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That's my prediction of the number of Orioles wins this year. Sadly, that's not enough to break the decades long losing streak. Orioles fans are gonna have to resign themselves for another losing year, but that is a step up. Will next season be better or worse? Hope for the better.

Last year I predicted 75 wins, but they only managed 66, and they were only lucky to reach that number. Thank, Buck! He livened up the team when he became manager at the end of July. Trembley and Samuel got the O's to a 32-73 record. Buck managed them to a 34-23 record. Hopefully, the team will play just as good for Buck for the full year as they had for a third.

Can the Orioles win an extra 12 games to take 66 wins to 78? They had plenty of offseason moves to shore up their lineup and they're expecting their young arms to mature enough to face off the AL East. They'll need to score more runs and allow less. Will it be enough for 12 more wins?

They built a starting lineup to score runs. Lots of mashers. But also a lot of strikeout kings.

The young arms are home grown. Will they be better this year than last?

Let's hope so.

Play ball!

Labels: Baltimore Orioles, baseball

Appleseed was my favorite manga back in the day when you could only buy manga from a comic book store. It's had a couple of adaptations: an OVA in the 80s and those CG ones in the last few years. Here's another version. Supposedly it will stay true to the manga. I don't know. Plus I'm not feeling this animation style. CG? Can't they just do it the old fashioned way? Regardless, I'm looking forward to it, because of the landmates.

Labels: animated, anime, nostalgia

We're cool.

Labels: nostalgia

It took 30+ hours to convert the mkv to an m4v in Quicktime, but it's now on iPhone and I am watching it while I do work. Moe human Nagato! Moe adult Asahina! Moe Kouyouen Academy Haruhi!

It's awesome!

Labels: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Last year Roger Ebert stirred the up the internet when he stated his opinion that video games can never be art. The internet came down on Roger Ebert and made him change his mind, or at least see the error of his ways. I think with Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch the internet may owe him an apology.

Like movies and entertainment in the 90s being influenced by MTV and it's hyper-kinetic cuts, movies and entertainment in 00s have been influenced by video games. If they weren't art at their dawn, they have been accepted by the majority of geeks so that they are an art form by default. Their aesthetics have been incorporated in many other forms of entertainment and sometimes that ain't a good thing.

One of my favorite movies from last year, Scott Pilgrim v. The World is movie with some video game. Sucker Punch isn't a movie, but a video game.

It opens with a long silent segment evocative of those opening cut scenes of video games. This establishes the background of various characters and aids in giving them motivation for some of the story. Then it gets to the place where the game takes place. Baby Doll has to escape from the loony bin. There's a little bit of set up before she get the clues on how to escape. Eventually, she must defeat a boss in order to score the equipment to get her out of there. Very routine video game fodder.

The problem with Sucker Punch is that it wasn't a video game, but a movie and the story it had to tell was very shallow and uninteresting. So were the characters all stock and cardboard thin. Nothing to care about.

This movie reminds me of Inception. It is a product of the director. Zack Snyder made up the whole story just as Nolan did Inception. And like Inception, it is also a gamble in that it isn't based on a previous entertainment property no comic book, no novel, no tv show. It must live and die on its own. I admire that. Story telling isn't dead in Hollywood just that the story its telling is.

Is Sucker Punch misogynistic? I've read several reviews that say it is. I can't really say, but I imagine that the actresses loved to do that action stuff that the boys are always doing. Sometimes it looks as if they enjoyed themselves. Is that empowerment? Is the fact that the bad guys are all men and shown in a demeaning light a case against misogyny? Does the beating of women and glorifying it the case for misogyny? You'll have to decide yourself.

Neo as the One in Matrix. Baby Doll as the one in Sucker Punch.

Here's to hoping we don't get nothing but Baby Doll's for Halloween. Seifuku is awesome and blue seifuku is awesome as well. But nothing beats the zettai ryouiki. Yes. That's probably why I wanted to watch this film so badly. I also hoped that Baby Doll was tsundere. She wasn't.

I'm gonna give it a medium score because I found some of the action fun. The train scene. Like Michael Bay, Snyder has his own style. It's ridiculous and like wanting to seen the Baysian twirl, you can't wait for the Snyder slow-fast-slow-fast fight scenes and the train scene is his Mona Lisa perfect in every way. I think it would make me watch it again just for that fight. Anyway, it was this fight and zettai ryouiki brings the score up out from 2 to 3, but just barely.

3 of 5 stars

Labels: movies, review, Saturday Evening Post, zettai ryouiki

Did she wear green on St. Patrick's Day? I know she wore a shamrock sticker. I wasn't looking anywhere else. "Hey, Irish!"

Black puffy down jacket and tweed pants. I don't know the color of the top. Purple?

Cute ensemble: jeans, grey sweater, white blouse, an outfit that screams moé. Then the black puffy down jacket. What was missing was the cute striped knit cap she wears backwards.

Monday morning was dress up day. All business. Black suit jacket, skirt, and white leggings or stockings and high heel knee high boots. Yes. I was looking at her legs.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Labels: fiction, genius, I'm a fool

Jules: Now Yolanda, we're not gonna do anything stupid, are we?
Yolanda: You don't hurt him.
Jules: Nobody's gonna hurt anybody. We're gonna be like three little Fonzies here. And what's Fonzie like? Come on Yolanda what's Fonzie like?
Yolanda: C-c-c-cool?
Jules: What?
Yolanda: He's cool.
Jules: Correctamundo. And that's what we're gonna be. We're gonna be cool.

Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) et Yolanda (Amanda Plummer), Pulp Fiction

Labels: movies, qotd

If you've been reading my blog for a while now, you've read about my disdain for vampires, their stories and movies. I can't stand 'em, and their appeal frustrates me at times like wish fulfillment people looking for a fantasy life. Give me science fiction or sword and sorcery for my fantasy life not something from the horror genre.

Still, there's one vampire tale that I like a whole lot: Stephen King's Salems Lot. The night I read it I had to stay up until dawn because I was too scared to put it down and turn the lights off. The Glick kids could've started scratching at my window if I did. Even to this day, it is the one vampire story I can say I like. Most likely, this affection results from the novel's heroes are the vampire hunters. It sides with those who are vanquishing the scourge that are the vampires of the story like eradicating a virus. Kill all vampires!

Today's like is a nice roundtable read about the CBS miniseries explaining how it fits into the vampire story pantheon. I watched the miniseries as a youngster and I can tell you how frightening it was. Only later when I read the book did I feel the terror of it all.

http://moviemorlocks.com/2011/03/25/the-horror-dads-in-salems-lot/

Labels: fright, lotd

Once again I have to ask, why are all our vacations all about the eating? Here's a shot of the cakes you can find at Red Ribbon Bakery, a Filipino bake shop. They also serve palabok, dinuguan, and empanada. After airplane food, after fish and chips, we end up here -- my mom, Tita Mina, and Tito Rudy -- looking for food. Again.

We got some to go.

Now, I've got a few enseymada and taisan to eat. I should get coffee with these pastries. I should've gotten some pan de sal, also.

Labels: iPhone, mmm, picture, sights seen, vacation

The cupboard seems bare for this season, but at least we get two bobbleheads: Matusz and Showalter. Here's to hoping the Orioles get off to a good start and stay competitive so that when bobblehead day arrives for Buck he's still around. Unlike last year with a certain left fielder, *cough* *cough* Riemold.

http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/schedule/promotions.jsp?c_id=bal&y=2011

Labels: Baltimore Orioles, baseball, loot, lotd

The one bet me buy, the one bet me buy, it bust me, lord

Long Shot Bus' Me Bet, Sons of the Pioneers

Labels: lyrics, qotd, wagers

I can now finally play all those Bard's Tale games I have socked away.

http://boxerapp.com/

Labels: games people play, lotd, nostalgia

Picture from this past weekends nuttiness. Here's to family.

Labels: picture, sights seen

It is true about what the critics have been saying about Battle: Los Angeles. It really is a movie made up of all the action flick cliche's you've already seen.

Let's check off some movies that Battle: Los Angeles is indebted to. Black Hawk Down, Alien, Aliens, District 9, Saving Private Ryan, Bourne Identity, 300, ID4, Transformers, War of the Worlds, Avatar. The list goes on and on. I even threw in movies I'm not so sure was in there, but no doubt with squinty eyes they can be.

That said I enjoyed it still. This will be one of those movies on TNT or TBS that you'll watch whenever its on.

3 of 5 stars.

Labels: better late than never, movies, review

Padres Nation
Originally uploaded by browsermetrics.

Did I really make Cousin Brenda take me to the ballpark?

Yup.

I wish it was the real baseball season.

Labels: baseball, picture, sights seen, vacation, visitors dugout

MD 88 is 5 seats wide. The overhead bins are small and not too tall.

Going west by south is stupid ridiculous.

Once doors are closed we're sealed in.

Sitting in an airplane on the middle of the Tarmac looking like we are on the take off lane!

How is it that I got a longer wait in Atlanta again. I've been here twice and I've spent more time waiting for a plane than I had ever done flying here.

Atlanta airport metro running slow.

Nice breakfast at Brioche Doureé. French. Croissant. Ham egg and cheese. You'll find it on concourse A hidden by the bookstore.

Went to concourse A. Now back in concourse B. Did not take the Metro.

Sent from my iPhone

Labels: tweet

"The dead know only one thing: it is better to be alive."

Pvt. Joker (Matthew Modine), Full Metal Jacket

Labels: doom, qotd

Is this too much of a camera to buy? And is the price too expensive?

http://us.leica-camera.com/photography/m_system/m9/

Labels: drool, just asking, lotd

More Sawa-chan, please. Like in nendoroid form. Psst, Good Smile Company, get on that.

Labels: K-ON, nendoroid, screenshot

On my way home to start up the torrent machine. Sweet Kami-sama, thanks for the new episode. When's the movie coming?

http://randomc.net/2011/03/16/k-on-s2-27/

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Labels: geeked, K-ON, lotd, want

The Cyclotrope from tim Wheatley on Vimeo.

Cool! (ht cartoon brew)

Labels: animated, cycling

I ran into Charley Phogg
He blacked my eye and he kicked my dog
My dog he turned to me and he said
Let's head back to Tennessee, Jed

Tennesse Jed, Grateful Dead

Labels: lyrics, qotd

Because everyone and their grandmother were lining up last Friday for the iPad 2, they may want to look at how that cool SmartCover works.

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPad-2-Smart-Cover-Teardown/5089/1

Labels: Apple, drool, lotd

Suckerpunch looks to be a real fan boy movie. I'm there. Of course, it's a Zack Snyder production so it will be a 90 minute film stretched to 2.5 hours all in slow motion.



I'm interested in seeing it for the anime/manga/otaku influences. Twin tails is so anime/manga. I wonder if she is tsundere. She's got the sailor fuku going. Not too bad except that this one's too Americanized with the bare midriff highlight. Next Halloween we'll be getting sexy sailor fuku at all the Halloween parties. Most importantly though, zetta ryouiki. Hopefully this movie doesn't ruin it all, which most assuredly it will.

Labels: :-(, movies, nerd, zettai ryouiki

Last weekend I replaced the venerable LinkSys WRT54g router with the completely awesome AirPort Extreme.

The week prior I had noticed a whine coming from the LinkSys. That was strange as routers don't have a spinning hard drive. What could be making that noise? So to shut it up, I unplugged it to reboot. That did the job no more whine.

I went about doing house chores for an hour before I had the chance to use a computer. When I did use my computers, I found that I couldn't access the internet. I quickly glanced at the lights on the LinkSys. It looked okay.

I tried to access LinkSys's browser-based configuration screen. "No route to host." I tried pinging its IP address. "100% packet loss." I looked closer at the router's lights and noticed that the LAN LED wasn't on. Since it was next to another LED that was on, it looked alright but, sadly, wasn't.

The LinkSys router was kaput.

Luckily, I have had an AirportExtreme in my possession for a year now. I was going to replace the LinkSys a year ago, but was too lazy to shut down all computing devices, change out the router, then reboot all computing devices and configure them. Out of necessity, I now had to do it.

I shut down all laptops, except my main MBP. I took the Mac Mini down, too. IPhone can stay on but I switched to just the cellular network. The 0G iPhone I didn't bother. Using the MBP, I began configuring the replacement network.

Apple's Airport utilities make this easy. You could just follow the wizard to set it up, but I liked to have control of my configuration. Manually, I went about configuring the AirportExtreme router. Lots of same settings, I ported from the defunct LinkSys -- network IP addressing, MAC address filtering. Others I changed -- new wireless ID.

I brought online all computing devices and reconfigured them for the new wireless network. The TiBook gave me trouble because, I think OSX Tiger, didn't like to remember the new wireless network name until I created a new Location for it.

Overall, it went smoothly. At work, I have to deal with networked software nodes, and it is a pain in the ass to debug network trouble. Who's causing what to whom all happens in the invisible ethernet and it takes some understanding of how networks work to find and fix the trouble. My new house wireless network was stood up without too much hassles.

The sole issue I have with my new wireless network is what to do about the AirportExpress. I had originally used this to extend the LinkSys network via bridging, because I couldn't get wireless coverage throughout the house with just the LinkSys router. With the new AirportExtreme, I don't need it, but I didn't know when I started reconfiguring the network. I tried configuring the Express for bridging, but it cause conflicts on the Extreme. Only when I abandoned the Express did I realize that the Extreme is powerful enough to provide coverage throughout my house (and my neighbors, too). Therefore, the Express sits silent on the floor waiting for a use. I'll probably try to configure it with my stereo system so I can stream music through it.

The new network is up. I'm planning to put a network drive off of it, perhaps SSD. I want to try that back to my Mac feature. It's also faster since there is only one wireless station.

I'm back online thanks to the Apple's AirportExtreme router; it's cold white face and unblinking, green LED comforts me.

Labels: computing, Saturday Evening Post

"Respect the cock! And tame the cunt!"

Frank T.J. Mackey (Tom Cruise), Magnolia

Labels: anger and frustration, curses, qotd

8.9 on the Richter scale is powerful.

http://www.sdgs.usd.edu/publications/maps/earthquakes/rscale.htm

Labels: disaster, lotd, stay safe

Did you know that The Adjustment Bureau was based off a Philip K. Dick short story? You could almost see a bit of the Dick in the movie, but it wasn't paranoid enough. A group of people who watch over everyone, you find out about them, and you don't look over your shoulder every damn day of your life? I'm just saying that it could've used a little bit more paranoia.

But what it really could use less of was the rom-com aspect to the plot. I thought I was watching Serendipity. There were rom-com plot points galore. They meet cute. They do well together. He breaks her hear. They make up. Fate! They were meant to be together!

So imagine this movie that was slightly funny for the rom-com aspects, throw in a little bit of Dick paranoia, and then spin in the science fiction aspect of it with the path keeper overlords, what have you got? Something that confuses my mom. Me? I was laughing all movie long. It's the rom-comedy in me.

Needs more sci-fi and Philip K. Dick.

3 of 5 stars.

Labels: movies, review

けいおん！

This little girl, she rocks out the drums. I like this song from K-ON! Brush and ballpoint pen, at least that's how I'll translate it.

Labels: it rocks, K-ON, music break

It's always great to read software development stories. Usually, because the writer is a software developer, he (or she) writes up things meticulously. Today's link takes you to the developer blog of pinboard, a del.ico.us-like bookmarking site. It's the story of the week after Yahoo decides to shutdown del.ico.us, and how its users migrated to pinboard. I find it fascinating and harrowing at the same time. It's fantastic and horrific because of the effort to keep their site stable as they get more users than they ever expected to have. I wish that would've happened for this blog.

http://pinboard.in/blog/173/

Someone ripped the final scene from K-ON!! without the visuals. There can't be anything as cool as this one. Can there? Check back again to find out.

Labels: K-ON, static video

"A million dollars isn't cool. You know what's cool? [... A billion dollars.]"

Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake), The Social Network

Labels: movies, qotd, winners

I agree. More animated movies from Criterion, please.

That was the sentiment of the first tweet I sent @criterion. I would like them to do anime, particularly, Satoshi Kon's Millenium Actress. It's been out of print and could be a wonderful film to be done up with the special packaging that only Criterion brings.

http://blog.moviefone.com/2011/02/23/criterion-corner-animated-films/

Labels: animated, lotd

I'm putting the bike back together. Bought in 2006, ridden until 2010, I hadn't changed out the bar tape. It was ratty. So along with a new stem, I bought new bar tape.

Now I didn't want to do it myself because I am pretty anal about things. If I don't put it on right, I'm gonna be sad. But I can't always rely on the angry dude in the bike shop to do everything. So, here's a step-by-step.

First, remove old bar tape. You're gonna have to remove the shifter hood or just move it aside enough so that it isn't in the way. Then cut the old tape off. Usually there's some electrical tape holding it on the bar. Cut that. Unwind the tape off. There's also an extra piece of bar tape around the shifter. Take that off.

Next, clean the bar. I used some rubbing alcohol so that the tacky residue of the bar tape is no longer there.

After it's clean get ready to wrap the new bar tape. Set up some electrical tape for when you get to the end. That way it's ready to finish up the taping.

Start wrapping the tape around the bar. Start at the bar ends. Do one turn parallel to the end of the bar about 1/3 onto the bar. This will make it easier to put the bar plug over the tape to hold it down. Put the bar plug on. Start wrapping. As you can tell, do it from the bar end towards the stem. Pull as you wrap to make it tight. When you come to the shifter, put that extra tape on the backside then wrap around it. Make sure you give some space for the tape around the shifting mechanism. When you run out of bar tape. Get out the electrical tape to tape it down on the end.

So that's it. I put on the bar tape. I didn't leave too much space on the right shifter. There's some bubbling along the curves. One side is shorter than the other. I think I'll be fine with this for only one season. I'll return to this post next year.

Labels: cycling, step-by-step

Post Oscar Pool thoughts.

I had done the categories part of the Oscar Pool form soon after the nominations had gone out. I didn't post it for a while because I was trying to figure out a better way to assign points. I had read slate's take on point assignment and it made me want to change my scoring. I was looking to add a bit of strategy to making the choice. You can see it with the fact that I made the points a choice. (Although, Ness and Angeli didn't notice).

It was trying to gauge how well you believe in your vote. Unfortunately, the strategy made for choosing the highest value if you wanted to win.

I wanted to make the votes themselves optional, but I feared that someone would win with 1 vote. I had wanted to add a 0 value along with the optional choice -- that was the basis for the no-prize reference.

After all the scores had been , I went into theoretical mode. Who wins if all categories were worth the same points? Who wins in the straight pick 'em? I was able to see how the points worked, but not into how you would choose what. I could only see how the points affect your current choice, but not how the point system would affect your choice.

I'm thinking of a better point system for next year.

Labels: games people play, oscar pool, Saturday Evening Post

"There was a time before the iPod too, when companies like HP, Samsung, and even Microsoft fought against Apple for the hearts and minds of the consumer -- but I'll be damned if anyone can remember it."

This piece I feel was written 3 years too late, and in hindsight, it's actually 10 years. I've felt that ever since iPhone, Apple has been dominating the consumer consciousness, but it was pretty much since the iPod. Every year, they set the bar in personal computing. They ignore what others are doing because after a bit, what others are doing is copying Apple.

"Lead, follow, or get out of the way."

Apple is the leader.

The "iPod killer," the "iPhone killer," and the "iPad killer" are all followers.

Microsoft is so confused it doesn't even know if it's still playing the same game.

Every evolutionary step for Apple is a revolutionary step for the computing industry. We're just along for the ride.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/03/editorial-its-apples-post-pc-world-were-all-just-living/#

Labels: Apple, lotd, qotd

God of Love put a smile on my face. It's this year's Oscar winner for Live Action Short, and the director and star, Luke Methany, had IMO the best acceptance speech. It was also produced by a Filipina, so it's got a lot of good karma going for it.

The story centers around the main guy, a singer, looking to fall in love with his drummer who has the hots for the guitarist who is also the lead's best friend. The singer prays to the gods for guidance in love and he receives it in the form of cupid's darts. Did I mention he's also an accurate dart player? He'll use these darts to bring love and happiness to his life and the lives of others.

I had purchased this short on iTunes along with a few others last week before the Oscar telecast. This was the best of the bunch. Let's Pollute, an animated short, tried hard to satirize our wasteful ways by assuming the guise of a 50s 'how-to' cartoon. It was too heavy handed and quickly became a one note tune. The Crush was about a boy and his crush on his school teacher. I had picked this to win, but knew immediately when I started watching it that it was a terrible choice. It was predictable. I wondered how it could've gotten a nomination.

That's my Oscar shorts. I think I want to catch the Illusionist.

God of Love 4 of 5 stars.
Let's Pollute 3 of 5 stars.
The Crush 2 of 5 stars.

Labels: movies, review, the shelves

Landover '88, RFK '89, Miami '89

I think, but I really can't remember. It's a fog, a hazy, smokey, fog.

Labels: music break