Get Ready to Match the Stars!

Match Game SF, the game where you fill in the _____ to win prizes, is returning to BayCon this year, bigger and better than ever as part of the Masquerade Half-Time/Post-Show on Saturday night. Because drawing contestants randomly from the audience (as we've done in the past) isn't practical with such a large audience, we're asking people who would like to be contestants to sign up in advance at the BayCon Info Desk starting Friday afternoon. We'll select twelve candidates from among those who sign up, and draw randomly from them for our on-stage contestants. Candidates will get preferential seating at the Masquerade for themselves and one guest, and all candidates, regardless of whether they appear on stage or not, will get a Lovely Parting Gift.

Match Game SF is based on the 1970's game show hosted by Gene Rayburn and now showing on Game Show Network. Two contestants compete to try and guess how our six-person panel will answer fill-in-the-blank questions like "Captain Kirk has the biggest ____ in Starfleet!" Winners of the main game go on to the Super Match, where they can win a fabulous prize.

Prizes include a gift package from Costume-Con 26, gift certificates from BayCon dealers Springtime Creations and Cargo Cult Books, and a membership to BayCon 2008.

This year's panel includes a selection of regular returning panelists and "guest stars," including (subject to schedule change and personal commitments): Tom Galloway, Esther Friesner, Doug Berry, Martin Young, Chris Garcia, and Leigh Ann Hildebrand.

If you'd like to be a contestant on Match Game SF, sign up at the BayCon Information Desk starting Friday afternoon and then meet at the Info Desk at 5 PM Saturday for the Candidate selection and briefing. If you have questions about the game, post them here or see me (Kevin Standlee) at the Montreal in 2009 Worldcon Bid table.

Oh, Deer

I'm working from home today, and we had time after lunch to go for a walk around Quarry Lakes park. Just as we were entering the park, Cheryl spotted a squirrel perched on a tree at about my eye height and only a few fee away from us. We looked at it. It looked at us. We went away. Cheryl said she thought the squirrel was giving us the "Are you going to feed me or not?" look.

This reminds me of what happened yesterday during our walk around the lake: A deer walked out in front of us. It was a young buck, just sprouting his horns. He crossed the path maybe 20-30 meters ahead of us. We stopped and looked him. He nervously looked at us, and as we resumed walking, slowly made his way into the brush above the path. I looked in where he'd gone when we passed. Although he couldn't have been far away -- high fences blocked his path in two directions -- he was not to be seen. Deer are good at that sort of thing.

Returning to today's walk, we looped the lake and came back down the trail along Alameda Creek. It being a warm, sunny day, there were many lizards sunning themselves on the rocks. We, however, did not stay in the sun, but continued on home, because we still have work to do today.

Meanwhile, my thanks to maurinestarkey for the new icon.