S3E18 | Bigfoot, Ghostbusters, and Giant Spiders: The Con Report!

Ash and Little Beard are back, tired but full of stories after a packed weekend of events. The episode kicks off with some fun banter about Bigfoot vlogs and Ash’s latest weird TikTok algorithm obsession: Stick Nation.

The crew gives a rundown of their weekend adventures:

• McConnellCon – A surprisingly packed six-hour military base convention, with free signed memorabilia from Darth Vader actor Spencer Wilding and R2D2 actor Jimmy Vee (Little Beard hilariously blanked on the name mid-show).
  Highlights included a chaotic Dirty Smoker show moment where R2D2 "fought" Darth Vader onstage—an unscripted con memory that stole the show.

• Big Game Market – Over 200 vendors, great food, and a good crowd despite the heat. Little Beard encountered a disgruntled attendee who mistakenly blamed the Scallywags for a prior bad show (turns out another group used their name as a scapegoat).

Geekgasms of the week included:

• Little Beard’s new lightweight 1984 Ghostbusters proton pack (with future smoke and sound mods planned).

• Ash discovering PCBWay’s open-source project hub and cheap ways to replicate expensive brewery hydrometers.

Tech & Geek News included:

• Amazon testing humanoid delivery robots.

• Melbourne researchers advancing toward an HIV functional cure.

• OpenAI models resisting shutdown commands (!).

• AI-powered weapon detection at hospitals.

• Superpower.com – a new AI-driven personal health platform aiming to optimize longevity and wellness.

• Researchers successfully gene-editing spiders to produce fluorescent red silk—raising both scientific promise and giant-spider horror movie vibes.

The show wrapped with some playful discussion about AI's risks, mocap trends, and Eight-Legged Freaks vs. Arachnophobia. Ash also teased upcoming events including the Topeka Ren Faire and Anime Fest Wichita.