ReConStruction, day 1

Here I am, sitting at a desk in a hotel working late in the evening at an SF convention, something I've done many times, and it feels slightly odd. The reason is that the con is in my city, Raleigh, and my house is only half an hour away. I'm not driving home, though, because staying here has many advantages, best use of time between panels being the primary one. Because I'm here, though, I'm going to provide my usual con reports. I'll try to stir in the occasional Children No More bit as well, but given how busy I am here, I won't do much on that front until Monday. MMA fans will also get the usual picks from Kyle and me; the blog will be chock full of nuts this weekend.

ReConStruction is the North American Science Fiction Convention (NASFiC), which is the American-based country-wide con that occurs whenever the worldcon is out of the country. (It's in Melbourne in a few weeks, and I really wish I could afford the time to go--but I can't.) Because they cover the entire country, NASFiCs are generally on the large side, but this one does not seem to be.

I worked most of today, but I did catch the opening ceremonies and a few parties in the evening. What struck me most was how much cooler downtown Raleigh is than I had ever realized. I just don't come down here. The hotel is gorgeous: modern and bright and new, with shiny dripping off everything. The convention center is even better. It actually made me feel proud of the city.

I was also surprised to find at least one cool street at night. Check out this picture, which though fuzzy--I took it with my phone in available light--is still good enough to show the nifty lights along this section of the street.


A few years ago, I would never have believed Raleigh would house such a road. I'm very pleased to be so wrong on this front. I'll definitely come back here.

Tomorrow will arrive entirely too early for me--exercise, shower, morning panel (despite my pleas not to schedule me before noon)--so to work I return.