So last night was a pretty big deal. The Game of Thrones pilot finally premiered on HBO. Over ten years after randomly picking up the first Song of Ice and Fire book at a bookstore, and subsequently falling in love with the series, I was able to watch these characters come to life on screen. And it was everything I’d hoped it would be.

If there was any network on the planet that could pull off an epic the size of A Song of Ice and Fire, it was HBO. And after seeing the first episode… not only the magnificent costumes and sets, but how true to the source material they’re staying, I can say pretty confidently that I know exactly where I’m going to be spending my Sunday evenings at 9pm for the next ten weeks.

Except, of course, for Memorial Day weekend (unless my hotel room has HBO), because  that weekend I will be down in Baltimore, MD for Digital Overload 2011! I’ll be there hanging out, playing games with folks (hopefully getting some Warmachine in), and running beta testing for the CAD Board Game I’ve been working on!

We’ve got a ton of exciting events going on at this year’s Digital Overload. Recently announced, we’ll be running a Minecraft competition! Participants will have 24 hours to design to their heart’s content, at which point your creations will be judged.

And of course we still have our full lineup of both Pro/Paid tournaments, and casual tournaments for a large variety of games. If you’ve already purchased your ticket, you can register for tournaments now, and secure yourself a spot in the events you want to participate in!

I’m really psyched about this year’s Digital Overload, not only because it’s in a new location and we have a lot of awesome stuff happening, but because we’ve got a great team of people in place taking over a lot of the logistical responsibilities. This means I should have more time to actually participate in the event and play games with people, as opposed to running around making sure everything is going smoothly!

And just a reminder, since Digital Overload 2011 is taking place during Memorial Day weekend, hotels are filling up fast! So don’t wait, hurry up and book your attendance now.

I’m looking forward to seeing a bunch of you next month in Baltimore!