We came away from the fantastic Penny Arcade Expo last weekend laden with two things: memories, and disease. Though the memories will last forever, we're hoping the illness abates here in the next couple of days. (Currently, 60 percent of the office is afflicted; you can listen to this week's podcast to find out which ones.)
Certainly you shake a lot of hands and touch a lot of public controllers at any video game trade show, so a cold here and there is to be expected. But (anecdotally) the sheer number of people I know who have gotten sick directly after this year's PAX is a little startling. The litany of moaning on Twitter and in IM windows was starting to turn into a joke yesterday, to be honest. Jeff dubbed it the nerd flu, technical designation E1M1.
It's not really a laughing matter anymore, though. I guess there was a feeling of inevitability when I saw the official PAX Twitter announce this morning the first confirmed case of H1N1 swine flu at the expo. The main Penny Arcade site has started maintaining a list of flights that carried confirmed cases, so seriously, if you were there, you're feeling under the weather and match the symptoms, get yourself checked out. Here's the current list, though you should hit their site for updated info if necessary.
Flight List for those with Confirmed Cases:
Departed Sunday:
- JetBlue #498, Seattle to Boston, Departed Sunday Night
- United #356, Seattle to Denver, Departed Sunday Afternoon
- United #958, Seattle to Chicago, Departed Sunday Morning
Departed Monday:
- Alaska Airline #12, Seattle to Boston, Departed Monday Morning
- Delta #1050, Seattle to Atlanta, Departed Monday Morning
- American Airlines #1414, Seattle to St. Louis, Departed Sunday Afternoon
- American Airlines #1162, St. Louis to Chicago
For those with doctor-confirmed cases, please email rkhoo@penny-arcade.com with your flight info. Thanks.
Those of you following along at home, fear not! Illness or no, we're still here in the office like a bunch of health-conscious smart guys, so expect more PAX coverage and some other, shall we say timely content to be posting throughout the week.