Hoot mon! Went to ChattaCon this weekend. Cold weather, fun folks, good food. Larry Niven was GOH at the convention-he of Ringworld fame- but I saw him not!

By good food, I refer to the restaurants. Portofino's, a Greek-run Italian place,(why are the best Italian places run by Greeks?) is so good that I use Chattanooga conventions as an excuse to be able to go there! Their Brochetta is incredibly good, and tho' an appetizer, will serve as a meal! Two friends (Sunshine, who is a con pal of my wife and me- she deals in etched glass goodies- and Kelsey, who works with Sunshine), who happen to be hot babes, went with me for dinner (chunky, short, cue-ball me--envy me, boys) not quite believing the place could be as good as I raved. Well, they got SCHOOLED! I had the Brochetta and antipasto; Sunshine, the Tour of Italy-lasagna, manicotti, chicken, and spaghetti; and Kelsey the Chicken Marsala. A great time was had by all. Not a bad bite to be had! (It is great to be well and happily married AND good-natured..One can enjoy the company of Beauty with none of the attendant angst and pressure.)

I drove us all to the Read House Hotel- the Con site- and dropped 'em off. They suggested sneaking me into the hot tub, but I demurred...being well and happily married and all...
Drove back to my digs at the Motel 6- I rarely stay at the convention venue as I am almost 48, and fond of my sleep. Yeah...I'm a stick. In the mud. A happily married stick.