I lost a friend earlier this month.

Aaron is younger than me by several years, and had a year or so ago suffered partial heart failure due to a congenital condition. He survived this, but it weakened his body and he had been on oxygen ever since.

Early this month I received a phone call that I had hoped I never would. Aaron had collapsed while changing his oxygen tanks and EMTs had been unable to revive him.

He's gone.

As always seems to happen, it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. A fellow computer tech and gamer, he was always one of the guys. He even had a girlfriend, who was with him when he collapsed. I can't even imagine how she must be feeling.

The memorial service is scheduled for tomorrow morning. Even friends from across the country are flying in, and I hope we can keep our chins up. Aaron wouldn't want us to mope.

 masukari1 and I have been working on a new base of operations for our Tekkit Minecraft game - a large ship hovering over the landscape. Kenji's design. We hadn't been able to figure out what to name the ship... at least until I got the phone call. Now, in Aaron's honor, we christened the ship the Blackhawk - his callsign. I know it probably sounds silly, but it's a good way to keep him in our minds. We're all gamers, after all.

Anyway.. I guess that's about all.