I got a chuckle out of “swap boil”

I know some folks in the SCA. Which I had no idea stood for “Society of Creative Anachronism” until just now. It’s a bit too much for me, but I’m glad they exist.

There’s one in my neck of the woods too. And I’ve gone before. Been a while though, didn’t even occur to me as an option. Thanks for reminding me!

Are there any you’ve gone to in the Midwest that you thought were particularly exceptional?

Thanks for all the recommends!

California Extreme looks cool! I live not too far from a retro barcade and it scratches this itch a little. I bet I’d enjoy this. I’ll keep an eye on it.

I do like board games and tabletop RPG’s. Not sure if I do enough to travel out to one of those but it made me think there are probably some in my neck of the woods I could check out, and indeed there are. So, still helpful!

I think I would love DEF CON. But the price of admission is pretty steep. But that helped me remember a friend telling me about SAINTCON. Also a Cybersecurity convention, in Provo Utah. Not cheap, but about half the cost of DEF CON. Provo is most certainly not Vegas. But I don’t need it to be. I can go to Vegas pretty much anytime. Was just there this past weekend, in fact.

That does appeal to my interests! And I love Portland and have some friends that live there too. I’ll try to make that happen.

This looks awesome! Thanks for the recommend.

In fairness, before I speak to it. I haven’t been to any type of gaming con/expo, big or small. But I’ve seen pictures and some video of PAX and it gives me the same kind of vibes as comic con, which made me iffy on those types of events.

Your description piqued my interest so I checked them out. I want to go! A month is a bit too soon (just got back from a trip) but I set myself a calendar reminder to check it out next year.

Edit to add: The con is April 17 – 19 @ Crowne Plaza for any curious passersby.

“See, I’m not really an atheist but agnostic. It means I’m not to be expelled from this community as a heretic”

I identity with this. When I was younger I identified as agnostic, as I saw it as a more socially acceptable option than atheism which allowed me to not have to pretend to be religious.

But I’ve identified as atheist for many years now. In my case by the time I did, everyone of significance in my life was nonreligious.