Arisia

First, the bad news: Binky was violated last night. Sometime after 11:30 when I got home (probably after midnight when I went to sleep, too), someone smashed his driver's side front window and took the stereo. Fucker(s)! Right in my damn parking lot, too. I don't think I've seen an issue like this in that lot since I moved in almost three years ago.

But, the weekend was a very good one, at least. This was just a shitty way to start the new week. Arisia was a blast, for the most part. It was a bit of a pain staying in the overflow hotel, but the room was TOTALLY SWEET and geektastic (it was the hotel formerly known as the Hotel@MIT). Some highlights:

1. I had most excellent party on Friday night with guests including friends, partners, and even some family. We had good beer and good food, and just had a great time hanging out and chatting in the geektastic hotel room. Seriously, there was a blanket on the bed covered in equations and everything. Thank you to all who attended!

2. My spur-of-the-moment pirate costume went over well. I wore my renfaire chemise and bodice with a pair of black flared pants tucked into my high black boots. I got a cheap black tricorn hat trimmed in white marabou and a water gun shaped like an old-fashioned pistol at Boston Costume, and got many compliments on the whole outfit. It made me realize even more that pirates = MAD COOL.

3. I saw (most of) the BBC production of Terry Pratchett's Hogfather, which was truly awesome, even if I WAS exhausted enough to be nodding off part of the way through it.

4. dee_cee (aka Run-DMC) and erik_j_meyer threw an awesome party on Saturday night. An outfit calling themselves Ziggurat Labs did as well. In short, there were awesome parties with very nifty folks.

There were also some pretty cool panels, some great vendors, and of course it's always fun to just be able to wander around and run into people I don't see that often and do a little catching up. I think there are a few people who I should have added to my friends list long ago, so I will go do that now.

Toscanini's

So, a lot of you in the Cambridge area have probably already found out that Toscanini's has had their assets seized by the tax man. This is sad, because the ice cream went bye-bye. Apparently, they're having a donation drive to raise some funds to get up and running again. They need to raise $25K and are already halfway there. So, if you want to help them out, check that link out. Yes, it's their fault that they are in this position. The owner admits it very frankly. I haven't yet decided if I'm going to donate or not. I think it's worth saving the place, but at the same time, I'm reluctant to give money to fix someone else's mistake. I thought I'd at least pass along the info, though.