Gen Con (gaming convention) used to be something that I looked forward to all year. It was four days of nonstop gaming (role-playing games) I'd play good games, and meet all kinds of cool people. I used to go down every morning at 8AM and stay until midnight. I'd have to schedule some free time in the middle of the day so I could go out and eat, and find a quiet hallway to lie down in and get a little sleep. I'm not as into it as I used to be. This year I only went down for the first two days. Part of the reason was that I didn't preregister for games, so most of them were sold out., I only played one game. I did get a ticket for one more, but I got a refund because I didn't think it was really worth it to drive down there another day, just for one game. And then I could give my entrance badge to a friend. I'm also unhappy that it costs so much - $26 a day ($34 for two, and $60 for four) That's just so you can go in and look at the exhibit hall and buy stuff. And the art show. And maybe get some autographs (Billy Dee Williams, Marina Sirtis and a couple of the goddess babes from Hercules).

I picked up a couple of card games (Fluxx, Aquarius), a Jean-Leon Gerome poster, a blinking LED badge, "What's New With Phil and Dixie 3", the new D&D Player's Handbook and "Year of the Comet" (The latest Shadowrun adventure book, by the new owners.

The art show was good. This one attracts many of the best artists in the fantasy and science fiction gaming community. Ciruelo, Mike Kaluta, Donato Giancola, Mark Nelson, DiTerlizzi, Terese Nielsen. I spoke for quite a while, with Donato. This guy is awesome. He's my new favorite artist. We spoke about the public's expectations of fantasy art, and how much and how quickly the field is changing.