The Summer Progress

09/12/09 10:02:21 am

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As is becoming a summer tradition since coming to San Diego, the fiance and I went out to Comic Con in July.  Not as many panels of interest to us this year, so most of our time was spent in the expo, exploring the sights, getting free stuff, playing games on display, havin' a good time. We got to check out Scribblenauts, the release of which we're looking forward to next week, and Behemoth's Game 3. We caught a glimpse of Leonard Nimoy, and there's this one exhibit that I always enjoy...

I assume they give artists a blank sculpture of a popular character (one year it was Darth Vader heads), and have them design it however they want. This year's guinea pig is Stitch!  It's fun seeing what they come up with, whether it be cute, silly, impressively detailed or downright creepy.

Sooo, what about the site? Well today I've added 8 skins by a new contributor, katoh! :) You'll find them under Megaman, Hetalia: Axis Powers and Volcaloid. As for myself, there are a few skins I'd like to make, but I'm still kind of busy with some little things... like moving, and a wedding. :] Some time after those, then maybe I'll get back to being productive.

Engagement & Wedding Planning

04/11/09 03:07:35 pm

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I don't often talk about my personal life on the site (it simply wouldn't be of interest to many of you), except where it relates to either the general themes of the site (like games I've played, anime I've watched, technologies I want to rant or rave about, etc.), or the lack of my presence here. This time it's about the latter: I got engaged about two months ago. :) Needless to say I've been putting some energies into wedding planning ever since, and we're also looking for a new abode, possibly one to own, if affordable.

Also we got Rock Band.

So, lots to do, lots to do, and might not get a lot of creative work done in the meantime. So, while you wait, just download your favorite skin again. :P

Another Year, Another Host

11/10/08 09:40:31 pm

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Just as I did last year around this time, I've switched web hosts.  Last time, the switch was about resources - I was pushing the limits of both bandwidth and disc space on my previous host.  This time, it was about quality - too many times did I find my site slow or inaccessible.  Hopefully I have found a good new home in DowntownHost.

As for myself, it rained for just one day, and the roof leaked over my apartment, my ceiling and carpet were ruined, and the subsequent repairs have left my home filthy and smelling of mildew.  This was not the "change" I wanted, Obama!  J/K.

As far as that goes - the presidential election - I can't say I'm surprised.  I'm a bit concerned that many seem to be wooed more by Obama's charisma than his policies, but he has been given a clear mandate by the electorate, so we'll see what he does with it.  In any case, it is pretty historic having a non-white male as president for the first time.  I do have faith in this country as a land of opportunity, but it's nice to have moments like this to point to and say, "see?"

Vista, Comic Con, jQuery

08/02/08 04:48:02 pm

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I might've made this post last weekend, but my draft of it was sitting in an unsaved window when Vista decided to reboot itself in the middle of the night for updates. It's a new computer, so I hadn't turned that setting off yet, but it's always been something I hate about Windows - don't turn off my computer without my say-so.

On that note though, having had this computer for about a month now, I don't see what all the negative fuss about Vista is for. I can't name anything specific to complain about, and certain tasks are easier than they were in XP. I can understand that perhaps people were hoping for some innovation from Microsoft (...wait, really?), and this "Midori" project sounds interesting (if anything ever comes of it), but it seems like if you were fine with XP, you should be fine with Vista; it's just another iteration in Windows.

Anyway, on to whatever my original topic was... Ah yes, Comic Con. It came to town last weekend, as it does every year around that time, and it feels like the internet has descended upon San Diego. All the niche-popularity webcomic authors, media companies hawking sci-fi entertainment, anime product retailers passing out cat ears, and dorks dressed up as MySpace.com (true story) flood into our little downtown enclave... which isn't so little, really, but feels moreso when there are an additional 125,000 people in town.

Myself and Rirath attended the con on Sunday morning, browsed the expo floor for a few hours, and saw John Cho and Kal Penn (of Harold and Kumar fame) on a panel, where they were quite amusing. Neil Patrick Harris was supposed to be there too, but apparently skipped town to go direct a play in London, boo :P

Commentators are starting to wonder whether the "comic" is going out of "Comic Con," to which I must say, "you're only just starting to think that?" Last year was the first time I went, but it had the same feeling as this year, where the TV, movie and video game attractions seem bigger, louder and better than the comparatively plain comic book booths. Personally I can't say I'm opposed to this though; digital media is of greater interest to me. If the comic guys pull out of Comic Con, I'm sure they'll be missed... but not by everyone.

In other news, I'm working on some website development (...for this site, I mean), so I may not be updating with much content for awhile... but hang in there. I've adopted, and am really enjoying writing in jQuery. Javascript is such a cumbersome language that I'm usually reluctant to use, but jQuery makes it make sense. Why put up with some convoluted method of DOM selection in plain JS, when jQ makes use of the CSS selectors we already know? It's intuitive, which JS never has been for me before.

Happy 4th Ramblings

07/04/08 07:39:14 pm

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Happy 4th of July, to those of you who celebrate it. Nothing to post today but some random thoughts from the last few days.

Bookstores. On two separate visits, we've noticed a certain breed of person... Usually it's a teenager, usually reading a manga, usually while seated smack in the middle of a narrow aisle between bookshelves. While we spend awhile finding the book we want, this person remains stationary, even while other customers attempt to go around him (this person is also usually male). I suppose the responsibility of dealing with this person falls upon the bookstore staff, but it's awfully rude all the same.

Gaming. I've just started up Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core, which is the first game I've played on a PSP actually. While the visuals are lovely, the battle system feels flawed, at best. There's not much challenge - you can mash X to beat most enemies - and the roulette-like DMW thing dampens the difficulty even further by bestowing numerous power-ups and special attacks throughout the battles. It also feels odd that you have absolutely no control over the DMW wheels - they just spin and stop whenever they please. The game's story and dialogue also feel rather silly, what with everyone quoting poetry or proverbs and sprouting random wings. And how weird is it to see Sephiroth acting normal? Still fun though, and Zack is a likeable lead.

Website. Hopefully some site improvements will be coming along soon, if I can spare some time to work on them. I know the skin menu on the right is a bit broken in Firefox 3 (which only a small percentage of you are using... and I thank you), but I'm probably going to leave it that way for now.

A Few Things

06/14/08 09:19:38 pm

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First we'll talk skins, since that's probably what most of you here are interested in. The skin seen below is in progress... and the balance slider has it in for me. I can't seem to find any functionality in Winamp's MAKI language that'll let me control the pan value... so I can't have it mimic the volume slider and update the animated layer frame as it goes... If anyone knows better, let me know. Otherwise I'll probably have to redo that area (put something different there, or change the slider design).

Second, most of my day at work yesterday was wasted when we had to clean up the database after an SQL injection attack inserted a few thousand lines linking to a malicious Javascript file. Apparently hundreds of sites running MSSQL were hit around the same time. Ugh.

Finally, a bit of anime. I haven't been watching much lately for two key reasons. One is that I have simply chosen to spend my limited free time on other activities (most prominently, more gaming), but the other is that there hasn't been much to trumpet in recent series, it seems. But lately we've been starved for some short, enjoyable video content to watch with meals or while relaxing. So we picked out two to try: Soul Eater and Baccano.

Soul Eater, with 51 supposed episodes, may be pushing the envelope on my tolerance for long series (I know I've watched hundreds of One Piece, Inuyasha and Naruto episodes, but if anything they prove my point: 50 episodes is the approximate maximum for consistently decent quality, I think), but it has been enjoyable thus far. The characters and plot are kinda cookie-cutter: students at shinigami academy - including the archetypical bookworm, headstrong boy, loudmouth, pushover, and perfectionist - must fight together as partners against various evil things and collect souls to become the big cheese. *shrug* Nothing really to complain about, just nothing stellar about it either, I guess.

Baccano, however, I am crazy for. The gore level was a bit higher than my usual taste, but the show's about mafia guys, assassins and otherwise shady characters... so it's not out of place. The story is told non-chronologically, mostly jumping around between a few years in the 1930s, and focusing on suspenseful incidents that intertwine its characters. This manner of presentation allows for numerous cliff-hangers - once you start watching, it's hard to turn it off. The characters are the main driving force of the story though, and I found myself endeared to and interested in all of them (even if they seriously creeped me out at times as well). The music is also catchy - try the opening for a taste.

And that's all for now. Hopefully the aforementioned skin will be done within a day or so...

Happy Easter!

03/23/08 08:43:25 pm

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Happy Easter, site visitors! Between the chocolate bunnies and egg hunts, take a moment to reflect on what Easter's really about - the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It's a good thing.

And then I got Sick

01/27/08 02:36:24 am

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Still no update; I wanted to try for one last weekend, but I came down with the flu and had to spend a lot of time in bed instead.

I've also been using some free time to play Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition. While I'm not usually into either shooters or horror, I've taken at least enough of a liking to play several hours' worth so far. Having [briefly] tried the PS2 version of the game as well, I can certainly say the Wii controls feel a lot better to me than a standard controller. It's not perfect though; one thing I find unintuitive is needing to use the control stick to pan the camera upward while aiming - why doesn't it just go where the Wiimote goes? And how come the rifle doesn't use the Wiimote to aim at all? Why does the number 4 come before the "Resident Evil" on the game box and title screen? And WHY do I keep getting attacked by zombified villagers!? ... Wait, scratch that one.

In other news, I've temporarily removed the links to Exquisite (fruit-candy.net) because the site has apparently been compromised by a trojan. I've visited the site using Firefox however, and have not had trouble (aside from temporary browser-lockup upon loading the first page). So, IE users beware... the rest of you, carry on.

A Quiet Anniversary

01/14/08 02:23:36 am

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Today marks seven years that this site has been online. Seems like just yesterday I was writing the announcement for six years... Sadly, I have nothing new to upload today; work has been particularly time consuming this week.

I did however spend a lovely New Years with my accomplice, Rirath. I think there's a picture of it somewhere... 2007 was certainly a memorable year, and 2008 has great potential as well.

But, maybe I'll have actual content to post next week :)

The Usual Jabber

09/22/07 10:53:33 pm

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I think the best way to understand why a website is not updating - at least those sites which are run by just one or two people - is to start up your own site, run it for at least a year, and see for yourself the sorts of things that distract you. Even when we're fond of our sites, other things in life can push their priority lower and lower.

Lately a dip in my health took a hit at my energy, but other, more pleasant factors have been a welcome diversion too. It may also be relevant to note that I've pretty much stopped watching anime on a regular basis. I still like it, but the quality of recent series is failing to impress me, I suppose. I'm also turning more to gaming for my passive geek hobby instead. So it's possible there'll just be more game skins here too.

Thanks to all of you who have left a kind word here and there! My apologies for being a bit negligent of commentators and contacts. I can't promise I'll get any better ;)

Comic Con 2007

07/30/07 10:42:33 pm

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Despite having lived in San Diego for the last 4 years (of college), this is the first time I've been here during the summer, which meant I had the opportunity to attend Comic Con for the first time this past weekend. Myself and a friend trekked down to the convention center on Sunday morning, braving the crowds and approximately 5,000 Uchiha Itachis. Seriously, is Naruto the only thing you people ever watch?

Anyway, if you want cool SquareEnix figures, apparently the last day of the con is not the day for you (see photo). I didn't end up buying anything, but still got several "sampler" volumes of manga and other fun freebies from various booths. Seeing Lucy Lawless on a panel was surprisingly amusing (who knew Xena was actually quite the comedian). Got to play some games, see "exclusive" (I'll bet someone's already posted a cellphone recording on Youtube) TV show and movie previews, and just generally have a good time amongst a veritable throng of geeks (if you shout, "Hey look it's Dumbledore!" at the Gandalf cosplayers, apparently they get angry... try it, it's fun!).

A good time was had by all; time and location permitting, I'd love to go back again next year.

It IS Fun to Touch!

05/04/07 07:39:54 pm

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So I had this dilemma, in which I possessed a number of gift cards for Best Buy, that I was planning to use toward a Wii. But I finally came to terms with the fact that, even if I want a Wii, even if I have the money for a Wii, I still can't get a Wii. Unless you're willing to devote a good deal of time and energy to frequently searching high and low, you just can't get your hands on one. So, while I still want one, I decided to give up on my hopes of getting one any time soon... and bought a DS with my gift cards instead. And I'm quite pleased with it ^^ I've already got a list of games I want to play, but if there's one (or more) that you particularly love, leave a comment - recommend it. Actually, I've never owned a GBA either, but since the DS is backwards compatible, you could recommend me some of those as well. :)

Particularly, can someone vouch for Nintendogs? I've heard good things, but I fear it may be too kiddie to hold my attention. See, I've been thinking about wanting a puppy lately, but it's not an appropriate time in my life to get a real puppy... so what's the next best thing? Nintendogs, right? ^^;

I've also still been playing Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+, but I've gotten up to the "nitty gritty" at the end, where the story is basically finished except for the ending itself, and I'm running around collecting synth materials, fighting bonus bosses, stuff like that. I'll perhaps write up a post about it later; it's just less interesting to write about, since it's about 80% the same as the original Kingdom Hearts II. Most of what's new is boss battles, and a couple of cut scenes, most of which are kind of pointless - Juusan Kikan sits in the basement and pummels you with repetitive plot points - but some are worthwhile (particularly the one with Axel and Roxas after you defeat Roxas... I'm no shipper, but, awww, *sniffle*).

As for skins... to be honest, I just haven't felt like making 'em lately. If I force myself to make 'em, they come out poorly, so I'd rather simply wait until I want to do it again. "On sabbatical," I suppose ;) Also, there's about half-a-quarter left of school before I graduate (!); even if I have sufficient time, it's become difficult to focus on schoolwork, resulting in it taking longer than it should. ^^; So I just need to tromp through a few more weeks... And finally, there's some new stuff I'm working on that's just not ready for distribution yet.

Oh yes, and, after taking a look at my traffic stats for the month of April, looks like hits were up 70% from the previous month :O Gee Golly! (Pardon my French.) So that explains where all the bandwidth went.

Will Work for Ice Cream

03/12/07 09:24:59 pm

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Ahhh, sweet heat wave... how I've missed you. Though I am also thankful for the lovely fan that was abandoned at my house last year by a housemate who only stayed for two weeks. As we bore the same name (myself and the housemate... not the fan), I was obviously its rightful inheritor.

Anyway, two more weeks of winter quarter left, and this one should actually be the more hectic one of the two. I haven't slept too well in awhile because my alarm keeps going off every couple of hours... in my mind. Frankly I'd like it to be April already; firstly because that's when I will get my confirmation - of acceptance... or rejection - letter from JET, and secondly because it'll be my very last quarter of college (assuming I never go back after graduation), and I'm not exactly taking a heavy load. So I'm hoping it'll be a nice couple of months to fluff my way through...

邪魔する学校

02/03/07 05:39:12 pm

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Oh my, is it midterm time already? School's a pain in the butt. Skin production may slow a bit for a few weeks.

For those who are interested in my personal life, I've passed the JET paper application and have been invited for an interview in the latter part of this month. Yays. Are any of you site visitors also JET applicants? Or current or former JETs? Leave a comment, say hi. :)

PS - Since Square-Enix opened their official KHII Final Mix+ site, they've posted a nice wallpaper with many Juusan Kikan ["The Organization"? I didn't play the English version of the game :P] members that's just ripe for skinning...

Readjustment

08/28/06 01:11:45 am

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Back in America, but not quite back to my usual life yet. I'm in the process of moving into a new apartment, and still have to straighten things out at my previous residence, so things are a bit hectic. But all of that should, nay, must be resolved by the end of the month. And then it's Labor Day weekend :D So, expect a real update sometime next weekend.

I have, literally, six skins that are halfway done. In fact, here's a screenshot of 'em. As you can see, I often get sidetracked after creating the player area... and start making other skins. I think I'm going to put a moratorium on new ones though, until I finish up all of these. Incidentally, the subtitle for the Haruhi skin is, "the skin that's always louder than your music." Don't worry, I'll make some more Haruhi skins that aren't so garish... Loved that series.

Btw, I believe the skin in the bottom left-hand corner is Tsukuyomi, but I'm not certain (haven't seen the series, but the image was too cute to pass up). If anyone would like to confirm or deny my assumption, send an email please.