A very interesting article at wired.com about a new technology to focus sound shock waves on a very specific location within the body, and it appears very effective in stimulating the growth of new blood vessels. Very good for people with hearts with already clogged vessels!!
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
video
Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi is awesome. The more I listen and see him in videos, the more he reminds me of one of my favorite singers, David Bowie.
a video
rough lyrics
a video
rough lyrics
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Heisman, the Coach Behind the Trophy
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/08/sports/ncaafootball/08heisman.html
John Heisman, the Coach Behind the Trophy
By BILL PENNINGTON
Published: December 8, 2006
The old football coach had a cold, and as it worsened that
September, his wife summoned a doctor to the couple's
Midtown Manhattan apartment. A week earlier, the coach
had played 18 holes of golf and worked out at his local gym.
But now he had pneumonia, and his condition was
deteriorating by the day.
Then, on Oct. 3, 1936, a crisp Saturday and a good day for
a college football game, the man with what would become
the sport's most famous name died at home.
Seventy years ago, the passing of John William Heisman a
few days before his 67th birthday caused little stir in New
York, not as the Yankees were defeating the Giants in their
first World Series with Joe DiMaggio. Several days later,
Heisman was buried in Rhinelander, Wis., the hometown
of his widow, Edith.
Tomorrow, the 72nd Heisman Trophy will be awarded to
the nation's most outstanding college football player. In the
seven decades since Heisman's death, the small, flush-with-
the-ground gravestone at his resting place has rarely been
visited. It has never, for example, been visited by a Heisman
Trophy winner, cemetery officials said.
Mike Garrett, the 1965 winner, might have best summarized
the attitude of the college football community. Handed the
trophy 41 years ago, Garrett asked: "The award is wonderful,
but who's Heisman?"
Heisman, born two weeks before the first American football
game was played between Princeton and Rutgers in 1869,
is often referred to as a pioneering coach - when he is
remembered at all. It would be more accurate to call Heisman
someone who acted as the game's conscience. He was a
forceful defender of its soul and a tireless advocate of its potential.
Without John Heisman, there might not be a forward pass in
football, and without a forward pass, the game would probably
have died from disinterest or been abolished because of its
fatal brutality.
Aside from leading the fight for the legalization of the pass in
the early 1900s, Heisman pushed to divide the game into
quarters and created the center snap. The ball had previously
been rolled on the ground. Heisman introduced the "hike"
vocal signal and the first audible at the line. He invented the
hidden ball trick and what would now be called the fumblerooski.
Because he wanted fans to understand play-calling, he made it
easier for them to follow the downs and yardage needed by
erecting something else new at games: a scoreboard.
He was a man of many faces and skills, and in a lifetime, he
used them to help create what is now an accepted cultural
American character, the autocratic football coach. Despite
an Ivy League education in law, Heisman never became a
lawyer, but he instinctively honed a talent for commanding,
melodramatic locker-room oratory.
Heisman, standing before his players when he first met them,
would hold aloft a football and ask, "What is this?"
Answering his own question, Heisman said: "It is a prolate
spheroid in which the outer leather casing is drawn tightly
over a somewhat smaller rubber tubing."
Heisman would pause and add: "Better to have died as a
small boy than to fumble this football."
He moved around the country helping spread the growth of
the game like a coaching Johnny Appleseed, taking jobs
in Ohio, Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia. With the
game's popularity surging in the South in the 1910s,
Heisman's 1917 Georgia Tech squad became the first
Southern team to win the unanimous college football
national championship. Heisman, who was known to bench
players for poor grades, also became among the first
football coaches to anger an institution's faculty when his
annual salary of $9,000 was higher than any professor's.
He was also a prolific writer, authoring a book, "Principles
of Football," and a series of football columns for Collier's
magazine. Ever curious, Heisman had many side jobs,
including roles in Shakespearean summer stock plays.
But football was his life's work. He had played the game
since 1883 as a high schooler in the western Pennsylvania
oil town of Titusville and later as a 150-pound lineman for
Brown and Pennsylvania universities.
He seemed a paradox to most who knew him. As a middle-
aged coach, he would bang shoulders with his 20-year-old
linemen in practice, then excuse himself to leave early to
attend the opera. He used a silken cord around his neck
to hold a small, effete set of eyeglasses that he would prop
on a flattened nose he broke while blocking a punt against
Penn State in 1890.
There is little in the early stages of football that Heisman
did not see, including the growing fanaticism of booster
groups and the interest of gamblers, as regional powers
began to face off.
Scouting a North Carolina-Georgia game in 1895, Heisman
said he saw the first forward pass in history when a bungled
punt attempt led a desperate punter to illegally fling the foot-
ball over the line to a teammate who ran for a touchdown.
Heisman walked away convinced it was the play that would
save football from itself. As Heisman wrote, violent scrums
based around bruising running plays were "killing the game
as well as the players."
In 1904-5, 44 players had been reported killed in football
games, with hundreds sustaining serious injuries. Heisman
said the forward pass "would scatter the mob."
As Wiley Lee Umphlett wrote in his 1992 book, "Creating
the Big Game," Heisman began to forcefully lobby Walter
Camp, shepherd of the national rules committee. When
Camp did not act swiftly enough, Heisman rallied other
coaches and newspaper reporters to pressure Camp and
the committee. In 1906, the forward pass was legalized
with several constraints that limited its effectiveness.
Heisman pressed on, and the restrictions were eventually
lifted.
Heisman's 36-year coaching career, after more stops at
Penn, Washington & Jefferson, and Rice, concluded in
1927 with a 190-70-16 record. He happily retired to New
York, where he owned part of a sporting goods company.
When the newly opened Downtown Athletic Club recruited
Heisman to be its athletic director in 1930, he started a
popular touchdown club. Five years later, the club came
up with the idea of an annual award recognizing the best
college football player in the land.
The club would give away a trophy, and it wanted to name
the award for Heisman. Although he had never been shy
about self-promotion, Heisman vociferously declined. He
did not like the idea of an award singling out one player
in a team game. The 1935 trophy was named the Down-
town Athletic Club award. Two months after Heisman's
death, the club renamed the award. For the next 28 years,
until her death in 1964, Edith Maora Heisman received a
bouquet of flowers from the Downtown Athletic Club during
the week of the award announcement.
At the Forest Home Cemetery, where Edith and John
Heisman are buried, the current sexton and his longtime
predecessor said that a few people stop by every
December looking to visit the gravesite.
"It was never anyone famous," said Richard Winquist, who
retired as the sexton in 2003 after 32 years and whose
father had been the sexton for 14 years before him. "One
time, it was a couple of newlyweds on their honeymoon.
The woman wasn't too happy about it, but the bridegroom
said he was a big college football fan and he knew
Heisman was buried here, so he stopped to have his
picture taken. Like I said, she wasn't too happy. But he was."
About 10,000 are buried at Forest Home Cemetery.
"It's pretty hard to find without help," Winquist said. "One
year, 1983, somebody left four football tickets to a
Minnesota-Illinois game on the grave and then wrote an
anonymous letter to the editor of the local paper saying
we should do more to promote Heisman.
"I always kept an eye on the grave. I'd walk by it every
morning. He's a piece of history. You just sort of felt it.
Who hasn't heard of the Heisman?"
.
.
--
John Heisman, the Coach Behind the Trophy
By BILL PENNINGTON
Published: December 8, 2006
The old football coach had a cold, and as it worsened that
September, his wife summoned a doctor to the couple's
Midtown Manhattan apartment. A week earlier, the coach
had played 18 holes of golf and worked out at his local gym.
But now he had pneumonia, and his condition was
deteriorating by the day.
Then, on Oct. 3, 1936, a crisp Saturday and a good day for
a college football game, the man with what would become
the sport's most famous name died at home.
Seventy years ago, the passing of John William Heisman a
few days before his 67th birthday caused little stir in New
York, not as the Yankees were defeating the Giants in their
first World Series with Joe DiMaggio. Several days later,
Heisman was buried in Rhinelander, Wis., the hometown
of his widow, Edith.
Tomorrow, the 72nd Heisman Trophy will be awarded to
the nation's most outstanding college football player. In the
seven decades since Heisman's death, the small, flush-with-
the-ground gravestone at his resting place has rarely been
visited. It has never, for example, been visited by a Heisman
Trophy winner, cemetery officials said.
Mike Garrett, the 1965 winner, might have best summarized
the attitude of the college football community. Handed the
trophy 41 years ago, Garrett asked: "The award is wonderful,
but who's Heisman?"
Heisman, born two weeks before the first American football
game was played between Princeton and Rutgers in 1869,
is often referred to as a pioneering coach - when he is
remembered at all. It would be more accurate to call Heisman
someone who acted as the game's conscience. He was a
forceful defender of its soul and a tireless advocate of its potential.
Without John Heisman, there might not be a forward pass in
football, and without a forward pass, the game would probably
have died from disinterest or been abolished because of its
fatal brutality.
Aside from leading the fight for the legalization of the pass in
the early 1900s, Heisman pushed to divide the game into
quarters and created the center snap. The ball had previously
been rolled on the ground. Heisman introduced the "hike"
vocal signal and the first audible at the line. He invented the
hidden ball trick and what would now be called the fumblerooski.
Because he wanted fans to understand play-calling, he made it
easier for them to follow the downs and yardage needed by
erecting something else new at games: a scoreboard.
He was a man of many faces and skills, and in a lifetime, he
used them to help create what is now an accepted cultural
American character, the autocratic football coach. Despite
an Ivy League education in law, Heisman never became a
lawyer, but he instinctively honed a talent for commanding,
melodramatic locker-room oratory.
Heisman, standing before his players when he first met them,
would hold aloft a football and ask, "What is this?"
Answering his own question, Heisman said: "It is a prolate
spheroid in which the outer leather casing is drawn tightly
over a somewhat smaller rubber tubing."
Heisman would pause and add: "Better to have died as a
small boy than to fumble this football."
He moved around the country helping spread the growth of
the game like a coaching Johnny Appleseed, taking jobs
in Ohio, Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia. With the
game's popularity surging in the South in the 1910s,
Heisman's 1917 Georgia Tech squad became the first
Southern team to win the unanimous college football
national championship. Heisman, who was known to bench
players for poor grades, also became among the first
football coaches to anger an institution's faculty when his
annual salary of $9,000 was higher than any professor's.
He was also a prolific writer, authoring a book, "Principles
of Football," and a series of football columns for Collier's
magazine. Ever curious, Heisman had many side jobs,
including roles in Shakespearean summer stock plays.
But football was his life's work. He had played the game
since 1883 as a high schooler in the western Pennsylvania
oil town of Titusville and later as a 150-pound lineman for
Brown and Pennsylvania universities.
He seemed a paradox to most who knew him. As a middle-
aged coach, he would bang shoulders with his 20-year-old
linemen in practice, then excuse himself to leave early to
attend the opera. He used a silken cord around his neck
to hold a small, effete set of eyeglasses that he would prop
on a flattened nose he broke while blocking a punt against
Penn State in 1890.
There is little in the early stages of football that Heisman
did not see, including the growing fanaticism of booster
groups and the interest of gamblers, as regional powers
began to face off.
Scouting a North Carolina-Georgia game in 1895, Heisman
said he saw the first forward pass in history when a bungled
punt attempt led a desperate punter to illegally fling the foot-
ball over the line to a teammate who ran for a touchdown.
Heisman walked away convinced it was the play that would
save football from itself. As Heisman wrote, violent scrums
based around bruising running plays were "killing the game
as well as the players."
In 1904-5, 44 players had been reported killed in football
games, with hundreds sustaining serious injuries. Heisman
said the forward pass "would scatter the mob."
As Wiley Lee Umphlett wrote in his 1992 book, "Creating
the Big Game," Heisman began to forcefully lobby Walter
Camp, shepherd of the national rules committee. When
Camp did not act swiftly enough, Heisman rallied other
coaches and newspaper reporters to pressure Camp and
the committee. In 1906, the forward pass was legalized
with several constraints that limited its effectiveness.
Heisman pressed on, and the restrictions were eventually
lifted.
Heisman's 36-year coaching career, after more stops at
Penn, Washington & Jefferson, and Rice, concluded in
1927 with a 190-70-16 record. He happily retired to New
York, where he owned part of a sporting goods company.
When the newly opened Downtown Athletic Club recruited
Heisman to be its athletic director in 1930, he started a
popular touchdown club. Five years later, the club came
up with the idea of an annual award recognizing the best
college football player in the land.
The club would give away a trophy, and it wanted to name
the award for Heisman. Although he had never been shy
about self-promotion, Heisman vociferously declined. He
did not like the idea of an award singling out one player
in a team game. The 1935 trophy was named the Down-
town Athletic Club award. Two months after Heisman's
death, the club renamed the award. For the next 28 years,
until her death in 1964, Edith Maora Heisman received a
bouquet of flowers from the Downtown Athletic Club during
the week of the award announcement.
At the Forest Home Cemetery, where Edith and John
Heisman are buried, the current sexton and his longtime
predecessor said that a few people stop by every
December looking to visit the gravesite.
"It was never anyone famous," said Richard Winquist, who
retired as the sexton in 2003 after 32 years and whose
father had been the sexton for 14 years before him. "One
time, it was a couple of newlyweds on their honeymoon.
The woman wasn't too happy about it, but the bridegroom
said he was a big college football fan and he knew
Heisman was buried here, so he stopped to have his
picture taken. Like I said, she wasn't too happy. But he was."
About 10,000 are buried at Forest Home Cemetery.
"It's pretty hard to find without help," Winquist said. "One
year, 1983, somebody left four football tickets to a
Minnesota-Illinois game on the grave and then wrote an
anonymous letter to the editor of the local paper saying
we should do more to promote Heisman.
"I always kept an eye on the grave. I'd walk by it every
morning. He's a piece of history. You just sort of felt it.
Who hasn't heard of the Heisman?"
.
.
--
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
oops
I guess last week I left a sortof angry rant on here. I had completely forgotten about it, and was just checking on my blog here and noticed it. Sorry about that, I try really hard to maintain a positive attitude about things, but have some stuff I'm always working on. Anyways, replaced that post with this one so, let's just try to forget about that :)
Been working out since Thanksgiving, is really doing me a lot of good. I feel like I have more energy every day, and I sortof feel like I am able to think a little more clearly, which is always good for me :)
Anyways sorry about the retarded angry post from last week, I'm always trying hard to not let stupid stuff like that bother me.
Been working out since Thanksgiving, is really doing me a lot of good. I feel like I have more energy every day, and I sortof feel like I am able to think a little more clearly, which is always good for me :)
Anyways sorry about the retarded angry post from last week, I'm always trying hard to not let stupid stuff like that bother me.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Friday, December 01, 2006
Monday, November 27, 2006
down with fancy pants word processors :)
Word Processors: Stupid and Inefficient. While I'll admit I hardly ever use a word processor, and while I do have like 30 texts open in Kate at any given time...I have no beef about word processors like this guy :) Live and let live, you know?
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
cool NEC tech
Website is a little slow right now, but NEC has a page with some cool gadgets, including networked pens, and visual cell phone ideas.
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Leonids!!!!
Tonight is meteor shower night!!! Hopefully clear skies. They are saying the east part of country will get best views probably starting around 10:30 till 12:30, but hopefully we can catch some good views tonight too! They are "predicting" this to be best in a few years, but that's always hit and miss, heh. I'll be at work till midnight but maybe will get a chance to see some when it's not busy :)
Sunday, November 12, 2006
lots of stuff
A bunch of cool pages:
- "T.O. SURVIVAL GUIDE" is very good guide for Bill Parcells on how to deal with T.O. I thought it was freaking hillarious, heh.
- SOOOO CLOOOSE yet SOOOO FARRR AWAY field goal attempt. This one had to hurt!!!!!!!
- Awesome, cute anchor on Fox News with hillarious Freudian slip :)
- Kiwi!
- Funny images!!! Found lots of these tonight! :) 20 Images, it's Fark thread, Fark "motivational poster" thread, a big directory of images, cats!!!, and finally this website has tons of meme-related images.
- I wanted something like these so bad when I used to drive 30 minutes on highway 56 to commute to work. No cars for 2 miles in front of me, no cars for 2 miles behind me except for Mr. Road Rage wondering why I am only driving 4 mph over speed limit, heh. Push a button, ":(" "back off" "idiot". Awesome!!!!
- Using stem cells to vacinate mice against lung cancer?
- Some guy so rich he was willing to put super-ultra rare stamp worth hundreds of thousands of dollars on mail-in ballot with no return address just to do something really nuts. At least I am hoping he wasn't just being forgetful or something!!!
- Super awesome $254,000 Christmas card with pop-up Christmas tree made out of 6kg of gold. Fancy!!!
- Quiz for which American accent do you have? Nailed my Kansas accent pretty well. Am pretty sure that we don't have an accent here, it's everywhere else they talk funny.
- 10 awesome pictures of the cosmos.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
caffeine
According to this article, caffeine makes you more susceptible to strong arguments. Also has cool picture showing affects of caffeine on poor little spider's webs.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
idiot test!!!
- Here is a sortof fun little idiot test. I learned about 5 times that yes I am an idiot :D
- Looks like they were able to restore eyesight to blind mice using cell transplants. This is cool, having made the poor decision to smoke for the last 12 years I know I'm at greater risk of macular degeneration etc.
- Looks like the 49ers may be leaving San Francisco!! I'm not so much a 49er type person, but my boss is a big fan, will be interesting to see his reaction.
- I like the rightmost picture on first row, IM IN UR FRIDGE EATIN UR FOODZ :)
- Heres a cool website with hundreds of streaming episodes of popular television shows, including Family Guy and South Park.
- Fire at Gatorland :( Unfortunately a few animals were killed. Have stopped by here a couple of times on vacations and is definitely a cool place, hundreds of alligators all over the place!
Sunday, November 05, 2006
real life Hadouken
This clip from a National Geographic special shows this martial arts guy throwing around "chi" and like knocking people out, moving people, even when they can't see him etc. Gonna have to watch for this special, this clip doesn't give a very good explanation, left me wanting to know more, like wtf heh. Especially at the very end where a scientist type guy doesn't react at all to a different guy trying that stuff on him, then the martial arts guys give very very disapointing explanations.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
chance to cast vote
Here is link for this weeks super Fed Ex AIR players of week. If that doesn't work go to Pats' webpage and click on news was top. Got to vote for Tom Brady and Larry Johnson, although every candidate had a hell of a day last week.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
surreal
SCORING
St. Louis 3 0 0 14 -- 17
New England 0 14 3 3 -- 20
1:21 left, on own 16 yard line, no time outs
better longer video
I had been taking part in some fantasy stock market deal on USA Today, and had wagered my entire winnings from previous NFL games on patsies...earned like a bazillion stocks on this game lol. After watching the Rams come back 2 touchdowns to tie it and then this surreally occured...quite the roller coaster ride!!! Took a couple minutes for it to sink in - was like, "WTF ROFL". Note the ultimate Madden insight, they cut some of his more annoying chatter in this video if you can believe that - "Brady MUST blah blah blah" rofl. SUCK IT, MADDEN!!!!!!!!
St. Louis 3 0 0 14 -- 17
New England 0 14 3 3 -- 20
1:21 left, on own 16 yard line, no time outs
better longer video
I had been taking part in some fantasy stock market deal on USA Today, and had wagered my entire winnings from previous NFL games on patsies...earned like a bazillion stocks on this game lol. After watching the Rams come back 2 touchdowns to tie it and then this surreally occured...quite the roller coaster ride!!! Took a couple minutes for it to sink in - was like, "WTF ROFL". Note the ultimate Madden insight, they cut some of his more annoying chatter in this video if you can believe that - "Brady MUST blah blah blah" rofl. SUCK IT, MADDEN!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Sunday, October 22, 2006
EULA
Somethingawful has a lot of extremely tasteless crap on their front page at times but this one is pretty funny. From the website's new EULA:
Something Awful LLC takes the privacy of its users very seriously. We reserve the right to install software on client computers that connect to our servers, including those that do not, in order to monitor your web site usage, computer use, and bowel movements. Something Awful LLC, at its sole discretion, will sell or share this information with its trusted partners for financial gain, fun, or to destroy lives. Something Awful will use this information to serve advertisements to the end user. A product or service will periodically appear in front of articles for you to consider purchasing. If you wish to purchase the product please say, "What the fuck is this shit on my screen?!" and it will be charged to an account already opened in your name that was used to funnel money to our offshore tax evasion huts. Users who disagree with the provisions set forth in this section of the EULA are welcome to come to the back ally between 6th and Main St. and we'll settle this like men.
Something Awful LLC takes the privacy of its users very seriously. We reserve the right to install software on client computers that connect to our servers, including those that do not, in order to monitor your web site usage, computer use, and bowel movements. Something Awful LLC, at its sole discretion, will sell or share this information with its trusted partners for financial gain, fun, or to destroy lives. Something Awful will use this information to serve advertisements to the end user. A product or service will periodically appear in front of articles for you to consider purchasing. If you wish to purchase the product please say, "What the fuck is this shit on my screen?!" and it will be charged to an account already opened in your name that was used to funnel money to our offshore tax evasion huts. Users who disagree with the provisions set forth in this section of the EULA are welcome to come to the back ally between 6th and Main St. and we'll settle this like men.
good songs
Couple of good songs I ran into recently:
They Might Be Giants
Wearing a Raincoat
lyrics
The lyrics pretty much speak for themselves :) But great song.
They Might Be Giants
Your Racist Friend
lyrics
Another great song, made me feel a little unconfortable at parts, is about a party where some guy's drunk friend is making an ass of himself ;) I have really been getting into They Might Be Giants. They can take slightly off-the-wall or dead serious subject matter, turn it into a catchy song, and really put their all into it. Sometimes like in the middle of a weird song, unexpectedly, they just seriously start to JAM. Solid band :)
Ano Tsuku Kotoba
Ryoko Hirosue
lyrics
Am getting the jist that she pretty much knows what she wants to say but just not entirely sure how to say it. I can't find the song on Youtube but theres a lot of other videos of her at least..is fun swimming in the sea of Japanese popular music because there are some real gems out there. Anyways since I can't find a sample of this song, it's really mellow, with pretty piano and a guitar or whistle, with a great and pretty melody. I only had to hear a little bit of the song and I knew I'd like it.
Off Course
Oda Kazumasa
Kotoba ni Dekinai
lyrics
This song conveyed a lot of mellow reflective emotion without even paying attention to lyrics. "Kotoba ni Dekinai" meaning roughly "words to, not able to", or I guess I've read it as "more than words can say" in a couple places. Looking up the words I didn't know led me to conclusion that he is singing about the realization that his girlfriend frankly doesn't love him anymore, found someone better. I dunno it is pretty effective in conveying that empty helpless feeling.
I guess I discovered this song here on this youtube video..it's probably worth the watch, has a ton of funny or interesting images. I ran into it a couple weeks before it was on digg.com, now it has like 300 comments, holy cow. Anyways if you go up to like some of the very first comments there are explanations for each of the images. I think in this use this song's title means "a picture is worth 100 words" or the like :)
Oda Kazumasa
Love Story wa Totsuzen ni
lyrics
Hey I'm sure glad I decided to make this blog post because just learned something new :) I had decided to do a little write up on this song, and did a little research and found out it's from the same guy as who did the last song (right above here). This song has a real 80's Billy Ocean meets like George Michael or I dunno, some smooth 80's pop singer is only way my first impression was. Listened to probably 5 times since and really grew on me, heh. BTW I just learned it's the opening song to a TV Drama, lol. "Tokyo Love Story". Ah, it's still a great song.
I'm not sure yet of who sings it
Opening song to some dumb anime :)
Listen to this song at your own risk. Listen to it more than one time in a row at the peril of your entire day having this song stuck in your head :) First heard this song redid in a couple of "OLDSCHOOL HARDCORE JAPANESE RAVE" radio songs, then discovered the original a couple months later, and took me a couple weeks to put two and two together, why it was driving me crazy. Actually one of my favorite songs from that radio station uses this song (sped up and chipmonk voice) as it's closing part, but it's actually my least favorite part of that rave song. Still a great song. Had to check out the anime after finding out where the song came from...not bad, corny is good. Is from same company that did FLCL and Evangelion.
strange opening song from another anime
I dunno is a weird one :)
Since updating KDE and QT and stuff a few weeks ago I realized that my kana and kanji input was broken so it's taking a little getting used to. On the plus side it's motivated me to copy the lyrics out by hand in kana..I do pretty good but my calligraphy is pretty sloppy. One thing I enjoy looking at my writing in japanese is that to my eye at least my handwriting has the same nuances in both English and Japanese character sets...both kinda scratchly or a little wobbly looking, I mean everyone's handwriting is usually pretty identifiable to themself. I guess what I'm getting at is you can definitely point me out as the writer no matter what font writing in heh. I'm getting pretty fast reading kana at least and maybe the 100 or 200 kanji that I know the best. Can follow along a lot of video game messages at least, and that's why I started studying Japanese in the first place!
They Might Be Giants
Wearing a Raincoat
lyrics
The lyrics pretty much speak for themselves :) But great song.
They Might Be Giants
Your Racist Friend
lyrics
Another great song, made me feel a little unconfortable at parts, is about a party where some guy's drunk friend is making an ass of himself ;) I have really been getting into They Might Be Giants. They can take slightly off-the-wall or dead serious subject matter, turn it into a catchy song, and really put their all into it. Sometimes like in the middle of a weird song, unexpectedly, they just seriously start to JAM. Solid band :)
Ano Tsuku Kotoba
Ryoko Hirosue
lyrics
Am getting the jist that she pretty much knows what she wants to say but just not entirely sure how to say it. I can't find the song on Youtube but theres a lot of other videos of her at least..is fun swimming in the sea of Japanese popular music because there are some real gems out there. Anyways since I can't find a sample of this song, it's really mellow, with pretty piano and a guitar or whistle, with a great and pretty melody. I only had to hear a little bit of the song and I knew I'd like it.
Off Course
Oda Kazumasa
Kotoba ni Dekinai
lyrics
This song conveyed a lot of mellow reflective emotion without even paying attention to lyrics. "Kotoba ni Dekinai" meaning roughly "words to, not able to", or I guess I've read it as "more than words can say" in a couple places. Looking up the words I didn't know led me to conclusion that he is singing about the realization that his girlfriend frankly doesn't love him anymore, found someone better. I dunno it is pretty effective in conveying that empty helpless feeling.
I guess I discovered this song here on this youtube video..it's probably worth the watch, has a ton of funny or interesting images. I ran into it a couple weeks before it was on digg.com, now it has like 300 comments, holy cow. Anyways if you go up to like some of the very first comments there are explanations for each of the images. I think in this use this song's title means "a picture is worth 100 words" or the like :)
Oda Kazumasa
Love Story wa Totsuzen ni
lyrics
Hey I'm sure glad I decided to make this blog post because just learned something new :) I had decided to do a little write up on this song, and did a little research and found out it's from the same guy as who did the last song (right above here). This song has a real 80's Billy Ocean meets like George Michael or I dunno, some smooth 80's pop singer is only way my first impression was. Listened to probably 5 times since and really grew on me, heh. BTW I just learned it's the opening song to a TV Drama, lol. "Tokyo Love Story". Ah, it's still a great song.
I'm not sure yet of who sings it
Opening song to some dumb anime :)
Listen to this song at your own risk. Listen to it more than one time in a row at the peril of your entire day having this song stuck in your head :) First heard this song redid in a couple of "OLDSCHOOL HARDCORE JAPANESE RAVE" radio songs, then discovered the original a couple months later, and took me a couple weeks to put two and two together, why it was driving me crazy. Actually one of my favorite songs from that radio station uses this song (sped up and chipmonk voice) as it's closing part, but it's actually my least favorite part of that rave song. Still a great song. Had to check out the anime after finding out where the song came from...not bad, corny is good. Is from same company that did FLCL and Evangelion.
strange opening song from another anime
I dunno is a weird one :)
Since updating KDE and QT and stuff a few weeks ago I realized that my kana and kanji input was broken so it's taking a little getting used to. On the plus side it's motivated me to copy the lyrics out by hand in kana..I do pretty good but my calligraphy is pretty sloppy. One thing I enjoy looking at my writing in japanese is that to my eye at least my handwriting has the same nuances in both English and Japanese character sets...both kinda scratchly or a little wobbly looking, I mean everyone's handwriting is usually pretty identifiable to themself. I guess what I'm getting at is you can definitely point me out as the writer no matter what font writing in heh. I'm getting pretty fast reading kana at least and maybe the 100 or 200 kanji that I know the best. Can follow along a lot of video game messages at least, and that's why I started studying Japanese in the first place!
kindof hitting a nerve
Here's a nice little editorial that is rather painful to read :) I don't live in a big city with nuts freeway traffic so can't really relate, I guess. When driving I guess my philosophy is just to minimize my stupid driving mistakes and to try to be aware of what crazy people in cars are going to do to try to kill me, and be ready... But if it comes to a choice between being an asshole or a nice guy, I guess I have problems being an asshole most of the time :)
I like this editorial, it's sortof difficult for me to decide whether the writer actually meant some of the praise he wrote about "Mr. Nice Guy Driver" or was |---| this close to a case of absolute road rage :)
I dunno, I guess it's best to try to not let other people unduly influence your day, but that's definitely easier said than done!!
I like this editorial, it's sortof difficult for me to decide whether the writer actually meant some of the praise he wrote about "Mr. Nice Guy Driver" or was |---| this close to a case of absolute road rage :)
I dunno, I guess it's best to try to not let other people unduly influence your day, but that's definitely easier said than done!!
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
xmms memory lane
This page has a few of xmms's old webpages up, the first from 1997. Back then winamp pretty much was the thing to emulate :) Is still good sometimes to just load up your entire collection and let it go random..who needs fancy pants playlists and such! Is a pity that there's probably literally 100's of old quake and quake2 websites that exist only in memories anymore :) I didn't start using xmms until after the last of the pages on this page, but it is still interesting.
Sunday, October 15, 2006
top 100 anime
The list is based on an online poll of the Japanese populace. Is sortof interesting that there are so many choices in that country for cartoons. Makes me happy, is a great way to absorb Japanese while watching quality (or not so quality) cinema :) I found it interesting that Macross is at #67 while Gundam is at #6. Am starting with the very first series (Gundam in 1979, Macross in early 80's) and both are surprisingly good. I'm also surprised that Evangelion is ranked #2, as on most english boards there seems to be a lot of snobs who would rank it low. I don't know...I found it entertaining, it has so many different levels of weirdness that was well worth the watch :) Currently am also into a few episodes of #4, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya...is pretty good and interestingly hillariously gripping :)
Thursday, October 12, 2006
nukes
Ueba put together a great page full of nuclear explosion pictures. These pictures are really pretty but make me think, "WTF!!"
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
super bowls
Was looking at the statistics at this page. Hadn't really realized the Pats are now in a league with the Raiders and the Redskins, at 3-2. Only the Broncos, Cowboys, 49ers, and Steelers have been in more SB's. Cowboys been in 8 of 40, not bad. Only the Vikings and the Bills 0-4. OUCH. Broncos are 2-4, but had great teams. Am not a Broncos fan lol... Guess I'd take a 3-2 over a 2-4, cause losing just sucks because you gotta be the SB losers the whole next year at least. Miaaami also in with 5, 2-3. Giants, Ravens, Bears, Colts, Chiefs, Jets, and Bucs other teams with winning or tied records. Rams only other team with a win, at 1-2. Just was wondering which team deserves a win for sake of poor fans, would have to say Vikings because it could be another 50 years and I don't care if Bills get another one :) Actually take that back I'd much rather see the Chiefs get another than the Vikings. Realistically I see the Bears getting there and winning this year maybe. I'd like to see the Pats improve to 4-2 though!!!!!! :)
Friday, September 29, 2006
nfl picks
I was thinking there wasn't as many great matchups this week as last week. I think I am wrong however. After doing my picks I realize there are a lot more games I'm not sure of than those I'm pretty sure of.
Pretty sure of games:
ari atl (i like arizona but atlanta not crappy team)
dall tenn
sf kc
indy jets (would be close but Indy unfortunately solid on offense)
NE cinn (GO PATS!!!!!)
Not so sure of or hard to pick games:
minn at buff (Minn looking good this year :) )
no at car (who knows, carolina getting back together)
sd at bal (will be a great game)
miami at hou (ug both teams I have no love for)
detr at st lou (st lou showing life but detroit due)
cle at oakl (go browns! hopefully oaklond sucking)
jack at wash (go jags, so awesome shutting down pittsburgh)
sea at chicago (go bears!!!!)
gb at phil (who knows, both teams hard to gauge, phil probly)
Anyways will be a great Sunday to watch football :)
Go Pats!!!!!!!!!
Pretty sure of games:
ari atl (i like arizona but atlanta not crappy team)
dall tenn
sf kc
indy jets (would be close but Indy unfortunately solid on offense)
NE cinn (GO PATS!!!!!)
Not so sure of or hard to pick games:
minn at buff (Minn looking good this year :) )
no at car (who knows, carolina getting back together)
sd at bal (will be a great game)
miami at hou (ug both teams I have no love for)
detr at st lou (st lou showing life but detroit due)
cle at oakl (go browns! hopefully oaklond sucking)
jack at wash (go jags, so awesome shutting down pittsburgh)
sea at chicago (go bears!!!!)
gb at phil (who knows, both teams hard to gauge, phil probly)
Anyways will be a great Sunday to watch football :)
Go Pats!!!!!!!!!
Friday, September 15, 2006
Land HO!!
Holy cow, it's that time of year for International Talk Like A Pirate Day again. Next Tuesday this year! Here's a song about pirates to get you in the mood. It's kindof dumb but DANG catchy. Here is the World of Warcraft version if is more your cup of tea :) Uh, theres actually a ton of WoW Pirate videos on YouTube if that's your cup of tea :) ARRR!!
I actually suck at talking like a pirate, but I understand how important this holiday is, so I look forward to it every year.
Here is a version of my favorite pirate joke, can change it and draw it out a little, is fun one to tell:
This pirate walks into a bar. The bartender notices that the pirate has a ship steering wheel hanging out of the front of his pants.
The bartender says, "Hey, do you realize you have a steering wheel hanging out of your pants?"
So the pirate says, "Arrrr... it's driving me nuts!"
Uh, this joke doesn't have anything to do with pirates, but I thought it was pretty funny:
Guy walks into a pet store to get some cat food and as he's walking down the aisle, he passes a parrot cage. The parrot inside says, "psst! Hey buddy!" Guy turns around and says, "yes?" The parrot says, "FUCK YOU!" The man is taken aback, but gets his cat food and goes on.
A week later, the same guy comes back for some more cat food and he walks down the aisle, passes the parrot cage and the parrot says, "Pssssst! Hey, Buddy!" The man warily turns to the parrot and says, "Yes?" The parrot says "FUCK YOU!"
The man asks to speak with the manager and says, "Listen, I don't want to take my business elsewhere but that parrot is rude and offensive." The manager apologizes and assures the man it will NEVER HAPPEN again.
So a week later, the man comes to the pet store for some cat food and he passes the parrot cage and the parrot says, "Psssst! Hey, buddy!" The man slowly turns and says, "what?" The parrot nods and says, "You know what."
I actually suck at talking like a pirate, but I understand how important this holiday is, so I look forward to it every year.
Here is a version of my favorite pirate joke, can change it and draw it out a little, is fun one to tell:
This pirate walks into a bar. The bartender notices that the pirate has a ship steering wheel hanging out of the front of his pants.
The bartender says, "Hey, do you realize you have a steering wheel hanging out of your pants?"
So the pirate says, "Arrrr... it's driving me nuts!"
Uh, this joke doesn't have anything to do with pirates, but I thought it was pretty funny:
Guy walks into a pet store to get some cat food and as he's walking down the aisle, he passes a parrot cage. The parrot inside says, "psst! Hey buddy!" Guy turns around and says, "yes?" The parrot says, "FUCK YOU!" The man is taken aback, but gets his cat food and goes on.
A week later, the same guy comes back for some more cat food and he walks down the aisle, passes the parrot cage and the parrot says, "Pssssst! Hey, Buddy!" The man warily turns to the parrot and says, "Yes?" The parrot says "FUCK YOU!"
The man asks to speak with the manager and says, "Listen, I don't want to take my business elsewhere but that parrot is rude and offensive." The manager apologizes and assures the man it will NEVER HAPPEN again.
So a week later, the man comes to the pet store for some cat food and he passes the parrot cage and the parrot says, "Psssst! Hey, buddy!" The man slowly turns and says, "what?" The parrot nods and says, "You know what."
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Monday, September 11, 2006
Friday, September 08, 2006
Valley Girl defense attorney
Was reading this article about some rich Japanese guy who is on trial for supposedly manipulating his stock price with dummy companies or something. From the article:
"The arguments of the prosecutors collapse on their own," chief defense lawyer Yasuyuki Takai told the court. "The prosecutors are portraying acts that are totally not criminal as though they are great crimes."
As if!!! Like..They are totally not criminal! Like, totally duh!!! :) Whatever!!!
"The arguments of the prosecutors collapse on their own," chief defense lawyer Yasuyuki Takai told the court. "The prosecutors are portraying acts that are totally not criminal as though they are great crimes."
As if!!! Like..They are totally not criminal! Like, totally duh!!! :) Whatever!!!
yay for NFL season
Was great to get to watch an actual football game last night. The Steelers looked pretty darn sharp, and that Willie Parker guy is FAST...and that Polamalu guy is freaking nuts, a great defensive player. That being said the game left me with that same familiar feeling of pure revolting nausea that overtook me after the Steelers won the super bowl. I mean I'm no big Miami fan but still, what a lame way to start the damn season!!! :) Go beat up the Bills on Sunday Pats!!!!! Should be a few great games on Sunday. I'm really looking forward to Chiefs vs. Bengels, kindof just want to know if Larry Johnson is for real, he kicked serious ass last season. The whole Manning vs Manning thing will be fun, as both teams were pretty darn good last year. Atlanta vs Carolina should be a fun game, and I have a feeling the 49ers vs. Cardinals could be a fun one to watch too! Been keeping up with the hundreds of articles in the Pats newsgroup...finally it's time for to stop speculating, and for the teams to actually play the games! Yay!! :)
weird ascii java movie
This page sortof has the Matrix falling green dealies going on, but if you have the patience to watch I guess it's a pr0n movie or something :) Sortof nifty.
Monday, September 04, 2006
new WR for New England
What with all the uncertainty surrounding Branch, it was refreshing to read that the Pats picked up Doug Gabriel from the Raiders for a...measly 5th round draft pick. Sounded too good to be true, but there it was. Heading over to the Raider's newsgroup, I found a thread of disgruntled Raider's. Still bitter about 2001 much? Neener Neener LOL.
Saturday, September 02, 2006
interesting pictures
Wikipedia has a webpage which consists of like over 500 featured pictures, many of which are pretty cool.
From one of them I did some digging on wolf spiders, found this picture. I have to admit I find it captivating and beautiful, but I would probably scream like a little girl if I ever saw this in my house lol. I like female wolf spiders, they are really the only spiders around here that get big enough to have like real facial expressions and some personality. And those little baby's are soooo cute :) But EEEEESH, the willies!!!
From one of them I did some digging on wolf spiders, found this picture. I have to admit I find it captivating and beautiful, but I would probably scream like a little girl if I ever saw this in my house lol. I like female wolf spiders, they are really the only spiders around here that get big enough to have like real facial expressions and some personality. And those little baby's are soooo cute :) But EEEEESH, the willies!!!
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
pretty nebula
Today's NASA image of the day is really pretty. It looks like a wispy firework blowing in the wind or drifting through the stars :) It reminds me of the ending credits to Saikano.
from the page:
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope captured a glowing stellar nursery within a dark globule that reveals the birth of new protostars, or embryonic stars, and young stars never before seen.
from the page:
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope captured a glowing stellar nursery within a dark globule that reveals the birth of new protostars, or embryonic stars, and young stars never before seen.
Friday, August 25, 2006
fun grocery store
If there was anything like this grocery store near here, I'd definitely spend an evening or two walking around, reading and investigating everything :)
wth?
Just what everyone needs!!! A nine inch long, 2 pound "knife" with 85 tools (have to see it to believe it). This is sortof cool, but way way overdoing it :)
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
linux apps!
This is a great article with 10 great linux apps/tips. Specifically for Ubuntu (A great Debian distrobution) but most of these will work on any distro. Hadn't heard of a couple of these. The Automatix bundle looks like an awesome compilation of software (for Debian based distros), I can vouch for the awesomeness of Amarok, and at the bottom definitely check out the flash of that Wild X-Windows modification. HOLY CRAP! I have to try that!!! It plays some annoying rock music so be sure to turn off the volume, but holy cow!! Is Windows Vista's new 3d stuff 1/10 as cool as that thing??? HOLY!!! Ah, I guess there is a #11 (Bonus)...yep Frozen Bubble is a great game. I know at least one person who went out and bought her first Linux distro after getting hooked on FB :)
cosmos
Just discovered Cosmos on the Science channel. I had forgotten just how much I loved that book by Carl Sagan, back when I had read it in high school. It is difficult to convey how watching this show makes me feel. It is like a whole hidden-away section of my heart and mind comes back to life, awakening emotions and ideas I had all but forgotten. There was a time in my life when the entire universe seemed so amazing, so soul-chilling, so horrible and amazing. Life is truly a divine, magnificent, glorious gift. It is only my life, and my memories - it is impossible to convey why now-forgotten things like astronomy, science fiction, mathematics, color-cycling fractals and various states of altered consciousness moved and touched me as they did.
But I do not want to remember that. I want to be like I was 2 hours ago, happy with the direction my life was going, happy with the narrow path of my life. I don't want to be the fumbling, unknowing person I was. At his moment, I really don't know how I feel, and it's not like I have to decide. However, looking into myself and writing this has numbed my feelings of reawakened wonder.
However, I am disappointed in my fellow human beings as well. On the topic of science itself, people are trying to make it into anathema, synonymous with some evil villain in a fairy tale story with which they have been catechized their entire lives. There are so many beautiful things to learn, to know about our universe and about ourselves, yet people self-choose to wear blinders over their eyes, happy with being ignorant, happy with the pain in this world we could alleviate, if only we stopped bludgeoning each other and our children with self-destructive and self-fulfilling indoctrination and hatred for each other and for ourselves. If only we would focus on amazing and beautiful and honorable ideas and endeavours..not simply content with how the world is, at this exact moment...doing the same thing over and over and over, and never moving on to and grasping the glorious world we deserve as human beings...this world, which is right here dangling before us and attainable, before we die.
I guess I don't know what I'm trying to say, but I felt moved to write that..and this is my blog so if you don't like it I can always delete it if you send me a polite note explaining why you feel it should be deleted :) I guess Carl Sagan just has a way to make such awesome concepts seem so simple and so understandable to me, so real and relevant to my puny insignificant existence in this illusion of this "world" I am living in :)
But I do not want to remember that. I want to be like I was 2 hours ago, happy with the direction my life was going, happy with the narrow path of my life. I don't want to be the fumbling, unknowing person I was. At his moment, I really don't know how I feel, and it's not like I have to decide. However, looking into myself and writing this has numbed my feelings of reawakened wonder.
However, I am disappointed in my fellow human beings as well. On the topic of science itself, people are trying to make it into anathema, synonymous with some evil villain in a fairy tale story with which they have been catechized their entire lives. There are so many beautiful things to learn, to know about our universe and about ourselves, yet people self-choose to wear blinders over their eyes, happy with being ignorant, happy with the pain in this world we could alleviate, if only we stopped bludgeoning each other and our children with self-destructive and self-fulfilling indoctrination and hatred for each other and for ourselves. If only we would focus on amazing and beautiful and honorable ideas and endeavours..not simply content with how the world is, at this exact moment...doing the same thing over and over and over, and never moving on to and grasping the glorious world we deserve as human beings...this world, which is right here dangling before us and attainable, before we die.
I guess I don't know what I'm trying to say, but I felt moved to write that..and this is my blog so if you don't like it I can always delete it if you send me a polite note explaining why you feel it should be deleted :) I guess Carl Sagan just has a way to make such awesome concepts seem so simple and so understandable to me, so real and relevant to my puny insignificant existence in this illusion of this "world" I am living in :)
ut2007!!
Here's a trailor for ut2007. I hear they will have full Linux support. I know not a lot of games come out for Linux....but the ones that do tend to be just my cup of tea. I love games like UT and Q3 where they don't really try to make it super realistic, just fun as hell, with tons and tons of customability.
rumored requirements:
* Minimum: 2.8GHz, 512MB RAM, Geforce 6 series
* For high details: 3-4GHz, 1GB RAM, NVIDIA 6800GT/Ultra or 7800GT/GTX SLI
* Dual-core CPU: Multi-threading is supported and should provide much better performance
* 64-bit version to be available with better textures
* Renderers: SM3.0, 2.0, possible DX8 renderer
* HDR supported
* Physics: Novodex Physics Engine
* AGEIA PhysX PPU supported
rumored requirements:
* Minimum: 2.8GHz, 512MB RAM, Geforce 6 series
* For high details: 3-4GHz, 1GB RAM, NVIDIA 6800GT/Ultra or 7800GT/GTX SLI
* Dual-core CPU: Multi-threading is supported and should provide much better performance
* 64-bit version to be available with better textures
* Renderers: SM3.0, 2.0, possible DX8 renderer
* HDR supported
* Physics: Novodex Physics Engine
* AGEIA PhysX PPU supported
Monday, August 21, 2006
tiny security camera
This camera is pretty sweet. Wireless, tiny, video. Better keep your house locked at all times though this thing would be pretty darned easy to hide anywhere.
Only like $70!
Only like $70!
Sunday, August 20, 2006
snakes on a plane
Was expecting it to be a horrible, horrible movie but was definitely more worth my money than "Out to Sea" was in 1997. I give it two poisonous snakes up!!
Saturday, August 19, 2006
ug
I have to stop ranting about stuff that I really will never be able to do anything about and isn't healthy to dwell on!!
LOL sorry bout the rant. Luckily theres only like 3 people who ever read my blog and I think you guys know me well enough to know I'm not actually a complete dick in real life.
Thank goodness for this newfangled "blog" technology where I can at least delete or edit my posts. That last one was actually pretty good and pretty close to being on target to what I really feel, but I need to do a little polishing...who gets something right on the first draft, anyways?
On a positive note I have the Japanese letters for "delete" down pretty darn good.
Going to see snakes on a plane today! Is going to be a horrible, horrible movie.
Tonights preseason matchup between Pats and Cardinals will be interesting. Am glad to see Junior Seau coming out of his not even a week old retirement to help with the linebackers! Teddy Bruschi not having much luck since being plastered on all the newspapers after the last Super Bowl the Pats won :( Am really positive about the Pats this year, in fact pretty psyched up about football in general. I guess this is Matt Leinart's first start, according to the previews on NFL network. I pretty much dislike the idea of preseason football games...cause these are very physically dangerous games, and these games are meaningless...and yet the scalpers are still making a killing off the tickets. Anyways it's great to have football to watch...20 days till the first REAL game :)
LOL sorry bout the rant. Luckily theres only like 3 people who ever read my blog and I think you guys know me well enough to know I'm not actually a complete dick in real life.
Thank goodness for this newfangled "blog" technology where I can at least delete or edit my posts. That last one was actually pretty good and pretty close to being on target to what I really feel, but I need to do a little polishing...who gets something right on the first draft, anyways?
On a positive note I have the Japanese letters for "delete" down pretty darn good.
Going to see snakes on a plane today! Is going to be a horrible, horrible movie.
Tonights preseason matchup between Pats and Cardinals will be interesting. Am glad to see Junior Seau coming out of his not even a week old retirement to help with the linebackers! Teddy Bruschi not having much luck since being plastered on all the newspapers after the last Super Bowl the Pats won :( Am really positive about the Pats this year, in fact pretty psyched up about football in general. I guess this is Matt Leinart's first start, according to the previews on NFL network. I pretty much dislike the idea of preseason football games...cause these are very physically dangerous games, and these games are meaningless...and yet the scalpers are still making a killing off the tickets. Anyways it's great to have football to watch...20 days till the first REAL game :)
Friday, August 18, 2006
tons of gods
http://www.godchecker.com/ is awesome! So many gods and goddesses etc. I've always sortof enjoyed reading about the Egyption gods, very morbid. The middle-eastern persian gods are interesting as well, has Adam and I'd assume many gods that God himself was so pissed off over :) The whole Lilith thing is funny, as she was too much of a bitch to Adam so god made a submissive Eve out of a rib. Also Lilith ties into Neon Genesis Evangelion, in some whacked out way. Not that Evangelion is supposed to make any sense whatsover but is still fun :)
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
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