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....).
Thursday, February 26, 2009
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....).
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....).
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
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.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
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...).
Friday, February 6, 2009
"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.
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.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
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.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
OverClocked Remixes
Here I am, sitting at the computer, trying to write a lab report that's due for chemistry class on Tuesday, watching my blood sugar go back up to the high numbers that make it hard to concentrate on anything, lamenting being sick for the past two-thirds of the week, and praying that the stoichiometry stuff I still need to do will be quick and easy since I have driving class for over four hours tomorrow. It's one of those weekends that would be making me panic if it all weren't so dreary and depressing.
To provide a muffler for the noises and distractions all around me, I am listening to a bunch of fan-made remixes of video game music. And when I say "remix" I'm not talking about just rock'n'roll, techno type stuff. I'm referring to amazing arrangements of one or many VG tunes using a variety of instruments and covering a multitude of styles. Piano, trumpets, strings, some spunky stuff... Adventure, peace, fun, sadness... All made by people who do it because they can. The site (and community) that hosts them is OCRemix.org and they are called OC Remixes (big surprise). Many are synthesized; after all, how many people have a real orchestra at their command? The big deal is the quality, so unless you live by yourself and have a very good microphone, you might as well synthesize your piano pieces as well. That way all you require is the good equipment; no need to worry about keeping your breath out of the recording or anything.
So anyway, on top of everything else, I'm again experiencing the desire to make some of my own. Actually, those that I mentioned four posts ago are some. The problem is, I've needed a good program or mixer to produce them. Well, my dad found a certain Magix Music Studio at Half-Price Books for about $25, less than half of the retail $80. It looks like it could do what I need it to, but it doesn't run smoothly on our computers. Wanting to get a laptop anyway, I figured maybe the way to go would be to get a Macbook and run Windows XP on it. Time to get a job, right? But whenever that looked like a good idea, I had too much else I wanted to do.
On the other hand, since I'm making so little progress as a ROM hacker (that SMW site tells hackers all there is to know about SMW, not how to be a SMW hacker), I'm revisiting the possibility. The sooner I start, the sooner I can work my way towards something. I've realized that, while I spend so much time on various interests, there is often a lack of actual productivity in them. The way I see it, if I want to really get into these things, I need to do it with determination, with a passion. As long as I'm only exploring in such areas, I should make sure something else gets some real attention and effort.
By the way, for a good taste of the variety OCRemix has to offer, try searching for "Predetermination," "The Place We Knew," "Flight of Destiny," "Timeless," "Odyssey Beyond the Falls," "Jamming Loneliness," "Darkworld Jazz," and "A Day in the Life of a Gambler." .....Just to name a few ; ) --though if you're into rock/metal stuff, just click on anything and sooner or later you'll find what you want.
To provide a muffler for the noises and distractions all around me, I am listening to a bunch of fan-made remixes of video game music. And when I say "remix" I'm not talking about just rock'n'roll, techno type stuff. I'm referring to amazing arrangements of one or many VG tunes using a variety of instruments and covering a multitude of styles. Piano, trumpets, strings, some spunky stuff... Adventure, peace, fun, sadness... All made by people who do it because they can. The site (and community) that hosts them is OCRemix.org and they are called OC Remixes (big surprise). Many are synthesized; after all, how many people have a real orchestra at their command? The big deal is the quality, so unless you live by yourself and have a very good microphone, you might as well synthesize your piano pieces as well. That way all you require is the good equipment; no need to worry about keeping your breath out of the recording or anything.
So anyway, on top of everything else, I'm again experiencing the desire to make some of my own. Actually, those that I mentioned four posts ago are some. The problem is, I've needed a good program or mixer to produce them. Well, my dad found a certain Magix Music Studio at Half-Price Books for about $25, less than half of the retail $80. It looks like it could do what I need it to, but it doesn't run smoothly on our computers. Wanting to get a laptop anyway, I figured maybe the way to go would be to get a Macbook and run Windows XP on it. Time to get a job, right? But whenever that looked like a good idea, I had too much else I wanted to do.
On the other hand, since I'm making so little progress as a ROM hacker (that SMW site tells hackers all there is to know about SMW, not how to be a SMW hacker), I'm revisiting the possibility. The sooner I start, the sooner I can work my way towards something. I've realized that, while I spend so much time on various interests, there is often a lack of actual productivity in them. The way I see it, if I want to really get into these things, I need to do it with determination, with a passion. As long as I'm only exploring in such areas, I should make sure something else gets some real attention and effort.
By the way, for a good taste of the variety OCRemix has to offer, try searching for "Predetermination," "The Place We Knew," "Flight of Destiny," "Timeless," "Odyssey Beyond the Falls," "Jamming Loneliness," "Darkworld Jazz," and "A Day in the Life of a Gambler." .....Just to name a few ; ) --though if you're into rock/metal stuff, just click on anything and sooner or later you'll find what you want.
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