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Tuesday, October 01, 2002

post://85512646/

Well I tried out XBox Live for the first time last night. I had gotten the beta kit a while back, but with no broadband access at the house currently, I haven't been able to try it. I went over my friend's house and tried it with his cable modem. The voice interaction is quite good, garbled in places, but overall it was like talking to someone over the phone. It has filters too, so if you're paranoid about someone knowing your real voice, you can change it. The two games available for testing are ReVolt and NFL Fever 2003, both much better when playing against actual opponents.

I got home somewhat late, about 12:30 or so and was surprised to find my house mates up. I felt like going for a spin in the winter beater, as it hasn't gotten much use and I'm still not sure if there's anything wrong with it. The only way to know is to use it, so I pulled up to the front and invited people to go for a ride. Phil joined me and filled me in on the situation::

Our friend was there, Ken noticed he was missing after a bit - went outside to look for his car, gone... he had a bad feeling so he drove a little up the street and sure enough there was his car... smashed into the park fence up the street. He had been drinking quite a bit, and apparently he tried to race someone - he went straight when he should have turned. Luckily he went into the tree behind the fence, rather then the buildings beyond. He ended up being arrested and every time they'd called the police station so far -- they said he hadn't been brought in. Phil wanted to go down to the police station to try and bail him out. He'd been drinking just as much as everyone else, so it was good that I got there when I did.

When I had left the guys were just watching football, drinking shots of vodka and beer. They were already a bit in the bag at that point, and the bottle was completely empty as well as an additional one... so I can imagine how much they'd had over the course of the evening.

We drove down to the police station, inquired at the front desk. He was there, but they needed the clerk there to do all the paperwork and they wouldn't be in until at least 3:30, so it would be 4 or 5 (am) before he could be released. We left - it was 1am. I swung by the scene of the accident on the way back to the house, and man... I can't believe he consciously got behind the wheel. I would like to think it would have gone differently if I was there, but I'm not so sure it would have.

I have had a really good friend die while drinking and speeding, another break his neck going through the windshield on the highway - he was dead, but they brought him back. He was in a brace for a while - but eventually went back to his old ways. I haven't heard from him since, and I can only hope he's still alive... So many people that I know have had their lives effected by people driving under the influence. It's just such a waste, those people are no longer around, no longer making a difference in the world... and he came so close to joining them.

I know you've heard it before, but please don't do it.

Labels: 2002