Well, I finished Half-Life 2... in spite of my efforts to prolong the experience, the further along I got, the harder it was to resist pushing on. Let me just say this outright... Believe the hype. The game hits such high marks in storytelling and game design, and the obvious effort that went into fine-tuning various elements to maximize the fun factor shows through in every moment... there were several occasions when I thought the upcoming segment had some familiar tedious gameplay cliché that turned out to be tremendous fun because of how well the design was implemented.

Congrats to Valve on such an achievement... Half-Life and Half-Life 2 are the Godfather and Godfather II of computer games. In my opinion Half-Life 2 is not only Game of the Year, but it's the best shooter ever... and the best computer game ever.

Links of the Day:	The Sandwich Club. Star Wars Changes. Thanks Dan.
Stories of the Day:	All-Cereal Restaurant Opens in Philly. And no mention of Seinfeld! Lady said she didn't know police drove trucks, so she kept going.
Science!:	Evidence on Cold Fusion Remains Inconclusive, New Review Finds (registration required). Some people are 'immune' to exercise. And some of us just have a resistance. This lens sheds a tear.
Media of the Day:	He plays Wok N Woll. Thanks The Flying Penguin. Mariko Takahashi's Fitness Video. I'm speechless.
Auction of the Day:	MIRACLE - JOHN LENNON on a GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH. Thanks a-ron.
Follow-up:	'Virgin birth' mammal rewrites rules of biology.
	Thanks Mike Martinez and Ant.