Next year’s world science fiction convention is in Glasgow. This is a wonderful thing. I want to be there so much that I already have the t-shirt. So why am I not writing an ecstatic fannish post? Why is my Monday piece a faint and short whimpering?
It’s the dreams. Every time I see the building that is ours for the convention, I have dreams. Not of meeting favourite people or arguing about books, or eating good local food. I dream of … how to explain it? I need a picture.
You know I’m Australian? I lived in Sydney for a few years and visited one building often, and know it from one direction in particular. In that direction, three white helms elegantly overlap each other and look as if they’ve been dumped from an adventure in space. If they grow roots, they will sprout, and we will have Opera House children. This is exactly what happened. Of course it is. You can see those children from most angles.
Sometimes the family imbibes just a bit too much alcohol and dresses up for a night on the town.
Well, the nickname for the Glasgow building is the Armadillo. Imagine the Sydney Opera House changing from party dress to camouflage, its children all in a row and pressed tightly together, ready to tackle alien invaders.
Whenever I see the Armadillo, I dream this dream.
I’m not sure I could be persuaded to enter that building. Obviously, Glasgow is not as I tend to picture it. On the other hand, if their indoor air quality (ventilation and filtration) is as modern as their design, it might be a good place for a con.
I would note that, as someone from the land of armadillos, they are not the first thing that comes to mind when I look at that picture.
It looks a lot friendlier from other angles. Also, I’ve heard good things about the air quality. I’m keeping an eye on it because of the damage the single face to face convention I’ve been to since 2019 did to me. Poor air quality doesn’t only bring COVID.
No. I’ve been measuring CO2 levels as a proxy for Covid. High CO2 levels mean we’re sharing lung secretions with each other and also that the room is not properly ventilated. Note that a room can have AC blowing full blast and still not have enough air changes to clear the CO2.
I’ve also been measuring air quality via my air purifier, which indicates that the air is being properly filtered. However, you don’t always know if they’re blocking viruses.
Looking at those things now, I begin to understand why con crud has always been a thing. Hotels, especially meeting rooms, have lousy ventilation.
Since Conflux I bought a CO2 meter, also. I tested it at the house of friends who I’ve visited safely a number of times over the past year. They have amazingly good airflow… and have never had COVID.