SPEAK TRAVELER

Up until one of the best thunderstorms I've ever seen hit Charm City yesterday, this place was boiling my nads off. Unbearable heat. Couldn't even stand my computer being on in a different room to d/l torrents-- that's how hot it was up in Venus. Luckily, though, on one of the first days of the heatwave, I presciently acquired myself an Xbox (not 360) for $15, bringing console gaming back into my life after a 3 year hiatus. Last system I had was a PS2 and just the lateral jump to the Xbox has me tripping out on these futuristic graphics. So much so, in fact, that I invented a new phrase: Gen lag. What do I need a $400 system for when this $15 one already tops my previous video game quality benchmarks? I highly recommend it-- I got two sweet games for the same price I paid for the system and I've decided I'm going to absolutely avoid playing a 360, PS3, or Wii first hand until the following generation of systems hits the market. I could probably play MORROWIND alone til then.On a totally unrelated note-- what is it called when somebody refers to your whole school by the name of its sports team's mascot? You know-- in high school I was a Dulaney Lion. In elementary school I was (no lie) a Carroll Manor Crusader. I remember the melody of our theme song, but not many of the words. "Carroll Manor, hooray hooray/ Each day is fun-filled in every way" (still not lying, btw.) I tried to use the internet to find out if the school still uses the term "Crusaders." There's a news-letter called "The Crusader" that's still being published about the school, so my guess is that they haven't shied away from using the term despite its current context.