Do's and Dont's for the convention?

Oh trust me.. Starwars greatly overpowers Trek in my world. On a liking scale of 1 to 10, starwars is at 10 where trek is at a 7. Superhero stuff like Superman and Spiderman are at a 9 so you can see my like for trek is at a much lower level than this. You can be sure it is Jedi robes for this saber wielder.

 

It will be a great sgirt though. It will hopefully bring fear into the Trkkies if they decide to show up. Oh yes, Trekkies will die.

 

DO:

- Bring Chapstick (hotels/conventions are nortorioulsy dry)
- Bring a couple of bottles of water
- Bring some fruit like apples to keep in your bag or room
- If you are costuming, bring repair kits.
- Register ASAP. The lines will only get longer.
- If you can figure it out, print up some business cards with your name, email, frequent bboards and screen names, etc. Avery has prepunched sheets for lazer and deskjets, this saves you the hastle of writing it down for the five cool guys you met this morning. Also very impressive.
- Get some idea of the layout of the convention rooms/floors/locations as soon as you get there. This includes scoping out bathrooms.
- Respect the con organizers and their minions. Keep in mind that lots of fans (read:unpaid volunteers) will be working, so be nice and make their job as easy as possible. Ie: if they say move, than move.
- Check and see if there are any parties.

DON'T

... Wear a costume you threw together for $5 and 5 minutes of time.

There are people that are spending thousands of dollars and hours labouring over costumes that will blow you away. In comparison, your 'jedi robes' made out of brown sheets with no hemming will look shabby. This is not to say that a cheep costume can't be cool, but just look in a mirror before you leave home and ask yourself: Does this look stupid? Have fun with your costuming, but please do a reality check.

... expect to see everything, you will have to make some sacrificies.

... assume that you have more of a right to see (whatever) than everyone else. We all can't do/see/meet everyone/everything we want. You may have the most awsome (whatever) site out there, but that doesn't entitle you to cut in front of me in line becuase you were busy chatting up Warwick Davis.

... don't turn into a raving b!t%h or a$$ becuase you were slighted/insulted/whatever by someone. Chill. There's not enough time at Celebration to worry about all the little injustices. You will just be wasting your own time and energy.

DO HAVE FUN!
DO AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE! (Sleep is optional)

~H~

 

Just a thought I had..

Don't talk spoilers in line around people who want to be Spoiler free. I guess this would go for your EP2 viewing as well.

 

DarthJurist....you rock my world. Hail to the con organizers' minions! Great tips, btw....everyone.

Since this will be my second large convention of the sci-fi nature, I have no real tips. But:

DON'T have lightsabre or blaster fights on the streets of Indianapolis. The last place you want to end up in is Marion County Lock-up.

DO be respectful of the local authorities, especially if you're in costume. They may not be prepared for you.

That's all I've got.

 

Do bring lots of extra film.

If you are travelling by plane DO be aware that some security gate xrays can damage unexposed film. I recommend you pack extra film in the checked luggage. I have a lead lined bag that is designed for carrying film through airports on carry-ons, but with security concers, I wouldn't recommend buying one, you'll probably have to be searched to see what you're hiding.

In a similar vein, remember that things like hairspray, shaving gel, etc cans are sometimes made of metal, and is cause to be searched. This actually goes for batteries too. My sister and I were going to Florida, we got checked for hairspray bottles for her, batteries in the Gameboy for me. We were traveling before Sept, I image security's even more stringent now.

 

I just came back from a trip where they told us to not have film in our checked bags as they are now x-raying those. I listened, my companion didn't. I have great pictures, she has none.

 

When going from Indy to St. Louis recently, they stopped me and searched my bag for a pair of barrettes that were attached to each other. But of course they were guys and new on the job. Even when they pulled them out they still didn't know what they were.

 

I am married to a hair stylist and I can tell you some women's hair stuff can be very dangerous. I almost lost an eye to a barrett once.

 

When it comes to film and airport security, the best advice I can think of is to ask for your camera bag and/or film storage area to be searched by hand at the checkpoint. There shouldn't be any trouble doing this and I know thats what I'll be doing. The same should apply for videos as well, although I think DVDs and CDs shouldn't be harmed by the X-ray process.

 

I was thinking about shipping my film back home so it did not have to go through the X-Ray.

 

You could also develop the film in Indianapolis before you leave.

 

great idea jedi toren!......does anybody know if there is a one hour photo close by?

 

That is a great idea Jedi Toren. Actually there is a CVS a few blocks from ICC and a great photo developing store about a mile away (maybe not even that much) If you don't care how you want your film developed, go to CVS. If you want a good quality to great quality, go to Cord Camera. Cord also develops film automatically in 55 minutes, sometimes less.

 

Is the data on a digital camera damaged by X-rays? Not that I am flying but I am curious and some others here may need that information.

 

Video and digital still camera shouldn't be affected. I've travelled with my miniDV camera, NOMAD Jukebox MP3 player and all sorts of electronic devices without any problems. Film cameras use a photochemical process whereas digital still cameras are really just still video cameras. Somehow x-ray's and radiation and stuff like that affect film.

 

DEODORANT!!!!

PLEASE use it. Please. I'm begging you. Try to shower at least once during the con.

Oh. Some sleep and food are ideal. General advice is this: You can skip one, but not both. So pick.

~Caleigh

 

Saftey notes (forgot about these)

Some of this may sound stupid or redundant, if so sorry. Never drink somethin another person has handed you unless you trust them. It might just be a drink, it might have something in it. Be careful whom you run off with, and to where. Most folks at con's are nice people. However, some will try to get you drunk and easy, some will try to slip things in your drink. Watch it. (I've had guys do both.) My younger sister picked up a stalker at a con, until I found him and threatened some not nice things, and pointed to the group of guys we were with. (Several other adults, most of which were carrying large swords.)

Like I said, most people at cons are nice. However, there are those that try to take advantage of a situation. Simply be aware. Oh yeah, and watch your wallet.

~Caleigh

 

fiorcara - great advice! I have never been to a convention, however everyone is saying this is a "family" event,so lets hope everyone practices good judgement and its a fun time for all!

 

Just a thought on the film through xray thing....I have been told several times by both security officals (not that i trust them much) and by a photography teacher that if the film is under 800 speed the xrays will not harm it......
But since i am driving and 800 speed is my fave speed, i dont have to worry about it

 

Coming from Milwaukee, the home of GenCon for the past few years, we have some experience at conventions. So here are a few important guidelines:

DO:
... shower at least once. No one wants to be behind you in line if you smell like a$$. You don't need sleep, but you do need soap. It's your friend.

... bring food and drinks. Like someone else said, the convention people know that they have you, it's like buying food at the airport or a sporting event.

... expect to be stopped if you are wearing a good costume. We saw a lot of members of the 501 stopped for pictures. You've worked hard, and appreciation is your reward, not your burden.

... have a sense of humor and patience. Everyone there loves things as much as you do.

Don't:

... shout out random questions about your RPG character or refer to your friends by their RPG character names. We're all geeks but being a level 17 Jedi/Scout won't save you from people like Jules. If we tell him you're a Klingon in disguise, he'll point out his shirt, and stomp you. When you hear Ezekial, run.

... forget your Tic Tacs. Personal hygeine is important in close quarters. Make it your new Jedi mantra.

... forget a watch even though some things will never happen on schedule, on the rare chance that they will, you won't find a clock when you need one.

 

*applauds Wampa1138* Wow that is a really good list of tips. And I bow to your Gen Con expertise. I *may* be up there this year...and well...I know I'll be there next year

 

All great points. I couldn't agree more on the deodorant point. At the first Celebration, I thought I'd go check out the screening room where they were running stuff like "Troops" and old TV clips from SNL, the Muppet show, etc... and the smell was over-powering. I had to leave. Now to be fair, alot of that may be due to having to stand in the rain and the diminutive size of the room. A person can only handle the gamey-ness of their fellow humans for so long. It smelled like a combination of wet dog, 3 day old socks (unwashed of course) and parmesan cheese. I also remember seeing some folks there who I'm sure they didn't bathe the entire weekend. Gross!

BTW- Bathing is not only hygenically sound, it's also being considerate to you fellow human beings. I've known people who can go a day ot two without bathing and they don't stink, but they are usually in the minority. At least take soap and a CLEAN, wet wash cloth to your smelly areas. If in doubt, ask someone. They'll tell you.

 

Let me just repeat what was already said...

DO remember...
THAT PORKINS KICKS BUTT!

 

I haven't read all of these so if this has been covered I'm sorry. Bring a watch! Over the years I've seen countless people miss stuff they wanted to see just because they lost track of the time.