As we approach Solstice, Christmas, and Chanukah (among other holidays), I want to wish a happy holiday season to all of you.
Happy Holidays!
Author: CtrlAltTabby
A decorated tree!
We’re trying something new this year… putting ornaments on the tree! I don’t think we’ve had ornaments on a tree since we adopted Arwen back in 2017, since cats – especially kittens – and ornaments are a notoriously bad combination.
In 2020, Zuko moved in, postponing the possibility of ornaments longer. Even now, none of them are particularly breakable. We lucked out and rediscovered a bag filled with crocheted ornaments – candy canes, snowflakes, and tiny trees with wine corks – and have supplemented those with a couple 3D-printed decorations from a friend.
So far, only a couple of the cork-filled trees have gone wandering through the house. Next year, I may be tempted to dig out my animated character ornaments. They’re plastic, of course.
Adulting is weird
More specifically, the satisfaction from successfully adulting is weird. I suppose some parts seem more obvious than others, like finishing my holiday shopping early, and having holiday cards in the house already. (A few have made it to the mailbox.)
But there’s the glee of having a new oven and stove, and it hits on several levels. The old oven had an intermittent heat sensor issue which occasionally made baking frustrating. It was the last major appliance in the kitchen from the previous owner, and we wanted to replace it before it forced us to (unlike the dishwasher and refrigerator). The new one is marketed as accessible; the major change from our previous one is that most of the pieces that can be removed are dishwasher safe. And, to my budget’s immense satisfaction, the range was purchased with a Costco gift card.
Now we’re hitting several celebratory firsts… each of those favorite dishes like the first pizza in the new oven, and the first pancakes on the built-in griddle. Yes, that center section of the stove is actually a griddle-shaped burner with a custom-sized griddle! See, that’s one of those weirdly satisfying bits from adulting, along with the warning beep a minute before the timer finishes.
That satisfaction comes from smaller things too, like the new-to-us set of craft drawers, or replacing the difficult to access garage light bulb. And it definitely comes from the new shower head that I installed in the master bathroom. Who knew there was so much water pressure? And the shower draws warm water faster… because there’s more water pressure!
WhiskyFest Chicago 2024
I have mentioned my appreciation for whisk(e)y before, in particular when discussing Advent Calendars last year. At the tail end of my five weeks of travel, I attended Whisky Advocate’s WhiskyFest in downtown Chicago, coincidentally at the same hotel that hosted Chicon a couple years ago, during which some friends and I held a whiskey tasting party. Each attendee at WhiskyFest was provided with a tasting glass, a pen, a bag, and a program book with the map and list of whiskies each booth was featuring.
On the map, you’ll notice three dozen booths; if you exclude the Whisky Advocate, tequila, and Bacardí (best known for their rum) booths, that’s still around 30 different distilleries to try, with at least 3 choices at most booths. A conservative estimate would be 90 different whiskies to try, and that’s not even counting the leftovers from the VIP hour that preceded general admission.
Wow, now that I’ve written out those numbers, I feel like an underachiever, having only tried 19 whiskies that night. To be clear, most of the servings are a sip or two, designed to provide a taste rather than intoxication. You’ll note that the map also shows several buffet tables, though it’s missing the food tables on the right side, as well as the plethora of chocolate desserts in the lobby. Attendees were encouraged to eat between tastings and provided with bottled water to stay hydrated.
My primary focus was the smaller distilleries, figuring they’re the ones I’m least likely to randomly encounter at a restaurant. And yes, I had checked my whiskey list before the event, making sure that every whiskey I tried was new to me (at least since I started tracking them). The two that stood out the most, in quite different ways, were the Mash & Mallow S’mores Whiskey – a fabulous liqueur – and the Praedictum 15 year Kentucky Straight Bourbon – a leftover from the VIP hour that retails around $600 a bottle.
Overall, it was a nice lead-in to this year’s Flaviar Whiskey Advent Calendar, which I’ll once again post to TikTok as I open them. Since I bought Costco’s Whiskies Tour of the World set as well, I’ll probably continue posting well into January to give each whiskey its chance to shine.
Five hotel rooms, a photo post
As I mentioned last week, I’ve been traveling a lot. All of the rooms have been nice and the beds comfortable (unlike one bed I slept on during a summer trip), but I do appreciate sleeping in my own bed, competing with my cats for space.
An array of plushies on a king-size bed in Madison. 
A spacious room in downtown San Diego, featuring a large work desk, a king-size bed, and a small table with a chair by the window. 
Not much room to spare in this downtown Chicago hotel room with a full-size bed. 
A double at the hotel in Oakbrook with a plush on each bed. 
This corner room in Philadelphia had beautiful wall art on the wall behind the king-size bed.
Traveling again…
This week rounded off my hectic 5 hotels in 5 weeks travel schedule with a work trip to Philadelphia. Here’s the quick list of where I’ve been:
- Madison, Wisconsin – for Gamehole Con
- San Diego, California – a work trip
- Chicago, Illinois – this was an overnight downtown for work
- Oak Brook, Illinois – for WindyCon (we built a Box Fort)
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – a work trip
Not surprisingly, I am exhausted.
Thoughts on the 2024 US Presidential election and waiting for the results
It’s election morning here in the United States (though the post won’t go live for a couple days), and many people are understandably anxious about the possibility of a convicted felon winning again. (If you’re somehow unsure where I stand politically, read my previous post here.)
I found myself explaining our election process to co-workers in Latin America yesterday. Not the messy, outdated Electoral College part, which would probably have made for a longer meeting. Rather I was detailing the different voting options and how that delays the official results. Ignoring the states that have switched entirely to mail-in voting, many states offer absentee ballots by mail – including here in Illinois – in addition to early voting. One of the reasons for that, as I explained, is because election day is not a federal holiday. Most of the people I was talking with live in countries where everything closes for election day, which encourages people to vote. But if you look at our federal holidays, many of them have become glorified shopping days, which means retail workers don’t have the day off. (For example, look back at how shopping crept into Thanksgiving Day celebrations before the pandemic.)
Before the pandemic, I typically voted early because the timing was better for my work and life schedules. Those ballots were typically electronic voting, offered at a smaller number of locations than election day, and can be tabulated with the other votes. To be clear, I’ve been voting early long enough that I have never been to my current voting site, having moved to this house shortly before the 2016 election.
Mail-in ballots are, of necessity, paper, and that’s where many of the delays in counting happen. The rules for requesting a paper ballot vary by state – some require that you be incapable of voting in person for medical or other reasons, while others (like Illinois) simply require that you request it. In fact, Illinois allows voters to sign up for recurring paper ballots, instead of having to request one each election. The request has to match your voter registration, of course, and the ballot includes an envelope that you sign – that signature gets compared to your voter registration. This simulates the process of walking into the voting location, showing your ID, and signing to request your ballot.
Each of those mailed in ballots has to be processed – that is, the information on the envelope confirmed – before the votes can be tabulated. When that processing can start varies by state, as does when the mail-in vote counting can start. In fact, it varies so much, Ballotpedia has an entire page on the subject. The important thing to note is that many states don’t allow absentee ballot counting to start until the polls close on election day, and several states allow ballots to count if they were postmarked by election day and received within the next couple weeks. This made a huge difference in 2020, in the midst of the pandemic when more of us voted by mail and states had to work through those ballots after election day.
Sunset cruise in San Diego
I had the good fortune of traveling to San Diego for work recently, including a sunset cruise on the Bella Luna. This is a case where I’ll let the pictures paint the words (though there are some in the ALT text, of course).
Thoughts on Those Beyond the Wall
A while back – August 2020, in fact – I shared my review of The Space Between Worlds. Near the end of 2023, I was delighted to receive the sequel, Those Beyond the Wall, to review. Following that delightful reading opportunity, when I began assembling a proposed list of guests for next year’s Capricon, Micaiah’s name was on the list. She will be attending, so now’s a great time to pick up both books and read them before meeting her. This review was originally published in the March 1, 2024 issue of Booklist.
In Micaiah Johnson’s Those Beyond the Wall, the thrilling sequel to Space Between Worlds, readers explore Ashtown – the city beyond Wiley City’s atmospheric protection – through the eyes of Mr. Scales, sister to the Emperor, as traversers arrive from a parallel universe, killing this world’s version of them upon arrival. The leaders of Ashtown scramble for some manner of defense against the interdimensional arrivals, pulling old enemies scientist Adam Bosch and traverser Cara into their efforts, and cementing a sanctuary agreement within the city for their people in exchange for their solution. As they prepare for the city’s anticipated betrayal, Scales confronts the differences between Ashtown and Wiley City’s justice systems, channeling righteous rage against the city’s discriminatory enforcement, leveraging it to protect everybody. The systemic changes Scales desires will require personal sacrifices as she rushes to protect Ashtown’s people. Johnson’s riveting dystopian story carries thinly veiled messages stemming from the protests that swept the United States during summer 2020, the gritty setting reminding readers that this injustice can – and does – happen in reality. Those Beyond the Wall will appeal to fans of classic science fiction that portrays parallels to the current social issues.
Dorkstock through an AI lens
At a work-related conference recently, I heard about Google Notebook, which is an experimental AI that can parse information from your uploads. I decided to upload my past blog posts about Dorkstock as an experiment. I uploaded PDFs of six blog posts – 2017 (our second year in Madison), 2 from 2018 (before and after), 2019, 2021, and 2023. Please note that I experimented with Google Notebook because it’s only using my uploaded content, not stealing it from somewhere online. After feeding the blog posts in, I asked “What is Dorkstock?” I’ll note corrections inline.
Dorkstock is a mini-gaming convention held within a larger convention. One person described it as a “tiny little division of Gamehole Con.”
Origin
Dorkstock is a labor of love started by fans of John Kovalic’s work. Kovalic is the creator of the comic “Dork Tower.” [I don’t believe I’ve ever referred to John by just his last name; I either call him John or John Kovalic.]
● Fans wanted to create a convention related to his work and that of other artists published under “Storm Press.” [Missing the word “Dork”.]
● They decided to hold a mini-convention within a larger convention that John Kovalic was already attending.
Games
A variety of games are played at Dorkstock, with both scheduled and pick-up games.
● Some of the games are related to the “Dork Tower” comic, such as “Igor Bars.” [Bwahahaha… “Igor Bars” is referred to as a game!]
● There are also life-sized games, like “Warhamster Rally” and “Escape from Dork Tower.”
● Dorkstock has featured special guests like Steve Jackson and Phil Reed, who are known for games like “Munchkin.”
● Attendees enjoy playing “Munchkin” at Dorkstock, even running Munchkin Block Party events.
Location and Growth
Dorkstock has been hosted at Gamehole Con in Madison, Wisconsin for several years.
● It has grown from a one-day event to a four-day convention.
● There is a “Dorkstock coloring table” at the convention.
Dorkstock has also expanded beyond Madison, Wisconsin.
● There were at least two “Dorkstock UKs” and a “Dorkstock West.”
Personal Impact
For one attendee [me!], attending DragonCon and waiting in a crowded booth led them to the comic “Dork Tower”, which led them to John Kovalic and eventually, to their involvement in Dorkstock.
It’s not a terrible summary of Dorkstock. The follow-up question (prompt provided) of describing an unique aspect of Dorkstock focused on our life-sized games. Speaking of which, this weekend’s Dorkstock features the debut of Greed Quest Live, along with the return of other life-sized games. If you’re near Madison, stop in and see us – most of Dorkstock’s games are in a room upstairs, while the life-sized games are in the dealer’s hall.