Checksum Arcanius

After a late night at Scott’s (of the Torborg variety), where we watched the Postman, Scott managed to convince me to go skiing with him the following day at Mt. Baker, three hours away, which mean leaving in the early morning. So, after returning home and getting to sleep around two, Scott called to wake me up at 5:20, and from there, we managed to make it to the slopes by 10 am, just an hour after they opened. The skiing was good, but I wasn’t – it was my first time of the season, and I only went once last year, and that added up to me being way out of skiing shape. I still have enough technique to do the hard runs, but the legs did not have the ability to keep me going all day. Nevertheless, a great time was had.

I have much more goings-on to catch up on as well, but a graduation party awaits!

Tuesday, Hester caused a great stir of excitement when she proposed Ultimate at 2:00. Turnout was unexpectedly excellent – we had a genuine full 7 on 7 game that was quite a bit of fun. To keep up traditions, my team lost a close battle to Joe’s team, but this is to be expected. Our four point surge to 6-4 was overcome by a three point surge by the opposition to win 8-7. Still a very fun game, despite the frigid air. Today, we are going for a repeat performance, meeting at 3:00 at Robinswood for another game. Y’all should come. You know who you are.

Chris: Ever listen to Rush?
Ryan: occasionally.
Chris: One hell of a drummer
Ryan: on his desk
Ryan: haha
Ryan: we’re talkng about different things
Chris: …….
Ryan: www.rushlimbaugh.com/ vs www.rush.com/
Chris: aww ****
Chris: Could they be further apart?
Ryan: i dunno
Ryan: one and two on google
Chris: lol

Tonight, I compiled a CD of bedtime stories read aloud by myself and my parents for my nephew, Joska. I reinstalled some utilities I have used before, and was pleasantly surprised with how well everything worked. My dad had recorded the storytelling onto CDs using his equipment. I ripped it to WAV using Exact Audio Copy, then I edited the files using Audacity, an open source sound editor that has made some notable improvements since when I last used it (I didn’t remember the name so I had to go find it again as well). When all the files were amplified to my liking, I then used Nero Express to burn the tracks to a disc, and I finally have one Christmas present down… only several dozen more to go. Speaking of which, I started my Christmas shopping today, but it didn’t go so hot – Bellevue Square was downright uninspiring – I ended up with only one item from the entire mall. Costco was a little better, and Target was better still… but I haven’t gone shopping in so long, that I don’t really know what’s out there, so there’s a lot of browsing to do, which is unfortunate considering my compressed time scale. Oh well, another adventure I guess.

Take a look at this screenshot of what is, for some reason, my favorite game recently. If the server doesn’t crash or get shut down accidently, you can play it yourself.

I propose that we establish a time for everyone to get together and play the game at the same time. Its really a lot more fun with more people. What times are good for people? Maybe every Saturday night at midnight Pacific Standard Time? Let me know!

A large part of gratitude seems to come from the fact that we have it better than others. While this might be a topic worth exploring on its own, I say it now because, well, even with a President that is sending the budget skyward, some think is responsible for war crimes, and is either dumb or faking it, we still have it a lot better (warning: graphic) than a lot of people (no warning needed for this one).

After work today, I donated blood at the Puget Sound Blood Center in Bellevue. I had been drinking water all day in preperation. The attendant who gave me the medical interview, however, told me that its more important how much I drink the day before. Oh well.

I have now donated 10 pints at the PSBC and a few more with Red Cross and Intermountain Healthcare down in Utah. Since 8 pints is a gallon, the attendant asked me if I had my gallon pin yet. I told her no, I did not, so I got one after the donation.

Since the early times, I have been timing my donations, but with two months between each visit, I found that I could not always remember how long I took. I know I have done better than six minutes, but I have never broken five, so that is my goal. I started recording the times and dates in my palm pilot the last time I went, and at that time I donated in 6:15. Today was worse, I hit 7:08. I was kinda unhappy that the attendant took so long to get the bag down on the hanger; think that hurt my time. I think next time I will have to coach the attendant on how to help me get a better time. (FYI: I tme from the moment they pull the stopper off of the tube until the bag falls due to weight.)

As always, I felt quite good after the donation. I had some “Cougar Mountain” cookies afterwards which were yummy in the tummy as well. Then I came home, got surround sound Power DVD working, and slipped in Gladiator, which I picked up at Target a week or so ago.