entombed in the shrine of zeroes and ones

The latest thestraightdope's source is a question from someone who cops to attending a Nancy Drew conference.

I'm still slightly stunned by this fact.

Caution: i switch tenses back and forth during this report.  Cope.

So i decided to drive to San Diego instead of flying in order to save money. That's all good, except that i knew that'd mean driving through LA on a Friday. I had hoped to get out of San Jose by 07:00, but i didn't really get on the road until well past 09:30. I loaded some clothes and Foucault's Pendulum into my backpack, and threw it and a box of CDs into my car. After a slight delay on Pacheco Pass due to tree trimming, i was blowing down I-5 with music knocking around the immediate environs.

Musical Interlude #1: Three Fish's "Here In The Darkness" starts to play. Within seconds, i cross the Los Angeles county line.

Musical Interlude #2: Tool's "Disposition" is playing. Maynard sings, "Watch the weather change." The sky becomes overcast and it threatens rain.

Musical Interlude #3: The CD player is freaking out, so i give it a break and try the radio, but i'm picking up nothing (my antenna, already bent due to unfortunate interaction with a pine tree at a friend's house, was recently separated from the car by my stepson), so i put it on Seek and leave it running until it finally picks up a signal. Tom Petty's "Running Down A Dream" had just started:

It was a beautiful day
the sun beat down
i had the radio on
i was drivin'

The overcast cleared.

I finally arrive at the DoubleTree Mission Valley, check in, get a cookie (they seem to be really proud of their cookies), then head down to the Conjecture registration desk to sign in. I see pasty, unkempt white men in polo shirts; morbidly obese women; people in period, Jedi, and Starfleet costume; furries... i must be in a con.

Afterwards, i sit down at the bar and get a glass of wine. I'd never tried a shiraz before, so i get a glass of The Rothbury Estate Shiraz 2001... nice. I chat with the bartender about wine; i mention that i haven't really found a zinfandel i like except for Bonny Doon's Cardinal Zin, in which the zinfandel is aided by some old vine carignane. He makes a sign that i should wait, then proceeds to pour me a taste of Cline Cellars Zinfandel 1999. VERY nice. It's always gratifying to find a good instance of a varietal you don't like (or, in my case, despise, like Chardonnay; Thomas Fogerty's chardonnay is excellent and not at all buttery and barfulous). During this time, a very drunk gentleman (who i'm told is there attending some sort of database administrator conference) tries to pick up one of the waitresses while trying to pick a fight with me by impinging on the quality of my stupendous bowler hat (also known as a derby hat... FIGHT!). My superior charm won out, and the sot shuffled off to his room.

I hooked up with ambyr, my roomie for the con. She is a quiet and reserved young lady. We head down to the big welcome shindig, where The Man Himself, Mr. Steven Brust, is introduced. He sings and plays guitar a bit and the crowd loves it. Afterwards, i head to a panel, and then to bed.

On Saturday, i spent time at the panels where Brust was. He is a swell guy, with one hell of a sense of humor ("Never make fun of a jet-powered turtle."), and a sense of knowing where he is and where he wants to go that i admire and, well, perhaps 'envy' is a bit too strong a word, but i definitely aspire to it. After Brust's final panel of the day, he invited people to go to his room for music and cigarette smoke. I happily attended and much fun was had.

On Sunday, i checked out (one thing i noticed was the mattress on my bed had a label that said, "Keep This Side Up - JAN FEB MAR") and headed to Pasadena to have lunch with some college buddies whom (excepting Dave) i'd not seen since my ignominious exit from USC nine years ago. I made excellent time, so Dave suggested i stop by his place first and catch the end of the MLS Cup. I got there and witnessed the last five minutes of regulation of a tense, scoreless tie. As the game went into the second OT, Dave's mom called; he went into another room to talk to her, while i watched a deflected New England shot hit the crossbar, and, in the ensuing counterattack, Los Angeles score the championship goal. I think Dave's mom must've been wondering who was screaming and squawking in his apartment. We then headed to Barney's, where we hooked up with Brian and Ronnie (and his grilf Ingrid), and i actually got to watch a home Raiders game for the first time in a while.

Back on the road, all was well until i hit brutal traffic on Pacheco Pass, the result of people leaving the Ren Faire. I was forced to stop at Casa de Fruta and get a BLT; my table neighbor saw the stress on my face and offered some peppermint oil. I got home much later than i'd hoped or expected. But, in the end, i got to hang out with Steven Brust, i had three people praise the acuity of my questions, saw my old dorm companions, and i got home safe. Whee, fun!

I'm off to Conjecture in the morning. I should hook up with old college buddies for lunch on Sunday. I'll be back late Sunday. Be excellent to each other.

I know this will interest nothings, peglegpete, and possibly palecur, but for the rest of you as well: Conjecture 2002 is coming up in about a month and a half. The guest of honor will be Steven Brust. I plan to be there.