Left Behind

Last weekend, I went back to Sarnia to attend my friend Sara's wedding. It was attended by many friends that I used to have back in highschool. Friends who are girls. Now, I can post about how cool it was to catch up with old friends, or I could talk about how sobering it was to find out how their lives have progressed (with marriages and kids and jobs and the like), but that's not really the point. The point is that I got to meet and hang out with their husbands/boyfriends, who not unlike so many others, like to have a game of Texas Hold'em. Being very gracious, they invite me to join after the wedding. And thus, the point of this post follows. Two games later... two victories by me.

I am spreading my reign of poker terror.

I'm So Lonely...

Hey Everyone! I have officially moved into my very own apartment. Well, technically, I did it on Monday with the help of Dr. Dread and the Notorious E.R.B. But anyway, it's still a little disorganised and chaotic, but it's slowly starting to take shape. When I get is all made up nice, I'll post a couple pictures.

word

The Greatest Weekend Ever?

treb·u·chet - n. - A medieval catapult for hurling heavy stones.

... and that's how it began. We had the idea, we had the motivation, we had the farm (thanks to Rudy's parents), we had the supplies (again, graciously supplied by the Eigenheer's), we had the weekend, and of course, we had the insanity.

The planning was pretty much done on the fly, so first up was a trip to the woods to get the necessary lumber using jungle math and hauling them back to the workshop. Saturday night consisted of Dan, Patrick, Rudy, Jeff, and I deciding what log gets used for what, and the building of the first half of the frame. The night wound down with a campfire complete with super campfire sandwiches. After that, I roughed it by camping... in the basement of Rudy's parent's house.

On Sunday, the goal was set out to complete this project. The odds were against us, as we were down one man and some snags were hit thanks to our goal of making do with what we had. (The picture to the right is just to prove that, yes, I did manual labour too). Our goal was to have the treb ready to fire by 5pm. Well, 5pm came and went... and while we had the pieces of the frame out in the field, some fine-tuning needed to be done... namely, we needed a firing mechanism, and a way to make sure that it actually stood up.

Well, a firing mechanism was attached, and our structure was sturdy when it was all put together. So, we had our completed trebuchet, we had our projectile and counter-weights, we had our supporters, and we had our hecklers. All that was left to do was to fire that badboy. Our collective breaths were held, and we got clear out of the way waiting for something to go horribly wrong, pulled the pin and fired. And fire we did! We launched a 5lb rock 151 feet! On our very first try! Our elation was only surpassed by our shock of being so successful right out of the gate. After trying some other weights and counter-weights, we wound up with our longest shot being at 252 feet with a 5lb rock. Throughout the firings, our structure held together perfectly, with the only exception being the axle of the firing arm, which started to severly bend with each attempt (see picture at right). We called it a day when we figured another toss may collapse the entire structure.

We finished feeling satisfied in a job well done, and quite proud of what we were able to build in just half a weekend. We also left with a resolve to return with a more solid axle and with more new and exciting projectiles. Could a sequel be in the works? Perhaps "Trebuchet Weekend 2: Revenge of the Gourds"? For another report on Trebuchet Weekend 1, go read Dan's Blog.

Other Man

Wednesday, September 21. Mark your calendars... That's the season premier of Lost! Thanks to Kiersten, who alerted me to new clickables on the seating plan at oceanic-air.com. I won't tell you, you'll just have to find them on your own.

Have You Ever Had That Deep Down Empty Feeling?

(or... I Think I'm Alone Now. There Doesn't Seem To Be Anyone Around. I Think I'm Alone Now. The Beating Of My Heart Is The Only Sound.)

It's officially official. I'm living on my own! Things are looking a little sparce at the moment, but give it time... I'll have things filled up in no time. As soon as I get my furnature delivered and purchase a couple items (cough...HDTV...cough) things will be looking good. In a couple weeks I'll be moving into a one bedroom apartment (in the same building). I've been waiting a long time to have a place that's all "mine".

In Dog Years I'd Be Dead

Well, I'll just go ahead and say it.

Happy Birthday To Me,
Happy Birthday To Me,
Happy Birthday Dear Matt,
Happy Birthday To Me.

Twenty-six now. Where did the time go? That's quite old, although not much accomplished and quite a ways to go.

I celebrate today with a trip to the dentist.

Eagle

Today I went out golfing with my Dad to Bright's Grove Golf Course (formerly Crabbies). 4th Hole... Par 4... 220 Yards... 2nd Shot... About 50 yards away... Over a pond... Half swing with a Pitching Wedge... A couple bounces and a roll... And into the hole. The first time I holed out from off the green, and more importantly my very first Eagle. That's right, an Eagle.

As a historical note... Bright's Grove Golf Course was also the site of my very first Birdie too. I'm awesome.