CanCon

CanCon is the National Wargames Convention, held annually in Canberra over the Australia Day weekend. My first attendance was in 1986 and I've gone every year since then, sometimes driving interstate. Except for last year, when I was in Washington, and I'm afraid that the attractions oc Cancon are no match for the wonders in the Smithsonian.

When I first went, I was heavily into PBM or Play By Mail. Which I'd designed and written my own space empire game with the ridiculous title of "Magic".

Good game but full of bugs. I had a number of players in Canberra, including Garth Nix, who was kind enough to write a review for the Cancon issue of the wargame's society newsletter.

But the real deal was the boardgames. At that stage I was heavily into collecting classic SPI boardgames. Wacht Am Rhein, War in the Pacific, all the classics and monsters.

And you could still buy them at the second-hand stall9s) for not a real lot.

I've had some great experiences over the years. Some years we'd set up a stall and flog PBM startups and my old boardgames at inflated prices. Some customers would see what I had for sale and not be able to get their wallet out quick enough!

But over the years the focus changed, and it became more role-playing and Warhammer 40K and card games and LAN games. PBM sorta fell by the wayside, and there aren't too many of the boardgamers still left.

There's a classic gamer mould. Male, middle-aged, large, sweaty and happy.

I'm sort of "wargamer lite", I suppose. It's been twenty five years since I played wargames in earnest, and five since my last PBM. But i still like to poke my nose in, check out the stalls, drink in the atmosphere, maybe have some hideous sausage sandwich and cola.

But I prefer Washington, even in the snow.

Chicago

Had a Google chat with Tzurriz and Jfroebe this morning. A bit of gender confusion but eventually we worked things out.

It was funny, because I'd been dreaming about them only a few hours before. And Mojosmom and WhiteRaven and all the other BookCrossers I'll meet in Toronto.

Tzurriz and JFroebe both date in my acquaintance since my earliest days of BookCrossing, when Chit-Chat was a very different place. I wondered what they looked like and how they behaved in real life. Tzurriz seemed to have a particular ability to attract hurricanes, and I still think that Hurricane Rita was nature's way of trying to get to her by travelling up the Missisippi when she relocated to Chicago.

Tzurriz has the sparkliest, giggliest eyes of anyone I've ever known. Great sense of humour and a smile to melt the hardest heart. And she makes truffles. Professional quality truffles. She brought some along with her to Fort Worth, and my Tim-Tams paled into insignificance beside her delicious delights.

So it was small wonder that Jason fell for her. Fell for her in St Louis, I think. He has a sense of humour to match hers, but he's geek to her cook. Tzurriz's descriptions of his early efforts to cook gourmet meals had the potential to hospitalise unwary readers, and I dare say that her ability to set up a database would do the same if described by Jason. I've already mentioned her horror at being tasked by Jason with camcordering one of the sessions at Fort Worth. "Ack!" she grimaced, "What button do I press?". Lucky she didn't have to upload it live via BitTorrent...

But love overcame their differences and it is wonderful to see them happy together. My only worry is what sort of superintelligent fun-loving offspring they will unloose on some unwary kindergarten teacher in a few years time.

Leaving it a bit late to book my flights

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