, trench coat, and a fedora.
Fantastic convention. Detailed notes on the panels I liked will be available by request in a couple of days (after I decipher my scrawls). I recommend that everyone who has a vague interest in Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Costuming, Writing, Props, Games, Computers, and cool geeks come next year. Website is http://www.baycon.org
Here's my Baycon Recap
Friday
Mad packing on 5 hrs of sleep. Kimmer was up 'til 2 the night before deciding what to pack, so I barely got to sleep by 1 and was up, as usual, at 6. Threw stuff in bags, then in car. Printed map to Hotel just in case. Map not needed -- I have a pretty good memory for this stuff.
Drive to SJ was uneventful until we decided to stop in Milbrae for In-n-Out. That is the worst shopping complex layout ever! Despite a late start and the fact that warriorfoo now lives all of 15 mins from the Hotel, Kimmer and I were there first and I skillfully negotiated some pretty good rooms. Unpacking was relatively uneventful, and I made the panel I wanted to go to on the Future of Gaming: Console v. PC.
Panels
Surveilance Society, 4:00p Monterey
An excellent panel, though it focused more on extreme paranoia than the daily reality of surveilance. Apparently, the FBI doesn't care what underwear I have on. This was the first of a few panels with Andrew Clark, who turned out to be a cool gamer as well as a well-spoken, informed panelist.
Gaming: Console v. PC, 5:30p San Carlos
Kimmer pointed out later that aside from Laurie, the female panelist, she and I were the only females in this one. Guess I'm still a minority, since Kimmer ws there because I was. The discussion was excellent and in-depth. To no-one's surprise, the verdict was a draw. I think I'll bring all my game systems next year -- just for fun, unless they stick me on a panel. I really enjoyed asking questions that made the panel say "wow, now that's a good question!" I am such a geek.
Outfits
Driving down was just sweats and a my tank top from E3 (I play games).The evening saw us all in Catholic Schoolgirl outfits. Anyone at Josh's party on the seventh floor should be able to tell you what underwear we were all wearing. Thank you, Ian, for inviting us!
Saturday
A little sleep makes all the difference. Yoga with warriorfoo after a morning hot tub was exquisite. Overall, Saturday's panels were a bit of a bust. Oh well, loads of fun, still.
Panels
Compelling Hall Costumes, 10:00a Redwood
Where the *bleep* is Redwood?!? Running late, but it was all good since I totally crashed the panel dressed as Wonder Woman. According to the criteria put forth in the panel, my costume was very compelling. I didn't learn much about costuming, but got the names of a couple of conventions and groups to check out.
Billing What You're Worth, 1:00p Carmel
Interesting. Mostly for freelancers and indipendant contractors, but some good tips were in there.
Trailer Park, 4:00p Fir/Oak
Hmmm. As usual, I only knew the answer to 1 trivia question (Who does the music for most of Tim Burton's films? Danny Elfman). Can't wait to see Willy Wonka. Forgot my pen, so I only have a fuzzy list of what movies looked good.
Breaking into Gaming, 5:30p San Carlos
I'm starting to see some of the same faces in my gamer panels. It's all good, though, as Justin can clearly amuse me for hours on end. Good man, that. This was a really good panel, but the least good of the gamer panels. All the panelists were programmers and had been in gaming for quite some time, so their experiences were less relevant to newbies than I would have liked, but it did give me the opportunity to chat with Paul Kwinn of Shaba Games -- a very cool man.
Outfits
Daytime was Wonder Woman -- a smashing success despite my having gained about 8 lbs since fennec's husband made my belt. Many photos should be up once everyone gets home and dumps their cameras.
Evening saw us all doing our own thing. Note to self: DO NOT wear the "Rogues do it from behind" shirt to this Con.
We went to a few parties, I took a nap, then went to silverkun's bachelor party for an hour before passing out completely.
Sunday
More yoga to start the day out right. Some really good panels, too.
Panels
Blogosphere vs. Workosphere, 10:00a Cedar
Again with the familiar faces. Good info. Lesson learned: never blog about anything you don't want work to know about.
Future of Forensics, 1:00p Santa Clara
Very interesting. Good info for warriorfoo's books. Lesson learned: criminals are almost universally dumb.
Plastic Molding & Casting, 2:30p Redwood
Joined by inside_edge for this one. Pages of scrawled notes. This is the answer to all my costuming prayers! Michael Sarkisian was a fantastic instructor and I learned an enormous amount.
Armor Making for Costumers, 4:00p Carmel
Neat! This group is looking familiar, too. Guess I spend too much time in these panels. Got some good tips on materials to use, paint techniques, construction cheats, etc. I also got to wear some killer armor.
Outfits
Crossdressing during the day, I was in slacks, a tuxedo shirt, a corset, and tailcoat. Oh, and Kimmer's hat. The worst bit was in the Forensics panel where I had a burp stuck from chugging tea. ick.
Evening was the Wonder Widget. Lots of corsetry, vinyl, and collars. Cool as it is, I may decline next year as it really curtails my socializing. We waltzed as a group, stopped in at the room of a nice but rather normal young man we'd met earlier (I think he was so shocked he didn't know who we were), did the hokey pokey to bad music, and paraded about. There are a couple of pics on www.flickr.com (keywords baycon, 2005) courtesy of Kent.
Monday
Short day turned long as I ended up hanging out with one of the panelists from all those gaming panels.
Kimmer has got to learn to move faster in the mornings at Con -- I was ready to check out ages before she was.
Panels
Classic Video Games, 1:00p Pine
OMG, dying of laughter. How many times did Tim crash Justin's emulator? Oh, yes, give the panelist with ADD the joystick -- this should be good. Panel was "moderated" by an enthusiastic young man affiliated with the Computer History Museum. Loads of fun. Got singled out of the audience ("A lot of you are looking familiar," says panelist Tim, "especially you." Maybe 'cause I'm the only girl in these things?). The fun never ends and I must remember not to go to these things corseted as it hurts to laugh in a corset!
Hiss & Purr, 4:00p Pine
Loads of Purrs and only a few minor hisses. Clearly we all thought it was a good Con! When I got called on, I was described as the girl with the necklace-thingy. The audience all told the chairman its a collar.
Outfit
Black leather corset, black pants, stacked shoes, trench coat, and a fedora.
Fantastic convention. Detailed notes on the panels I liked will be available by request in a couple of days (after I decipher my scrawls). I recommend that everyone who has a vague interest in Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Costuming, Writing, Props, Games, Computers, and cool geeks come next year. Website is http://www.baycon.org