From: emp@xgml.com (Eric Promislow)
Subject: Meal plan settlement
Organization: Exoterica Corporation
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1992 21:45:40 GMT


    Yes, let's settle this here, put it in the FAQ, and people can
refer to it in the future when making their convention plans?

    Everyone who bought one in Montreal has been griping about the
meal plan, and most likely rightfully so.  But as thomasl pointed out,
Montreal is one of the best food cities on the continent.  Given the
choice between walking up the hill to a cafeteria, or down the hill
into the heart of a very vibrant downtown, you wouldn't need to tell
me where to go.

    At all of the other conventions I've attended, there were much
better nearby alternatives to the local school food.  In St. Louis and
Baltimore, they entailed a short drive, but who wants to juggle
constantly?  Listen up, folks.  The annual juggling conventions are
always at universities or colleges.  Unless draconian zoning laws or
high property values forbid it, these things have a tendency to spawn
nearby student-priced, student-oriented food.  And where they don't,
you can put together your own meals together at any market that has a
deli and a produce section, and do a much better job of it than most
school cafeterias.  If you don't have a car, find someone who does.

    I'd like to propose adding two questions to the FAQ:

1.  Has there ever been an annual convention where the meal plan was
good?

2. Should I get the meal plan for next year's convention (this year, Fargo)?

    For #1, I'll put in a no to St. Louis '91, Baltimore '89, and
Denver '88.  We can probably put together a list of all the
conventions since '73 (start of the IJA's modern era?), and I'll bet
that each convention since then has been attended by at least one
person who's reading this.  If anyone objects to the subjectivity of
this, please hold a vote.

    For #2, I think we've got someone here from N.D.  Any comments?

    I hate doing this.  I can imagine how we're looking right now in
the eyes of those Brits reading this, after we all got a big laff over
the mud-ridden escapades of their last annual convention.

                              - * -

    While I'm here, I thought a quick note on the recent discussion of
my tournament reports might not be out of order.  Whether you like it
or not, you, the readers of rec.juggling, are the audience I've had in
mind while writing them.  The main idea right from the start was to let
jugglers draw some comparisons between how juggling conventions and
boomerang tournaments are structured.  I'm hoping that some
cross-pollination will take place -- that organizers of juggling
conventions will consider looking beyond the format of get-some-space/put-
on-some-workshops/hold-a-public-show/hold-a-cheap-beer-and-chips-party,
and come up with some new activities.  I don't know what they should
be -- after boom season's over I'll think of some.  Anyway, I do
appreciate the comments on the reports.  Yes, there is an
alt.boomerang, yes, I do post to it, and, no, they aren't getting the
reports.  So feel privileged.

    As for the length of the reports, apologies to those who found
them too long for their newsreaders or their patience, but I get paid
by the word.
-- 
-- Eric Promislow--emp@xgml.com--Exoterica Corporation, Ottawa, Ontario