This is MSC 40. The last time I visited it was MSC 30. Time passes!

MSC is a great general con. Lots of SF/fantasy lit, but also lots of gaming. Writer GoH this year is Keith DeCandido – that will be fun!

This is my first visit to BBC. Big Bad Con is a tabletop and live action gaming event. It focuses on a welcome to marginalized genders, queer folks, people of color, and people with disabilities. They actively work "to make the con as physically, socially, and financially accessible as possible, and to cultivate a culture of respect, support, and kindness."

A favorite convention. Lots of good gaming, and it's John Kovalic's home convention, so if you are a Kovalic fan, you should come. Say hi to me, too.

I have not been to this show before, but it comes very well recommended. They're enlarging their gaming program. You can help by . . . coming and playiing games!

Did panels. Presented presentations (presentably, I hope). Ran games. Went to the swing dance event and found out that Marc Aquino (of Alliance Game Distributors) is a swing instructor, and good at it!

Admired many costumes. Many, many costumes. Walking from event to event on the street, it seemed as though every other person was dressed up.

Actually got to PLAY a little bit.

And, in general, took in the exhausting wonder that is Dragon Con.

My second trip of the year to Louisville. My first visit ever to Imaginarium. This con is largely aimed at pros and beginning pros – I even made it into some panel audiences for my OWN professional development.

I heard a couple of dozen pitches for new books, bought one (Devon Eriksen's Theft of Fire), and was glad I did.

This was the weekend of the Great Internet Crash, and only by a whisker did I miss getting caught up in it. Had my flight left Atlanta ten minutes later, it probably would not have left for two or three days, if that makes any sense. As it was, the worst suffering I endured was not being able to use a credit card to buy ice cream when I was on the ground in Louisville.

Propls to the organizers, to the game area, and to the martyred volunteers who picked me up at the airport at oh-dark-thirty. And big thanks to Scott Tackett and family, who took in a very tired Steve and kept him alive through the weekend.