2019 NASFiC Photos
My photos from the con can be found at:
My photos from the con can be found at:
2018 WorldCon Images Posted
More LoneStarCon 2 Photos
I found a bunch more negatives of the 1997 WorldCon. They are finally scanned and posted:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/1162…
LoneStarCon III (2013 WorldCon)
I thought I had posted these to Flickr three years ago. Oog...
Anyway, here they are:
LACon III (WorldCon 1996) Images
I finally found the rest of the negatives! Images scanned, edited and posted, at:
Stickmaker
(aka Rodford Edmiston Smith)
MidAmeriCon II
My photos can be found at:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/1162…
I'll be making some notations and comments and maybe rearranging the order a bit later.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/1162…
I'll be making some notations and comments and maybe rearranging the order a bit later.
San Jose in 2018 Worldcon Bid Names Prospective Convention Chair
Originally posted by 
kevin_standlee at San Jose in 2018 Worldcon Bid Names Prospective Convention Chair
kevin_standlee at San Jose in 2018 Worldcon Bid Names Prospective Convention ChairThe San José in 2018 Worldcon Bid has announced that Kevin Roche will chair Worldcon 76 in San José, California should their bid to host the World Science Fiction Convention win.
The San José in 2018 Worldcon bid’s parent non-profit corporation, SFSFC, unanimously voted to select Kevin Roche as the chair of the committee that will host Worldcon 76 should the San José in 2018 bid win the election to be held at the 2016 Worldcon, MidAmericon II. Members of the 2016 Worldcon will vote on where to hold the 2018 Worldcon.
Full details are in the press release posted on the SFSFC corporate web site.
Slightly behind the scenes: SFSFC met last Saturday to formally create a Worldcon Operating Committee to run the 2018 Worldcon should we win our bid and to conclude a decision on who would lead it. In our corporate structure, the Worldcon Bid Committee (which has existed for some time now and is chaired by Andrew Trembley) is separate from the Operating Committee; the two committees work with each other, but have separate leadership. (We only do Worldcons this way; all of our smaller bidded conventions like Westercon, World Fantasy Con, Corflu, CostumeCon, etc. are combined bid-then-operate committees.) This separation means that we dedicate some of our corporate energy toward planning for how we'll be operating from Day 1, should we win. If Worldcon members select a different bid, our operating committee is obviously moot and we disband it; however, by doing things this way, we avoid the trap into which some Worldcon bids have fallen whereby they win and then don't know what to do because they were working so hard on bidding they forgot to plan for being a Worldcon.
We didn't make the announcement immediately because we wanted to be sure we covered everything we wanted to cover in the press release. We also couldn't easily make this decision earlier because so many of us were tied up in various roles with the 2015 Worldcon in Spokane. After Sasquan ended, we could actually make a formal decision and focus on the future.
The San José in 2018 Worldcon bid’s parent non-profit corporation, SFSFC, unanimously voted to select Kevin Roche as the chair of the committee that will host Worldcon 76 should the San José in 2018 bid win the election to be held at the 2016 Worldcon, MidAmericon II. Members of the 2016 Worldcon will vote on where to hold the 2018 Worldcon.
Full details are in the press release posted on the SFSFC corporate web site.
Slightly behind the scenes: SFSFC met last Saturday to formally create a Worldcon Operating Committee to run the 2018 Worldcon should we win our bid and to conclude a decision on who would lead it. In our corporate structure, the Worldcon Bid Committee (which has existed for some time now and is chaired by Andrew Trembley) is separate from the Operating Committee; the two committees work with each other, but have separate leadership. (We only do Worldcons this way; all of our smaller bidded conventions like Westercon, World Fantasy Con, Corflu, CostumeCon, etc. are combined bid-then-operate committees.) This separation means that we dedicate some of our corporate energy toward planning for how we'll be operating from Day 1, should we win. If Worldcon members select a different bid, our operating committee is obviously moot and we disband it; however, by doing things this way, we avoid the trap into which some Worldcon bids have fallen whereby they win and then don't know what to do because they were working so hard on bidding they forgot to plan for being a Worldcon.
We didn't make the announcement immediately because we wanted to be sure we covered everything we wanted to cover in the press release. We also couldn't easily make this decision earlier because so many of us were tied up in various roles with the 2015 Worldcon in Spokane. After Sasquan ended, we could actually make a formal decision and focus on the future.
Terri Luanna Mountainborne Robinson da Silva, 1974-2004
Terri Luanna Mountainborne Robinson da Silva, daughter of Spider and the late Jeanne Robinson, is now in The Undiscovered Country, occurring Friday, December 5th, 2014, at the age of 40 years, due to Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (which she described as "the most common form of breast cancer"). Waiting for their time to greet her again are her father Spider Robinson, her husband Heron da Silva, her daughter Marissa ("Miss M"), and a huge extended family of relatives and intimate friends, as well as many, many more distant friends around the world.
The announcement came from Laurie O'Neal ("Auntie L") on Terri's WordPress weblog about her life with cancer, "gracefulwomanwarrior" [ http :// gracefulwomanwarrior . com ], and on her Facebook page [ https :// www. facebook . com / pages / Gracefulwomanwarrior / 247095598695612 ] (remove spaces to access the links, of course).
With the name Luanna Mountainborne, she was depicted as dancing on Luna in 1/6 gravity in The Cat Who Walks Through Walls by Robert A. Heinlein.
A crowdfunding request for her medical expenses is at [ https :// www . youcaring . com / medical - fundraiser / terri - s - stage - 4 - cancer - fight / 269274 ]
A crowdfunding request for her memorial is at [ http :// www . gofundme . com / icqknk ]
(Again, remove spaces to access the links.)
This information comes from openly accessible web pages and public announcements, no confidences are being violated.
The announcement came from Laurie O'Neal ("Auntie L") on Terri's WordPress weblog about her life with cancer, "gracefulwomanwarrior" [ http :// gracefulwomanwarrior . com ], and on her Facebook page [ https :// www. facebook . com / pages / Gracefulwomanwarrior / 247095598695612 ] (remove spaces to access the links, of course).
With the name Luanna Mountainborne, she was depicted as dancing on Luna in 1/6 gravity in The Cat Who Walks Through Walls by Robert A. Heinlein.
A crowdfunding request for her medical expenses is at [ https :// www . youcaring . com / medical - fundraiser / terri - s - stage - 4 - cancer - fight / 269274 ]
A crowdfunding request for her memorial is at [ http :// www . gofundme . com / icqknk ]
(Again, remove spaces to access the links.)
This information comes from openly accessible web pages and public announcements, no confidences are being violated.
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melancholy
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Reminder: London buses have gone cashless
If you are arriving in London for Loncon 3 (and/or Nine Worlds) in the next few days, please note that, in Transport for London's beautifully euphemistic language, London buses are now "cash-free". Or, in other words, you can now no longer use cash on London buses.
The easiest way to use London buses is with an Oyster card with a large enough cash balance on it - a single bus journey costs 1.45 GBP, which you have to pay again every time you change buses until you reach the daily fares cap (more details below). After that, further travel that day is free.
A "contactless" credit or debit card can be used instead of an Oyster card - if you have been issued with a credit or debit card from a UK bank during the past couple of years, it is probably contactless but otherwise it probably isn't (even if it is chip-and-pin).
Otherwise, there are still some pay-in-advance paper tickets that let you travel by bus, but these are either Travelcards (day or longer-period tickets) or tickets from places outside London which include Travelcards. Paper single London bus ticket are now just historic memorabilia.
Also, if you are going to Nine Worlds and arriving at Heathrow Airport, most buses are free as far as the hotels around Heathrow Airport hotels (including the Radisson Heathrow), so the above doesn't apply until you need to travel outside the immediate Heathrow area.
If you have not got a Visitor Oyster card when you arrive in London, standard Oyster cards are obtainable (for 5 GBP) from tube and railway station ticket offices in London or from "Oyster Travel Stops" - several hundred newsagents and convenience stores in the Greater London area. Most (just possibly all, though I wouldn't guarantee it) will still accept cash and chip-and-pin credit cards - but don't depend on being able to find one quickly in a part of London that you don't already know. Or, for that matter, within a mile or two of Heathrow Airport (except for the ticket offices at the tube stations inside the airport).
Finally - daily fares caps. For travel only on standard London buses, anywhere in Greater London, this is 4.40 GBP, just over the cost of three single journeys. If you also use tube or rail, the cap depends on whether you first use public transport that day before or after about 9.30am and the zone furthest out from central London you travel through by tube or rail that day. Excel is in zone 3, Heathrow is in zone 6 - the cap out to zone 3 is 7.70 GBP after 9.30am and out to zone 6 is 8.50 GBP. If you use any form of public transport before 9.30am, the caps are 10.60 GBP and 15.80 GBP.
Looking at this, it is fairly obvious that the cheapest method for travelling from Heathrow to Excel with an Oyster card is by bus. However, I wouldn't advise it - I haven't found a route that requires less than four changes of bus (and at least four hours on buses), there is only limited room for luggage on London buses, and while I do use London buses quite a bit, they get distinctly uncomfortable after an hour or so.
The easiest way to use London buses is with an Oyster card with a large enough cash balance on it - a single bus journey costs 1.45 GBP, which you have to pay again every time you change buses until you reach the daily fares cap (more details below). After that, further travel that day is free.
A "contactless" credit or debit card can be used instead of an Oyster card - if you have been issued with a credit or debit card from a UK bank during the past couple of years, it is probably contactless but otherwise it probably isn't (even if it is chip-and-pin).
Otherwise, there are still some pay-in-advance paper tickets that let you travel by bus, but these are either Travelcards (day or longer-period tickets) or tickets from places outside London which include Travelcards. Paper single London bus ticket are now just historic memorabilia.
Also, if you are going to Nine Worlds and arriving at Heathrow Airport, most buses are free as far as the hotels around Heathrow Airport hotels (including the Radisson Heathrow), so the above doesn't apply until you need to travel outside the immediate Heathrow area.
If you have not got a Visitor Oyster card when you arrive in London, standard Oyster cards are obtainable (for 5 GBP) from tube and railway station ticket offices in London or from "Oyster Travel Stops" - several hundred newsagents and convenience stores in the Greater London area. Most (just possibly all, though I wouldn't guarantee it) will still accept cash and chip-and-pin credit cards - but don't depend on being able to find one quickly in a part of London that you don't already know. Or, for that matter, within a mile or two of Heathrow Airport (except for the ticket offices at the tube stations inside the airport).
Finally - daily fares caps. For travel only on standard London buses, anywhere in Greater London, this is 4.40 GBP, just over the cost of three single journeys. If you also use tube or rail, the cap depends on whether you first use public transport that day before or after about 9.30am and the zone furthest out from central London you travel through by tube or rail that day. Excel is in zone 3, Heathrow is in zone 6 - the cap out to zone 3 is 7.70 GBP after 9.30am and out to zone 6 is 8.50 GBP. If you use any form of public transport before 9.30am, the caps are 10.60 GBP and 15.80 GBP.
Looking at this, it is fairly obvious that the cheapest method for travelling from Heathrow to Excel with an Oyster card is by bus. However, I wouldn't advise it - I haven't found a route that requires less than four changes of bus (and at least four hours on buses), there is only limited room for luggage on London buses, and while I do use London buses quite a bit, they get distinctly uncomfortable after an hour or so.
2 hotel rooms available LonCon3
ETA: Both rooms now spoken for, but in the Comments someone is offering another room.
Due to my own stupidity, I am blessed (or cursed) with a spare set of rooms for LonCon3 which I do not need but cannot cancel and must therefore pay for:
Due to my own stupidity, I am blessed (or cursed) with a spare set of rooms for LonCon3 which I do not need but cannot cancel and must therefore pay for:
2 rooms at the Ibis Styles London Excel-custom House Hotel, right across from the convention center & next to the tube stop for easy escape from ExCel-land.
I booked 5 nights each (August 13 - 18) for:
* 1 Standard double, GBP 540
* 1 Superior Double, GBP 590
* 1 Standard double, GBP 540
* 1 Superior Double, GBP 590
Please feel free to pass this on to any friends who might be wavering about attending, or who were not able to book at hotels close to ExCel, or who signed on for a super-crowded share and have since thought better of it....!
I can be reached directly on gmail at KUSHNER (dot) ELLEN etc.
Delia & I WILL be attending the con - but I subsequently booked us at another hotel and then forgot to cancel this one. I do hope my carelessness will allow someone else to get a good room at a good rate! All offers gratefully considered, however small. I'll feel a whole lot better knowing someone will get the good of it!
I can be reached directly on gmail at KUSHNER (dot) ELLEN etc.
Delia & I WILL be attending the con - but I subsequently booked us at another hotel and then forgot to cancel this one. I do hope my carelessness will allow someone else to get a good room at a good rate! All offers gratefully considered, however small. I'll feel a whole lot better knowing someone will get the good of it!