PAX East 2011: Being in Line

By Shamus Posted Friday Mar 11, 2011

Filed under: Nerd Culture 46 comments

Exciting day so far. We waited in line in the murderous cold and Turok-level fog. Then we stood in line to get our passes. Then there was a kind of Aaron Sorkin style walking line. Now were sitting in line for the main exhibition hall.

Someone beside me is reading a comic book. Guys in front of and behind me are playing Magic: The Gathering. Someone has produced a beach ball, and a game of co-op crowd volleyball is now in session.

Man, this place is CRAWLING with nerds.

 


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46 thoughts on “PAX East 2011: Being in Line

  1. Vegedus says:

    So, does this nerdiness make the line waiting any easier?

    1. deiseach says:

      Now that I think about it, I hope your wife has brought some mace. A woman? At a nerd convention?! Whatever were you thinking?

      1. Mumbles says:

        It’s not so bad after you punch a guy to show them who’s boss.

        1. SolkaTruesilver says:

          I’d expect to get grease on my fist after that :-(

          1. Sumanai says:

            So that’s why women take toilet paper with them when traveling!

            Although I suspect wet wipes would work better.

      2. youngoli says:

        In his defense, going into a video game convention with a woman immediately establishes him in the upper echelons of the nerd hierarchy. In crowded conventions that kind of power is invaluable.

  2. SolkaTruesilver says:

    Crawling with nerds, eh?

    remember the saying: In the land of the Blinds, the One-Eyed are Kings.

  3. Robyrt says:

    If there are people playing Magic, the line must not be moving very quickly!

    1. Lovecrafter says:

      God help you if they’re playing EDH…

      1. Velkrin says:

        IIRC the newer decks of magic cards make the game last for a much shorter amount of time.

        Also that game went downhill after homelands.

        /Get off my lawn you darn kids

        1. Groboclown says:

          Meh. The game is ruined unless you’re playing with an alpha deck.

          1. jdaubenb says:

            The game is ruined if you are playing with whatever cards came out after [speaker] started playing.

            1. Lovecrafter says:

              As Booster Tutor says: “Real men use Arabian Nights boosters.”

              1. Robyrt says:

                Since that joke was printed, it’s truer than ever. The cheapest I could find an Arabian Nights draft set (3 boosters) was $600.

  4. Monojono says:

    AH, ARGHH

    NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERDS!

    Where are the nerdbusters when you really need one?

    1. Brandon says:

      I ain’t ‘fraid of no nerds!

  5. Henebry says:

    There’s nothing nerds like more than standing in line. Whether it’s for the latest apple product or the re-release of a movie that was better twenty years ago, lines give us a sense of purpose, a sense of belonging to a larger movement that will one day …

    1. Sagretti says:

      …complain that it wasn’t as good as they thought it would be?

      1. Sydney says:

        As good as the original was.

        1. droid says:

          Somehow lines just aren’t what they used to be.

          1. krellen says:

            I was hating lines before you ever stood in one.

            1. Gale says:

              I don’t know. I’m not a fan of popular lines, really.

              1. Milos says:

                Man, you hipsters make me sick. Lines got so popular because they were so good. You didn’t think of that now did you!

          2. Syal says:

            You’re just saying that because you suck at them. Learn to strafe-cut, noob.

  6. Jeremiah says:

    (obligatory bad hygiene joke)

    In all seriousness I hope you and your wife have a great time.

    I went to Gen Con for the first time a couple years ago and I normally have a similar dislike of being around such a large gathering of people. But I’m glad I went, it was an amazing 4 days and I got to meet some awesome people.

  7. Irridium says:

    Nobody’s playing pokemon? Shame.

    Also, it could be worse. The place could be full of dorks ;)

  8. Spluckor says:

    Can we get a play by play of these Magic games? :)

    Irridium makes a good point, where is all the pokemon black and white at PAX?

  9. Shamus says:

    I was kind of expecting a Spoiler Warning today. Hmmm.

    (Not in gold because I didn’t want to log in on a public machine.)

    1. Mumbles says:

      It’s still uploading :[

      1. Jeremiah says:

        *whip crack*

      2. Daemian Lucifer says:

        Oh so thats the reason?I thought you guys did decide to shuffle it a bit and have a day pause between the episodes.

        By the way,why arent you leaving a day pause between the episodes?Youd still have 4 episodes per week,only they wouldnt be bunched up in 4 consecutive days.

      3. X2-Eliah says:

        Still?

        Man, youtube’s being particularly evil, it seems.

      4. deiseach says:

        Step away from the lady, nerd, or she’ll punch you somewhere unpleasant.

    2. Grag says:

      Interesting that your Gravatar works.

      I suppose it would be wrong of someone to try to guess what email you use and post using your name.

      Wrong and entertaining…

      1. Gale says:

        Oh god. It took me a good few seconds before I got it.

        That’s actually kind of worrying.

        1. Jeff says:

          I wonder how long it’ll take before we see “Shamus” have conversations with “himself”.

  10. BFG9000 says:

    I wish I had your LIFE! Hahaha, enjoy Shamus.

  11. Jarenth says:

    Were Commander Shepard a real person, this would likely be his favourite place on the Citadel.

    1. albval says:

      Waiting in a line?

  12. Grag says:

    I’m shocked no-one pointed out the typo “Turok-levle” yet.

    1. Gale says:

      Also “thene”.

      He talked about his laptop’s broken keyboard already, so I guess the joke’s unnecessary.

  13. MOM says:

    You should fix your typos. Makes you look like an unprofessional geek.

  14. Noble Bear says:

    #winning.

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