Thursday, May 13, 2010

Hamvention, Day 1

After dire warnings about thunderstorms and tornadoes the flights were uneventful.  I've had bumpier rides flying over the Sierra Nevada mountains in wintertime. 

Dayton itself is best described as sub-rural (as opposed to sub-urban) and spread out.  It reminds me of areas I've been in Eastern Tennessee.

Hara Arena, the traditional site of the Dayton Hamvention, is...interesting.  It's a very outdated facility with old linoleum walls, water-damaged ceiling tiles, and a smell of age.  I wonder really how much use it gets outside of Hamvention, because apparently Sierra Radio Systems had the same booth last year (#406) and a plug-strip they accidentally left behind was still here.  I've worked a lot of tradeshows in a lot of places, but this is the most unusual.

Staying at a hotel downtown.  Nice enough, but they rented the adjoining room to a bunch of teenagers.  I had to call hotel security at 12:15am to complain, and an hour later they're still making a ton of noise.  So much for their much-touted "Executive Floor".  Management and I will be having a chat tomorrow morning.

Strange Sightings: They have a bank here called "Fifth Third Bank" -- we're not sure what that means.

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