The real measure, though, is that I now have 3 LJ icons of my favorite Transformer.
(sigh)
In other news, my neighbor across the street's got a bunch of friends that get together to play poker once a month or so - $10 to $15 buy-in, Texas Hold-em. Sometimes, there are 6 people, a few months ago, we had two tables of 6 each. Typically, somewhere in between.
I'm not a good poker player, so I've treated these evenings as a means to teach myself practical mathematics, and to hang out with real human beings in a real social situation. But, I've been learning.
Today I played with these folks, and developed an early chip lead, which I subsequently squandered. I ended up taking 3rd prize, which paid my buy-in, and put me $5 ahead. Minus the $8 for snacks for the evening, it was a pretty cheap - and pleasant - night out.