MidSouthCon after-action report

Hey All,

Ok, here is how it went.

Friday 4:15 - arrive at MidSouthCon, register, and check into hotel

Friday 4:35 - Call wife. "Baby, I made it. Gotta go...important panels to do."

Friday 4:45 - Find Consuite. Get beer.

Friday 6:45 - Toni sends people to Consuite to find me. How'd she know I'd be there drinking free beer?

Friday 7:30 - Go to Redezvous downtown Memphis and eat ribs with Toni, David Drake, David's "handler". Drink beer.

Friday 9:45 - back at Con. Go to Huntsville room and hang out for a while. Toni forces me to drink a large cup of straight Jim Beam. The huntsville folks also force me to chase the Beam with several daquiris...still not sure what type they were.

Friday ??? - decide to go to the Stuart's MidSouthCon Chocolate Martini party...mistake???

Saturday somewhere around 2am - finish off my last chocolate martini and start drinking rum and coke.

Saturday 2:37 am - wife calls. "Still talking books with fen, baby!"

Saturday 3:3? am - #1 Groupie Sue Thorn tells me I'd better go to bed or she is gonna knock me out with something.

Saturday 3:45 am - stumbled to room, called for wake-up call, pass out.

Saturday 10:15 am - phone rings, head hurts...

Saturday 11 am - Science Panel on Extr-solar planet finding. It went quite well. I somehow ended up being moderator.

Saturday 12:00 - trudged the long death march back to room and napped.

Saturday 1pm - slept through mass autographing.

Saturday 3pm - got up took seven asprin and ate a bunch of salt and drank gatorade, mountain dew, diet Dr. Pepper, water, took an asprin, and ate a hamburger with fries.

Saturday 4pm - sat on Baen Panel in main programming room. Had a birthday cake delivered for Toni.

Saturday 6pm - skipped banquet. Trudged long trek back to room and collapsed. Took asprin, drank orange juice, gatorade, water, etc. With hindsight, should have had a beer or four.

Sat 9pm - went to a panel. head hurt.

Sat 10:01 - called wife. "All is great!"

Sat 10: 25 - rented a movie, then passed out 15 minutes into it.

Sunday 8am - felt great, other than slight headache, got ready and went to panel.

Sunday 8:49am - wife called, "Daughter is sick!"

Sunday 9am - did panel on Fermi's Paradox.

Sunday 10:01 - bumped into Uncle Timmy of Libertycon. Talked with him for about 5 minutes.

Sunday 10:15 - rushed home to sick daughter!

Today - all is well baby is great. Head is still there. Con was fun.

Next year I'll not cross the streams so much on the first day. I'm more a beer drinker anyway. I just don't like to offend folks that offer me free alcky-hall.

If I missed anybody on Saturday, I'll see you at another one sometime. And since I missed the last chance meet the guests thing on Sunday I missed folks there too.

This is about the best resolution I recall for the weekend. I do recall...only after being reminded of it...singing a Guns'N'Roses tune followed up by a great rendition of The Wiggles tune "Toot-Toot-Chugga-Chugga Big Red Car". Go figure. And thanks to the Stuarts for inviting me to the party. Sorry I passed out and missed the one on Saturday night. Next year...next year.

Oh well, all in all, it was a great weekend! The only thing missing was if I'd had to barf somewhere along the way.

Thanks MidSouthCon,

Doc