Hm. That could actually work out; I've promised an MIT-affiliated friend that I'll play on his team for next year's Mystery Hunt (http://web.mit.edu/puzzle/www/), and if Shmoocon is the following week I suppose it wouldn't hurt to go to that. It's all cash-flow and free-time dependent, naturally -- if I'm starting a new job there won't be much free time, though if I stick around in Iowa there may not be much cash flow. :-/ But I like the idea, and will definitely keep it in mind!

And if you end up liking Charlie's short fiction, you'll likely also really enjoy his novel, The Prodigal Troll -- it's sort of like Edgar Rice Burroughs meets fairy-tale fantasy.