Origins '08 continued

I never did get around to continuing my report on Origins '08. I think I've forgotten most of what I wanted to say anyway. It was as interesting as usual. I attended a few panels and discussions. RI ran the Great Space Race tournaments for Kenzer & Company to earn a few back issues of Knights of the Dinner Table that I had been missing as well as a nifty "booth monkey" icon added to my account on the Kenzer forums.

Probably the worst thing that happened to me was the stupid people at the Hyatt Regency overbooked their room for the con. So even though I had reserved a room almost a year in advance they didn't have space for me on Friday night! Luckily they made up for it by arranging a room at The Columbus hotel free of charge. That was nice even though it was a seven block walk. At least they had a room ready for me on Saturday night.

I doubt I'll ever try staying at the Hyatt ever again though. It's just too expensive with poor management. I didn't even know that hotels could overbook. I don't think people cancel hotels as often as they do airline flights. It should be illegal in either case. Starting next year I'll be camping outside town and driving in. I can get four nights camping and downtown parking for less than one night at a downtown hotel. That leaves more money for food and goodies at the convention.

The only other unfortunate things about the con was that attendance seemed down as did the number of dealers. The dealer room was only 2/3 full this year so there was less shopping opportunities and few deals to be made. Also for some reason the Smithees got stuffed into a room that was way too small for the number of people who usually attend. It should have been in one of the ballrooms but schedules seemed to conflict. The convention promises that it won't happen again next year.

One of the new things going on was a geocacher gathering in the picnic area outside the con. It wasn't officially part of the con but those who showed up did get a Finder of Tupperware ribbon to go with the usual con ribbon collection. I can't find my badge right now to take a pic of it.

Anyway, a good con in general. Origins still beats Gen Con in my opinion.

NaNoWriMo 2008

Less than three days until NaNo '08 starts. Thank gawd October 31 is on a Friday this year. Now I can easily stay up until midnight to start writing on the stroke of 12 and not have to pay for it at work the next day. I've got the word counter on the right side of blog so anyone can see how I'm doing.

This year's novel will be about a group of people starting their own micronation on an old cruise ship in the Pacific Ocean. Their effort will be sponsored by a 24/7 internet TV network. All colonists wear electronic tracers that turn on any cameras near them so viewers can follow their favorites via dedicated web channels (sorta like the Truman Show). Normal around the ship viewing is free, but bedrooms are Pay Per View. The most popular colonists become the focus of bidding wars between companies who want ad space on the side or bottom of that colonist's web channel.

A side story may involve the legal efforts back in civilization to get the micronation recognized as a true sovereign nation. The working title right now is Micronation Pacifica.