I’ve been meaning to write up my thoughts on Halo 2 for a
while now, but it’s been hard since I’m not completely sure what they
are. So, here are a bunch of random, sparsely-connected paragraphs of
rambling and ranting.

I got Halo 2 the day after it came out (so I got it
11/10/2004, I think.) I’ve been playing it off and on since then. I
figured I was near the end, and I hadn’t played the campaign in a few
weeks, so I figured I’d try to beat it today.

The Magic: the Gathering Betrayers of Kamigawa Prerelease in Boston is on the 22nd and 23rd (a week from this weekend). I’ll be there, most likely judging. Jessi will be with me playing. Others are welcome to come with us for one or both days if we have car room and you don’t mind being there for the *entire* day (likely 7am until 10 or 11pm), which should give you time to play in several events. Prereleases are a lot of fun. They’re a casual tournament where you get to play with brand-new cards.

The well-digging has gone down 500 feet, and they haven’t hit enough water yet. Sometime soon (possibly today), they’re going to try “fracturing” it, where they seal it off and pump in a bunch of water to cause oodles and oodles of pressure (on the order of 1000 to 2000 p.s.i.). It’s my understanding that hopefully this will create more fractures and connect the well to nearby underground streams. Hopefully, it won’t damage my parents’ well in the process.

SHORT TERM FORECAST
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
200 PM EST THU JAN 6 2005

CTZ002>004-MAZ009-011>013-017>019-RIZ001>005-062100-
BRISTOL RI-EASTERN HAMPDEN MA-EASTERN KENT RI-EASTERN PLYMOUTH MA-
HARTFORD CT-NORTHERN BRISTOL MA-NORTHWEST PROVIDENCE RI-
SOUTHEAST PROVIDENCE RI-SOUTHERN WORCESTER MA-TOLLAND CT-
WESTERN HAMPDEN MA-WESTERN KENT RI-WESTERN NORFOLK MA-
WESTERN PLYMOUTH MA-WINDHAM CT-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF…BARRINGTON…BLANDFORD…BROCKTON…
FRANKLIN…HARTFORD…PLYMOUTH…PROVIDENCE…SPRINGFIELD…
STAFFORD…TAUNTON…WARWICK…WEST GREENWICH…WILLIMANTIC…
WOONSOCKET…WORCESTER
200 PM EST THU JAN 6 2005

<lj -cut text=“NWS Short-Term Forecast”>

SHORT TERM FORECAST
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
200 PM EST THU JAN 6 2005

CTZ002>004-MAZ009-011>013-017>019-RIZ001>005-062100-
BRISTOL RI-EASTERN HAMPDEN MA-EASTERN KENT RI-EASTERN PLYMOUTH MA-
HARTFORD CT-NORTHERN BRISTOL MA-NORTHWEST PROVIDENCE RI-
SOUTHEAST PROVIDENCE RI-SOUTHERN WORCESTER MA-TOLLAND CT-
WESTERN HAMPDEN MA-WESTERN KENT RI-WESTERN NORFOLK MA-
WESTERN PLYMOUTH MA-WINDHAM CT-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF…BARRINGTON…BLANDFORD…BROCKTON…
FRANKLIN…HARTFORD…PLYMOUTH…PROVIDENCE…SPRINGFIELD…
STAFFORD…TAUNTON…WARWICK…WEST GREENWICH…WILLIMANTIC…
WOONSOCKET…WORCESTER
200 PM EST THU JAN 6 2005

.NOW…
…A WINTRY MIX OF PRECIPITATION WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MID
AFTERNOON…
A MIX OF SLEET…FREEZING RAIN…AND RAIN WILL AFFECT NORTHERN
CONNECTICUT…NORTHERN RHODE ISLAND…AND SOUTH CENTRAL
MASSACHUSETTS THROUGH 4 PM. UNTREATED SECONDARY ROADS…BRIDGES AND
OVERPASSES WILL BE ICY DUE TO THESE CONDITIONS. CONTINUE TO ALLOW
EXTRA TIME TO REACH YOUR DESTINATION. USE CAUTION IF YOU PLAN ON
WALKING ON OUTDOOR SURFACES THIS AFTERNOON.

Got this from my mom today:

The well people came today and got started at about noon. They went down about 120 feet. No water yet. They’ll be back tomorrow to drill some more.

More happiness and excitement!

Jessi and I went to the traditional (now 10 years running) New Year’s party on my Mom’s side at The Big House (my aunt and uncle’s place) in Middlefield, MA. Lots of fun, food, and games.

Today, I went back to work after having last week off. Not a whole lot of new stuff, but we’re continuing with improvements to our web site.

Yesterday, I got word that the truck for drilling our well for our new house arrived, and was planning on starting work today.

I mentioned earlier this month that Newton North High School was going to host a “Transgender Bisexual Gay & Lesbian Awareness Day”. I recently read Article 8’s take on the event. Apparently, some parents and a reporter got kicked out “for the safety of the students”, when all they wanted to do was record what the childen were being exposed to. And of course, it’s not clear that the parents got much of an indication of the what the event was about ahead of time.

This weekend, we went out to New York State to see Jessi’s extended family for Christmas. It was an enjoyable good time, with presents, food, visiting, cookies, and lots and lots of food. We left on Thursday afternoon and came back on Monday afternoon. Jessi got quite sick on the way home, which wasn’t much fun, but luckily it was just a 24-hour-or-so bug possibly caused by something she ate. We stayed at Jessi’s parents’ house last night while Jessi recovered, and watched 50 First Dates, which was quite entertaining and touching.