This in from Jim O'Kelley:

The traveling Weasels had a great time at DixieCon, which was held this weekend in Chapel Hill, N.C. The five of us represented Chicago well, although Jeremiah didn't play a single game of Diplomacy.

The event featured 10 boards over three rounds. I'm not sure how many players participated. Maybe 30. Here are the results:
Top Board:

1) Thomas Haver of Columbus, Ohio, with a 15-center three-way as France in round 2 and a 17-center three-way as Turkey in round 3.

2) Andy Bartalone of Maryland, with a 13-center threee-way as Austria in round 1 and a 16-center three-way as England in round 2.

3, Tied) Eric Grinnell of Kentucky, with an 11-center three-way as France in round 1 and an eight-center three-way as England in round 3.

3, Tied) Corey Mason of the D.C. area, with two three-way draws, including a 10-center Russia in round 2.

5) Doug Moore of Maryland, with an 11-center three-way as Italy in round 2 and an eight-center three-way as France in round 3.

6) Thom Comstock of Chicago, with a nine-center three-way as England in round 1 and a seven-center three-way as Turkey in round 2.

7) Jim O'Kelley of Chicago, with a 16-center three-way as Italy in round 1 and a nine-center five-way as Turkey in round 3.

Best Countries:
Austria: Andy Bartalone
England: Andy Bartalone
France: Thomas Haver
Germany: Chris Barfield, with a nine-center three-way draw. Kevin O'Kelley had an eight-center three-way draw, so he missed out on a plaque by one center. Fortunately, he did not go home empty-handed. ..
Italy: Jim O'Kelley
Russia: Corey Mason
Turkey: Thomas Haver

Kevin received the I Got Hammered for the swiftest of the three swift Turkish exits in round 1. All three Turks collectively received GM David Hood's Brick award as well.

Six teams competed in Saturday's team round. Perrennial favorites Overated, featuring Doug Moore, Chris Martin and Andy Bartalone, defended their title in a landslide. Who is Ferret Redux, featuring Dave Maletsky, Graham Woodring and me, finished a distant second. And the Pink Pony Posse, featuring Greg Duenow, Thom Comstock and Kevin O'Kelly, finished third. Wahoo!

As expected, the con shook up the Grand Prix standings. By my unofficial count, Haver is now in first with 174 points, and Bartalone is in second with 173. Maletsky might have leap-frogged Woodring. Not sure. Meanwhile, KublaCon had only four boards over the five rounds, so it didn't qualify for the Grand Prix. Now it's on to the Boston Massacre next month, followed by Origins in Columbus. Bartalone will be playing in the former; Haver, the latter.

That's enough for now. Need sleep