Happy New Year 1999! Wow. This is like watching the odometer as it approaches 100,000 miles. All those nines start lining up and you just know something's going to happen.

Speaking of things about to happen, Minicon is almost here. At last! Just 11 weeks from now, a few thousand science fiction fans will gather at the Minneapolis Hilton and Towers to make a weekend of Minicon magic. In doing so, we'll put to rest 18 months of fascinating (and sometimes worrisome) rumors, even as our actual activities generate fresh gossip-fodder for years to come.

There have been too many rumors about Minicon 34 for me to pick a favorite, though I was particularly taken by one I heard from a huckster at OryCon. He'd heard that Minicon 34 would have only 200 members. We're scaling back on size and activities, but just to a manageable level for a regional sf convention, and a large regional at that.

To date, Minicon 34 has 765 members. We're expecting 1,800-2,200 members, though we're also preparing for more or fewer than that.

Then there was the rumor about how only books could be sold in the Hucksters Room. Don't get us wrong; we love books. We're delighted that a third of Minicon's huckster tables will be loaded down with books for sale. But we also love all sorts of other cool stuff; and, as you'll see in the Hucksters List on page 12, Minicon will have lots of that, too.

The rumors will get stranger as the excitement surrounding Minicon cranks up a few notches, as it does every January. There's an urgency, an energy buzz, and even a sense of panic that comes as everyone working on and/or coming to the convention faces the final deadline that is Minicon itself. (With luck, the panic pops up only occasionally to keep life exciting and, even then, there's laughter, too.)

Here are a few of the things you can do to join in the Minicon buzz and to avoid some of the usual last-minute crises:

Pre-register now rather than buying your membership at the door! You'll save $30 and we'll be able to order the right quantities of everything. If you've already registered, remind friends of the February 14th pre-reg deadline.

Reserve your hotel room (if you haven't yet). As of mid-December, our room block at the Hilton was 49% full for Friday and Saturday, and our smaller room blocks on Thursday, Sunday, and other nights were 56-90% full. Several suites are still available, both for room parties and on quiet floors. (Our new hotel has lots of suites.)

Volunteer! Tell us if you want to be on programming, work in the consuite, or lend a helping hand processing registrations right now. At Minicon, we'll especially need lots of help setting up Thursday evening, and with tear-down at the end of the convention

I'll close with a loud cheer for the 185 people who have volunteered so far (see page 9) and for everyone who is hosting a party, working on the convention, and/or coming to Minicon 34. We're looking forward to seeing you soon!

Until Minicon, Geri Sullivan

DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!
The final Minicon 34 advance-registration cutoff date is fast approaching - February 14, 1999! Registration rates are currently $40 for attending adults and $15 for children age 12 and under.

After February 14th you will need to pay the at-the-door rates of $70 for attending adults and $30 for children age 12 and under.

Mark your calendar, put a note on your refrigerator, tie a string around your finger, write it on the back of your sliderule, make up a little ditty to hum, do whatever you normally do to remind yourself of important stuff, and make sure your mailed-in registration is postmarked no later than February 14th!

Better yet, do it today!