"Time is money." We've all heard the phrase. At first, I figured it meant that time could be directly translated into money, as in five hours equals ten dollars. Recently though, a conversaton at my local tire store got me to rethink that. Now, as soon as I walked in, the very first question I asked was "how's it going," but that's not important. What is important is the only two questions I asked after I told the clerk what I needed. I ask "how much will it cost" and "how long will it take?" After this, I figured that time and money are more like two separate currencies that are used at the same time. While they can be exchanged for one another, it is more common to see them separately considered. Ah... such is the magic of numbers. I apologize for not making any sense today. I'm a bit busy this week.

'E's not pinin'! 'E's passed on!
This parrot is no more! He has ceased to be! 'E's expired and gone to meet
'is maker! 'E's a stiff! Bereft of life, 'e
rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed 'im to
the perch 'e'd be pushing up the daisies! 'E's shuffled off 'is mortal coil,
run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisibile!! THIS IS
AN EX-PARROT!!

I still think this is one of the funniest Monty Python sketches ever.

You kids nowadays are lucky. Back in my day, we didn't have those fancy 3-dimensions to work with in our
video games. All of our games were in the archaic 2-dimensions. Sure, we had
some, so-called, "3-D" games, such as Sonic 3D Blast, but they were all
terrible. I remember the first time I played a true 3D game. I was visiting a
friend's house when I lived in Hawaii,
and he had just gotten a brand-spanking new Nintendo 64. He commanded me, in no
uncertain terms, that I absolutely had to play it, so I played it. I may as
well have been trying to pilot the space shuttle. I had no idea what I was
doing. I was raised playing 2-D games, which entailed moving right continuously
until you reached the end of the level. Suddenly, in a queer 3-D environment,
all directions could be considered "right." After a while, I got the hang of it,
and it made me the gamer I am today. I still play my classic games to this day,
and I never regret it. It's more than just getting in touch with the past.
Those old games are still fun, and in some ways better than their future
counterparts. I still think Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is one of the greatest games
ever created. Ditto goes for Super Mario Bros. 3 and Galaga. Megaman is a
classic game series that saw its downfall with the advent of 3-D games. All of
the Kirby games are in 2-D (or 2-and-a-half-D), and I have yet to see a Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles that can best the original arcade games. Now, I do not
regret the switch to 3-D. On the contrary, I love a good number of new games. I
just want to remind you that there are still great games from the past. Look
into them.

Imagine living in a world where only one-percent of the population consisted of men. In a world like that, it would probably be far easier for me to get a date, but I digress. For a period of time, this population ratio existed for the tropical blue moon butterfly. The males of these South Pacific denizens would often be killed by a nasty bacteria, so the remainder clearly got more tail than I do. (I apologize. I will cease to interject my own feelings for the remainder of the article... Friggin' butterflies.) Anyway, the outlook for these bugs was looking pretty grim. Fairly recently, however, a new gene has been flourishing among males that resist those persistent bacteria. The number of male butterflies has skyrocketed to about 40%. Evolution is taking place before our eyes. It's a good day for people, like me, who make fun of religion. This is just another chunk of support for the evolution theory. Now, I don't want to hear anybody saying that the butterflies' rapid immunity was an act of God. That would just be silly. If He did not want the parasites to kill all the butterfly males, he wouldn't have created them (the parasites) in the first place. What did He do, create the bacteria to wash away the butterfly's sins? Actually, the idea of a sinful butterfly may have some credibility. I see no reason for them not to be lustful and greedy.

Mr. Reference

For any of my readers that may be hypochondriacs
(or who are bored), I give you a quick and easy reference of possible causes
for various illness symptoms you may experience.

• Itchy throat – you’re eating caterpillars

• Constant thirst – you’re stranded in a desert
• Blurry vision – the weather is foggy
• Consistent headache – a Buick is parked on your forehead
• Pain all over body – you’re in a hailstorm
• Watery eyes – you’re chopping onions
• Nasal bleeding – you snorted too much cocaine
• Left-arm numbness – you don’t have a left arm
• Vomiting – you’re bulimic
• Frequent sneezing – you’re cleaning your attic
• Difficulty sleeping – your bed is missing
• Frequent sleeping – your life is boring

 

Well, I hope that this post will help some people.

So, it's the start of a new anime season, and I got to watch
the first episode of three promising new anime.

The first I saw is Umisho.
It's about this guy, Okiura, who runs the school swim team, even though he is
scared to death of water. Then, one day, this green-haired girl, Ninagawa,
comes from the sea and enrolls into his school (Umisho). She is a complete ditz
who seems to really enjoy swimming. Honestly, I do not know how this show is
going to turn out. It looks like it might be a harem-comedy, but it is too
early to tell. All I know is that the green-haired girl has a penchant for
swimming in the buff, and that's quite fine by me.

Next, I saw School
Days. It's about this guy, Itou, trying to win over the girl of his dreams.
He is helped along the way by a girl who sits next to him in class. Ultimately,
Itou confesses to the girl of his dreams in a completely muted scene of
mediocrity. However, we soon find out
that the girl giving the help also
loves him. The episode ends with the guy in a world of schnitzel. This one looks really good.

Finally, I watched the first episode of Code-E. This one has a unique twist. It's about a girl who, for
reasons currently unknown, can't approach electronics without them going
haywire. It seems like a fairly basic school-life romantic-comedy, otherwise.
Later in the episode, the science club president confesses to the girl and...
then the episode ends. Much to my chagrin.

Aside from School Days, I thought these were pretty
mediocre. They all hold promise, and I hope to see them blossom into something good.

I have some college stuff to do this morning, so I don't have time for a well thought out post. Instead, I give you an awesome Megaman 2 video. Enjoy!

Well, it looks like the news that everyone expected has come. Most of the Harvest Moon games coming out this year have been delayed. This information comes courtesy of a press release from Natsume for the new (but not improved) Electronic Entertainment Expo. You can click here for a handy-dandy pdf file of it. Anyway, here are some of the current release dates:

• Harvest Moon Wii ~ 2nd quarter 2008
• Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness (DS) ~ 2nd quarter 2008
• Rune Factory (DS) ~ 14 August 2007
• Innocent Life: Special Edition (PS2) ~ October 2007
• Harvest Moon DS: Cute ~ 1st quarter 2008
• Puzzle de Harvest Moon (DS) ~ 1 October 2007
• Harvest Moon: Boy and Girl (PSP) ~ 31 July 2007

Yes, they have officialy called the "Island" game "Island of Happiness". It sounds silly, but sadly I don't work at Natsume, though it would be nice. I'm still miffed that it got pushed back from November of this year to basically June of next year. Also, it looks like Puzzle de Harvest Moon has been completely remade. You can still choose a character from Harvest Moon: Back to Nature, but the gameplay itself looks totally different from past screenshots. Who knows how that will turn out. Anyway, lets see how well Natsume can stick to these release dates. If they push back the Wii game any further, I'm afraid I might have to apply for a job there. It can't get any worse.

• Sunday drivers - all drivers, other than yourself, who drive on a Sunday.
• Tailgater - a courageous vigilante who willingly puts his life on the line to encourage slow drivers to leave the left lane.
• Speed trap - a police cruiser at the side of the road that solves very little, as most drivers will see the squad car, slam there brakes, pass by going the speed limit, then speed up once out of sight.
• PIT maneuver - a technique you wish you could do, but can't without your insurance rates going up.
• "Check engine" light - an unimportant light
• Semi truck - large transport vehicles that generally have poor acceleration, but great top speeds. It's a good idea to get behind one on the highway, as traffic in front tends to get out of their way.
• Dump truck - large transport vehicles that have neither high acceleration nor high top speeds. They generally hog a lane like a cancerous growth and will not move. Most commonly seen driving side by side on a two lane road.
• Old lady driver - does not necessarily apply to an old lady. This term is applied to any driver that does not realize that they are driving along the center line of the road while traveling at a speed similar to that of toenail growth.
• Schmuck - very liberally used term to describe anybody on the road you would like to PIT maneuver off of the road and, preferably, into a lamp post.