Side rant...

Hey all.  I will get my review of the rest of the days of comic con 2011 up soon (and hopefully with pics =D ) but I need to get this off my chest and want to know if others had this problem as well.  First thing first, I was having trouble accessing the wifi all weekend.  I don't know if it was me or my devices but I could never make use of the WIFI.  I was running a Samsung Epic 4G and an HP Touchpad tablet (I did think about the Ipad2 but I really love WebOS and will support it as long as the products are available) and everytime I would access a WIFI server it kept asking me for a log-in.  Now I thought that the WIFI at the convention center was free. 

Anywho, my first real problem was that my cellphone battery would barely last me a good 5-6 hours.  This was with constant usage of twitter, facebook, gmail, and the web browser for the Epic 4G.  I did have my charger in my backpack but rarely had time to sit down near a socket and recharge.  I think it would be a great help for everyone if next year charging stations could be set up at specific areas of the convention center floor or more specifically in lines while we are all waiting 2-3 hours either to get into the convention hall, a specific panel, or just waiting to win a raffle.  I wanted to keep up with all the tweets of the day and provide my own as well but that would only cause more stress to the phone.  Now I guess most people at comic con had the iphone4 and those phones all appear to have good battery life but I'm on Sprint and the iphone is not available (and I need to have a physical keyboard for typing) so please don't respond with comments such as, "Get away from Sprint, you need the iphone".  Thanks.

Secondly, and I know this is something that will continue to be present at any major convention, is that people need to be somewhat hygienic.  I enjoy meeting new people in whatever line I'm in or whatever panel I'm at, but it makes it difficult to maintain focus on the conversation when there is an oderiferous emination that won't go away.  I understand that for some people the Comic-Con is so important that sleep and showers seem secondary, but please consider carrying a box of mints, a pocket deodorant, and maybe some sort of cologne or perfume.  For example, last year I thought the best freebee giveaway was the deodorant bar given away from (I believe) mattel. 

Thirdly is people who bring strollers to the Comic-Con, I do not mind you, but please stop hitting the back of my feet and legs and then complaining that I'm moving too slow or am not moving out of the way for you.  HAVE YOU SEEN THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT ARE ON THE CONVENTION FLOOR!!!  Definitely not easy to manuvuer through those aisles but I always take into consideration people with strollers or wheelchairs or any other type of assitance device.  The only other thing that truly bugs me about strollers are people who use them to hold stuff and not the children that are crying and yelling or being pulled by those corded backpacks.  It bugs me because I should have thought of that.  It would be so much easier on my back if I had some sort of cart to carry my stuff throughout the convention hall.

Fourthly are the ELITE security guards who are posted at specific positions in the hall telling people, "you can't go there."  Now I know not all the security guards are not like that and most that I met were very cool and personable people, but there are those select few who made me walk out of my way when there were people clearly on the other side.  Example, during one of the morning lineups for autograph raffles, I was on the outside of the sails pavilion waiting in line when a friend calls and needs to get something from me.  I politely ask the people who were next to me in line if it would be ok to save my place while I do this errand and they said yes.  Well as I'm about to enter that gap between the sails and where ballroom 20 is, a security guard tells me I cannot pass and need to go all the way around.  Most of the time I will gladly follow because its the rules, but only if it makes sense.  This did not.  I wanted back in, guard says no, and directly on the other side of the guard where three people talking about the fringe bag they just received. 

Well anywho I needed to get that off my chest because for the many years I have been going to Comic-Con I have become well accostumed to the procedures but please lets try to make some of these things better or just go away. 

I would love to hear from others what are some of their pet peeves or Comic-Con and maybe some suggestions that would make Comic-Con a better experience for them.

Until next time....