Last year's Dragon*Con was crowded to the point of being off putting. I was concerned about whether I would enjoy the con this year as a consequence. I had other concerns unrelated to the size of the con, including but not limited to areas for improvement in the volunteer staff on which I work. I was honestly thinking that this year might be my last, if my expectations were met.

As it turns out, the addition of the fourth hotel, the Sheraton, and some shifting around of different events and attractions really reduced the crush of humanity this year. I found the dealer room to still be a bit claustrophobic but outside of that didn't have any anxiety riddled moments like were all so common last year. The celebrities even seemed to be hitting the floor more, though that may have had more to do with the separation between the main programming rooms and the walk of fame.

As I was wandering, I saw (in no particular order) Walter Koenig, Adam West (twice), Michael Rosenbaum, almost bumped into Domic Keating, Peter Mayhew and George Takei. I also get to actually meet or renew acquaintance with guests who are not media stars, primarily skeptical thinkers of note including Dr. Michael Shermer, Phil Plait and D.J. Grothe.

I didn't get to see anywhere as many online acquaintances as I had hoped but more than last year as I was able to leave the podcast track room much more frequently. Thanks to the efforts of sambear, flyswatter, Kurt, Miranda, Andrew and Swoopy, no one person had more than a couple of panels to cover at a time. I was able to directly address my concerns from last year with some positive coaching at the outset and second chairing on the first day as other staff worked with and become comfortable running the mixer and PA. It helps thatsambear and flyswatter are ringers with experience volunteering elsewhere in years past at the con.

I missed Scott Sigler's party entirely Friday because of aforementioned coaching and a complete and utter failure of my crappy, crappy cell phone. If you saw my upset very late on Friday, I have to apologize for that as it really was nothing more than worry caused by said crappy cellular service. I did catch the latter half of the Parsecs and the launch party for Tee, Pip and blackwell and enjoyed that very much. I am concerned I bored a couple of my listeners who made the mistake of identifying themselves as such. I got to chat with one of the earliest podcasters, David Slusher, along with Evo Terra's lovely wife, Sheila. Andrea and I left before things apparently got less calm.

On Sunday, Andrea and I managed to get out to the Miss Klingon Empire Beauty Pageant which was a blast. We accidentally snuck in. As we walked in, we had wondered about the long line upstairs in the Sheraton. When we found an unattended open door, though, we figured it was for some other event. We sat down as the MC was doing a mic check, our first indication that we had perhaps jumped the line. I had my staff lanyard on and we figured if someone did see us slip in, they may have spotted the yellow ribbon around my neck and left us alone figuring we were supposed to be or allowed to be there. We sat row four, center, and definitely realized our blind luck when they opened the side door on that huge line.

The event was in the main ball room in the Sheraton which is literally ginormous. It took them nearly half an hour to seat everyone and they completely filled the place. Ethan Philips, Michael Dorn, Dominic Keating and an actual beauty pageant judge judged the pageant. All of the handful of contestants were enthusiastic and largely quite talented. It was a hoot and planetx has been trying to convince Andrea to enter next year.

We had a quiet night in that evening, watching the masquerade on D*CTV with some friends. It was a Dada-esque experience. But it is OK to be scared. I'm scared too. Ethan Philips MC'ed and you really had to see him to get just how phenomenally funny he was in a very dry, subtle way. I think it was some sort of defense mechanism for the surreality of the situation.

By the way, curse you, Brian Richardson! You know what you did. And you even told us you'd do it during your live What the Cast that day. Go watch the masquerade video if they post it either on the Dragon*Con web site or the D*CTV web site. You'll know why I am cursing him if you get to see the half time show, in particular.

I think both of us had a far better time than we expected. While we didn't get to see near enough of some of our friends, we both cherished meeting new friends and getting what time we could to renew acquaintance with those we did see. I think we are both leaning towards going again, next year, though there is a nasty rumor that the Hilton may start renovations which could put a damper on that. And another rumor that I may be asked to step up from mere volunteer to something more (many, many, many discussions must be had on this latter topic yet before anything of the kind will be decided).

Our entire family enjoys the local Dogfish Head Alehouse. Andrea's and my only complaint is the cost. Both the food and the beer are superb, it is just a bit pricey for us to afford going there too often.

Thanks to my GPS' bias towards right turns, a few months back I was driving through Old Towne Gaithersburg. I passed Growlers that from the signage appeared to be a local brew pub. A bit of Googling once I arrived home confirmed that and revealed an excellent beer and food menu, comparable to DFH.

With Andrea's digestive health issues and amazing progress on her diet, our regular habit of eating out most Saturdays had stopped a while back. This was before I discovered Growlers and made a note of it. We recently chatted about this, though, and formed a new plan to resuscitate this tradition. We'd each take a turn picking the restaurant so that we'd break out of our old rut, also part of the reason we stopped, of habiting the same three places and so Andrea would get equal choice for a place favorable to her restrictions, voluntary and otherwise.

We inaugurated the rebirth of this practice with my choice, Growlers. Everybody was pretty happy with it, too. The food was delicious and the portions were reasonable. The price fit the portion, addressing our main complaint with DFH. They have a kids menu, too, as much as I am coming to hate them but it makes it easier to avoid an argument with the boys.

I also reviewed my first taste of their beer brewed on the premises.

Not only are we planning on returning, we are hoping our friends, who seem to be defaulting to gathering at DFH, would be amenable to giving this local treasure a try sometime.

I realy do, especially when I am perfectly willing to play by the rules. Many, many others are documenting the iPhone woes. I am just a lowly iPod Touch owner. I am not particularly incensed at having to pay for what should be a free software update. Ten bucks isn't worth the bile.

But what a cluster fuck. Are you telling me Apple couldn't have anticipated the demand, especially with other product updates and launches all at the exact same time? I am actually thinking the fact that Touch owners have to pay is driving us all to the site at the same time whereas if it just came down free via Software Update we might be a bit more laid back.

I want my new apps too much to wait for the rush to die. I really hate using BitTorrent in an infringing way. I can count on one hand how many times I have done so. And in every case, I have paid for the product in questions after the fact. I only resort to it when I am impatient and my desire for the goods is foiled by a misguided or incompetent provider.

I have backed up the restore file for 1.1.4, the last pre-2.0 firmware for my Touch, just in case. I just hope I don't brick the silly thing.

I am not insane, despite mounting evidence to the contrary. There is a bit I remember seeing on the Young Ones when MTV was showing it back whan I was a teenager. A couple of demons kvetching about how hard it is to collect souls when doing so requires their name being said and both of them have unusual names.



Jump to 5:23 in this clip, you'll see the bit that has been haunting me all these years.

Thank you, YouTube, thank you.

Oh, and the bit is of course a setup for a punch in the third part of the episode. If you watch that part you'll also be treated to a performance by Madness.

Thanks to Boing Boing I caught this link to John Hodgman's new comic book review.

The first part of the review is dedicated to Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus. I have the latter volumes and have been working my way forwards. I am encouraged that Hodgman felt the first two volumes are the strongest. I enjoyed the latter volumes but was a bit puzzled at some elements. Hodgman's explanation of the premature end of the series helps make sense of the lapse.

I have always had an almost instinctual awareness of Kirby's work, even before I knew who he was and was able to positively identify what made his art and writing so different. Hodgman renders those traits that make Kirby the King with a certain poignancy that is touching and reminds me of why I love the man's work so much.

If you know of Kirby, read the first part of the review for the devotion. If you do not, then it is an excellent introduction to the man's work and should encourage you to at least pick up a volume or two at your local comic shop and give it a peruse.

The rest of the review is pretty typical fair, comics that have been covered before with about equal sentiments.

Also, did I mention that matt_wallace earned devotion pretty closely to that I hold for Kirby by including a Fourth World reference in The Next Fix? The reference is no coincidence, the first question I asked him when andreahg and I picked him up recently to take him from the airport to Balticon confirmed it. Go read the omnibus then read (or re-read) The Next Fix; you'll catch it.

Here are some memes I witnessed birthed or helped birth at Balticon 42. I will be, consciously or otherwise, probably helping in their diffusion in the coming months.

Midget ninja: born in particular of Andrea's sense of the light hearted comedic worth of individuals of strikingly short stature but combined with the universal geek trope of the awesome that is the ninja. There is a delicious hint of cognitive dissonance at work, too. Can someone of awkward proportions pull off the stealth powers of the shadow clan? I think the answer is those diminutive trainees to pass muster would have to be of such astonishing caliber that they would be a class above and beyond your run of the mill masked assassin. Still, despite the power of this image, the meme also evokes coolness and comedy by turns for the laugh potential of the height disinclined cannot be diminished even by ninja training. This effect can be amplified by juxtaposing the stocky shuriken slinger with that epitome of vinegar pie. Ask andreahg as I cannot do that meme justice, and it originates with her family. The midget ninja, it must be noted, is not synomous with said wrongful pastry, merely that the dissonant aspects of the black clad meme are amplified by invoking the vignette of said anti-hero figure scarfing that mind-bendingly off confection.

Of the many x I could have y-ed, this is one of them: matt_wallace invoked this truism of writing workshops and critical circles everywhere. It delighted Andrea and I in its potential use in every day situations. Andrea's con wrap up is an excellent, specific exemplar of this usage.

Pretty for a con chick: This is not the pejorative you would imagine at first blush. Many recipients of said appellation are perfectly attractive in ordinary circumstances. Rather it is a commentary on the time and space warping powers of the sheer concentration of the geek norms that occurs at cons. There is an ironic component, as well, as some who bear this tag take advantage of the temporary boost in appeal experienced at cons at the expense of their every day credibility. Contrast to geek goddess, an archetype whose credbility is enhanced by an opposite reaction to the throngs of adoring geeks, a surplus of humility and all around graciousness born of seemingly genuine ignorance of their own elevated status.

Alternate merge: This meme may be still born as I don't think it survived its own stilted inception. I include it here for completeness as I found it remarkable enough to include in my notes. The genesis was a sign indicating a three way merge. This provoked musings of the fervid bureaucratic imaginings that would create such an innocuous label for a potentially mythic cluster fsck. matt_wallace also suggested it might make a good college radio band name and was agreeable to the refinement of speaking as a question rather than a statement.

Outrage addict: Credit again goes to matt_wallace though I will admit I do not know if it is his own coinage or he is merely popularizing someone else's notion. Regardless, it should require little explanation and establishes a nicely continuous line from the well established "drama queen" into the depths that are only apparent at certain events such as beauty pageants, drag shows and amongst certain circles at cons.

Take a costume change: This was a follow on and while, again, it was matt_wallace sharing this bit of wisdom, I am pretty positive the advice originates from planetx. In short, the phrase is claimed to be an adequate protective abjuration when confronted by the previously described outrage addict.

Feel free to add any memes you witnessed in the comments along with a definition and/or example of typical usage.

The high points were, as with last year, the author readings. I met more great folks and renewed acquaintance with a few more. My two absolute favorites were the short short slam and Mur's reading (despite the heat and its contribution to my grouch implosion later on that day). The live events I attended came a close, close second. Balticon is the only con I attend with so many readings and my volunteer time is actually spent more on recording them than supporting the podcast programming, which is relatively self sufficient. I love the live events, but they are not unique to Balticon and I know I can look forward to attending or even participating in them at many other conventions, as well.

The low points were my two sour moods, Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon, detailed each in previous posts. This year I worked on my organizational skills as a volunteer, a panelist and a moderator. Next year, I need to work on my poise under fire and maintaining a graceful facade no matter how I may actually feel about a particular situation.

No one likes seeing an irritable volunteer or a grouchy panelist. The programming is for the benefit of the attendees first, the panelists second and the staff/volunteers last. I don't want to be the one anyone remembers from an experience of a particular panel as spoiling it, no matter my personal feelings. I know that may sound self martyring or whatever. It's not. I am happy to bitch and vent out of ear shot. I am just saying I need to keep my cool better when the focus should be on the discussion or event.

On the purely social end of things, I had expected to see very little of my friends but was still disappointed at having that expectation met. There were some notable exceptions. I also realize that my goals at a con, to hone my public speaking in front a live audience, to further the educational aspects of my chosen areas of activism, and to support the creators who mean so much to me, leaves little room for too much socialization. I am learning to temper that with making opportunities outside of cons to see my more far flung friends.

I am also realizing I have mostly outgrown the room party scene. Odd, since I really have only been actively going to cons for a few years. First, my desire for alcohol is driven by my palate, not my need for inebriation. Next, often, when I am a bit wrung out at the end of the day, alcohol is actually the worst thing for it. It rarely does anything to improve my mood. Last, the real thing about drinking that brightens my outlook is the company I usually keep in doing so. Drinking in absence of that comraderie is self defeating. It just seems like a cheap fix when my friends are otherwise occupied and not easily unearthed. It takes some will to realize that coincidental association and not drink out of some cargo cult fetish, trying to recreate mood that requires the presence of my witty, fascinating and fun friends.

The short version is this year's Balticon was at least as good, for me, as last year's. Better in some ways, especially in having some realizations about how to improve my experience while still at the con. I am concerned at some of the drama that went on but that is neither here nor there. I prefer to see how much of that is still actively being discussed by the next con. It all feels so immediate when we are actually going through it, but after some time and distance, much of it just doesn't seem all that important.

My continuing concern is helping andreahg find a way to enjoy the cons more. I don't expect her to enjoy the same aspects I do, we've always been relatively independent, happily splitting up to pursue our own interests and re-connecting as we can throughout the weekend to compare notes or enjoy some quiet time apart. Without the buffer, though, of some level of participation, as an attendee, volunteer or panelist, I think she gets hit much harder by the ful brunt of the social eddies and whirls. Time, as I've said, will temper some of it but it doesn't seem to lessen the bruising from the inevitable buffeting she'll no doubt sustain at the next con.

I have gone to events in the past, independent of her, but that works better as an exception than a rule. I guess that's the only really weighty matter for me to ponder and discuss.

We got a late start. Our first event was The Singularity. Dave Kanter and southernronin put on an amazing event, only topped by a huge announcement from the crazy talented creators of Stranger Things. I'm not sure if or when this can be discussed publicly, so I'd suggest subscribing to their feed to get the official announcement in their feed direct from Earl.

We split after The Singularity and I recorded a couple of author readings: Walter Jon Williams and Tom Doyle. I had heard about Williams' upcoming novel, Implied Spaces via an ad on Escape Pod. He read from the manuscript and I am even more interested than I was before. Tom Doyle's reading from last year was one of my favorites and we had corresponded a bit leading up to this year. I was not disappointed. Plus, Doyle bribed us with cookies. Again.

I got to meet David Williams who made a very strong, favorable first impression. I could not stay for his reading but Martha said it was great. I am glad she recorded it so I'll get a chance to hear it.

I managed to grab a quick lunch in amongst my recording obligations and kept far better hydrated. Also, the reading room, Pimlico, had fully functional air conditioning, so I was able to apply the hard won lessons of the day prior to keeping a more even keel.

I will admit that I found the End of an Era panel frustrating. I am embarassed to admit I was not very gracious about it, not good behavior for a panelist regardless of the mysterious topic or the uneven moderation. Billy Flynn did an excellent job, do not get me wrong, but I don't feel like I got an opportunity to make what few points I had to make. Jon Stallard, the Vicar, expressed similar sentiments on at least two occasions, so I am not all that upset.

If you had to endure my glower from the corner, again, my apologies. It was nothing personal and I should have found a better attitude before showing up. Also, by way of explanation, I was asked by Mur to record her event with Connie Willis and becuase of my prior commitment, had to decline. I do not like having to do so for any of my friends since my volunteer time and my gear is my own small but regular contribution to supporting and promoting their work. That disappointment goes double when the request comes from Mur. Quadruple when the event in question is her interviewing one of her heroes. Again, I should have better mastered my own disappointment as the panel isn't about me but what the attendees want to hear and what questions they have to be answered. I'm just saying I think I had some good reasons to at least glower on the inside.

Andrea and I got a chance to get away for dinner. It was a tad rushed but a pleasant interlude. It was also another regularly spaced meal, so kept my blood sugar well away from the critical grouch threshold.

We got back in time for me to make my last recording of the day and the weekend, Jeri Smith-Ready. She read from her new novel, a bit of magical realism involving vampires and a rock radio station. Good stuff.

I finally got my script for the live Mister Adventure. Rich and Davey generously gave me a few lines for the performance at Ravencon and Rich gave me an even bigger part for this episode. Jared, as Dr. Richards, and I had some fun with the geeky banter between our two characters, and Earl, as Dr. Zhou, got some great laughs at our expense with jabs like "nerd fight" and "geek testosterone". The cast was huge, the performance overall was a smash and it was certainly a high point of the con.

Sadly, I forgot to switch on my mic, as I had agreed to help Rich further by taking a recording. Thankfully, there were plenty of other recorders running, so my hthink-o should hardly affect Rich's ability to edit together a listenable episode for his regular listeners. In particular, David Kanter, of Stranger Things, had a pretty impressive bit of gear. There was also cthulhim's iRiver and someone else's H2, Paulette Jaxton's, I believe.

I immediately bolted from the room after we wrapped and I hastily packed my gear. I got ten steps down the hallway when I ran into a friend (and fellow committee member on USACM) who pointed out my next, and final, panel was in the room I had just left.

The panel in question was the Solo Podcasting panel. As with my copyright panel, I spent some time preparing ahead of time and think it went smoothly. I cannot thank the panelists enough: Grailwold, MA in PA and Jared as their answers and anecdotes totally made the panel. We had a good turnout and the audience seemed to agree.

I attended my only science panel a bit later on, after dropping off my gear. scifilaura was on a discussion of the science of Hitchhiker's Guide. The idea was appealing, the execution not so much. There was some good ideas and discussion but it tended to stray a bit far afield. Also, with Laura's involvement, I had hoped there might by a bit more astronomy or cosmology. As it was, she didn't get much input, partly because of the sciences that were discussed and partly because of somewhat weak moderation.

There was a gathering in the bar after. It was mostly quiet and I ducked out early since we needed to hit the road on the early side to get matt_wallace to his flight out of National on time. I got a chance to say good bye to almost everyone, but if I missed you, now you know why.

I got some time to hit the dealer room as well as to pick up Balticon 42 tee shirts for both of us. The largest offering in the dealer room was a wide variety of books. I found the same dealer from whom andreahg had bought my Cthulu fish tee last year and picked up a Cthulhu for President tee. You know, when you're tired of the lesser evil.

sailormur's Live Takeover audio drama was fantastic and hilarious. She had a full cast who gave a stellar performance. I got to help her record video with her desktop tripod and flip camera. I can't wait until the podcast starts.

This was followed by one of the video podcasring panels, 101, I think. southernronin kept the discussion flowing smoothly and ensured the panelists covered a good survey of topics. I had to duck out partway through, though, as my blood sugar had started to crash. I didn't snag any food, my first mistake of the day. I don't think I got anything to drink, either.

My first author reading of the day was Joshua Palmatier. He read from the last book in his epic fantasy trilogy which was recently released. I missed Danielle Ackley-McPhail's reading because the schedule errata was a cryptogram my addled brain could not solve.

The next reading I recorded was the Short Short Slam. The authors included planetx, blackwell, Steve Wilson, James Patrick Kelly and Bill deSmedt. This was my favorite reading after sailormur's. Jared and JR read from some of their short works. Jared obliged my request to read The Bitter Kiss of the Ronin's Cup, the first story I heard him read, the very first time I met him. I love that story! Jim Kelly read a single short piece that seemed familiar though I couldn't say if I read it before as he didn't remark on where it might have been published. Steve and Bill both read excerpts from their longer fiction.

The final reading of the day was Mur's. I didn't have to record it as Martha had it covered. I love Mur's fiction and the excerpts she shared from her current work in progress is no exception. The room was packed to the point where late comers had to be turned away. The heat, unfortunately, really did me in, on top of the dehydration and low blood sugar.

I quickly made me way back to the main podcast room to record the live Aliens You Will Meet for Jared. It was a real treat meeting both Richard Kalwaic and Russell Collins, the narrator and composer respectively who Jared is lucky to have contribute. I think the dual channel audio with the paddle mic for the music and Q&A plus the hand mic for Richard will give Jared some very workable audio to publish in his feed.

At this point, I had to have a time out. I retired to the room, not interested in the hotel restaurant or able to find anyone hanging about looking hungry. I ordered a bacon sandwich. (A BLT? Let's call it what it is, please.) It was delicious and along with the Tres Pistoles and the blissfully cool room air did much to repair my mood. If at any point previous I grouched at you, please accept my apology. It was a set of circumstancs entirely of my own making.

I relaxed further down in the lobby waiting for Heather Welliver's concert to start. I got a chance to chat with Heather a bit before her performance. She was nervous but proved to have no good reason to be. Stokley Rose warmed up the crowd for her, also stalling to allow more folks with conflicting panels to make it to her show.

Kulture Kast conducted a recording for their fiftieth episode outside in the court at the same time, meaning that while the turn out was good, there were some conspicuous absences. I bought Heather a well deserved drink after her set and there was much carousing in the bar and lounge after. As the Kulture Kast recording let out (did they really take three hours? More?), I finally got a chance to see folks I hadn't seen much of to that point. I also got a chance to formally meet James Patrick Kelly and chat with him a bit. I very much enjoy his regular column in Asimov's.

The volunteers I mentioned in the day 1 post, by the way. All no shows. Late on day 2, a fellow approached us offering himself and his iRiver. Martha and I pounced, though we managed not to overload him. He helped us capture three readings on Sunday, which was an improvement over last year where it was just Martha and myself.

We headed down to Reagan National to pick up matt_wallace yesterday anticipating early holiday traffic. We were surprised at how little was on the road and got there way early. We decided to park and get some lunch before Matt's flight arrived. It is odd how even when you are not travelling through the airport, it can still make you feel tense. Especially since the Friday's where we ate was right next to a security checkpoint.

We had a very enjoyable ride from the airport up to Hunt Valley, despite encountering all the traffic we missed and having the daffy GPS take us through the city. We discovered many shared interests with the incomparable Mr. Wallace and even managed to spawn a new meme, midget ninjas. Ask me if you really want to know.

After we got settled at the hotel, those already at the con seemed to be a bit scattered. Many of our friends and acquaintances hit even more traffic and were much delayed. We hung out in the bar with the larger group for a few rounds before peeling off to get some dinner before sailormur's and my first panels. Mr. Wallance again accompanied us and we have a very delightful meal, andreahg, sailormur, cthulhim, and matt_wallace. The service was insanely slow, however, and I was a few minutes late for my panel.

I was moderating the copyright panel, my first for the weekend. I managed to only miss the introductions by the other panelists so was able to pick up seamlessly. It was an excellent panel with a lot of good insights and experiences shared by the panelists. We managed to squeeze in a few audience questions after covering quite a bit of ground on our own. I did not record it because I had no time to collect my audio gear on the way in from dinner.

Opening ceremonies was interesting. The MC seemed a bit unprepared but that's OK. The inside jokes were kept to a minimum, the bulk of the time was actually given over to a live belly dance performance by a local troupe, Kallisti Tribal. I found that an odd choice to spend so much of the hour on that, though I am not complaining. They were excellent. I really enjoyed the tease that southernronin put together for his event on Sunday, very much looking forward to the world premiere of his adaptation of one of matt_wallace's stories.

I caught the social networks panel immediately afterward. Jason Adams, Heather Welliver and I were live tweeting throughout, only somewhat ironically. I kept my tongue on some of the technical issues I have with these tools. I think the panelists and audience explored the more interesting non-technical aspects well enough. The AC in the room was no functional or running in reverse, though. To anyone who encountered me after that room's hellish climate wrecked my brain, I apologize if I came off as much groucy than normal.

The sexy women in scifi, my last panel, went off better than I expected. Credit goes to blackwell, scifilaura and Helen Madden. I am glad the programming director took me up on my suggestion to pull more women onto this panel, originally it was going to be blackwell and three guys. There were still three guys, myself included, but I, for one, was happy to let the ladies drive the discussion and act mostly as comic relief.

Still really from the harsh thermocline from earlier in the evening, I made a brief appearance at the podcaster meet and greet but moved on to find the wife, andreahg, make nice with a few more friends, and then retire for the evening.

My schedule is wide open, today, in terms of speaking on panels but I need to find the programming director and coordinate my recording assignments. I helped take author readings, last year, and promised to do the same again this year. I am lead to believe there may be a few more volunteers, too, which would be welcome news as there are a few events I do not want to miss such as sailormur's reading.