carnage

anyone who's never been to a lan party probably thinks that they are populated by pasty geeks hosing each other down in counterstrike while drowning in mountain dew. it is both much lamer than that, and much cooler at the same time. the common misconception is that playing video games is antisocial, but in this context, it is the furthest thing from it. after shouting epithets at your opponents' stubborn thrall at their unwillingness to die in the 30th straight game of King of the Hill on Dead Man's Float in Myth II, then going and gathering 'round to watch the replay, it's immediately clear that it is actually as social as video gaming can get. and it increases the fun tenfold.

that said, let's go over the checklist.
power strips? yep.
salsa and chips? yep.
penguin mints? not yet.
soda? lots.
'puters? i've got 4, depending on the game requirements.
mice? a few spare.
hello kitty party hats? yep.
beer? soon.
hundreds of tiny plastic cups for the century club? yep.
oregon trail? yep.
hundreds of tiny dancing thrall? of course.
sleep? overrated.
rurik? well, i'm not sure if rurik is invited...

and, to top it all off, now we have duck hunt, too. drunks with a light gun. how can you go wrong?