I’ll be at Orlando, Florida for the entirety of next week on business. Yes, I’m still working for Arch Chemicals.

Update: I arrived back home on Saturday. I left Friday from Orlando, but it got late and so I stayed at a hotel in Tiffton.

The third day of DragonCon continued with more of the same, with some new panels thrown into the mix on game design and programming.

• Tara McPherson and William Stout competed head to head to win this year’s “7th Annual Iron Art Competition,” presented in a format similar to Iron Chef, but with art instead of food. In previous years, Adam and I attended the Digital Iron Artist competition, so we though it’d be interesting to see the competition applied to more traditional art forms. Hosted by Michael Winslow, an American actor and comedian known as the “Man of 10000 Sound Effects.”
• In “Fundamentals of Game Programming,” Dr. Jalal Raissi of DeVry University, discussed the various programming areas within the video game industry including: game play, graphics, input, network, physics, sound, tools, user Interface, lead programming and more.
• Met the guys behind the voices of Adult Swim, including Doc Hammer and Dana Snyder. The panel had provided some upcoming previews of Cartoon Network cartoons, as well as the Aqua Teen Hunger Force video game.
• The “Artificial Intelligence in Gaming” panel, also from DeVry University, presented several common undergraduate algorithms in AI, including the popular Dijkstra’s algorithm.
• In “Voice Acting,” the voices behind your favorite Anime shows congregate to discuss what it takes to become a voice actor. Members from Robotech, Full Metal Alchemist, Ghost in the Shell, Crusher Joe, and more. Michael Brady, C. Martin Croker, George Lowe, and Vic Mignogna were guest speakers for this panel.

It’s hard to believe, but this is my fourth year in a row at DragonCon, once again joined by Adam. This year I preregistered for the event and as a result did not have to ensure the long waiting time normally encountered when obtaining event passes.

Unfortunately, the event was unusually crowded this year, and we were surprised that we were unable to attend many of the panels because they had reached capacity. We also managed to once again miss James Phelps and Oliver Phelps, better known as the Weasley twins from Harry Potter, because of scheduling conflicts.

• This year we made an effort to attend the DragonCon Parade itself, where various costumed people marched around the block to show off their obsession with science fiction.
• I missed part of Grandmaster Musashi’s martial arts panel last year, and this year caught the whole thing. Grandmaster Musashi uses sword, walking stick, and empty hands to do some amazing things.
• Ron Glass and Mark Sheppard discussed their experiences as actors on the science fiction series Firefly and its sequel film Serenity.
• In “9/11 Conspiracy Theories and Other Internet Hoaxes”, Dr. Michael Shermer, founder of The Skeptics Society, surveys of some of the top hoaxes and conspiracy theories driven by bloggers and YouTube home documentaries. I found this panel to the most educational of the day.
• The “Star Trek Guest Stars” panel featured John de Lancie (Q) and Barbara Luna (Marlena) as they talked about their plans after Star Trek and answered questions from the audience.
• The “Stargate Guest Mega Panel” offered a free-wheeling hour with a whole bunch of Stargate actors, including Vanessa Angel, Alexis Cruz, Louis Gossett Jr., Christopher Judge, Paul McGillion, Jason Momoa, Corin Nemec, Robert Picardo, Michael Shanks, and Marcia Patterson.

It’s the final day of another DragonCon, and that’s a good thing too — all of us are pretty much exhausted from the events of this weekend.

• In “Mythbusters: What’s Next?”, Tory Belleci, Kari Byron, and Grant Imahara return to tell us about upcoming Mythbusters episodes, including episodes on “ninja myths” and other favorites.
• In “How I Learned to Stop Pirating Software & Love the GIMP”, Carey A. Oxler gave a tour of free resources for the digital artist, including software, books, tutorials, and communities. Featured products included GIMP and Inkscape. The panel also introduced me to ImagineFX, a fantasy and sci-fi digital art publication.
• Dean Haglund concluded the afternoon for Adam and I, where we learned about his Chill Pak product line, as well as a few other inventions up his sleeve. Unlike other actors, I’ve always found Dead to be down to earth and friendly with his fans.

Though the third day of DragonCon started off with a few misses, the day ended well with some interesting panels that made the long drive worthwhile.

• The “Star Wars Celebrity Hour” panel featured Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), Kiran Shah (Ewok), and Matthew Wood (Voice of Grievous). Shah also starred in Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal.
• Joined Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Paul Dini as they talked about Lost stories and shared tales about the creative process in “Lost: Stories from the Story Room”.
• In “How Not to Get Published”, Bruce Gehweiler, Gary Hayes, Phil Nutman, Teri Nutman, and James Moore took a seriously lighthearted look at mistakes beginners make when working towards their first publication. Though the panel focused primarily on fiction writing, the topic covered echoed many of my own experiences while working on technical publications.
• The returning Webcomics panel brought with it Jennie Breeden, Bill Holbrook, Erin Lindsey, John P. Lotshaw, and Kara Knepton. New this year, the Webcomics panel presented the “Uncle Fred Awards”, in honor of Fred Lasswell, creator of “Snuffy Smith” and an early web comic pioneer.
• Ningage-ryu, a Japanese martial arts style with its roots in the early 1300’s, continues to live. Grandmaster Musashi used sword, walking stick, and his empty hands to do some amazing things.
• Obsidian Entertainment provided an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming sequel to one of the best-selling role-playing games of all time in this “Neverwinter Nights 2 Preview” panel. Chris Avellone, Shane DeFreest, and Josh Sawyer, walked fans through every aspect of the game’s progress.

Adam once again joined me for our third year in a row at DragonCon, Atlanta’s largest mixed convention, covering gaming, sci-fi/fantasy literature, movies, and film. This year brought with it an entirely new panel dedicated to Podcasting, the MythBusters cast, and the producers from Lost.

• Kevin Sorbo (Captain Dylan Hunt), Steve Bacic (Telemachus Rhade), and Brandy Ledford (Doyle) kicked off Saturday with Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda Cast Reunion. The actors talked about their experiences on the show, future projects and endeavors, as well as some of the politics that led the eventual cancellation of the series.
• The developers of Anarchy Online shared their thoughts with a loyal online community in this well-received panel. Anarchy Online is published by FunCom, makers of The Longest Journey.
• In “Mythbusting for Fun and Profit”, Tory Belleci of the MythBusters tells the story of how he ended up on the popular science series. Tory also wanted to let everyone know that most of his IMDB profile is entirely fabricated. This panel was sponsored by the Space & Science programming track, and I hope to see more from this track in the coming years at DragonCon.
• The Babylon 5: Cast Q&A became full quite quickly, and as a result, Adam and I hopped next door to listen to performances by Lisa Furukawa. Lisa Furukawa Ray is a Japanese-American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Utilizing her talents in contemporary and classical music, Lisa’s performances and recordings display a fusion of Japanese folk, alternative pop, and electronica.
• I had so much fun with Dean Haglund and Gary Jones at last year’s DragonCon, that attending this panel was a no-brainer. Boldly going where no comedians have gone before. Gary and Dean traveled the universe in this “Improv Enterprise”, with the help of audience suggestions and the occasional doomed audience member in a red shirt, to make the universe a safer and dare we say, more hilarious place for all mankind.
• Just days before the event, I had the opportunity to watch Serenity, the conclusion of the cancelled Firefly science fiction television series, often described as “cowboys in space”. Alan Tudyk (Wash) and Summer Glau (River) of the series joined us in this Q&A session.

Another year of DragonCon winds down. This year, I managed to meet a lot of old acquaintances, including a former Teaching Assistant from Georgia Tech as well as a former student of Baker High School in Mobile, Alabama. The half-day affair managed to bring with it some interesting guest speakers, as well as some in-depth repeats from previous Star Trek panels.

• LeVar Burton let us know about his upcoming ventures, including his upcoming superhero movies with Spike Lee.
• Marina Sirtis heads with her two dogs and husband to England to pursue acting, and recounted interesting tidbits from her times on the Star Trek set.
• Peter David, best known for his Star Trek novels, ventured from the path and read from the pre-release of his upcoming Fallen Angel comic, a preview of which is available on Newsarama.
• Chris Nuccio of Leo Ticheli Productions and Hunter Cressall of the well-known Mac Parody gives us the nitty-gritty details on Digital Video Compression and Manipulation. Discussions ranged from digital rights management, to video encoding techniques and video ripping, to BitTorrent and the legality of web sites like the Pirate Bay and Torrent Reactor.

While I didn’t actually take any photos myself, Slinderdoo has posted some nice costume shots of DragonCon attendees. CyanBane and Mark Lusher also made an attendance, though I didn’t have a chance to personally meet them.

It’s day three of DragonCon, and all of us are chugging along as excited as ever. With the short supply of gas in Atlanta, I took MARTA to the event. And from the number of stormtroopers and wizards in the subway, I can only venture to guess that others had the same idea.

• Joined in on the morning panel on The Many Faces of Batman, where many of the writers of the Batman comics series brought their thoughts to the table. Discussions ranged from the history of Batman to the latest Batman movie.
• The appearance of Carmen Argenziano, Alexis Cruz, Gary Jones, and Paul McGillion brought with it a renewed interest in the Stargate television series.
• Star Trek’s Enterprises’ Connor Trinneer talked about his experiences on the show in this one hour panel.
• Can you be fired for blogging? Panel members Amy MystrysCam and Cherie Priest led the Blogger’s Rights panel, and generated some interesting discussions on bloggers, online journalism, and fair use.
• In a Nuts and Bolts of Producing a Webcomic, successful web-based comic strip authors and artists showed us how it’s done. Featured Jennie Breeden, Robert Balder, Jeffrey Darlington, Bill Holbrook, and Erin Lindsey.
• I love Dad’s Garage. So you can imagine my surprise when Dean Haglund, of Lone Gunman Extraordinaire fame, and Gary Jones joined forces to unexpectedly present a complete hour of improv comedy.

Last year at DragonCon 2004, I learned quite a bit about the science fiction genre, especially in television and film. Thus, this year I was able to better appreciate many more of the panels hosted at this fantastic Atlanta event.

• Spent an hour with some of the creative minds at RedStorm Entertainment, makers of the popular Tom Clancy video games Rainbox Six and Ghost Recon. Discussions turned to difficulties in console development for the upcoming Xbox 360, differences between PC and console development, and future directions for the company.
• Gigi Edgley (Chiana), Virginia Hey (Pa’u Zotoh Zhaan), and Raelee Hill (Sikozu Svala Shanti Sugaysi Shanu) from Jim Henson’s Farscape described their experiences when working on and off the set in this Q&A session.
• The cast of Serenity, one of the most anticipated science fiction movies of the year, joined us to talk about their experiences in the filming of the Firefly series and the upcoming film, stories from the set, and their disappointments in the premature cancellation of this western in space. Featured Morena Baccarin (Inara Serra), Adam Baldwin (Jayne Cobb), Ron Glass (Shepherd Derrial Book), and Jewel Staite (Kaylee Frye).
• There can’t be a DragonCon without Star Trek. Robin Curtis (Saavik) from The Search for Spock and The Voyage Home, LeVar Burton (Geordi LaForge) and Marina Sirtis from The Next Generation, Max Grodenchik (Rom) from Deep Space Nine, and Connor Trinneer (Trip Tucker) from Enterprise appeared in this StarTrek Celebrity Cavalcade, with guest stars featured from every Star Trek series.
• This year brought with a fair amount of digital and computer art. In a Fantasy Art Session with Photoshop CS2, Claudia McGuire with Adobe Systems presented some of the new features of Photoshop CS2, such as the spot healing tool. Adobe features a fully functional 30-day trial of Photoshop CS2.
• Digital Iron Artist brings the tradition into the 21st Century by pitting two digital artists against each other using only a computer. Despite the numerous technical difficulties, the panel was quite entertaining. Featured Joshua Strickland and Philip Straiger.

It’s the final day of DragonCon, and things are visibly winding down, but so far it’s been a blast.

• Inside Star Wars Characters. Jeremy Bulloch talked about his small part in The Empire Strikes Back as Boba Fett and the rising popularity of this minor character after the re-release of Star Wars in 1997. Aaron Allston, science fiction and fantasy writer, discussed his novels in Star Wars as well the Star Wars Expanded Universe. His favorite characters are Wedge Antilles and Wes Janson.
• In this familiar but nevertheless interesting panel, Cryptanalyist Elonka Dunin discussed Famous Solved and Unsolved Codes, with particular emphasis on the Beale, Voynich Manuscript, Dorabella, and Zodiac Killer ciphers. After leading a team that cracked the famous Cyrillic Projector cipher in 2003, her interest lies now in the CIA Kryptos sculpture. Fascinating.
• Garrett Wang, Voyager’s Harry Kim, spoke about his acting career start for Burger King commercials and the entertaining chain of events that eventually led to his role in this popular Star Trek series. He’s also a hilarious guy.

I wanted to see Dean Haglund of the cult classics X-Files and the The Lone Gunmen but was unable to due to a scheduling conflict. Perhaps next year. DragonCon is a fabulous experience and my only regret is that I didn’t know about it sooner.