Stayed in the Twin Cities area.

Went back to the hospital after breakfast and hung out with dad; he's doing a lot better. Was up walking around, was in very little pain except when he coughed, and very alert. By the end of the day there was discussion of sending him home as early as tomorrow or the next day. So he's recovering very rapidly. This is probably due to his excellent overall physical condition.

Now normally, people who are in great shape don't need heart bypass operations. Unfortunately for me (and dad), this procedure was to fix an aneurysm which was brought on not by poor physical condition, but by a hereditary heart disorder. So yeah... I need to go get myself checked to see if I have it. And if I do... well that would be a bummer. :) Apparently the procedure for looking for these things is called an "echogram," where they drop you in a tank filled with angry dolphins and you try to communicate with them via morse code.

After visiting dad I went to Brent's place in Osseo and we played some "Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo."¹ This is sort of a Tetris-style game, but head-to-head 2 player and extremely addictive. I got a good look at the inside of his MAME cabinet (the parts for mine arrive as soon as I get back home!) and also at his console emulation station, both of which are really well done. Very excited to get this stuff up and running at my place.

Afterwards, I picked up Brooke [my prom date from high school, who I haven't seen in 11 years, and who is still ravishing] and we went to dinner at an Irish pub near downtown St. Paul. It was great catching up with her and hearing about what all of the people I knew in high school are doing now². In a series of unanticipated events, I helped install some fence posts, watched fireworks from a much closer distance than I would have liked, and some guy from a Best Buy conference (??) touched my back (???). It's a long story. However weird the evening was, it was great to see Brooke and meet her friends. Now I've got to get to bed; early start tomorrow--have to get down to Coe for lunch with the infamous Doc!

¹ NOTE: There was never a "Super Puzzle Fighter I," nor is there a "non-turbo" version; the game title is pure Engrish.

² working on kid #3.