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300 Seconds Episode #118: “The year Two Thousand and Suck”

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You are listening to ‘300 Seconds with Eduardo Soliz,’ and this is episode number 118, “In the year two-thousand and suck,” so let the 300 Seconds begin!

It can be hard to believe sometimes, but we are now living in the Twenty-First Century. The Future, such as it is. Back on New Year’s Day of 2010, I thought back to all of those Nintendo and Super Nintendo video games that I played that took place “IN THE YEAR 20XX” and realized: Wow, we’re there now. In the novel 2001 A Space Odyssey, we were supposed to have a space station and a moon base. Here we are, twenty years after 2001, and while the International Space Station is neat, it’s no Space Station V. There is also no Clavius Base on the moon. Heck, we don’t even have a Moonbase Alpha.

My vision of how the future was going to play out was heavily influenced by all of the episodes of The Jetsons that I watched growing up as a kid and Isaac Asimov’s stories and novels, so it would be an understatement to say that I have been sorely disappointed in what I have seen in the first fifth of the twenty-first century so far. Let’s be honest, the future just isn’t what it used to be.

To begin with, technology as a whole has not advanced as far as it could have, and one could argue that some things are moving in the wrong direction. Take cars, for example. Flying cars were a thing in The Jetsons, though George Jetson still had to contend with lousy traffic, because despite what Star Trek preaches, lots of people are still going to suck one hundred years from now. I’m not even a fan of the concept of a flying car, because what goes up will eventually come down, and given the number of poorly maintained vehicles I regularly see on the road, I’m pretty sure we’re going to have a lot of people ignoring the ‘Check Anti-Grav Soon’ light on their future-car dashboard. Honestly, though, I don’t even want flying cars, I think it would be enough for them to hover, just maybe a foot off the ground like a Star Wars land speeder. Hover-cars would solve a lot of problems. No need for tires, less wear and tear on the roads, or maybe, as Doc Brown once said, we won’t need roads.

I think robots are neat, and one thing that The Jetsons gave us to look forward to was having a robot maid to clean up the house. Given that at this point in time, we barely have a robot vacuum cleaner, I don’t expect to have a robot maid clanking around my apartment keeping things clean anytime soon. I also think that Artificial Intelligence is also going to have a pretty hard time replicating the sassiness of Rosie the Robot. It’s going to be a while before we figure out ‘smart technology,’ and even longer before we can have “smart-aleck technology.”

While science fiction made a lot of educated guesses as to what kind of technology we would have in the future, I don’t think anyone predicted the emergence of the Internet to say nothing of having access to it via a hand-held computer. Isaac Asimov wrote several stories about a giant computer called MultiVac that literally contained all the information about the world. I have a friend who refers to their cell phone as their “Mother Box,” which is probably the best description of a cell phone that I think I’ve ever heard, so maybe Jack Kirby was onto something. Unfortunately, it is a great irony that unlimited access to unlimited information has collectively made people dumber. This is partially thanks to social media, because no matter how terrible, out there, or insane the belief is, there will be a bunch of people with similar views online. I’m just saying Flat Earthers should not be a thing in the 21st century.

One particularly awful trend that I have noticed in this year of twenty-twenty-one is the slow deterioration of the written and spoken English language. Maybe it’s because of all the science fiction that I have read and watched over the years, but I was kinda hoping that we’d be using cool future words by now. Going back to Asimov, he had his characters say things like “Aw, space!” in situations where one would expect to swear. The Battlestar Galactica reboot famously used frak as it’s and one of my favorite future comics, Magnus, Robot Fighter would have characters say things like “I’m feeling sore down to the subatomic level.” I always thought future-talk was neat and have adopted a similar tactic to cut down on the amount of salty language coming from me, though my preferred exclamations are “Craters!” and “Shazbot!”

People are inherently lazy, so I understand using acronyms on-line. LOL, AFK, WTF, STFU and so on. My personal favorite is IANAL, which stands for I Am Not A Lawyer. I still remember the first time I heard someone actually say LOL out loud in a conversation: The person, whom up to that point I thought was otherwise intelligent said “LAWL!” When I heard that, I wanted to smack the taste out of their mouth. Seriously, what the hell? Is laughing so difficult for you that you have to abbreviate it instead of actually laughing?!

On the plus side, a common trope in near-future science fiction is that marijuana is legal, and that seems to be slowly happening, so hooray, I guess. It also might explain a few things…

This has been 300 Seconds with Eduardo Soliz, the next episode will be posted after I start writing a story about a tomorrow where nothing freaking changes, just to be different. For more wonderfully weird, witty and mostly grammatically correct words written by me, visit Eduardo Soliz dot com and I thank you for listening! Be good, take care, and God Bless.

300 Seconds, Eduardo Soliz, JUST SAYING, Podcasting, PODCASTS, RANDOMIZER9.COM, SAN JAPAN, TECH, TECH SUPPORT, WORDS, WORK

300 Seconds Episode #117: “Radio”

NOTE: This is a transcript of a podcast for those with hearing difficulties, those that prefer to read, and those who would prefer to not hear the sound of my voice. 😉

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You are listening to ‘300 Seconds with Eduardo Soliz,’ and this is episode number 117, “Radio,” so let the 300 Seconds begin!

I consider myself blessed to be a part of Generation X. I was born in the analog days of the seventies, grew up during the early digital age of the eighties, when video games and home computers were new, and saw the internet grow up in the 1990s from clunky beige PCs dialing up over phone lines to now being an indispensable part of modern life in the twenty-first century as we carry around our cell phones wherever we go.

Despite all the new super-awesome whiz-bang music technology that has come and gone over the years from cassette tapes to Walkmans to CDs to MP3 players to streaming services, I still have a soft spot for radio.

Back in the day, radio was where you went to hear the newest music. If there was a particular song you really liked, you could use a tape recorder to catch it the next time it came on. Hopefully you were there to press Record and hopefully the dee-jay didn’t blab over the beginning or the end of the song too much and hopefully your tape didn’t get chewed up by the player. Ah, good times.

My mother had a radio in the kitchen when I was a kid. I remember sitting nearby in the mornings watching her cooking breakfast while music played. Years later, when I eventually bought a house, I also bought a radio for the kitchen.

My first car back in 1990 had a tape player that ended up being less than reliable so I spent my first years of college listening to local radio stations during my twenty-mile commute to school and back. I particularly liked the oldies station; I remember listening to the morning DJs reading the local school lunch menus during my commute, peppering them with corny jokes and funny sound effects. The radio in my car eventually quit working to the point where it would only pick up the AM dial and even then, there was only one country station that the thing would pick up reliably. I don’t care much for country music, but they did play Paul Harvey in the afternoons during my drive home, so I got to hear a lot of Paul Harvey. Good day.

It wasn’t until 2005 that I got a car with a CD player in it, so radio was my driving companion for a number of years, and over those years, I have noticed a few changes. Like everything else in life, some of those changes have been good and others have been not so good.

One trend that I liked was when stations started popping up that didn’t have DJs. Jack-FM in San Antonio was the first one that I heard, and I’m pretty sure there is one in your neck of the woods, whether it’s called Jack or John or Bob or Sue or whatever one-syllable name they happen to give to it. As much as I enjoyed the two guys on the oldies station back in the nineties, way too many DJs fill the airwaves with annoying blather that could be filled with music instead. Yeah, I’ll switch over to the AM dial if I want to hear mindless yakking. But, if there is one thing that AM radio is still good for, it’s sports. I have spent many a Sunday listening to the Dallas Cowboys play on my drive home, and I have to say that listening to them suck is only slightly less painful than watching them suck on television.

Even though I have a USB drive loaded with my favorite radio hits of the 70s and 80s plugged into my vehicle, I still listen to radio for music on occasion, though it has become a bit harder as of late, and of course, commercials are to blame.

I get it. Complaining about the number of commercials on the radio is like complaining about the weather: You can’t do a whole lot about it so there really isn’t much point. But, just like the weather, radio is getting worse: You see, in order to play more commercials, you have to play less of something else, and kind of like how network TV shows became shorter over the years, radio stations have been trimming songs to make room for more commercials. I mainly listen to stations that play of 80s and 90s music that I heard growing up, so when something is taken out of a song, I immediately notice. Usually it’s something like a guitar solo, but I was legitimately upset the first time I heard Michael Jackson’s Thriller with the Vincent Price voiceover cut out. Whomever made that decision needs to be fired…preferably from a cannon. Radio, somebody still loves you, but we need to talk.

This has been 300 Seconds with Eduardo Soliz, the next episode will be posted after I sign up for Pandora. For more wonderfully weird and witty words written by me, visit Eduardo Soliz dot com, and I thank you for listening! Be good, take care and God Bless.

300 Seconds, Eduardo Soliz, JUST SAYING, Podcasting, PODCASTS, RANDOMIZER9.COM, SAN JAPAN, TECH, TECH SUPPORT, WORDS, WORK

300 Seconds Episode #116: “What’s In My Name?”

NOTE: This is a transcript of a podcast for those with hearing difficulties, those that prefer to read, and those who would prefer to not hear the sound of my voice. 😉

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You are listening to ‘300 Seconds with Eduardo Soliz,’ and this is episode number 116, “What’s in My Name?” so let the 300 seconds begin!

It says something that even my name makes my life a little bit trickier than it has to be. Growing up, I went by “Edward” instead of “Eduardo.” If you’re wondering why, let’s just say that in my parent’s time, having a Spanish name wasn’t always an asset. In any event, I went by Edward when I was in grade school and high school and even put it on my first driver’s license. Once I finished high school and started college I stopped going by Edward. My thinking was that Eduardo was the name that my parents gave me and so that was going to be the name I used from there on out. Surprisingly enough, I didn’t get any grief from the folks at the Department of Transportation when I asked to have it changed on my first driver’s license renewal.

I’ve gone by Eduardo ever since then, so family members and people that knew me in my younger years tend to call me Edward, and everybody that has met me since college and beyond will use “Eduardo.” And because people are lazy, lots of people will just shorten it to “Ed.”

And that’s okay. I am perfectly fine with “Ed.” A funny thing happens when I tell people my name; they tend to ask what I want to go by. “Should I call you ‘Eduardo’ or ‘Ed?’” they ask. I usually tell folks that are obviously, shall we say, “ethnically challenged” to use “Ed” because Spanish is sometimes hard. Also, most folks are eventually going to chop it down to “Ed,” anyway. I will sometimes make the mistake giving people a choice, I’ll tell them: “Whichever one is easier for you to pronounce.” That often results in a blank stare. You know that look that your dog gives you when you throw a ball but instead you really kept it in your hand and they figure it out? That’s the kind of look that I get. Just flip a coin or something, people, it’s not that hard. I had one manager who would completely screw it up when he took attendance at our daily meetings. I figured that he was either super-ethnically challenged or he was an idiot. We quickly found out that not only was he an idiot, but he was the living, walking embodiment of the Peter Principle. Look it up.

When I had a job that involved talking on the phones, I quickly learned that using the proper pronunciation of ‘Eduardo’ would end up turning into a way-too-long discussion about my name. If I answered the phone like this: “Thank you for calling, my name is Eduardo, how may I help you?” the customer would usually answer with a question like: “What’s your name? How do you spell that? Can you repeat that?” and my personal favorite: “Are you in the United States?” and so on and so on. I quickly learned that if I wanted to avoid that business, I had to gringo up the pronunciation by saying ‘Ed-whar-doe’ and dying just a little bit on the inside.

The spelling of “Eduardo” is another fun thing that I have to live with. Whenever I’m asked to give my name at a restaurant, I always tell them ‘Edward’ because I don’t feel like teaching the cashier how to spell “Eduardo.” Now, if I don’t give them the spelling of Eduardo and I use it, there’s probably a fifty-fifty chance they’re going to put a w in place of the u. Which is no biggie, I’ve learned to live with it, and it’s actually really close. My all-time favorite spelling goof had to be when the people at the San Japan anime convention substituted a ‘y’ in place of the ‘u’ in their schedule. To this day, “Edyardo” still cracks me up and I do have a few friends who like to rib me about it every so often.

The pronounciation of Eduardo is also a little bit tricky and my Spanish admittedly isn’t the best, I will occasionally trip over the R. I had a co-worker once tell me that ‘the R shouldn’t be rolled because it wasn’t proper Spanish.’ I responded by telling him that it was my name and I was gonna pronounce it however I damn well pleased. I mean come on, we’re all about mangling and messing up languages here in the good ol’ US of A…after all, look at what we did to English!

This has been 300 Seconds with Eduardo Soliz, the next episode will be posted after I practice rolling my R’s like Ricardo Montalban. Thank you for listening and visit eduardosoliz.com for more of my wonderfully weird and witty words. Be good, take care, and God Bless.

300 Seconds, ANIME, CONS, CREATIVE, Eduardo Soliz, Fiesta Equestria, FURRY, Furry 101, FURRY FIESTA, JUST SAYING, PANELS, Podcasting, PODCASTS, RANDOMIZER9.COM, SAN JAPAN, WORDS

300 Seconds Episode #113: “2020 The Year in Me-View”

NOTE: This is a transcript of a podcast for those with hearing difficulties, those that prefer to read, and those who would prefer to not hear the sound of my voice. 😉

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You are listening to ‘300 Seconds with Eduardo Soliz,’ and this is episode number one hundred and thirteen: “Twenty-twenty, the Year in Me-view” so let the 300 Seconds begin!

A quick note before I begin: It is almost nine o’clock as I record this, so you will likely hear my neighbors getting an early jump on the festivities. I was tempted to wait until tomorrow to record this, but it just didn’t feel right. And now, on with the show.

What can I say? It’s been a crazy year, and like all y’all, I can split up the fifteen months of 2020 into before and after the coronavirus upended life as we know it…or rather, knew it, because as the last day of this year comes to a close, we are still a long way from being back to anything even approaching normal.

When 2020 began, life was pretty good; I had just started a new job two days before Christmas, and I was back to living in my own place after staying with the family for a bit while I got my job situation worked out.

And now, hours before the year is over, I have just started a new job two weeks before Christmas and I’m back to living with family after living on my own for a bit while I get my job situation worked out.

That said, life is still pretty good.

I started off the year with a new job at a night school, and except for the weirdo night school schedule, it was a pretty nice gig. In fact, for the first time in my career, I had an actual office with a door and everything, which was pretty doggone sweet. The end of February bought with it Furry Fiesta which, as always, was a load of fun, and indeed, would be the last big fun thing I would do before the pandemic hit.

Of course, March bought with it the big shut down. I did the work from home thing for a while until the Powers That Be figured out that, one: there were too many remote techs for the small amount of work to do, and two, things weren’t going back to normal anytime soon. Thus, I was laid off from my job at the end of April and suddenly found myself with way too much time on my hands, as the old song goes.

In an effort to stave off cabin fever by giving myself something to do, I started reading one of Aesop’s fables every day from a book that I had back in May. I have managed to do a pretty good job of keeping up with it and I’ll be finished with the book sometime in mid-February. In June, I had another one of those doctor visits. Those of you who are a bit on the heavier side will know what I mean when I say that. I had made some progress with my weight loss; I was down a bit from my heaviest weight, which was good, but I still had work to do, so in July, I decided to finally get serious about losing weight.

Thinking back, starting a weight loss plan at that point in time was perfect: I couldn’t go out to eat as often and, being out of work, I had lots of extra time to develop good habits like keeping track of my eating, measuring out portions, and of course, exercising. When it’s all said and done, I should be down more or less about thirty pounds on the year, partially depending on how much awful eating I do at home today. I have my next checkup in January, and I’m actually looking forward to it.

Speaking of home, I had a decision to make as the end of my apartment lease at the end of September came closer and closer. I had been searching, but job prospects were pretty dismal. Since being laid off in April, I had only been called for two virtual job interviews. Thus, I decided to move back in with family, just like I had done in 2019.

I did land a two-month contract job in September which turned into a longer contract. Godwilling, will take me beyond the end of this coronavirus mess. Until then, I have a job, a roof over my head, family, and faith that things will get better in the new year, and you know what? That’s pretty good.

This has been 300 Seconds, the next episode will be posted after I burn my calendar. I am Eduardo Soliz, if you’d like to hear more wonderfully witty words that I’ve written, subscribe via your favorite podcast app and visit Eduardo Soliz dot com for more. Thank you for listening. Be Good, Take Care, God Bless and here’s to a better 2021!

300 Seconds, ANIME, CONS, CREATIVE, Eduardo Soliz, Fiesta Equestria, FURRY, Furry 101, FURRY FIESTA, JUST SAYING, PANELS, Podcasting, PODCASTS, RANDOMIZER9.COM, SAN JAPAN, WORDS

300 Seconds Episode #112: “A Furry Thing Happened on the Way to the Convention”

NOTE: This is a transcript of a podcast for those with hearing difficulties, those that prefer to read, and those who would prefer to not hear the sound of my voice. 😉

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You are listening to ‘300 Seconds with Eduardo Soliz,’ and this is episode number one hundred and 112, “A Furry Thing Happened on the Way to the Convention,” so let the 300 Seconds begin!

For the last eight years and change, I have been a member of the furry community. I have gone to furry conventions, written furry stories, published furry story collections, given furry presentations, taken lots of pictures of fursuiters, and made many new furry friends. While my furry experience has been wonderful so far, like so many things in my life, it sometimes gets a little weird. Okay, make that weirdER…

While not my first furry convention; Furry Fiesta 2013 was significant for me, because unlike the previous year, which was my first furcon, I now had a number of friends that were also going also to be there. Just like everything else in life, having friends around makes conventions a lot more fun.

One evening during the convention, I went with some friends to eat at a restaurant. The food was good, the company was pleasant, and we all enjoyed a nice meal. While waiting to receive our checks, the manager approached our table and asked us how everything was. We let her know that we were happy with the food and service. She noticed that some of us were wearing our convention badges, so she asked if we were in town for a convention. We answered that yes, we were, but nobody had an answer for the obvious follow-up question:

“What kind of convention is it?”

Everybody at the table, including myself, instantly froze up. I have never before, in my entire life, seen seven grown adults go totally deer-in-headlights. Everybody looked back and forth at each other, expecting somebody else to say something. Finally, after about ten seconds of awkward silence, somebody said: “It’s an ART convention!” That answer immediately snapped everybody out of their daze and the rest of the evening went on as expected.

For what it’s worth, I came up with a five-word explanation of furry that tends to satisfy most folk’s curiosity, and those five words are: “Nerds who like cartoon animals.”

For the last few years, I have presented educational panels at various conventions in Texas including RealmsCon, Comicpalooza, Fiesta Equestria, and San Japan. I’ve talked about publishing e-books, recording audio, and of course, furries, in a panel called Furry 101. The point of Furry 101 is to give outsiders the low-down on what furries are all about. In the interest of full disclosure, I do also include some of the weird stuff, but since the panel is for an all-ages audience, I can’t go too far.

A few years ago at San Japan, I was presenting Furry 101 to an audience of about two hundred people, my largest audience ever. As I’m doing so, I’m looking over my audience, making sure that I have their attention and looking to see that I don’t have too many people walking out. One person that stuck out was a gentleman that looked to be a bit older. Not super-old, mind you, but in an anime convention, if you’re over 40, you’re going to stick out a little bit. I figured he was there with his child. Much to my delight, he looked to be engaged in the presentation, but the expression on his face became, shall we say, less happy once I got to the weird stuff. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t that weird, but the presentation slide that mentions adult art certainly got his attention. I felt terrible after the fact, thinking: “Oh my God. I have totally ruined furry for his kid. They’re going to be locked away in their home forever and never be allowed to associate with those ‘animal people weirdos’ ever again.”

Fast forward a few months. Come to my surprise, I bumped into the gentleman and his child at Furry Fiesta. If I remember correctly, his name was Kevin. He thanked me for the presentation, much to my relief. I’ve spoken with a few more parents after Furry 101 since then and have even come across a few folks that have joined the fandom after attending my panel. Granted, the panel is not supposed to be a recruiting tool, but if folks want to join the club after the fact, who am I to argue?

This has been 300 Seconds, the next episode will be posted after I insert more subliminal messages into my Furry 101 panel slides. I am Eduardo Soliz, if you’d like to hear more 300 seconds subscribe via your favorite podcast app and check out my website at Eduardo Soliz dot com. Thank you for listening! Be good, take care, and God bless.

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51 Things I Noticed at San Japan XI

San Japan is probably my favorite convention, bar none, and this year was great! As always, I noticed a few things…

BEFORE – I’m guessing “Magical Universe” means there will be a lot more Sailor Moon crossplayers.
#17 Yay?
They’re going to have to try pretty hard to top Okashicon for: “Con with the most pinks and pastels” prize.
Between this and Furry Fiesta 2019’s ‘Roll Fur Initiative” theme, I’m not feeling a lot of love.
As a nerd who’s old enough to have owned an Atari 2600, I’m not exactly the target audience, so yeah.
I’m getting a new fursuit and this will be my first time wearing it. It’s just the thing for MID-90 DEGREE WEATHER.
In addition to the usual con prep, I’m also looking for a new job and getting my house ready to be put on sale the Tuesday after. No rest for the weary! >.<
I guess I can’t awkwardly refer to San Japan as a ‘Comic-Con’ anymore to normies for fear of being sued by SDCC.
Staying at the nearby Tru by Hilton, which apparently is a more modern hotel, which means it annoys me somewhat.
Thing I forgot (again): Aftershave.
Chili’s seems to have become our San Japan Thursday dinner go-to.
Looks like my fursuit won’t be ready for the show. Given the temperature outside and my lack of experience, it’s likely just as well.
Had a funny moment with a friend when I had to remind him that he wasn’t working on Labor Day the following Monday.
Dave: “You can have ambience or you can have a butt-load of arcade games.” I’m glad he went with Door #2.
Maybe they should change the name to ‘Sign Japan.’
I find the lack of security on Thursday nights to be just a little concerning.
FRIDAY – Nothing like waking up early to go feed the meter; a small price to pay for cheap parking!
I was happy with my badge art until I saw the volunteer badges have the same art and now I’m less happy.
#14 The signage was YUUGE!
Yay escalators!
Yay, I forgot about the escalators and took the scenic route down to Artist Alley!
Furst World Problems: I quit wearing my ears because the hairband kept digging into my head.
I got a haircut the other day so there is less hair to cushion it now.
The uneven lanes the Artist Alley are just a little weird.
No panels to run on Friday: HOW DO I HAVE FUN?
Retro Game Museum might be better off being called “Pong Museum.”
Might need to put together a video game history panel, made better because I WAS THERE FOR MOST OF IT.
The arcade was cool, though the sound on the music games wasn’t always loud enough.
You know the competition between the three(!) Chinese joints at Rivercenter Mall is crazy when someone tries to hand you a sample WHILE YOU’RE IN LINE FOR THE PLACE NEXT DOOR.
SATURDAY – I didn’t have enough change to feed the meter for the whole day, so I decided to live dangerously.
Old hotness: Annoying music over Bluetooth speaker. New hotness: Watching anime subs on your phone with the volume turned up
Sign of the times: Sriracha at the breakfast buffet
Thanks for the retweet, Dave. Be nice if your Twitter account wasn’t protected, but such is life.
I had an unfortunate situation with the light switches before Furry 101…maybe not for me, but the dance contest people next door likely hate me now.
Very happy with the turnout and participation at Furry 101 this year, thanks for the help, San Antonio furries!
I always have to buy a paleta from the vendor in front of the Henry B…BECAUSE REASONS
It never ceases to amaze me how easy it is to lose fursuiters at an anime con!
There seem to be more people wearing ears and tails this year, hmm.
Chili’s again for supper. I’m okay with that.
SUNDAY – Good trend: Vendors playing 80s music
I’m still having difficulty finding cool stickers for my my laptop, though I did buy a chibi Bender.
I’m pretty much forced to stay all day thanks to having a panel scheduled at 530 PM.
Decision time: Carry my laptop around all day or return to my car to get it at 500 PM. I went with door #1
Luckily, there is less me to carry around this time so it wasn’t a big problem.
Dunno if anyone is going to be at “How to Panel,” but the show must go on.
#39 Bite my shiny chibi ass!

Maybe I’ll use the setup time to take a nap.
Mental note: Add a “Finish on time and clear the room” slide to the presentation because the group before me didn’t.
Yay, people showed up…including one person with REALLY weird questions. Sometimes you get ‘that guy’ at a panel, and he definitely was THAT GUY.
Overall, the panel went well. I learned some stuff and made notes to add stuff to the presentation to make the next one even better!
I took one of those Lime-S rental scooters back to the car, it was pretty cool!
I was relieved to not find a citation on the my vehicle when I returned to it.
I really can’t find anything major that went wrong this year, it’s gonna be a boring post-game Con Talk episode.
San Japan XII: Sports?! Finally, a theme I can get behind!

Con Talk, CONS, FURRY, Furry 101, How to Publish an E-Book, PANELS, Podcasting, PODCASTS, SAN JAPAN, Videogames

67 Things I Noticed During San Japan X

#13 It’s YUUUGE!

The tenth San Japan came and went like a lion. I had three panels to do and my compatriot WolfBoy had furry things to do. As always, I noticed a few things…

BEFORE-Okay San Japan people, I’ll do a third panel I’ve never done before and have to prepare in three days because you asked so nicely. Just spell my name right in the schedule this time, mmmkay?
Time to retire my 2009 iMac from recording duties, it derped out on me when recording the pre-game podcast and ate some audio >.<
I asked a friend if he was going to San Japan and he said he was more of an ‘indie rock’ guy versus ‘arena rock’ so I had to try to convince him that San Japan wasn’t just another ‘autograph-con’
Holy cats, did we get salty during the pre-game podcast.
I’ll be wearing my smartwatch for the first time since I got laid off because I HAVE IMPORTANT ANIME CON THINGS TO DO.
I also won’t be wearing my rings. I’ve lost enough weight to where they’re starting to slip off my fingers now; a good problem to have.
PROTIP: You can read the Chili’s lunch special menu through the window if you want to be weird
Walking through the mall, WolfBoy and I decided to stop and take a seat…in front of the Victoria’s Secret. YEAH, NOT CREEPY AT ALL
It says something that I can get 12 Streetpasses in my hotel room on Thursday night
I finally remembered my Nintendo 3DS this time!
As I get the presentation together for the third panel, I’m really looking forward to putting it on!
Seems folks are taking a bit longer than usual to get set up, either that or were just really early
I asked for a bigger panel room and I got it…boy, did I get it 0_0
THURSDAY NIGHT-530pm No Japanese arcade machines set up. WolfBoy: “WORST CON EVAR!”
1000pm Initial D cabinet set up. WolfBoy: “BEST CON EVAR!”
Idiots asking “Is San Japan not happening because of Hurricane Harvey or gas shortages?” should be charged double for their badges.
Concerning: Nobody was watching the entrances Thursday night
Also concerning: The way too wide open aisles behind the artists with nothing to keep people from walking down them. Hope there aren’t any thefts.
At the risk of sounding like a shill, Verizon service has been pretty awesomesauce. A little slow at times, but ‘slow’ is better than ‘none.’
#17 Maybe too much space, guys?
FRIDAY-First the signs weren’t big enough, and now they aren’t spelled right. This is why Dave is already grey, people!
Charger box things at the Henry B are almost a good idea, the flaw is that most folks can’t bear to be away from their phones
Dear Guidebook: If I only have one event downloaded PLEASE OPEN THE FREAKING EVENT WHEN I LAUNCH THE APP, K?
Also: TOO MANY SCHEDULE FILTER OPTIONS
Artist friends: Don’t just say “I’m in artist alley, find me.” There are over 100 artists. I NEED DETAILS!
Sure, WolfBoy, it’s only 90 degrees outside and you’re wearing a partial fursuit with a dark business suit LETS GO
Always adorable to see little girls taking pictures with Wonder Woman cosplayers
Not sure why, but they kicked up the difficulty on the Time Pilot game in the game room. I spent longer than usual getting the high score.
Got inadvertently put to work in Registration directing traffic for ten minutes. JUST WHEN I THOUGHT I WAS OUT THEY PULL ME BACK IN
Almost lost my badge before Furry 101, yipes!
As I saw people walk away from the convention center for dinner, I had a feeling attendance was going to be down for Furry 101.
Dear former coworker: If I didn’t want to talk to you at work, what makes you think I’m going to want to talk to you outside of work?
I apparently can’t give a panel if I can’t read my presentation, the rear projection screens at Furry 101 completely threw me off >.<
Just as well, I don’t like presenting while standing over people on a stage.
We had 150-200 people at the panel, I guess that justifies the biggest room at the con. 😛
Annoying thing: People that use Q&A time to make dumb jokes. Get a life.
#58 Batteries not required!
REALLY annoying thing: People that try to answer questions during the Q&A part of my panel. GET YOUR OWN PANEL
The A/V guy was very complimentary after Furry 101, though. Thanks man!
The only time I get a ton of steps is at cons and after 20,000 today, my dogs were barking.
By ‘dogs’ I mean feet, not like actual dogs or furry costumed dogs.
SATURDAY-When you’re up at 6am on Saturday morning, you’re up, what can I say
If you aren’t willing to make your own waffle at the hotel breakfast, YOU DON’T WANT IT BAD ENOUGH.
There is another event happening at the Henry B, which answers the question of why there was a higher-than usual number of older Mexican women around downtown San Antonio in the morning.
Weirdest thing I’ve heard so far: “Dad, doesn’t she have nice boobs?”
There seem to be quite a few empty tables even in the Dealer’s room; an effect of Harvey, perhaps?
The number of people donating blood is pretty awesome
Peeked in on the panel that took my spot from the beta schedule and they had just as many people as I had the night before…maybe less.
To be fair, they’re a major sponsor and I’m just a guy with a microphone, an attitude, and weird friends.
I kinda want a Steven Universe T-shirt (think I got a little resemblance to Steven there) but I kinda don’t want to pay thirt bucks for one
To the harpy working A/V before my audio panel: If you don’t want attitude thrown back at you, don’t fire first. I’ve done tech support too, but I treated my people and customers with respect until they gave me a reason not to.
“Really Basic Auido Recording” was easily the worst panel I’ve done in a while; next time I’ll just say no…or hold another ‘hide Dave for an hour podcast’ panel.
That said, the few people that did hang around had really good questions!
Bad idea: Dragging a boom mic (and it’s heavy base) to the panel. I think I’ll use a Rock Band mic next time to make a point.
Heard an ambulance and thought ‘Oh boy, it’s a party now,’ but it didn’t stop at the con
SUNDAY-Other artist booths : Out to lunch Friend’s booth: Out Fursuiting
#19 Someone needs to be fyred
To the people playing Bee Gees and Michael Jackson on their Bluetooth speakers: THANK YOU FOR PLAYING GOOD MUSIC
That said, can we just ban those damn things from cons already?
Had to defend my honor by retaking the top spot on the Time Pilot game (see #26). I doubled the score that had topped mine. BEAT THAT, AAA!
Parking lot guy: “Twenty bucks”
Me: “Pass”
“Ten bucks!”
“Pass.”
I parked at the city lot across from the Hyatt for $11 so NEENER NEENER PARKING LOT GUY
Old hotness: Mind-reading robot cat ears
New hotness: Ballcaps with words
Thing to remember for next year: Fursuit straws!
I think I’m finally over being weirded out by crossplay…mostly.
Funniest question of the weekend: “Are you a Mawg?”
E-book panel went awesomely; lots of people with good questions and I had JUST enough handouts!
Two out of three good panels ain’t bad!
Highly disappointed in the other ‘How to publish books’ panel; I spent 25 minutes hearing the guest blab on about herself and walked out. I think I had a bigger audience, too.
I’m going to be that old guy (because I am) and mention that too many products and displays in Artist Alley/Dealer Room had swear words on them. There seemed to be less nudity than in years past, though
AFTER- Might be time to retire my digital camera, too many ‘ghost spots’ >.<
Step count: Thursday 19627, Friday 20797, Saturday 23268, Sunday 14284 I swear cons are the only place I get a lot of exercise, I should go to more!

ANIME, Con Talk, CONS, Eduardo Soliz, FURRY, Podcasting, PODCASTS, SAN JAPAN

62 Things I Noticed at San Japan 009

San Japan (totally not Cyborg) 009 happened last weekend. Amidst the new venue and new date, I noticed some things. If I took your picture (I was the dude with bear ears, see below) you can find it here!

#16: You are…somewhere?

THURSDAY NIGHT – Went in the old entrance of the Gonzalez Convention Center out of habit…oops
New space is YUUUGE
My fursuiter friends are already complaining about all the walking they’re going to be doing over the weekend.
Artist alley is HUMONGOUS
Dealer’s room is INSANE
They ARE going to turn on the escalators in the Dealer’s room, right?
Autograph area setup looks like what I see set up at comic-cons, hmm
Located in the back corner, milk and eggs and all that
If Labor Day does take a bite out of attendance, we’ll really see it on Friday, IMO
Me gusta bigger panel room for Furry 101! About fuzzing time!
The halls remind me of PAX South Year 1 but with the lights on
Seriously, the HBG felt like a cavern back then with all the lights turned down
Spiffy new booths for registration, ooh
~~Badges are less nice this year, a little more papery. Hope they hold up.~~ Compared them to last year’s badges after the fact and they’re the same.
Press badges get the same art as volunteer ones? BOO!
The YUUUGE maps were just a bit confusing.
Didn’t help that they put teensy ‘You Are Here’ stickers that were near-impossible to find. Maybe some gold stars or Pokeball stickers next time, guys?
FRIDAY-This is my free day: No panels and my freaks aren’t showing up until late in the afternoon
Arrived at 11 and easily found parking at the Houston street lot, wonder if that’s a sign
Random person also walking to San Japan asked if the tin of Altoids rattling in my pocket were dice. OH HELL NO
#28: Overestimate much?
Walked into the Henry B. via the main entrance this time. Is niiice!
Finally found someone pickier than Alvin Von Devious to try and help with their fursuit. Came close to (metaphorically) flipping the table.
Customer service tip: Just answer my question without the lame jokes, please.
So who gets to be the under/sideboob/cheek checker?
Escalators in the dealer’s room are shut off, no bueno.
One dealer’s display had ALL THE BOOBS.
But that’s okay because they’re just cartoons…right?
“History of Anime in the US” got the biggest panel room and about 50 people showed up. Yes, I counted.
Good panel, but come on, I had that many the first time I did Furry 101 three years ago at RealmsCon.
Do they even check to see how many people actually show up at panels? Seriously.
I kept waiting to hear one word at History of Anime but it never turned up: “Japanimation” That’s what we called it in the 80’s, kids!
Friend and I did our good deed for the day getting a friend out of a jam.
It took me a half hour but I had to claim the top spot on the Time Pilot game in the game room. EDS is on top where it belongs. *flex*
Somehow I got pegged as the guy ‘running’ the furry meetup and some folks freaked when I showed up late. THAT’S NOT HOW THIS WORKS, GUYS
SATURDAY-Easy parking on Houston St again, which has me slightly worried
Saw displays made out of free Priority Mail boxes in the dealer’s room. Classy.
#26: Under….side…ALL THE BOOBS
Only the first 100 people get an autograph? Interesting.
“It is up to the artist whether 101+ get an autograph” There has to be a better way to say that without making the artist look like a complete tool.
The Taito Groove Coaster video game calls the Space Invaders alien a ‘crab’ IT’S AN ALIEN GUYS
I keep thinking ‘Spock ears’ whenever I see pointy ears
An anime con is one of the few places where you can lose a fursuiter
Need to mark the lanes in Artist Alley, which one is ‘Row 5’ again?
Arrived too late to the Bitforce concert to take advantage of my press badge, pbbt
Wonder if they had technical problems; we could see the lead guitarist was shredding his fingers off but could barely hear him. Otherwise, good show!
Except for the game room, the air conditioning seems to be holding up well.
Good thing too, because I was soaking after the occasional three-block walk to my car.
The paleta man is back, woo!
#47: Hello, old friend!
Nearly filled up our medium-sized panel room for Furry 101, w00t.
45 minute time limit threw me off, though, may have to reorganize things for next time.
I only have two cosplays (Professor Utonium and Soos). I didn’t wear either, and saw the perfect people to take pictures with (The Powerpuff Girls and Giffany)! ARGH
18+ maid cafe was fun!
Tipsy elevator normies were…interesting.
Tipsy normie asked: “WHY YOU WEARING MOUSE EARS?” I’m not going to debate with someone holding a drink in public, they won’t remember anyway.
SUNDAY-Less parking at the lot, but still no problem finding a spot; be interesting to see the attendance this year (It was down 12%)
Been seeing a lot of ‘robot guts’ shirts around, guess they’re a hit.
Hey panel door guy, the door opens when I say so, capisce?
Noticed a lot of Judy Hopps cosplayers, bunny ears, Nick Wildes, and even an Assistant Mayor Bellweather. YAY ZOOTOPIA!
Overwatch was also popular. I don’t even play the game, but for my friends it’s always HIIIGH NOOOON.
Left early because the show just isn’t as fun without my friends!
Mizuumi-Con is now “Otaku Fair” That’s good.
Otaku Fair decided to not make any further announcements about their new event at THE BIGGEST EVENT IN THE CITY FOR POTENTIAL ATTENDEES. That’s not good.
Observation: Labor Day weekend works great for older folks like myself. For the youngn’s, though, not so much.

ANIME, Apple, CONS, Eduardo Soliz, FURRY, SAN JAPAN

64 Things I Noticed During San Japan 8-Bit

#10: Where am I, now?

Another year, another San Japan! I presented two panels and took lots of cosplayer pictures!

BEFORE THE SHOW-Went to a bronycon to practice ‘Furry 101’ for San Japan and now I’m going to do a ‘live podcast’ there. YOU OWE ME HENKIN
Bought a 30-pack of Vitamin-C fizzy-drink packets for this and future cons, be interesting to see how long they last
Looking forward to using my iPad mini during my panels, no more lugging around my laptop!
Thing I hope to not see but probably will: people scalping Maid Café tickets.
So there’s a ‘blue moon’ Friday night when I’m doing a panel with WolfBoy. GREAAAT
I spend more time worrying about what I’m going to wear to a convention than to my job
100+ plus forecast means no black shirts, thank you
Decided to lend my driveway to some friends for the weekend…who didn’t park in the driveway /facepalm
Sorry, 7-11, but Valero has God’s Coke Machine
Nice giant maps, just missing a “You are here” sticker
Did AA get smaller? (answer: no)
Did the Dealers room get…taller? (answer: mmmaybe)
I’m getting a little bit of that ‘where’s the anime’ vibe from some of the vendors in the Dealers room
Looks like the Grand Hyatt has become the ‘No Fun Zone’
Got my ears fixed all professional-like, yay!
S. David Ramirez’s cut in half business cards = GENIUS
FRIDAY -Friend: “I don’t like waking up early on my day off.” You wanted a ride, so deal with it, Frumpasarus Rex
I bought him donuts so all was forgiven
Stupid Windows Phone Guidebook app being derpy. Need to get an iPhone
I keep wanting to go in the wrong way of the Dealers Den >.<
Taco Bell at the Rivercenter Mall? REALLY?
Room 002? I thought it was 202 WHARRGARBL
These artist displays are getting to the point where you have to struggle to find the ARTIST now.
Dave gave me a panel that no one would show up to so he could hide for an hour.
That’s okay because DAVE-SENPAI NOTICED ME
You know it was a long day when your electronics start to give out, iPad and phone both ran out of juice.
Hit over 10,000 steps today according to my 3DS, think that’s the highest I’ve ever done in a day.
Which means I need to get more exercise >.<
Internets on my Cricket/AT&T phone are flaky as all heck, might need to get a new provider when I decide to pull the trigger on that iPhone.
SATURDAY-Got up at oh dark thirty to get a parking spot >.<
I can’t help but notice the little things that are wrong with some of the retro-styled merch
Yay for wide aisles!
Popular cosplay: Steven Universe
Two BayMaxes got quite a bit of attention
One does not simply talk to a table-top player mid game. Fist-bump and move on.
Person in car at crosswalk: “What is this?” Me: “Comic Con” I FAILED YOU DAVE-SENPAI
AA was blocked off for a while, Fire Marshals, maybe??
Perhaps they should have ran the line INTO the convention center instead of the atrium. Fursuiter friends were not happy
Yay for Stephanie and her full panel room!
Picked up an ocarina on a whim. *insert drummer joke here*
If the maid café ain’t all its cracked up to be, I want a refund…from Chris
‘Perfect spot’ right in the sunlight THANKS CHRIS
Going to add the Pokémon theme to my list of songs anime nerds sing on command
Maid café was a nice change of pace, a pleasant way to spend an hour in what is often a overwhelmingly manic event
Unlimited samples of Coke? DON’T MIND IF I DO
Dear mock combat people: Please figure out how big your arena is going to be ahead of time instead of telling people to move back multiple times
Between the wristband policy and lack of chill spaces, I’m thinking the Hyatt doesn’t like San Japan attendees
SUNDAY-Forgot to take my C this morning, hope I don’t regret it.
No selfies for me, dumb cheap no front camera-having phone XP
I see San Japan charges the ‘fat tax’ for larger shirt sizes
Screaming JUST DO IT has become a thing. Greaaat
I’d rather yell OHHHHH with Mordecai and Rigby
I’m starting to think Bluetooth speakers are one of mankind’s worst inventions. I DEMAND A BAN.
Unless breakdancing is involved, then we’re cool.
Full house for Furry 101, w00t
#55 Full house!
I’ll get a Lightning->VGA adapter because ‘cons don’t have the latest equipment’ I come in and see a projector with an HDMI cable CRAP
Found a cable but iPad no likey YOU HAD ONE JOB, iPad!
Ended up using the silly thing as a clock. A FUZZING CLOCK
Thank God AJ showed up with his laptop
Joel did a bang-up job as my co-presenter, added some humor to the proceedings
Guess I’ll always be the Dean Martin to someone else’s Jerry Lewis
The half-hour length of my presentation used to bother me, but it leaves time for questions and pictures!
Hit the road after the panel, another great time!
It’s Cyborg 009, guys! Whole world of difference!

ANIME, CONS, SAN JAPAN

23 Things I Noticed at mini-minicon 2015

San Japan (San Antonio’s biggest anime con) and Nine-Tails (San Antonio anime store run by some cool peoples) put on a small event at Wonderland of the Americas Mall last Saturday, so here we go!

#12 – Bad wolf-dog-person thing!!

I was involved in mini-cons before they were cool…just sayin’
Attendance at the last mini-con was just over 100, so how is this mini-mini?
Compared to San Japan’s 14K+ attendance last year, I guess just over 1,000 is mini (I’ll stop talking about that now)
My panel, “Furry 101,” was scheduled against the cosplay show, hopefully it won’t impact attendance too much.
I often joke about how Wonderland of the Americas Mall is deader than disco except for when nerd events happen, but this one was particularly packed.
I kept seeing people with ice cream cones and I WANTED ONE SO BAD
Didn’t help that the mall was quite warm, I was sweating about as much asmy fursuiting friends were.
Between my panel and my fursuiting friends, I had plenty of logistical things to work out.
Remembered to bring my 3DS to the to harvest those sweet, sweet puzzle pieces, and left it in the car >.<
Despite that, it picked up 10 passes anyway.
I’m not a fursuiter, but it even irks me when people ‘break the magic.’ Come on, guys!
I told Alvin Von Derpious he would end up scaring some kid and it finally happened…WAY TO GO, DUDE
Nine-Tails looked like Club 54 with the line outside.
Hearing the “Teen Titans Go” theme being played live by BitForce was pretty cool!
Left in the car #2: my bear ears. So much for my ‘furry cred.’
Twelve people were there for the beginning of my “Furry 101” panel, so I guess being scheduled opposite the cosplay show had an effect. :I
The panel was recorded this time! Thanks, Furball!
It went well, my constant swinging back and forth notwithstanding.
I was also talking with my hands and doing a sing-song voice…blame it on my genes 😉
A few more people walked in during the panel, had an okay crowd of about half-filled with furries. 😀
Dunno If they announced the panels over the PA beforehand, but it would have been nice.
Overall, it was a fun event, plenty to see, do, buy, and friends to catch up with!
How is it nobody registered miniminicon.com beforehand??

Eduardo Soliz

IT Guy, short story author, podcaster, and furry!

Category Archives: SAN JAPAN

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62 Things I Noticed at San Japan 009

64 Things I Noticed During San Japan 8-Bit

23 Things I Noticed at mini-minicon 2015