An old friend and next-door neighbour of mine recently started up a new blog in a new venture. She’s creating original, handcrafted jewelry and special requests are accepted. If you are at all interested in jewelry, please check it out at http://adorningcreation.wordpress.com/
All proceeds will be going towards paying for her tuition and for her family (which saw a new addition less than half a year ago!).
So I’m moving to Kingsville for pharmacy school now. Mostly excited, since it’s a new start, and another step towards my goal, but at the same time, frightening. I haven’t been away from Houston for longer than a month at a time since I moved here as a kid. I’m so accustomed to big city/suburb life that I’m not sure how difficult it will be to adjust to small town/suburb life. I’ll manage somehow. At least there will be fewer distractions, or so I hope.
I seem to have more to bring up this time than when I used to dorm up at UH. I think it’s probably the thought that I’m not coming back every weekend that’s causing this. I don’t think I ever realized how much… stuff… I owned. Most of which are things that invoke old memories with friends and family. It reminds me exactly how blessed and fortunate to have met all those I have met in the past 21 years of my life. To those of you that fall into the above category, you have my sincere thanks and gratitude.
The most common question I’ve gotten in the past month was “So what were you up to for the last few months/weeks? It’s like you disappeared off the face of the Earth after school ended!”
For those I didn’t have a chance to answer, I’m sorry. To make it up, here’s a short recapitulation:
1) I went to San Antonio with Cougar Kendo to volunteer for the AUSKF Iaido Camp.
2) Went to Las Vegas with family for my father’s birthday, Fathers’ Day, and the HP Tech Forum.
3) Went to Lake Charles with a few friends in celebration of our turning 21.
I could elaborate more, but honestly, it’s 2 AM. I have seven hours before driving. I really should sleep :/
Hi all,
In regards to the blog I referred to earlier, I decided to set up the subdomain rather than merge the posts together. I’d rather the blog be able to stand alone as a separate entity for those interested in applying to the Texas A&M Health Science Center Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy.
The blog can be found at http://tamhscpharm.the-blue-haven.com for now. If there comes a time when TAMHSC wishes me to change the subdomain for reasons of association, then I will update you on both sites.
In regards to this site itself, the main page will link to both this blog and that one. I’ve also given this blog a facelift (though the theme itself is not my own). It’s a lot sharper and works better with the computers of today.
So apparently Mochahost renewed my domain for a year without me realizing, so I guess this is still up. I might just continue with this site after all.
I guess since the last post, quite a bit has changed.
I joined Cougar Kendo, nearly finished the large form for Yang style Tai-Chi, and finished my undergraduate years. I will be moving to Kingsville, Texas soon in order to continue my education at the Texas A&M Health Science Center Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy. Considering that this is a relatively new school, I realize that not too many people know of its existence, and those in undergraduate who do know of it, may have a lot of questions about the school. Because of this, I’m thinking I might start anew by blogging about my experiences at the Rangel College of Pharmacy. I’m in the middle of setting up a new sub-domain, but I might just end up blogging here in the end. I just don’t want to mesh the personal blogging with the CoP blogging.
So ever since Vista came out, I’ve been a cynic of anything Microsoft, ranging from their Zune (and rightly so) to the XBOX 360 (which I actually consider pretty good if not for the fact that they still haven’t fixed the red ring of death). Software-wise though, I still considered their solutions pretty good (I.E. Visual Studio Suite & Office). When I got notification about Windows 7 from my friend, I was skeptical, but later decided to go ahead with it. Of course, the problem is I just switched to a Pavilion dv5 (heretofore known as Piekno) from an old Presario M2000 (which was handed over to my mother). However, I was not willing to test anything on my primary computer, not when I had just finally got things settled on Vista (bulky operating system it is…). However, I still have two desktop computers (One Shiori and Makoto).
Firstly, let me explain the machine I decided to test the beta on (Shiori). She was a pet project in my freshman year of high school with help from my uncle and my father. She has an 80 GB IDE hard disk (of which only 17.18 is partitioned for Windows, the rest is file storage, Ubuntu, and a swap partition), a 1.67 GHz AMD Athlon XP processor, 1 GB SDRAM and an ATI RAGE 128 PRO graphics card (old, right?). Seeing as this is now 6 year old hardware, it’s no surprise that the Vista Upgrade Advisor didn’t give me a good result for her. I have been running Windows XP Professional on it since… until recently, when I installed the Beta… successfully.
I installed the beta on Shiori almost without problems, with one exception: my motherboard’s sound device was not recognized by the Beta, which is no surprise, since it wasn’t detected in XP either. After I located the driver and installed it, she ran quite fit as a fiddle. First thing one would notice would be the interface (Actually, the fact it was a betta fish on a Beta test made my day). The taskbar seems similar enough to Vista. In fact, the start menu is pretty much the same. The only difference comes with the indicators for windows on the taskbar and the notification icons. The notification icons now have an extendable balloon rather than expanding on the taskbar itself.
It also did not close after a few seconds, making it easier to locate what I needed. The windows on the taskbar are somewhat reminiscent of the dock used in Mac OSX. Under normal circumstances, I like that sort of organisation method, but the problem is that I want my buttons smaller to make use of my screen real-estate. At that point, it mattered not whether I moved my taskbar to the left of the screen (like I usually do) or left it at the bottom of the screen.
So then comes the question, did my graphics card have anything to do with my experience? It’s likely. The Windows Experience Index (which you’ll likely have encountered when looking at system properties in Vista) has been extended to a scale of 1.0 to 7.9. Shiori scored a 1.0 in the base score simply because of my ATI Rage 128 Pro (FAIL) card. I could not beta test the newer Aero, but there are still quite a few choices to customize the display nonetheless:
Looking at the task manager, I find that there are hardly any processes going on in the background (services maybe, but no processes). Of the processes that existed, they were much more compact than their Vista counterparts. For comparison, a fresh start of an untouched Vista gives me around 60% RAM usage (on Piekno, who has 4GB) compared to the 50% RAM usage on a 1 GB computer using Windows 7.
This might account for how smooth the system seems to run (much smoother than older operating systems on a much older computer).
I think, really, that Windows 7 isn’t much of a new operating system, to be blunt. If I were still in high school doing analogies on the SAT, it would go like this…
Windows 7:Vista::Windows 2000:Windows ME
I think as far as marketing goes though, the hype going through the beta testers will do Microsoft much good, and perhaps the redemption of the upcoming Windows 7 will win back the user base Microsoft lost to Apple in recent years. It is still far too soon to say, but there’s a lot of promise in this operating system.
Advances against Vista in Windows 7 are quite apparent. In the Start Menu, if there’s a program that is used to open files, rolling over them for a bit will show recent files opened in that program, which can be useful sometimes if you forget what you were last working on. Even PAINT gets a makeover:
Gadgets are also no longer limited to the sidebar. The process is still under sidebar.exe, but it takes significantly less space on RAM as well:
Next time, I will be attempting to connect a few devices to try Windows 7′s new connection functions.
As the title says, the page is once again in the state of "Work in Progress." This is a theme found on the official WordPress site, so I cannot make any claims of creation here, but I will have to go through a few things to customize it to my site, at which point, it will be a theme BASED on someone else’s theme.
Main things to address: The image gallery is unavailable to view with this current setup. It can be accessed HERE: http://the-blue-haven.com/main/theimagegallery/ However, I have not updated it, and likely will not for the forseeable future. I may do so in summer when I’m not pressed for time.
The individual pages appear glitchy, and I will have to work with that by looking at the exact call line on the comments.php file.
Just saying.
I haven’t forgotten about the promised entry from the last review, but I have some other journal writings outside of this site to take care of. Also, I’m planning a bit of a layout update, so there’s that much to look forward to.
I also am planning to push the idea of moving the UH Pre-Pharmacy Association website to a private server so future webmasters (as well as myself) don’t have to deal with the limitations of those servers.
Title: .hack//G.U. Volume 1: Rebirth
Type: Action RPG
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: T
Available Files: Depends on the size of the memory card.
Special Notes for ESRB Rating: Fantasy Violence, Language
Summary: The first of a trilogy, Rebirth starts off where its animated counterpart – .hack//ROOTS – left off. CC Corporation – which published a popular MMORPG called “The World” from the other series of the franchise – released a new version of “The World” after its servers were damaged in fires. Rebuilding the game from the ground up (but still with elements from the past) with new character classes, new areas, new monsters, CC Corporation and its customers believed the game to be safe and fun… But, that wouldn’t make a very interesting story, would it?
“The World R:2″ became a haven for “PKers” (Player Killers) which were previously frowned upon in “The World R:1.” The main character, Haseo, first starts playing the game but was PKed. His troubles with the game begin as he logs in for the first time…
A Disclaimer to all the readers: I have NOT finished the original four (Infection, Mutation, Outbreak, and Quarantine) games yet. I have played enough for SOME comparisons however.
My Ratings:
Graphics: 8.5/10
The full-motion videos/animations were very well done. The style had a touch of cel-shading. The areas have shown graphical improvement from its predecessor and even resemble the areas seen in .hack//ROOTS. However, the character animations while not in a full motion video are a touch subpar.
Story: 6.5/10
Alright, so for most of the .hack fans, story is of utmost importance. For those who have watched .hack//ROOTS, this series will seem like a continuation/finale. In that respect, it does not disappoint. However, after playing a bit, and players falling into comas again, the not-so-hardcore fans are more than likely to think, “Great… this again.” However, the way in which the gameplay is integrated with the story is better executed than its predecessors, as you will read in the following section.
Gameplay: 8.0/10
Alright, so gameplay. Those who have played the old games will be somewhat relieved that the gameplay isn’t QUITE as repetitive as before. The areas will at times seem repetitive, (I lie. They ARE repetitive.) but they throw in several “Arena” battles and “Sidequests” as part of the main storyline to further develop the bonds and characters that show the growth of Haseo. To this end, as Hiroshi Matsuyama – President of Cyberconnects2 – wanted to “create a ‘coming of age’ story… for a very long time,” they successfully plant the seeds for character development/coming of age.
Music: 9.0/10
I’ve been listening to the soundtracks in my car and iPod for a few months now. Doesn’t that tell you enough? 
All joking aside, Chikayo Fukuda has done a great job with the music, developing a rather unique flavour to the environment of “The World R:2″ with a variety of choral, electronic, easy listening, metal, and many other genres of music.
What prevents me from giving this a 10, however, are the “Mecha-Grunty” and “Piros the 3rd!” tracks. I cannot even stand to listen to those for the first few seconds. There are also a few tracks that seem reused (only because they were remixed, slowed down, or sped up).
Overall: 7.5/10
This is an okay game for the casual gamer and a definite for those who are fans of the series. The story is better integrated and told at a better pace in THIS VOLUME than the IMOQ games. However, although the main theme of the trilogy is of “growing up”, it is still told under the same circumstances of players being put into comas, of which some will undoubtedly be getting tired of.
Disclaimer: .hack//G.U. and all content associated thereof are the properties of BandaiNamco Games and CyberConect2.
Testing a program that I just installed on Ubuntu to automatically update a blog entry.
Title: Transformers
Genre: Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi
Director: Michael Bay
Release Date (U.S.): 3 July 2007
MPAA: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action violence, brief sexual humor, and language.
Plot: On a planet known as Cybertron, a war occurred between the Autobots and the Decepticons. As a result, their main source of power and life was lost into the far corners of space, landing in our world many years before. And now, they come to reclaim what is theirs.
Review:
“This movie is so good, it must be Japanese.”
No, I’m not saying the Japanese have better movies than us (though sometimes they do). This is an edited joke from the movie itself (“It’s a robot. You know, like a super advanced robot. It’s probably Japanese.”)
My impression, until I watched it a second time, was that I was probably extremely pleased with the movie as I went in believing it would be a flop. I was thoroughly disappointed with X-men 3 and my impressions of movie adaptations of things from my childhood was dwindling. So when I found it as an enjoyable movie, I refused to believe it. And so I watched it once more. And even trying to pick at the bad parts, I still enjoyed it.
Anyways, first and foremost, many would have watched it for the transforming bots. There is no disappointment there. The CGs make even the unrealistic existence of transformers seem realistic. Only if you’re a stickler to original designs would you be disappointed with them.
Bumblebee is no longer a young VW Bug, but a Camaro. His personality is also somewhat different, and well… he’s just badass. Ranging from his choices of music at the most convenient times… to his attitude, there’s no doubt he takes a star role out of all the autobots.
However, the movie concentrates more towards the human element than the robots themselves. This, I actually did not find a hindrance to the movie itself, as the Transformers came to OUR planet. Not only that, but there is plenty of commentary about humans in general in the movie, that not concentrating on the human element would actually be detrimental.
The camera work, despite filming nothing due to the robots having to be CGed in later, was amazingly well done. The actors were well picked.
If I had to pick a bad portion, it would be the choice of adding a certain sexual joke in the middle. Transformers, as an old cartoon and toy line, would lead one to believe that the movie was made to target the same audience. Of course, there are warnings in the MPAA, but not many moviegoers bother to take note of it. There are adults who may have grown up watching Transformers and believe that by watching this movie with their children, it may strengthen the bond between parent and child. However, it may actually place them in an awkward position, having to explain masturbation.
Oh, and Jazz died in one of the most wasteful ways I’ve seen on film since the death of Nathan Petrelli on Heroes.
As far as giving props to the old series, the movie has plenty. Bumblebee, as a Camaro, was parked next to a yellow VW Beetle, of which he slammed into with a car door. Optimus Prime made his “At the end of the day, one shall stand, one shall fall” statement that was mentioned in the original cartoon movie nearly a decade ago. The “More than Meets the Eye” statement is mentioned numerous times.
All in all, with scattered humour throughout the movie, great special effects, amazingly well blended story for an unrealistic scenario, good voice acting (and acting in general), well developed characterization (for some characters… mostly human), and commentary on our race from an “observing viewpoint”, this movie is pretty much right for anyone, Transformers fan or not.
Rating: 9.0/10.0
EDIT: This is a barebones version. I’m being forced to sleep right now, so I can’t finish. I’ll insert more to this hopefully later today.
