oh I forgot to mention btw, I booked for next year's #Eastercon

Newsletter klaxon! I've just fired off my latest, featuring thoughts on #eastercon, my response to the Greek anthology drama, and wedding updates.
Read and subscribe: https://darthjuno.substack.com

and if you aren't ahead of the game <grin> you can still join us in Telford at the current rate, until the end of June 2023. The next rate rise will be on 1st July 2023. #eastercon https://eastercon2024.co.uk/

#eastercon #conversation2023 I don't know if anyone will find this on here but it is crazy long anyway but also therapeutic for me.

https://prospectiveculture.wordpress.com/2023/04/18/eastercon-2023-and-now-the-conversation-has-ended-er-not-quite-just-yet/

Any reporting on case numbers from Eastercons really should note that the Eastercon-going crowd has been talking about Covid precautions continously for three years, and are very likely to be discussing cases after every #eastercon and many other events just haven't built the habit of having those conversations and so stories about case numbers from other events will automatically seem less dramatic.
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Following the talk at #Eastercon I've been listening to the reading of The Lady and the Octopus by Daana Staaf.
It's a fascinating biography of Jeanne Villepreux-Power, investigator of the natural world and inventor of the aquarium. Although she called it the Power Cage, which is a much better name. 😀
If you like a bit of science history about early women scientists and octopuses, I enjoyed this one.

@johncoxon The #Eastercon (Worldcon, Novacon, Satellite, etc) community appear to be actually talking about policy; to my mind this makes Eastercon (Worldcon, Novacon, Satellite, etc) safer than other large communal events where these conversations simply aren't taking place.

It is interesting, I think, that all the posts I have seen on the #Eastercon hashtag on Mastodon since the end of the convention are critical of the COVID policy. Very much feels to me like, from the outside, the community is looking at us and thinking "what on Earth were they doing?” But it's only five posts, so maybe unrepresentative?

Alison, Liz, John and Alison are live from Conversation! We talk about the convention, in a rather more haphazard way than normal. Art by the amazing Sue Mason. Listen here! https://octothorpe.podbean.com/e/81-it-wasn-t-an-interjection-from-the-room-it-was-my-face/

#Podcast #ScienceFiction #Eastercon #Eastercon2023

70+ COVID cases at #Eastercon

The selfishness of people who refuse to wear a mask harms others.

@vivdunstan Anecdotal: #Eastercon seems to have had a lot more infections per member than #Airecon (about 6 infections, most of whom I ended up having played with, though I didn't get it). Poor ventilation, I suspect; Airecon was in big rooms, and last time I was at the SEC (the SECC in those days) it was cavernous, so that would be a point in its favour. But at least in England basically nobody is masking now (except me, it feels like). They listen to popular media rather than, say, epidemiologists…

Reading re many people catching #Covid seemingly at the recent #Eastercon is making me more doubtful my husband and I can go to #Worldcon in #Glasgow in 2024. I'm severely #immunosuppressed, huge risk for Covid. We've been #shielding for most of 3 years to protect me. Not caught yet. We'd wear #masks but if too many other people don't and are infectious the risk of us catching is too high. With my medical situation it could kill me. We are both paid up attending members (reduced Scottish rate).

More than 60 people have now reported on the #Eastercon Discord that they have Covid. Not everyone is on Discord. (I wasn't until I went to report in.)

I'm not really surprised, given the number of people I saw who weren't masked. I don't believe that many were genuinely unable to wear a mask. I'm not sure how much of that was magical thinking about "if I wear a mask that means it *isn't* all over", and how much "my mild discomfort in a mask is more important than other people's long Covid".

Lovely weekend at Eastercon. Got to do a reading (lots of silly voices!) and helped me self to free wine and cake, as is my way. #Eastercon #Eastercon2023

I fell out of the #WritingWonders habit during #eastercon last weekend. (I also generally play WIP cards pretty close to the chest, so this is a new process for me.) But I've really been appreciating the engagement and #writingcommunity so I'll do my best to keep up as I ease back into things :)

A modest #Eastercon book haul.

Toot toot, mf’s. Had a great weekend at Eastercon with some amazing people - really looking forward to diving into the next con at Satellite 8!

#Satellite8Glasgow #Eastercon #SFF

Thick red line across the lateral flow test. 😠

First symptoms last night at around 7 pm, so given reports on how rapidly the variant spreading at the con showed symptoms, that's almost certainly where I got it.

#eastercon #eastercon2023

After a great weekend at #Eastercon i unfortunately have gone down with Covid (and am not the only one apparently).

After a great weekend at #Eastercon i unfortunately have gone down with Covid (and am not the only one apparently).