Obscurities and Inanitiesstuff, and umm, other stuff2009-09-30T20:20:53Zmparker762http://oandi.mee.nu/atom.xmlBakemonogatari2009-09-30T20:20:53ZBest series I've seen in quite a while. Visually it was pretty interesting, lots of experimental stuff. But the dialog was the real star, witty both at the surface and in the...mparker762http://oandi.mee.nu//bakemonogatariSummer 2009 Anime season...2009-08-27T20:10:33Zis the worst season for anime in recent memory. Even The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya was utterly ruined by the excrable Endless Eight episode. The one bright spot is Bakemonogatari which is shaping up to be one of the best anime series in many...mparker762http://oandi.mee.nu//summer_2009_anime_season...Trufocals pt 22009-08-26T20:42:35ZI've been wearing them for five days now and the manual-focussing thing has become pretty much second nature. There are really only about four modes I need to worry about - driving (focusing tab all the way to the left), slouched down working on the desktop computer (tab about 1/3 over), sitting upright working on the laptop (tab in the middle), and reading a book (tab about 2/3ds over). Sliding the tab all the way to the left gives me perfect focus at a distance of about 4", but I've never needed this. The mechanism was a little stiff at...mparker762http://oandi.mee.nu//trufocals_pt_2Trufocals2009-08-15T09:45:00ZI've been having problems with nausea ever since I got my bifocals a year and a half ago. I was about to break down and get four pairs of glasses (night driving, day driving, short-reading, and mid-range for programming) when I found out about a new company called Trufocals that makes adjustable-focus eyeglasses that use a fluid lens to control the focus. The front element can be popped out so you can swap out tinted and untinted lenses. Placed my order a few days ago for the specs and both types of front lenses, and just got an email from...mparker762http://oandi.mee.nu//trufocalsPost Ike2008-09-18T00:00:00ZPower came back on at about 4:30pm Saturday. OTOH my phone and DSL was just restored. Wierd. Usually the phone system is much more robust than that. Ironically, the memorial to the victims of the 1900 Galveston Hurricane (most of whom were washed out to sea and never found) was itself washed out to sea by Hurricane Ike. Galveston itself fared quite a bit better this time around...mparker762http://oandi.mee.nu//post_ikeHurricane Ike2008-09-12T19:28:00ZHwy 6 and Westheimer - Lots of wind but no real rain yet. Update 9:18pm: Radar is showing 35mph winds here, 75mph wind is on the way - transformers are going... Also the Chronicle reports that about 40% of the people on galveston are staying. If that's true for the other low-lying areas as well then there may be nearly a half million people underwater in about 12 hrs, if the storm surge is as high as they're claiming (Cat4 or 5 level surge - 20+ ft, plus it's hitting at high tide). Update 10:32pm: Still lots of wind, not...mparker762http://oandi.mee.nu//hurricane_ikeJeez the last two seasons of anime have really sucked...2008-06-22T09:34:40ZLast season there was Clannad, Spice and Wolf and the second season of Minami-ke and that was about it - True Tears and Shigofumi were both licensed early which was just as well since Shigofumi turned boring after the incredible two-episode opener, and Goshushuu-sama Ninomiya-kun never really went anywhere. This season there's Kurenai, The Daughter of Twenty Faces, and a bunch of craptastic fanservice vehicles. Next season we'll be getting another season of Hidamari Sketch which I'm looking forward to, but still no word on the long-anticipated second season of The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi, and the fans are getting...mparker762http://oandi.mee.nu//jeez_the_last_two_seasons_of_anime_have_really_sucked...Ranma 1/22008-03-30T12:00:00ZOver at Chizumatic there's a running discussion of Ranma 1/2, particularly the old argument as to how much water it takes to change Ranma between girl and boy forms. Personally, I'm of the opinion that it's whatever is necessary to be funny. Anyway, here are three shots from the first episode of the first season, where we first see Ranma change form. Ranma-chan enjoying the cold water: Ranma-kun enjoying the hot water (hair seems dry): Equal-opportunity...mparker762http://oandi.mee.nu//ranma_12Kimikiss Pure Rouge (final)2008-03-29T07:00:49ZA bit disappointing at the end. Yeah it was nice to see Mao and Kouichi get together, but it sucked the way it happened. It's really a shame that Yumi didn't break it off with Kouichi first since she was the one moving away. Ah well, at least Futami's shell finally cracked all the way through, and it appears that Sakino will do fine as...mparker762http://oandi.mee.nu//kimikiss_pure_rouge_finalFive Centimeters Per Second2008-03-28T23:46:00ZThis was directed by Shinkai Makoto, director of the acclaimed movie "The Place Promised in our Early Days". The theme is time, distance, and growing apart. It is haunting and profoundly sad - not weepy (though the last scene kind of knocks the stuffing out of you), just very melancholy and lonely. Chapter one "Cherry Blossom" shows Tono Takaki as a middle schooler in love with classmate Sunohara Akari who winds up moving away with her parents, though they keep in touch with letters. Then shortly before his parents move and take him even farther away from her, he manages...mparker762http://oandi.mee.nu//five_centimeters_per_secondKimikiss Pure Rouge2008-02-20T19:59:13ZFor all my disappointment with H2O, I've been comforted recently by the excellence of Kimikiss Pure Rouge. Mao-neesan's really taking things hard, and I've been getting flashbacks of School Days, though I'm sure that's not in the cards...mparker762http://oandi.mee.nu//kimikiss_pure_rougeSpice and Wolf2008-02-18T19:42:31Z"Spice" in the title would be Craft Lawrence, an itinerate spice/fur/whatever trader. "Wolf" in the title would be Horo, aka Horo the Wise, a Wolf kami (animistic spirit) who's previous occupation was guardian of the fields and guarantor of good crops. But when the church moves in, and brings with it farming technology, then the villagers no longer believe in Horo and she decides to move on. In her human form, of course, because wolves don't have the T&A that humans do. Horo from the intro... Villagers worshipper her in her salad days... Horo hitchhiking, and a very surprised Craft...mparker762http://oandi.mee.nu//spice_and_wolfH2O - Footprints in the Sand2008-02-18T18:38:00ZSo the big secret evil that that gets her called "Roach"? The one that causes her to get beaten to a pulp by the schoolkids? The one that so inflamed the villagers that they came out out with torches and pitchforks to burn her ancestral home and kill her grandparents and parents? The one they've been building up to for five episodes now? Turns out her grandparents weren't sufficiently charitable towards the villagers. Barf. I'm washing my hands of this one. Anime can be wierd and still be good (and the correlation is surprisingly high), but this is just stupid....mparker762http://oandi.mee.nu//h2o_-_footprints_in_the_sandStropping is king2008-02-02T21:18:00ZIt's easy to forget when you've got a closetful of hones for dealing with those old ebay razors, but the guys in the old days frequently made do with just their strop. The linen on the back is a slow polishing hone, but is sufficient to keep a razor sharp if you use it enough. How much is "enough" depends on a number of factors, like the coarseness of your beard, the pH of your water, and the quality of your preparation, but somewhere between 20 and 50 laps should do it. Just keep a light touch, since as with...mparker762http://oandi.mee.nu//903859TI Worked Back 6/8, with barber's notch and thumb notch2008-02-02T20:01:00ZI've been shaving with this razor for the last few months straight. The Trumper's Violet soap was the lather of choice this...mparker762http://oandi.mee.nu//ti_worked_back_68_with_barbers_notch_and_thumb_notch