Back from Dragon*Con

I have returned from DragonCon. It was incredibly fun, and there were at least 30,000 fellow con-goers there. I took over 50 pictures on some disposable cameras which I will have developed sometime this week. I will post them at that time.

I saw George Lowe, the voice of Space Ghost on Space Ghost Coast to Coast. I also saw George Krstic one of the creators of Megas XLR, an amazing show that ended too quickly. I also saw Richard Epcar, the English voice of Batou from the anime series Ghost in the Shell. There were more celebrities that I missed or didn't have time for at the con. I heard that Lenard Nimoy and a couple of the cast of Enterprise were at the con, but I didn't see them.

I competed in a Magic the Gathering card game tournament, but I didn't make it past the first round. The guy I went up against was very experienced. The whole thing felt kinda cheap, the judge was one of the contestants and made it at least to the third round as I recall. Most of the contest was kinda on your honor and there was a lot of room for people to cheat and no one would know. I didn't stick around to see who one, but I wouldn't doubt it if the judge himself won the tournament.

I noticed that there were dozens of game sessions for a game called Shadowrun that I had never heard of. I tried to sign up, but they all booked solid. Interested in why this game was so popular I decided to buy a copy from the Dealer's room, but the Shadowrun vendor had SOLD OUT of copies of the core rulebooks. At that point I gave up. I checked reviews of the game online and wasn't impressed and I still have no idea why the game was so popular.

I bought a t-shirt:



And a game called Dungeoneer.

The experience was definitely great overall, but there were some excruciating parts. We arrived at the con around 11 on Saturday, but it took us til 4 PM to register! We literally stood in line for FOUR HOURS. When I got through the line I understood why. They only had two cashiers taking credit cards and the data entry guy who put my registration info into the computer, COULDN'T TYPE! I have to ask, why would you sign up for Data Entry position if you Can't Type?

We got back from the con on Monday evening. It was definitely worth it. When I got back, I had caught a bug sometime during the weekend, but I'm feeling much better now. My mom and people also caught something on their camping trip, keep them in your prayers for getting well soon.

Today I've been drudging through class with a tissue. I got done doing some homework. I played some video games.

And then...

I played some more games.

You expected me to jump right back in front of that robot's blaster? No, I was going to be smart about this. I picked up my cell and called an old friend.

"Hey Chief, I need a new warp point. What? Yes. I know. Look, I know it doesn't just work like that. Yes, yes. Look, how 'bout you just tell me how much it's gonna cost. THAT much? Well, do you take Space Visa? I'm good for it, I swear! Look, I'm right on top of a refractor crystal. Yes, a Refractor Crystal. So we're cool, great. Can you come to Earth?"

Instantly Nauta, "Chief", warped into my living room. He quickly began rattling off a disclaimer.

"Okay, N.O. energy utilizes the two halves of the user's brain and therefore is not appropriate for everyone. Some risks are involved including but not limited to: dizzyness, headaches, spontaneous combustion, death, pregnancy regardless of gender, and eternal entrapment in an endless void. N.O. is known to cause cancer in the state of California, but only in the state of California."

Warp points move with you, but remain in the same place when you are not present. I have two, one located on Earth and another currently on Reeva. The first two cost a pretty penny, the third was costing me almost twice the original amount.

Nauta picked up his guitar. N.O. always comes with a guitar, I've got one too. He drew back and swung the thing directly at my head. I was knocked against the wall and my mind began spinning. The pain is intense, but at the same time it feels like all the secrets to the universe are being unlocked within you. I blacked out and woke up a moment later.

"Thought I was going to lose you for a second. Well, try it out."

I stood up and began to feel my third warp. It was located right across the room. I willed myself to jump there and I disappeared and reappeared instantly on the other side of the room.

"Good job Chief. I'll catch you later. Right now, I have to catch a bus to Reeva."

Until next time fellow pirates...