In just over a month MFF starts, you may think you all set. You got your room, your fursuit is nice and clean and you know more or less what you are going to bring.

I hate to spoil it for you but that is only the beginning. There is still a lot of things you still need to figure out.

1 The Panels

Yes, I am very aware some go to MFF and party. I have a friend who has made that point very clear to me. But if you do go to any of the Panels maybe I might be making a bigger point than most but since the schedule is up you need to check it out.

2 Food and or Booze

Unless you have a lot of money to spare both can be expensive at the hotels. Last year I spent $24 with the convention discount for just 1 meal. The convention last 4 days and some are there for 5. Yes, there are some options and what works best for you can be found on Google Maps and MFF is promoting some nearby restaurants that are less than a 10-minute walk away. Plus you should know that there is a Mariano’s (A local grocery store chain) have a store just north of the Cumberland stop at 1900 S Cumberland Ave, Park Ridge, IL 60068. They serve hot food, and it’s pretty good and you can get a good amount of food for under $10. You can either drive or take the local subway, there is a stop located just north of the Hyatt Regency. Cumberland is one stop to the east.

3 Keep it Clean

I am on social media too and I see the complaints about fursuiters who smell worse than their real-life counterparts. Bring soap, shampoo, and products like Febreze that kills odors in fabrics. Also a change of clothes…PLEASE

4 Artist Alley and The Dealers Den

Before you say it I will, you are going to spend your paycheck for the next month on getting what you want. Look I am guilty as the rest of you. I spent $300 on one MFF and I am cheap. But really think about what you are going to buy, and will you use it past this one furcon?

5 Don’t Cause Problems

If you haven’t heard that MFF expects problems this year, you should know this by now. There has been a couple of threats made, I can even say some have decided to postpone their MFF experience until next year because of this. Either way, everyone is going to be on their toes. Also, know that both the hotel and convention center is home to over 1,000 security cameras. Security at Anime Midwest informed me that even during MFF. That it will take no longer than 90 seconds before security or the staff to arrive at the trouble spots anywhere in both the hotel and convention center. There are also Security Alarm Call Buttons scattered throughout both. I know where all of them are located and they are not that difficult to spot. So DON’T.

This applies to the Hyatt Regency’s famous Balconies. Don’t toss anything off period. You may think tossing cash would be harmless.

You could be permanently banned and made to see a judge. Be aware hotels talk to each other, it could mean sleeping in your car vs a nice room. So think about it…PLEASE

Social media is all a buzz over Milo (I refuse to post his last name) The Nazi possibly coming to MFF. I for one think all of this was just to get their name out. Or how else do you explain on the same day in fact? They are both going and flat broke. There isn’t a single one of us who doesn’t know to go to any con can be expensive and MFF is no exception. The lack of cheaper places to eat around the con being the biggest reason people actually take food to their hotel. Personally, I don’t think they are coming. I can’t say if they are preregistered…but if they are as broke as they say I doubt it.

Recently the Chicago Reader did this article on the upcoming Cats film. A large portion of that article contains opinions from Patch O’Furr of Dogpatch Press speaking as if he represents the entire furry fandom. I encourage everyone to check out that article. To me it looks more like Patch is building up his own ego than anything else. After major setbacks on his own site, like losing half his number of views with the rumored arrest of his partner, and him openly supporting Cub Porn which came out earlier this year. Despite those posts being taken down, they have survived on Archive.org

In my own survey of furries, I found their opinions about the Cats film are like everyone else. Some will see it, some will avoid it, some will wait to it comes to some streaming platform. Me I think the film looks weird, and if I find it on a streaming service I might check it out…of curiosity.

When Google finally revealed the price and the monthly plan I thought it was going to be great. $129 for the Stadia device is rather cheap and so is the $9 a month plan for the Pro Plan. But when you start digging into it an see the Bandwidth and Data Caps this country has for Internet use you see HUGE problems with it, and I totally agree with others that this country isn’t ready for Cloud Gaming and whose fault it is, not the Gaming companies, nor the developer’s, not even Google. It’s the politicians who like ISP’s getting all they can from their customers.

Let me remind everyone when the FCC allowed ISPs to put restrictions on the Internet. Those people who voted for this was appointed by Trump and the Republicans. Don’t believe me check it out for yourself.

Also, the Internet in this country is a joke. Did you know on average we pay more for less bandwidth than any other country? I did an informal survey a few years ago and found on average in Europe they pay less for broadband than we do. Back then they were paying $20 for 50MB service and no data caps. In Africa, it’s a bit more for less speed $30 for 40MB service. Meanwhile, in Japan, they got 1GB service as a standard 4 years ago and it’s available even in rural areas. Meanwhile in the US Dial-Up is slowly being replaced by Cellphone Internet. Why no fibre comes down to politics The Republicans actually killed a plan for fibre in rural areas. Mitch McConnell actually called it a waste of money.

But is it?

I feel as if I should say something about Dogbomb But really it’s hard to say something when you know very little about someone. All I really know that he was a fursuiter who suffered from ALS and during his remaining time raised money for its cure often via running events. I may be oversimplifying what I heard, but that is all I know other than what I read from social media by those who both knew and loved him.

The only thing I really can say is during our busy schedule just put aside all the electronics and give a moment of silence.

Back when I changed the name of this blog from Yiffy Times to Furry Times I always wanted to go with Furry Times Dot Com and not Dot Net which I finally settled on. But I have always been curious what was Furry Times Dot Com anyway?

I learned using Domain Tools

I learned that the site got in start in 2011, so that is where I began looking on Archive.org.

It seems a site was under construction as earily as 2004/05 there even was a Live Journal page that has long since vanished.

Then again in 2008/09

But finally by June 2, 2012

We get this

Turns out it actually was a animal site that lasted until Dec 2012.

Then Live Domain Auctioneers bought the site has owned it ever since, and currently wants just under $1,000. Now that their hold over the site will soon end as it turns out. I have no plans on changing. But it was interesting checking out the history of Furry Times.

Last night was the 2nd WordPress gathering I have ever been too and more than likely the last. It wasn’t that awful it’s just as these meets are more geared towards people who use WordPress dot org than people like me who use dot com. Also I was the only blogger there. I did learn something about the editing tool that WordPress uses as for the Themes it is all common sense. Being on WordPress for 10 years I have learned a lot and I was thinking maybe I might see if I can host my own meet Blogging 101. I swear these meets are geared more towards those who make money off of people who use WordPress tools to make their own site than those like me who uses what is available and easy for those like us, who have no idea what a plug-in on WordPress actually does.

Originally I decided to go to these meets to make improvements to this blog and not feel like I wasted my time like in the last 2. In fact the only thing I did learn was some of the features of the Block Editor WordPress now uses so I can make my posts.

I know this time of year with the holidays rolling around and as Christmas nears we think of presents and in these times were the brick and mortar store is slowly becoming a thing of the past we generally get our orders from Amazon. I admit I am an Amazon Prime member but I have had my share of problems with Amazon, in fact, every other company has a better track record of deliveries than Amazon. Truthfully I never get about 10% of my orders, and they all have the same pattern. Amazon says on their site the package was delivered to the mail room. When in fact we don’t have a mail room, the packages can be usually found in my landlord’s office…if they are left somewhere else by an Amazon driver. Take the other day when my landlord found a package delivered by Amazon left on the sidewalk in front of my building. I was told that directly by my landlord.

But packages being left on sidewalks are fairly common in my area I generally see one left about every 2 weeks. Amazon says Packages are only left on the sidewalk because the receiver wants it left there. My own informal investigation says the opposite. In one case where a package was left outside the business. The store owner actually put a sign on their door directing the package be delivered to a nearby business that was open. But it was left on the sidewalk and as it turned out also stolen. We have Amazon Lockers nearby but good luck in getting a package sent there. They are always FULL, the same with every other Amazon Locker I checked.

Speaking of which I recently had an order from Amazon that if you guessed was stolen you would be right. Amazon said the package was delivered to the mail room, and all I got was a refund. I would not be so pissed off if it wasn’t a special gift for a good friend. I literally found the same thing for $1 less plus free shipping on eBay.

When roughly 10% of your orders never arrive, and all the while on Amazon it says they were delivered is it no wondered I picked up for the same price an item as Amazon at Target who was having a Black Friday sale. I went there because I wanted to make sure I got it.

Really that is one thing I am noticing more and more, people are getting fed up with Amazon. What this will mean only time will tell.