Miss NH and Mario (Abridged)

I've returned from the wilds of New Hampshire in one piece and am back (however briefly today) at my normal reporting desk.  But what a whirlwind NH weekend it was!  Sarah, as those who follow the Mousseaus closely on Facebook or Twitter know, was second runner-up in the Miss NH pageant, and the winner of the pageant's two academic achievement awards.  So, for those wondering where the brains, beauty, and talent are in the Mousseau family, there's your answer.

Frequent readers of the Huffington Post, though, may now mentally lump Sarah in with this lovely lady.  Well, entertaining as the connection is, there's a significant gap not covered by HuffPo.  That woman is a former Miss New Hampshire USA, an entirely different pageant from what Sarah entered.  The battering beauty (not Sarah) was part of the Donald Trump sponsored Miss USA beauty pageant.  Sarah was a contestant in part of Miss America, a scholarship program that includes a talent portion that the Miss USA pageant lacks.  Though perhaps Ms. Houde would have fared well in talent, demonstrating her ultimate fighter skills.  Or maybe she should keep an eye out for a Hunger Games-esque pageant to enter in the future.

And speaking of games, here's another link from my weekend explorations of the internet:  Super-Condensed Mario!  Each level of the original NES Mario game, condensed onto one screen each.  Get the coins.  Get to the top of the flag.  Simple, but not always easy.  I'm about halfway through now, after sporadic play this weekend.  The traditionally annoying Hammer Bros are just as frustrating as ever.  I wonder if the creator will follow up with a condensed Lost Levels.  Anyway, thought a game link like this was appropriate for a Monday, as it would give bored readers something to do in the evenings this week.  And would serve as an excellent procrastination tool for student readers who don't want to start to study for exams just yet... Perhaps a contest?  Can anyone beat all the levels by the time the week is out?  And how about getting all the coins and the highest flag placements?

A final note, for those worried that this will be a long and difficult week:  On the way into work today, I passed a corgi.  Surely a sign of great things to come!  (I think I have adopted the dog as my spirit animal.)

Til tomorrow, enjoy Cloris Leachman's birthday!