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Dragon*Con: Way more fun than should be allowed

For the longest time, cons were those places where the weirdo hard-core geeks that dressed up gathered. Not the kind of thing I ever imagined myself wanting to go. Anybody who took their favourite show/character that seriously was just too bizarre to my brain.

DragonCon is really something that needs to be experienced. It’s just too hard to describe, and any telling of the things that go on at DragonCon make it sound like it’s just a collection of weirdos, freaks and geeks.

I went, and I saw. At the first panel I went to (Babylon 5), I squeed like a little girl. And then I got to meet and talk to Bruce Boxleitner, and I squeed some more. I saw celebrities like Lou Ferrigno, Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, most of the Stargate: Atlantis cast, and many more. More squee’ing when I got Tracy Scoggin‘s autograph and photo taken with her (also a self admitted sci-fi geek). Photo with Felicia Day (OMGSQUEEE!!).

Yes, I became a total fan boy and one of them. Admittedly, I didn’t really have that far to go.

There were lots of people dressed up in costumes and many that weren’t. There were costumes from just about every genre, show and character you could think of. When my friends and I thought about a show or character that would be cool to see or dress up as, sooner or later we’d end up seeing someone else dressed as it.

But that’s not all there is to Dragon*Con. There were the fan tracks that covered everything from your favourite sci-fi/fantasy, literature, arts, costuming to podcasting, science and space. Writers workshops, art shows, costume contests and of course the celebrity panels. There are way way way more things going on than you could ever possibly see at once.

Don’t just take my word for it though. You should think about going to see it for yourself next year.

Pictures soon. Have close to 600 that I need to go through and weed out.

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Blognic ’09 planning

If it’s September, that means time to start planning for another Blognic!

By my count this will be Blognic #4 and since Wannamaker County Park worked so well for the last two, might as well go there again (unless someone has other suggestions).

Now we just need a date. My thoughts for potential dates are the weekends of Sept 26, Oct 3, Oct 10 or Oct 17. Those just happen to be weekends I have free, but don’t let that stop you from suggesting other dates. Personally I like the Oct 10 or 17 dates.

As usual, Blognic ’09 will be a pot-luck affair for the whole family and by no means limited to bloggers so everybody’s invited!

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TS Erika

It’s September which means we’re starting to get into the peak of the hurricane season. Yesterday the NHC announced TS Erika had formed but forecast models don’t have it strengthening a whole lot.

DATA FROM THE AIRCRAFT INDICATE THAT ERIKA HAS WEAKENED A LITTLE… WHICH IS NOT SURPRISING CONSIDERING THE DISORGANIZED APPEARANCE OF THE SYSTEM ON SATELLITE IMAGES. MODERATE WESTERLY SHEAR HAS BEEN DISRUPTING THE CYCLONE BUT THE SHEAR IS NOT EXPECTED TO BE STRONG ENOUGH TO PREVENT SOME STRENGTHENING DURING THE NEXT DAY OR SO. THEREAFTER…AN UPPER-TROPOSPHERIC TROUGH FARTHER TO THE WEST IS LIKELY TO IMPART INCREASING SOUTHWESTERLY SHEAR ON ERIKA…WHICH SHOULD INDUCE WEAKENING. THE NHC INTENSITY FORECAST IS VERY SIMILAR TO THE PREVIOUS OFFICIAL FORECASTS…BUT BELOW THE CONSENSUS OF THE NUMERICAL INTENSITY GUIDANCE.

It’ll definitely be something to watch after the weekend when I get back from Dragon*Con.

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0x186CE miles

Today I went past 100000 miles on my 2000 Camry. I think it happened when I was on my way out to Summerville to check out the next dog park in my Lowcountry Dog Park Tour. On my way back, remembered I was close to 100000, and when I checked it was reading 100026 miles.

Still going pretty strong. No major issues with the car yet, although I do need to get the brakes and shocks done, and a couple of new tires for the front. Just the normal things wearing out.

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Lowcountry Dog Park Tour: Wassamassaw Park Dog Park

Just inside the entrance to Summerville’s Wassamassaw Community Park are two fenced dog parks on either side of the road. The signs say that the one on the left (as you’re entering) is for big dogs (> 20 lbs) and the one on the right (as you’re entering) is for small dogs (< 20 lbs).

Both areas are roughly the same shape, long and rectangular, providing a good amount of room for long ball throws.

The park is pretty new (opened August 2008) so the grass is still largely intact, although there was a small muddy section near the middle that was probably started by a dog trying to dig something up. Looks like the park designers took drainage into account, as the ground slopes down toward a line along the middle of the park and towards a stormwater drain.

A muddy spot

A few trees provide some shade, and several benches are available for people to sit on in both dog areas. There are also a couple of poop bag and disposal stations in each dog area.

Poop bag station

One significant failing of the dog park is that there is only one water fountain, and it’s located outside the large dog area. That means if you want to water your dog, you’ll have to leash it, exit the park, get water and then go back in when you’re finished. Or you can just wait until you’re finished with the dog park and let your dog drink on your way out. Why the water was placed outside the dog area, I have no idea. I suspect the small dog area was put in as a bit of an afterthought, which would explain why there’s no water fountain for the small dog area.

Not sure what the dog population is like in Summerville, but I’m sure once more people find out about this dog park, it’ll be come very popular.

See the rest of the dog park photos here.

Here’s a Google Map to the dog park

View Wassamassaw Park Dog Park in a larger map