SazanBlog

Anime #6

2011-04-19T01:11:00.000-04:00

It's been a while, so I hope I don't miss something. I've watched some random episodes here and there, but these reviews are only for series I've watched completely.

Toradora!
I'd seen the fansubs but wanted to watch the DVDs. The special edition box sets are fancy but overkill for most series. According to The Right Stuf, the special editions are going out of print (I suspected as much) but will be replaced by a normal DVD release, hopefully at a more normal price. Regardless, I really like this series so I wanted to get it with the extras. Watching it again, I was struck by how much the plot follows a "normal" romantic comedy arc, which I didn't notice the first time around. What sets this show apart are the characters, each unusual and with their own unique issues. One funny part of the book that comes with the DVD is in the cast interview: they ask the lead voice actor which girl he personally would like to date, and he said something like "uh, they all have their issues, do I really have to choose?" As usual, I'm all about the ending, and while this one isn't perfect, it's very good (and I think I read that the anime ended before the manga, so in that case they did a very good job). Highly recommended if you like romance and/or comedies with unique characters.

Shiki
I'm really tired of the whole vampire thing, which is been done repeatedly in anime just like everywhere else. However, this show managed to set itself apart. The first episode reminded me a lot of Shimotsuma Monogatari, probably intentionally, but that was just a setup for what comes later. Despite the outlandish character designs, this show is actually a somewhat realistic take on what would happen if a group of vampires moved into a small town and started killing everyone. Since nobody really believe in vampires, the town doctor would try to figure out if there was some sort of epidemic, and everyone else would be mostly concerned about themselves and their family and friends. This show starts slow but it really evolves over time and rewards your patience if you watch the whole thing.

Blade of the Immortal
I've been a fan of the manga since college, although I haven't kept up with it recently. It was almost inevitable that it would one day be animated. However, I was disappointed with the result. Compared to the excellent art of the manga, the anime seems low-budget and rushed. Actually, "rushed" describes the whole enterprise, because the producers apparently felt the need to cram over 15 years of plot into 13 episodes. It just doesn't work. I was able to follow along because I still remember the main plot points after however many years, but I wish they had taken more time. Also, the violence from the manga is heavily censored, which is disappointing given shows like Berserk were able to make it on television. If I was unfamiliar with the manga, it would seem like a mediocre samurai fighting show. Hopefully it will be revisited someday.

Vexille
If you set out to make a clone of the first Appleseed movie, this is probably what you would end up with. That was apparently the goal of the producers, and since Appleseed was such a great film, it's not that bad of a goal. The plot is a mess, but that's sadly typical of anime movies (I wasn't thrilled with the second Appleseed film either). Vexille is a decent movie, but it probably could have been better.

Highschool of the Dead
I typically stay away from popular harem shows, but when you add zombies to the mix, I had to check it out. The plot can be summarized as an anime take on a Zombieland prequel, with a little of The Walking Dead thrown in. I was fairly impressed with it overall and await the inevitable sequel. The amount of fanservice was a little surprising (to the point that some TV episodes were censored for broadcast) but I guess that's typical for certain shows these days.

Skip Beat!
I'm a sucker for shoujo, and this is shoujo done well. However, maybe due to the marathon session I spent watching this show with a friend, I can't remember much about it. (I'm reading Wikipedia now to refresh my memory.) I do know that there's no "ending" which is always disappointing, and the plot is rather contrived, but otherwise it was very good. It's more of a coming of age story than a romance, and the main character is quirky which leads to a lot of comedy. If you like shoujo, check it out.

Giant Killing
I like when anime focus on unusual topics, like cooking or sports, especially when it's something I know little about. That's what drew me to this soccer anime. The character designs are also unusual, mirroring the seinen manga rather than adopting a more standard anime look. The plot reminded me a little of One Outs, but this is a much more realistic take on a sport and what it takes to build a winning team. It's also unique in that there are a range of characters, from the players and team staff to fans both young and old. Despite the unconventional look, I thought it was really well done.

Zombie-Loan
This show reminded me a lot of Soul Eater with more conventional character designs. The show was interesting and well done, and it has its own take on the supernatural. However, shows like this normally don't stand out to me, so I kind of watched it and moved on.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
This is an excellent movie, and any criticisms I have are colored by the fact that I'd already seen the director's second film, Summer Wars. I was able to see some themes common to both movies, and I feel the second movie is better. The one thing that is a slight annoyance in both films is the simplistic character designs which stand out against the complex, almost photo-realistic backgrounds. You adjust to it, but it's still a little strange. However, this is one of those films that every anime fan should see.

Hikaru no Go
Like the soccer anime above, I watched this mainly for the unusual subject, in this case the game of Go. It actually taught me how to play the game, and I've been trying it out with a Go app on my phone. At first, you wonder how they'll make an anime about people playing a board game interesting, especially when you realize they're going for realism rather than trying to jazz things up. However, this is really a coming-of-age story with the world of Go as the setting, and it has surprising depth. I can't think of any other anime where I've seen as many male characters cry, and it's a sign of the emotions that the characters are investing in the game. The anime does end before the manga, but the endings (the last couple episodes each feel like an ending) are very satisfying. There are some anime specials continuing the plot that were aired after the TV series ended, but I haven't seen those yet. I should mention I watched this on Netflix as part of their new deal with Viz. Thank you Netflix for adding subtitled anime! It's also available subbed on Hulu, if you want to sit through commercials.

Haiyoru! Nyaru-Ani
What if the Cthulhu mythos were turned into an anime? Well, apparently you end up with this. It's really impossible to describe, but basically gods from the mythos appear as anime babes (the main girl is Nyarlathotep, or in this case Nyarl-ko) and it turns into kind of a twisted harem anime. It just needs to be experienced. All the episodes are short, so it's easy to watch in one sitting.

Kimi ni Todoke
More shoujo! I really enjoyed this series. The plot sounds somewhat like Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge but it's actually much more reminiscent of Toradora. The storyline itself is a fairly standard high school shoujo romance (heavy on the romance -- there's some comedy but it's not the focus), but I noticed that it was treated very realistically. There are very few of the deus ex machina coincidences or awkward situations that typically pop up in shows like this, and instead the characters are allowed to act naturally and grow at their own pace. I also appreciated that the plot is kind to the characters, rarely putting them in painful situations just to extend the storyline. In that regard, the show is as much about friendship as it is romance. The second season was a little disappointing in that it tends to lapse into some of the genre stereotypes and lead to some impatience about when the plot will finally be resolved. However, the show wraps things up nicely and overall was very well done.

Miracle Train
The weird thing about this anime was that it was even made. It's basically an advertisement for the Tokyo Oedo subway line, where each of the bishounen characters is supposed to represent a train station. The early episodes are kind of what you would expect (if you expected this anime to be made) with the characters showing a female passenger around a particular location along the train line while helping her solve a problem. However, there is a little bit of a deeper plot, and the later episodes manage to play with the established convention a bit to keep things interesting, like when a male passenger boards the train by accident. If someone out there is both a train otaku and loves bishounen anime, this is probably their favorite show. For the rest of us, it's an interesting diversion.

If you think the previous list was long, you should see the list of things I've got queued up to watch. I actually got sidetracked for a while watching other shows, like the first four seasons of Dexter and all of Veronica Mars. My Netflix subscription is both a blessing and a curse. Lately I've been back in the anime groove, though.

Site migration update

2011-04-18T23:26:00.000-04:00

The site migration went pretty smoothly, after a few initial hiccups. There are still some things that don't work, but I'm getting around to learning PHP5 so I'll go through the site at some point and fix things. There's a lot that needs to be cleaned up anyway.

Alert! Web site migration in progress

2011-02-28T22:18:00.000-05:00

After having the same hosting plan with Superb Internet for about a decade, I finally decided to switch to a different hosting plan (still with Superb). Go figure, over the last 10 years hosting plans have added functionality while lowering costs.

Anyway, both the sazan.net and 3x3eyes.com domains are in the middle of migrating to the IP address of the new hosting account. I'm also in the middle of uploading my web pages to that account. Even after everything is uploaded, I'm sure many of the scripts, etc., will be broken until I can get around to fixing them. In other words, if something isn't working, don't panic.

Anime #5

2011-01-04T23:24:00.000-05:00

Last year I started posting brief anime reviews to my blog. Since the year has ended, it's time for a final post to cover the remaining anime titles. I think I'll continue to do this though, since it gives me something to blog about, and I like to be able to go back and read my own reviews even if nobody else cares.

Bartender
For a while, I've wanted to go back and watch this show for a second time. I love when someone makes a one-off anime series with a unique subject. This is definitely an anime for grown-ups, and the Japanese take on Western-style "bars" and the bartender-as-psychologist is interesting. I almost wish there was some greater plot or story arc, but it works well as a short episodic series. My only complaint is that a lot of the customers reappear as narrators and it's hard to keep track of who everyone is. I see that a live-action drama based on this series is coming in February, so I might have to check that out.

Working!!
Continuing the trend of shows with exclamation points in the title, this was a neat show. I feel it's more than just a slice-of-life show, in that it has unique and interesting characters rather than just standard archetypes. It was also unique in that it features school kids but almost never shows them at school. It didn't blow me away, but I really enjoyed it. It's too bad it's rather short, but maybe there will be a sequel.

Moyashimon (live-action)
This show was an unusual choice for a live-action remake, but it's an unusual title to begin with. I'm generally not a big fan of the exaggerated style of Japanese live-action based on anime/manga (which is why Bartender may be a better live-action title), but the CGI was well-done and the actors were all pretty solid. The plot was somewhat different than the anime, which makes me think both were picking and choosing from the manga to find a storyline that would fit in the limited number of episodes available.

K-On!!
After watching the first season, I felt I had to watch the second. The all-girl slice-of-life formula is getting rather old, but this show held my attention. In a twist from the usual pattern, the second series is twice as long as the first, and I believe it covers less time as far as plot, so there is plenty of opportunity to flesh out certain characters and linger on particular moments. The leisurely pace really suits this show, and I thought overall it was really well done. One thing that always impresses me is quality; a well-produced show stands up a lot better than a show with interesting ideas but that seems rushed or slapped together.

Black Butler
I stumbled across this show on Hulu and decided to check it out. I used to be a huge fan of occult anime, and shows like this and Xxxholic are leading me back in that direction. This is another quality title, and the plot is also handled really well. What a concept, a show with a nice story arc and an actual ending! I don't know that I'll rewatch it but it was definitely entertaining, and in some parts extremely funny.

Black Butler II
Wait, did I say Black Butler had an ending? Well there's a sequel! I didn't know what to expect with this show, and wasn't sure if the "magic" of the original would be lost with a sequel. I'll say this to any doubters: watch the first episode. It's without a doubt one of the most amazing anime episodes I've seen. The series as a whole didn't quite measure up to the first, but wisely it was shorter so they could jump right into the meat of the plot and kept things moving along at a good pace to the end.

Pumpkin Scissors
This is a Funimation title but it's not on Hulu, so I think I first watched it as a fansub. Anyway, I liked it enough to buy the DVDs, and I recently watched them. I hadn't seen the show in a while but remembered it was somewhat similar to Fullmetal Alchemist. It definitely is, but it creates a unique world with well-rounded characters, and you never feel like you're watching some sort of knock-off. As usual, my pet peeve is that the anime ends before the plot does, since the manga was (and is?) still ongoing. However, there's enough story to provide some resolution at the end, and it's just a well-conceived show. If we're lucky, they'll make more anime.

Princess Jellyfish
I fell in love with this show as soon as I started watching it. That the opening theme is the new single from my favorite band Chatmonchy helped, as did the ending theme by nerdy rockers Sambomaster. Of course, I knew there would be a downside. Even before I watched the eleventh and final episode tonight, I knew the show would only cover a fraction of the ongoing manga. Still, as an introduction to the characters and their world, it's wonderful.

That concludes all the anime I finished watching in 2010. I'd have to go back and count to see the number of titles (I hesitate to try to calculate the number of episodes). There are several other shows that I started and am still watching, including Naruto Shippuden, The Tatami Galaxy, and Shiki (all on Hulu). I also made it most of the way through the Fushigi Yugi DVDs, but I got bogged down in the OVAs and never went back to it. For a show I hadn't seen since college, going back and watching it again gave me a different opinion. I'll try to finish it off soon.

I have a big pile of DVDs that I picked up during end-of-the-year sales from Amazon and The Right Stuf, mostly Funimation titles I'd already seen on Hulu or elsewhere. At the top of the list to rewatch are Toradora and Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo. I've also flagged a few shows in Hulu that I want to investigate. Their anime library has really been growing. And of course, I'll continue to follow the Noitamina shows and keep an eye out for other shows airing in "real time" on Hulu. I'm still waiting for a fansub of the final Nodame live-action movie, too.

Computer reorganization in progress

2010-11-19T12:23:00.001-05:00

This is become slightly more massive and time-consuming than I expected, but I'm close to finishing overhauling my computers. My Computers page has not been updated yet, but here's a quick summary, starting with the old stuff:

Amba: gone (we recycled some old hardware at work, so I took in my old stuff to go with it)
Parvati: gone
old Pentium II motherboards, processors, etc.: gone
all my old floppy discs: gone (trashed after archiving a few useful files) -- btw, the Abandonia site is awesome, and saved me from having to image a bunch of old floppies (which were typically corrupt on disc 3 of the set anyway)
four 9800GX2 cards: boxed and ready for eBay
Shakti: still hanging around, along with a box of old SCSI equipment and cables, so I'll go through it when I have time
Durga: phased out and stripped -- still need to decide what to do with the mobo/CPU/RAM and old video card
Aparna: no change yet, but it should be replaced with Kali in the next week or so -- I have plans for all the hardware

Newer hardware:

Kali: getting the case exactly like I want it has taken a long time, but the only thing remaining now is the arrival of some extra-long thumbscrews and getting everything installed -- got the mobo tray in the case last night -- OC tweaking is also almost done
Gauri: the big recent project -- the boot drive on Durga was giving me issues again so I went ahead and installed WHS on Gauri, copied all the data over to three 1.5TB drives, configured all the backups, set up the remaining software I had on Durga, and hooked up the external 8-drive cage -- I've moved the 5-drive bay, which just barely fits, and I'm waiting on an 8-port SATA card to arrive next week to hook up the rest of the internal drives -- the other change will be to replace the GTX 295 and 1250W PSU (overkill) with the vid card and PSU from Aparna
Bhavani: I haven't been happy with the overclocking of the 980X in this system, so I swapped the mobo with an ASUS Rampage III GENE -- the install was pretty smooth, but I still need to OC and then upgrade Vista to Win7
Chandi: this now has the DFI mATX mobo from Bhavani to replace the DFI that died, the PSU from Durga, the stock Intel 980X heatsink, and my parents' old Gigabyte video card which needs to be tested for RAM problems, plus a new Sony DVD drive -- everything's working but I still need to overclock -- this machine will probably inherit the vid card and PSU from Gauri, and be used as a test bed for some other equipment -- I may reinstall WHS Vail
Girija: not mentioned on the Computers page, but I reused this name for my second SR-2 system -- yes I bought another one, and ironically finished it before the first one -- its web page will be coming soon

Bhairavi, Lalitha, Shyama, and Uma have not been changed recently, other than to point them at the new WHS. I still need to update the Media Center shares on Lalitha. I also have one more machine that's going to be sold as soon as I verify everything's working. Right now it has BSOD issues that I'm pretty sure are due to the motherboard, so it will get Aparna's mobo (and probably DVD drive too).

Whew, that's a lot of stuff. The other news is that I'm finally phasing out my 19" CRT and replacing it with a Dell U3011 30" LCD. I don't know what I'll do with all the screen real-estate, or extra space on my desk. It went on sale at the right time, because I'm going to have to reorganize my desk to replace Aparna with Kali anyway.

Anime #4 Addendum

2010-10-11T12:53:00.000-04:00

I did forget something.

Ponyo
This film kind of made me feel sorry for Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. People go to see Miyazaki films with certain expectations. I felt Howl's Moving Castle was a little too derivative of previous Miyazaki films. On the other hand, if he tried to create something too different the audience might reject it. Ponyo seems to try to walk that fine line, combining a Western fairy tale plot based on "The Little Mermaid" with the Eastern/Miyazaki spin on nature, magic, children and the elderly, and so forth. For whatever reason, the story didn't grab me. I think the conscious decision to use hand-drawn animation over CGI may not have helped either, as the art style just looks "different."

I haven't watched the Blu-ray a second time yet, but maybe it will improve on repeat viewings. I wasn't a huge fan of Mononoke Hime the first time either and that's another Miyazaki film that pushes some boundaries for him (although admittedly I first saw it in the theater in Japan with no subtitles, so that was probably part of the problem). I actually prefer the dub on that film too, because it's complex enough that reading while watching doesn't work as well.

Anime #4

2010-09-13T23:38:00.000-04:00

Catching up... hope I didn't forget anything:

Jyu Oh Sei
I feel compelled to watch anything that airs on Noitamina, and I had bypassed this title until now. It was good sci-fi, but wasn't anything groundbreaking. Still, it's a quality show.

Ouran High School Host Club
I think I first watched this a few years ago, and I wanted to go back and watch it again. Actually, I didn't like it that much the first time around, probably because I didn't know where it was going. It's not traditional shoujo, but it's also not full of weirdness like Shoujo Kakumei Utena. This time I didn't have to worry about trying to figure it out so I was able to just enjoy it. It's a really fun and funny series, and it plays with some anime stereotypes and conventions while still remaining a typical romantic comedy. Recommended.

House of Five Leaves
Another Noitamina series, this from the previous season. I had read some negative comments, probably because there is very little action for a "samurai" anime. Shows that take forever to initiate the plot annoy me too, but this show is different. It's basically a character study, so the mood is more important than any action scenes. I thought it was really well done. That said, it's probably not something I would watch repeatedly.

Fullmetal Alchemist
I was a big fan of the first Fullmetal anime, despite some logical inconsistencies because they ran out of manga and had to start making up the plot as they went. I even liked the dub, so much so that when I bought the movie on DVD I watched the dub rather than sub. That said, I can see why they decided to remake the anime (called Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood in the US) to follow the manga storyline. This was a fantastic show that has everything you expect from a big-budget shounen anime: cool characters, a compelling plot (saving the world, of course), exciting action scenes, and funny moments. I watched this on Hulu but I'll probably pick up the DVDs eventually and watch it again.

Kiki's Delivery Service
This was the first Miyazaki film I ever saw (many year ago), and until Spirited Away it was also my favorite. It's still a close second. I hadn't watched it in a while so I pulled out the DVD. It's such a great movie, and the ending gets me every time. I don't think I'll ever get tired of it.

Moyashimon
Yet another Noitamina series, which is currently being remade as a live-action series also on Noitamina. I decided to rewatch the anime, and I felt like I did when I watched it the first time. It's a well-done show, and I love shows about unusual topics, but it's just too short. The manga is still running, so maybe they'll revisit the anime at some point.

xxxHolic (season 1)
CLAMP shows can be hit-or-miss, but this one is a hit. It's been a while since I saw an occult anime that I really enjoyed, but this one is very solid. Even the things that could be annoying, like the high-strung main character, are handled in an endearing way. I really need to track down some more of the anime. For that matter, I need to check out the Tsubasa Chronicle anime too.

Boku Otaryman
This show is kinda like my life, except that if I really believed that, I would be too depressed to get out of bed.

Summer Wars
This was a fantastic movie. Some people are saying the director Hosoda is the next Miyazaki. I don't know if I'd go that far, but I'll definitely keep an eye on him. It's so nice to see a movie with an original story, and although the plot may not have been the most realistic, it was great entertainment.

Hatarakiman
Another show I pulled out and decided to watch again. After I first watched the anime a couple years ago, I saw there was also a live-action drama, and it become one of my favorite Japanese dramas (not that I've seen that many). Because the story is based in reality it's a natural fit for a drama. However, watching the anime again made me appreciate its merits as well. The pro and con to the anime is that it's short. Both the anime and drama have 11 episodes, but the drama episodes are twice as long. The anime can't cover nearly as much of the plot or provide as much depth the the characters, but I find the drama tends to bog down at certain spots while the anime plot always stays snappy. The anime also manages to have a nice story arc for the series even with the limited time available. None of the drama episodes have the type of inventive storytelling of the last two anime episodes. Plus the anime's opening and ending songs are great, and the use of Sambomaster for incidental music is also entertaining.

I've also watched some Japanese live-action movies this year, like Lock and Roll Forever (laughably bad, but I'm a fan of OreSkaBand), Kamikaze Girls (at least my fifth viewing; I love it), the first Nodame movie, and I think a couple of others. However, the highlight has probably been Golden Slumber, which was introduced to me by a friend recently. It has kind of a Hitchcock "wrong man" vibe. Initially I wasn't sure where it was going, but it turned out to be a very nicely done movie. If you don't mind subtitles, definitely check it out.

Quick computer update

2010-08-29T16:08:00.001-04:00

I made some small changes to the computer pages for Bhavani (new CPU) and Durga (added hard drive). Durga's new hard drive is a 1.5TB Seagate that was free as part of a combo deal with the Sparkle power supply I got for Chandi a couple weeks ago. I had forgotten about it and found it still in the shipping box.

As I've gotten back into Folding@home, I decided to set up a web site to monitor my clients remotely. This is very easy given the combination of Windows Home Server, which has a built-in web server, and HFM.net, a Folding@home monitoring tool which can generate web pages. I set HFM.net to copy the web pages to a shared folder on WHS, and then configured a virtual directory in IIS that pointed to the shared folder. Voila! Now I can even monitor my clients from my phone. It seems like it's pretty easy to customize the XSLTs that generate the web site, too, so I might play with that.

Here's a quick list of my current plans for my various computers:

Sell the 9800GX2 graphics cards in Gauri, replace them with the GTX 295s in Chandi, and RMA Chandi's motherboard.
When Kali's case arrives, move my desktop software from Aparna to Kali (with a fresh install of Windows 7 Pro). Phase out and sell parts from Aparna.
When the next version of Windows Home Server is released, rebuild my server using parts from Gauri. Sell Durga's CPU/mobo/RAM. Probably trash Durga's case and get a new case. Maybe move Gauri's dual PSUs to Kali.
As soon as possible, get rid of all other old PCs and parts, including Shakti and Amba.
Maybe next year, upgrade Lalitha with new Sandy Bridge hardware.

I don't plan to start on any of this for about two weeks.

More computer stuff

2010-08-24T22:41:00.000-04:00

I made some updates to my Computers page to include some of the changes described in the previous post. I just realized I forgot to mention the 15" TV/secondary monitor, though. The big change is my new computer Kali which will be replacing Aparna as my primary desktop soon.

The Great Windows 7 Migration is almost done, and soon I should only have one Vista box and one XP box left. I wish Windows Home Server "Vail" would hurry up and release, because I'm getting anxious to move that machine to new hardware and I don't want to have to reinstall WHS twice. All in good time, though.

I need to make another anime post, but I've been watching a lot of other stuff too so I'm not too far behind.

Computer stuff

2010-07-20T20:43:00.000-04:00

Here are a few updates on the computer front. I swapped Girija for my parents' old Celeron computer, so that they could have a decent desktop PC. I kept the graphics cards and blue LED fans.

I moved my personal email to Google, which makes life much easier with multiple PCs. It also will make it easier to change web hosting plans. I like my provider, but I think I can move to something cheaper.

I mentioned somewhere that I bought a little 15" LCD TV to use as a spare monitor, mostly for new system builds. Well, I hooked it up to Aparna as a secondary monitor and it's been pretty cool. I had tried dual monitors before and realized mixing CRT and LCD didn't work, but this is different. Because the second monitor is small and off to the side, I'm not constantly dragging windows from one to the other where I notice how different things look. Mostly I've been running Media Center on the second screen playing J-pop video playlists, and it's been working really well.

I've fired up the GPUs again for Folding@home, this time for team [H]ard|OCP. I'm trying to decide what to do with Gauri, though. It's still a powerhouse, but technology moves on and many people are switching to more power-efficient systems.

I think the Great Windows 7 Migration is about to begin. I've had Win7 installed on a few new machines and I upgraded the laptop a while ago, but I'm looking at the Vista HTPC and XP desktop and thinking it's time. The question now is what, if any, hardware changes should accompany the OS upgrade. For example, I like everything about my desktop except the motherboard, and I do have a better one available, but tearing everything apart just for that hardly seems worth it. The HTPC could definitely use some bigger drives and an HD tuner card.

Actually, I'm taking a second look at all my PCs and re-evaluating their roles. I think it's time to ditch not just the ancient Pentium boxes but also some relatively more recent hardware. It doesn't make sense having Core i7s sitting around underutilized while my critical Windows Home Server box runs on a single-core Athlon64, for example. One of the many benefits of having many PCs is that I can tear down a machine, or even strip two to build a third, while still keeping daily operations (email, backups, TV recording) running smoothly. However, I don't have the space to house all of my current PCs and parts, nor the time to manage those boxen that are up and running. Some consolidation is in order, and I think there are big changes ahead. Now I just have to figure out what to do with all the old stuff I don't need.

A/V Gear

2010-05-22T18:15:00.001-04:00

What do you know, I actually updated a web page that I said I would update. My A/V Gear page was very out-of-date, so I finally updated the specs and took some new pictures. I think the giant plasma TV is part of the reason I don't sit in front of my desktop computer(s) as much, instead using my laptop from the couch.

I've also tweaked some other pages, and I think my homepage is pretty much up to date at this moment (except for the DVD list). Now I really need to work on some of the other sites. I think the Nav Katze page is next. I created it when I was living in Japan, so the lack of images is due to the lack of a scanner. (The main image was actually taken with my old Kodak digital camera from the CD liner. It's kind of distorted because the liner was at an angle to avoid reflection from the flash.) I'll get my scanner fired up and also clean up some of the info on that site.

Computers

2010-05-06T00:56:00.000-04:00

I have a lot of computers. In fact, I was so busy building new computers in 2009 that it's taken me until now to update the Computers page on my web site. I refreshed most of the old pages as well as adding new pages, and there are lots of new pictures as well.

Now that that's finally done, I really need to update my ancient home theater page.

Anime #3

2010-04-27T22:10:00.003-04:00

More anime (and other Japanese stuff) watched in 2010:

Gokingo Monogatari
I first saw a couple episodes of the anime back in college, and I'm so happy a fansub group finally completed the series. By itself, it demonstrates Ai Yazawa's unique style and slightly different take on the classic shoujo coming-of-age story. Plus, it's interesting to see the evolution from this story to Paradise Kiss and Nana. Overall, I really enjoyed it.

Paradise Kiss
After finishing Gokinjo, I had to rewatch the DVDs of Paradise Kiss. The references to Gokinjo made much more sense, although it's really not a direct sequel. The ending feels a little rushed but otherwise this is a fantastic show. However, even though I love Madhouse's animation style, I wish they had kept a little more of the unique Ai Yazawa look. I think the Nana anime is a much better compromise between the extremely stylized look of Gokinjo and the more realistic animation of ParaKiss.

Nana (live-action movie)
Well, I wasn't going to rewatch all the Nana anime, so this was the next best thing. I hadn't seen the movie before, and although they obviously had to do a lot of trimming, they did a nice job of covering the major plot elements (even some that don't get resolved in the movie). I thought it was well-cast, too. I'll watch the sequel eventually, but I admit the part of the story covered by this movie is my favorite (before it gets so dramatic and even more angst-filled).

Macross - Do you Remeber Love?
I felt it was appropriate to watch this before going to L.A. to see Chatmonchy, because it shows how music is truly the universal language. It's a testament to the high production values that this movie still holds up after 26 years. I'm planning to watch the TV series eventually.

Aishiteruze Baby
Another series that I decided to rewatch. This is one of my favorite shoujo series, and it's in the classic mold of Marmalade Boy, etc. I particularly like the contrast between Kippei's "adult" high-school relationships (not many anime series show characters making out) and Yuzuyu's kindergarten friends. My one complaint is the same one I have for a lot of shows, and it's that the anime ends before the manga, so some plotlines remain unresolved. I understand why it happens, but I wish it didn't happen so often.

Nodame Cantabile: Finale
Nodame is my favorite anime of the last decade, but I don't have a lot to say about this particular series yet. I still want to see the special episodes and the live action movies, and I'll probably rewatch the anime a few times before I form a definite opinion. I recently bought all the translated manga and am slowly working my way through that.

K-On!
I watched this because it has a musical theme, like recent favorites Nodame and Nana. However, it's really a slice-of-life show reminiscent of Lucky Star. I enjoyed it but it didn't really make a strong impression (other than maybe I should learn to play bass). I'll probably start watching the second series, though.

Inuyasha: The Final Act
Given my complaint about anime shows that end before the manga, I'm very happy that they decided to animate the conclusion of Inuyasha, even if they did have to really rush things to fit the remaining storyline into 26 episodes. It was a satisfying and even slightly surprising conclusion.

Slayers Evolution-R
I don't know why, but it seems like a lot of shows start out humorous and then get serious near the end. Slayers Revolution and Evolution-R followed this pattern, but there were still plenty of the gags and epic destruction you expect from Slayers in this series. I thought this show was a great example of the right way to bring back a classic title and offer something new while staying true to the original. Hollywood should pay attention.

Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge
Don't ask me why I started watching this, much less why I actually finished it. The quality was mediocre and the plot somewhat unoriginal. I'm actually surprised to see how long the manga has been running, but honestly I tend to not like most shoujo manga despite being a huge fan of most shoujo anime. Maybe this is an example where staying true to the manga is a bad thing. (The counterexample is Koko wa Greenwood, which shaped the somewhat-random manga stories into a nicely cohesive anime plotline, even while directing viewers to "read the manga" in reference to plot elements they skipped.)

Soul Eater
This was a fun show, and it's always nice to see anime with a unique look. The story's structure was actually somewhat similar to Naruto, but it had plenty of unique elements. The story seemed to evolve so that by the end it was a long way from where it began, but still maintained some common themes.

I haven't started any new marathon anime-watching sessions, so I'm just keeping up with the weekly shows on Hulu. I was happy to see that both The Tatami Galaxy and House of Five Leaves are appearing on Hulu shortly after they air in Japan. That's a great trend.

Testing

2010-04-26T22:20:00.002-04:00

This is a test of the blog after migration. It's now hosted on Blogger servers rather than my web server. It looks like Google didn't actually fix my migration issue, they just closed my ticket. Oh well, I think everything is good. I have a big list of anime that I've watched, so I'll post that soon.

Oh, now that I've migrated, I think I have more options for templates, etc., so the look of the blog may change soon. I think a lot of the pictures are broken too, so I'll have to go back and fix those URLs.

This blog has moved

2010-03-15T21:21:00.001-04:00

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Anime #2

2010-03-08T23:37:00.002-05:00

Since the last post, I've watched some more anime.

Nabari no Ou
This show is about ninjas, but it reminded me more of Nana than Naruto (other than one stolen plot point; a plot point is also lifted from Fullmetal Alchemist). This is based on an allegedly shonen manga, but the creator is a woman. I guess that explains why all the ninjas are so emo and depressed. Actually it was a pretty good show, but parts were pretty boring. The interpersonal relationships that gradually develop throughout the show were handled very well, but half the time the plot seemed to consist of "some character has disappeared so let's spend an episode looking for him" (then repeat with a different character, or the same one).

Slayers Revolution
I think I had seen this on Hulu before in dub form, but a big reason to watch Slayers is for Megu-chan's voice acting, so I'm glad it's now available with subtitles. I don't think I've watched Slayers since college, so I was impressed that this new show maintained the best elements of the old anime, basically continuing as if there hadn't been an 11-year break since the last series. It's very funny, and you have to pay attention because so many of the jokes and gags go by so quickly. I'm looking forward to the Evolution-R follow-up.

Lupin III vs Detective Conan
Every year there's a Lupin III TV special in Japan; this was the 2009 offering. I have a bunch of the specials either on DVD or in fansub form, but this is the only one I've watched so far. I'm a bigger fan of Lupin than of Conan (I much preferred Kindaichi when I was in Japan), but I thought the special was handled well. The actual mystery wasn't that interesting, but the interaction between the famous thief and famous detective made it unique. I liked how the characters designs were completely different, and yet didn't seem that out of place together. I'd like to see more cross-over specials like this.

I also rewatched season 2 of Nodame Cantabile and the first 8 episodes of season 3. Nodame is easily in my all-time list of favorite anime. Actually, I was working on a top-10 list, and here's what I came up with (in alphabetical order):

3x3 Eyes

Armor Hunter Mellowlink

Berserk

Gunsmith Cats

Here Is Greenwood

Kiki's Delivery Service

Nodame Cantabile

Outlaw Star

Spirited Away

Video Girl Ai

Looking at it now, I'm not sure I agree with everything. The first problem is I can't list every Ghibli movie without taking up the whole list, so I limited myself to two. If they ever finish Nana, it might bump either Mellowlink or Outlaw Star. There's also a ton of stuff not in there, like Cowboy Bebop, Kimagure Orange Road, and Marmalade Boy, just to name a few. As for manga, although the list is similar to the anime list (3x3 Eyes, Berserk, and Gunsmith Cats are top 5, and I haven't read the Nodame manga yet) I can easily say Video Girl Ai is the best manga I've ever read.

The Big Anime Post

2010-02-28T21:55:00.002-05:00

I watch so much anime, I decided last year to start posting anime reviews to my blog. Well, I never got around to it, but with the new year starting, I kept track of what I was watching. Here are the shows I've watched so far in 2010 and some brief thoughts.

Antique Bakery
I watched this for the second time when Rich visited for New Year's. It's a neat show, with a good balance of serious funny moments. I think it's notable for probably the most realistic depiction of homosexuality I've seen in a mainstream anime. It also compelled us to check out the local Korean bakeries, because the desserts shown in the show look really good.

Trapeze
This show is so weird that I almost stopped watching in the middle of the first episode. I'm not a big fan of the modern style of mixing live-action photos, etc., with animation. I'm glad I stuck with it, though, because it turned out to be pretty interesting. Like Antique Bakery, this was a noitaminA show, and all of those shows are worth watching.

Toradora!
This was a really cool show. I like romantic comedies where the romance is taken seriously. By that, I mean it's nice to see a relationship develop, rather than the typical scenario where a guy chases after a girl (or vice versa) but nothing happens until he finally confesses his feelings in the last episode. However, they don't forget the comedy either, and this show is really entertaining. I can't remember how I discovered this show.

The Prince of Tennis
This was a lot of anime to watch (yeah, the whole TV show and the rest, except for the movie). I like tennis, so even though this was a fairly typical sports anime, it kept my interest. I thought it was nice that there were lots of unique and fairly well-rounded characters, since a show that focused only on the main character wouldn't have been as good.

You're Under Arrest: Full Throttle
YUA is a long-time favorite and I've seen all the previous anime. I thought Full Throttle was a nice series that brought it back to its roots, without the silliness (mostly) that infected some of the previous series. It's still a slice-of-life show so nothing really happens, but it's nice to spend time with these characters.

Michiko to Hatchin
This was a pretty good show, similar to Samurai Champloo (by the same studio, manglobe) and reminiscent of Cowboy Bebop. The characters were deep and fully realized, but there wasn't too much plot. The setting in South America was pretty unique. I discovered this because the opening theme is by Soil & "Pimp" Sessions, who I've been listening to lately.

Himitsu – Top Secret
This seemed like it was going to be a relatively straightforward police drama with sci-fi elements, but there was something strange about it. Then I saw it was based on a josei manga, and it all made sense. Some really twisted stuff happens in this anime, even more so because of the inherent realism of the show. It's the best kind of sci-fi in that it posits some new technology and then uses that to tell a good story, rather than focusing on the technology itself. I watch this because the animation was by Madhouse, one of my favorite studios.

Valkyria Chronicles
This anime is based on a PS3 game of the same name. The game looked good but I avoid RPGs because they take so much time to play. (By contrast, I watched the 26-episode anime series in two days.) The anime apparently follows the same plot as the game. I thought it was pretty good, but the anime focuses on a few characters and the rest of the characters from the game remain in the background. The characters they do focus on are handled well, though. Also, the plot is interesting enough to serve as the backdrop for the game's battles, but by itself it's pretty average.

So that's this year so far. I'm also watching the following ongoing shows on Hulu: Fullmetal Alchemist, Naruto Shippuden, and Inuyasha: The Final Act. Plus, Nodame Cantabile: Finale just started in Japan so I've watched a few episodes of that. Hulu is a fantastic source for anime, and lately they've been adding a lot more subbed shows. I noticed tonight that they've added some new stuff, so I'm about to watch the first episode of Nabari no Ou.

Door dog update

2009-09-03T00:07:00.001-04:00

Never mind, it was a mouse. :-) Now I need to trap it.

Door dogs

2009-09-01T20:59:00.002-04:00

Last night I saw a black flash run down my hallway. I haven't found any rodents, so I think it was a door dog. Normally they only show up around 3AM when I'm really tired, and are only visible out of the corner of my eye, but I almost saw this one clearly and it was only around 9PM. I'm surprised I couldn't find much about door dogs on Google, but Google Books does have an excerpt from The Western Lands by William S. Burroughs, who was the first person to give a name to the creatures.

Speaking of Burroughs, I think The Western Lands was the first book of his that I read. I actually read most of his books in reverse order, following The Western Lands with The Place of Dead Roads and Cities of the Red Night, next reading some other stuff including The Wild Boys, then the "cut-up" books, and ending with Naked Lunch and Junky. That actually wasn't a bad way to do it. It's been a while, so maybe I should read them again in chronological order and fill in the gaps.

I even have the Giorno Poetry Systems The Best Of William Burroughs CD box set that I haven't listened to in a while. In fact I'm not really sure where it is -- ah, it's filed away with the LPs. My favorite is still Dead City Radio, though. I notice that most of the Burroughs CDs on Amazon date from the early '90s, which corresponds with when I was buying them and also when I was in college. I think the whole thing was probably started by Material's Hallucination Engine album, which featured Burroughs, since I was a big fan of Bill Laswell at the time. I remember anxiously awaiting the release of Seven Souls and the remix album The Road to the Western Lands, which focused solely on Burroughs's work. I'm not sure if I waited until then to read his book, since Seven Souls was actually originally recorded in 1989 and only re-released in 1997, but that explains why I started with The Western Lands.

Anyway, just like my reverse reading of Burroughs, this post is kind of a reverse chronology of my interest in him, which started in college, continued while I was living in Japan, and popped up again last night when I saw the door dog, which since then has remained invisible. Maybe if I pop in a CD, it'll make another appearance. Then again, maybe I should be glad it's gone, because as WSB said, "Door dogs are not guarders but crossers of thresholds. They bring Death with them."

Computer updates

2009-08-09T18:42:00.002-04:00

I still haven't updated my computer web pages, but as of today I've finished updating my computers and taking pictures, so I'll try to wrap up the pages soon. A couple weeks ago, I realized my Home Server needed more than 1GB of RAM, so I decided to double it to 2GB. While I was buying RAM, I decided to double the RAM in my HTPC as well.

The Home Server upgrade was really smooth, but when I finally popped the extra 2GB in the HTPC today, it wouldn't boot. I checked online and found that there was a problem with older versions of the BIOS and 4GB. I checked my BIOS and discovered I was still on 1.0! After some struggles, I got BIOS 1.7 installed and now everything works fine. The HTPC is still 32-bit, so I can only use 3GB for now, but maybe I'll switch to 64-bit when I upgrade to Windows 7. I need to test the codecs under 64-bit first.

I learned a good tip. Nero has built-in tools for creating a bootable CD-ROM. I couldn't get my bootable USB flash drive to work, but the CD-RW with the BIOS files on it worked great. That's how I'm going to do all future BIOS updates.

Deerblogging

2009-07-05T13:49:00.004-04:00

I took this on July 4. I could have done some groundhog blogging too, but the critter got away before I could grab my camera.

Deer in the backyard

SKULLCANDY

2009-05-27T00:09:00.002-04:00

Is there a better name for a female-fronted Japanese ska band than SKULLCANDY? (I guess Ore Ska Band is a close second.) That's all I really wanted to say in this post, but the MySpace pages for these bands are fantastic. First of all, unlike YouTube, you don't have to worry about the videos being pulled by overzealous copyright holders. Check out SKULLCANDY's guitarist in their videos, and also be sure to listen to my favorite song, "Go! But reality!!"

Next, the friend links are great for finding new bands you might like. I'd never heard of 蕾-TSUBOMI- before, but when they list friends like Ego-Wrappin’, Bonnie Pink, Shakalabbits, and GO!GO!7188 (all huge personal favorites), not to mention SKULLCANDY and their compatriots Witchery SKANK, I knew I had to check them out. I also love that EGO-WRAPPIN' are friends with Patti Smith.

Finally, you get up-to-date news, like SKULLCANDY has released a full album called MERRY MERRY!! (not to be confused with the excellent EGO-WRAPPIN' album merry merry). Also, not only will ORESKABAND hopefully be at the Vans Warped Tour again this year, but you can also buy their album and gear in the US! I'm sure there's more cool stuff waiting to be discovered.

BlackBerry blogging

2009-05-06T20:41:00.004-04:00

This is my first attempt to blog from my new phone. Here's my Storm's custom wallpaper.

Update: OK, so posting images don't seem to be working from my BlackBerry, so I had to fix this post from my desktop. The screenshot was taken using Capture It!

I found a prime!

2009-05-03T13:59:00.002-04:00

By participating in the No Prime Left Behind project, I discovered that the number 493 x 2⁶⁶⁹¹⁵¹-1 is a prime number. If you perform that calculation, you'll get a number with 201438 digits, which makes it the 891st largest prime number discovered as of today.

The NPLB project is using well-sieved files, which means that most of the non-prime numbers have already been eliminated. That means there's a good chance I'll find some more primes in the future, although maybe not as big.

DC Update

2009-04-27T22:46:00.006-04:00

(That's Distributed Computing, not District of Columbia. I try to avoid the latter.)

I'm continuing to fold @ home, now as part of the FreeRepublic team. I just hit #6 on the team, and I'm currently producing about 50K PPD or 1.5 million points per month with only three PCs. I'm also still helping the [H]ard DC Commandos, and I just set up my stats on Free-DC, so here's an overview:

If the image looks weird it's because I'm still playing around with the colors. The commandos are up to #12 on DC Vault, so hopefully we can reach the top 10 soon.

Bhavani is complete (almost)

2009-04-27T22:21:00.005-04:00

The case finally arrived for my "slightly smaller" gaming PC, named Bhavani. Dave at PC Design Lab is a nice guy and builds good cases. I'm very happy despite the wait.

I still need to install some pimp UV case lighting, but after that it should be done.

This marks a milestone in that I don't want to spend anymore money on PCs this year. However, one of the hard drives in my main PC just died last night, so maybe I'll have to add a clause allowing replacement parts. Now that everything is pretty much built, I'll try to take some nice pictures and update the PC pages.

If you remember my previous post about every PC I own having a different operating system, Bhavani has Vista Ultimate 64-bit, which is different than my laptop which runs the 32-bit version. With Girija running 64-bit Windows 7 beta, I suddenly have a shortage of PCs able to run 32-bit BOINC projects. I need to upgrade to the RC of Windows 7 anyway, so maybe I'll install the 32-bit version this time.

Quote of the day

2009-04-07T15:28:00.002-04:00

Mark Steyn, discussing gov't regulation of cars:

...and soon nanny-state regulation will require every American under 37 to be in a rear-facing child seat, which is a pretty good metaphor for where the country's going.

Read the whole thing.

Either-Or

2009-03-27T21:12:00.002-04:00

It's been a while since I blogged. Although I'd like to post about Camille Paglia, Atlas Shrugged, or other meaningful topics, I'd rather catch up on some TV watching and sleep. I won't even bore you with some of my recent computer-related activities. (I got a new keyboard! Thrilling, isn't it.)

I have been enjoying the latest Chatmonchy album. Here's some video:

The more the merrier

2009-02-16T20:33:00.005-05:00

People (mostly computer journalists) love to complain about the many different versions of Windows. Why does Microsoft make everything so complicated? Why can't they offer only one version, or maybe two?

Well, I currently have six modern computers, and I realized that each one is running a different version of Windows:

Windows XP Media Center Edition (Aparna)

Windows Vista Ultimate (Uma)

Windows Vista Home Premium (Lalitha)

Windows Home Server (Durga)

Windows XP Professional x64 (Gauri)

Windows XP Home (Girija)

I'm not just picking the latest version of the OS, either. The two Vista machines were upgraded from XP, but the two newest XP machines (Gauri and Girija) were built after the release of Vista. And of course I'm still using Amba, which runs Windows 2000 Professional.

I guess variety is the spice of life. I suppose my next machine will run Windows 7, but I haven't decided which version yet.

Carblogging / catblogging

2009-02-08T18:39:00.006-05:00

I did some work on my Xterra today, finally installing the Shrockworks rock sliders/step rails.

OK, there are no sliders in the picture above, but there is a cat! If you want to see the sliders, check out my thread at TheNewX.org.

Adult Swim kicks rocks

2009-02-06T21:40:00.003-05:00

(Embedded player removed, click here to listen.)

Here's a little music for ya. I love that Adult Swim releases music, but you have to check their site regularly because things don't stay there forever. The only thing I'm watching on Adult Swim now is Bleach, but maybe they'll release more Venture Brothers.

WTF!

2009-02-04T22:31:00.002-05:00

I updated the Computers page to add the specs for Gauri. With the new hardware, I've been crushing everyone on the AVS Forum team. I broke into the top 20 users today, and at the current pace I'll be in the top 3 by the end of the month. However, as a team we're going nowhere, so hopefully some other members will be inspired.

For a little more excitement, I've been helping the [H]ard DC Commandos increase the [H]ard|OCP team ranking in DC Vault. We broke into the top 50 in January, and are currently #36.

By the way, the post title means "Way To Fold!"

Gauri is born

2009-01-22T00:12:00.005-05:00

My new computer parts have started arriving:

Folding@home addiction

2009-01-15T00:43:00.004-05:00

As I mentioned on my Computers page, I recently got into Folding@home. It started by just folding on my PS3. I leave it on 24/7 anyway (because I can't turn it on and off with my IR remote, and who wants to get up off the couch and push a button?), so why not have it do something useful, right? The PS3 is a good folding machine that will generate around 900 points per day (PPD). Wait a minute, you mean I can score points?

I also leave my PCs on all the time, so why not install the software on some of them, too. I'll just install the uniprocessor client. Well, that doesn't generate many PPD, so maybe I'll install the beta SMP client on my desktop. That's better, but it's still going to take a long time for me to overtake people on the AVS Forum team, even though most of them are not actively folding. I've got a decent NVIDIA card in Aparna, and although I'll have to install the CUDA drivers, why not try the GPU client as well? Whoa, I just doubled my PPD!

Now I've got 5 folding processes running, generating around 4000-7000 PPD, and I've moved from #89 to #85 on the team in the last 24 hours. Today I ordered a 9800 GX2 specfically for folding (10,000 PPD!). I actually tried to order two cards, but I was lucky to get the one from Newegg before they were out of stock again. Pretty soon I'll have caseless motherboards scattered around the condo with big fans blowing on them (or maybe I'll be able to turn off the heat this winter). It's a sickness! But hopefully, one day it will help find a cure.

Japan photos

2009-01-14T23:28:00.002-05:00

Co-workers at Omron

I found my pictures from Japan (on my old SyJet drive disks!) and posted them to a Flickr account. I particularly like this one.

I have a blog?

2009-01-14T21:03:00.003-05:00

No, I hadn't completely forgotten about this blog (although it did take me a while to remember how to post). I've just been away from my website in general for a while. About the only pages I've been updating are the computer pages, and I don't think even those pages were updated in 2008. Anyway, it's a new year, and I'm back and in the midst of cleaning things up. (First my homepage, next the 3x3 Eyes Digest? It just might happen.)

I updated my bio, and altered some text on other pages that said I was still living in Japan. (That hasn't been true for almost 10 years!) I also updated most of the computer pages, except for the really old PCs, and I'm also in the process of updating the computers themselves so those pages should continue to change. The AV pages are next, but for that I need decent pictures.

I got a new camera, and I really need to start posting more and better pictures on this site. It's been so long, I can't even remember my disk quota or how close I am to hitting it, but I just got my annual bill from my web host so that should refresh my memory. Regardless of space, I might just start hosting photos on Flickr.

Finally, the old green template for this blog wasn't working for me, so I changed it to this basic template for now. I think I'll stick with Blogger for a while, since it's already up and running.

April Fool!

2007-04-01T23:45:00.001-04:00

I actually posted this in Jan 2009. I'm having trouble with Blogger thinking I have a post in April 2007, so to fix the problem I created one.

New blog

2006-01-29T17:36:00.000-05:00

I just discovered that my web host has built-in blogging software, and it seems pretty cool. I'll link to it here once I've got it set up. I think I'll keep both blogs active for now, until I figure out what to do with them.

Happy New Year!

2006-01-01T17:32:00.000-05:00

Well, 2005 was a pretty eventful year for me, and 2006 looks to be exciting too. I know I haven't posted for a while, but the holidays were typically hectic. I'm not making any resolutions this year, but I do try to get back into a daily rhythm. We're extremely busy at work, so that will probably be difficult.

I got a wireless keyboard for my HTPC for Christmas, so I can finally get back to playing some games on it (if I have time). The only game I've been playing recently is the Palm version of Lode Runner: TLR. I'm stuck on the next to last level (149) and I don't see any way to reach the exit door. I think it's time to switch to a new game.

Holidazzle

2005-11-27T20:19:00.000-05:00

Well, the holidays can really make it difficult to keep resolutions. Luckily I'm not on a diet. Anyway, the push-ups and blogging restart tonight. No news, other than I'm happy that Tech is headed to the ACC Championship. My dream is for VT to crush Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl, but there's still some football to be played.

Nothing...

2005-11-22T01:00:00.000-05:00

...to say.

Wallpaper: Spring

2005-11-20T19:01:00.000-05:00

I promised some wallpaper earlier, so here's the first image (currently my work desktop):

(click for full-size 1.6 MB image)

This image was taken during the cherry blossom festival in Washington, D.C., last spring. I think it nicely shows off the quality of my new digital camera, a Casio Exilim EX-Z55. It's very tiny but has a large screen and can capture 5-megapixel images (bigger than the one above). I'm very happy with it.

I've been trying to capture some fall images, but I'm not satisfied with the results so far.

Hokie, Hokie, Hokie, Hi!

2005-11-19T23:45:00.000-05:00

What's better than Tech beating UVa 52-14? For Miami to lose on the same day. ACC Championship, here we come!

Some Good Articles

2005-11-18T13:43:00.001-05:00

Everyone should read the interview with Bill Tierney at FrontPage magazine, which is an excellent summary of the twelve wasted years between the Gulf War (a.k.a., "please play nice, Saddam") and Operation Iraqi Freedom (a.k.a., "this time we mean it!"). What a contrast between the on-the-ground reality described by Tierney and the bitter self-delusion being spouted by that jackass Jimmy Carter. I see FrontPage has a follow-up article on Carter, but I don't think I can stomach it right now.

I donated blood today, so I think I'll have to skip the push-ups tonight.

Busy

2005-11-17T23:31:00.000-05:00

I had a club meeting tonight, so I'm still catching up on things at home. (Already did my push-ups.) Tomorrow I'll post some nature images that should make good desktop wallpaper.

Catblogging

2005-11-16T19:16:00.000-05:00

Steffi says, "Hi!"

Success!

2005-11-15T22:28:00.000-05:00

5 + 22 + 13 + 10 = 50

I've learned three things from today. First, warming up definitely helps. I was still sore from yesterday and the first 5 push-ups were tough, but after waiting about five minutes I was able to crank out 22 without too much trouble.

Second, I shouldn't wait too long between sets. Yesterday I waited about four hours before trying the final ten, and they were killers (done in two sets of five). Today probably waited about half an hour and then did 13, and they weren't too bad, and then the final 10 weren't bad at all. I probably could have done a few more in the last set.

Finally, doing 50 push-ups a day is not an unrealistic goal. I was worried I wouldn't be able to recover fast enough, and eventually my arms would be hanging limp and I would have to take a day or two off. (That could still turn out to be true.) However, with proper pacing, I think I can fit 50 push-ups in a single day in the short term, and of course over the long term I should be getting stronger so that it's less of a strain.

Now, time for a snack.

Push-ups

2005-11-15T21:24:00.000-05:00

The first 40 push-ups yesterday were pretty easy, but the last 10 were really tough. I haven't tried yet tonight, and I'm dreading it.

Since this is my eleventh post, I'm finally going to start pushing some of the old February posts off the front page. I'll have to come up with a new picture for tomorrow.

More Goals

2005-11-14T20:50:00.000-05:00

My list of goals is growing:

Post to this blog at least once a day.
Walk to the mailbox to check my mail (rather than quickly stopping the car there as I drive by).
Do at least 50 push-ups every day.

The last two are an attempt to get started into physical fitness again, and all three are designed to develop some good habits. Once I establish a routine of coming home after work, walking to the mailbox, changing clothes, doing push-ups, checking email, doing more push-ups, posting to the blog, fixing dinner, etc., then I won't have to think about these things or motivate myself to do them.

Push-ups are my weak point, so I'm starting with them. Once I meet my goal of 50 push-ups without stopping, I'll add in some burpees, pull-ups, jumping rope, or whatever. I've noticed something interesting: I can always do more push-ups in my second set than in my first. Today I did 18 and then 22, with a 10-15 minute break in between to check email. I think I'll try a warm-up set of about 5 tomorrow, and then see how many I can do.

Another interesting finding is that push-ups, especially "Hindu" push-ups that involve a lot of wrist movement, seem to help prevent carpal tunnel syndrome. Occasionally if I've been putting in a lot of computer time, my wrists will start to get sore, but if I start doing daily Hindu push-ups, the pain will disappear after a couple days. After a while I also notice that I have to loosen my watch band a notch, so they are definitely strengthening my wrists. I was lazy over the summer and my watch is now pretty loose on my wrist, so I'm starting up again. I'm sticking with normal push-ups this time, though.

Figuring It Out

2005-11-13T02:07:00.000-05:00

I'm still trying to figure out the Blogger interface. It seems that the archive links in the right column are broken, and I still can't post images from Picasa. I'm probably missing a configuration setting somewhere.

Anyway, I've started to work on getting the rest of the stuff on my home page updated. I touched the Computers page for the first time in three years or so, and added a page on my new HTPC, Lalitha, that I mentioned on Monday. Here's a permalink to that post.

EDIT: Figured it out! Archive links now work.

Music

2005-11-12T17:31:00.000-05:00

(Hey, a novel concept: breaking a single rambling post into multiple posts based on "topic.")

I really need to start a music section on my home page. I've had a list of "essential albums" in my head for a while, and I really need to write them down. Also, now that I have broadband, I can finally take advantage of (ahem) file sharing technology, mainly to keep up with Japanese artists I like. Recently I've been listening to lots of Paris Match, which is great cheery background music, especially when browsing the depressing content of political blogs. Currently playing is the latest EGO WRAPPIN' album, which I actually bought for $35 at the Kinokuniya in NYC after downloading the MP3s. Everything this band has released is fantastic, including their music videos. Now they just need to tour the US.

Absent-Minded

2005-11-12T17:15:00.000-05:00

OK, so I forgot to post yesterday; maybe I'll sneak in an extra post today to make up for it. I also forgot this was a bye week for Va Tech, and we don't play UVa until next Saturday.

Thursday night I saw the DOOM movie; not bad, but way too much time spent searching for monsters rather than killing them. If the game moved that slowly, I wouldn't have wasted so much time in college playing it. Still, Karl Urban and the Rock we're both good action heros, the ending had a good amount of fighting and explosions, and the chick was pretty hot. That's about all you need from a movie like this. ;-)

Danger! Danger!

2005-11-10T10:23:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I picked up the new Danger Doom CD, and it's everything I hoped it would be. For those who don't know, it's MF Doom and Danger Mouse teaming up to rhyme about and sample Adult Swim shows like everyone's favorite, Aqua Team Hunger Force. The only downside is that, like most of Doom's recent projects, it's fairly short.

Why Am I Here?

2005-11-09T23:07:00.000-05:00

Why am I making daily posts to a blog nobody reads, especially when my posts are relatively content-free? Because I set a goal, and I plan to keep it. The idea is to get into the habit of posting, and focus on the actual content later. And that's all for today.

Election Day

2005-11-08T22:51:00.000-05:00

I voted today. Pretty uninspiring choices all around, but at least there was more than one choice on the ballot.

As I mentioned yesterday, I recently finished the Baroque Cycle books. I got them last Christmas, but put off reading them until now because I knew I wouldn't be able to get anything else done once I started (which was true). I really like Stephenson's recent "expansion" from SF into historical fiction. These books were sort of a geek's guide to the late 17th century, but I'd have to read some actual history to know how much was entirely fictional. The books made me realize how little I know (or remember) about history, expecially outside the USA. On a local note, it's interesting how many Virginia counties are named after British kings, including William of Orange. Anyway, I can't wait to see what Neal Stephenson writes next.

Goals

2005-11-07T12:34:00.000-05:00

I'm setting a goal to post to this blog at least once a day, and that no post will contain whining or excuses (which is what my old .plan file usually contained).

I recently built a Media Center PC, so I'll post the specs on the computer page sometime. I've been using it mainly as a digital recorder, and I currently have over 60 hours of programming to watch: mostly Hitchcock and other classic movies from TCM, but also various Adult Swim shows and programs like Mail Call that I always forget to watch.

Besides making up for my forgetfulness, there are two other big benefits. First, I'm able to easily catch two shows that air at the same time. For example, I recorded The Ultimate Fighter 2 finale while watching Virginia Tech be destroyed by Miami live on Saturday, and then I watched the finale--skipping the long between-fight sequences and commercials--and immediately deleted it. Not having to search for a 3-hour tape, or even leave the couch, is a great convenience.

Second, I can take full advantage of timeshifting by recording late-night Adult Swim shows, or movies that only air during the day, and watch them in the evening or on the weekend. Especially for Adult Swim and its constantly shifting schedule, it's great to just say "record series" and not have to worry about finding the right times and making sure the VCR is set up. Of course, the other benefit to a Media Center PC is no monthly fees like TiVo.

The only trouble so far is that I haven't been able to get a satisfactory HD image on my TV using the component input, so I'm still using S-Video. I just need to devote some time to tweaking the setup.

In other news, I recently finished Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle books, so if I don't have anything to post about tomorrow I'll talk about that.

Apologies in advance

2005-02-03T23:07:00.001-05:00

I probably won't be posting often or regularly. For that, I'm sorry.

(I'll try to post cute/silly pics occasionally, though.)

First Post

2005-02-03T22:35:00.000-05:00

Someone told me that .plan files are out of fashion, so I've created a blog. The 21st century is cool.