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Worldcon 2011: Reno


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I could use some advise if anyone out there is willing. I'm strongly considering making last minute arrangements to attend this here shindig, but I'm hesitant for more than a few reasons. For starters, I'm not exactly an avid sci-fi/fantasy reader. I love the genre, but not really familiar with the scene per se. To those who have attended in the past, do you feel there would be plenty of other things to do that aren't directly related to stories/authors I've never even heard of before? I haven't really had a chance to go through the entire schedule yet, but other than the ASoIaF related stuff, nothing immediately strikes me as "traveling across country worthy", if you know what I mean? I also don't drink, gamble, go whoring or site see, and it's possible I'm not 100% comfortable with the aspect of flying. I probably should have used "Stannis" as my user id...

Anyway, I suppose what I'm asking is if you think it's worth it? To some, traveling 2700 miles and spending $1000+ for a reading and few autographs may border on the extreme, so basically what I'm looking for is lots of encouragement, ie justification, to go ahead and hit that "book your flight" button before it's too late! :lol:

edit: Okay, I just went over the schedule in depth. Steampunk Nerf Guns, balloon animals, make-up techniques, dancing, karate...I could split myself in three and still have plenty of things to entertain all of us. I'm in!

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Thanks X-Ray for the tipping info.

A very pleasant surprise! And beaten me on the late organising front. :)

Have a good flight over!

Look forward to catching up with you and comparing RWC prospects.

KSC,

Glad you've made the leap Stannis! I attended Worldcon last year having never attended such an event before and was pleasantly surpirsed to find the schedule to be quite varied with more sessions of interest than I had the time to see.

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Look forward to catching up with you and comparing RWC prospects.

Contrasting RWC prospects might be a better way to put it. :P

edit: Okay, I just went over the schedule in depth. Steampunk Nerf Guns, balloon animals, make-up techniques, dancing, karate...I could split myself in three and still have plenty of things to entertain all of us. I'm in!

Glad you could convince yourself! Even if you just like the HBO show, there is a few things in the schedule on that too. :)

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edit: Okay, I just went over the schedule in depth. Steampunk Nerf Guns, balloon animals, make-up techniques, dancing, karate...I could split myself in three and still have plenty of things to entertain all of us. I'm in!

Yeah, the items on the schedule are usually what would convince me as well if I wasn't a big SF/F reader. Many panels cover other media, although WorldCon is still primarily a convention focused around books. One panel in Montreal was on the perfect SF/F mixtape, IIRC, which is pretty damned cool. You don't even need to know a damned thing about SF/F lit, so long as you know 10 songs with SF/F themes (mine starts, and ends, with The Lord Weird Slough Feg, and has Dr. Octagon, David Bowie, Rhapsody, etc. in the middle).

Anyway, so if you decide to come, we'd be happy to help you find some panels and things to do in Reno if the shit starts to get really nerdulent. :)

Thanks X-Ray for the tipping info.

Not a prob! Looking forward to meeting you! :)

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Thanks, guys! I'm really looking forward to this now.

After doing the math it looks like I'll only be able to stay two days, though. Being that Thursday (reading and signing) are the main events for me, I'd love to be able to show up on Thursday and leave Saturday, but I'm thinking it's probably a bad idea to spend 10 hours on planes and in airports only to jump straight into the con. It's probably safer to arrive on Wednesday and leave Friday, but then I'll miss both of John Picacio's art panels. I'm torn on that. :(

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Thanks, guys! I'm really looking forward to this now.

After doing the math it looks like I'll only be able to stay two days, though. Being that Thursday (reading and signing) are the main events for me, I'd love to be able to show up on Thursday and leave Saturday, but I'm thinking it's probably a bad idea to spend 10 hours on planes and in airports only to jump straight into the con. It's probably safer to arrive on Wednesday and leave Friday, but then I'll miss both of John Picacio's art panels. I'm torn on that. :(

KSC -- Do what's best for you schedule-wise. I appreciate your consideration but even if you miss my panels, you'll have a good time.

A word of advice though as I've done almost every Worldcon this last 10 years -- Wednesday is a lightweight day. If you arrive Thursday, you're not gonna be disoriented. Doing Thursday to Saturday is actually a decent strategy if you have to pick two days. Plus you wanna be able to do one of the BWB parties which are Friday and Saturday. So you'd at least get to do the Friday night one (presumably). And you'd get to attend Friday programming which has some good stuff that you'll dig (and yes, including my own, and it would be great to meet you.) :) Just a thought....

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KSC -- Do what's best for you schedule-wise. I appreciate your consideration but even if you miss my panels, you'll have a good time.

A word of advice though as I've done almost every Worldcon this last 10 years -- Wednesday is a lightweight day. If you arrive Thursday, you're not gonna be disoriented. Doing Thursday to Saturday is actually a decent strategy if you have to pick two days. Plus you wanna be able to do one of the BWB parties which are Friday and Saturday. So you'd at least get to do the Friday night one (presumably). And you'd get to attend Friday programming which has some good stuff that you'll dig (and yes, including my own, and it would be great to meet you.) :) Just a thought....

this was pretty much what I was going to say. So...yeah!

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That would be the optimal route, no doubt, but it seems risky. I've only flown once before, so I'm not exactly sure what to expect. Still, waking up at 3am (east coast), then spending 10 hours on a plane(s) and arriving at 10:30am (west coast) only leaves me a window of 2 1/2 hours in which to pick up my bags, catch a cab to the hotel, check in, change/eat/shower, get a day pass, and head into the con. If anything were to go wrong along the way, I could miss all the early Thursday GRRM stuff. I agree, burning a day on Wednesday is kinda a waste, but the peace of mind may be worth it.

I'm gonna check the rates again and see if I can swing an extra day. It would kill me to have to miss your panels, John.

The main issue here is that all the cheapest planes leave Reno shortly after a key event on any given day. If I could get a late evening flight out on Friday, that would be perfect, but they all tend to depart at 1:40. So if I leave Friday I miss the art panels and if I leave Saturday I miss the GoT episode and commentary. It's one thing leaving the night before something cool, but having to leave during is a harder pill to swallow. It's like sitting in your car in the parking lot of a stadium while your favorite band is playing just a few feet away, you know?

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Alright folks I have updated the attendance list in the first post of this thread with the most up to date information I have been able to find.

Feel free to add more details about arrival/departure date/time and hotel information which is useful to know when everyone will be around and where to find them.

Ithanos - I am in San Francisco right now, wish I had known you were coming and driving to Reno, would have saved me buying a flight for Monday. Nevermind. Hopefully will see you in Reno on Monday evening.

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Sorry I did not add my times, but if anyone is curious... Wednesday I arrive at 2pm and I depart on Monday at some time or another.

I don't know where I'll be sleeping... probably just crashing with whoever will be sure to put out. (Leaning towards Pod.)

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I don't know where I'll be sleeping... probably just crashing with whoever will be sure to put out. (Leaning towards Pod.)

As Pod's roomie, I'm having trouble selecting an emoticon that expresses my feelings on a Pod/Stego love affair in the bed next to me.

I think it's just a feeling that cannot be contained in a single animated gif.

*packs earplugs*

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Maybe heading to Reno was a bad idea after all.

I could flee in terror from the airport I'm in right now. But I'm in Boston, so that really doesn't help me.

In Boston? You could flee straight into Stego's arms!

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Problem solved! After searching all day, I was eventually was able to find a departing flight at 9pm on Friday. So now I'll get three full days at the con for the price of two nights at the hotel while still maintaining the off peak airfare rates. :D

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