To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>
From: "Keith F. Lynch" <kfl at KeithLynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Philcon
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:21:43 -0500 (EST)
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>

I enjoyed the con.  I think most people there did, except the dealers,
who complained that few people were spending any money.

I found some interesting and unusual things on the freebie table,
including a 138-year-old issue of Harper's magazine.

In the con suite, I was munching on some broccoli, when the con suite
lady snatched the bowl out from under my hand and dumped it in the
trash.  When I objected that I was obviously reaching for some to eat,
she said it would make me sick, as it had been out for two hours.  I
had already eaten a fair amount, but I unaccountably failed to become
ill.  At home, to save money, I unplugged my refrigerator decades
ago, and routinely eat broccoli and other vegetables and fruits that
have been at room temperature for days.  I'm perfectly capable of
determining whether food has spoiled.  And my loss due to spoilage is
less than the cost of electricity to keep the refrigerator running,
even if I were to assume that nothing refrigerated would ever spoil.

I intended to preregister at the con for next year, but on discovering
that the rates had gone up by sixteen percent -- this at the height of
the worst economy since the 1930s -- decided not to.  Even this year,
attendance was way down.  As Mike mentioned, there were only about 400
paid members.  Philcon survived the 1930s, but if the committee can't
find a way to cut costs, or even hold them constant, it may not
survive the current economic situation.

The only WSFAns I saw were Cathy Green, Sam Lubell, Evan Phillips,
Mark Roth, George Shaner, Michael Taylor, and Michael Walsh.  Mark
Roth drove me to the con, and Evan Phillips drove me back to the DC
area after the con.