The People's Republic of Fub
The People's Republic of Fub |
|
| May. 27th, 2012 @ 11:55 am Lillies | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Current Mood: calm
Our pond isn't quite finished -- for quite some years. But that doesn'tmatter for the waterlillies. We have two, and this is one of them. Last year, this one had two flowers, so I guess they feel at home. Currently, the other one has one flower with another one on the way.  |
| ||
| May. 24th, 2012 @ 08:53 pm Caching again | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Current Mood:
Last Sunday, we went geocaching again. It was good to be outside and walk around for a bit. We've still got the caching skills, because we found everything without too much trouble -- including the cache. accomplishedThe upside of not caching for so long is that there are new, good geocaches placed closer to home, so we don't have to travel that far anymore if we want to do another nice multi-cache again. |
| ||
| May. 24th, 2012 @ 08:26 pm Washing and drying hands | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Current Mood:
If you're not one of the 16% of people who don't wash their hands after using the toilet (and thus get poop on their smartphone), you will have to dry your hands afterwards.  impressed![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.1){kind=small} andrewducker linked me to a TEDx video on how to dry your hands with a single paper towel.I can verify that it works: we have the tri-fold type in the office, and my hands were dry after doing this. You should start using this method too. And if you're one of the icky people who don't wash their hands, remind me of that fact when next we meet -- I'll avoid shaking your hand or handling your phone. |
| ||
| May. 20th, 2012 @ 08:15 pm "Hasui!" "Gesundheid!" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Current Mood:
Some time ago, I bid on a woodblock print by Hasui in an auction. For some reason, we really like his style: clear lines, and the dusk, rain and snow scenes that he is famour for make his prints unique. The print I bid on was pretty neat and a lot cheaper than the other Hasui prints they had. For a long time, my bid was the highest, but of course in the last hour we got over-bid. We went into a small bidding war, but we decided that enough was enough and let it go. excitedOf course, I was dissapointed. So I did what any sensible person would do: I bought a different Hasui print. And I added another print by a 20th century artist to my order, for good measure. ( Pics! ) The prints are currently being framed! |
| ||
| May. 18th, 2012 @ 10:38 pm Bookbinding experiment | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Current Mood:
For a project in the future, I wanted a small, A6-sized booklet with about 40 pages. If I'd make only a single signature, that would mean 10 sheets -- a bit too much. But a signle signature would allow me to use the pamphlet binding, which is nice and easy to do. So this evening I investigated whether I could do a pamphlet binding with two signatures of 5 sheets each. creativeI made the two signatures of five A5-sheets of 90 grams, folded. I used a piece of photo board that I had lying around for the cover. I scored three lines in the 'spine' of the cover and folded the middle line inward. Then I used a modified version of the pamphlet stitch to bind the two signatures into the two V-shaped folds of the spine -- binding the two parts of the spine together. ( Worth six thousand words ) I like it: it binds the two signatures together but keeps them separate. That offers opportunities that can be used in a creative way. |
| ||
| May. 17th, 2012 @ 09:30 pm More new anime | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Current Mood:
Accel World: Haruyuki is the ideal target for bullying: small, portly and insecure. Only when he activates his 'neurolinker' to play around in cyberspace -- there, he is fast and strong. Then one day, he is approached by the girl whose avatar is 'black snow princess', the absolute queen bee of the school. She offers him a software package that will accellerate his brain... peacefulEven if you have a neural data link, kids will still be kids -- and they will find ways to torment others, away from the camera's of the grown-ups. But they will equally find ways to make the most of the tools they have been given. This looks like the Law of Unintended Consequences in full swing. It doesn't look too bad (though Haruyuki's character design is way too cartoonish for the rest of the setting), and I like the transhumanist themes. Tasogare Otome x Amnesia: Teiichi is a member of his school's supernatural club. And it just so happens that the school is haunted: by a girl who died long ago, in the school. Her body is still somewhere in the school building, but she forgot all about what happened. Teiichi is the only one who can see her. Meanwhile, she relentlessly teases him: finally someone whom she can manipulate! So, there's this developing relationship between a boy and a ghost girl, including some fanservice. But the writers make the most of it: the first episode shows the same events twice: once from the viewpoint of a girl who can't see the ghost, and once from the viewpoint of Teiichi. Well-executed comey with a serious undertone. Tsuritama: Yuki is a bit of a loner: his grandmother likes to move around, and that coupled with Yuki's bad communication skills, he never makes any real friends. They move to Enoshima. There he meets his classmate Haru, who says he's an alien. Whenever Haru uses his water pistol on Yuki and their grumpy classmate Natsuki, they end up doing whatever Haru just suggested. Even though the three are quite dissimilar, they spend the afternoon together on the suggestion of Haru. This one's weird too, but the good kind of weird. Haru is cheerful and positive -- just what loner Yuki and gruff Natsuki need. The setting is quite colorful and the animation well-executed. And it's a Noitamina series to boot. Space Brothers: Mutta and Hibito saw a UFO fly over when they were young, and promised each other to go into space together. Now Hibito is a NASA astronaut, while Mutta, the older brother, just got laid off for headbutting his boss... While Hibito is undergoing final training to go to the moon, Mutta is living with his parents and working odd jobs like a regular loser -- even though he is the eldest, and thus should be the one to protect his younger brother! And then, one day, an application for the astronaut training program for the Japanese space program is delivered... They might go into space together yet! Great stuff: the difference between the two brothers couldn't be bigger. But there's also this sense of optimism, and you want them to succeed in the end! Upotte!!: Remember the OS-tans, where every OS was personified in a cute anime-style character, complete with matching personalities? Well, suppose you do the same for assault rifles, and make them middle school girls. That shoot guns. Who thought this up? Who thought it would be cool to add some ecchiness to it? And who OK'ed the project to make an anime of it? The mind boggles. Sengolu Collection: Suppose the generals from the sengoku era turned out to be (busty) females, and they were transported to modern-day Japan? What if, indeed... Pretty standard fare. Not actively bad, but it has nothing to make it stand out in the sea of mediocre anime with 'girl transported to unfamiliar world' theme. Natsuiro Kiseki: Four girls have been friends all their lives. But when one of them moves away, she doesn't tell the others to prevent drama. Of course, the truth comes out and the drama between them happens anyway. And then they make a wish on stone behind a shrine, which is rumoured to grant wishes. And lo and behold: a miracle occurs! Slow-paced drama about the friendship between four girls, set in a rural town, with a little sprinkling of magic. What's not to like? And this concludes my reviews of the spring 2012 season! |
| ||
| May. 14th, 2012 @ 09:02 pm More new anime | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Current Mood:
Hiiro no Kakera: Tamaki is called back to her grandmother's house -- officially because her parents' work, but really because she needs to become the next shrine maiden who keeps all sorts of supernatural nasties at bay! She doesn't get any of it, but luckily there are five hot boys who are sworn to protect her! weirdSo it's a total reverse harem, with a main character who is about as clueless as the male leads in 'regular' harem anime... Not too enthusiastic about this one. A-Channel + smile: OVA based on the A-Channel TV series. Looks slightly more polished, but it's more of the same. If you liked that, you'll like this, simple as that. Lupin III: Mine Fujiko to iu Onna: A Lupin TV series focussing on his relationship/rivalry with Fujiko. Their first meeting is in the compound of a religious sect. The leader has some sort of treasure, and both Lupin and Fujiko are after it. They have to outwit both the guards and each other -- sometimes Fujiko ends up on top, sometimes Lupin wins. (But in the end, neither gets the treasure they're after...) The visuals are lush and it has that groovy 60's feel about it. I disliked Fujiko disrobing at the drop of a hat, though. And in the end, we just weren't that interested. Ozma: Global warming happened, and all the oceans turned into quicksand deserts. Sam rides an airbike, looking for a mythical sand-whale, when he sees a girl being chased by battle cruisers. Sam saves her and takes her to his friends the pirates -- but then the army shows up and demands they hand over the girl. Of course, pirates being what they are, they decide to cast off and make a run for it. And apparently this girl has some connection to the sand-whale Ozma! The set-up reminded me a bit of World Destruction, but this one has better production values. The character designs are a bit retro (think Space Cruiser Yamato), which I found quite attractive. And it promises to be a great action adventure as well! Sankarea: Chihiro loves zombies, empathising with them. Then his cat dies, and he tries to conduct some sort of lengthy resurrection ritual, in order to create some sort of zombie-cat. He does this in some abandoned building, which is also frequented by Rea who comes there to vent her frustration with her life. Chihiro tells her about his fascination with zombies, and she agrees to help him... I'm not sure what to make of it. Of course it's total fanservice-bait, and the plot is... weird. Zetman: In top-secret facilities, scientists bred super-powered beings who would fight each other to the death, for the amusement of the world's elite. Until the beings gained sentience, killed 'em all and escaped. Kouga is one of these beings, living with the scientist who rescued him in poverty. Of course, there are people after him, and when they close in on him, his powers activate and he becomes the killing machine he was bred to be. Classic shounen tale of good versus bad guys. Shouty with a lot of violence. Acchi Kochi: Tsumiki and Io are very, very close friends. Everyone treats them as a couple, but they're not quite ready for that yet. Which results in a humorous slowmance. With cute character designs. You know, the type I tend to like. Medaka Box: Medaka has a superiority complex: she looks down on everyone. That's not to say that she is a snob or something: she's just that good at everything she does. Her childhood friend Zenkichi is quite the loser compared to her -- but she involves him in her schemes regardless. Medaka manages to become the student council president in her first year, and instates the 'Medaka Box': students who have a problem can post a letter in her box, and she'll solve their problems! Looks gorgeous, but the pacing and the plot seems a bit... off. Maybe we need a second episode to see if we like it enough. Nazo no Kanojo X: Akira is interested in his weird classmate Mikoto. One day he catches her drooling in her sleep, and he catches her 'love sickness': he falls ill, and only her saliva will keep him healthy. And so they become a couple... Weird, weird stuff. If you have a drool fetish, this one is for you -- the ending sequence even features all female characters drooling in their sleep. Puddles of it. Gah. More later! |
| ||
| May. 13th, 2012 @ 04:47 pm (no subject) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Current Mood:
Happy birthday,  festiveisabelgou! |
| ||
| May. 12th, 2012 @ 08:14 am (no subject) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Current Mood:
I'm not sure I agree with my neighbours that 08:00 AM is a good time to start working in the garden with powertools. annoyed |
| ||
| May. 11th, 2012 @ 08:56 pm Inquisitive | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Current Mood:
For an inquisitive person, the world is filled with interesting things. I find a lot of things interesting, and I often feel the need to know how things work -- or simply how things are or were at a certain spot. curiousToday, I took the book that we made of our Japan vacation of 2010 to work, so that the secretary could look through it. She asked me questions about certain details, and I was able to give quite detailed information about the places we went and what was going on there. My inquisitive nature made me learn and remember these things. Most of the time information of that sort is completely useless, but I like knowing what's going on. In Rome, the Emirates Airlines had a poster in the hallways of the subway. It showed an elder couple wandering around a field where hot air balloons were being launched. The man was feeling the fabric of the balloon, and the woman looks around inquisitively. The text said something like "The world is for the curious people". I empathise strongly with that message: I could see myself feeling at the fabric of a hot air balloon too, given the chance. Today was shopping day: we took the car to the supermarket to get our groceries for the week. There's a garbage station there, with containers for things like cans and glass. The containers are dug into the ground, so you can only see a small part sticking out, but your bottles fall all the way down. They had dismanteld the station, so there was this patch of eight rectangular holes in the ground, surrounded by a fence. We didn't have any bottles to throw away, and the store was the other way, but we walked over to peer into the holes, to see how deep they are and what it looked like down there. Just to know what it is -- because we're inquisitive. Unfortunately, we didn't have a camera on us. |
| ||
| May. 9th, 2012 @ 06:05 pm Scenes from my life | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Current Mood:
- We (me and two colleagues) were visiting a prospective client. We left at 07:30 at the office. Underway, heavy rains suddenly poured down. For some reason, someone up ahead on the highway decided this was a good time to brake -- and suddenly everyone stopped. We had to brake full force, with the ABS engaging. We managed to stop not 10 cm from the car in front of us -- but that one wasn't so lucky. The two cars in front of us had to manoever themselves to the side of the road through the traffic that was now starting up again. calm- Our meeting was in a meeting room in 'the castle': a manor that is in the possession of our client. The park around it is open to the public during the day, but the inside of the manor isn't. We were situated in a large room to the side of the manor, with a terrace right outside the double doors. About halfway the meeting, we saw some commotion outside. It turns out that a bridal couple had gone up the terrace to have their photos made with the castle as the backdrop. We were hidden from view by the lace curtains, but it was kinda weird to talk business while someone was standing with their backs to the meeting, getting their photos made. - I have a photo of two okonomiyaki on the hot plate behind my desk (a bit like this one). It's printed in color, on A3, and is taped to the window behind my desk. A secretary came by to drop off some documents for klik, and asked what it was. So I explained the concept of okonomiyaki to her, and the thought it sounded delicious. Later on, I had a meeting, and the meeting rooms are near the entrance. I found the secretary drooling at the reception desk: she had done an image search for okonomiyaki and was looking at all the pictures of delicious Japanese food. |
| ||
| May. 6th, 2012 @ 09:43 pm Nobilis case | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Current Mood:
One of the lessons in the bookbinding course was the making of a case for a book. A hardcover book, with a round spine -- a book that is worth to be housed in a case. Looking through my bookcase (pun intended), I noticed I didn't have that many hardcovers. But one of the few that I have, caught my eye: the Great White Book edition of the Nobilis RPG. A very attractive book, almost square in size, white, with a photo of the Sphinx Mysterieux of Charles Verstappen on the cover. Sure that book deserves to be in a case! (The Wiki article on Nobilis has a photo of the (front of the) cover.)accomplishedOne of the tricks we learned was to make a round indentation so that you can easily grasp the book when taking it out of the case. But that would mean that you'd grab the book by the lips of the statue, so to speak -- and the most striking feature of the cover is the face of the statue. So I decided to cut out the face, so that you'd see it from outside of the case -- a decision I came to regret later... I did have a beige-like linen in stock, so I decided to use that for the outside of the case. Using a caliper, I took the measurements of the book. This has to be precise on a tenth of a millimeter: you want a case that fits snug, but not too snug: you have to get the book out of the case too! But if you line the inside of the case with paper (which I did), then you have to take the thickness of the paper into account as well! That means lots of calculations (hooray for spreadsheets!) and very, very precise cutting and glueing. ( Picspam! ) I'm quite proud of the end result. It's quite unique, which also presented me with unique challenges. I learned a lot from this. And my bookbinding teacher was satisfied with the result too! |
| ||
| May. 5th, 2012 @ 09:34 pm (no subject) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Current Mood:
One month into the new season, it's time for the first episode reviews! okaySakamichi no Apollon: Set in the sixties. Kaoru, a lonely boy who easily gets anxiety attacks, likes playing the piano -- but living with his uncle doesn't give him much reason to be happy. Until one day he gets involved with the school's top bully, who turns out to be a jazz drummer. Kaoru doesn't want to lose to him (especially not in front of their classmate!) and takes up the challenge! The Cinderella story of an unlikely trio who start playing jazz and come to appreciate each other! Great music (I was reminded of the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack, for obvious reasons), with great animation and characterisation. Ginga e Kickoff!: Sho loves soccer, but he's not very good at it -- and when his team is disbanded, he has nowhere to go. But then he meets some talented kids (boys and girls alike), and decides to fight back and resurrect his team! Kids sports anime, with all the usual trappings: burning hearts and lots of shouting!!! Though I really liked seeing a player of the women's world cup soccer team in the series, it wasn't enough to sell it to us. Folktales from Japan: Japanese fairy tales collected from various parts and charmingly animated. Each episodes has multiple, unrelated, tales. It's not flashy, it doesn't have explosions or large CGI mecha -- but it's like having your favourite uncle read you a story before bed. We loved this. Eureka Seven: AO: Sequal to the original Eureka Seven TV series of 2005, which we never watched. A boy, who lives on a tropical island, gets involved with otherworldly entities, who seem to be looking for a bracelet that was part of a delivery some shady types tried to make -- which is somehow connected to his mother. Sound weird? We didn't understand much of it either, but it looks gorgeous and promises an action-packed and deep storyline. Jormungand: Jonah is a child soldier who lost his family. He is out for revenge: he hates weapons and arms dealers, and yet it's the only thing he is skilled in. He gets picked up by Koko, an illegal arms dealer, who heads a coterie of mercenaries to help her run her shady business. Of course, that involves a lot of subterfuge and gunfights... It's like Black Lagoon, but without the comic over-the-top effect. What remains is pretty intense stuff, with lots of preparations before pulling off an operation. Interesting to see, if you can look past the cartoonish character designs. (To be honest, I had expected a fantasy anime: Jormungand is the name of the World Serpent of Norse mythology. It has it's tail in it's beak, and at the end of the world, it'll come unstuck so that it can eat the world.) Kore wa Zombie desu Ka? of the Dead: Second season of the supernatural fanservice slapstick series. It was fun the first time around, but the wacky antics of the crew wore thin already towards the end of the first season. Still, if you really liked the first season, you can get more of the same from this one. Kuroko's Basketball: Kuroko is an unassuming guy. In fact, most people forget that he's even there! He uses this to his advantage in a basketball game: he can move around relatively freely, allowing him to get the ball in the hands of the guy who can actually play well. He's the sixth, forgotten member of his middle school team, and he decides to help his new school conquer the teams of the other members! OK, so it's sports anime. But Kuroko doesn't shout, so that's a very big plus. And his own type of basketball is amusing to watch. Shining Hearts - Shiawase no Pan: Set on a fantasy island. Rick lives in a stranded boat, and works as a baker in a bakery -- surrounded by three sisters. There are also elves, who want to protect the forest and (thus) don't like humans -- but they do like Rick's bread! This was so stupid it hurt my head -- even though I have a high tolerance for harem anime. More later. |
| ||
| May. 2nd, 2012 @ 08:53 pm Rome panoramas | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Current Mood:
With  pleasedCurrent Music: Counting Crows - You Can't Count On Me klik's photographic equipment and abilities, there is absolutely no need for me to take photos during our vacations. Most of the time, my contribution is limited to holding the polaroid filter or the lens cap while she takes the pictures.But I do have a photocamera in my purse: the compact camera, which has a really cool panorama setting. Using that, you can take three photos (and you get guides as to how to move the camera and how far) and the camera stitches those three together into a single mega-picture. Since I have that camera, making the panorama's is my job. Sometimes, the stitches are very visible and the photo fails, but often it works out quite nicely. Five of the panoramas I made turned out allright! ( I hope you have a widescreen monitor! ) |
| ||
| May. 1st, 2012 @ 10:46 pm Meme | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Current Mood:
More of this meme (after slacking off for too long):okayComment to this post, mention you want to participate and I will list seven things I want you to talk about. They might make sense or they might be totally random. Then post that list, with your commentary, to your journal. Other people can get lists from you, and the meme merrily perpetuates itself. nathreee gave me these seven things:Smartphone: I've had a smartphone for three years now. I love the fact that I walk around with a small device that has vastly more computing power than the biggest computers ten years ago. It's not like I need one (I don't think anyone does -- when there weren't any smartphones, nobody thought of that fact as insurmountable), but I quite like having one. Also, I'm a big fan of Android, because it allows me to do things with my device that the maker might not have thought of. Social skills: Socials skills are exactly that: skills. They can be learned, but they have to be practised. You need a teacher who tells you: "Hey, this isn't working out. Try this instead!" At least, I did (and sometimes still do), because it's very hard to learn those skills solely with self-reflection. Most people are too polite to point out your errors. Superstition: I don't understand superstition. I can't get my head around why you would believe something because of some magical 'similarity' or 'affinity' that makes no sense. As such, I have little patience with people who insist on explaining everything with over-imaginative correlations. That might make me an intolerant prick sometimes, but I am all in favour of challenging ill-conceived ideas. And if your idea can't stand a challenge, then maybe the idea is wrong. Chocolate: My kryptonite -- I have a serious weakness for the stuff. But since it's made of beans, I think it should be recognised as a vegetable. I'd have no problems eating my 200 grams of vegetables daily! Dragons: Fearsome creatures indeed! I don't think in all of my years playing RPGs, our group has ever gone up against a dragon -- they're just too hefty for all but the most powerful characters. Which is why they're such a dissapointment in Skyrim: at the lower levels, a bear is more lethal than a friggin' dragon! Mail: When I used to cut stamps, I made a hobby out of sending postcards with my stamp designs on them. Most people liked them. I still like receiving physical mail, but I'm too much of a slacker to keep up any regular correspondences. Intelligence: It's what I studied. It irks me that we don't have a good definition of intelligence, nor a good test to see if someone is intelligent or not. Because taking IQ tests is a skill, it can be trained just like any skill -- so scoring high on an IQ test only tells us you're good at taking IQ tests. It doesn't say anything about your practical 'smarts' in real-life situations. But the weird thing is that you can often tell if someone is intelligent within five minutes -- so there are properties that can be recognised, but we can't seem to pour those into an objective, operational test. |
| ||
| Apr. 30th, 2012 @ 12:35 pm Souvenirs | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Current Mood: happy
Three of the souvenirs from Rome: lovely handmade marbled papers! |
| ||
| Apr. 30th, 2012 @ 12:13 pm Back | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Current Mood:
And... we're back! Yesterday was mostly spent travelling. Today will be spent decompressing. good |
| ||
| Apr. 23rd, 2012 @ 08:22 am (no subject) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Current Mood:
Happy birthday, romanluna_puella! |
| ||
| Apr. 21st, 2012 @ 12:15 pm Vacation preparations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Current Mood:
I'm quite busy with preparing for our vacation to Rome tomorrow, but it's only the 'technicalities': at what time do we have to be where, and how are we going to get there. We haven't given much thought about what we are going to see and do over there -- but we have an excellent walking guide (of the same brand that got us through New York and Berlin), so we're confident we'll have a good time.prepared |
| ||
| Apr. 11th, 2012 @ 07:20 pm (no subject) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Current Mood:
Happy birthday, festivecissa! |
| ||
