.

So, here is a bit of the vacation that went well.

The World Science Fiction Convention, WorldCon, had loads of good and interesting programming. Over the five days of the convention, I primarily attended panel discussions on horror (both prose and film), space science, and writing strategies.

The Con was well-run and well-organized, taking place in the Seattle Summit convention center, a massive building with five floors and loads of open-air spaces. The convention program was available on the app ‘Guidebook,’ which allowed users to browse the offerings, mark which were part of their personal schedule, and then add those panels and events to the calendars on their phones. This made it easy for my sweetie-wife and me to stay in the loop about each other’s panels.

Also, unlike some conventions, there was adequate cell coverage throughout the center, so there was never an issue with not being able to get a text to someone to arrange dinners and the like.

The con committee also deployed an interesting, if not entirely ready-for-prime-time, bit of tech to help members who suffered from hearing issues. Each room had a monitor that displayed live text of the panelists’ discussion. The AI tech employed did not always understand the words, particularly if they were from a foreign language or were unusual, and in those cases it guessed wrongly, but overall, I think it was a boon for any hearing-impaired fans.

Now, the convention is history, my vacation has ended, and in just a few minutes I will be returning to my day job and wading through an outlandish number of emails that await me.