ECCC drive there and set up

I had a lot of plans for this trip, so the preparation took longer than the usual one. The first thing was an attempt to be more portable for these trips, so I grabbed a keyboard and screen thing for my phone. It works well, and gets Google docs easily.

The next part took extra planning. The 360 camera needed upgrades, and I saw a $50 hook up to try. I also wanted to use the RC tripod to last longer so I bought a car with easily swappable batteries. The plug ins for the batteries and batteries themselves cost a lot more than expected. I did beta test at my bill paying job, and found out the car is less powerfull. I got it to work, but it needs some weight to it.

Everything was packed the night before, and I even enjoyed a blue and gold dinner for Cub scouts. I left at 9AM expecting to help move everything in.

My car has had some problems, so it was in the shop the week before to make sure it was safe. Needless to say it was annoying when the cruise control stopped working. After lunch at Wendy's it worked again, but imagine the annoyance of driving through a flat area, with just enough rolls to make you constantly change your footing.

The trip over the pass was busy, and didn't need cruise control though it did turn itself back on. I quickly got to Seattle, found my parking spot, and walked all of my equipment over to the convention center. While riding the escalator I met up with a friend, and we chatted for a moment. He was recruited for the celebrities team.

When I got to the arcade, everything had been unloaded but not set up. There were tables in the middle, and machines places randomly on the wall. I set up the Videogames area because that is the simplest. I also did the tables while chatting with the other volunteer and the president of the NWPAS over the phone.

Right after setting this up, the building electrician arrived and told us to move things around. We would blow a circuit with all the power being used. This meant moving tables again, and then some pins.

It was slow work, but we got everything set up. I helped with legs and leveling and balls placement, but not much else. We decided to do fine tuning the next day when more volunteers arrived.

The vids were working and on separate circuit groups as a test. It was two per group to make sure. People arrived and wanted to play. I let them and chatted with all sorts of folks. One guy wanted all fighting games. I met an Argentine, which made me laugh to hear the accent. He was walking his daughter around while the booths were being set up. The squirrel girl artist also showed up.

There were folks from PAX and radio and video show folks as well. It was a great time to chat with anyone that walked in. We made sure to tell the volunteers and exhibitors they were welcome to play on a break.

After getting some extension cords for the pins, we locked up. I gave the other volunteer a ride to his place, and then told my phone to get me to the Seattle to Bremerton ferry. It took me down a road I didn't know well, but I arrived at a ferry. It wasn't the one I wanted though. Somehow my phone thought I wanted the Bremerton to Seattle ferry, and thus should go around Puget Sound.to get there. I had sensed something was up, but there wasn't much I could do about it.

The roads were dark, and wet, so it was hard to see lines. I finally had to pull over to get my GPS on my phone to take me to Bremerton after the ferry. I eventually found my way, and ignored the phone when I got to an area I knew.

When I got there, my buddy Adam showed me my area. They had placed curtains around it so I got some privacy. He also made sure to show off his new TV. It was a HD CRT. 480i or 480p maximum, but that's impressive for a super Nintendo or GameCube.

I quickly went to bed, and hoped it would all work out. I would have about 6 hours of sleep, but that would be enough.