The ShrinkGeek guide to healthy eating at Gen Con

Gen Con. The Best Four Days In Gaming. This weekend long gathering of geeks in downtown Indianapolis is one of the few times in your life where the large majority of people who you meet on the street will have a set of polyhedral dice on their person. Call it a bad stereotype if you like, but chances are a lot of the people you meet are (or should be) trying to shed some of their natural encumbrance. Unfortunately for them it’s difficult to eat wisely when you’re at a convention, but it isn’t impossible. All it takes is a little homework and self-control.

We here at ShrinkGeek are going to do some of the homework for you.

Underneath the cut you’ll find a list of some of the restaurants in the downtown Indianapolis area that Gen Con attendees tend to frequent. We’ll give a brief overview of the restaurant itself and try to point you toward some of the less calorie blasting choices off of the menu. Check back often as we’ll be updating this list as we gather additional information and take suggestions from some of the attendees themselves!

See you in Indianapolis!

Continue reading

Geek fashion is good for your skin

I'm only Wearing Black...Geeks do not, as a general rule, offer much in the way of challenge for the contemporary fashion designer.  You can pretty much sum up the majority of our clothing lines in the with a basic formula :

  1. Take one black t-shirt.
  2. Print something witty on it in white text.  You can also substitute an obscure pop culture reference.  Bonus points if it’s witty AND an obscure pop-culture reference.
  3. ???
  4. Profit

Truly, one of the oft-repeated jokes you’ll hear at any sizable convention is “Meet me at [location].  I’ll be the fat guy in the black t-shirt.” While we’re doing our best here at ShrinkGeek to help you shake off the first part of that joke, it’s an indisputable fact that most of you reading this probably have your fair share of dark shirts in your closet.

Fortunately for you that means you’re less likely to develop skin cancer.

Continue reading

Getting fit for…GenCon?

gencon-300x129I’ve been part of the convention scene in one way or another since I was about 13 years old.  While I wasn’t traveling out of state to go to the “big” shows there was a group of gamers who ran an organization known as Suncoast Skirmishes that, at one time, put on about 5 shows in Florida every year.  In all of the conventions I have been to, though, I have never been to one that sparked as many crash diets as Dragon*Con.  Whether it is cosplay or fetish gear there are many reasons to worry that someone is going to take a picture of you during the convention that is going to reveal that you had one too many Double Bypass Burgers since your last trip to Atlanta.

Apparently, though, Dragon*Con doesn’t have the corner on the market for self-image anxiety in the convention world.

Continue reading

Make A Saving Throw vs. Stinky

Bar Trek from Geekyclean.comConvention season is just around the corner, and you all know what that means!  It’s time for us to start making fun of the “unwashed masses!”

I’ll bet you thought I was going to talk about hot girls in tight spandex, didn’t you?  Sheesh.

The fact of the matter is that folks like Randy Milholland wouldn’t be drawing things like “Aubrey’s Guide to Con Hygiene” if it weren’t for the fact that you could save money on that expensive home renovation project by carrying around items you need to peel paint off of on the last day of a convention.  For some reason it never occurs to some folks that when you’re stuck in a hotel with several thousand other people it might be a good idea to take a bath once in a while.

Continue reading