Checksum Arcanius

Well that left no doubt.

But of course that means there is only one undefeated team…

Playoffs anyone?

Saturday was the FIRST Robotics Competition Kickoff. It broadcasts live from Manchester New Hampshire where it is 10:00, so that means 7:00 here, which means getting up around 5:30. The local kickoff event is hosted by none other than the Titan Robotics Club, with generous support from the FIRSTWA/SRA, and DeVry Univeristy. Red Bull was kind enough to provide refreshments (in the form of Red Bull drinks, of course).

I recently discovered that a fellow CSE student, Helene, was a FIRST alum (from team 192, GRT), so I invited her along. With just a little bit of prodding, she accepted, and we both ended up enjoying ourselves while learning about the new game. Of course, I already had a sneak peak from helping assemble the rack on Friday night.

I had promised to get Helene home early, so I left immediately after the kickoff to take her back to the U-District. Next came soccer practice, at 12:30. Since intramural sports seem to be the only way I can coax myself to exercise regularly, I try to get involved with them every quarter. A big thanks to Scott for organizing it every quarter.

Next, I did some homework while organizing a movie-going expedition with Courtney. Along with Kunlun and Anne, we ended up seeing Children of Men, a wonderfully gritty apocalyptic offering. While the others I was with saw it as depressing, I have a way of seeing these sorts of films as very hopeful. Sure, the surroundings were grim — women are infertile and the whole world is self-destructing — but in the midst of it all, life is finding a way forward. I’d give the film an A, or a 4.5/5.

After the movie, I went over to Ananth’s place to watch the second half of the Seahawks game. Talk about a roller coaster! But the Hawks prevailed, so for now, all is well. Ananth was kind enough to feed me while at his apartment, so I didn’t have to do it myself. I also got a call from Maneesh right after the game, and we were able to go crazy over the phone together. It was a good time. After seeing the Sonics lose yet another game, I headed back home to work on some more homework, before succumbing to sleep fairly early.

Sunday, I woke up surprisingly late, considering how early I had fallen asleep. Most of the day was homework until I ended up at my parent’s for food. After dinner, Jon came over an we all watched the replay of the Boise State-Oklahoma game, which I must agree was the best college football game I have seen in a long time, perhaps ever. It seems that for the last few minutes of the game, and overtime, Boise State had simply run out of normal plays. Everything was a trick. Even my mom was excited. It just doesn’t get much better than that.

After the game, it was back to the homework. With the help of my Dad, I was finally able to quash a bug in some of my code, finishing the first part of an assignment due Wednesday. Of course, I have a lot of stuff due Monday, which I guess is today, as well, so I have to go home now and start on that. So much for a great start to the quarter; of course this is probably the most stuff I’ve had to do on a first week ever. Even the amount of reading is looking improbable. Oh well, this is what I signed up for I guess.

This fall, I am once again on two intramural football teams — a men’s team, to which I somehow wound up the quarterback, and a co-rec team, where we actually have a competent quarterback :-).

Today we held a practice, and as long as we have enough people show up, we should have some fun and stand a chance in both of our games.

The valiant Huskies lost 20-26, a noble effort against the #3 (yeah right) team in the nation, USC. They came seconds away from winning — and I believed right down to the strange, anticlimatic ending that they were going to do it. Isiah Stanback has earned my confidence as a quarterback. Just a stupid way to end — I think it was really Willingham’s fault (I think they would have been ready otherwise), but with what he’s done to the program otherwise, I find it easy to forgive him.

Oh, and I have tickets to the last three home games. I may be a proud husky yet!

A bowl game, that is, right around the corner.

From the AP, via Yahoo Sports:

Coach Tyrone Willingham’s Huskies have already doubled their wins total from last year, his first as Washington coach.
…
Washington (4-1, 2-0) scored three times in the final 6:07 of the first half to take a 21-3 lead and held Arizona (2-3, 0-2) to minus-7 yards rushing.

Washington, though clearly no national-title contender this year, is certainly on the up-and-up. I take it as further validation Tyrone Willingham is indeed the right man for the job.

Wow, what an exhillarating win! I pity the fools who I saw leaving the stadium early, unless they happened to go home to watch it finish on TBS. I learned long ago, after turning the TV off in disgust when the dawgs were down big in the second quarter against Michigan, that you don’t give up on the Huskies, not when they come back to win in the 4th quarter. And this time that lesson paid off. Now I feel that I can really look forward to the three games I am planning on attending in person.

I just purchased a 1999 Giant DS2 XTC from a fellow Seattlite. The bike is very nice, but in need of a little bit of maintenance and one item of repair work — its rear shifter only has about half the range it should. The components are all Shimano LX, and its rear shock is vevelt smooth — quite incredible to ride around on. It is also quite light for its size. In its heyday, a bike like this would have retailsed north of $1,000. I picked it up for $150, quite a deal, as long as I am able to get the shifter working.

Its probably time to invest in a little more theft prevention equipment. While I am very happy with my current U-lock, I don’t want my wheels running off on their own either.

UPDATE: Photos!

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