WTF...

I tried uploading the scans of my old work, but it didn't work. I get an error, but it told me nothing in terms of what went wrong. I'll upload it to Flickr and link the images here. I don't remember my password for Flickr and I don't feel like looking it up now. I'll do it this weekend. Looks like I need to clean my scanner... live with the spots...

I was looking for some info on my laptop and I found a treasure trove of information. I want to upgrade the hard drive in the laptop, but I couldn't figure out how to open it. Now I know. In the process I learned a few more things. I can upgrade the DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive to a Multi-format DVD-RW drive. Also I can plop in a new CPU. I was only looking to upgrade the hard drive and RAM. Now I got other components in mind and also Bluetooth.

Hitachi Travelstar 5K100 100GB ATA-6 2.5in 5400RPM w/8MB Buffer ($153.00)
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Paste - 3.5g ($6.00)
Panasonic UJ-840 combo 8X DVD±R/RW DL ($155.00)
512MB DDR PC2700 172-pin MICRO-DIMM ($124.00)
Can't find a mini PCI WLAN card with Bluetooth. (T_T) (Not that I tried real hard...)
Intel Pentium M 760 - 2.0GHz 2MB cache 478pin 533 FSB ($190.00) This goes for over $300.00 for retail box. (O.o)

Total bill = almost $650.00 (T_T)

This doesn't even include the WLAN card with Bluetooth nor the TV Tuner card I want for DVR capabilities. I also need to get a few more hard drive enclosures... In the end, it'll be closer to $1,000.00. It's too much. (T_T) Laptop component are too expensive. If this stuff was for the desktop, I'd get away with $300-400. Half price. (T_T)

Knowledge sucks. (T_T)

Thanks to the Secret Service, I'm all tapped out. (T_T) Not that I would spend that much money to upgrade my laptop... I better win the lotto or something...

Dark Chocolate

My friend called me today. I missed her call Monday and I kept forgetting to call her back. (>.<) We had a good conversation. We talked about photography a little bit. I wanted to put up stuff from my gallery show during college years, but I'm not sure where I put it. Well, it can only be in the closet. It like 16" x 20" or larger black box that weighs several pounds. There are too many boxes in my closet (>.<) I need to sort through them to figure out what to keep before I leave.

Ok, I found it. It was bothering me that I couldn't find it. It was in the back of the closet under some boxes. I can't show the stuff from other shows due to legal issues. They are not meant for children (at least not in this country) and let's leave it at that. I'll scan the photos and writings and upload them in the next day or two. It'll be the first time for most of you. It's not typical of my work. As I was talking with my friend, for my next project I want to play with girls and food. If you're interested, let me know. (^_^);;

Just looked at the photos and it's going to be a lot of work. (>.<) As I've said, it's not my typical work. It's pretty dark, both literally and figuratively. I'm going to have to take care not to lose detail.

I decided to wear the Susan G. Komen "Sharing the Promise" bracelet. It's pink! (^_^);; I'm in a pinkish mood. I changed the skin on my USB drive to pink as well. I blame it on Kelechi. (^_*) She started this conversation about pink in one's wardrobe. It's kind of weird wearing a bracelet again. It's been a while since I wore one and they were all pretty thin compared to this. It's going to take me a while to get used to it. Pink is more eye catching than yellow. :D Also I got it for free when I bought my USB drive. Can't beat the price.

Recently discovered Vida Guerra. (O_o) Muy caliente!! Makes you want to visit Cuba... I heard her cell phone got hacked into like Paris Hilton's. Her photos are a lot more explicit than Paris's. (O.o) Let's just say they leave nothing to the imagination.

I got some chocolate. I got some Jello pudding cups too. I had the little box of powder in my hand because I couldn't find the little cups. I didn't feel like making it. Also I didn't want to eat that much. I found the cups in the refrigerated section. (^_^) I should have gone to Godiva to buy some truffles. I just get truffles and hot coco mix @ Godiva. I recommend the Extra Dark Chocolate Truffle and Cappucino Truffle. I don't recommend the holiday stuff and the others. A lot of them are overly sweet and not that great.

I ended up getting some dark chocolate made in Spain. It was one of the few that didn't list sugar as the first ingredient. (In case you didn't know, the ingredients are listed starting with the highest to lowest in content.) I wanted chocolate, not chocolate flavored sugar. I made the mistake of eating the pudding cup before the chocolate. It made the chocolate taste a little bland, but the chocolate was pretty good in the end. I didn't eat the whole thing. I just had a piece. How did the title of this blog end up being the last thing? Don't ask me, I don't know...

(Why does blogger always screw up your formatting when you spell check? (x.X) I thought they fixed it.)

Dreaming

Had a bit of a weird dream. It was funky. Things happened all over the place, but then again that's what usually happens in my dreams.

The thing that stood out was that it was bilingual. I don't usually dream in more than one language. I do dream in more than one language at times, but not too often or I don't remember them. I'm not sure which is the actual case.

The dream was colorful. Towards the end I was looking at some documents and it looked more like a storybook than a legal document. There was a lot of pictures. It had a nice nature scene on the front. The rest looked more like storybook pictures and towards the end it was more like a comic strip. It was all in color, but my dreams are always in color so it's nothing unusual.

Do people dream in black and white? That would be strange. The world is full of color, yet you dream in black and white. It'd be like watching a black and white TV set. I do remember some research where they put red glasses on people during the day and they dreamed in red. So I'm assuming only dogs and whatnot dream in black and white.

I prefer color photography. I like colors. You can always print it as black and white, but you can't go the other way. Ok, technically you can with use of modern technology, but who wants to go through the trouble when you can just shoot color film. Geez, I haven't shot film in years.

I'm going to have to sort through stuff to take with me. I guess I'll take couple of my smaller cookbooks. I think they are Thai and Italian. (^_^) I miss cooking all the time. I miss walking down to the supermarket, stopping by the butcher shop and getting some 焼き鳥 (yakitori) and 捏ね (tsukune). Ok, the description of 捏ね isn't all that great. Think of it as meatballs on a skewer. You can get 焼き鳥 with just salt and pepper, but it's good with the sauce. You get 捏 ね with the same sauce. (^_^) Man, I want some now. (>.<) There is a place to get it here, but the quality sucks. The kids who roasted the stuff in front of the butcher shop did a hell of a lot better job than the guy at the restaurant in Torrance.

Emperor Bush

My friend mentioned "Emperor Bush" on the way to dinner or back from dinner. (^_^) I thought it was funny considering that he's from OC (Orange County, the bastion of Republican conservatism). It wasn't a surprise since I wouldn't have pegged him as a Republican. He's a college student. Most of them are bleeding heart liberals, except for the business majors. I've come across some that would probably sell their mom for a few bucks. Their outlook on life is that if they can get rich, they don't care about what happens to other people or things. The environment, screw it as long as it makes me money. The poor, screw them as long as it makes me money. You get the idea. I think this is counterproductive.

The thought of "Emperor Bush" seems to be on other people's minds. Take a look at Doonesbury from Sunday. I don't know why, but LA Times always cuts out the first two panels. Also Non Sequitur from Sunday seems to be referring to "Emperor Bush".

I liked Sunday's Peanuts. It has such a nice sentiment. "How did the other team feel?" If we were more empathetic we wouldn't have those screw them all kind of business majors who would probably sell their soul along with the rest of the planet for a few million. There are a lot of kind hearted business folks, but it's usually the sneaky underhanded bastards that usually make it to the news.

On a lighter note, my mom told me that I used to stop whatever I was doing to watch commercials. She said I knew the sound of commercials and would stop whatever it was that I was doing to watch them. She said I really loved commercials. I guess some things never change. Although I haven't seen too many good commercials on American TV of late. In case you're wondering, I think she was talking about when I was crawling around the floor. I hadn't learned walking yet. (>.<)

(>.<) I gots to get out of my seriousness rut.

Egocentric

I was reading an article in Mechanical Engineering (What? They have good articles.) and noticed the egocentric view that Gutenberg invented the movable type. It's typical egocentric Western view. In case you were wondering, it was invented centuries earlier by Easterners. Gutenberg was just reinventing the wheel. What do you expect from people who thought the earth was the center of the universe?

Well, it's a mute point anyway. Our new Chinese masters will put an end to it. (^_^);; If we don't get with it, they'll take over the world. It's just a matter of time. You know their country name means middle kingdom/country. So we aren't the only ones with the egocentric views. And you know about the Japanese trying to take over the world and attacking Pearl Harbor to boot. They are the only ones besides al-Qaeda that has attacked our homeland. "Oh my God! They killed Americans! You bastards!" (South Park reference in case you don't watch the show.)

How does it go from the Gutenberg press to people killing Americans? (O.o) Go figure. Aaargh, it's too serious. (T_T) I gotta lighten up a little...

Lingerie Uproar

OMFG, I can't believe all the uproar some mannequin wearing a thong in a store display window is having. Just goes to show you how uptight some people are. Reminds me of that line Robin Williams had in Good Morning Vietnam where he says that his superior really needs something... we got kids reading... They are going to have a heart attack if they see my travel pictures. They show a hell of a lot more on store displays in other countries. Larry Flint is rolling in his graves, wait he's not dead. He would be if he was dead. He's a big supporter of First Amendment rights.

I thought New York was very cosmopolitan, but it sounds like some backwater hick town. (No offense to backwater hick towns.) It's probably few repressed nut jobs making a ruckus or it could be a PR stunt by the owner of the store for some free publicity. I hope it's the latter, because we don't need nut jobs running around. (^_^);;

Too Serious

It's been a while since I put something up here. It's partly due to the fact that I've been thinking about other things. I've had environmental destruction, famine, natural disasters, continued bombing of brown people (If you don't know the reference, check out George Carlin's Jammin' in New York.), genocide, racism, human trafficking, corporate corruption and greed, etc. This stuff is way too serious for here. It's supposed to have inane dribble here...

Also there's Halloween stuff going on in World of Warcraft. (^_^);; Trick or Treating early...

I went to Oktoberfest with friends last Friday and it was a blast. I ran into a cute girl too. (^_^);; Try to guess who. (^_*) I don't think it's hard... maybe it is...

Subtlety in Language

I'm in the process of watching いちご 100%. Since I've read it I figured I might as well watch it. Of course I'm watching it with subtitles. I wish I didn't have to. (T_T) But I try to listen to it as much as I can. I am able to pick things out and understand without the subtitles. The subtitles also help me to learn new things or refine things without me having to refer to a dictionary constantly.

It's the subtle stuff that kills you when you're studying language. Especially if you're studying languages that are culturally very different from your own. You have to be very careful of the words you choose. I've learned this the hard way in the past. (>_<) Dictionaries and whatnot are helpful in getting the jist of things, but they fail you when you are looking for the subtle differences in words. Also dictionaries aren't always right. Like everything else, they do contain mistakes. Also the people writing these things aren't infallable. I've found dictionary meanings to be totally useless or wrong on occasion.

Oh, some of the animation for いちご 100% sucks. I think they subcontracted and got what they paid for... Also since they've changed and cut things out from the comic, some of the scenes don't make much sense or they don't have the same impact as the original. Sigh, like they say the book is always better. (>.<)

Episode 7 sucked real bad. (T_T) Episode 8 isn't much better. (>.<) I hope this doesn't continue like this. Total butchering. (T.T) It's all getting worse episode by episode. But I do really like the ending theme by Sonic Groove. It's a little campy, but I think that's why I like it. (^_^)

At last the animation quality has gone up with the OVA. I guess I should be grateful. I won't have to watch such crap... Well, the story is still a little funky compared to the comic. They've killed off several characters, well several characters never made it into the cartoon version. Looks like they added bunch of inconsequential characters to balance it out. (>.<) The story is SO different at places. (>.<) The new ending theme isn't quite as good. I wonder if they are going to change the ending with the last OVA... Pick aya! (^_^);;

DOGMA

For those of you who missed the reference to Bartleby in my earlier post, watch DOGMA. It's a good movie. It's so funny to watch people's expressions when Loki talks about killing people. (Get over yourself, it's only a movie. Also the movies doesn't take itself seriously, neither should you.)

I recently rewatched it, rather I had it running while I was working on stuff. The boardroom scene is pretty hilarious. (So many scummy business types, so how true...) I think the beginning with the nun is pretty funny too. Well, just watch it yourself if you haven't seen it already.

If can also check out the deleted scene with Azrael over at View Askew Productions.

(I think I know why Dave leave's so much unsaid. I have so much more to say, but if I said it all I'd be blogging all day.)

いちご100% Revisited

I finally realized what it is about いちご100% that appeals to me so much. Yeah, the エッチ stuff doesn't hurt either, but that's more on a cute level of things. It's something my mentor has been telling me about. It has to do with choices in life. He has been talking to me about being more accepting of things and being more open minded. I am open minded and accepting, but there's one thing I do have a hard time with. I have tried it and I can't say the outcome has been all that great. So I'm a little hung up on cute girls if you haven't noticed. (^_^);; It's the only thing I have a hard time compromising on... This only applies to relationships concerning girlfriends. I don't really care about friends and how they look. You would understand if you met some of my friends. They are a wonderful bunch of eclectic people from around the globe and I love them for it.

I think people are people regardless of their genetic makeup and that some people are just jerks and I don't want to deal with them, but I give people the benefit of doubt unless they prove themselves otherwise.

It's hard being religious. (T_T) I used to be an atheist for almost a quarter century. It's hard dealing with divine will. (O.o) I don't understand it at times, but then again I always have that nagging feeling in the back of my mind that tells me it's Loki's doing. (I don't think it would ever be Bartleby (^_^);;) I try not to think about that, that's just too scary. (X_x) I'm going to try to avoid religion and politics in my blog. They are too intermingled... (X.x) I don't want to get into that mess of things. Nor do I want to write novel of a blog.

Project Runeberg

I just discovered Project Runeberg while I was @ Project Gutenberg. I will be downloading the Project Gutenberg "10K" DVD. If you want a copy, let me know. (I mean the people I know in Real Life.)

I wish I could read the stuff on Project Runeberg. (T_T)

パジャマのままで (pajama no mamade)

パジャマのままで is a cute song from a cartoon called 魔法の天使クリィーミーマミ. It's kinda sappy, but I like it. I have never seen the cartoon. I just came across the song when I was in college. My friend said it was an エッチ (ecchi) cartoon. I can't tell. I have no desire to look it up. You can if you want. I guess it reeks of domesticity. I guess guys are just more sentimental.

いちご 100% is on the ecchi side. It's pretty mild. I did notice the cartoon version is a little beautified. There's a scene with a fugly girl in the comic, but in the cartoon she's a buxom girl who's into S&M. It's a short scene.

かわいい女の子と日本語で喋たい。 (I can't help but laugh @ Google's translation tool. I just type stuff in to get a laugh sometimes. I also visit www.engrish.com for laughs. Take a look @ this recent discovery for some cultural difference. Look at the hand holding the umbrella. What do you make of it all you psych majors?)

How did this end up here?? (O.o)

Catching Up

I'm all caught up on Dave's blog. It was prosaic in a way, relaxing. I'm always wondering what it is that Dave doesn't write about.

I know the stuff I can put up on my pages are more interesting, but due to the change in the law this summer I'm being cautious. It's such a prudish country here. I was thinking kids probably shouldn't be reading this stuff, but I guess due to my self imposed censorship there's nothing that's unsuitable for children.

I'm munching on a sandwich as I write this. Multi-tasking. (^_^);; I need to get off my butt and get some things done. Seeing Dave so busy, I figured I'd get a little less slacky. (^_^);; I need to get back to studying foreign languages... I think I'm going to have to make a schedule for myself.

I noticed Dave mentioned his car. Kids, don't let the US Secret Service slam into your car. They take forever to do anything. Not that you can stop them... They just run into you. I wish this thing would progress.

I couldn't make it to Wednesday's meeting thanks to the US Secret Service. (T_T) Thank the US Secret Service, kids.

Oh well, better get back to things.

Girls in the news

I was skimming the paper and notice that 강하나 (kang ha na) won the Elite Model Look 2005 Korea. (My god, who did the makeup? (X.x) I thought the high school girl that came in second looked so much cuter. (^_^)) Now, 강하나 (kang ha na) is a very cute race queen in South Korea. Alas this is not her. Another girl with the same name. She can't hold a candle to the race queen. (You know those girls who hold umbrellas next to F-1 cars and whatnot.)

I saw Michelle Wie on TV today. I've never really looked at her before. I've heard the name mentioned before. She's really tall, 6 feet. (O.o) I hear she's going to be 16 this week. She's pretty cute. I don't say that too often about girls of Korean descent... I'm keeping the rest of my opinions to myself. Two more years. (^_^);;

I saw Jessica Alba on Jimmy Kimmel a few nights ago and thought how much she looks like あゆ(ayu). Except Jessica does not look like a doll. I remember her from Flipper. It reminded me of Jennifer Love Hewitt who's super cute. And I was looking at my wallpaper of 杏さゆり(anzu sayuri) and wondering how I've come to the "type" of girl that I like.

Writing this reminds of me of the time when I was watching megu (Click on MEGUMI. Not a very good picture.) and thinking that she's very cute. She's a bit tomboyish for my taste among other things, but she looks very cute sometimes.

I saw 飯島愛 (iijima ai) on どつちの料理ショー (docchi no ryouri sho-). For those of you who don't know, she was a very popular Japanese pornstar when I was in high school. (O.o) I'm starting to show my age... She was the first one to make it into mainstream from porn. You see her on TV ever so often. The cooking show is fun and worth watching. She looks totally like one of my classmates from high school.

I guess I could go on and on and talk about ともさかりえ (tomosaka rie), 石川梨華 (ishikawa rika), etc. but it's getting late and I'm getting tired. (Can you tell?)

(Don't you love the Internet and Wikipedia?) I'm sorry most of the pages are in foreign languages...