Sometimes I wonder about the attention my illness would have gotten in the medieval era. Would the doctors be preoccupied with draining excess "humors" or might a clergyman have been called in to perform an exorcism?Thankfully, it's 2010 and the demon that's been possessing me turns out to have the modern name of Duodenitis. I'm making strides towards controlling the symptoms, but the ordeal has been leaving me feeling drained. Running is still absent from my life; I'm hoping to work back to at least walking regularly sooner than later.
Yesterday was the last day to exercise the option to defer registration for the Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half Marathon. I know it was the right thing to do, but clicking Submit was like swallowing bitter medication. My five-year streak of running on Marathon Sunday comes to an end. A new option for Houston this year, the deferment bargain means giving up eligibility to run 2011 in exchange for a chance to register for 2012 without being subject to the lottery. (In case you're wondering: No, the 2011 registration fee is not transferred to 2012. We would pay again. I did say "bitter.")
With some of the surplus time non-training, I've rediscovered video games -- specifically, the indie sensation Minecraft at the moment. Even in its pre-release state -- it just went beta today -- the open-world challenge to survive in a world of raw material and thrive through ingenuity has captured my imagination. I play enough in my living room that I added in a 3D graphics accelerator for the HTPC I built earlier in the year. I jumped on a sale at Fry's for a board with nVidia's GeForce GT430; it's low-end, but gives more than enough framerate firepower for this game. Maybe it'll be enough for that new Civilization release too?
Readers: Are you running Houston on January 30? If so, I'll be cheering for you! Until then, I'll get back to excavating the minecart tunnel I need for my underground rapid transit line....
(P.S. If you happen to be a "blockhead" and know of a newbie-friendly multiplayer server I should visit, fill me in!)
