Fernando chooses furries over G20
Well, Recherei, figure that the estimate of 3,000 people for the Economic Summit is low. Assume it is exactly the size of Anthrocon's attendance, 3776.
Basically, every last one of the desired attendees (government officials and press) will be on an expense account. They won't pay for anything out of their own pockets. This gives them no incentive to eat inexpensively or quickly. Official meals will undoubtedly be catered. I wouldn't be surprised if the security people bring their own food to prevent the possibility of tainting by agitators. Value to small local businesses: negligible. Value to hotels near Convention Center and fancy eating establishments: high.
The undesired attendees (protesters) will be staying in the cheapest accommodations they can find: possibly crashing with friends/relatives/local supporters. Based on what I've seen in DC, not only will they not bring much money into the local economy, the extra police presence they require often offsets any financial pluses they might have. Since, far too often, encounters between the protesters and security people lead to destructive acts (if not full blown riots) this may cause businesses to be wrecked. Value to small local businesses: negligible again, and quite possibly negative. Value for hotels near the Convention Center and fancy eating establishments: zero and possibly negative.
Anthrocon attendees are individuals paying their own way, quite often having to scrounge to afford attending. They eat (generally) at fast-food places or mid-class restaurants. Some people do bring their own food, but they are a minority and even they do not usually bring enough for the entire convention. They stay in local hotels, if at reduced rates and maxed-out room attendance. No massive security hassles. No need for increased police presence. Value to hotels near the Convention Center and small local businesses: high. Value to fancy eating establishments: negligible.
So, to summarize a long-winded (appropriately economic) response: the governmental big shots will eat catered meals at their hotels, with the preparation being monitored closely by security staff. The security people will most likely have hotel-catered meals or buffets (preparation also monitored). Press will probably eat at upper-class restaurants on expense accounts.
I can't say for certain that Fernando is making the absolutely correct decision in closing for the Economic Summit... but I'd guess that he is.
I can't say for certain that Fernando is making the absolutely correct decision in closing for the Economic Summit... but I'd guess that he is.
Overall, I'm inclined to agree.
But wait! Depending on just how security blocks off the street, I suspect that Cory's will be within the inner cordon; and I can just see a certain american economic leader, while making the trip down from the William Penn, stopping in for some "comfort food" and a photo-op. I understand that the president happens to like things like Philly Cheese Steaks. It is a gamble, but it could turn out a short-term winner for Cory.
Besides - even TV cameramen like Cheese Steaks!
Don't 'Philly Cheese Steak' me, Vulpes! I was born and raised in Philadelphia! 
Humor aside, Cory's will probably be inside the security zone. This would both help him in that the President wouldn't have to go outside the controlled area. It would probably suck big time in that he and all of his employees would have to go through excessive security checks... and would have to contend with the protesters as well. All in all, he's probably better off to shut down and accept whatever financial losses he (and others like Fernando) will suffer during the conference... and hope that's the only loss.
I'm not surprised by Fernando's choice, he's taken a brick to the head for us! Heck I know a lot of places in Pittsburgh that'll choose us over G20, especially considering we bring in lots of revenue while being really friendly. Something that cannot be said about the protesters that G20 brings.
When it comes down to G20, I really hope Pittsburgh doesn't get too banged up from it. It's a great city and one I wouldn't mind living in, though just out of curiosity...does G20 keep moving or is it going to stay in Pittsburgh?
"Cory Robinson, owner of Cory’s Subs on 10th Street,. . . and . . . an NRA-certified firearm training instructor . . ." - - What are the odds he has already been visited several times by Treasury men?
'professed "furries"'? 
I didn't know we could do that! 
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Aw shucks - and I ain't even been to college! 
I think they are more concerned about the thousands of street protesters that follow these Econ Conferences around the world. I doubt Fernando is worried about two F-Chan guys in fright wigs when we're in town.
-----------------------------------------------
David M Stein, DI
"Not Unlike the Toaster, I Control the Darkness"
-- Abby Normal, "You Suck"
4-chan. Or /b/. 4-chan is a bad thing. F-chan is, depending on your point of view, a good thing.
And methinks this be a Freudian slip :>
-The two saddest words in the English language are "Good bye"
considering what they did to the scientologists, that could be debatable, but Im not gonna go into that.
seriously though, I think he should be allowed a 2 hour lunch break during every day of the con to come visit us. Either he closes down the con, or it should be printed in the conbook as an agreement for people to avoid eating there during that time, ya know, just to give him an opportuntity to come and rejoice in teh furryness
I think he means that he closes down the restaurant, or at least leaves himself to come visit the con.
--Fandom Track Lead
Mike
Not bad!
I've said it before and I'll say it again, Fernando rules.
... Has he been given an all-access pass to AC 2010 yet?
Knowing the hours it takes to open a restaurant each day and close it each evening, I doubt he could ever use it.
He's already got one. Trouble is, he works so hard that he rarely has time to come over and hang out with us.
I forgot to try out one of those lasagna wraps again this year. I'll have to make sure to do it next year.
-The two saddest words in the English language are "Good bye"
Oooo. That sounds good. I will have to try one of those.
Well I keep hearing that they're so great, but I keep forgetting about them during the course of the convention.
-The two saddest words in the English language are "Good bye"
Best. Pizza. Evar.
Well, maybe not ever, but definitely best pizza and a drink for five bucks. ;-D
Certainly I can't be the only one to see the irony that an economic summit will be causing many businesses to close during that time and causing an economic loss for those businesses and the city. Now if only we could get those world leaders to wear tails...
"Furries are everywhere, furries are everybody."--Me
xD Perhaps we need to save our country by holding our very own furry Coup?
Careful! Some slow-witted meat-eater may gitcha!
Oh well. But, on the bright side, AC'09 was the first furry con that I've ever been to. And it was completely unplanned. Out of the blue, on the Monday or Tuesday prior to that fateful weekend, I decided to call an old friend who I lost contact with. And I got invited! 
What's nice is that I just had fun being Hello Kitty (once as a princess and the other as a nurse). I originally had the costumes for my Mistress who really loves Hello Kitty. While one gown didn't work out I at least had plan B: Extra costumes!
In any case my friend and another roommate hooked up and it was just simply a blast catching up on good times, bad times and just getting the lowdown of what's really goin' on out there. Awesome people.
The only downside to the Hello Kitty costume was that her head was way too big and didn't offer much in the way of my view of the outside world. Apart from my Creator's pharmacy exams, tons of overtime where He works (five-months straight of 12-hour days...guaranteed to cause one's life to grind to a temporary halt...and for the last month it's only let up) plus attempting to get a handle on housework, crafting and litigation (long story, fortunately I'm not the one being litigated against) finally I have a small handle on things. It's not much of a handle but it's mine and I have a firm grip.
I especially thank Jovina and Steffi for putting up with me for a weekend. Thank you all for making it all a fun and very on-the-level convention! And a huge Hello Kitty hug to Uncle Kage for taking the blame for it all! LOL!
--RB-HK
P.S. I really need to update my profile pic. I haven't got through my photos yet (I spend way too much time researchin'n'ritin' via OpenOffice.org than PhotoPaint). Plus I also have to add the Creative Commons licensing to the stuff. Besides I recovered some January 2009 evidence photos for one of my side projects which were thought to be forever lost and deleted from an SD card! So it's been redundant backups, archiving, redundant file storing, writing, illustrating, etc. for me for the last couple of hours.
I'm very happy! :-)
I just find it kidna cool that Obama, and other politically or economcilaly important peopel will ocupy the same rooms and walk the same halls that thefursuiters and other furries had been in, and better yet, that an economic peice relatign to local buisness and the G20 convention mentions furries, I knew we were getting into main stream, but damn.....
A news report said Obama chose Pittsburgh because it's been doing better economically than other cities. Anthrocon probably had something to do with that.
Kinda figures that President Tom'll take credit for others' hard work. But what do I know about Pittsburgh besides working there? After all Pittsburgh has the Steelers and the Penguins. But I'm not one for professional sports either...
Choosing Pittsburgh as the backdrop for an economic conference, which came and went in the blink of an eye, hardly amounts to stealing credit for others' hard work. Pittsburgh has done something, albeit at a socially wrenching cost, that many other industrial cities - and for that matter, many other countries - ought to attempt to do. Most folks learn in High School about the perils of "one crop" economies, particularly such places as Central American Banana Republics or Coffee-dependent oligarchies; one bad year for the crop, or sudden drop in demand, or somebody somewhere else figuring out how to supply the market at a cheaper price, and a country - or a whole region - faces economic disaster.
That is what Pittsburgh endured, and pulled itself from; it is what Detroit is still enduring (and only just), and what Las Vegas is sinking into.
Pittsburgh has worked hard for its recent revival. It did its best to be an attractive site to employers and tourists (I understand that the reason that AnthroCon first came to Pittsburgh was that they invited us, and their tourism and hospitality board went out of its way to schmooze the AnthroCon Board; true, we needed a new venue, but they did their best to be "Top Candidate"), and - frankly, it DOES happen to be an exciting and Interesting City, with a certain take-no-guff, "can-do" spirit.
Where Else in America would you pick for such a meeting of world economic ministers and heads-of-state?
Heck - if he had chosen Seattle, say, or San Francisco he would probably get some sort of blame for that, as well - and probably a LOT more vocal and potentially violent demonstrators.
Don't get me wrong. How Pittsburgh transformed itself from a traditional steeltown is a success story in and of itself. And certainly the wins of the professional sports teams here is a benefit as well. And it's nice to have a so-called "leader" who is fluent in English after that eight-year intellectual drought.
I harbor no illusions. I still feel there's quite a way to go. Maybe because I've seen the darker side of human nature that masquerades as people lending "help", "help" which nearly killed my Creator. Or how I've had to pull myself from the bootstraps to do what I enjoy today. Or, to be as blunt as possible, witnessing corruption itself in a myriad of forms that I literally had to fight against by myself. I've had the honor to meeting many people who I now consider genuine friends who are by far more trustworthy than these so-called "leaders". And I've met people who also turned out not to be who they claimed to be or to represent.
Having taken the independent route many times over I certainly have no use for leaders. I am no ones' disciple. And whether it's a Cretin from Crawford or a President Tom I'd rather give credit where credit is due by the people who actually carry out their own jobs and livelihood. They're the millions of anonymous people who work behind the scenes who make life better for all of us yet don't get the credit they deserve (cue an Alabama song here about those who work a 40-hour week for a living).
So maybe I have a sappy populist view of it all. But I'll never trade my integrity and my need to question authority for the sake of "patriotism" or any other religion of the state. Let the leaders suffer their delusions of grandeur as corporate criminals (the Bush the Lesser Administration and its lackeys, for example) remain unpunished out of political expediency.
But there is something about G20 on my mind. To the "anarchists" in black: YOU SUCK! These people aren't an aberration. My Creator spotted them causing the ruckus in Washington DC as he was protesting the inauguration of Bush The Lesser in January 2001 (conspicuously, no Democratic politician was there to lend the peaceful protesters who filled the streets that day any support or praise whatsoever...not even that coward Al Gore). Plus, to add insult to that injustice, I had the foresight to set the timers on my VCRs at home to record CNN and FoxNews. And from all of those hours of footage, it was as if the protests never occurred. I witnessed a media blackout at home which led to my reduced faith in the mainstream media. But at least my Creator had his digital camera to take as many snapshots as possible of that fateful day.
But I just wonder: Who were those people in black? Legitimate protesters don't have a need to hide their faces or to provoke violent alterations. While I my disagree with what they may sometimes say I feel that anyone with a bitch has the right to bitch. Say what you gotta say and let's evaluate just the facts like Joe Friday. Those "anarchists" aren't anarchists: They're terrorists. Their job is to cause drama and carnage for the sake of the the mainstream media to broadcast to the brainwashed masses. It's a violent form of mudslinging by infiltrators who wish to make the protests illegitimate by any means necessary.
In the case of January 2001 the mainstream media couldn't afford of showing the streets of DC filled with law-abiding citizens against Bush. The pageantry trumped the substance. But no one has to worry about G20, though. You have the teabagging conspiracy theorists within FoxNews and its brain dead masses to provide that (I'm partial to "The Nation" magazine myself).
The truth? You aren't going to get it from your leaders or from the mainstream simply because it's to entertain and keep the illusion that "all is well" alive. Sometimes you have to go out there into the fray and discover it yourself. And with the millions of couch potatoes out there no one cares much to stir from that cathode ray (now HDTV LCD)-induced slumber to get outraged. Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only person paying attention without the need of a television in my life.
At least I'll have some by far highly entertaining and vastly uneducated teabaggers to kick around. They are the salt of the earth. The creme de'la'creme. And oh if only these teabaggers knew what "teabagging" really was.
But, for what it's worth, AnthroCon and its leadership has by far more credibility than these leaders of the corporate state. I'd trust them over a duplicitous suit any day of the week. They're closer to the on-the-ground reality than these people in their ivory towers. And they seem to have by far more fun over the serious matter of running a business.
Furry world leaders? Now that'll be something that a jaded cynic, such as myself, would find hopeful.
Ok. I'll get off the soapbox now for the pink team.
--RB-HK
Why don't we just ask him if it would be ok to help him run his shop during a period in the con so he could get at least a few hours off to come check us all out? I mean there have got to be a few cooks in the Furry ranks.
>Posted by The Playwright (The Playwright) on Tue, 2009-08-18 20:01
>Best. Pizza. Evar.
>Well, maybe not ever, but definitely best pizza and a drink for five bucks. ;-D
Are you kidding?! It was my first time out to AC '09, and 'Fur'-Uhm, 'Fernando's' has the best personal pizza I had in a very long time. I'll put it over the major pizza joints any day.
The poor fools at the G-20 meet don't know what they are missing....
About 12 miles from my Creator's house is J&S Pizza. While Fernando's pizza and hoagies were delish sometimes you just have to have some killer slices from a pizzeria owned and operated by a real Sicilian family with a passion for food (mangia!) Their strombolis are to die for! And their fully-loaded 16-cut square pizza is a meal unto itself.
I'd like to do some research on some of Pittsburgh's Thai and Indian cuisine during next year's event. In fact I've been re-reading the food guide for some pointers.
--RB-HK
Imagine having to run AC three times a year...!
I'm sure most of the staff would rather not, if they're even capable of conceiving it.
Oh, they can conceive of it. The thought just sets most of the board and significant parts of the staff to twitching, and it's hard to type a response when your hand keeps jumping.
didn't realize it was a link:
http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2009/08/17/story2.html?b=1250481600^1935881
So where will everyone attending eat anyway?