Once, when I was quite small, I had an opportunity to attend a science fiction convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I don't recall exactly when this was, it was long enough ago that Time Trax was on television and still in the first run of its first season (there was merchandise for it all over the dealers' rooms) but it made an impression on me. First, there were other science fiction fans out there, and second there was this thing called cosplay which I didn't really get into until college.

Long story short, I'm finally settled in enough to consider going …