WaltOHara | 13 Nov 2018 5:07 p.m. PST |
flic.kr/p/2a6pPPq Hello, all. It being that time of year, it's high time I post a travelogue of my recent Fall-In adventure. Here you are: link Walt O'Hara |
Grumble87106 | 13 Nov 2018 6:46 p.m. PST |
Thanks for the write-up, Walt. Glad to see you back in the saddle at the Events desk. |
Mr Elmo | 13 Nov 2018 8:56 p.m. PST |
A few years ago, I fondly remember driving to BWI in a near blizzard wondering if my flight was canceled. Ah, Fall In! |
clifblkskull | 13 Nov 2018 10:00 p.m. PST |
Nice write up Walt Thanks Clif |
holien | 14 Nov 2018 4:28 a.m. PST |
As ever Walt a nice fair write up and let's hope the Host is improved for CW, after seeing it at HCon I did not think it could get worse. If you are mobility challenged the Host is an absolute mare as described by so many. I think the outside catering team are the same ones that run the coffee shop next to the Tru Hilton and I was really impressed with them at HCon, decent healthy food which makes a change from a lot of the chain offerings in America. |
peterx | 14 Nov 2018 5:55 a.m. PST |
Yup! Good write up, Walt! We enjoyed playing your Mad Maximillian game very much. Thanks for GMing that! |
Tom Reed | 14 Nov 2018 9:08 a.m. PST |
Thanks for the write up and pictures Walt. |
Grumble87106 | 14 Nov 2018 11:54 a.m. PST |
Walt, here's what I really want to know: Are you having tur-duck-en for Thanksgiving? |
DeRuyter | 14 Nov 2018 3:02 p.m. PST |
Excellent write up Walt! My thoughts exactly. My guess for CW there will be more unfinished construction! For Hcon – who cares we are going elsewhere. I did see the plans for the Host and if they ever get it finished it might compete with the new hotels around. Frankly though I think many places would have shut down with this much construction. Attempting to stay open with these conditions is an invitation to litigation. |
95th Division | 15 Nov 2018 7:13 a.m. PST |
"A ucken of triumph and frustration". I love it! Well put. |
WaltOHara | 15 Nov 2018 7:53 a.m. PST |
Thanks. Thanksgiving being next week, it seemed a fitting analogy for a multilayered challenge. |
epturner | 18 Nov 2018 6:07 p.m. PST |
hehehehe You said "Turducken"…. Missed you there Uncle Walt. Saw Otto and some other Daisyiacs. Eric |
vonLoudon | 19 Nov 2018 2:59 p.m. PST |
I am picturing the Host crashing into the deck of the Titanic as Godzilla opens up his jaws to swallow both. Is that what you mean? |
47Ronin | 24 Nov 2018 2:45 p.m. PST |
Nice report, Walt. Thanks for sharing. |
Colonel Bill | 28 Nov 2018 7:36 a.m. PST |
I have a slightly different take. The Host is improving, and IF the owners follow through on their original plans the old gal could become an excellent venu. However, like Walt, it does seem to be taking an awful long time, with a lack of planning and sense of direction evident. I also didn't get the sense of urgency I saw a convention back. However I did enjoy myself and will continue to do so even if the place stays the same. Why? Well, I think I have a personal perspective different than most. While in the Army, in subfreezing weather if I had a sleeping bag and warm, green eggs from a mermite can, it was penthouse living in Vegas. Further, since retiring I have beaten cancer, beaten sepsis twice, had spinal stenosis repaired and in April had open heart surgery to get a new heart valve (made of cow; I tend to moo and chew cud a lot now). Soooooo, what's important in life to me is a lot different than what it used to be. I want to enjoy it while I can because the moment I think "it can NOT possibly get any worse," someone upstairs responds "hold my beer." I do agree with Walt on the Coffee Company and I thought attendance light for the very same reasons he did. However, Dan Murawski indicated as many as 1700 attended which would be pretty average. For the reasons why there seems to be a disconnect, read my Wargamer Online (not a blog, they pay me) article at link . And I still think the new carpet is hideous. Ciao, Colonel Bill |
47Ronin | 28 Nov 2018 12:10 p.m. PST |
Love the "hold my beer" line, Col. Bill. There's been a lot of that going around HMGS lately. Hope to see you at Cold Wars. |
historygamer | 28 Nov 2018 12:37 p.m. PST |
I don't think there is a question of whether the Host is renovating, I think the questions are where will that be by March, and will the final results benefit HMGS? On the first part, I am skeptical, but hopeful. On the second part, it seems at least some of the dealers have reached the conclusion that the final redone hall won't work for them. If so, that might just kill any renovated Host from consideration. I hope not, but we'll see. |
TheKing30 | 28 Nov 2018 3:09 p.m. PST |
Soooooo, what's important in life to me is a lot different than what it used to be. I want to enjoy it while I can because the moment I think "it can NOT possibly get any worse," someone upstairs responds "hold my beer." Now that is funny. I remember when my brother had a pacemaker. They announced on TV that there was a recall on certain pacemakers. While he was visiting Florida, he got a call that his pacemaker was on the recalled list and he needed to come back immediately. His response to me was…. I knew it. He lived through three open heart surgeries, 16 stents, an amputated leg and finally he succumbed to Spesis. Never made it to 45. |
Bowman | 29 Nov 2018 5:59 a.m. PST |
If so, that might just kill any renovated Host from consideration. I hope not, but we'll see. Yep, it looks like the HMGS is playing it by ear for Cold Wars '20. Probably seeing what Cold Wars '19 brings. |
vicmagpa1 | 29 Nov 2018 1:22 p.m. PST |
Thank you for the write up. attendance has been an issuse. whether it is lack of advertising. greying of the hobbies. or failure to grow te hobby is an important question. The facility does not help either. too many complaints even for new commers. will see what they have fixed by March. |
Colonel Bill | 01 Dec 2018 6:47 a.m. PST |
King30, This is no My cow valve comes with a written guarantee and the health firm that produces even sent me a warranty card. Ciao, Colonel Bill |
TheKing30 | 01 Dec 2018 7:21 a.m. PST |
King30,This is no Bleeped text My cow valve comes with a written guarantee and the health firm that produces even sent me a warranty card. Ciao, Colonel Bill Wow!!! That's just downright funny!! My brother had three valves replaced with pig valves. Darn – but he never got a warranty card! |
capncarp | 01 Dec 2018 11:38 p.m. PST |
TheKing30: "Wow!!! That's just downright funny!! My brother had three valves replaced with pig valves. Darn – but he never got a warranty card!" Ya think your brother bought a pig in a poke? Aorta sue to get his money back! |
TheKing30 | 02 Dec 2018 4:54 a.m. PST |
Ya think your brother bought a pig in a poke? Aorta sue to get his money back! Cute :-). Hehehehehe |
robert piepenbrink | 09 Dec 2018 8:03 p.m. PST |
Carpet is indeed surpassingly ugly. And I agree that the Host should slowly come back. It's just discouraging how much has been disrupted at any one time, and how little it seems to bother the management. They'd have done much better to under-promise than to keep assuring us this or that feature would be ready for the next convention. As for the dealers, I think the bad layout is us and not the Host, and I can think of a couple of vendors I'd be happy to replace--ideally with someone dealing in historical miniatures, or who waits on customers instead of talking to friends. It would be nice if we could get both. |
vonLoudon | 10 Dec 2018 9:43 p.m. PST |
We moved to the Host for the space after the Penn Harris. I enjoyed many conventions there and it was a bit like coming home in a sense. I don't know how the youngsters feel but as an Old F I am feeling the money drain as cons get more expensive as do some of the hotels. If they fixed it up to your expectations at a somewhat reasonable price tag, do you still want to go there? Right now some of the past problems and the ageing of the place take off some of the shine, if there was any left. Now we could be back to expensive moves or bickering about I live north or I live south. There may not ever be a place that met our needs when we needed it as much as the Host did. I think we were lucky to be there. It would be nice to find another place that gave us almost as much space as we used there without breaking the family piggy bank. So I'm a little bit sad and a little happy. I'm sure some of us will pine for the good old days. But I am also seeing a surge in gaming including tons of board games and new shops here and about not to mention a bunch of more local conventions springing up. A lot of new blood. Let's pass on what we can to those coming up. They will making the big changes in a few years. We certainly have had a nice run in HMGS in my humble opinion. I have to say that you gentlemen and ladies who hang out here and at HMGS cons have put a lot of fun into my life for forty some years of working for the man. It was a great relief to have somewhere special to go and relax and sometimes be a kid again. It was certainly worth it for me to game and for my wife when she was able to come to the Lancaster shopping mecca. Good times. |
PJ ONeill | 11 Dec 2018 7:26 a.m. PST |
+1 vonL, Myself and my friends have had many good times there, but life goes on, and things change. |