Bliss

At first glance, this place may not look familiar to you but it's been viewed by billions of people around the world...


... orz... I couldn't believe these two photos are taken from the same place and I've thought the default XP wallpaper is just a poorly photoshopped picture...


Wikipedia
Google Street View

9/15, 10/15, 11/16...

Month after month, I was buried in my piles of works on my desk and I actually started to hate the 15th day of a month because it's the day when everything's due. (I was born on the 15th, too so does that mean I hate my birthday?) The amount of workload doesn't frustrate me but the unpredictability of workload discourages me. If I was able to just focus on my portion, I'd have the time to plan and work everything out. But now I'm really stressed out because I'm being called on doing things that I'm not supposed to do all the time. On a crazy day, I'd be making phone calls (calling the authorities is very time consuming and needs constant follow-ups), faxing (I don't want to wait in front of that stupid fax machine!!!), emailing (well, I'd rather be emailed than called.), drafting letters (another time consuming task and follow-up is almost a must…), doing A/R (check, cash, crack! I just couldn't think of anything it's related to my job…), training people (it's not that bad now as the new hires aren't amateurs anymore), reviewing, preparing returns (the last two are clearly my main responsibilities but sometimes the boss just gives you one or two more assignments whenever she likes… just to make my life miserable?), etc. Really, the last two things always have the 15th day deadlines but I'm constantly bothered by the other tasks and have to rush in the last minutes. In some instances, I do have the time, but the boss decides not to show up so things are stalled for couple of days for no reason. Of course, there're always extensions but to me, it's just a symbol of failure and lamb excuse for not making deadlines. The next 15th will be my birthday and I definitely don't want this vicious cycle to continue in December because I would literally prefer dead to working overtime on the 15th. I must do everything I can to get rid of anything that prevents me from leaving on time on that day, period.

OS Calculator

Technically, I'm using the XP one more than 20 times a day. Will the designer make the scientific mode also? By the way, the XP calculator is obviously bigger but how come it's thicker than the Mac one? And what functions do the "minimize," "maximize" and "close" buttons have?

All About U

Original MV vs TVB version... the first one is stunning while the other one is... I guess local?
Major difference: The male model!? Why TVB keeps wasting its resources to make these poor mvs when it's definitely passed its golden age?

Sora no Otoshimono (そらのおとしもの) 06

The best introduction of Nymph is no introduction? I guess Tomoki is angelroid magnet so she just shows up...


Didn't they wear swimsuits last week? Sohara, as well as Sugato and Mikako, win a one-day trip in a sweepstake contest... (isn't that supposed to be one grand prize in a sweepstake?)


I just notice that Sugata seems to just have one only outfit in his closet... the school uniform...


Nymph, a more advanced version of angelroid, is able to show more emotions and likes cursing...


... Sea cucumbers eject sticky filaments to scare off enemies when they're in danger...


Sohara originally wants to go rolling with Tomoki but later rolls alone as Tomoki's too busy teaching Ikaros to swim and then she's got herself in trouble once again...


This time, Nymph surprising helps Tomoki to rescue Sohara... (Nobody notices she's flying?)


Since Tomoki doesn't spend any time with Sohara during the whole trip, she demands to stay overnight and Sugata wins the lodging for the group...


The mysterious angel appears in Tomoki's dream again to tell him to be cautious.


If angelroids need not to sleep, why do they need to eat? Afterall, they're just some kind of robots/terminators...


Tomoki takes Ikaros to stretch her wings and they finds Nymph being surrounds by three guys. Fearing the bullies would hurt Tomoki, Ikaros once again shows off her mysterious power but is stopped just in time before any further damage is done.


The death of the watermelon in the very last scene...


Comments: Comparing to previous endings, this ED is really normal... Although this episode doesn't lack services, it isn't very funny overall and is getting slightly serious at certain points. The court down of Ikaros' awakening might have just begun.

Fumiko's Confession

http://d.hatena.ne.jp/Tete/

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

Caution -- Spoiler Ahead!

I was very excited when Rockstar released Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars on psp a few weeks ago but now I've passed the main mission, I wasn't really impressed and thought my expectation might have been set too high. First of all, it is like a GTA 2 version of GTA 4 and there's nothing wrong about that since GTA 2 is really a classic. The game play is smooth and visual is great. And thank you for bringing back Rhino to the game (so I'd start a rampage at anytime I want) a brand new weapon, sword (the ultimate melee weapon with the weight of a dagger and lethal like a chainsaw). A new wanted system is also introduced (e.g. You've got a one star wanted level, you ditch one police car. Two stars, two police cars, then go down to one star level and ditch one more car, and so on.) so it's definitely easier to ditch the cops. The missions are ok (it's good that there's replay function so you could revisit your favorite missions after you passed them.) but the pay is really bad. In one mission, you help some guys to rob the Bank of Liberty (again) in return of $200(?). Well, of course, you make your living though drugs in this game by "buy low, sell high." On the other hand, Rockstar doesn't add voiceover in the psp version so for most of the time, it's like watching slideshow with tiny subtitle. The cell phone is replaced by a PDA and missions are received and notified through emails, and the radio stations are just pure music. So the only characters that actually speak in the game might be the cops and the guys who say “thank you” to you at the tolls… Besides, there're a lot of mini games transferred from the DS but without a touch screen, scratching lottery tickets and filing Molotov cocktails at gas stations using analog stick and direction pads sound bothersome. By the way, why couldn't Rockstar just display the weapons on the streets? Armor is still presented in the old fashion way. Searching garbage in a dumpster in order to get weapons is a waste of time and sometimes you get condoms and dildos… The biggest disappointment in this game is definitely the story. The main character, Huang Lee (what kind of Chinese name is that? It's either Wong Lee (Hong Kong) or Huang Li (Mainland China) is naive and very, very stupid. How couldn't he realize his uncle is the one that betrays him in the first place? Throughout the story, he either just hangs out with characters (Chan, Lester, etc) who are dumper than him or is being used by enemies to take down rival gangs. I don't really know what he is fighting for but could only feel that he's fooling around in the city. So Huang may be just the worst protagonist in GTA history (even worse than Vic Vance in GTA: Vice City Stories). For people who want to play this game, just skip the boring story slideshow and go right into the action.

Dancing Inmates

I've thought they only performs English songs...

Say Goodbye

Sometimes, I was wondering if I was being cursed in the year of Ox (Well, you're supposed to…). After an unusually busy period of time due to the extension deadline, the most experienced worker in our department decided to quit so she'd concentrate on passing the exam. This would definitely be a nightmare for the rest of us since she possibly handled 60% of the individual matter in the department. Her departure also meant the two staffs that handled 90% individual matter this year were both gone. I hoped that the pointy-haired boss could get some experienced people immediately but she just decided to go for a trip afterward and didn't even come to the office on her final day… Well, whatever… but don't count on me when you're in trouble during the coming busy season because my workloads had already got out of hands. Maybe the only nice thing about her departure was that the boss actually sponsored a little farewell party for her in a karaoke bar nearby and all the staff went to the party except the boss (of course, she would ruin it!). Karaoke wasn't my thing but some people seemed to like it very much as most of the songs were sung by just two persons. Prior to this one, I've only been in a karaoke bar for once before I came here. Well, like it or not, I just needed to go and treated it as a free dinner.

This is the first song of the night… ha ha being liberated…



The best performance of the night. Actaully, there're two… great vocal by the female receptionist for both songs(?)





I sang only three songs and all of them sucked…







In the end, even we're not closed and won't contact each other again, I still wanted to wish her good luck!

Sora no Otoshimono (そらのおとしもの) 05

Pretty #1 & #2... but no #3 yet...


Tomoki and Ikaros are in search for their temporary residence since their house's burnt and destroyed after the "panties" explosion but the search doesn't go well as Sugata's tent is too dangerous and Sohara just doesn't feel comfortable with the idea of living with Tomoki under the same roof...


Then what a coincidence, Mikako shows up and offers them a place to stay. Meanwhile, Sohara and Sugata join them as Tomoki and Sohara views that as an opportunity to experience aristocratic lifestyle. In reality, they're shocked to realize that Mikako grows up in a yakuza family...


Nodoka Ikaros seems to like anything that have a shape of a sphere... and Mikako's father also love being touched, too...


After the first few intense minutes, everyone relaxes a little bit and it's time for party/fan services!


After the dinner, Tomoki decides to take a bath but accidentally entered the forbidden hot spring inside the house and is almost executed by Mikako's family before Ikaros rescues him.


Since Tomoki breaks a serious rule in the house, he and his friends are no longer welcome there and are deported to a deserted island in the second half of the anime (what an great excuse for swimsuit services^^)


Since the island is deserted, the group starts to search for food and build shelter but slowly, everybody disappears one by one except Tomoki who is able to locate Sohara in the dark...


After that, they just survive on the island by themselves for a month...


One night, Sohara suddenly misses her old friends and is lonely enough to even consider having babies with Tomoki!? (at that point, I've thought it's a dream after Tomoki eats the poisonous mushroom...)


When they're so ready for the process of making a new life, a monster comes out from the sea and grabs Sohara...


Then, Tomoki plays the hero once again! (Doesn't Sohara have black belt in karate?) However, in the end, the monster turns out to be Ikaros, who is out there deep in the ocean to catch fish for the entire month...


And by the way, everything is set up by Mikako's father to punish Tomoki because of his misbehavior back in his house... Well, Tomoki and Sohara do continue to be embarrassed after they leave the island as their intimate moments are secretly recorded and played at the school at the will of Mikako... Mikako's heart is darker than anyone could imagine...


Comments: Finally, no more cover version of 70s song but this time the ED is an 80s classic sung by the original singer...