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I tried to reply to this post this morning, but my computer used a veto.  So, guess where I went this weekend?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/awrose/5651566590/sizes/m/in/photostream/

I'm not the guy in the creepy, purple octopus costume (some kind of monster from Final Fantasy 6, he called himself the "Octobomber"), but I did get to talk to him.  Under the purple veneer and felt teeth, he was a pretty cool guy whose goal was to sneak into any and all pictures ("photobomb") taken in the Dealer's Room.  This is also not my picture.

While there, I realized that all conventions are just massive information transfers: you meet up with, make friends with, and hand out with people based on the information you both know and share or can exchange.  In this case, the data is about tv series, video games, and prop making, but the idea stands.  As an example, I traded a few of my origami techniques for ideas about sculpting.

Does this mean that what you know labels you as a person?  There is a certain stigma attached to anyone who attends an Anime/Scifi convention; I'm sure a few of you are judging me right now.  What if I told you it was my first convention, would it change anything?  My fourth convention?  That I'd been attending these things since I was 12?  What if it were a medical convention, or a gaming convention?