Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2008 19:30:59 -0500 (EST)
From: "Keith F. Lynch" <kfl at KeithLynch.net>
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] Datclave
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>

What, nobody has anything to say about Datclave?

It was nice seeing many of you again.

In addition to the con suite, there was a gaming room.  Well, two
gaming rooms, sort of -- there was a table in the gaming room's
closet.  People could sit on three sides of it.  Or on four sides
if two of the people were thin.

Many thanks to Sam Lubell, who gave me a ride there and back from his
place, and who gave me crash space when the person I had arranged
crash space with (not a WSFAn) failed to show up.  He also gave
Filthy Pierre a ride.  The only way Filthy could find to get there
was to take Amtrak and Metro from Newark to Rockville to catch a
ride with Sam.

I left my badge blank, since everyone there knew me, and I knew
everyone.

What's the official number of members?  From memory right now I can
list 37, including Kent Bloom and Mary Morman who came all the way
from Colorado, but I'm probably forgetting some.

After the con, it took me longer to get home on Metro than the *round
trip* from Rockville to Gettysburg.  At about 3:15 Sam dropped me off
at a store near where he lives.  I bought four bags of groceries and
entered the White Flint station.  After about a quarter hour, during
which there were frequent announcements about "minor delays" on the
line due to routine scheduled maintenance, a train showed up headed
in the correct direction.  I boarded it, intending to transfer to the
Orange Line at Metro Center.

It went out of service at Friendship Heights.  Everyone was chased
off, after which the train just sat there without moving in either
direction.  Everyone was told to catch the next train on the opposite
track.  We did so when it arrived after about another 15 minutes,
though it was very crowded.  It was going in the wrong direction,
back the way I came.  I got off at the next station, Bethesda, and,
along with many others, asked the guy in the kiosk how to get to Metro
Center.  He said to catch the next train heading in that direction.
I did so when it arrived after about 20 minutes.

It went out of service at Friendship Heights.  Once again, the train
just sat there blocking the track, and people were told to catch the
next train on the opposite track.  The station platform was very
crowded.  The sign said the next train would arrive in 18 minutes;
the destination was blank.  Rather than continuing to go in circles,
I exited the station and, along with many others, waited for the next
bus heading downtown.

A 36 bus arrived after about 20 minutes.  It was almost empty when it
arrived, but it was absolutely packed when it pulled out, leaving most
of the people waiting behind for the next bus.  I was able to board,
but had to stand.  In the crowding, two of my four bags got torn,
making them much harder to carry.  The bus slowly made its way
downtown, occasionally stopping to let someone off, which wasn't easy
with all the crowding.  People waiting to get on at each stop were not
allowed on due to the crowding, which got some of them quite upset; I
gather that they had been waiting for a long time and all the buses
had been too full to let them board.

Finally, the bus let us off at the 17th Street entrance to the
Farragut West station -- which was closed.  Fortunately, I was
familiar with that station and knew there was another entrance which
is open on weekends.  Some people followed my lead.  Others gave up
on Metro and called taxis.  It was an 18 minute wait for the next
westbound Orange Line train, but once it arrived it proceeded without
further incident.

There was also scheduled maintenance on the Orange Line, but
fortunately for me it was at the east end of the line.  Of course I
did have to pay two train fares and one bus fare, and spend over five
hours traveling less than 20 miles.

These "minor delays" are on almost every line on almost every weekend,
and frequently at mid-day on weekdays, too.  This weekend there was
scheduled maintenance on the Red, Orange, Green, and Blue lines.  Next
weekend?  As always, they won't deign to tell us until Thursday or
Friday, and might forget to update their website at all.  I think the
whole of Metro management should be sacked.

I will be at Balticon and Philcon, and possibly Gaylaxicon and
Ravencon.  I look forward to seeing many of you at those cons.
I will not be at Capclave this year or next.

I look forward to attending Ravencon III in 2036.  Perhaps by them
global warming will allow the outdoor pool to be open during the con.