Japanese Kitsune

by on April 13, 2018 at 12:01 am
Posted In: The Races of Humanity

The Shang attack that started The War dropped a piece of Yosemite Station on the Kitsune Lasertag League’s corporate headquarters. Many of the most prominent members of the organization died that day, but many others had been traveling on various business ventures. Some had been looking for new opportunities, while others had been competing in official games. The vast majority of those traveling combat teams volunteered for military service after the new President addressed the nation. Many did not work out. There’s a pretty big difference between the civilian and military mindsets, and many simply cannot make the switch. But many of those former Kitsune Lasertag League operators flourished in their new calling. Killing the Shang.

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The Changing Olympics

by on April 12, 2018 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

The Chinese conquered most of East Asia in the mid-Twenty First Century, which resulted in a large number of refugees. The greatest number traveled to India, Australia, and America, where they built new homes and formed new communities. Some of them were athletes who were happy to compete under the flag of their new homes. Many wished to compete under the flags and anthems of their old homes though, and China would not allow that unless they returned to their conquered homes with their families. The Olympics had long practiced the act of only allowing athletes to represent official government organizations that were in good standing, while allowing those not representing such organizations the Olympic flag to compete under. Or forcing the Olympic flag on them as many Russian athletes had charged over the years. But the new paradigm forced the International Olympic Committee to finally agreed to allow athletes to choose what flag and anthem they would compete under. Subject to the unanimous veto of the committee of course. Athletes quickly chose to represent Free Tibet, Free Taiwan, New Japan, and numerous other nations swept aside by the march of history, as expected. But other athletes chose less expected organizations to represent.

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Dairycon

by on April 11, 2018 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

I had a lot of fun at Dairycon this weekend. I setup a couple X-Box 360s and had some games and cartoons available to play. Transformers the Movie, and the original TV show. Some Transformers themed games. Fun stuff like that. Lots of people stopped to relax and watch between bouts of going off in search of toys they wish they could afford when they were young. And I did some advertising for my little stories. I didn’t bring anything to sell, mind you, since I wasn’t an official vendor, and hadn’t even planned to keep my stuff up on Saturday. But it was a good setup on Friday, and the guy in charge liked it. So I asked if he wanted me to keep it up, and he said yes. Sometimes that’s just how things happen. It was fun to see the people enjoying the station. And that’s the whole reason we go to conventions. To have fun. So, mission accomplished. I’ll be back again, and so will my little station of fun. And maybe I’ll even dust off and polish up some of my old Transformers fan fiction and bring that too. 😉

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Japanese Kitsune

by on April 10, 2018 at 12:01 am
Posted In: The Races of Humanity

The Kitsune Sports Network aired numerous competitive sports to America and beyond. Many of them were quintessentially Japanese, and so completely beyond the understanding of other Americans. Their game shows are particularly confusing, for instance. But one KSN sport that has gained worldswide acclaim and fans is the Kitsune Lasertag League. Teams of well-drilled amateur and professional players fight simulated battles in real life arenas in their never-ending search for sponsors to fund their quest for better gear. Many of them become worldswide celebrities in their own right, and start businesses from firearms to clothing lines to perfume. It was one of the most popular sports in all the worlds before the Shang attacked.

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Dairycon

by on April 9, 2018 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

I went to Dairycon over the weekend. It is a nice little con with around a hundred or so people showing up to talk about, buy, and sell Transformers. The toys, not the power station thingies.

I brought a couple Xbox 360s, some Transformers cartoons, and some Transformers games. Left them running Friday and Saturday, and entertained a bunch of kids who got to play around while their parents went hunting for the toys they wish they could have found when they were kids. A good time was had by all.

The trip was marred a little bit by the hotel I was staying at. The Country Inn and Suites in Fond du Lac Wisconsin had three front desk operators who could not figure out how to charge a credit card. The first could not figure out how to authorize my business card, which had funds in it to cover my share of the hotel bill. The second attendant on Saturday managed to authorize the card, but then could not figure out how to charge it. The third attendant on Sunday first told me there was no authorization and never had been. When I showed him the proof in my bank account that there was one, including the reference number he could use to track it down, he said the bank had released the authorization, and that maybe I’d just overspent on the card, which is why they couldn’t authorize it.

I will note, for the record, that my “day” job is as a night auditor in the hotel industry. I work with credit card authorizations nearly every day of my life, and have done so for eighteen years. When a bank grants a hotel an authorization on a credit card, that is an iron clad guarantee from the bank that the funds are available. Period. End of line. The bank puts that amount of money in a little lock box labeled “their money” and the owner of the card cannot touch it. The card will decline if anyone else tries to draw it for any reason. The only way to get a bank to release the authorization if for the hotel in question to call them personally and request that the authorization be released. I have done this, so I know what I talk about. The hotel industry depends on authorizations be honored, which is why they are so iron clad.

I will note that the card worked all the way home, just fine, and when I got home and called my bank, they have the authorization on file. It is good until the 11th of this month, which is a standard authorization length for the stay I had scheduled. Authorizations typically are good for a matter of days to a week after the projected checkout schedule. That’s standard practice in the hotel industry, and it was not respected by my hotel in this case.

That is the service I got at Country Inn and Suites in Fond du Lac Wisconsin. I do not think I will return there in the future.

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