March 29, 2013
Why Austin?
OK, so the North Koreans, as part of their perpetual saber rattling have released a picture of Kim El Porker and his junta sidekicks studiously planing a strike on the US with missile trajectories mapped out on the wall behind him.
First off those are not the most efficient or realistic courses for a missile. It looks like someone drew them without taking into account the Mercator distortion. In actuality, a ballistic tragectory from North Korea would, on a Mercator plot appear to arc north. It would pass over Alaska and possibly the arctic circle (for the same reason that flying to Japan from the US frequently involves a trip over pack ice).
That aside....The targets are Pearl Harbor, Los Angeles, Washington DC and...ummm...Austin.
WHY WOULD YOU WASTE ONE OF YOUR 4 NUKES ON AUSTIN?
It's an eclectic and neat town, but depriving the nation of a cool art scene and dinner theater does not seem to have the strategic benefits of, say, wiping out San Diego or the SSBN base near Tacoma.
I see 3 possibilities:
1: It's a cunning ruse, intended to trick us into moving our ABMs to Austin.
2:The Norks, being lefties, just HAETS them some Texans and aimed at the capital, not realizing that Austin is...well...Austin.
3: They are going to use the nuke to mutate the bats, turning them into giant flappy, fire-breathing, blood-sucking horrors that will terrorize the continent and lead to the collapse of the US.
Ubu, Avatar. We need your perspectives on this.
First off those are not the most efficient or realistic courses for a missile. It looks like someone drew them without taking into account the Mercator distortion. In actuality, a ballistic tragectory from North Korea would, on a Mercator plot appear to arc north. It would pass over Alaska and possibly the arctic circle (for the same reason that flying to Japan from the US frequently involves a trip over pack ice).
That aside....The targets are Pearl Harbor, Los Angeles, Washington DC and...ummm...Austin.
WHY WOULD YOU WASTE ONE OF YOUR 4 NUKES ON AUSTIN?
It's an eclectic and neat town, but depriving the nation of a cool art scene and dinner theater does not seem to have the strategic benefits of, say, wiping out San Diego or the SSBN base near Tacoma.
I see 3 possibilities:
1: It's a cunning ruse, intended to trick us into moving our ABMs to Austin.
2:The Norks, being lefties, just HAETS them some Texans and aimed at the capital, not realizing that Austin is...well...Austin.
3: They are going to use the nuke to mutate the bats, turning them into giant flappy, fire-breathing, blood-sucking horrors that will terrorize the continent and lead to the collapse of the US.
Ubu, Avatar. We need your perspectives on this.
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March 28, 2013
Girls und Panzer Ends
I must confess that in spite of everything, I like Kadotani a lot. She's enthusiastic, calm under pressure and has balls of brass. She's a departure from the rest of the cast in that she was developed beyond the trope she represents.
Girls und Panzer is in a lot of ways a collection of tired old tropes and annoying recent ones. There is no new ground here. It's a sports anime with mechs aimed at a demographic that is so insecure that they can't abide male characters in their anime potentially competing for their 'waifus'. The result is that we get the galling notion that the war on boys has been carried to its logical conclusion so that males aren't allowed to compete in the sport at all.
Given this set-up and an overly large cast that seems to have been concieved by 31 die rolls compared against a moe/tsundere stock character generator, the only real question about the show would seem to be "To what depths of squalor will the panty shots descend?" But that is not the question I find myself asking. Instead I find myself grasping to figure out how this collection of mediocrities can have kicked so much ass that one can be forgiven for worrying about a trans-Pacific ass shortage.
What the HELL? How did they do that? This show is not refinement of stale tropes. This was frickking alchemy. It was lead into gold. Oh, and the answer to the unasked question above is "None". I don't think there was a panty shot in the whole show...they get points just for that alone. However, this show is about way more than propriety. Girls und Panzer manages to deal with ethics, sportsmanship and honor in a way few shows have.
The show does this without being preachy. Furthermore, despite what ought to be a completely predictable storyline, it manages to keep the viewers on the edge of their seat. The use of WW2 tanks was inspired and the battles with them were thoroughly entertaining and well thought out. Even the fairly by the numbers characters were well written to the point that one actually cared about them. These girls are smart and make up for their vastly inferior equipment by being clever and audacious.
The few problems with the show did not stem from the writing, or the directing but with a subcontractor who flamed out requiring two 'clips' episodes be inserted and the last two episodes be delayed over three months. After the spectacular surprise hit the show had been nothing could live up to the anticipation the last two episodes engendered.
Despite this handicap the two episode finale is a thoroughly satisfying rollercoaster that still manages to surprise.
I am in awe.
Girls und Panzer is in a lot of ways a collection of tired old tropes and annoying recent ones. There is no new ground here. It's a sports anime with mechs aimed at a demographic that is so insecure that they can't abide male characters in their anime potentially competing for their 'waifus'. The result is that we get the galling notion that the war on boys has been carried to its logical conclusion so that males aren't allowed to compete in the sport at all.
Given this set-up and an overly large cast that seems to have been concieved by 31 die rolls compared against a moe/tsundere stock character generator, the only real question about the show would seem to be "To what depths of squalor will the panty shots descend?" But that is not the question I find myself asking. Instead I find myself grasping to figure out how this collection of mediocrities can have kicked so much ass that one can be forgiven for worrying about a trans-Pacific ass shortage.
What the HELL? How did they do that? This show is not refinement of stale tropes. This was frickking alchemy. It was lead into gold. Oh, and the answer to the unasked question above is "None". I don't think there was a panty shot in the whole show...they get points just for that alone. However, this show is about way more than propriety. Girls und Panzer manages to deal with ethics, sportsmanship and honor in a way few shows have.
The show does this without being preachy. Furthermore, despite what ought to be a completely predictable storyline, it manages to keep the viewers on the edge of their seat. The use of WW2 tanks was inspired and the battles with them were thoroughly entertaining and well thought out. Even the fairly by the numbers characters were well written to the point that one actually cared about them. These girls are smart and make up for their vastly inferior equipment by being clever and audacious.
The few problems with the show did not stem from the writing, or the directing but with a subcontractor who flamed out requiring two 'clips' episodes be inserted and the last two episodes be delayed over three months. After the spectacular surprise hit the show had been nothing could live up to the anticipation the last two episodes engendered.
Despite this handicap the two episode finale is a thoroughly satisfying rollercoaster that still manages to surprise.
I am in awe.
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Next Thursday: SONAR
I've been withering under he onslaught of a particularly bad kidney stone the last few days. Tuesday was particularly unpleasant (though perspective is important). Yesterday I called to make an appointment with my urologist to get documentation for work because
I was told that the earliest possible date was next week, unless I was there between 7:30 & 8:00 AM in which case hey could fit me in. This resulted in a 10:30 appointment. (?)
At 10:30 I arrived to be told that they couldn't see me until my X-rays had been done and the backup radiologist wouldn't be in until 13:15. ( I suspect that the fact that a backup radiologist needed to be called in was the crux of the problem). At 13:15 I arrived an was put in the rather large radiology queue. I finally got X-Ray ed and sent to the doctor who informed me that I have a stone slightly larger than a peanut M&M 2/3 of the way down my urinary tract. Given that these things generally have the texture of hedgehogs the doctor seemed surprised that I was walking as easily as I was. She pointed out that the pernicious pebble had passed through a particularly tight area to get where it is.
"Yeah...that would have been....Tuesday."
In any event, the thing may actually be too large to pass.
I also have a cold.
But there is good news.
I'm now (FINALLY) scheduled to get the sonic de-stoneimitation treatment. This had been delayed a year due to the huge number of X-Rays I'd had last year. However, as it stands now, as of next Thursday, my guts will be a stone-free zone.
In the meantime ..."Ouch".
Picture is Unrelated:
I have no idea.
I was told that the earliest possible date was next week, unless I was there between 7:30 & 8:00 AM in which case hey could fit me in. This resulted in a 10:30 appointment. (?)
At 10:30 I arrived to be told that they couldn't see me until my X-rays had been done and the backup radiologist wouldn't be in until 13:15. ( I suspect that the fact that a backup radiologist needed to be called in was the crux of the problem). At 13:15 I arrived an was put in the rather large radiology queue. I finally got X-Ray ed and sent to the doctor who informed me that I have a stone slightly larger than a peanut M&M 2/3 of the way down my urinary tract. Given that these things generally have the texture of hedgehogs the doctor seemed surprised that I was walking as easily as I was. She pointed out that the pernicious pebble had passed through a particularly tight area to get where it is.
"Yeah...that would have been....Tuesday."
In any event, the thing may actually be too large to pass.
I also have a cold.
But there is good news.
I'm now (FINALLY) scheduled to get the sonic de-stoneimitation treatment. This had been delayed a year due to the huge number of X-Rays I'd had last year. However, as it stands now, as of next Thursday, my guts will be a stone-free zone.
In the meantime ..."Ouch".
Picture is Unrelated:
I have no idea.
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It's Not Me
If one got any"odd*" E-mails from me last night, don't open them. My account got hacked. From my observation of several message boards and mailing lists this seems to have been a common occurrence on AOL and Yahoo over the past few weeks. The issue has been resolved for now, and I'm looking at getting a real E-mail service.
*Note that if you are in Illinois, the subject DUCK SEASON IS OPEN does not count as odd.
*Note that if you are in Illinois, the subject DUCK SEASON IS OPEN does not count as odd.
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March 27, 2013
Spacesuits and Moonships of Futures Past
One of the Brickmuppet's Crack Team of Science Babes celebrates the fact that The third and fourth installments of the Colliers space symposium are online and have been for two months and two weeks respectively.
As mentioned here and here the Horizons newsletter of AIAA Houston is republishing high resolution annotated reproductions of the entire "Man Will Conquer Space Soon!" series published by Colliers in the 1950s. This series is a fascinating bit of history as it was extremely important in convincing people that Spaceflight was practical. They are also interesting in that they show step by step how major technical issues were dealt with in an age when most calculations were done with slide rules.
It's also rather sobering. Today, with technology nearly 60 years more advanced, and so much more power at our disposal, our society rarely speaks of doing great things.
more...
One of the Brickmuppet's Crack Team of Science Babes celebrates the fact that The third and fourth installments of the Colliers space symposium are online and have been for two months and two weeks respectively. As mentioned here and here the Horizons newsletter of AIAA Houston is republishing high resolution annotated reproductions of the entire "Man Will Conquer Space Soon!" series published by Colliers in the 1950s. This series is a fascinating bit of history as it was extremely important in convincing people that Spaceflight was practical. They are also interesting in that they show step by step how major technical issues were dealt with in an age when most calculations were done with slide rules.
It's also rather sobering. Today, with technology nearly 60 years more advanced, and so much more power at our disposal, our society rarely speaks of doing great things.
more...
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"...Through all the fire and the smoke, we will never give up hope..."
Here is the extended trailer for the 5th Yamato 2199 Movie. It's about twice as long as the one on the DVDs.
Be advised; there appears to be much spoilage therein.
Golly...Willakers!
Be advised; there appears to be much spoilage therein.
Golly...Willakers!
One of the few bright spots in the upcoming spring season is the fact that they will start broadcasting this superb show on TV. This is about a year earlier than previously announced. I'm not sure if this bodes ill for a second season. However, BR sales seem to have been pretty good.
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March 26, 2013
This Might Merit A Bit of Concern
They have found an unexpected empty space where a container of a nasty airborne hemmoragic fever is supposed to be.
Yes. A vial of Guanarito virus has gone missing from the Galveston National Laboratory.
Guanarito is a nasty hemoragic fever. Depending on which news report one looks at the disease has a human mortality of 20-30 percent. Low for a hemoragic fever but damned scary nonetheless. It exists in Venuzuela mainly in the rodent population, but unlike Ebola Reston (which is also transmitted airborne) it does affect humans and ' at least several hundred cases' have been reported over the years.
The officials quoted in the news reports claim that this fiasco is of no real concern. However, according to Wikipedia:
In other words, this particular virus is one of the very few Ebola type bugs that is spread like the flu, via sneezing, coughing and such.
It is therefore one of very few such diseases that would make an effective bioweapon...
...and IT is the one that went missing.
Officials are claiming it is most likely a clerical error, that there is nothing to see here, and citizens should move on.
UPDATE: Found picture credits for the "Science Babe". Picture (minus biohazard symbol) is by Kiollion and is of an actual science babe. Riako Asakura is about the only person in Genshenkyo who believes in science and is from one of the early Touhou games.
One of the Brickmuppet's Crack Team of Science Babes brings us
disturbing information from the exotic land of Tejas where researchers
have made a rather worrisome discovery.
"Ubu. Put it back!"
They have found an unexpected empty space where a container of a nasty airborne hemmoragic fever is supposed to be.
Yes. A vial of Guanarito virus has gone missing from the Galveston National Laboratory.
Guanarito is a nasty hemoragic fever. Depending on which news report one looks at the disease has a human mortality of 20-30 percent. Low for a hemoragic fever but damned scary nonetheless. It exists in Venuzuela mainly in the rodent population, but unlike Ebola Reston (which is also transmitted airborne) it does affect humans and ' at least several hundred cases' have been reported over the years.
The officials quoted in the news reports claim that this fiasco is of no real concern. However, according to Wikipedia:
Because the virus is contracted by aerosol dissemination, concern arose shortly after the first cases emerged in 1989 due to fear of biological warfare. Potential biological terrorism agents were identified and categorized in 1999 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as part of the Congressional initiative to further response capabilities to biological weapons [4] . Arenaviruses causing hemorrhagic fevers, along with a genus of virus called filoviruses, were categorized in Category A; these are pathogens with the highest potential impact on public health safety.
In other words, this particular virus is one of the very few Ebola type bugs that is spread like the flu, via sneezing, coughing and such.
It is therefore one of very few such diseases that would make an effective bioweapon...
...and IT is the one that went missing.
Officials are claiming it is most likely a clerical error, that there is nothing to see here, and citizens should move on.
UPDATE: Found picture credits for the "Science Babe". Picture (minus biohazard symbol) is by Kiollion and is of an actual science babe. Riako Asakura is about the only person in Genshenkyo who believes in science and is from one of the early Touhou games.
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March 24, 2013
And Now A Few Words From an Expert on Science (Mad Division)
Of course, with the beneffit of 20/20 hindsight and subsequent advances in the understanding of the human genome it would appear that radiation and Tesla coils have limited utility in the area
of controlled chromosomal manipulation to achieve the desired (and heritable) genetic traits. Additionally, working alone in a swamp with limited capital and dubious physical plant seems in retrospect to have been non-conducive to the gentleman's stated goals.
One might find it necessary to secure the backing of a large, comparatively rich, yet totalitarian, one party state, preferably one with no qualms about culling any subjects that do not conform to stated party goals.
One might find it necessary to secure the backing of a large, comparatively rich, yet totalitarian, one party state, preferably one with no qualms about culling any subjects that do not conform to stated party goals.
Meanwhile....In China.
On the one hand boosting human intellect seems like a worthy goal, on the other hand there are all sorts of practical issues with this. As I was working on this post I noted that sci-fi author Sarah Hoyt has already looked at a few...
That is a biggie.
This in part is a product of the Chinese Confucian tradition which views credentials themselves as a virtue rather than a characteristic. This view is certainly not something the Chinese have a monopoly on, it has permeated the US in the last decades to our detriment. This is NOT to say that credentials should be ignored completely or that they might not have some utility for this endeavor, however given the issues Hoyt brings up (connections, privilege ect.) there need to be other issues to take greater weight.
Hoyt also points out that there are some undesireable traits that seem to be tied to high IQ's. She specifically mentions Autistic related characteristics. That is not the only potential downfall however. There actually is one example of (somewhat unintentional) successful selecting of a human population for intellect; the Ashkanazi. Note though, that this site, which is dedicated to genetic diseases that are especially common among that population, shows that there are more physical issues that might well be tied to the same alleles. I must emphasize "MIGHT" because there is considerable debate on this point. Assuming this is the case, then given time these problems might be cleaved from the alleles.
However straight IQ test performance is not the be-all and end all of what a society needs and the weirdoes who make up a lot of geniuses are not likely to do well in the learning environment that stresses conformity, and test taking ability above all else.
Nonlinear thinking, motivation, ambition and moxie are at least as important. These are not things China has traditionally valued and are certainly not things that a leftist education system encourages. IQ is of limited utility without discipline ( of course the Chinese have THAT in spades so...Advantage Middle Kingdom).
None of this is to say the ChiComs CAN'T pull it off which Hoyt's post seems to be strongly implying. They have hurdles, but they are very, very smart and they are very, very motivated so, while I'm skeptical, I would not completely write them off.
That's where the ethical issues come in. In the US, without any genetic tweaking beyond marrying up, we have developed a class of people who feel perfectly entitled to rule, by virtue of their credentials. They have a sense of entitlement comperable or greater than a European Aristocrat, because they ae where they are not because of devine providence, (which might lead to some sort of noblise oblige') but because they feel that by virtue of the credentials they have obtained they are intrinsically better than the rest of us.
Imagine the attitude of those who will know they have been scientifically selected to be geniuses...even if the selection produces little or no gains they will be groomed to lead with that knowledge...insuferable, entitled geniuses. How's that strike you?
Yeah...Me too...
Our first experience with the friendliness problem might well be with spoiled wetware rather than AIs.
Of course there is whole question of a totalitarian one party state setting out to create Ubermenchen.
Great potential, great peril.
At BGI Shenzhen, scientists have collected DNA samples from 2,000 of the world’s smartest people and are sequencing their entire genomes in an attempt to identify the alleles which determine human intelligence. Apparently they’re not far from finding them, and when they do, embryo screening will allow parents to pick their brightest zygote and potentially bump up every generation's intelligence by five to 15 IQ points.
On the one hand boosting human intellect seems like a worthy goal, on the other hand there are all sorts of practical issues with this. As I was working on this post I noted that sci-fi author Sarah Hoyt has already looked at a few...
So… anyway, they’re picking these highly credentialed people from Europe and Asia (where of course, connections family, privilege have nothing to do with credentials. Excuse me, I have some sarcasm stuck in my throat.)
That is a biggie.
This in part is a product of the Chinese Confucian tradition which views credentials themselves as a virtue rather than a characteristic. This view is certainly not something the Chinese have a monopoly on, it has permeated the US in the last decades to our detriment. This is NOT to say that credentials should be ignored completely or that they might not have some utility for this endeavor, however given the issues Hoyt brings up (connections, privilege ect.) there need to be other issues to take greater weight.
Hoyt also points out that there are some undesireable traits that seem to be tied to high IQ's. She specifically mentions Autistic related characteristics. That is not the only potential downfall however. There actually is one example of (somewhat unintentional) successful selecting of a human population for intellect; the Ashkanazi. Note though, that this site, which is dedicated to genetic diseases that are especially common among that population, shows that there are more physical issues that might well be tied to the same alleles. I must emphasize "MIGHT" because there is considerable debate on this point. Assuming this is the case, then given time these problems might be cleaved from the alleles.
However straight IQ test performance is not the be-all and end all of what a society needs and the weirdoes who make up a lot of geniuses are not likely to do well in the learning environment that stresses conformity, and test taking ability above all else.
Nonlinear thinking, motivation, ambition and moxie are at least as important. These are not things China has traditionally valued and are certainly not things that a leftist education system encourages. IQ is of limited utility without discipline ( of course the Chinese have THAT in spades so...Advantage Middle Kingdom).
None of this is to say the ChiComs CAN'T pull it off which Hoyt's post seems to be strongly implying. They have hurdles, but they are very, very smart and they are very, very motivated so, while I'm skeptical, I would not completely write them off.
That's where the ethical issues come in. In the US, without any genetic tweaking beyond marrying up, we have developed a class of people who feel perfectly entitled to rule, by virtue of their credentials. They have a sense of entitlement comperable or greater than a European Aristocrat, because they ae where they are not because of devine providence, (which might lead to some sort of noblise oblige') but because they feel that by virtue of the credentials they have obtained they are intrinsically better than the rest of us.
Imagine the attitude of those who will know they have been scientifically selected to be geniuses...even if the selection produces little or no gains they will be groomed to lead with that knowledge...insuferable, entitled geniuses. How's that strike you?
Yeah...Me too...
Our first experience with the friendliness problem might well be with spoiled wetware rather than AIs.
Of course there is whole question of a totalitarian one party state setting out to create Ubermenchen.
Great potential, great peril.
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I don't even.....
Hey kids! Here's your quote for the day!
They're not even trying to hide it any more.
I find myself without words. Lets see if Ritsu here has anything to add....
I pretty much concur.
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Somebody Needs to Fund This
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Remembering a Legendary Asshat
John Nestor was a man who followed the rules to the letter. Jonah Goldberg remembered this paragon of propriety in the opening of a recent column.
So this officious prick caused untold deaths because he stopped ANY approvals of heart medicine for 4 years. This does not count the deaths from any accidents he likely caused on the beltway or the people who got stuck in traffic in an ambulance and died on the way to the ER.
Mr. Nestor wrought all this misery by simply following the rules and exercising his lawful power over others. His comment about speeders belied the fact that Nestor was actually a bully. Devoid of empathy, he derived glee from hurting others with his passive aggressive mischief. His refusal to approve a single drug for the stated reason of fearing there might be harm speaks to either profound moral cowardice or fearful malice.
Jackasses are all around us. But few have had been able to make such a profound difference by themselves as Mr. Nestor. So today we remember a truly legendary asshat.
In the early 1980s, transit officials in Washington couldn’t figure out why traffic on the Beltway would grind to a near halt every day around the exact same time. The usual explanations didn’t fit.Then it was discovered that a single driver was to blame. Every day on his drive to work, this commuter would plant himself in the left lane and set his cruise control to 55 mph, the posted speed limit, forcing those behind him to merge right. You can imagine the effects.
It gets better...
To his credit, this driver came forward in a letter to the editor of the Washington Post. The man’s name was John O. Nestor. He explained that the left lane was great; less traffic, less merging — why not ride it into work every day? Besides, he wrote, "Why should I inconvenience myself for someone who wants to speed?â€
With that bit of daily narcissistic malice, this jackass was able to destroy the traffic in the DC area. The term "Nestoring" was coined by readers of the Washington Post to describe his antics.
It gets better worse still...
Fittingly, Nestor was a regulator at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Virtually no drug was worth the risk, according to Nestor. The FDA transferred him out of the cardio-renal-pulmonary unit to some bureaucratic backwater because he "had approved no new chemical entities ... from 1968 to 1972...
So this officious prick caused untold deaths because he stopped ANY approvals of heart medicine for 4 years. This does not count the deaths from any accidents he likely caused on the beltway or the people who got stuck in traffic in an ambulance and died on the way to the ER.
Mr. Nestor wrought all this misery by simply following the rules and exercising his lawful power over others. His comment about speeders belied the fact that Nestor was actually a bully. Devoid of empathy, he derived glee from hurting others with his passive aggressive mischief. His refusal to approve a single drug for the stated reason of fearing there might be harm speaks to either profound moral cowardice or fearful malice.
Jackasses are all around us. But few have had been able to make such a profound difference by themselves as Mr. Nestor. So today we remember a truly legendary asshat.
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March 18, 2013
Wow
...Russian's easier to understand that I would have thought.
Language warning.
Language warning.
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I do miss this show
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March 17, 2013
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March 15, 2013
BEWARE!!1!
"Et Tu!!"
"Et Tu!!"
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This is it
They warned you that "there will be a test:".
Well, the test is now.
Don is the inquisitor.
May God have mercy on your soul.
Well, the test is now.
Don is the inquisitor.
May God have mercy on your soul.
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GJ Club
I'd found a couple of cute animated .gifs and tracked down their source. When I read the premise for the show it did not excite me...at all. However, a bit of digging turned up the fact that despite the cast and premise it is based on a series of light novels...and not a dating sim.
So I gave an episode a whirl.
In a certain school with very garish uniforms four girls and a boy round out the membership of the mysterious GJ Club. The clubs purpose is unclear but within the tiny club room, the five young souls drink tea, play chess, change light-bulbs and have other such harrowing adventures....
This is an odd one.
Case in point....
This here is Kirara Bernstein. She's...well she's an exchange student...from someplace. She doesn't speak Japanese confidently and is generally very quiet. She seems to be on Atkins. Kirrara is also exceedingly tall and a bit awkward. She nearly died when bitten by a black widow at age 4 and this has left her with a terrible fear of spiders. Is there anything else I'm failing to mention here?
About 2/3 of the way through episode one, Mao the rather manic club president and Nebbish McOrdinary here notice that, yes, there is indeed something odd about the girl sitting by the window.
The other club members are Shion, an elegant but slightly out of touch genius chess player and Mao's younger (and much taller) sister Megumi who is the absolute master of the club tea service. The dude is named Kyoya and serves mainly to be the butt of pranks. He prefers Josei and Shojo mamga because they tend to actually have character development.
Artwise, GJ Club has got quite detailed backgrounds with the animation itself being about average. There are occasionally some editing quirks that are fairly clever.
Although his show's cast seems to consist entirely of cliches it has a fairly offbeat feel to it in part because the pacing and humor is rather dry, though there is some slapstick as well as the oddness evidenced above. By the end of the first episode there are actual hints of personalities in some of the characters.
I'm not sure what to make of this show...
However I laughed.. and it's cute so I'll probably watch at least a few more episodes to see where it goes.
Thus far it's way better than it ought to be.
UPDATE: It occurs to me that one of the things that seems so off center is that while it is cast like a harem show it's more a cute girls doing cute things sitcom with the caveat that one of them is a guy.
So I gave an episode a whirl.
In a certain school with very garish uniforms four girls and a boy round out the membership of the mysterious GJ Club. The clubs purpose is unclear but within the tiny club room, the five young souls drink tea, play chess, change light-bulbs and have other such harrowing adventures....
Ghaaa! So...is this show set in Australia?
This is an odd one.
Case in point....
This here is Kirara Bernstein. She's...well she's an exchange student...from someplace. She doesn't speak Japanese confidently and is generally very quiet. She seems to be on Atkins. Kirrara is also exceedingly tall and a bit awkward. She nearly died when bitten by a black widow at age 4 and this has left her with a terrible fear of spiders. Is there anything else I'm failing to mention here?
About 2/3 of the way through episode one, Mao the rather manic club president and Nebbish McOrdinary here notice that, yes, there is indeed something odd about the girl sitting by the window.
...'kayy...not what I would have noticed.
Which precipitates a conversation that ranges from how there is no cut of meat on any animal that looks like that to whether or not eating it will allow them to "increase their hit points" and speculation on just how the HELL that thing Kirara's eating was prepared. The other club members are Shion, an elegant but slightly out of touch genius chess player and Mao's younger (and much taller) sister Megumi who is the absolute master of the club tea service. The dude is named Kyoya and serves mainly to be the butt of pranks. He prefers Josei and Shojo mamga because they tend to actually have character development.
Artwise, GJ Club has got quite detailed backgrounds with the animation itself being about average. There are occasionally some editing quirks that are fairly clever.
Although his show's cast seems to consist entirely of cliches it has a fairly offbeat feel to it in part because the pacing and humor is rather dry, though there is some slapstick as well as the oddness evidenced above. By the end of the first episode there are actual hints of personalities in some of the characters.
I'm not sure what to make of this show...
However I laughed.. and it's cute so I'll probably watch at least a few more episodes to see where it goes.
Thus far it's way better than it ought to be.
UPDATE: It occurs to me that one of the things that seems so off center is that while it is cast like a harem show it's more a cute girls doing cute things sitcom with the caveat that one of them is a guy.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
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March 14, 2013
Media Blasters Status / Other News
Media Blasters has posted an announcement on their website clarifying their situation. The rumor that they had no business liscence hit them hard as did an injury to the owner. Several titles are no longer in their possession and at least two are owned by them but with no plans for release. It seems that they intend to sell those rights to other companies.
So they are not in fact dead, though they are limping. I find it strange that they are going all in on their hentai line with one title a month in the pipeline. I would have thought that that would have been the hardest to get sales for given current technological realities. Perhaps the licenses were very cheap.
This is true on the Meada Blasters PR page and their Facebook page.
I wish they weren't being so koi... I'll just bob about here until they let minnow something"
I don't know if this omission means anything but I allow myself a tenuous hope as their dub of Squid Girl season 1 was superb.
In other news the High School of the Dead manga is re-starting in Dragon Age on April 9th.
Crunchyroll will be streaming the missing episodes of Girls und Panzer on March 28th.
The only labels MB will continue to acquire and release in for 2013 are AnimeWorks, Tokyo Shock and Kitty. In addition there will be a focus to produce and release original productions through Fever Dreams.
So they are not in fact dead, though they are limping. I find it strange that they are going all in on their hentai line with one title a month in the pipeline. I would have thought that that would have been the hardest to get sales for given current technological realities. Perhaps the licenses were very cheap.
I noted in passing that Robert's Anime Corner Store recently covered this too, but I noticed a discrepancy between the RACS post (a few days old) and the current press release at Media Blasters. Squid Girl Season 2 is no longer on their list of "owned but not being distributed".
This is true on the Meada Blasters PR page and their Facebook page.
I wish they weren't being so koi... I'll just bob about here until they let minnow something"
In other news the High School of the Dead manga is re-starting in Dragon Age on April 9th.
Crunchyroll will be streaming the missing episodes of Girls und Panzer on March 28th.
"Panzer VORE!"
"No Saori, the word is VOR...You'll loose your broadcast license if you say vore on the air.
"I don't get it""
"That's 'cause you're a good person."
"No Saori, the word is VOR...You'll loose your broadcast license if you say vore on the air.
"I don't get it""
"That's 'cause you're a good person."
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
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The James River Bridge
Replacing the spectacular diesel-punk edifice that preceded it, the new bridge has, since 1983, quietly allowed cars to transit the 4 and a half watery miles between Newport News and Isle of Wight County and ships to proceed up the channel to inland ports such as Richmond, Petersburg and West Point.
The original span was considered a major engineering feat in 1928. It is a measure of civilization's progress that today, as a piece of infrastructure, it is fairly unremarkable. It would not be of any note whatsoever were it not for one detail. It has no service lane. It is therefore, one of the last places one wants to see steam jet out from ones hood just as one passes through the draw span.
And yet...there it was, jetting out both sides of the hood in utter defiance of all that is decent and proper. Recalcitrant steam, sadistic steam, steam that, like a spoiled and entitled female bully, chooses the most hurtful time and manner in which to make her cruel and demoralizing vituperation. Moreover it was doing this in MY engine compartment.
I had about 4 miles to go before I could pull over. The temperature gauge was rapidly moving towards the red. To break down on a bridge shutting down traffic during rush hour would ensure a ticket and I'd be taken to a mechanic wayy out in Isle of Wight county. So I kept going as the interior filled with the acrid smell of anti-freeze and the steam billowed past my window at an alarming rate...until it billowed no more, which was rather more alarming. Moments later the heater began to blow cold air and I knew I was done..fortunately I was approaching the top of the second rise in the bridge, which services pleasure craft and fishing vessels that moor up the Pagan river. So I gunned it for a moment, cut the engine and put the car in neutral as I reached the top.
By the time I was where I could pull off I was going about 5 mph which meant I was followed by a lot of VERY irate people, who, like me, were avoiding a major auto wreck in the bridge tunnel and were already driving 30 miles out of their way. I pulled over, waited for the car to cool, put in all my drinking and bug out water and tried to find the leak, albeit to no avail. There was a trickle coming out but I could not find the source of the leak so my duct tape was worthless. I drove to a truckstop and bought a lot of water (no sense in leaving a trail of antifreeze for 30 miles) and ran the heater all the way back. There was no huge jet of steam this time but there was a constant faint cloud billowing up from the hood. When my heater blew cold I knew it was time to pull over, wait for cool-down and refill the car. At each stop I searched in vain for the source of the leak.
I finally made it to the mechanic just as they closed. I just got a call a few minutes ago. It turns out that there is a small coolant hose behind a metal panel under the engine block, which I gather has not been changed since 1982. I should get the car back tomorrow.
...and now you know about the James River Bridge.
Picture taken from Huntington Beach, note that the shark net does nothing to dissuade the ducks.
The original span was considered a major engineering feat in 1928. It is a measure of civilization's progress that today, as a piece of infrastructure, it is fairly unremarkable. It would not be of any note whatsoever were it not for one detail. It has no service lane. It is therefore, one of the last places one wants to see steam jet out from ones hood just as one passes through the draw span.
And yet...there it was, jetting out both sides of the hood in utter defiance of all that is decent and proper. Recalcitrant steam, sadistic steam, steam that, like a spoiled and entitled female bully, chooses the most hurtful time and manner in which to make her cruel and demoralizing vituperation. Moreover it was doing this in MY engine compartment.
I had about 4 miles to go before I could pull over. The temperature gauge was rapidly moving towards the red. To break down on a bridge shutting down traffic during rush hour would ensure a ticket and I'd be taken to a mechanic wayy out in Isle of Wight county. So I kept going as the interior filled with the acrid smell of anti-freeze and the steam billowed past my window at an alarming rate...until it billowed no more, which was rather more alarming. Moments later the heater began to blow cold air and I knew I was done..fortunately I was approaching the top of the second rise in the bridge, which services pleasure craft and fishing vessels that moor up the Pagan river. So I gunned it for a moment, cut the engine and put the car in neutral as I reached the top.
By the time I was where I could pull off I was going about 5 mph which meant I was followed by a lot of VERY irate people, who, like me, were avoiding a major auto wreck in the bridge tunnel and were already driving 30 miles out of their way. I pulled over, waited for the car to cool, put in all my drinking and bug out water and tried to find the leak, albeit to no avail. There was a trickle coming out but I could not find the source of the leak so my duct tape was worthless. I drove to a truckstop and bought a lot of water (no sense in leaving a trail of antifreeze for 30 miles) and ran the heater all the way back. There was no huge jet of steam this time but there was a constant faint cloud billowing up from the hood. When my heater blew cold I knew it was time to pull over, wait for cool-down and refill the car. At each stop I searched in vain for the source of the leak.
I finally made it to the mechanic just as they closed. I just got a call a few minutes ago. It turns out that there is a small coolant hose behind a metal panel under the engine block, which I gather has not been changed since 1982. I should get the car back tomorrow.
...and now you know about the James River Bridge.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
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March 09, 2013
Midterms are Done
Well, Wednesday night I got in after 11pm after the crazy, cold, wet car problem mentioned below. I fiddled about for a bit getting ready for work, went to work, got out 2 hours late went in to take my pre-calculus midterm and promptly forgot what numbers are. I don't have my grade yet but I don't feel good about it. Fortunately this class isn't as exam weighted in its grades as most.
The other exams went OK.
There's only one grade I've actually gotten back. The Japanese midterm was an even greater worry than the math. I missed a lot of classes early on and was struggling, so I went to class yesterday with some trepidation.
I got a 100. A one with two zeroes behind it. I don't know when I've ever gotten a 100 on an actual exam, "A's" yes but perfect? Certainly not in Japanese. Even better, the instructor decided to let me make-up the assignments I'd missed so I've gone from hanging on for dear life to sitting pretty in my hardest class, which at 6 credits a huge chunk of my semester GPA. Happy day.
It's unseemly for southern gentlemen to gloat or emote so I'll just let these two young ladies convey my sentiments on the matter.
The other exams went OK.
There's only one grade I've actually gotten back. The Japanese midterm was an even greater worry than the math. I missed a lot of classes early on and was struggling, so I went to class yesterday with some trepidation.
I got a 100. A one with two zeroes behind it. I don't know when I've ever gotten a 100 on an actual exam, "A's" yes but perfect? Certainly not in Japanese. Even better, the instructor decided to let me make-up the assignments I'd missed so I've gone from hanging on for dear life to sitting pretty in my hardest class, which at 6 credits a huge chunk of my semester GPA. Happy day.
It's unseemly for southern gentlemen to gloat or emote so I'll just let these two young ladies convey my sentiments on the matter.
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