A Fox Called Kay

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:53:31 GMT

For the Fallen
by Laurence Binyon
Originally published in The Times on 21 September 1914.

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres.
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

They mingle not with laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain,
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 01:32:45 GMT

In reply to rex_beowulf's post, which he deleted:

His text in italics followed by my responses.

He starts off by quoting a comment I made in response to an earlier post he made:

When you move to a new hotel, you have to negotiate a new rate irregardless of what rate you previously had with any other hotel. As hotels will not often give you stellar rates right off the bat. Also, they moved from a 3 diamond to 4 diamond property IIRC, so that means the rate will go up, period. There was probably some nogotiating in there to avoid paying too much for the event space as well as trying to establish credit with the hotel. $129 a night is pretty good, if not about average for larger furry conventions at upscale properties (the DoubleTree is a upscale property for the perposes of this comment).

Also, if everyone canceled their room reservations, the only direction the rate would go is up. Yuo could be Her Majesty The Queen of England and a hotel will still get pissed of your attrition skyrockets.

Typical of a fur from the Seattle area I guess - total display of idiocy both in use of language, and ignorance of the larger issues of the furry fandom...

So, let's explain away the 32% increase in room costs during the worst economic crisis by saying that, somehow, the increase is going to happen no matter what. I guess when you live in Seattle and deal with a convention that also has room rates as obnoxiously high, you can't see the bigger picture.

The problem is that FC had to move, the convention was to big for the DoubleTree and it was starting to seriously detract from attendees enjoyment of the convention. They chose to focus on other matters than trying to renegotiate the room rate, which is not that simple once you've signed a contract. Room rates are determined by economic factors, but the hotel also depends on agreements to stay in place, hence when a convention can get $113 a night at a hotel that normally charges $179 a night, it will be an uphill battle to get the rate reduced if the hotel lowers their walk up rate to $129 a night. But as RainFurrest has proven, that extra $14 a night that matters so much to you does not really affect how many people book rooms.

When I planned a convention 3 years ago, I had a room rate of $89/room set. But I had no bargaining power because it was a first-year con, and had no promise of a large number of people. But I did negotiate a rental-rate for the convention space of a mere $2,000 for the weekend.

You probably also were not dealing with a large full service hotel with 370 rooms and an airport nearby, these things tend to increase the rate the hotel is willing to go with.

Negotiation is a key element in conventions. Any one who does conventions, does them well, and does them professionally knows this. You can't have a successful convention and make money (for charity in the case of FC or other furry cons, which have, with few exceptions - thank you Trapa - been non-profit and benefitting charity) if you have a high room rate. It excludes too many guests, period.

Why are you attacking Trapa? What convention do you refer to? And who says FC et al are unprofessional while negotiating contracts? Ive sat in on some of these deals and I have yet to see those involved acting unprofessionally.

As I have said time and time again, I read an article early this year or late last year about conventions renegotiating room and other rates due to the economy. Unlike most furries, I keep up with the news. And a quick search for "conventions renegotiating rates" pulls up a wealth of information on renegotiation of room rates, including advice from convention organizations, which the furry fandom lacks (and which I have offered to try to help provide.)

Okay, provide said advice here. Also, if your going to criticize my writing skills, please allow me to criticize your inability to produce a valid anchor tag.

My issue here is that congoers are not being well serviced by FC staff, not only due to the obvious corruption as evidenced by recent events, but by the fact that in the worst economic climate in 80 years, when many more furs than usual are unemployed or otherwise financially stressed, Further Confusion moved to a new hotel with a room rate that is 32% higher, excluding many furs, including many of my friends who I wanted to see there. And that's not even considering other cost increases, such as luggage fees (tip: fly Southwest Airlines!) parking, shuttle costs (there is no free shuttle from the airport to the hotel, several miles from the airport), and increased food costs (downtown San Jose lacks lower-cost food resources that the Doubletree had.)

All this economic downturn stuff, and Im still not seeing how its affecting furry conventions, FC was growing out of the DoubleTree and theres nothing you can do to deal with that except cap attendance or raise membership fees. Im sure if they did either, you would be ranting about it here.

My issues with the room rates are not personal. I expected to have more than enough money, and planned to rent a suite, actually. But what the hell good does it do me to rent a suite at FC if fewer of the people I care about and wanted to see will be in attendance, and fewer of the artists whose works I like to see, and whom I love the chance to chat with even briefly will be there, and fewer of the vendors I like will be there because they can't afford the new hotel rates and other cost increases? The value of Further Confusion went down, significantly. This bullshit with Loran and other staffers acted as the ton of bricks that broke the camel's back, so to speak. For me, the major issue is a corrupt staff, and the minor issue was the cost. For everyone else, the major issue should be the increase in costs, coupled with evidence that FC staff doesn't give a shit about its attendees, and the minor issue should be what happened to me, and only as evidence in support of the notion, along with the increased cost and failure of FC staff to negotiate a better room rate, that FC staff really could care less about its attendees, as long as they come and pony up the dough. Hell, they don't even have a charity chosen.

You show me a convention that size free of corrupt staff and political infighting and I will show you a well told lie.

Furries shouldn't have to tolerate this, period. We have a right and I feel deserve better treatment by convention staff. But when you accept status quo, and react the way most of you have to events that demonstrate corruption, perhaps you do deserve to be treated like livestock, your attendance and comfort at a convention only minor considerations in an effort by a staff to cater to its own at YOUR expense!

If you think you can do better, go ahead and try.

And that, my friends, is what the real issue here should be. That you are being forced into a more expensive hotel, not because it meets YOUR needs, but because it caters to the desires of San Jose furries, FC staff, and their friends. Think about it - why else move to a prestigious hotel? To service the needs of all furries, or to service the needs of the egos of these locals? Are you mere fodder to justify the use of a luxury hotel? Are you and/or your friends being excluded so that these locals, who have demonstrated a bond between each other that rivals the most corrupt political bodies, can live it up and have a party next year at your expense?

FC is moving to a more expensive hotel precisely for the attendees needs, if the staff could get away with it, they would try ot stay at the DoubleTree. You cant have a 3000 person convention at a hotel that will only resonably fit 2500 people in its event space.

Sure, some people will benefit from this. There are vendors who would definitely benefit from a convention attended by more affluent furries. And maybe having a "luxury" convention might be a good thing to do. But to turn the second largest convention (by attendance) into a luxury convention is wrong. These people have Baycon and private parties. They don't need to exclude furries on economic grounds, and especially not when good people with good skills are being excluded from the job market. It's not fair, period.

Were talking about less than a 25% rise in total costs, this is hardly the convention becoming a high class event.

[...]

Oh, and the reason I didn't unscreen this or any other comment, is because this person, nor anyone else thus far, has actually wanted to participate in a discussion (or demonstrated proper use of the English language.) if you want to engage in a discussion with me, I don't require that you agree with me - on the contrary, I encourage disagreement, else discussion cannot be had. I posted this comment in the way I did because this person demonstrated a level of ignorance that unfortunately pervades the fandom, and more unfortunately the staff of furry conventions.

Im attempting to engage you in a discussion, and all you can do is slap it aside in insult my use of the English language. Im sure you think your an authority on proper grammar or something, but I have news for you, nobody cares enough about grammar on LiveJournal to make it grounds for dismissing an argument in entirety. Please, elaborate on what Im being ignorant of, am I missing something here?

If only furries would realize that by working together, they can create resources such as the ability to bargain with hotels and hotel chains for better room rates so that they can benefit everyone.

Been there, done that.

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 03:48:00 GMT

So, Im trying to put together a phone system for RainFurrest, in trying to figure out how to get all of this working, I have found that Cisco phones would work the best for the situation. Cisco is like many other brands and it means expensive no matter what it is, but I already had 4 single line display phones (7910s), so I went to a place I had dealt with in the past called 3R Technology and managed to snag a 7961g (6 line phone) and a Cisco branded IBM x345 for $120. That made me feel happy about 3R Technology, but I guess that would be the last time I feel that way about them. I tried barganing for the other phones they had, but ultimately failed. This saturday I went in and tried to bargain them down to $35 for another 7961g phone, the guy there talked alot about how expensive these phones are and all that and I tried explaining that this is for a not for profit and we dont have much of a budget at all and all that... but it didint work, so I ended paying $45 for a phone with no handset. We found a handset anc cord somewhere else, and finally I get it home and...

It boots to a gradient and thats it. After fiddleing, testing, spraying chips with ice-it and all that crap, I find that theres no rhyme or reason to where it boots to except it just wont boot past anything useful.

So, I paid $50 after tax for... a Cisco paperweight.

Now, I know that its hard trying to run a business these days, but christ, these people get paid to take these things and then they sell them. Can you imagine a racket like that anywhere else? Its crazy, and Im not shopping at 3R Technology anymore.

So, in other news Im searching for CHEAP Cisco phones, mainly some 7960s ~~and some single line units~~. This is for use in Rainfurrest Operations.

EDIT:
These phones are to be used at the convention, but will not be owned by the convention, because this is a technology test and Im assuming all the capital costs for this test, as we may find that one brand is better than another between now and the next convention, or the hotel may come forward and offer us use of their phone system or some other change.

I also want to make this equipment portable and usable in sitiations like Amateur Radio Emergency Service and such.

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 10:57:47 GMT

There currently is a tempest in a teapot about the sale of real fur at furry conventions.

To sum it up, a few people have become vocal about a long time dealer at west coast conventions selling real fur tails and pelts. The dealer in question, Cal Cotton, obtains these from humane sources and is a furrier for movie productions as well.

I personally do not see any need for myself to buy any such items, I also dont particular like people wearing real tails for mostly astetic reason, I also dont see why we should impose our views on others and demand other bend to our whims. Im sure theres some of us who believe that we shouldint eat meat, despite that being the nature of our being, but do we see them trying to impose their will on the rest of us? Mostly no.

I really do not like any vocal group trying to impose their will on the rest of us in a way that restricts our freedoms to do things otherwise legal and just. That is why I have never supported banning any particular thing or person from any convention just because their percieved as bad, I have to see actual proof that such a thing is bad, thats why I have always lobbied for the least restrictive polices needed to achieve the desired effect.

PS: Damn people are easily squicked.

Fri, 29 May 2009 10:55:27 GMT

Im still alive, working on a few things...

- Rainfurrest: Been working on the wiki and some other stuffs, mostly policies and that kind of thing.

- Radio: Went to Trapa's ham radio lesson and saw some people really interesting, next meeting is a hands on event at the Field Day station for one of the clubs in Coquitlam. Otherwise, Ive been trying to fix my Marconi 2955, it wont stay powered on longer than a little bit and Im kinda getting frustrated with the lack of anything wrong with it. Im also working on getting some Project 25 gear.

- LDAP and moving to OpenSuSE 11.1: Mostly complete, down to a science now.

- Asterisk: Just got started on this, have the Cisco phones connected (using custom DHCP setup and a TFTP server) and dialing each other as well as out, but I dont have incoming dialing rules working yet. Theres some talk of using Asterisk as a proof of concept at RainFurrest in Operations and Registration.

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 04:34:32 GMT

So, Update:

Sakuracon was okay, promotion for Rainfurrest did not go as well as expected, but now I have a pawstar fox hat.

Harris Corp, known for the does everything Unity XG-100 multi-band multi-system radio has announced that their aquiring M/A-Comm Wireless Systems makers of the EDACS and OpenSky trunking systems, as well as the Orion radios that I have a few of.... this means that the Orion has been preceeded by the following brands... GE, Ericsson, CommNet, M/A-Comm and Tyco... and now Harris.

It seems to be the season for mergers in the radio industry, previously Motorola aquired most of Yaesu Co. Ltd. aka Vertex Standard, a major player in the small and rugged radio market, which Im sure Motorola wanted for the small part, since Motorola seems to have seriousl problems with making anything both small and rugged... Yaesu is also a major player in the Amateur Radio market I won a few of their ham radios.

This all hasn't affected my radio purchasing habits, Im still buying into the Orions, still buying Motorola stuff and still want a Vertex Standard VX-8r.

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 07:42:30 GMT

The latest trend with furry paysites is a but perplexing.

Do we really think that furries have enough money to pay 4 or 5 aritsts something like $15 a month?

Really, its porn, maybe $10 a month for a huge site, but somehow I dont think this trend will really stick together.

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 19:21:28 GMT

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

— Lt.-Col. John McCrae

For the Fallen
by Laurence Binyon

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres.
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

They mingle not with laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain,
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 09:02:56 GMT

HEhehe...

I typed this entry with an Apple Wireless Keyboard (the old white and clear plastic version*) paired to a Windows XP machine with a CSR BlueCore2 adapter.

Yay for Bluetooth!

I typed this sentence from the bathroom!**

* Design based on the Snow White Design Language.
** 40 feet away.

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 18:05:35 GMT

Bad day for eBay?

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Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:39:15 GMT

In lieu of a more detailed post I have to say RainFurrest went well and it was fun.

But, Ive been busy and stressed since then and haven't managed to post here about it.

Sorry y'all.

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:05:19 GMT

WTF is this in my whois results?

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   Learn more at http://www.NetworkSolutions.com/
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Tue, 02 Sep 2008 21:03:21 GMT

You would think a business would want to avoid pissing off its customers... apparently not Alvarion, I still get marketing email from them despite unsubscribing soo many times.

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:32:38 GMT

So, seattle.gov is so intent on promoting Mayor Nickels that I when I got to the City Light page, I have a real hard time guessing what link to follow to pay my bill... previously the link was right there, but has been displaced by some mayoral promotion spiel.

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:19:18 GMT

Update!

Im working for a bluetooth testing company that does consulting for Microsoft as well as working directly for Microsoft as a vendor (same staffing company).

Im now in charge of convention operations at RainFurrest I really hope alot of you come!

New photo sets on Flickr:
Active Fennec Fox Pics
Bellfurs furmeet 19th July 2008
SeaWorld California - 14 May 2008
Califur 2008
Disneyland - 19 May 2008

Sun, 04 May 2008 23:28:47 GMT

"In my personal opinion, I don't think these airplanes would make very good boats." -- Pilot talking about the Airbus A330.

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 02:41:46 GMT

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Mon, 31 Mar 2008 03:30:29 GMT

I was watching Fox News on Friday, when the Attorney General announced that using BitTorrent puts money into Osama Bin Ladens coffers, at which point, I shot the television with my Magnum revolver and went back to muttering about large reptiles.

Ok, it didn't happen exactly like that, but you get the picture.

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 01:30:53 GMT

So, the building manager has decided to increase the costs for the laundry in the building... now its $1.25 to do laundry in a room that rains often and has only partial service (two of the four dryers are broken, sometimes the washing machines dont work), up from $1... because of maintenance costs, water, electricity... by the way, the cost of the last two didint rise, but dropped.

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 03:38:46 GMT

17 NICs baby!

Brought to you by four NC3134 cards with the NC3135 expansion boards on them.

pictures on Flickr

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 09:18:27 GMT

So, I guess some smoking cessation medications put you in a David Lynch movie...

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 03:20:14 GMT

Some ranty before substantial stuff.

Copyright:

Its copyrighted by not to. And by the way, you trademark a slogan or somesuch, not copyright it.

Metro:

What the fuck? Cant we have busses on time these days? Can we even have the right kind of busses, like where the hell do you get the idea that a 40 foot metro bus is okay to use on a route that packs a 60 foot Sound Transit bus? Can we have our bus passes mailed to us on time, not a week after the 1st... get with the program.

Sat, 02 Feb 2008 04:46:49 GMT

There is something horribly ironic about my dinner: Bulgogi while watching M*A*S*H.

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 15:42:09 GMT

Off to FC, you can track our location here:

http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/find.cgi?call=ka7fox

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 13:48:53 GMT

Happy Christmas and Boxing Day everybody!