That's why Hinagiku has had more screen time in this series than even Nagi has: they're playing to the fan base, and in this case I can't help but agree that this is a very, very wise thing to do. Hinagiku is awesome.
* * *
I just finished watching K-on! for the second time in a row. Right after I finished it the first time, I went right back to the first ep the next time I fired up Media Player Classic, because thirteen episodes of it was just not enough.
Asu no Yoichi is done with, and because Ibuki is such a bitch I don't believe I'll be revisiting that series.
So I've been watching Saki, and ep 17 was originally slated to be the only ep I saw today--but they stretched out Saki's match so damn much I added 18 and 19 to the playlist and watched them, too. So I've gotten past the preliminary rounds now, and saw what happened and how it happened. It was pretty awesome, too.
Even though I haven't the faintest clue WTF is actually going on in the games. From here, the rules of mahjongg seem arcane and mystifying. They can't be as byzantine as they seem, considering how popular the game is in Asia; and so I'm certain that my bewilderment is the result of my near-total ignorance of the rules and terminology of mahjongg.
Playing "mahjongg solitaire" on my Nintendo DS, though, every so often I find myself wanting to say, "Pon!" when I find a match, which I know is utterly wrong. (More wrong: when I think riichi!) But "mahjongg solitaire" has about as much in common with real mahjongg as "52 pick-up" has with Bridge.
* * *
I was up around 8 AM Sunday morning, and there was frost on the grass. It wasn't the first time I'd seen that this year, either.
Ten years ago on this day I was still convalescing after my appendectomy. It was a Tuesday and I would not be returning to work until Monday, October 25, 1999--and at that, my boss told me not to push myself too hard. But, what the heck, I felt fine, though I did leave early a couple of times when I just ran out of energy.
I have to wonder how much luck I used up then. I mean, according to the surgeon, my appendix was "cupped around" the end of my colon; I suppose that meant it had been on the verge of bursting. But I had surprisingly little pain from the thing--both pre- and post-operation--and my recovery was pretty swift and uneventful. Furthermore, my bosses at work understood my situation and were more concerned with my health than my attendance; it was exactly the situation I like to be in, where I was coming to work and they were saying, "Look, don't push yourself to come to work if you don't feel like it; stay home and get better."
And my luck did start to turn bad a few months after that. *sigh* Maybe that's what happened: I used up too much.
...which is why my employment situation has pretty much sucked ass since 2001.
* * *
Over on Jalopnik.com there's a post which links all 74 of their "workhorse engine" posts, and one of them is the Packard straight-8. It includes a link to a YouTube video; and that led me to this one:
That is just made of awesome, right there. That's what a hot rod is! It's not a one-off hyper-clean custom-built trailer queen; it's a car that is driven.
I love how several gauges are attached right to the engine and visible to the driver. I love how there's no gauge at all in the cockpit save the tach and an ammeter. I love how the seat is unupholstered. I love the patina on the metal. That's what a hot rod should be like.
If you look at the guy's other videos, there's one of him driving it home from some errand:
And that flathead Packard 8 sounds incredible. Damn, I want one.