I spent part of this past weekend at a science fiction/Star Trek convention in Maryland called Shore Leave. A friend of mine who runs the science programming for the con asked me to come down and give a couple of talks about topics in astronomy. I used to do lectures at Star Trek conventions a lot back when I lived in Denver, and only last year I was a speaker at the World Science Fiction convention in Boston, but it had been a while since I spoke at a Trek-oriented fest.

It was a lot of fun and I’d forgotten just how impressive some of the folks who “build” their own costumes can be. The Klingons in particular are quite good at their costuming and role playing. At least, they were at this con.

My talks were ostensibly about my last book (Visions of the Cosmos) and also about another project I work on, the Gemini Observatory public outreach. The talks went pretty well and I had a great time talking to folks afterwards. The questions are always intriguing at these things, and people are really well-informed. Well… most of the time…

One fellow cornered me during the autograph session on Friday and told me a wandering (but pretty strange tale) about being an abductee, how he was adopted by the Bush family and the Reagans, and how he couldn’t talk about any of it. All with a very serious mien. I kept looking for the Candid Camera crew… waiting for somebody to jump out of the woodwork yelling, “surprise…” but he was deadly serious about it.

Another thing I like about cons are the dealer rooms. You can usually find something pretty cool in these places, even if it’s just a t-shirt with a witty saying. I found a few neat things for me, the husband, and my folks, who are visiting with us for a while.

If you haven’t been to a con in a while (or have never been to one), give it a try. It’s gone beyond Trek, that’s for sure!!