back in the swim, the Prestige, dryer, othello

So, a week since "the migraine of 2007" and I've got my trunks and goggles ready - time to get back in the pool and put another 1/4 mile under my belt - or drawstrings, as it were. Looking forward to it and I'll report again later if I should happen to drown or something.

I had planned on watching The Number 23 over the weekend, but instead watched the DVD of the Prestige instead. Damn good movie - I figured it out partway through and had the cold chills as the rest of the story unfolded. It was crazy good and creepy.

The dryer went out on Sunday - in the middle of a laundry cycle. So, I took it apart and found that the starter switch was loose and burned. I guessed that the switch got stuck in the on position and then burned out. So, we did a little driving around trying to find a place that sold replacement switches - with no luck. So, one last stop at home depot to find a switch that - while not an "official dryer switch" would function the same way. Got it home, installed it - and no luck. Then it occurred to us to check the breaker - which had also been thrown. A quick reset and a button push and the dryer fired right up.

I did a little happy dance. We've still got a switch sticking out the top of the back of the dryer, but it's not a big deal.

I also picked up the game Othello and tried to teach my room-mate. He'd never played before, but was willing to give it a try. I beat him soundly the two games we played - which is understandable since he'd never played before - but on the second game, he didn't have any pieces left and we hadn't filled the board. I'd never seen that happen before and my sister and I used to play this game all the time. Even the rules were a little vague on that point.

Incidentally, the new Othello board is inferior to the old version. The grid is raised and the tiles - which are not as substantial as the old ones - either sort of float awkwardly on the edges or get lodged in the grid. Neither of which is conducive to a high speed title flipped event.

Well, looks like a busy day here - time to get back to work...