March 7 I once again trekked down to Greenville SC to participate in Piedmont Area Mensa’s regional gathering (here’s a link to last year’s event). I went solo as TYG and I don’t travel together any more — our pups need too much care to trust a dog-sitter — and unlike last year, didn’t fly. That meant a four-hour drive, the first time I’ve driven that far since probably pre-pandemic. I was a little nervous but it went fine. Below, my hotel room window
This year the theme was Monty Python so I gave a talk on the origins and history of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. I had my notes emailed to me so I could check them on my phone. When I got up I opened the email, looked down and it was gone, Fortunately I’d rehearsed enough that I recalled 90-95 percent of the material so the talk went off fine.
Other than that it was eating, chatting with friends and sleeping, due to the dogs depriving me of sleep the week before. Overall, a fun weekend. Below, photos from this year’s Python-themed teapot race (I participated but was too busy trying to make sense of the controls to get an image.
Here’s the shirt for this year’s event.
A scene from the escape room puzzle challenge I participated in. I helped a little to figuring it out.
My friend Jolie Elder is an amazing knitter. Here’s her reverse double-knit scarf.
The puzzle below makes such pretty pieces I found it hard to think about putting it together.
I missed having TYG with me but it was a fun weekend. Rights to puzzle images remain property of current holder.
That the plane wasn’t anywhere near the gate was a clear sign we’d been denied, yet again. And the airport has a piss-poor selection of places to eat and no Starbucks — not that I drink coffee but at least they have decent tea. This place? The best I could find was Constant Comment.
#SFWApro. All rights to art remain with current creators (I apologize for not having any of the names).
This exhibit also amused me. It’s the work of a local Baltimore artist.
#SFWApro. All rights to images remain with current holders. My apologies for not having the information to name the artists.
That’s the parking area outside the airport. It’s big and hard to figure out where the shuttles are, where you’d get a Lyft, etc., so I settled for an airport taxi. TYG was not with me but even with 
I had a great time catching up with friends, visiting the Museum of Visionary Art (photos to follow) and looking around the surrounding area. The hospitality suite, however, sucked: adequate meals but the snacks between meals (always a feature at Mensa gatherings) were limited to bread most of the time. And not particularly good bread. The “hot” water urn never provided water above Very Warm so I visited the local Starbucks a lot. At least the art on the wall was nice.
And I must admit, after a couple of weeks with Wisp or the dogs around 24/7, having a room to myself felt great. I spent a lot of Thursday just lying around alone, unclenching.
To leave on an up note, I sold one copy of Undead Sexist Cliches on Amazon and handsold a copy of 19-Infinity at the Gathering. Woot!
The mirror closet door often swung so that I’d see it when I came in, creating a weird optical illusion.
There were pirates, of course—
And more pirates.
And general silliness.
Traffic was miserable both ways and we kept wondering why one law firm had a half-dozen billboards, one after the other, in just a few miles. But there’s always the Gaffney peach.
Best birthday I’ve had in a while.
Labor Day weekend, as 
My talk went great, even though I managed to erase the outline I’d saved on my phone. Fortunately I’d practiced enough 
and know the material enough that I could do it even without notes. Beyond that I got to hang out with my fellow Mensans, eat some good food — the vegan meal Saturday night was so good, apparently even the meat-eaters in the Atlanta group wanted that restaurant to cater — and participated in a quiz or two. Didn’t win but one question asked for a Batman villain with a time-themed name. I gave them four (Clock, Clock King, Time Commander, Calendar Man).
