LoneStarCon 2013

[Lucky Pierre]

I should go scout out which hotel has the best pool and if either of them are more lax on their security at night so I know where I should stay :P

You guys may not know this, but it gets really F-ing HOT here, and it STAYS THAT WAY all night long. If I can help it, I am IN THE WATER, drinking water and alcohol in the summer. And nights are for naked swimming. But probably not on the Riverwalk - I'm thinking there will be too many people for that :P

P.S. I think so far from all the Worldcons I've been to, I liked the layout of the LA hotel best. They had an awesome rooftop area where we all drank, with the suite sliding glass doors all opening up onto the same terrace area... and the pool was nice, as well. Hoping we have something similar this year.

I'm going to be in the pool... and what I wear to the pool might as well be nothing! ;)

Hon, I plan on letting my hair down more this con, but within these limits: nothing that lands me in jail or divorce court! ;)

But you'll be happy to know I've already made various con promises, including wearing a corset at least one night. And a promise to do a tequila shot or two. And another promise to try *eeeek* ghost chili laced tequila...

I need to stop making these promises soon if I want to actually survive this con! :P

Yahoo! We should have a BWB Pool Party!!!!

[Cuellar]

Mandy, you're going to scare all the n00b5 away (or attract the furries).

[boiled leather]

i think a furry themed event might be fun. Chataya loves a good furry hunt

[Lucky Pierre]

Honey, I've seen you in the CON SUITE wearing practically (or actually) nothing :P I will no longer be shocked by ANYTHING you do or say ;)

I'm happily reminded that what happens at a Con-Stays at a Con. You'd be happy if you did the same! :D

Who doesn't like a good furry hunt? But we DO want to have to HUNT them. If they're hanging around, wanting to party with us it takes the sport out of it :P

Q - I'll try to contain myself a bit more LOL Soz.

P.S. I'm not the one who got naked in the consuite, I'm just sayin...

P.S. See above!!!! Missy... Do I have to get the Red Bull and Vodka out for our first chat???? :)

OMG - you won't believe this, but a few weeks ago, MY SON got unintentionally involved in a furry hunt. He was at a Future Business Leaders of America convention, and across the street, he and his friends noticed groups of people wearing fake-fur animal tails, ears, etc.

So, they went to check it out.

Then, they noticed it was getting weird. Really weird. So, they had just found out about these self-identified "furries", and someone in his group googled it on their iPhone. They all got out of there in a hurry.

Then my son called to tell me about all this...

Of course he did.

No further comment required. :)

Tick Tock!

Tick Tock!!!

I spent all day at Disney today in 90+ degree heat and horrendous humidity. Just to pretend to even suffer remotely like it's going to be there. Yes... I will be in the pool.

I think the BWB Afternoon pool party is a MUST!!!!

[Regina]

I'm happily reminded that what happens at a Con-Stays at a Con. You'd be happy if you did the same! :D

Ummm, LP, that's Vegas. Con stories live on for years! :cool4:

[Parris]

I spent all day at Disney today in 90+ degree heat and horrendous humidity. Just to pretend to even suffer remotely like it's going to be there. Yes... I will be in the pool.

Just a reminder:

Members of Lone Star Con, attending and supporting, will be choosing the site (and committee and facilities) of the 2015 WorldCon.

The bids that have filed with the WFS are:

Spokane

Orlando

Helsinki

you can find more information about the bids by starting here:

http://www.lonestarc...wsfs-site.shtml

then you can find the bids' sites here:

Orlando: http://www.orlandoin2015.org

Helsinki: http://www.helsinkiin2015.org

Spokane: http://www.spokanein....org/wordpress/

there's bids for NASFICs if the Finnish bid wins, but I won't get that far into the weeds.

I always urge people to consider all the bids that are made for WorldCon, and to exercise their privilege to vote for the committee, facilities and location you think will create a unique and well-run WorldCon. Voting involves a fee, which most winning bids put towards a supporting/attending membership for those who vote in site selection. The number of votes for site selection varies due to numerous factors.

By voting you not only express your preference on where you want to go for the annual gathering of the tribes, but you help get the winning bid off on the two year journey of creating and running a WorldCon with support of the communities and cash in the bank. An average WorldCon wants and needs as much money upfront as they can raise by selling memberships, etc., because there's a lot of expenses, deposits, fees that need to be paid long before the opening ceremonies.

If you have a supporting membership in Lone Star Con you'll receive a Hugo Voters e-package of most of the fiction nominees along with many other nominees in other categories, you'll be able to vote for the Hugos, and you can vote in the WorldCon/Nasfic site selections for 2015. Not a bad deal for a mere $60 (US). Here's the link to the membership information page: http://www.lonestarcon3.org/memberships/index.shtml

Memberships rates will be going up May 1st.

I learned a lot at the on-site meeting a few weeks ago, and will be posting some observations and recommendations for getting the most out of yr WorldCon experience.

[Cuellar]

Thanks Parris.

I think Orlando would be cool as well. Would be easy to make it a kid-parent trip, with the kids going to disney and parents partying at the con... I just have to sucker my mom and/or mother in law to come with.

[Lucky Pierre]

I'm moving to Spokane next spring.. Crazy how some thing in my life keep linking together.

It is a beautiful city. But I'm not moving for that. I'm moving to be near my parents as they age into, well, oblivion. :) But I do have tons of family there and I'm looking forward to it. Really. Orlando is so last decade. ;)

[Regina]

LP, are you stalking Worldcon cities? What a weird coincidence!

[Regina]

Oh, d'oh! That IS obvious, now that you mention it!

[Angalin]

Helsinki

If they promised me Moomins, I would vote for Helsinki. :)

I'm moving to Spokane next spring.. Crazy how some thing in my life keep linking together.

It is a beautiful city. But I'm not moving for that. I'm moving to be near my parents as they age into, well, oblivion. :) But I do have tons of family there and I'm looking forward to it. Really. Orlando is so last decade. ;)

I'd noticed your news. Good for you, LP. *hug*

[greensleeves]

So I live relatively close to San Antonio. I was thinking of going to this for a day or two, but I've noticed that a couple of day passes is cheaper than an attending membership. Is there any advantage to getting the membership? Would I want to go for more than a couple of days?

Help a noob out (I've never been to a con before).

[Lucky Pierre]

I highly recommend going for as long as you can afford. The nightly parties are great fun and there are so many different panels and readings during the day that you can't possibly attend everything that you find interesting. Oh and the parties-did I mention the parties??? ;)

[BookWyrm]

So I live relatively close to San Antonio. I was thinking of going to this for a day or two, but I've noticed that a couple of day passes is cheaper than an attending membership. Is there any advantage to getting the membership? Would I want to go for more than a couple of days?

Help a noob out (I've never been to a con before).

For sure you have to go. The BwB parties are as essential to the Con as the panels too btw (As Lucky Pierre mentioned).

As for the 2015 WorldCon, I'm going to have to vote for Orlando. As much as I'd love for it and me to be in Helsinki, I don't see that as flying until I'm out of school and have a job, whatever that is.

[Xray the Enforcer]

So I live relatively close to San Antonio. I was thinking of going to this for a day or two, but I've noticed that a couple of day passes is cheaper than an attending membership. Is there any advantage to getting the membership? Would I want to go for more than a couple of days?

I think it depends. If money is tight, going for two days is better than no days. Also, it depends on how much you're into panel discussions, readings, movies, gaming, etc., as this is the bulk of the daylight-hour activities at WorldCon. That said, there's always cool shit happening, and the Hugos are fun to see (especially when you are friends with people nominated for Hugos).

The BWB party usually happens on Friday or Saturday. We're not quite sure what the suite situation will be like for this year, but once we have that info we'll let people know when the party will be.

Regarding site selection for future WorldCons -- I totally understand why people would vote for one geographic locale over another. That said, as a group organizer whose life and stress levels are strongly impacted by whatever happens at WorldCon, geographic destination is very low on the list of priorities. Instead, the quality and professional reputation of the convention committee is foremost in my mind, and facilities offered second. I'm not going to get into which of the bids have what qualities, here -- we don't need to bring that kind of drama to the board. If you're curious, ask me at the convention before you vote for the site selection. I won't dictate how you should vote, but I can give you my business/organizational reasons for voting for one site over another.

[Angalin]

Regarding site selection for future WorldCons -- I totally understand why people would vote for one geographic locale over another. That said, as a group organizer whose life and stress levels are strongly impacted by whatever happens at WorldCon, geographic destination is very low on the list of priorities. Instead, the quality and professional reputation of the convention committee is foremost in my mind, and facilities offered second. I'm not going to get into which of the bids have what qualities, here -- we don't need to bring that kind of drama to the board. If you're curious, ask me at the convention before you vote for the site selection. I won't dictate how you should vote, but I can give you my business/organizational reasons for voting for one site over another.

And that, my dear, is why you are Baroness and the rest of us aren't. :)

[Ser Osis of Liver]

I should go scout out which hotel has the best pool and if either of them are more lax on their security at night so I know where I should stay :P

One of the highlights of the '97 Worldcon for me was the pool at the Rivercenter. It was half indoors, half outdoors, had a few no-kids hours during daylight and, best of all, were the hot tubs. One had what I call the Spinemelter2000™ attachment. You recline about 30 degrees off the vertical and this jet of water swooshes up and down your spine as you relax. I don't know if that machine is still in place lo these many years later, but if it is, I call dibs.

I was starting to panic over airfares, which were mid-$500s out of NYC but managed to catch a nice $150 drop a few minutes after it happened, so now air is booked, memberships we had after voting/converting in Reno and the Rivercenter is booked for the duration. I'm seriously looking forward to August and the BwB party (will be my first). We're also coming in a day early so I can make a pilgrimage out to Lockhart for the best barbecue on earth (though I wish I could hit Aaron Franklin's in Austin, too).

As for '15, I'm really hoping Spokane can pull it off. That's a part of the world I'd love to see...moreso than FL in August.

[greensleeves]

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Thanks for the advice. I'll probably go for a couple days, but I'll definitely try to fit in a party or two.

My personal favorites are Black's BBQ and Smitty's.

LOL... no way. Kruez's or GTFO.

[Lucky Pierre]

Getting Excited!! I hadn't thought about the BBQ before... but I am now! I'll be hitting that in Austin!!!

[Ser Osis of Liver]

We won't have a lot of time in Lockhart; it's basically just for the 'Q. We'll be hitting Blacks, Smitty's and Kreutz's but I honestly don't think I'll have room for another bite beyond that. I'm really a brisk-a-holic but I figure about a half-pound in each place, plus a bit of saussage and beef ribs and I'll be making like Mr. Creosote soon afterwards. I want to get back to my hotel in SAT before the real meat coma hits.

I'm obviously looking forward to the BwB party and any ASoIAF-related panels and events, and the chance to put some faces to the names here.