People watching, the unoffical activity at any Con. Since this was my first I was, perhaps, more aware of other attendees than I would normally be. Not that I’m saying I’m generally self-absorbed (no, really, I’m not…) but I usually don’t let the general masses around me affect me all that much.
In my defense, I’d started the weekend with weird abdominal cramps and a pulled back, so my snarkiness was nowhere near checked at all this weekend. Things did improve, of course, but these early observations might show a tinge of the surly.
Personal Experience Dude: This is the guy who goes to a fairly busy panel with the intent of “connecting” with the talent or presenters and impressing (?) them with their breadth of experience. Dude. We get it. Stop by their table during some other time and have a private chat, don’t attempt to monopolize the Q&A because you want to feel more important to you (or anyone else in the room) are.
The Bobble Head: Now, it’s one thing to be a good audience member, make eye contact and give the occasional affirmative to let the presenter know that he or she is not talking to cardboard cut-outs. But when you’re nodding so much (sitting in the front row, of course) that people start to wonder if your head is attached to your body by a spring, you might be a bit over-enthusiastic. And saints preserve us all from the over-enthusiastic.
Left-Field Questioner: This happened during the Jerry Doyle Q&A (which I went into because there wasn’t anything else going on at the time I was interested–I never watched Babylon 5) and, if I recall correctly, this guy actually admitted to not watching the scifi show but maybe to listening to his radio show? Not sure, but there was a qualifier there that made it even more apparent we were going into left-field territory. But you know there’s one of these in every crowd, doesn’t even have to be at a Con.