Fireworks

I mentioned a few weeks ago that one of our projects here at home was to mount the TV above the fireplace, which we completed right before Christmas break. It wasn't too hard, actually, except for deciding which mounting hardware to use in the masonry. My dad, my brother, and two guys at Lowe's all gave me some very good suggestions, and in the end I used a combination of a few of their ideas. It looks pretty nice up there, and when augmented with a nice fire below...well, it's tough to beat an evening at home with a good movie (or video game) and a fire blazing. And thanks to our ample supply of firewood on the back porch, we'll probably be set for the rest of the winter. :)

Since getting my Xbox 360 a month ago I've had a great time exploring lots of things in the world of video games that might be old hat to many, but brand new to me. And now that I have Xbox Live, which I got from my wife's parents as a Christmas gift, it's like a curtain has been pulled back on an entire world of new things to experience. One of those is a trivia game called "1 vs. 100" where you play against other people, often numbering in the thousands or tens of thousands. It's not unlike other video game trivia experiences: a question comes up with three answer choices. You have a few seconds to choose, and the press of a button locks in your answer. At the end of the round, the person with the highest score wins. But something about playing against real people, rather than the computer, gives the experience a whole new dimension. It's fun to see how many people got a question right, or who got fooled by a tricky one, or how your score compares to thousands of others around the country. One of the downsides of Xbox Live is the cost: $35 for a year of membership. But if that membership includes experiences like "1 vs. 100," I'd say it's well worth it.

One thing that's been the topic of many an online discussion forum lately has been the weather, and I would almost feel remiss if I did't mention it here. It's been very cold here in Oklahoma the past week or so, but every day my wife and I would check the temperatures in different locations and see that it was always much colder up in Minnesota. And to be honest, I never liked this kind of weather when we lived up there but I do appreciate having been through five years of bitter winters now that we live in a warmer climate. I feel as though we have earned our warmer weather. :) Forecasts are predicting warming trends across the midwest this week, but there should be plenty of snow left on the hill at Moses Merrill this weekend. Awesome!