Knuckles Dawson

So, you may have heard about the heavy snow in Seattle over the last week. As you can imagine, Vancouver experienced more or less the same onslaught. Which is good news, because the North Shore Mountains look exceptionally frosted. Having been an avid snowboarder for the last 9 seasons, this, my 10th, is the first time that I've gotten a season's pass. This also is the first time that we've had a high enough body count to reap the rewards of the "Family Package", as opposed to the usual total of just two: my father and I. So, now with our party increasing 150%, and a Early Bird Family Package at Mount Seymour costing a mere 600 total, that comes to about $160 per adult. Definitely a sound investment.

So, this past weekend saw me at said mountain, for a short stint on Saturday, and a full day Sunday. Saturday was good to for getting my feet wet. Sunday, though, was awesome. A good full day of boarding, and honing my previous skills as an instructor, as I made serious progress teaching Skye how to carve after she got the hang of turning. Oly, my previous student has since "graduated" and more or less is going at his own pace.

I brought my Audio Backpack on Sunday, and it faired well, despite not being connected to my iPod. The music selection wasn't as robust as the 48 hours of music I have in a snowboarding specific playlist, but it served its purpose. I can hardly wait until I can go up with my iPod, as the volume, even on the runs, when cranked to 11, is easily audible, and others take notice.

The trip down the mountain wasn't as quick as the one up, as there was a couple trees that collapsed from the added weight of the heavy snowfall, and decided the most convenient place to not make a sound would be in the middle of the road.

Upon arriving at Delta Base, we shoveled the driveway, and rewarded ourselves with a double feature: Casino Royale and Deja Vu. Both were extremely well made and entertaining. CR being a much needed reboot of the James Bond franchise, and Deja Vu almost able to be interpreted as a loose sequel to Donnie Darko. Two great movies at one great price. Or something.

I cracked open Elite Beat Agents while waiting for Deja Vu, and really liked it. I played a bit of Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan at PAX '06, but didn't pick it up that well. That may have to do with not recognizing the music, and thus the tempo for the songs. EBA surprised me with a bunch of instantly recognizable tunes, and that helped me progress through it. Right now I'm just cracking through the 3rd difficulty's early songs.

On the 360 front, I've been playing plenty of Gears, and am trying to get back into Splinter Cell: Double Agent and finsh that up. Unfortunately the impending kickass snowboard season is hindering the time available for me to do so. I'll see how I manage. I played some more Twilight Princess Friday and Saturday before hitting the slopes, and beat the Forest Temple. After some fine tuning of my Wii-mote, I'm pinpointing enemies with incredible ease. Haven't touched it at all this week, though I did order a Component Cable at Nintendo's online store. I can hardly wait for that progressive goodness.

Well, I think that pretty much brings us back up to speed on what's been going on. Also, regarding the KD Experience, the next episode is currently indeed on the agenda, and should be getting a facelift in many respects.