Thursday, July 31, 2008

Survey Results

My last post contained a short survey regarding the content and post frequency of Slashboing to get some anonymous feedback. Now that I have enough responses, I thought I would share the results. In general people like what they see, and they would like it updated more. This is good news for me.

What people generally like:
  • Steampunk
  • Costuming
Good! I will keep it up!

What people did not like
  • Movie/book/tv reviews
This was a new kind of post I was doing for 2007, and it doesn't look like it took off. I will be moving my media reviews to Twitter, where they are only 140 characters long. I will be doing more tech reviews, as they have generated lots of positive and constructive feedback.

New kinds of posts:
  • Introspective
  • Interviews with cool people
People want to know "the real" me. This is a direction I'm not really prepared to go, for now. I think I may post a journal type entry periodically, to test the waters.

I have been tossing around the idea of interviewing cool people via-email for a while now so stay tuned for that.

Post more frequently.

This was a common response. I will endeavour to post more often. My Twitter posts have taken over the quick one liners that I would try to stretch into full blog posts, so check that out too.

Thanks to everyone who participated!

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Slashboing Content Survey

In the spirit of blogosphere democracy, I thought I would poll my readers to see what sorts of topics you would like to see covered on Slashboing.

Click Here to take the survey

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Myth busting: Science Fiction and Fantasy Fandom

Myth: Sci-fi fans are chronically single, underemployed, and still live in mom's basement.

Not true. Any such broad and demeaning stereotype should be treated as suspect. Fans out of high-school move out just like everyone else. I don't know where this stereotype comes from but the fan groups I'm familiar with are populated by a wide range of professions, none of whom live with mom and dad. These people are either married, engaged, or dating. The single guys are the exception rather than the rule.

Myth: Sci-fi fans are predominantly male.

I believed this one for a long time myself. But once I started attending larger events, I found that every mulit-genre convention I've attended has been about 50/50 genderwise. Granted some of the smaller comic book events have skewed male, but every Anime, Harry Potter, Star Wars event I've been to has been very gender balanced.


Myth: People who wear costumes to Science Fiction conventions are arrested, overweight, adolescents.


Wow. That's a low blow. Costuming is a science fiction tradition that dates back to the earliest conventions. I know costumers who are doctors, lawyers, engineers, and even US Marines and I wouldn't call any of them arrested or overweight. I think number of the overweight costumers is the same as the percentage of overweight fans in general, and probably society as a whole. I don't know where this level of resentment comes from, but I've heard some variation on it from several people.


Myth: Furry Fandom is made up of perverts.

Come on, now you are just being mean. Don't let CSI form your opinions for you. Besides, the fans with the fursuits make up a small portion of those in furry fandom. Many are writers and artists that work with predominantly anthropomorphic characters. Thinking someone in a fursuit is into atypical sex is like thinking someone in a leather jacket is a bondage freak. Grow up and get to know people before you make calls like that.

Thursday, July 03, 2008

Reviews: Merangue Multiriter

There are very few reviews for pens, which is a shame given their utility and necessity. Even in a digital world, a good and reliable pen can make the difference between being prepared or being a schmuck.

I have owned two Merangue Multiriters, and neither have survived contact with the outside world. At home they preformed very well. They have four very useful and effective nibs: A blue pen, red pen, automatic pencil, and a touch screen stylus. Instead of an awkward set of individual selector sliders, one simply tips the pen to the appropriate side and presses down on the clicker. Very slick, and with no silly cap to lose I thought this would be a fantastic piece for every day carry.

However the clicker is poor, and once it fails all is lost. Neither pen I have carried into the field has lasted more than 8 hours. This product has failed me for the last time.

Forget you pen.

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

The Noun and the Unrelated Noun

Sometimes shows have similar titles, which can lead to confusion. I have prepared a short cheat-sheet for future reference.
Don't say I don't do anything for you.

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Placeholder T-shirts

In the changing world of science fiction fandom and internet memes, having the latest, coolest and hippest shirt can be a daunting task.

Now Slashboing brings you "Placeholder shirts" to keep you on the vanguard of geek-hipster fashion. No more waiting to see which meme takes off and which ones fizzle. No more waiting for new designs to be created, ordered and sent in time for an upcoming convention.

These shirts are guaranteed to be appropriate and suitable for science fiction and fantasy conventions and other geek friendly events for years to come. Don't be caught in an out-of-date shirt again. Order Now!

Current Shirts include:
[quote from a cancelled TV show]
[inside joke from my local fan club]
[meme that was funny six months ago]