Thursday warmup! Or is it?

It must be a universal constant as yet unmeasured by science: if pre-registration is clogged, then registration for VIP and eternals will be empty. The reverse has proven true, naturally. This year the constant is proven once more as I walked into an empty room and a friend of mine going through pre-registration had to wait due to equipment failure. Well played Mr. Murphy.

Beyond registration, I was hard-presses to tell that the convention had not opened it's arms wide to it's members this year. People clogged the halls, elevators were packed, and several costumes of all types were roaming around. I saw a pair of Oompa Loompas at one hotel. Can it be called a set? One wonders.

A few street fighters were out and about. Certainly some of the Cobra crew were easily spotted. Then there were the clone troopers. Having trooped with the 501st for years, I'd be surprised to NOT see one roaming around. It'd be a crime against humanity, and make for a dull con indeed!

Despite things to feast your eyes on, I managed a lunch with Eureka and his sig other along with Wookiegunner. We ate at a place called the pattypatch.

The place faced me with lovely southern food. A challenge surely as I'm mindful of my health lately. So I resisted the fried side of the force for grilled catfish. Not content there, I even added a salad! Ha!

The meal was very good as was the conversation. We spoke of Disney, vacations, costumes and what Eureka had cooked up for the Masquerade. Naturally, he had a video. Also naturally, I was blown away by what he's doing. Amazing as always, but I expect no less!

Beyond lunch was a pleasant walk to the room. Eureka and Wookiegunner worked out a possible preventative for a costume malfunction puzzle Wookiee had! They solved it. I was not surprised.

With that done, we checked schedules and realized ... Zounds! concerts! Lots of them! On Thursday! We gathered our gear and strolled along to the Hyatt.

As pre-Dragon Con bands go, these were particularly good! First was a group called the Aeronauts. Very much a steampunk band. Very good sound.

Following them was a husband and wife band called Valentine Wolf. They were Goth with one booted foot firmly dipped in the Steampunk grease. Very creepy yet fun sound.

Once Valentine Wolf was done, the main event appeared: Extraordinary Contraptions! At one point they pull out a member of the group Helblinki and then really cut loose! There was more jumping on stage than if Voltaire had tied himself to a live wire! The crowd stood, not sat. A lively time was greatly had by all from my simple observations.

And all that can be said is ... Dragon Con hasn't even started yet. This was merely warmup. Although, can it really be called a warmup now? Hm. Something to think about.