Doug's Home On The Web "Now monochrome monitor compatible!"

Having missed last year's FCN due to injury, I had to use this con to make up for 2 years' worth of FCN and well, it worked! Here's how I felt:

I had an enormous amount of fun at this year's FCN. Highlights include:

- Making lots of sushi (sushi-grade fish was ordered for this)

- Watching the "Will It Blend" panel, wherein the presenters proceeded to both blend and freeze various items

- Making sushi for the second day in a row

- Getting to see/socialize with people I don't normally get to talk to because we're both busy at other cons

- Working security again, and doing badge check in higher traffic areas, so I got to chat with people who came by

What else was there to like? Ah yes, the bartenders! They absolutely loved us this year, and one of them even remembered me from 2 years ago. (and gave me grief about not making it last year, haha)

I have many more pictures that I can't post here, so instead I'll give the link, as usual: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dmuth/sets/72157626479309537/

Next con for me is Anthrocon! I'll see you all there. Stay safe.

Taken at Furry Connection North in 2009. I am holding Chillymouse in this picture.

The black beret denotes membership in The Dorsai Irregulars.

This year's Furry Connection North was another heck of a convention! With 727 attendees, the convention's attendance nearly doubled over last year! Clearly, the current state of the economy did not hurt this year's event.

I did something a little different this convention. A few months back, I made it a point to start saving all of my $5 bills when getting change. By the time FCN rolled around, I have a few hundred dollars in $5s. Aside from the strange looks I got from my bank teller when turning all of those $5s into larger bills, this provided me with a convenient way to set aside some spending money for the convention. Even though my total amount of money did not change, being able to set aside cash meant that I actually spent more on artwork and books at this convention. That's a win-win for everybody!

The one downside about this convention for me was that I didn't get to see as much of the convention as I would have liked to, due to some of the shifts I worked on security (provided by the Dorsai Irregulars this time around). I worked 2 shifts that were from midnight to 6 AM, and 1 shift from 6 AM to Noon. This left me sleeping during the mornings and early afternoons so I didn't get to see as much of the con or my friends as I would have liked (sorry Cliff Husky!). I did get to make up for this on Sunday though, by attending closing ceremonies, the live Method 1 show, and Gir's dance, which totally rocked.

This new hotel was also full of win. The staff loved us. One of the bartenders decided on Saturday afternoon that she just had to have a tail to wear, so I ended up loaning her one of mine. I am told that this boosted the amount she received in tips. :-)

Other things that made FCN cool:

- All the food places within walking distance.

- The "I'm on a boat" song.

- Everytime someone said the word "asshole" and Chillymouse was in hearing distance, she would pipe up with "100% asshole?"

- The few noise complaints I handled, the occupants of the rooms were very nice and very apologetic. That made the con that much more enjoyable to work.

- The bar having $8 Long Island Iced Teas.

- A reasonably priced lunch/dinner menu at the hotel's restaurant.

- Cardboard cutouts of Obama and George Bush. They made for nice party items.

- Getting to chat with Duncan The Dog, who swung by Con Ops in the middle of an otherwise boring late night security shift.

Oh, you wanted to see some pictures? Sure!

The full set, as always, can be found on Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dmuth/sets/72157617572706694/

My next non-furry con will be Anime Central, which I will be working security at. And I leave for that, uh... tomorrow morning! My next actual furry con after that will be Anthrocon.

I can't believe I forgot to write more details about my trip to Furry Connection North!

For the impatient, my full archive of pictures can be found on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dmuth/sets/72157604580955859/

I flew in on Wednesday night, so I could help out with setup on Thursday. For those of you reading this who have never been to a furry convention before, people tend to arrive early and stay late. So we did setup on Thursday morning to prepare for folks arriving as early as Thursday evening:

As the con started to fill up on Thursday and into Friday, we got the con suite and the "Pimp Suite" up and running. There were plenty of things to munch on, with beer for those over the age of 21:

The layout of the hotel consisted of an atrium with a large central area where attendees could congregate, similar to The Zoo at Anthrocon:

Registration was at the set of long tables that were off to the side of the area. And for those of you were who in that area and saw a wireless network with the SSID of Cheetahs Are Chewtoys? That was my doing. You're welcome.

Let's talk about the dances for a minute. The dances absolutely rocked. With laser lights and fog, they were lots of fun:

I was working on security at this convention, so I didn't get to drop in on as many panels or performances as I would have liked, but I made a few, including Branwyn's performance, and the "Science and Pseudoscience" panel. I didn't get to make all of Uncle Kage's Story Hour, but I did get to "buzz" the Story Hour halfway through with some of the other Dorsai Irregulars. 5 of us just walked in the back, single file, and stood there. This was enough to derail his train of thought and cause him to blurt out, "OMG it's the Dorsai Irregulars!"

On Sunday afternoon, there were fursuit games, held in the open area in the atrium. There was a turnout of 20 or so fursuiters:

One of the things that I liked about working this convention was that the folks running it had the attitude of, "Get the hard work done, THEN party". So when Sunday evening came around, partying was something we did:

Overall, the con went great! The hotel staff were awesome, as were the convention staff. Everyone had a job to do, and they went about doing it. No attitudes, no infighting, just hard work all around. And that's how a successful con happens.

The final attendance of the convention was 372 attendees. This is a record for a first year furry convention held in a new city, and is something that we can all be proud of.

If there's one thing that could be improved on, it would be the temperature of some of the hotel rooms. That was pretty much the only significant complaint we had. And it will be addressed for next year's Furry Connection North. :-)

Our Guest of Honor (Latin Vixen) seemed to enjoy the convention too:

Since Furry Connection North is a first year con, they've been relying on the generosity of staff to loan the convention money. They'd like to repay them ASAP, but furs generally don't register until the month before a convention actually happens. They're getting some registrations, but to encourage more, they've organized a promotion.

The first 25 people to register will be put into a raffle to be given a free upgrade to Pimp status! (If the winner registered as a Pimp, they'll get a $25 refund.) This includes cash, check and credit card registrations, so however you register you can participate. So go to http://furryconnect.com/registration.php and register with your credit card, get the form to mail in a check, or give Nikvulper or girtygrin cash and a printed out form at a furmeet.

Good luck, and I'll see you at the con!