The Frustrated Bunny

Technology. Science. Politics. Geek. Etc.

Conventions

Simplified overview Dragon*Con map

One of the things that the Dragon*Con Pocket Program has always lacked is a simplified overview of the entire convention site that shows where the hotels are in relation to each other, the surrounding streets, and the connecting skywalks. When the convention was only in two or three hotels, this wasn’t really necessary, but now that Dragon*Con is officially in FIVE hotels in downtown Atlanta, it can be pretty easy to get lost or forget where you are, especially if you’re a first-timer or if you haven’t slept much. While the Pocket Program does have an overview map, it’s hard...

Politics

S&P’s downgrade of U.S. credit rating in a nutshell

Standard & Poors (S&P), one of three agencies that rate the credit of national governments, downgraded the credit rating of the United States from the highest rating, AAA, to AA+ with a negative outlook. This is the first time in history that this has happened. The U.S. Treasury, upon examining S&P’s analysis that prompted the downgrade, claims that it has found a math error that indicates that the downgrade should not have occurred. S&P rebutted that mathematical calculations are not the only factor in the decision to downgrade. Sovereign credit ratings, also referred to as national credit ratings and bond...

Conventions

Surviving Convention Season: Part 5 — Etiquette

It’s been awhile since I’ve written a new installation of my convention survival series, and this topic is an important one. Every social situation has its own rules of etiquette. Some things are just basic manners and apply to nearly every social situation; other things are specific to being polite in crowds; other things still are specific to the convention environment. This post will primarily be divided up into those three parts, but the entirety of everything below can be summed up in two points: Do not neglect personal hygiene. Don’t be a dick. However, as I am well aware, the...

Georgia Tech / Personal / Random

Items for a happy dorm life: An incomplete list

About a month ago, a college-bound acquaintance asked me if I had any advice about things that would make living in a dorm a bit easier. I haven’t lived in a dorm since about 2005, but I have a pretty good recollection of some of the things that were either indispensable or that I wish I had and didn’t. Two things prompted me to post this list on my blog: 1) Tomorrow is the send-off party for new Georgia Tech freshmen from the DFW area. 2) Last weekend, I recovered my blog from my senior year of high school and...

Politics / Random

Governor Perry to organize “day of prayer and fasting” in conjunction with hate group

It’s rare that I title posts as sensationally as I have this one, but this particular story has been pushing my buttons since I woke up this morning. So consider this one of the times where I live up to the “frustrated” part of my blog title. Rick Perry, governor of Texas, has invited the governors of each state to join him at a “day of prayer and fasting” event called “The Response” that is being held in Houston, in partnership with the American Family Association, an organization that describes itself as “a Christian organization promoting the biblical ethic of...