SunSword's Edge

SunSword.com Gear

Several people have expressed interest in getting some sunsword.com gear, such as t-shirts, caps and mugs. I've posted a poll so you can tell me what you think.

It might actually be a good fundraising idea. Now all I need to do is commission some real artwork for the site. A logo would be good, eh? :)

1/3 of a marathon

I made it to the team run on Saturday morning. 9 Miles! That's the longest I've run in my adult life, by far. It was the same run downtown as the 7 mile, only we added about 2 miles by running all the way down Congress Avenue to the Capitol and back.

I was really strong for the first 5 miles or so. Then my body decided it needed to take care of some business. I have to say, using the public facilities around the path downtown wasn't nearly as unpleasant as I would have predicted...

Anyway, after that things got pretty tough. I found myself needing to walk 60 seconds every 10-15 minutes. The 8th mile was the roughest, I think I really hit the wall, but luckily RunTex had some free poweraid in a truck under Mopac.

The 9th mile was pretty good, I was exhausted, but deteremined to finish it. For the second time at the end of a long run, I got very angry, which really helped me finish strong. I don't know where the anger comes from, but if it helps me finish, I guess I'm okay with it.

I'm hoping that this week I'll be able to get an appointment with a new doctor and get checked out. I've been having a heck of a time getting in touch with anyone at a Dr's office.

Excellent week

Today was an excellent week all around. Big things were accomplished, and I feel like for the first time, I'm really getting to do what needs to be done at work. Now if only I could find and hire the right people to help get it done...

I have to run 8 miles in the hill country tomorrow, and because this week was so busy with planning, demos, and presentations, I only managed to get in one good run. I don't feel ready for tomorrow.

UO Chat with Japanese Players!

If you're curious what it looks like to have an IRC chat with Japanese players...here it is:

[09:08] $B!v$3$l$OEvF| [09:08] *** momma has left #uojc_sp
[09:08] Evocare and I greatly enjoyed visting Japan. We were honored to meet many UO players and volunteers. The 5th anniversary event was a lot of fun and we hope to return to Japan again one day!
[09:09] Evocare$B$H;d$O!"F|K\$X$NK,Ld$r$H$F$b3Z$7$`$3$H$,$G$-$^$7$?!#(B
[09:09] $B$?$/$5$s$N(BUO$B%W%l%$%d!<$?$A$d%\%i%s%F%#%"$K$b2q$($F8w1I$G$7$?!#(B
[09:10] *** Signoff: Evocare (Quit: Leaving)
[09:10] 5$B<~G/%$%Y%s%H$O$H$F$b3Z$7$/!"$^$?$$$D$+F|K\$K!VLa$j$?$$!W$H;W$C$F$$$^$9!#(B
[09:10] $B0J>e(B
[09:11] *** kikori (chocoa@cdm-208-245-11-pfvl.cox-internet.com) has joined channel #uojc_sp
[09:11] $B$G$O!"2~$a$F$*;G$$$7$^$9(B
[09:11] =$B;vA0 [09:12] *** matu (chocoa@cdm-208-245-11-pfvl.cox-internet.com) has joined channel #uojc_sp
[09:12] *** Naga0 (naga__@cdm-208-245-11-pfvl.cox-internet.com) has joined channel #uojc_sp

Very confusing, eh? :)

Help SunSword fight cancer!

So, many of you may be wondering what possible reason I could have for wanting to run a marathon. I've re-written this post many times. Sometimes funny, sometimes not. The short of it is, I'm asking all of you to dig into your pockets and support my fundraising efforts against cancer. Here's why:

Well, when I returned to Origin Systems late last year, I met a woman on the executive staff that was training for a triathalon. I was impressed, particularly because she was a bit older than I. We began to talk about triathalons (I had done one once in high school) and other events. I eventually learned that she was doing it to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I thought to myself, that's a great idea. I really need to get back into shape, I'm about to turn 30, and it's for a great cause. Maybe I'll do that.

Skip forward 8 MONTHS. I haven't started training for a triathalon. I haven't begun excersizing. I was officially halfway through my 29th year. But one day, I get a flyer in the mail for something called "Team In Training." I read the flyer and discovered how they train athletes for endurance events in return for fundraising efforts that go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. "That's a great idea!" I think to myself. So I tell my wife, "I think I'm going to do this. The first sign-up meeting is this weekend." She says, "Ok," but looks at me like "Uh-huh, sure." (I tend to get lots of ideas like this, many of which, shall we say, don't pan out?)

I missed that meeting, the first weekend. I don't know, maybe I forgot. Maybe I wasn't really serious about it. Well, fate must have gotten tired of sending me subtle hints. That very next week, I got a terrible phone call from my Mother. My 4 year old little neice, a firey red-head we call "Asha," had been diagnosed with Leukemia. To top it off, her father (my brother) had just left for boot camp. :(

Needless to say, I went to the very next meeting and signed up. There's not much I can do to help little Asha, but the truth is, she doesn't really need my help. She's a fighter, and she has a good family around her. She faces 2 years of chemotherapy, and there's just nothing I can do about it. But perhaps, due in some small way to my efforts, one day, a little girl won't get lukemia because of Team in Training and the Lukemia and Lymphoma Society. Read on for information about how you can support me in the cause to fight blood-related cancers.

Notes:

First, you can either make your payment out to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society or to me, Anthony Castoro. If you make the payment to me, I will lump the donation in with one big check, which my employer will match. By all means, if you are uncomfortable making it out to me, then just put the LLS on the to: line.

Second, I'm going to setup a PayPal account this week, where you can just send the money directly. But for now, here's the snail mail way to contribute.

If you are going to mail a donation, please email me at sunsword@sunsword.com and I will send you my mailing address and instructions.

To give you an idea of how much to donate, 75% of donations go directly to research or patient services. For example:

• $32.00 - Prescription for anti-nausea medicine.
  
• $54.00 - One week of low grade chemotherapy.
  
• $75.00 - Screening for bone marrow donor.
  
• $100.00 - Monthly blood analysis.
  
• $200.00 - Blood transfusion.
  
• $500.00 - Blood Chromosome analysis.
  

I hope many of you will contribute and support me in my personal fight against cancer. If any of you need proof of my dedication, just read the last month and a half of this website.... Tahnk you for taking the time to read this entire post. Return to the website HERE.

7 Miles!

I did it! 7 Miles! And I didn't come in last. The 5th mile was the hardest. The 6th mile I just got angry and pounded through it. No wonder I'm in the "Clydesdale" category. It took 1 hour and 44 minutes though.

I bumped into my friend Julia while running around town lake. That was pretty cool, she ran with us for a good mile or so.

Okay, now I gotta go watch the Longhorns beat the snot outta the Razorbacks ;).

Ultima Online Events heat up

If you haven't been paying attention to UO.com recently, you should check out the Britannia News Network. We're running a pilot program of events where every shard gets at least 2 events every week!

Recently, Lord Blackthorn was defeated by Lady Dawn with the help of many citizens of Britannia. Upon hearing of the demise of his once friend turned nemesis, Lord British returned from his questing abroad!

Checkout UO.com for an event on a shard near you!

I did my first group run!

6 freakin' miles! For those who aren't keeping track, that's twice as many as I was able to do last week. The people of Team in Training are fantastic, friendly, and dedicated. There were 3 water stations along the way, and I got some great pointers from Anthony, the running coach. I'm happy to say he was pleased with my form and footpace, he just encouraged me to walk more (like I'm going to argue with that).

I probably walked almost a mile of the 6, but the goal is to keep your breathing and heart rate at the same elevated pace all the way through, so when I get over extended, I'm supposed to fast walk for less than a minute and then go back to running.

I owe a huge thank to Adrianne, one of the Team in Training Mentors. She did the final 4 miles with me, just staying at my pace and talking to me about things to keep my mind off of the running. It was my first time running with people, and I have to say, it's a lot more fun than running by myself all the time.

Okay, so tomorrow, I'm finally going to give you all the details about why I'm doing this crazy marathon thing, and it involves a 4 year old, red-headed little spark plug we like to call "Asha."

Welcome to Moveable Type!

Well, I've finally gone ahead and plugged in moveable type as the primary index page for the site. Obviously, I'm still not an artist, and there's plenty of work left to do, but this will make it easier for me to keep the site updated. Comments welcome!

Oh and by the way, the navigation to the forums and other sites is now on the right, although that could change at any moment.

1.5 miles this morning

I woke up this morning early enough to get a mile and a half in before work. It was good, light workout to get me ready for tomorrows training, I'm hoping to hit the 4 or 5 mile mark!

3 Miles, finally.

I finally managed to do a full 3 mile run! Well, there was some walking, but nevertheless, I did it. And it took me a good 45 minutes. Having an overly-active ego helps... often when the thought crossed my mind to quit or to walk more, my pride clicked in and got me running again.

I also passed my first weightloss benchmark, so I'm pleased about that. I'm still off of caffeine and sodas and I'm looking forward to a solid week of training....

I had lunch last week with some friends, and one of them has been doing marathons/triathalons for a few years now. It was really good to chat with her about what it's like. Now whenever I see someone running on the street, I watch them very closely and take mental notes. I was watching the world championship track and field events on Sunday. I can tell I'll never be a real marathoner...even when I get to top shape, I'll be about 50lbs too heavy. I'm thinking triathalon's are next on deck after this marathon...