ravan

Due to technical difficulties, our web site for this year was delayed.

It is now active at http://www.siliconventions.com/

PayPal will be active soon for purchase of memberships.

As SiliCon approaches, more and more of my time is being spent killing drama llamas. You know the type of thing - people who get butthurt because of what someone said, or didn't say, to them or about them. Every con I've ever had any contact with has had them. Nothing new, there.

But nowadays, there also seem to be llama breeders, too - people who ecourage drama, who may not even be involved in the con at all, even peripherally, but love to whip up drama to feed their own little egos, or 'advance' their own causes. Whatever. These folks are a detriment to our community.

So, I ask all of you, don't feed the drama llamas - whether it regards SiliCon, or any other Bay Area convention. Don't try to play two (or more) cons against each other, it's childish. Don't let anyone turn what should be a good time for all imvolved into their own little stage for attention.

I actually have a great committee this year for SiliCon. Many of them I've known and respected for years. Part of diving back into con running five years ago was my way of giving back to the community that supported me when my life took a very nasty turn many years ago.

Anyway, I'm organizing a weekend long party for over 1000 of my friends in October. Please, come and join us, but leave the llamas at home.

Last night, it got down below 70° outside. This morning, that lovely marine layer was cuddling over the hills. One more month, and my finances will start easing from the move disaster - just in time for me to finance the SiliCon program book, probably.

So, if you are going to be in the Bay Area on October 6 - 8, be sure to sign up for SiliCon. It's a nice little relaxacon at the San Jose DoubleTree, and the memberships are only $35 until August 31! More info should be here, if the web page has been updated (since the person doing it is working lots of hours, unpaid stuff gets shoved to the back burner).

Political issues? With one of the most a-political committees I've worked with in a long time? Somebody is on drugs, or deliberately trying to smear a non-profit convention to benefit their own for-profit gig...

Apparently certain bigmouths are trying to claim there is some sort of imagined dress code or costume guidelines for volunteers. They're full of it. Seriously.

I have heard that there are people going around badmouthing SiliCon, saying stuff is "policy" when it isn't so. That's BS. Any "policy" I would've had to publish. So ask, verify the rumors.

Hell, we're less fascist than BayCon, IMO - we don't demand your real name to put on your badge.

Yeah, we have an empire builder on staff with a big mouth and a tendency to put her foot in it, but every con has those.

I don't know who has been spreading this crap, but our only "dress code" is "no costume is no costume". That's it. Literary based costumes are ok, stuff made up out of your fevered imagination is ok.

I am not happy about this. I also am a little bit insulted that no one fact checked things with me, instead of listening to some "mouth".

EDIT: There is one thing that might offend local fen: The hotel has gone to "paid" parking. The reason that "paid" is in quotes is because members will get their parking validated (at least this year), and if you're staying in the hotel it's supposedly free, too. This is not SiliCon's idea, several of us object (I growled about it when they first put the stupid booths in), and it will hit BayCon too.

Well, this year we sold a whole $10 in two days of garage sale, 9 am - 5pm. Better than we've done any previous year, but still sucky. It still feels like a buttload of wasted time.

I have to go in for a pelvic ultrasound on Thursday (doc suspects fibroids). My period *still* hasn't started. The last one started the 16th, and I usually have a 23 - 25 day cycle. No, no chance I'm preggers. I don't think I'm due for menopause yet, either. I only have a few grey hairs.

Grandma's in the hospital, and it's not looking real good.

I'm late on where I'd like to be on the SiliCon work, but at least the money to have the program book printed is available.

No soap this weekend, too damn busy.