{"id":2993,"date":"2019-07-22T12:32:22","date_gmt":"2019-07-22T16:32:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.graymanwrites.com\/blog\/?p=2993"},"modified":"2019-07-22T12:32:22","modified_gmt":"2019-07-22T16:32:22","slug":"some-things-i-learned-at-libertycon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grayrinehart.com\/blog\/some-things-i-learned-at-libertycon\/","title":{"rendered":"Some Things I Learned at LibertyCon"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Over the last weekend in June, I was honored to be part of another <a href=\"http:\/\/www.libertycon.org\/\">LibertyCon<\/a> &#8212; a most excellent science fiction and fantasy convention. I had a marvelous time with a fantastic group of people!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.graymanwrites.com\/pix\/blog\/2019\/LC2019TerraformingMars.jpg\" alt=\" \" width=\"699\" height=\"454\" \/><br \/>\n<span class=\"imagecaption\" style=\"font-size: 65%;\"><em>After another epic round of <em>Terraforming Mars<\/em>. I didn&#8217;t win, but I had a great time! (L-R: Rich Groller, Karl Gallagher, yours truly, Steve Jackson, Norman Johnson. Photo by C.S. Ferguson.)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>And this year <strong>I learned a few things, too:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><em>Terraforming Mars<\/em>\u00a0is my new favorite game.<\/strong> I was invited to play as part of the convention programming, as seen above &#8212; how cool is that? &#8212; and ended up playing three complete games. Even though I didn&#8217;t win any of them, the game is structured in such a way that I was so interested and focused on what I was trying to accomplish that I had tremendous fun with no regard to the outcome. (And, <strong>yes, since then I&#8217;ve bought my own copy<\/strong> of <em>Terraforming Mars<\/em> and look forward to introducing it to my family, with hopes of putting it into our regular game rotation!)<\/li>\n<li><strong>My children know me very well<\/strong>: They were correct when they predicted that I would not enjoy playing <em>Cards Against Humanity<\/em>. I don&#8217;t have the right sense of humor for that game. C&#8217;est la vie.<\/li>\n<li>Marie Curie (a\/k\/a Madam Curie) is credited with saving a million lives during the First World War. She brought x-ray equipment to the field that enabled surgeons to find and remove shrapnel, and also used a radium-based method to sterilize wounds. (This historical tidbit courtesy of Jim Beall.)<\/li>\n<li><strong>If I could write quickly to a specific market niche, I would make a lot more money at this writing thing.<\/strong> But, I just write the stories I want to write &#8212; and would like to read &#8212; and I haven&#8217;t mustered the will or mastered the ability to crank out chapter after chapter in workmanlike fashion. (This observation probably applies to music as well.) So much the worse for me.<\/li>\n<li><strong>I would very much like to produce a new CD.<\/strong> At the past few conventions, folks have asked when I might come out with new music and have seemed to like my newest songs. However, since I&#8217;ve only made back a fraction of the money I spent on the first two CDs, and don&#8217;t have a ready supply of cash to pay the production expenses, I think a new CD will have to remain TBD &#8212; as in, &#8220;to be done.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>The entry requirement for participation in Sigma, the science fiction think tank, does not specifically include a doctoral degree. All this time, I thought only PhDs were invited to be part of the group. I don&#8217;t reckon I&#8217;d have very much to contribute, as my technical credentials and publishing history are both sketchy, but it would be pretty nifty! They get involved in some interesting projects.<\/li>\n<li>As much as I criticize my own music and writing and find them lacking, other people seem genuinely to appreciate what I have to offer. That feels pretty good.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Once again as in years past, <strong>the whole LibertyCon staff did an amazing job<\/strong> (especially considering the series of difficulties they overcame!) and put on a wonderful convention. Next year&#8217;s event is already sold out (and did so in record time), so <strong>here&#8217;s looking forward to LibertyCon 33!<\/strong><\/p>\n<a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-24 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-facebook nolightbox\" data-provider=\"facebook\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Share on Facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.grayrinehart.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F2993&#038;t=Some%20Things%20I%20Learned%20at%20LibertyCon&#038;s=100&#038;p&#091;url&#093;=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.grayrinehart.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F2993&#038;p&#091;images&#093;&#091;0&#093;=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.graymanwrites.com%2Fpix%2Fblog%2F2019%2FLC2019TerraformingMars.jpg&#038;p&#091;title&#093;=Some%20Things%20I%20Learned%20at%20LibertyCon\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:24px;height:24px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px;margin-right:5px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Facebook\" title=\"Share on Facebook\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-share\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"display: inline;width:24px;height:24px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/www.grayrinehart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/48x48\/facebook.png\" \/><\/a><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-24 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-twitter nolightbox\" data-provider=\"twitter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Share on Twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.grayrinehart.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F2993&#038;text=Hey%20check%20this%20out\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:24px;height:24px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px;margin-right:5px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"twitter\" title=\"Share on Twitter\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-share\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"display: inline;width:24px;height:24px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/www.grayrinehart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/48x48\/twitter.png\" \/><\/a><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-24 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-pinterest nolightbox\" data-provider=\"pinterest\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Pin it with Pinterest\" href=\"https:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.grayrinehart.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F2993&#038;media=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.graymanwrites.com%2Fpix%2Fblog%2F2019%2FLC2019TerraformingMars.jpg&#038;description=Some%20Things%20I%20Learned%20at%20LibertyCon\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:24px;height:24px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px;margin-right:5px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"pinterest\" title=\"Pin it with Pinterest\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-share\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"display: inline;width:24px;height:24px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/www.grayrinehart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/48x48\/pinterest.png\" \/><\/a><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-24 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-linkedin nolightbox\" data-provider=\"linkedin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Share on Linkedin\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&#038;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.grayrinehart.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F2993&#038;title=Some%20Things%20I%20Learned%20at%20LibertyCon\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:24px;height:24px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px;margin-right:5px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"linkedin\" title=\"Share on Linkedin\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-share\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"display: inline;width:24px;height:24px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/www.grayrinehart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/48x48\/linkedin.png\" \/><\/a><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-24 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-mail nolightbox\" data-provider=\"mail\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Share by email\" href=\"mailto:?subject=Some%20Things%20I%20Learned%20at%20LibertyCon&#038;body=Hey%20check%20this%20out:%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.grayrinehart.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F2993\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:24px;height:24px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"mail\" title=\"Share by email\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-share\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"display: inline;width:24px;height:24px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/www.grayrinehart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/48x48\/mail.png\" \/><\/a><a class=\"synved-social-credit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"WordPress Social Media Feather\" href=\"http:\/\/synved.com\/wordpress-social-media-feather\/\" style=\"color:#444;text-decoration:none;font-size:8px;margin-left:5px;vertical-align:10px;white-space:nowrap\"><span>by <\/span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: inline;margin:0;padding:0;width:16px;height:16px\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"feather\" src=\"https:\/\/www.grayrinehart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/icon.png\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over the last weekend in June, I was honored to be part of another LibertyCon &#8212; a most excellent science fiction and fantasy convention. I had a marvelous time with a fantastic group of people! After another epic round of Terraforming Mars. I didn&#8217;t win, but I had a great \u2026 <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.grayrinehart.com\/blog\/some-things-i-learned-at-libertycon\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[57,386],"class_list":["post-2993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-science-fiction","tag-convention","tag-science-fiction-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grayrinehart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grayrinehart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grayrinehart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grayrinehart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grayrinehart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2993"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.grayrinehart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2993\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2994,"href":"https:\/\/www.grayrinehart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2993\/revisions\/2994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grayrinehart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grayrinehart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grayrinehart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}