Haibane.info

Author: fledgling otaku

  • The Tao of Scientism

    Daniel Dare is one of those web personalities you come across who you might initially think is a crank, but after integrating over time you see that they have a subtle depth. He’s largely hostile to belief and subscribes to the Dawkins ultra-rationalist condescension of spiritualism. I haven’t asked him directly but I suspect he would strenously disagree with the inconvenient truth that rationality itself is flawed. At any rate, he’s got a blog and it’s worth subscribing to on RSS.

    I think he’d be one of the most interesting people in Twitter if he were to get the Zen. In the meantime, I’ll settle for his Tao.

  • The Office

    The Office returns tonight!

    I got seriously hooked on this via Netflix, which really makes it easy to feed a TV addiction (and I’m not alone).

    My favorite character is Michael but most of the online quiz thingies have me pegged as Jim. Or Pam. Go figure 😛 I think this show is the closest heir to Seinfeld on modern television. The actual plot is basically about Nothing. Sure, the characters fall in and out of various romances but that’s like window dressing for the utter pointlessness of their daily grind. A lot of us can relate to that 🙂

    UPDATE: a preview, the first minute and a half from NBC.com:

  • Incredible spacewalk pictures from Shuttle Endeavour

    click to enlarge. These are amazing. Wonder if my G9 would be up to this task…

    Original source here.

  • the Atomic EEE

    There are a number of products that seek to compare with the EEE, including the Everex Cloudbook and the new HP 2133 Mini-Note PC. Unfortunately, these all try to improve on the EEE by offering more hard drive space, larger screens, larger keyboards, etc. That is unfortunate, because then in order to compete on price they invariably use the Via processor instead of the baby Celeron that the EEE uses. The Via comes in a higher clock rate than the Celeron (in the EEE, its downclocked to 600 MHz, though you can get it to run at its native 900 using a BIOS upgrade). However, it’s performance just doesn’t keep pace. Plus, these competitor products have to use 4200 rpm hard drives due to the small form factor (they are too small for standard 2.5 inch notebook drives) and so they really suffer performance wise, especially compared to the solid-state disk of the EEE. Ultimately, the only true competitors to the EEE (on price and performance) will appear when Intel officially launches its new Atom processor in June, which is a truly state-of-the-art chip designed for mobility.

    I find it surprising therefore that Asus is rolling out its successor to the EEE later this month, without the Atom processor. They moved up the release date purely as a response to all these Via-based units being rolled out. This is a mistake in my opinion. If you are in the market for a new EEE or similar device, my advice is to either buy the original version (which can be had with Windows XP preinstalled now) or wait until June for the upgraded model.

  • vengeance upon den Beste

    you know the reason I started this blog was because a certain someone got me addicted – and I mean ADDICTED – to Haibane Renmei. Steven wasn’t content to hit me with that alone, though – I also got a triple bolus of Sugar Snow Fairy and Someday’s Dreamers to course like crack through my fledgling otaku mind.

    Now he has done it again. I was actually done with Ranma. I suffered through the first disc and swore off it for good. Then along comes SDB, reviews a few episodes, and i decide well, maybe, just maybe I should give it another chance.

    Behold what his machinations have wrought. I actually enjoyed the Martial Arts Figure Skating arc. I thought Asuza was hilarious. I thought the plot of the Ramen / Delivery Martial Arts episode was clever and was genuinely surprised when (and this is no spoiler) Ranma has to step in for Akane. I am 5 minutes into the Cat Phobia episode, and realized I was enjoying it far too much for any reasonable standard of sanity. All of this, while SDB actually claims burnout! Diabolical fiend!

    What the hell. I’m going to find some manner of revenge. I’m going to get Steven to watch Robotech. You’ve been duly warned, old man.

  • free Starbucks coffee today 11am

    in the mood for an afternoon cup of caffeine, gratis? get thee to a Starbucks between 11 and 1130am today.

  • Robotech through the mirror

    Daniel has an awesome “slice” of SDF: Macross – the scene where (Rick) saves (Minmei) in mid-air. The only thing missing from his description is the part where Rick almost falls out of the cockpit himself, but is saved by the canopy glass. Of course, I am completely ruined as far as Macross goes, since that entire scene is firmly in the Robotech context for me. But his description is exactly as I remember it, even though I haven’t seen that scene since (at best guess) 1994.

    Where are all the Macross bloggers anyway? Daniel’s sincere appreciation of the series is pretty rare (I’ve yet to go through his archives on it). Almost everyone else seems to look down on it as some proto-anime-culture which everyone has long since grown up for (and yet, Ranma still makes the rounds??). Have we all forgotten just how much cooler 50-foot robots that transform into jet fighters are than silly schoolgirls’ underpants? (ok, I’m treading close to the border of otaku blasphemy here, but I am fearless).

    I should read more of that blog. Subscribing now. The title alone is worth extra points.

    UPDATE: Legend of the Galactic Heroes? I am intrigued.

  • Condolences

    Astro has suffered a loss. He will be fine, but that sort of thing always cuts deep.

  • Wiitis

    Yes, Wiitis is now officially real – magnetic resonance imaging proves it so.

  • My Chipotle

    chipotle

    Nutrition Facts
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 813 Cal from Fat 267
    % Daily Value*
    Total Fat 31g 48%
    Saturated Fat 6g 28%
    Trans Fat 0g  
    Cholesterol 65mg 22%
    Sodium 2153mg 90%
    Total Carbs 90g 30%
    Dietary Fiber 13g 52%
    Sugars 5g  
    Protein 42g  
    Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 0%
    Calcium 0% • Iron 0%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
    INGREDIENTS: 13″ Tortilla,Rice,Steak (4oz),Red (Hot) Salsa,Lettuce,Guacamole (4oz)

    There aren’t any in casual driving distance from Marshfield, alas. Moving to Madison in June though 🙂