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This will in fact be a short(ish) update. I find writing here has a calming effect, and lord knows I could use some calming this week. Whew! No politics here, either (well, no national politics). There'll be a saint living under the stairs, so we'll be free from our material cares.

--Mother 3 has been reannounced! For the Game Boy Advance... Oh well. I thought they could resurrect Earthbound 64 and slap it on the GameCube, but I guess any Earthbound is a good Earthbound. In fact, they're releasing a compilation of Mother 1 and 2 here in the states as well. I played a GB SP, and it's "okay", but not the backlit beauty you probably wanted it to be. Game Boy Player (for GameCube) for me, if anything.

--I'm GLAD I decided to cut out Intermediate Accounting II and go with Financial Statement Analysis for my accounting class next Fall. Int Acc I is ripping me apart. Ugh. I'm starting to question alot of the marginally useful but mind-bendingly complex rules and exceptions (not that we're even close to touching the true complexity in this class; we're just getting a bitter taste of it). The SEC just released a series of new rules businesses have to comply with. They say the changes are sweeping and will be detrimental to business, especially small businesses (prices will increase, jobs may be lost, investment dollars will flow elsewhere, etc.). ONE THOUSAND plus pages of new requirements, which every business has to read and comply with. I guess it's a good match for our FORTY THOUSAND pages of Federal income tax codes.

Anyway, Financial Statement Analysis will be infinitely more interesting and useful for what I'm going to do. I'm also glad I abandoned the Accounting major. Finance is actually thought-provoking and has that feel of something that could easily become a hobby, something I enjoy doing a whole lot. Mark Jackson once said "my father told me if I find a job I love, I'll never work another day in my life". How true.

--When I was a kid, I had games like Candy Land, Monopoly, Risk, etc. But I also had a couple really odd games. One was The Stock Market Game. We were talking about games the other day and I remembered that and actually found it on the web (I can't believe how many other stock market games there are out there!). It was surprisingly fun as I recall. I'm sure mom still has it somewhere. The other game I had, and I can't believe someone gave this to me as a birthday present when I was ten or eleven, was Capital Punishment. I'm going to have to email mom and see if she remembers who that was from. Needless to say, I never got to play this one (which, no matter which way you swing on capital punishment itself, a ten year old might not be the right target market for this game; although, it seems to have a MAD magazine type of twisted humor about it). I have no idea which agenda (i.e. for or against) the makers were trying to push, but I notice some of the playing pieces represent "Liberals" while others are "Innocent Citizens" and the others are murderers, rapists, arsonists, and kidnappers. Hmm...

--What's up with this damned wind! Every day! Pushing me back as I try desperately to climb the hill on my bike! Today a gust hit me coming home (down the hill) and I slowed immediately from ~20 mph to ~8 mph. Crappy.

--Let's revisit videogame violence. Groups like THIS ONE truly amaze me. Now videogame addiction is as bad as heroin addiction. And my favorite line: "underground videogame cultures which takes gaming to another level, tainted with online "clans", singling out of people, hatred, racism, and sexism". Oooh, scary. Look folks, I was moderately into the clan scene for over a year, and my brother's been in for almost three years. It's just a bunch of buddies scattered all over the country and world getting together to have a good time playing a silly game with other groups of buddies. As a matter of fact, a good clan can be a very formidable positive influence on teens. My brother has learned responsibility, strategic thinking, diplomacy, typing, grammar, multiculturalism, honor, fair play and sportsmanship, computer skills, time management, respect for others, etc. as a result of his time in NASA, BoD 1 and 2, Ci, and his new clan. I've been very grateful to Stosh for being there when my DSL and then my whole computer got taken away.

Hatred, racism, sexism? Give me a break. Perhaps they're only referring to the small fraction of "LAN clans", those groups which actually game in the same room. Well, I wouldn't know first-hand. Maybe they are all misogynistic neo-NAZIs recruiting unsuspecting young teens into their world of hatred and racism (and ooh, "singling out of people"). But I doubt it. Check out the Articles page (although you can't read any yet). This is where I thought it was another "Bonzai Kitty", but nope, it's more of a "Cat Scan". They should make a video of these people and call it "LIBERALS GONE WILD!!!"

--Tony Blair will be making his first appearance on The Simpsons. It's cool that one of the most powerful men in the world, in the middle of fighting a war, can take time out to add his voice to a cartoon. I'm not being facetious, it really is cool. Of course, he'll have huge ears in the show. I heard his scenes are about trying to drum up tourism for the UK, something that has been sorely lacking lately (though England is about the ONLY European nation I'd want to visit anymore).

--I've been shooting baskets in the mornings, since I'm usually awake around sixish (I'm sleeping in catnaps lately). I love it. It's oddly one of the most enjoyable activities I've ever done. The relaxation it provides is huge (although the wind really sucks).

--Three years ago I was working for the Census. I miss it. The being three years younger than I am now. The long drive out in the country in my favorite car ever listening to Adventure Club tapes. The sack lunches out all alone on the back porch soaking up that awesome direct sunlight. Mmmmmmmm. Bliss.