Does Master Chief Fly?

Apparently Mary's sighting of the Shuttle Discovery re-entering the atmosphere was only the beginning of tech week here at the house of Shields.

Thursday night was the semesterly HALO Tournament that is put on by our live-in student tech staff. I honestly don't play a lot of games (though they're really growing on me!), but even if you're not into it, it is a sight to see. The room was filled with 12 XBox 360s and LCD projectors. Up to 16 players could team up and play against one another. Very cool.

Oh, and yes. Ross... eat your heart out.
This is Mary playing at a
HALO tournament and LIKING IT!
She has started her turn to the dark side!

She didn't exactly kick ass, but she did kick a lot of waterfall.

Anyway, this was only the second delivery from a one-two-three punch of some really cool technology this week. I'm at my computer this morning when I hear an aircraft going overhead. I really didn't think too much of it until it got really loud. It became obvious that a helicopter was circling over campus so I decided to get up and see what was up there. Very surprised, I ran to get my camera just in time to catch this shot out our living room window:

If you can't quite make it out, that is a U.S. Army Apache Gunship landing in our back yard. Needless to say, I didn't quite expect that when I got up this morning. But, after I put two and two together, I realized it was here to be on display and then do a flyover during the football game for Veterans Day celebrations (btw... Bearcats win 47-13 securing first round bye in the playoffs and a home field game in two weeks).

Mary opted to stay home, but I wasn't missing this opportunity and headed out with the camera. Here's a few up close shots of the Apache.

Can't you see the headlines?
Bobby Bearcat jailed for joyriding.

At any rate, I am more than happy to support the Army and its efforts here. Now, the Marines... that's another story. On Thursday, they were set up in the Union to do some recruiting. They had a high bar set up and if you did 20 pull-ups you got a t-shirt. I was talking with some students and said I could probably do that underhanded, but no way overhanded. Well, one of the Marines heard me and offered to let me take a shot. And then, he just couldn't resist adding that he would give me an AGE WAIVER! O.K. What the heck? Is the gray hair that bad? Geez! Anyway, Mary hasn't stopped laughing yet. She likes to rub it in whenever she gets a chance. Sigh. GO ARMY!