Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!?

sigh Another Orycon is history now.

I arrived Friday about noon with my lovely and talented wife (snippy) and Twoson. We checked into the room at the hotel, settled in, then went down and picked up our badges and assorted loot (souvenir con booklet, pocket program, etc.). We hadn't even checked in yet, when we ran into Rory and Kami in the lobby. Yay! Rory's been out of the country for several months in an undisclosed desert enviroment, doing things he's contractually obligated not to talk about. But even so, he had some amazing stories he could talk about.

snippy and I (and Twoson) are all still recovering from a cold, so we didn't have the energy we usually did. I enjoyed the con, but at times I felt like I wasn't fully present. I also spent more time than usual resting in our room and net surfing. I even napped on Saturday afternoon. Being run down sucks. But nonetheless, the con was fun.

We had a late lunch (or an early dinner, depending on your POV) Saturday at Mandarin Cove, a Chinese restaurant literally just across the street from the hotel. Nine of us in total, eating a family style assortment of dishes and talking. It was great fun.

The Dealers Room was less interesting than I'd hoped. I did finally buy four books, but there was a lot less stuff I was interested in overall. (We get so many of our new books via Amazon these days, that we already have almost everything we'd ordinarily buy there, I think.) I never even got to the art show.

Panels were fun, though mostly I attended panels that Rory was on. Rory did a panel where he gave us the Use of Force class he teaches (well, taught) to other cops for years. He did a later panel on Saturday evening about violence--what it's really like as opposed to what Hollywood and novelists portray. I've seen both panels before, but they're always entertaining nonetheless. And informative. And some of the pictures he has available in a binder to look at if you're interested are amazing (and violent and bloody and disturbing).

I drifted in and out of gaming and hospitality frequently over the weekend, though I never actually played any games. I also just wandered the halls, observing the local fen in their natural habitat. I even took pictures of some of them, something I don't usually do. The observant reader may note a trend in the photos, in that they're mostly of women. I regret nothing!

( Photos below the cut. Abandon hope all ye with dial-up. )