So they realized that they didn't want to seem quite so clearly creepy racist and maybe this is less ... obvious?

IDEK. I know I'm planning on NOT being involved with the event, unless I can convince them to change the theme.

OMG WHITE PEOPLE WTF.

Yep, exactly.

staying in a haunted hotel on Halloween and going to a seance conducted by an illusionist/escape artist is a pretty unique opportunity, right?

Jinkies!

The people who should have handed over servers to us first thing this morning are not answering the phone or e-mails. Of course the servers weren't delivered. You don't hide from people you don't owe shit to.

MY DEADLINE DOES NOT FUCKING MOVE. WHY IS YOURS ELASTIC???

The entirety of my last email, and then I'm going to pee and then take a lunch break:

We’re running out of both time and resources. I have an immovable deadline to get these servers tested and deployed. If there’s a reason we can’t get them today, please tell me so I can at least start planning around the collapse of my critical path.

How would one celebrate the exploration of Africa without being accused of racism?

BUT WHAT DO ALL YOUR GEARS CONNECT TO????

PFFFFT. THE GEARS DO NOT CONNECT TO ANYTHING, THEY SYMBOLIZE THE GENIUS AND MAD SCIENCE SKILLZ OF THE WEARER. Or something.

But Steampunkish middle-grade fantasy novels are still cool, right?

Absolutely! There's a LOT about steampunk that I like, especially in reading material. But the people who are organizing/attending steampunk events sometimes make me want to edge away while saying "I'm not with them". Of course, I'm only on the fringes of the steampunk movement, which is why I'm always the person moderating the Goth vs. Steampunk: subculture relatives panel.

staying in a haunted hotel on Halloween and going to a seance conducted by an illusionist/escape artist is a pretty unique opportunity, right?

You must go. You MUST. And then tell me all about it.

To be honest, it wouldn't bother me as much as it does if everyone doing it quit trying to put on a British accent.

OMG.

But Steampunkish middle-grade fantasy novels are still cool, right?

I have read the middle-grade fantasy in question and I say yes, without a doubt. Still cool.

The books (not yours) that seem to be created using some sort of matrix of profitability where YA + (Steampunk - whimsy) + LOTS AND LOTS OF COGS WITH SCIENCE THAT MAKES NO SENSE? nsm ... ahem.

How would one celebrate the exploration of Africa without being accused of racism?

Well, Africa was hardly unknown to the people who lived there. Which is rather the problem with celebrating explorations and discoveries. The Native Americans knew very well where they were when Columbus arrived: he in fact was the one who was lost!

Yeah, I'd go with "Explorer." You could reference historical figures such as Cândido Mariano da Silva Rondon [link] Matthew Henson (African American, may have been the first person to reach the geographic north pole in 1909--Edwardian's still ok, right?) [link] or Nain Singh Rawat [link]

They're all male, though. The female explorers I've found from around that period have been pretty much European/American.