What to Take to CF9, pt. 4
Matt J. McCullar
Put your name on your videocassettes. For that matter, put your name on
everything you can't afford to lose. Not everyone can recognize your
handwriting or your possessions, and if I find someone else's stuff in
my suitcase when I get home, I need to know where to send it. (I
personally use those return-address labels normally used for envelopes.
They're small, self-adhesive, and fit perfectly on videotapes.)
Check under the bed before you leave the hotel. The monsters that live
there eat socks, shoes, etc.
Illness can spread quickly through a con, because people come from all
over, bringing regional diseases and sharing them. This is often
referred to as "con crud" or "the blorch."
You always return from a con with more stuff than when you left, so
bring an extra bookbag. Or make sure you leave room in your luggage for
all the stuff you'll buy. Prepare to do some heavy lifting.
If you want to risk it, bring your own TV along with the VCR. Most
hotels have security devices attached to their televisions that prevent
easy access for VCR hookups. There's probably a cable box hooked up to
it, anyway.
Carry your wallet and checkbook in your FRONT pants pockets. This makes
life miserable for thieves. They know congoers are loaded with cash and
credit cards. It may be uncomfortable, but consider the alternative.
Leave the bathroom light on at night and the door ajar. It provides a
convenient night light.
Turn some of your money into small bills before you get to the dealer's
room. You can't count on every merchant being able to break a twenty.
If you're a dealer, be sure you've got plenty of change before the doors
open. Do you have a sheet to cover your table if you don't have someone
to guard it in your absence? The hotel should be able to help.
Trust me -- your luggage will be impossible to identify at the airport
without marking it in some unique way. Wrap colored tape (such as
day-glow orange or yellow) around the handle, and/or use colored tape to
form some kind of a pattern on both sides that will pick at your eye for
a long distance. Put your name inside your luggage as well as on the
outside.
Airlines are now getting picky about the number of carry-on bags you can
take to your airplane seat with you. Plan accordingly.
If you've never used traveler's checks before, they are easy to buy at
your local bank for a small fee. They are much safer to carry than
large amounts of cash and can be redeemed anywhere. Keep a record of
the serial numbers -- you won't be able to get your money back without
them if the checks are stolen. Keep this record separate from the
checks.
You can ship stuff to the hotel in advance, such as boxes of comics.
This eliminates a lot of headaches and you don't have to carry it all
with you. Better call the hotel first and ask about their policies.
This also alerts them to expect your stuff and they can notify you if it
doesn't arrive.
Don't open Rapidograph technical drawing pens on airplanes! The air
pressure makes them explode and the waterproof ink is a bear to clean
up. Keep them in a plastic bag inside your luggage until you arrive.
Go out of your way to welcome newbies, without going overboard. Please
remember that everyone's behavior reflects a fandom as a whole. It
should be something to remember fondly. Please do all you can to make
it so.
Above all, don't forget the most important thing to bring to any con: a
sense of humor. Go out of your way to thank the convention staff and
the hotel staff for their hard work and tell them how much you enjoyed
it all. Now have fun.
Matt J. McCullar
(soapbox OFF)
Karl Meyer
Matt J. McCullar <sat...@isrc.net> wrote:
: If you want to risk it, bring your own TV along with the VCR. Most
: hotels have security devices attached to their televisions that prevent
: easy access for VCR hookups. There's probably a cable box hooked up to
: it, anyway.
I've usually been able to figure a way to rig a vcr to work at most hotels
I've been at. Otherwise I've simply called the front desk and they've
sent an 'engineer' to do it.
Elisabeth B. Shaw
>Illness can spread quickly through a con, because people come from all
>over, bringing regional diseases and sharing them. This is often
>referred to as "con crud" or "the blorch."
In my case, "swamp flu". I'm getting over it now.
>You always return from a con with more stuff than when you left, so
>bring an extra bookbag. Or make sure you leave room in your luggage for
>all the stuff you'll buy. Prepare to do some heavy lifting.
Or shipping back home via UPS, USPS, FedEx, whoever...last couple of
times out west, we had to do this.
>Trust me -- your luggage will be impossible to identify at the airport
>without marking it in some unique way. Wrap colored tape (such as
>day-glow orange or yellow) around the handle, and/or use colored tape to
>form some kind of a pattern on both sides that will pick at your eye for
>a long distance. Put your name inside your luggage as well as on the
>outside.
I've usually identified it with my unique business card as a tag...how
'bout a gods-ugly Aints fleur-de-lis?
>Airlines are now getting picky about the number of carry-on bags you can
>take to your airplane seat with you. Plan accordingly.
Northwest has gotten especially touchy about this. They now limit to
one carry on item per passenger. Uncle Herb isn't so bad. I was able
to carry five grocery bags and a 20-inch-diameter lace pillow home
with no problem.
>
>Don't open Rapidograph technical drawing pens on airplanes! The air
>pressure makes them explode and the waterproof ink is a bear to clean
>up. Keep them in a plastic bag inside your luggage until you arrive.
I made that mistake. Opened up a cartridge fountain pen while flying.
The thing exploded all over me. Never again.
See you all at the con,
Aki. :3:::::********************(poof!)
(a dancing sneaux miaoux from the swamp.)
Tobias Koehler
On Mon, 05 Jan 1998 01:48:47 GMT, Elisabeth B. Shaw
(beth...@idontlikespam.neosoft.com) wrote in alt.fan.furry:
> >Airlines are now getting picky about the number of carry-on bags you can
> >take to your airplane seat with you. Plan accordingly.
> Northwest has gotten especially touchy about this. They now limit to
> one carry on item per passenger. Uncle Herb isn't so bad. I was able
> to carry five grocery bags and a 20-inch-diameter lace pillow home
> with no problem.
Thank you for that tip. I will fly with Northwest Airlines (and
code-sharing partners eurowings and KLM.. yes, I have to change
twice on each way). But my parents have given me a nice "4YOU"
backpack for xmas which happens to fit into the hand luggage
limitations.. so I can take all my art supplies with me on board.
Who is Uncle Herb?
> >Don't open Rapidograph technical drawing pens on airplanes! The air
> >pressure makes them explode and the waterproof ink is a bear to clean
> >up. Keep them in a plastic bag inside your luggage until you arrive.
*giggle* Hmmrr.. I have kinda decided that I will take mostly
pencils with me. Inking pens if I have still space in my
luggage.. but I doubt I will be calm enough to ink in the hubbub
of the con ....
Fixative spraycan is a good idea, but will it explode?
Fluffs to all!
uncimeow
--
tobias benjamin koehler * * * * ,-/o"O`--.._ * _/(_ *
* * * * * * _,-o'.|o 0 'O o O`o--'. e\
dresden, europe * (`o-..___..--''o:,-' )o /._" O "o 0 o : ._>
* * ``--o___o..o.'' * :'.O\_ ```--.\o .' `--
un...@tigerden.com * * * `-`.,) * \`.o`._ *
t...@rcs.urz.tu-dresden.de * * * fL `-`-.,)
sola...@kill~eden~all~spammers.com
"Matt J. McCullar" <sat...@isrc.net> wrote:
>Illness can spread quickly through a con, because people come from all
>over, bringing regional diseases and sharing them. This is often
>referred to as "con crud" or "the blorch."
And sadly, there's probably not a whole lot one can do about it...
although I've found regular doses of echinacea (an herb that's supposed to
help boost the immune system) have been effective so far at keeping its
workplace equivalent at bay, so I'll be bringing some of that with me as
well... (what the heck, it can't hurt to try it...)
>You always return from a con with more stuff than when you left, so
>bring an extra bookbag. Or make sure you leave room in your luggage for
>all the stuff you'll buy. Prepare to do some heavy lifting.
I use a couple of inflatable plastic "packing pillows" for this - if you
buy anything via mail order, or work in a shipping department, keep an eye
out for these. You can inflate them with a drinking straw to full size and
put them in your luggage as space holders, to keep things from shifting
around inside a half-empty suitcase; then, on your return, simply deflate
them as necessary. (If you can't find these, a set of childrens'
inflatable "water wings" ought to work reasonably well also, although they
take up more space when deflated...)
As for heavy lifting... a suitcase with wheels on the bottom helps a lot.
:)
>Airlines are now getting picky about the number of carry-on bags you can
>take to your airplane seat with you. Plan accordingly.
Although _supposedly_, laptop cases aren't counted, so you should be able
to enhance your carry-on baggage by picking up a cheap laptop case (whether
or not you actually own a laptop computer :) ) and using that for various
small items. I've seen low-cost "generic" cases selling for as little as
$10-$20 in some places... (These actually have a lot of potential uses for
con-goers; they're compact, reasonably sturdy, and most models come with a
shoulder strap so you can keep your hands free; they'd work well for
artists trying to carry around their sketch supplies, or for carrying
around those books and stuff you just picked up in the dealers' room...)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Fool! You have just signed the universe's death warrant!"
"I did? Uh... gee, I don't know if I'm authorized to sign that..."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
solarfox@DIE_eden_SPAMMERS.com (Gary Akins jr.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Karl Meyer
solarfox@KILL~eden~ALL~SPAMMERS.com wrote:
: "Matt J. McCullar" <sat...@isrc.net> wrote:
: >Illness can spread quickly through a con, because people come from all
: >over, bringing regional diseases and sharing them. This is often
: >referred to as "con crud" or "the blorch."
: And sadly, there's probably not a whole lot one can do about it...
: although I've found regular doses of echinacea (an herb that's supposed to
: help boost the immune system) have been effective so far at keeping its
: workplace equivalent at bay, so I'll be bringing some of that with me as
: well... (what the heck, it can't hurt to try it...)
I feel the same about vitamin c. I was pretty much constantly sucking on
vitamin c losenges while at CF (60mg I think so it would have been
difficult to get toxic amounts) last year and managed to avoid the
ConFluence. I'll likely be adding echinacea this year as well. One other
thing guaranteed to help is to wash one's hands often and definately
before eating. That's the number one way that colds are transfered.
Washing them after eating would simply be courteous to the artists and
dealers who's work one might be handling. Finally, much as I hate to
suggest it, you might avoid the hot tub (at least after the first day.)
Given the amount of foam on the surface after that point last year (it's
caused by excess protein in the water just like foam on the surf in the
oceans), I figured it was less than healthy to be in it. Your choice
though.
Elisabeth B. Shaw
On 5 Jan 1998 10:29:04 GMT, t...@rcs7.urz.tu-dresden.de (Tobias
Koehler) wrote:
>On Mon, 05 Jan 1998 01:48:47 GMT, Elisabeth B. Shaw
>(beth...@idontlikespam.neosoft.com) wrote in alt.fan.furry:
>
>Thank you for that tip. I will fly with Northwest Airlines (and
>code-sharing partners eurowings and KLM.. yes, I have to change
>twice on each way). But my parents have given me a nice "4YOU"
>backpack for xmas which happens to fit into the hand luggage
>limitations.. so I can take all my art supplies with me on board.
You're welcome. Your parents sound quite generous with the backpack.
>Who is Uncle Herb?
Herb Kelleher, president and CEO of Southwest Airlines (a domestic USA
airline...the one I'll be flying out to the con.)
>Fixative spraycan is a good idea, but will it explode?
You may want to wait until you get here (to the con) to get a can of
fixative. Many airlines prohibit transport of aerosol cans on board.
>Fluffs to all!
Fluff to you too. :)
Akipoofysneauxmiaoux. :3
Elisabeth B. Shaw
On Mon, 05 Jan 1998 14:43:06 GMT, solarfox@KILL~eden~ALL~SPAMMERS.com
wrote:
>"Matt J. McCullar" <sat...@isrc.net> wrote:
>
>>Illness can spread quickly through a con, because people come from all
>>over, bringing regional diseases and sharing them. This is often
>>referred to as "con crud" or "the blorch."
Or what I call "swamp flu" or "green slime": what I'm getting over at
the moment. I seem to be through the worst of it, though the dreadful
weather outside isn't helping.
>And sadly, there's probably not a whole lot one can do about it...
>although I've found regular doses of echinacea (an herb that's supposed to
>help boost the immune system) have been effective so far at keeping its
>workplace equivalent at bay, so I'll be bringing some of that with me as
>well... (what the heck, it can't hurt to try it...)
I have a bottle of an echinacea/goldenseal combination. Have you
tried the new Ricola echinacea drops out yet? (I say 'new' as they're
new to the USA, though they've likely been in Europe for a while now.)
>I use a couple of inflatable plastic "packing pillows" for this - if you
>buy anything via mail order, or work in a shipping department, keep an eye
>out for these. You can inflate them with a drinking straw to full size and
>put them in your luggage as space holders, to keep things from shifting
>around inside a half-empty suitcase; then, on your return, simply deflate
>them as necessary. (If you can't find these, a set of childrens'
>inflatable "water wings" ought to work reasonably well also, although they
>take up more space when deflated...)
I've never seen "packing pillows", but I've seen the kids' 'floatees'.
>As for heavy lifting... a suitcase with wheels on the bottom helps a lot.
Does it ever! I swear by my wheeled flight attendant bag.
>Although _supposedly_, laptop cases aren't counted, so you should be able
>to enhance your carry-on baggage by picking up a cheap laptop case (whether
>or not you actually own a laptop computer :) ) and using that for various
>small items. I've seen low-cost "generic" cases selling for as little as
>$10-$20 in some places... (These actually have a lot of potential uses for
>con-goers; they're compact, reasonably sturdy, and most models come with a
>shoulder strap so you can keep your hands free; they'd work well for
>artists trying to carry around their sketch supplies, or for carrying
>around those books and stuff you just picked up in the dealers' room...)
You may want to consider a laptop case with a detachable shoulder
strap. As picky as the airlines are getting these days, they may make
you remove the shoulder strap and use handles. I carry books and
walkfurry in mine, usually.
Aki. :3
Elisabeth B. Shaw
On 5 Jan 1998 16:36:30 GMT, Karl Meyer <fer...@enteract.com> wrote:
>I feel the same about vitamin c. I was pretty much constantly sucking on
>vitamin c losenges while at CF (60mg I think so it would have been
>difficult to get toxic amounts) last year and managed to avoid the
>ConFluence. I'll likely be adding echinacea this year as well. One other
>thing guaranteed to help is to wash one's hands often and definately
>before eating. That's the number one way that colds are transfered.
>Washing them after eating would simply be courteous to the artists and
>dealers who's work one might be handling. Finally, much as I hate to
>suggest it, you might avoid the hot tub (at least after the first day.)
>Given the amount of foam on the surface after that point last year (it's
>caused by excess protein in the water just like foam on the surf in the
>oceans), I figured it was less than healthy to be in it. Your choice
>though.
I may consider a vitamin C/echinacea combination after the last flu I
caught (one previous to this "swamp crud".). I bought a bottle of
zinc lozenges which did nothing much for me but leave my mouth with a
bitter aftertaste. Another thing to consider is to port a bottle of
hand cleansing gel (the waterless stuff) in case you're unable to find
proper washing facilities. The stuff from Bath & Body Works is
wonderful...though the vanilla walnut scent jars me a little. I find
my favorite is the Purely Fresh, followed by Freesia, Kitchen Lemon
and Sun-Ripened Raspberry. Wal-Mart has a cheap knock-off of it for
about $2 for a large pump-sized bottle.
Aki.
(who found Sleepytime tea is actually quite nice on ice!)
Matt J. McCullar
Some things I simply refuse to let out of my sight for even a second.
These include my camera, my Walkman and casette tapes, the few
videotapes I bring, and my briefcase. I carry the tapes and camera and
tape player in a shoulder bag. That means I've got one carry-on bag and
my briefcase, both of which easily slide under the seat in front of me.
I don't even like stashing them in the overhead compartment, because
they're too easy a target should I fall asleep. With my feet on them I
stand a better chance of keeping them.
I've heard too many horror stories of valuable items such as computers
and jewelry and cameras being lifted from checked luggage by airline
employees. You can't tell which airport it vanished from.
Matt J. McCullar
G. Raymond Eddy
> Fixative spraycan is a good idea, but will it explode?
Read the label carefully to make sure it contains no flammables and
oxidizers. Also, contact the airline in advance to find out what chemicals
they will not allow aboard the aircraft.
--
___________ G. Raymond Eddy greddy at bright dot net
(_ _ _ 748 N. Lisbon St.
(__ __)__)(_/ Carrollton, OH 44615-1126
___________/ http://www.bright.net/~greddy/index.htm
Lenester Taxidean
On Mon, 5 Jan 1998 16:36:30, Karl Meyer <fer...@enteract.com> wrote:
> I feel the same about vitamin c. I was pretty much constantly sucking on
> vitamin c losenges while at CF (60mg I think so it would have been
> difficult to get toxic amounts) last year and managed to avoid the
> ConFluence. I'll likely be adding echinacea this year as well. One other
Hrm... is it actually possible to overdose on Vitamin C? I always thought that
one of its interesting features was that its toxicity level is about as low as
that of water. (Which DOES have a toxicity level, mind you, but anyway...)
Linus Pauling (double Nobel prize winner) strongly advocated megadoses of C.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lenester Taxidean -- http://www.asis.com/~liefc/
Deep red are the sunsets in mystical places
black are the nights on summerday sands.
We'll find the speck of truth in each riddle
hold the first grain of love in our hands.
Jethro Tull, _The Whistler_
Matthew C Henry
Elisabeth B. Shaw (beth...@idontlikespam.neosoft.com) wrote:
: >Airlines are now getting picky about the number of carry-on bags you can
: >take to your airplane seat with you. Plan accordingly.
: Northwest has gotten especially touchy about this. They now limit to
: one carry on item per passenger.
Actually, they're not quite THAT anal-retentive (at least not yet).
Because of my sleep apnea, I have to cart my CPAP around with me when I
travel now, including as carryon luggage (if a baggage handler damaged it,
I'd be in a severe world of hurt). When I learned about the new policy, I
called Northwest and explained the case.
The media has kind of overplayed the situation. NWA allows one large
carryon-- the sort of thing you'd likely test in the "sample compartments"
now common in most luggage counters and departure gates. However, in
addition to that carryon, you're allowed a purse, briefcase, or something
to that effect. The idea of the policy was to put an end to the situation
I ALWAYS deal with when I fly out of ORlando-- a plane full of idiot
tourists carrying half of the Disney empire in large plastic shopping
bags. By the time half of them have boarded, the carryon bins are full
(/sarcasm after all, who has the conscience and consideration anymore to
use the space under the seat? *gasp* Imagine the horror of not being able
to put their feet under the seat. /!sarcasm) and there's no room for
the other half's worth of useless souvenir garbage... Most experts are
predicting that NWA's carryon limitation will be the industry standard
within 1-2 years...
WulfTyger
On 6 Jan 1998 19:13:27 GMT, SPAMKILL...@asis.com (Lenester
Taxidean) wrote:
>On Mon, 5 Jan 1998 16:36:30, Karl Meyer <fer...@enteract.com> wrote:
>
>> I feel the same about vitamin c. I was pretty much constantly sucking on
>> vitamin c losenges while at CF (60mg I think so it would have been
>> difficult to get toxic amounts) last year and managed to avoid the
>> ConFluence. I'll likely be adding echinacea this year as well. One other
>
>Hrm... is it actually possible to overdose on Vitamin C? I always thought that
>one of its interesting features was that its toxicity level is about as low as
>that of water. (Which DOES have a toxicity level, mind you, but anyway...)
>Linus Pauling (double Nobel prize winner) strongly advocated megadoses of C.
>
According to my Bio teacher from last semeseter, the body can only
process about 500mg of Vitamin C a day. Anything else is simply
excreted from the body w/o being used. While this makes it quite
difficult to overdose on it, habitually taking too much has been shown
to cause kidney stones. I don't remember exactly why, but I think some
of the Vitamin C crystalizes in your kidneys (yep, that's bad ;)
Well, AOL added some new modems so it's time for a new sig.
My AOL username is WulfTyger...the rest is just spam-bait.
sola...@kill~eden~all~spammers.com
beth...@idontlikespam.neosoft.com (Elisabeth B. Shaw) wrote:
>>although I've found regular doses of echinacea (an herb that's supposed to
>>help boost the immune system) have been effective so far at keeping its
>>workplace equivalent at bay, so I'll be bringing some of that with me as
>>well... (what the heck, it can't hurt to try it...)
>
>I have a bottle of an echinacea/goldenseal combination. Have you
>tried the new Ricola echinacea drops out yet? (I say 'new' as they're
>new to the USA, though they've likely been in Europe for a while now.)
Actually, I get mine by drinking Goodflow Juice Co.'s "Lemon, Lime,
Echinacea & Ginger" fruit juice every morning. :) I haven't seen the
Ricola drops... but then, I haven't really been looking, either...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Fool! You have just signed the universe's death warrant!"
"I did? Uh... gee, I don't know if I'm authorized to sign that..."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
solarfox@DON'TMESSWITHtexas.net (Gary Akins jr.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------