Red Ring of Death, a rite of passage

Well, a year and a half of gaming on an Xbox 360, and I've finally landed myself three blinking red lights. It must be some sort of rite of passage. Why is it happening exactly 24 hours before I'll be leaving for E3?

I went to turn on my 360 today and was met with the dreaded Red Ring of Death. I tried to remain calm, but lets face it, I was taken by surprise, not to mention this has probably been a period of high usage for me, so I was a little upset. I googled the problem, finding an entire Wikipedia entry dedicated to technical issues with the 360, as well as Microsoft's own support page. Then I turned to the trusty towel trick, although I'm going to have to send it in anyways.

As I write this, the 360 is mid-toweling. I wonder if it will really work. I'll update when I'm done with resuscitation.

Update: It didn't work. I've submitted the service order. My box will be here in four days. I think maybe I'll try the towel trick again in a little bit.