Further Confusion 2003 Newsletter

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Greetings Anthropomorphic Fans!! Its time once again for Further Confusion to shed its annual skin and begin anew for next year. In doing so, a brand new cast of characters, plus some old favorites have been enlisted to bring you next years gala event "Further Confusion: Furries In Wonderland"

My name is Lee Strom, also known as Chairo in the fandom. I am joined by Michael Sawyer, aka Aetobatus as my Vice Chairman. This coming year we intend to bring you a professional, fun and exciting convention. Chock full of entertainment, education and socializing.FC2003 will be Furries' first 5 day convention. Now don't let this little tid-bit throw you off. Even though we are running the con from Thursday till Monday, we are still offering the traditional fare of events on the traditional days. And during the extended time we will be offering several other things to do. Some of them will include
extended workshops, an extra dance and more social activities. Our intention is simple, come for the con, and enjoy some pleasant wind down time afterward with a more relaxed atmosphere. Make a tail, learn the basics of drawing, writing or just hang out.

FC2003 will also be offering a true Party Floor for the first time. Our new hotel in San Jose has many new benefits for us and the con goer. Included is much much more event space, more common areas for socializing, and our new Party Floor. We encourage groups who wish to throw a medium to large party to take advantage of the Party Floor, this floor has easy access to the pool, convention spaces and sleeping rooms. All party floor rooms are interconnected by a very large deck spanning the length of the hotel tower. This new addition to FC will give the party thrower a place to 'be seen' as well as a place away from sleeping quarters so you can stay up till the wee hours of the morning guilt free. *g*

Those are just but a couple of changes that we hope will make FC2003 more fun and exciting.

Aeto and myself are the first to run an FC as non-AAE board members. We are hoping this will give us a new outlook with new ideas to benefit the con going experience. You will still have the quality
convention you have always expected from FC in addition to the new strategies, events and surprises we have in store for you.

If you have read this far, thank you. Our staff is here for you. If there is anything you as a convention attendee, potential attendee or interested party would like to see at FC, or if there is any comment or ideas you would like to pass our way, PLEASE LET US KNOW! We are throwing this convention for you, and want it to be the best it can be.

Take care, and thanks for listening. Keep your eyes peeled for more interesting and helpful information.

Lee "Chairo" Strom - Chairman, FC2003 Michael "Aetobatus" Sawyer -
Vice Chairman, FC2003

P.S. Don't forget! We are in a new hotel this year, in a new city, make your airline reservations for San Jose, California. (SJC)

QUESTIONS? info@furtherconfusion.org
Wanna join the staff? hr@furtherconfusion.org
or just volunteer ... volunteers@furtherconfusion.org

2. Hotel and Online Reg Up and Running

FC2003 Online Registration is now available. The Registration price is $35 through September 15, 2003. Also, if you missed your chance to get a FC2002 T-Shirt at the con with wonderful Artwork by PAF, you can
order one through our online store on the FC Website.

Furthermore, our Hotel is now accepting Reservations. We have negotiated FREE Parking and a $99 room rate for single double triple or quad. Below is our Hotel FAQ, which can also be found on the WebSite:

Hotel FAQ
Room Rates for FC2002:
One Bed (Single/Double Occupancy) $99
Two Beds (Triple/Quad Occupancy) $99
Parlor Suites: $225 (See below.)

How to make a Reservation:

Call 1- 800-222-TREE (Doubletree's 24-hour Reservation System Toll
Free Number).

Request a reservation at the San Jose Doubletree. Request your nights that you wish to stay at the hotel, and see if they are available at the FURCON Rate (FurCon is our special code in the reservation system).

General Questions & Answers Section Q. What nights are the Further Confusion Rates available? A.This year, rooms are available at the convention rate from January 22 to January 28th

Q. How do I reserve a Suite?
A.The Doubletree only has 8 Garden Suites and they must be booked directly through the convention. To make a reservation for a Suite, please contact Further Confusion directly via the hotel liaison at hotel@furtherconfusion.org.

Q. I want to make sure that I get two beds in my room when I arrive at the hotel this year!
A. The Doubletree has plenty of Double bed rooms. However, you must be very specific in your request to the 800# agent regarding your needs! Tell the agent that there will be three people in your room (the names
of the other guests are not needed at this point of the
reservation). However, you should book your room early to avoid problems. We at Further Confusion will attempt to help to ensure that you get the room of your choice, but we can't help you if you don't tell us that you need help.

Q. Will there be an overflow hotel/motel set up for attendees of Further Confusion?
A. Once our room block has been filled, we will provide a list of hotels/motels available in the area (within 2 miles of the Host Hotel). However at this time, there are no group rates for attendees of Further Confusion set up.

Q. I have been told by the 800# reservation agent that the Further Confusion rate is no longer available for the nights I want to stay! Ack!
A. The reservation system computers will tell the agent that our room block is full if the first night that you wish to stay is full. See if adjusting your arrival date opens the block again.

Q. I would like to stay at the hotel on a night that is not within the Further Confusion rate, or on a night that the room block is full. What do I do?
A. After making your reservation for the nights that you can get, contact Further Confusion hotel staff at hotel@furtherconfusion.org with your confirmation number and which nights you would like to add
to your reservation. We will attempt to see if we can get the hotel to extend our room rate for those nights.

Q. Can I bring live animals to Further Confusion with me?
A: The hotel does allow Pets. The individual will have to pay a $50.00 deposit, refundable upon check out. We request that they keep their pet in a carrier while inside the hotel. With the exception of service animals (guide dogs), Further Confusion will not allow animals to be
walked around inside the hotel.

Q. Will there be a Party Floor this year?
A. Yes, we will attempt have a party floor set up this year in advance with the hotel. If you are interested in being on this floor, please contact us at hotel@furtherconfusion.org for more information.

Q. What kind of amenities are available in the guest rooms?
A. Room Amenities include an Iron/Ironing Board, Coffee Maker, Double Vanity, patio and high speed Internet access in each guest room.

Q. What if I don't live in the United States, and still want to make my reservations, what number do I call?
A. Out of the country guests should call the hotel directly at 408-453-4000. They then will be transferred into our central reservation system. The other option is making your reservation through the Internet at the DoubleTree's home page.

Q. How many beds are in a Parlor Suite?
A. One king size bed and a sofa sleeper which folds out into a queen size bed.

Q. Is there shuttle service between San Jose International Airport and the hotel?
A. Yes. Pick-up: Use the Courtesy Phone in Baggage Claim. Advance Shuttle Reservations: 408.453-4000. Other destinations: Trips may be arranged to the Light Rail Station upon request. Daily Schedule: 5:30
a.m. to 12:00 Midnight. There is no free shuttle service to the San Francisco Airport. The Bay Area Super Shuttle Service does provide service from SFO to the San Jose Doubletree. They may be reached for reservations at (800) BLUE-VAN.

Q. Are there parking charges at the San Jose Doubletree?
A. No, the San Jose Doubletree has waived all parking charges for guests at the hotel for Further Confusion.

Q. What is the hotel doing about the California Power Problem?
A. Here is part of the FAQ that we wrote just before FC 2001 regarding this situation.

California Power and Further Confusion
Q. What the heck is a rolling blackout?
A. A rolling blackout means that the Electric Company intentionally turns off one or more blocks at a time, cycling thru them in a regular basis (usually an hour to 90 minutes) in order to prevent a more widespread degradation in the electrical grid. Even if rolling
blackouts are implemented, it does not mean that the host hotel will be effected. Generally, a few grid blocks a day might be affected and they go to other blocks before repeating back through them. So at worst (if present circumstances continue), we might expect to see an
outage once during the con for an hour or so, if at all.

Q. What facilities does the hotel have for a power outage?
A. The hotel has emergency lights in all common areas. In the event that the power does go out at the Hotel, the policy is to issue guests of the hotel "12 hour glow sticks." The hotel has a very limited back
up generator system that allows front office/lobby reservation computers systems to be taken off-line gently. Personal Sleeping Rooms that have been key-carded will work due to the fact that key card
doors work off of battery power.

Q. What will happen with panels and presentations if we do have an outage?
A. FC has contingencies in place should the unlikely event of a blackout during the convention, if the blackout is during the day most events will continue with the natural daylight, the art show will temporarily close for security and safety reasons and depending on the lighting in the dealers room it will remain open for the duration. Dealers who rely on power will only have a short time to
wait. If the power goes out during dusk or evening hours while the con events are in progress, the event will be temporally paused for the duration of the blackout and resumed 15 minutes after the power is restored. In the case of an outage during the masquerade, events will
resume 30 minutes later for preparation time. Dances will resume immediately.

Q. What should I do as an attendee if the power goes out?
A. One, go ahead and bring a flashlight with you to the
convention. Its a good thing to carry in your con kit anyways. Candles should not be used on hotel property. We don't need a fire on top of a power outage. Second, relax and don't worry. The FC Staff is well grilled on exactly what to do. If its a large AV driven event
(Masquerade, FVS, Dances, etc.) We will probably clear the room and restart the event once the power is returned. If its just folks talking, and it is light, things will continue on. Most importantly, stay flexible and pay attention to FLARE and the rest of the FC
Staff. We'll give you direction.

Q. Where can I get up to date information?
A. You can get up to date information from the California ISO at the following URL: http://www.caiso.com/SystemStatus.html

If you have any questions, comments please feel free to contact the FC Hotel Liaison Office at hotel@furtherconfusion.org.

4. Event Announcements:

Hello, my name is Loran (aka Jason Thomas) and this is a quick newsletter about the events for FC2003.

First off we have at least two new event Tracks: Spirituality and Video Games. The Spirituality Track is being headed by Blackfire Tanfur, who I've worked with while running events at MFM and the Video Game Track is being headed up by Darkfox, who works as a professional
video game tester.

With all the new space and room for new things, I have a lot of hiring to do. Here is a list of my current hiring needs, please drop a line to volunteers@furtherconfusion.org if you are interested.

Events Second
Science and Tech Track Lead
Art Track Lead
Writing Track Lead
Social Track Lead
Masquerade Lead

Cool New Stuff:

Scavenger Hunt: One of the major new events we are planning is a huge con wide scavenger hunt. This hunt would be a mixture of questions and actual things that people would have to do. There will be prizes for
first, second and third place people and the winner will be based on points. Each thing you do right or answer correctly will give you points.

Video Game Track: So what's the deal with the Video Game Track? Well, I think for one that we can not sit back and not at least attempt to do something which is one of the bigger parts of the culture of the
fandom. I know a lot of you out their play video games and I know a lot of you also buy games which feature furry characters in the video game (as well as buy video games period). This facet of fandom
interest has not gotten all the attention we felt it deserved and we have lots of plans for programming and gaming in this area.

This will all be in addition to the usual stellar gaming track that FC is known for.

FCTV: Further Confusion Television? Yes, we have the use of the in house television station during the convention. We'll be putting together special programming to run on this channel, broadcast directly into your hotel room. Keep an eye out for future information about this as things develop.

Mad Hatter's Tea Party: Our Thursday night kickoff will be a tea party. Prizes for best hats will be given.

--
Further Confusion
info@furtherconfusion.org
http://www.furtherconfusion.org/