December 31, 2003
Happy New Year!
My neighbours were busy taking photos of the fireworks... With the flash on. That'll work real well.
Okay, so it's only the new year for little kids so far - there's more and noisier fireworks about three hours from now. But sometimes I am only ten years old. 2004, eh? Where's my flying car? I was promised a flying car!Posted by: Pixy Misa at 09:13 PM | Comments (43) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
December 30, 2003
No! Bad Mousie!
My new Logitech MX 700 Cordless Optical Mouse crashes my computer. Not quite repeatably, but certainly repeatedly. Meh.
No cheese for you!Posted by: Pixy Misa at 10:44 PM | Comments (45) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
December 29, 2003
The Empire's New Groove
Via Slashdot, an interesting Washington Post article: Japan's Empire of Cool. It's not very deep, admittedly; instead it skims the surface of the growing popularity of many aspects of Japanese culture in the U.S. and elsewhere. Worth a read.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at 08:38 PM | Comments (46) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Good News, Not Quite So Good News
Good:
The internet connection at work is back! It dropped out on Christmas Day, and tech support was mysteriously unavailable over the extended weekend. It turned out that the NTU had unexpectedly dropped dead - possibly due to myxomatosis - and it was nothing that I did (and nothing I needed to fix). The outage convinced my boss that we need a backup internet link. The current one has been very reliable (until now), but is somewhat expensive. By routing our downloads through a standard ADSL line and keeping our mail and web server on the current line, we can improve reliability and save money. Yay! Lunch with Simon. Taro duck, mongolian lamb, pineapple fried rice served in a pineapple and a nice bottle of Leeuwin Estate (I think it was) Sauvignon Blanc, right on Sydney Harbour near the Opera House. My Usenet service unilaterally increased my monthly download allowance by 50%. Found $20 blowing up the street on the way home. Caught it. Bought two boxes of Tropical Frosty Fruits. Not quite so good: Routing tables all messed up after a reboot. Running the startup script again fixed this. Huh? Spilled a can of coke in my lap after lunch. The pause that keeps on refreshing. My download of Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch is stalled - at 100.0%. I hate that. It's bad enough to get stuck at 99.9%, but at 100%? Pfui! Update: Danny Boy on the AnimeSuki forums helped me out and I got my Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch. So that's 7 good to 2 not quite so good. If only every day was like that!Posted by: Pixy Misa at 07:21 PM | Comments (43) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
December 28, 2003
She Turned Me Into A Newt
I was invited to join my family in a viewing of all three movies this evening, starting at around 9pm. Which three movies was not specified - nor did it need to be.
Spending ten hours immersed in Middle Earth would have been an interesting experience, but that's a long time to spend stuck in a cinema (as Susie can tell you). Unfortunately, I have toWell... I got better.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at 10:45 PM | Comments (44) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
December 27, 2003
Cranberries
They didn't have any Tropical Frosty Fruits when I went to the supermarket to pick up the bread mix on Christmas Eve. All of the stores always run out of Tropical Frosty Fruits whenever the weather gets warm. Always. You'd think that after a few years they'd realise that if they had more Tropical Frosty Fruits in stock, they could sell more Tropical Frosty Fruits, but no, not Coles, not Woolworths, not even the little IGA.
I got some Bulla mixed flavour - what's a location-neutral term for these? It says on the box "Frozen Fruit Juice Water Ice", which will do, I suppose. I got some Bulla Fruity Licious Frozen Fruit Juice Water Ices, which come in Orange, Tropical (which means "Orange and Pineapple and sometimes Passionfruit but in this case just Orange and Pineapple") and Apple and Blackcurrant. As I expected (having bought Bulla products in the past), they taste of... Nothing much. 40% fruit juice with 4% of the flavour! No taste, less fattening! I also got some Orange and Cranberry Frosty Fruits. Unlike the Bulla Fruity Licious Frozen Fruit Juice Water Ices* these do have flavour: Horrible. You can suck off the orange outer shell, but you'd better stop before you hit the red part. Whose idea was it to make these things? What planet are they from? I used to have Turkey Torpedoes at the Dymocks Cafe in Sydney, with turkey breast and camembert and cranberry sauce, and that was okay, since they gave you the cranberry sauce in a little dish and you could apply as much or as little of it as you wished. It's an interesting offset to the turkey and the camembert, though I think that strawberry jam would have worked as well if not better. But frozen cranberry juice? I mean yes, there are people in the world who drink their own urine, but that would seem to me a rather limited market segment. The only thing I can think of is that the makers (Peters) have realised just how clueless the supermarkets are, and are producing additional revolting flavours cheaply, knowing that people will try them when the weather hits the billion degrees mark and all the stores are out of those yummy Tropical Frosty Fruits a-bloody-gain. And that they (Peters) trust that people will blame the idiots at the supermarkets for all of this. Hmm. I think it's working. Also, while I'm complaining, why the heck did Lean Cuisine take their Oriental Beef dinner off the market? Some of their other dinners are sort-of-okay-I-guess; the chicken in mustard sauce, for example. The Chicken Marsala was great before they replaced the snow peas and baby carrots with non-snow peas and carrot sticks to save a few cents. But the Oriental Beef was wonderful. I'm not sure exactly what went into the sauce, but whatever it was, worked. Not overpowering, not specifically black bean or anything else. Wafer-thin slices of Australian beef. Fluffy white rice. I used to have it sometimes twice a week. And when I say twice a week, that means I bought four of them, because the primary reason these dinners aren't fattening is that they're too damn small - roughly half a pound, in this case. Damn you, supermarkets! Damn you, Lean Cuisine! The only thing consistently better than the Lean Cuisine Oriental Beef - apart from eating out - is my own cooking**, something I haven't done for too long. I didn't even do my seven-day lamb stew this winter.*** But job number two really is winding down now, so if no more computers explode, then someday soon I will actually cook myself something. In the meantime, my schedule is as follows: Tomorrow (Sunday): SleepMonday: Lunch
Tuesday: Avoid work as much as possible
Wednesday: Avoid work as much as possible, then leave early
Thursday: Play with nephews
Friday: Work frantically because I have a deadline on Monday
Saturday: Sleep Yep, looks like a good week. * No, I am not getting paid by the word. Unfortunately.
** Well, or someone else's. But I can't invite myself over to other people's homes every night.
*** Last winter. Whatever.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at 11:57 PM | Comments (43) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
December 26, 2003
Totoricity
A fine Christmas was had by all.
In particular, Lionel got My Neighbour Totoro on DVD (though he fell asleep watching it), and I got a set of Totoro crockery. See! I'm not hard to shop for at all! Then we had the traditional Christmas dinner, where they* wait until everyone is completely and utterly stuffed and couldn't eat another bite, and then bring out five irresistable deserts. I was only able to eat two helpings, alas. I also got to hold Harry for a little while. He's still concentrating mainly on I/O functions; babies take a little while to notice the outside world. He wasn't too impressed with his Tigger, either - though I suppose that a tiger as large as you are can be a bit alarming at that age. Anyway, Munuvia's DNS seems to be working again (little surprise present from our ISP there), so I'm off to read Hyperdolls and work on my digestion. * They being Lionel and Harry's grandmother, in this case.Posted by: Pixy Misa at 09:59 PM | Comments (45) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
December 25, 2003
Merry Christmas!
The presents are wrapped; the bread is baked. I'm off to play Santa Pixy.
Merry Christmas to you all!Posted by: Pixy Misa at 09:47 AM | Comments (44) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
December 24, 2003
Bread
I like my breadmaker. It's the perfect kitchen appliance for me:
1. Dump ingredients in bowl.I'm making some rye bread this time, which I haven't tried before. Then I'll have to get up early to make my famous apple & cinnamon fruit & nut loaf. Well, it's only slightly famous, but it's very tasty. Mmm. Almost Christmas. Maybe I should actually wrap some presents.
2. Wander away for a few hours.
3. Eat bread.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at 11:54 PM | Comments (44) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Quotable Notes
Tim Blair has a wonderful collection of quotes up, reviewing the best and worst of 2003.
Not to be missed. Now excuse my while I go and wrap your present.Posted by: Pixy Misa at 10:11 PM | Comments (43) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Harry, Stop Reading Now
Is he gone? Good.
Harry got a Tigger. I looked at various things, but the classic (not Disney) Tigger won out. After all, Lionel got a lion, so why not? I managed to install Hordes of the Underdark on Kei. It didn't want to go. I was updating the installation on my external hard disk, but the registry keys were missing. Possibly because this is a completely new computer with a new copy of Windows. The secret: Run the updater routine. If there's a new patch out, it will download and install the patch, and re-create the registry keys in the process. Then you can install the new expansion pack. If there isn't a new patch out... Well, then you're in trouble. Now, I have wrapping paper, sticky tape, gift tags... Everything except bread mix. Have you ever tried to buy bread mix on Christmas Eve? Pfui.Posted by: Pixy Misa at 01:51 PM | Comments (45) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
December 23, 2003
Megumi Hayashibara
From Ranma in Ranma ½ to Faye Valentine in Cowboy Bebop, from Lina Inverse in The Slayers to Lime in Saber Marionette J, by way of Momiji in Blue Seed and Pai in 3 x 3 Eyes, Megumi Hayashibara is without doubt my favourite anime voice actress (or seiyuu).
If you've ever wondered what it's like to be a voice actress, there's no better or funnier introduction than the Megumi-Toons. While you're there, you might also like to check out these translations of Azumanga Daioh.Posted by: Pixy Misa at 05:47 PM | Comments (48) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Trainbusters
Christmas shopping: done. Except for young Harry. Since he's only two weeks old, he's a tough one to shop for. All he wants right now is his mummy and a clean nappy.
I bought a few things for myself along the way, including volumes four and five of Ai Yori Aoshi and the new expansion pack for Neverwinter Nights, Hordes of the Underdark. The only oint in the flyment is that I have to get it all home somehow... And there are no trains running. Not a one. Where's Thomas the Tank Engine when you need him? He'd get these striking slackers sorted out, quick smart.Posted by: Pixy Misa at 03:40 PM | Comments (42) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Anime Clips
And here they are. I could have compressed the files more (and I have in some cases), but everyone has broadband now, right? Except Tiger.
Azumanga Daioh A charming little series about a group of high-school girls, and the funniest thing I have seen this year. Opening (24MB) Small Version (14MB)Ending (31MB) Small Version (10MB) Bottle Fairy An educational children's show, and a good way for Westerners to learn a bit about Japan. Warning: high cuteness factor. Opening (16MB)
Ending (19MB)
Jungle Wa Itsumo Hale Nochi Guu
"The jungle was always nice, then came Guu" Or maybe this is the funniest thing I've seen all year. It's certainly one of the weirdest things I've seen, and also one of the best. These are the opening and closing sequences for the TV series and for the OVA series that followed it, Jungle Guu Deluxe. Note that the files sizes for the openings are somewhat on the large side due to the frenetic scene-shifting involved. The closing sequence of Jungle Guu Deluxe is a classic, but you really need to watch the show to appreciate it fully. Opening (41MB) Small Version (25MB)
Ending (17MB) Deluxe Opening (34MB)
Ending (11MB) Kiddy Grade Um, I haven't watched this yet. Something something. Opening (23MB)
Ending (16MB) Mahoromatic II Mahoromatic II is the sequel to Mahoromatic. [Duh — Ed] Mahoro is a retired combat robot now working as a maid. I like the original ending sequence better (the Mahoro Mambo), but this one is cute too. Opening (14MB)
Ending (8MB) Nanaka 6/17 Nanaka has lost her memory and regressed to the age of 6. Silly on the face of it, but surprisingly moving. Because if Nanaka recovers and regains her memories... Opening (27MB) Small Version (15MB)
Ending (14MB) Popotan Another series that is silly on the surface but has some real depth. Also, in this case, boobies. And ferret-girls, and dancing dandelions. Una! Original Opening (15MB)
Revised Opening (16MB)
Ending and Ferret Girl (9MB) Scrapped Princess An adventure story involving a young princess prophesied to destroy the world. Opening (18MB)
Ending (34MB) Small Version (10MB) Secret of Cerulean Sands An adventure story set in the 19th century, based loosely on the works of Jules Verne. Opening (18MB)
Ending (11MB) Stellvia of the Universe The story of Stellvia and her evil plot to take over the Universe. [What?! No it isn't! — Ed] Opening (17MB)
Ending (21MB) Tokyo Mew Mew The story of a group of Mew Mews in Tokyo. Sorry, I haven't watched this one either. Opening (29MB)
Ending (28MB) UFO Princess Warukyure Also known by those who can spell as UFO Princess Valkyrie. Warning: Contains boobies. Contains very boobies. Original Opening (20MB) (more boobies)
Revised Opening (20MB) (less boobies)
Original Ending (5MB) (no boobies to speak of)
Revised Ending (10MB) (still no boobies to speak of)
Ending (19MB) (boobies return with reinforcements!) Ultra Maniac The story of a young witch who has come to our world seeking an education. Chaos ensues. Of course, chaos always ensues. You'd think we'd have learnt that by now. Opening (24MB)
Ending (10MB)
Posted by: Pixy Misa at 02:44 AM | Comments (44) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Uploady Time
The first batch of anime video clips is uploading now... About 700MB worth. I need a faster internet connection. Mind you, that's always true.
If I lived in Sweden or Japan, I could have a nice shiny 100Mbit connection for something like the same money I pay for my 512k ADSL. That's 200 times faster. Waaah! The best I can do here is 2Mbit, which would set me back $550 per month. Alas, unhappy Pixy...Posted by: Pixy Misa at 01:57 AM | Comments (45) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
December 22, 2003
Virtual Dub
Pixy Misa's Doesn't Suck Award goes today to VirtualDub. VirtualDub is a simple, free video dubbing program. You give it an input file, tell it how you want the output file to be, and it does it. Want the first 90 seconds of a file? Or the last 60? No problem. You don't even need to recode the file - it extracts the bitstream directly and builds a new file for you. Want to overdub with your own soundtrack, or add subtitles? Go for it.
It's not fancy. It's a little bit fiddly to get the start and end points to exactly the right frames. But it does what you tell it to. That's a key feature missing from every commercial video package I've tried. What does all this mean? It means that very soon I'll have a little library of anime video clips up for your enjoyment and education. Watch for them! Update: Hmm. It seems to be having a slight problem with Popotan, which is the first clip I've tried in a widescreen (16:9) format. Some more tinkering required... Update: Don't know what is causing the problem, but recoding the file fixes it. Speaking of which, for fast encoding, reasonable quality, and reasonably small video files, Xvid seems to be the codec of choice. It's also free.Posted by: Pixy Misa at 03:51 AM | Comments (43) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
December 21, 2003
I Was Hoping For Deconstructionist...
Check out Ghost of a Flea to see why. But this is really far more accurate:
You are a Cyberculture Floozie. The theoretical
aspects of postmodernism interest you only
insofar as they can be used to make cool blinky
things. You probably take psychedelics and
know at least one programming language (HTML
counts!). Other postmodernists call you a
corporate whore. They're probably just jealous
because you make more money than them.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at 07:56 PM | Comments (46) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
3.84 Million Pixels of Bliss
An hour and a half spent with a screwdriver, kernel modules, random config files and the latest nVidia drivers and I have finally have both Kei and Yuri working perfectly at 1600x1200 at 85Hz. Crisp, clear, rock solid.
The 3D performance on Yuri is still somewhat lacking... I have no idea what to make of this, since I have never tried to do any serious 3D graphics on Linux anyway. It's certainly not the card - a GeForce 4 Ti 4600 Ultra - so it's either a problem with the drivers or with the way I installed them. But 3D on Linux is not a priority right now; the only thing I'd use it for is pretty screen savers. Kei, meanwhile, has a nifty new GeForce FX 5700. This makes no difference at all that I've seen so far, but over Christmas I expect to spend some time playing Knights of the Old Republic, so we'll see how that goes. For now, I've also yanked the cable from the gigabit ethernet port. It's just not worth the bother for a 60% speedup (which is all Windows seems able to manage). I'll fix it another day. At one point I managed to drop Kei on her head - I had propped the case up on a chair, but it turned out not to be very well balanced. No harm seems to have been done... And I can't type without touching wood here at Pixy Central. Pixy's Tip of the Day If you are assembling a new Linux box, don't buy a video card less than six months old. Unless it's for a server and you never plan to use the console in anything other than text mode. Just don't. It's not worth the money or the time you will waste trying and failing to get it to work. Last year's cards, on the other hand, are cheap and plenty fast enough, and work just fine.Posted by: Pixy Misa at 07:53 PM | Comments (44) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Another Perfect Day
It's early morning, just before dawn, with the sky beginning to lighten to the east. To the south I can see the lights of the city; across the valley, above the houses, hangs a crescent moon, its circle just visible by reflected Earthlight. A breeze stirs the ferns in the garden below my balcony, and a few clouds drift lazily northwards. It's cool now, but a a fine warm summer's day is promised.
Time for bed.Posted by: Pixy Misa at 05:08 AM | Comments (45) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
December 20, 2003
Notworking
Anyone out there who understands Windows networking?
If so, does Windows actually comprehend the concept of having more than one network card? And of, like, routing packets to the 10.1.1.x network out the card configured with the 10.1.1.y address? (Yes, my netmasks are correct.) Or should I just give up and configure my Linux box as a router? I now have six network interfaces - 100M ethernet, Gbit ethernet, three firewire interfaces, and another one calling itself "Microsoft TV/Video Connection" that just magically appeared one day. Sometimes some of them work. Sometimes some of them don't work. Meh. Pixy's Tip of the Day If you wish to experiment with TCP/IP over Firewire, do not use the Firewire chain with your external hard disk on it, as this will likely cause the disk to be unavailable to either computer.Posted by: Pixy Misa at 11:08 PM | Comments (47) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
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