hoping to maybe get a more detailed view through the telescope, i ventured outside into the backyard at 2am and set up the scope for viewing. took about 10-15 minutes to set up, and a few minutes more to actually find the comet through starhopping. the view wasn't anymore more interesting or detailed versus the binocular view, just a bigger version of a fuzzy grey mass. i thought about taking a photo but the comet just wasn't bright enough to take a good photo of. besides, there really wasn't anything to see, basically a shapeless blob.

for my troubles, i received two mosquito bites, one on my forehead and one in between the knuckles of my hand. i lit a mosquito repellent incense coil but that didn't seem to work (at least not initially, then later i wasn't bothered by mosquitoes but by then i was already so paranoid about bugs that i decided to pack up my things and go back inside).

i beat baal tonight! he's the boss in the diablo ii expansion set. i beat him with my level 30+ assassin, basically an assault of inferno wake traps while i hid behind a pillar to avoid getting swept by his ring of flame attacks. for a boss, he was pretty easy to beat. the expansion comes with only one act, act 5, and i basically started it yesterday and finished it today, so it's a pretty short act. the only real biggy that comes with the expansion set are the addition of two new characters, the assassin and the druid. now that i've finished the game with the assassin, i think i'll play the druid -- although speaking with alex wong, i hear that the druid is a fun character to play but he's not as powerful as the assassin.

today was another game day. participating members were elias, dan, and myself. brian, who is usually there, wasn't there today, and i didn't ask too many questions because he's usually a disrupting influence on game day because he wins more often than not. we started the festivities by playing some nintendo 64, mario party 3 i believe was the name of the game. that was followed by web of powers, and then a game of settlers. after that painting buying game (the name escapes me at the moment), we went back to mario party, during which we took a break midgame to get some pizza.

i didn't win a single game. i came in last or close to last for all of them. i'm beginning to think my role at game day is to be some kind of gaming fodder. i basically went in today with the attitude that i would probably lose everything, and if i did win, it'd be a pleasant surprise. i don't think i'm very competitive, at least not at game day. my primary reason for going is to have fun, although nursing a losing streak seems to be the opposite of fun. i'm the kind of person who would lose on purpose just to make the other person feel better (although I wasn't throwing any of my games today). competition can sometimes bring out the worst in people. where are those games where everybody comes out a winner?

afterwards, i motorcycled home. it was kind of interesting, because it was my first time biking in the rain. as soon as i started going, it began to drizzle. it was one of those weird sunny showers, so i wasn't too concerned, i figured it'd soon pass (and it did). but for a few minutes, i was riding in a small rain shower. it wasn't too bad, i made sure i was extra careful and when i came to a stop that i brake slowly. i did notice the roads were slippery underneath my shoes, but there was no traction problems with the bike.