Calvin Cupcake!

As per our family tradition, on "Fat Tuesday" we made and decorated cupcakes. It has always been a good time for family as well as a fun, tasty activity sporting everyone's artistic talents. The creativity seems to escalate, and this year I brought it to a new level of delicate precision.I'm glad we had enough yellow gel! I had to use a toothpick more than once to draw it into the frizzy style Calvin wears because it would spread out gradually. The head, eyes, and mouth are chocolate frosting carefully laid with toothpicks, the eyes swirled into the vanilla background. The tongue and nose are sprinkles. It took some time, but I think I nailed it pretty well (although there's some chocolate sticking up from the border on the bottom-right -- I seriously don't remember that problem outside of the picture. Maybe my dad took it at an angle just different enough from the perspective at which I worked....).

Driving Vs. Calvin and Hobbes

With the exception of crashing (for I have not crashed), the fast pace and amount of things to pay attention to when driving seem to me much like the mayhem our favorite little genius goes through on his engineless vehicles, both loved and hated.

Happy Valentine's Day!

New Powder Game Material

A quick check on the "powder game" reveals the addition of "acid" as of the end of January. Another of the more mobile substances, acid is what it should be: a corrosive that eats through just about everything. It differs from virus in that it doesn't spread cancerously, doesn't phase material identities, and gradually gets used up in the process. It doesn't even trigger explosions, which could be pretty handy (although I feel like researching acids and their effects on explosives in real life...).

"Advent: One-Winged Angel" Lyrics

I finally stumbled upon the lyrics, in Latin and with English translation, to Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children's remix of "One-Winged Angel." So if you're a nerd (like me) who noticed the lyrics sound different but never tracked them down to find out if they're new or just sound new because they're in Japanese (again, like me) ... here you go. Right here in the Final Fantasy Wiki. (Sounds a bit silly to not have looked someplace like this a long time ago.)

By the way, if you happen to find out why there is an "official translation" separate from a "literal translation," let me know.

And while you're there, look up "Sephiroth" and check out the "naming" section. Sephiroth (and his various boss forms) has an interesting share of biblical derivations.

Driver's Ed is Psychologically Unhealthy

I'm finally taking a driving course, but so far there have been more horror stories than educational material. I know things really have to be pounded through the skulls of most careless teens, but I'm coming to class to learn how to drive. I've got the proper mindset and logical thinking pattern, so I want to get straight to the instruction part. The teacher, a former fireman, has already given us a number of life-saving tips for various scenarios, many of which aren't taught in the books; he really cares about his students and has repeatedly mentioned that other schools don't really make sure you learn anything. But the advice given thus far has been through recountings of the accidents he dealt with in his previous career. The gruesome consequences of mistakes on the road, the sad reality of everyday crime, etc. It's not like I'm hypersensitive, but I care, and I really don't think it's good for the other facets of my life. I haven't been scared, but sleep comes with difficulty. My schoolwork has repeatedly escaped my concentration. And I've just not felt particularly happy most of the time. Call me a sissy if you want, but I'm more mature than the average teen, and such an overall interference is not how I want to prepare for getting my licence.