on Jul 10 05 18:25, Robert Bull wrote to Kay Shapero:

 RB> Hmmm.  Sounds like a combination of chairperson and childminder...

And lion tamer. :)  Confused the heck out of the chairman of a couple of
cons I worked - he couldn't figure out where in the heck I fit into the
table of organization.  (He also couldn't delegate to save himself. 
Sigh...)  Finally someone asked him exactly which part of the engine the
oil belongs to and he seems to have caught on - or at least figured it was
time to stop asking.  The really funny thing about it all is I make a point
of not only paying for a membership each year, but going for a Patron
membership which gives you a lot of extra bennies (along with helping keep
the con in the black.)  Any time I want to I can quit... and gleefully
continue enjoying the convention, eating in the staff lounge, etc... :->
 One of those jobs that you keep inventing as you go along.  I like them -
keeps me from getting bored.

 KS>> wander about the convention looking for bugs and reporting them to
 KS>> whoever can deal with them.  The sort of thing most of the committee
 KS>> hasn't TIME to do.

 RB> If they aren't dealing with glitches, what do they do?  (you can tell 
 RB> I've never been to a con.)

Oh they deal with glitches - sometimes I'm reminded of JMS' description of
directing - tapdancing while they throw chainsaws at you.  But they usually
don't have the time to go bughunting in odd corners.  If someone fails to
relieve a gofer at the door to the gaming room or the head of the Art Show
forgets to eat (or sleep) for 24 hours I'm the one most likely to catch it
first - and inform Con Ops of the former, or order the latter to go rectify
the situation.  This is WHY you have an assistant...

Oh yes, and Saturday afternoon in the dealer's room, I've been known to
pass through with a pitcher of icewater and a stack of paper cups,
especially if the air conditioning has failed to keep up with the task at
hand (which it usually does).  This is something anybody can do provided
they remember to pour the water into the cup in the middle of the aisle so
it's well AWAY from the tables in case anything spills. 


 KS>> So's Monkey.  (chuckle).  Kwan Yin means to send scriptures of

 KS>> the book to tell us all about one of them (Monkey; who is quite a

 RB> Is this Hanuman?

I'm not sure, but I would not be at all surprised.  Sure acts like him. :)

 KS>> character in more senses than one), the second to follow the journey.
 KS>> Very Buddhist.  The book's a classic, though this is the first time

 RB> Does this have an "author" under whose name one would look it up?

I'll have to go see where my copy wandered off to after I finished it and
I'll let you know.  However, "Journey to the West" is the usual
title and shouldn't be that hard to find.

 RB> I'm surprised a three-way cooperation went that well.  I don't 
 RB> remember the 
 RB> baby vatch having silver eyes - my turn to say the book's upstairs  
 RB> ;-)  
 RB> and ISTR it only appeared in the last paragraph or so.

I checked, it did.  And you're right.

I think part of it may have been that the whole thing was done more or less
in public, with a chapter at a time posted in Baen's Bar for the Barflies
to make interested comments.  Turning the whole thing into a game more or
less and keeping up the energy.  I don't know the details - I knew it was
in the works but wanted to wait for the final cut before reading it.

Bye!

--- Msged 6.0.1