A lot of interesting panels were completely full today, which made for a somewhat disappointing experience. Still, we did the best we could:

• Attended an EFF panel on “Telecommuting: Ins & Outs”. I was actually able to contribute my thoughts in this discussion because I telecommute once or twice a week. One of the recommendations was to utilize an Instant Messaging system within the company network, such as Jabber or Office Communicator, and I think that’s an excellent idea.
• Attended a panel on “Getting a Job in the Gaming Industry”. The President of Epic Games, Mike Capps, hosted the panel. I didn’t realize that Epic Games is actually headquartered in Cary, North Carolina. For those who didn’t attend, the summary of the panel is this: It doesn’t matter how much you like video games; you need a four year degree from a good Engineering or Computer Science school and solid background in math, physics, graphics, and algorithms.
• The developers of Age of Canon made an appearance in this MMO panel from Funcom. Of particular interest was their discussion on the differences between European MMOs and US MMOs.
• “Q&A in Cryptic” featured a demo of Champions Online, an MMO featuring full customization.
• Finished the day with Dean Haglund performing improv comedy. This year, he improvised a show of the X-Files. You might remember Dean Haglund as one the Lone Gunmen, Langley, from the X-Files

This is our fifth year of DragonCon, and Adam and I began the event by watching the annual parade. Registration was once again a breeze due to registering online well in advance. This year brought with it some interesting panels, including an entirely new Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) track.

• In “Meet the Stars of Harry Potter”, which should have really been named “Meet Just One Star of Harry Potter”, Matthew Lewis, who played Neville Longbottom in the movies made an appearance and talked about his experiences as an actor. No spoilers, but Matt does have a World of Warcraft character.
• Michael Rosenbaum played Lex Luthor, and in “Living in Smallville” talked about where he’s going after Smallville. This was one of the most entertaining panels as far as guest stars go this year, irrespective of whether or not you’re a fan of the show.
• We diverged from our normal routine and attended a panel in Hanover called “Monster in an Hour”, where a few budding artists attempt to draw a monster improv style in, not unexpectedly, under an hour.
• We made minimal effort in attending the Firefly panel, but had no luck getting in. Instead, Adam and I hopped over to the Evil Geniuses panel. I’d always been curious about it but never had the opportunity until now. It turns out that, yes, it really is about a bunch of mad scientists plotting to take over the world. Good luck.
• The day was concluded with “Hacking 101″. Randal Schwartz, author of Learning Perl, made an appearance here. Nothing too spectacular, but it was a good way to wind down the day.

I will be in Spanish Fort, Alabama on business for a project with Everwood from August 6 through August 17. I didn’t post my whereabouts in advance because I made a surprise visit to my parents, who live nearby in Mobile.

I will be in Jasper, Texas this week on business for Texas Electric Cooperatives. I will be returning home on Sunday, July 20th.

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.