Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Doritos X-13D / Baka of the Orochi's LiveJournal:

[ << Previous 20 ]

Monday, August 24th, 2009
11:47 pm	Thoughts I was bored playing Empress and I remembered a song call "No Crime." I didn't really think much of the song, it's got a seemingly generic anime music video and just out of curiosity I Google'd the names in the MV. Turns out the video's not so generic after all, it's more of a promo vid (PV) for Konami's digital/mobile manga adaptation of "Crossfire" or "Pyrokinesis" outside Japan. I know, there's probably a bunch of people in the community that have known this forever and a half, but I must've missed the memo. Apparently this was originally a novel-turned-movie around 2000 when this stuff was just becoming popular, but I guess it never really picked up. (There's also an English version with the same video, horribly cheesy lyrics though) So yeah, I'm wondering if anyone's seen it or know where I can check out the movie. I always enjoy a new random Asian suspense flick. On another note...3 days left... (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, August 20th, 2009
12:26 am	Thoughts on : Sony PS3 Slim Two words: About time. Christ almighty, waited so long for a price drop and a better deal on the HDD, at least it's far more justified to spend $299 on it. Still not a ton of exclusive games I'm too crazy over yet, but at least it'll give me a reason to actually get into GT5 and hopefully The Last Guardian won't suck either. Yeah no backwards compatibility, but I still have a working PS2 so who cares? Plus it's more energy efficient? Nice. Thing is, I still won't buy it on launch. With pretty much every system's history of launches (even on system redesigns), it's usually pretty crappy until the 3rd revision. Yeah I'll have to wait a bit, but it sure beats dealing with overheating issues, RRoD's, disc ejecting problems, premature laser death, etc. Plus I'm still having too much fun with my 360. I just wish it didn't look so dull (especially compared to the big monster PS3). (12 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 4th, 2009
8:29 pm	I need a new desktop computer So I'm sick of using only my laptop. Granted it saves power, smaller, and portable, but I think I should really get a desktop that has some power to it. Of course, I need to go the cheaper route (without sacrificing quality), but I haven't shopped for computers in YEARS. I'm basically looking for: -Intel based mobo, looking into a Core i7 (which I know isn't cheap) -A video card that doesn't suck. I never had much luck with ATI, so I'm looking at a GeForce. -Don't need a sound card. -Don't care about NIC card either (aren't most motherboards integrated with Networking/sound anyway?). -Probably 3-6 GB of RAM, can I get away with 3GB? -HDD definitely. I was looking at a 1TB Western Digital Black drive since there's some deals going on with those lately. -Upgrade-ability. I like swapping parts when one gets too old or breaks. -Is a Shuttle worth it? -What's this SLI crap? Do I want it? (I'm hearing yes) Finally, build or buy? If I buy from, like, Dell or something, I know the advantages, but price-wise, where should I go then? And plus, how easy will it be to swap out parts? Thanks! (15 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, July 26th, 2009
3:43 pm	Poof Finally got internet back up, apparently we had a downed line a few days ago. Was about to go pick up KoF XII the other day at Gamestop just to find out there's really no incentive to buy it for $60; only two new characters and online play mode. That's it. Otherwise I might as well just go to Gameworks and play. Come on, no story mode, no final boss, no extra stuff to unlock, WTF? That's retarded. I should just drop money on BlazBlue instead. US Airways finally got back to me after, what 3 weeks from going to L.A.? Said "oh yeah, by the way we couldn't find your UMD's, sorry!" Thanks for nothing except a quick response. Jerks. Oh well, might have to go out and buy another copy of Phantasy Star Portable, SF Alpha Max, and Darkstalkers...bah... (9 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, July 25th, 2009
4:53 pm	Dissidia Final Fantasy Thanks to an old co-worker, got to sit down with the demo which was surprisingly full-featured for a demo...I mean heck it had a lot of the characters already, most of which though were unplayable. And yeah I know it's been out in Japan for a while, but I don't have capability to download games on my PSP, and I'm not hardcore enough to care about the game. I think the best way to describe how I felt about it was: DBZ Budokai with Final Fantasy characters, except with very small variety in character moves and a bit too much of complexity with specials. The basic button layout is simple. However, when you start requiring people to know button combinations on top of the fact that each character doesn't have a lot of different unique moves (unless you're Cecil), it makes the game feel uneven. I also found blocking to be worthless. I still take pisstons of damage when the enemy does some kind of combo at me which can end up with me being thrown anyway. Although it wasn't present in the demo, the ability to level up your characters is cool as you progress, and that might make it worth buying the game. It's not horribly broken to the point where it's not fun, but it's also not enough substance to make it of worth. Supposedly there's a story but really, how're you going to make a worthwhile story with characters clashing from different universes without making it horribly cheesy? Fighting games already have their own issues of implementing a "story." I might as well play Ehrgeiz if I want to play a FF fighting game. At least that had some semblance of thought put into the gameplay. This is just a FF fans' wet dream. Not worth $40 they'll probably charge for it, but I wouldn't mind tossing in a cool $20. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009
12:35 am	Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Kai Thanks to a recommendation from Ken (ACen), picked up this series. Found out it's been out for some time, but still figured why not. Apparently it's connected to Type-Moon (from the title design, I guess I'm not surprised), so I didn't know what to think. What makes it better or worse is that like all Type-Moon productions, it's based off a PC game. It's an interesting series though. I was a bit skeptical since I really didn't like Tsukihime but I thought Fate/Stay Night was enjoyable. It takes an interesting way of animating a suspense/mystery game that has several paths with different outcomes and different character possibilities into this. It presents about four paths but alludes to maybe three others. The character development was I thought at the very least unique. You got to learn the characters through natural development, but because of the branching paths, you also learned their windfall as well, which was pretty consistent in all story lines. The one thing that bugged me was the inconsistency of the main character, Rika. For someone that's supposed to be a constant because of how many times she's reborn (eh, it's not a spoiler since they reveal it in the second episode), they flip-flop her skeptical and hopeful attitude to the point where she gets schizophrenic (and heck, gets slapped for it too). The main villain is also annoying. I mean, yeah they're nuts, but another flip-flopping of attitudes in a snap of a finger, it's irritatingly unrealistic. One can argue, how can you hate a character for being unrealistic in a TV series/movie/anime/etc.? We watch movies and stuff because we want to be able to relate to the characters, feel their pain, share their emotions, whatever. There is a human factor to all of it. However, with poorly written scripting, directing, or whatever, if that human factor is suddenly taken out to be a robot or someone that's dull and uninteresting, it doesn't let the viewer connect to the character at all. That's fine if it's a non-recurring character but if it's the protagonist or antagonist, then it sucks! You're stuck with someone who you don't care about as your main character or villain for xx amount of minutes or episodes. Anyway, all in all, I liked it but it took me a while to care. The first few episodes doesn't explain anything, you're watching a bunch of kids playing, and it's dull. Thankfully, it does pick up, then by the second season, slow start again, but picks back up. Now I need to find another series to pick up... Oh yeah Otakon, never again am I going to drive to freaking Baltimore. Huge thanks to Anne, Renee, and Nick for letting me and John stay over. For the record, if you've heard of the "Geno's VS Pat's" Philly Cheesesteak "controversy" in Philadelphia, the clear winner is Pat's. I don't know what's wrong with people in thinking Geno's compares. I suppose if you like cheesesteaks with meat that has no flavor, bland cheese, floppy soggy bland fries, and stale bread then yes, Geno's is the place for you. Otherwise wait in line for 15-25 minutes for Pat's, it's worth it. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, June 28th, 2009
1:03 pm	Hah Heck of a day to be a celebrity. On a different note, was amused at some guy playing Street Fighter IV at Gameworks on a 60+ win run using M. Bison. Really throw-happy. Too bad KoF XII is time-trial only on the arcade. Watched another guy pretty much jizz his pants when he saw the cabinet and was screaming like a little girl about it. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, June 21st, 2009
8:52 pm	Bleah Just finished Phantasy Star Portable and there's just so many things that just annoy me. Maybe I'm just scrutinizing on petty crap but I dunno...maybe it's because I see "Phantasy Star" and I'm disillusioned that I'm supposed to be playing an actual Phantasy Star game. ( For Phantasy Star geeks and a little bit of spoiler. ) Needless to say, I think I'm going to start a brand new character. Hah. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, June 7th, 2009
12:21 pm	Here's a new one So I got a call from an 815 area code (Crystal Lake-ish area, IL) and since I was at work, I let it go to voice mail. Later I checked it and OMG I WON A FREE TRIP AND FREE GAS BECAUSE...me or a family member filled out a contest form? Wait, my family hates contests (well at least my parents don't usually enter them) and I only enter stuff for free food at restaurants (not that I ever win, but free Chipotle or Quiznos would be nice one of these days). This lady first off said she was from "CGI" or "CTI" or something (talk about generic) and to call an 866 area code back to claim my prize within 24 hours. Being a little skeptical, I called the 815 area code back instead of the 866, and the same lady picked up as per an automated system as "America West." Did a reverse lookup on the phone number, turns out the 815 was a cell phone. After some more prying on the 815 and 866 area codes (since "America West" brings up the defunct airline and "CGI" or "CTI" is a bit too generic), it seems whoever these people are, they're calling a bunch of people telling them the same thing. Either there's a lot of winner or it's a scam, and from what I've read, they want your driver's license and CC info for "informational purposes only" if you decide to follow-up on the "contest." Wow, I can't smell a scam at all. Edit: Because it's apparently not obvious, that last line was sarcasm. If one read my entire entry, I had hoped that would be pretty clear I knew it was a scam. (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, June 5th, 2009
1:37 am	My take on E3 At least the bits I've heard about. -Sequels sequels sequels. *sigh* another year of nothing original. -Metroid by Team Ninja? Does this mean Samus will now be going up like 20 bra sizes? -Castlevania by Hideo Kojima (as my brother so fondly put it) = This whip is really a banana. -Final Fantasy...see also, who gives a shi+? More proof Squeenix is so heavily reliant on the FF franchise their talent on the Square side is so damn lacking if it doesn't have the FF label on it. -Final Fantasy IV : After Years. See above. -Metal Gear : Rising. Prediction: you'll be confused. Again. -PSP Go : Interesting that Sony is really taking a serious step to move forward with digital downloaded games, and kudos for making a bold move. Problem is, I don't think the mainstream market is ready. I do like the fact it's smaller and crazy lighter though. Don't get me wrong, it's better than last year, but still it's...all right I suppose. A lot of stuff from left field which is nice that not everyone's trying sequels the same old way, but progress is such a slow process. I miss the E3's and TGS's that would have these ridiculously huge announcements for one game that everyone could get excited about. Now nothing's really that surprising anymore, and even those surprise announcements aren't really that big. (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, June 1st, 2009
2:24 am	DDR/ITG post I know, what? Really? Just a thought though. You heard of those people that argue that ITG is sooooo much better than DDR, right? Aside from Gameworks (with their wonderful ITG 1), the only songs they play are custom songs. I rarely see them playing actual ITG songs. So I don't get it, how is ITG better than DDR if all they're doing is playing Stepmania on an arcade machine? It's not even ITG anymore, it's an arcade SM cabinet. Those things existed a good amount before ITG was out (just not easily as accessible). So wouldn't that just mean at that point, Stepmania is better than DDR? Well hell, I guess then so is Diet Diet Revolution and DWI. (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, May 29th, 2009
12:17 am	OK seriously Who gets sick twice in the same month? Stupid throat cold (or something respiratory) in the beginning of the month, feverish cold at the end? Gahhhh...at least I seem to be getting over this one really quickly though. Still stuck in bed for most the weekend though, bah. Giving me time to beat Dracula X Chronicles though...True Dracula is pissing me off. SOTN, can't get past 200.3%...again. (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, May 25th, 2009
9:15 pm	Star Trek Finally got to see it. Thoughts... ( Spoilers because I'm lame ) After watching it though, I had this strange urge to go back and watch a bunch of old Star Trek episodes on YouTube and Star Trek II and III over again. Ahh...memories... (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
11:59 pm	Gabutto Burger The new burger joint at Mitsuwa isn't bad. The credit card machine doesn't work yet. The Teriyaki egg burger was tasty, but needs more depth. Garlic butter fries are good too. Probably better fresh. For $4/burger (each burger costs $4-$4.35, while fries are $1.95 for a small and $2.35 for a large)...it's OK I guess. At least it's some kind of variety, although Omu-rice will still be missed. (9 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, April 3rd, 2009
12:26 am	Kansai International update Thank God Kansai International has free internet. Still too lazy to make that big update, probably because I need to do a ton of parsing and stuff. Oh well. It pisses me off that it's JUST FINALLY getting warm for the Sakura. Dammit. Oh well. Goals achieved: -Got to eat sushi that didn't taste like crap. -Fallen in love with karage. -I think I'm growing a fetish for skirt and leggings. Regardless of weather, they've everywhere. -Ate fresh fish (fresher than America anyway) -Found interesting information about jobs. -Embarassed the crap out of people by overusing English unnecessarily (more later). -Annoy people on the train by looking at them (I'm a jerk). -There was something else but I can't think of it. What's left: -Take a picture portraying how ridiculous people are here with their cell phones. On the train, everyone's glued to it. I've almost been ran over by idiots on the cell phones while riding their bikes. All in all, this trip was really fun. Of course, I found more things to do before I have to leave, but oh well. The short of it: -Got tons of pictures of scenery, sakura, history, arcades (to appease my geekdom) and weird stuff. -Next time I come to Japan, I need to lay off buying food. I will go broke. -Convenience stores and vending machines = bad. Expensive, but are what they say they are: convenient. Not much different from America I suppose. -Kyoto: Damn fun, but too spread apart. Takes forever to walk anywhere, especially from Kyoto station. -Osaka: Kinda dirty in some parts, but much easier to walk around. No buses though? WTF. -Everyone is still really damn nice. -Guh, why do I have to pay to go anywhere? There's no such thing as free admission anywhere except in shops! Bah. -Figured out how to use the train system, although I hear that Tokyo is a whole different beast. -Next time, I need a compass. There are no indications of north/west/east/south anywhere I went. Kinda rendered my maps useless. -JAPAN NEEDS MORE TRASH CANS. Seriously. Everywhere I was happened to be clean, but I have to go on expiditions to find a trash can anywhere! More detailed updates and pictures to come tonight (well, Friday night CST). Current Music: Some kid gabbing for her mama behind me (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 1st, 2009
10:14 pm	I have journal entries on my laptop, but we can't figure out Tomo's wireless password, so this'll do until it's ready. -Japan's still damn cold (at least in Osaka, Kyoto, and Otsu), but some of the sakura have come out! Got some pics, soon to come. Freakin' awesome. -I remember Steve (SX3 hah) mentioning that DDR machines were scarce, IIDX weren't very common either. Well, not only are DDR AND IIDX machines impossible to find in this area, GFdm was also really scarce. Pop 'ns were relatively easy to find (found a Pop 'n Fever in a sit-down cabinet in a Sega arcade), Taiko was everywhere. Apparently Mahjong games are still a big thing. So is Tekken 6 - Bloodline Rebellion. A couple places had them lined up. BlazBlue and Melty Blood was getting good play. Hoping to find the Akumajo Dracula (Castlevania) arcade game, but no dice. Also hoped KoF XII would be out but...oh well. ( Pictures! With comments! Mostly weird stuff. Just a snippet of the many others taken ) (14 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, March 27th, 2009
9:38 pm	Notes I made a few notes about the disaster known as international travel and United, but once I upload everything to my USB drive (or get back home and upload it then), just a few quips. Of course, this may not be anything new to those that has been in Japan (WTF I can not figure out this Japanese keyboard for the life of me...where is the apostrophe???). I am also in Otsu, so who knows, maybe they are backwards here. -Why the hell do Japanese people reverse into their spots?!? At least they can park straight into their spots. -The boxy Scion xB (or Honda Element style) must be in. I have barely seen any kind of semblence to a sedan or coupe here. So weird seeing so many Suzukis on the road as well. I can see why Leslie bought one haha. -One of these days, I am going to figure out this stupid rail system. Ahmed and I ended up looking at the wrong JR line, ended up in the wrong train stop, but I left the station by the time I realized it. Bah. My baggage comes in tomorrow, let us hope nothing was taken out of there. At least I bought some Engrish clothes to tide me over until then. (22 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, March 24th, 2009
10:58 pm	Landmark Vacation. Finally! Damn exchange rate I got was about $1 = 92 yen (even though today's rate was 98...makes a bit of a difference when you're changing about $500). Oh well, it's almost like paying a fee at the airport anyway. See y'all in a week-ish. Current Mood: busy (9 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, March 19th, 2009
11:47 pm	The City of Chicago hates you If you haven't heard (or experienced it first-hand) already, Chicago parking meters have been leased out to private companies. What the heck does this mean? It means private companies can charge whatever they want to park at a particular meter. Yes, it's more revenue for the city, but guess what? You can be paying a buttload more than you used to. Take this example: I was trying to find parking on State St. and lo and behold, I get lucky and find a spot. I had 8 quarters handy which USED to buy me 2 hours. It now buys one: one quarter = 7 minutes. What makes it better is that there's reports of broken meters because of overloaded quarters or other crap...and the private companies have to do all the repairs. I guess they just suck at it. More details on this crap: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-parking-meters-20-mar20,0,7767927.story What also made news is that the Daley administration decided to allocate the funds for pothole work to fix downtown as first priority, and the poorer neighborhoods later without consulting the city aldermen. I wonder if Daley's just going to make more horribly bad decisions to the point where people will FINALLY decide to actively not re-elect him. Who am I kidding? (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, March 16th, 2009
9:53 pm	I LOVE THE CITY OF CHICAGO So I was driving Suke home at 1:20 AM from Chris' house. I turned right from Irving Park to Kedzie, where it has a "No Turn On Red 7AM-7PM" sign. The intersection also has a Red Light Camera Enforcement. So I turned right, the camera goes off, and I thought out loud, "huh. That'd be funny if I got a ticket for that," especially when I've been hearing so many people getting tickets for perfectly legal turns. Today I come home from work, and lo and behold, a $100 ticket from the City of Chicago. That's freaking ridiculous. The pictures show three pictures: 1)My car at the intersection, looking like it's about to turn right 2)NOTHING. NO CARS IN THE INTERSECTION FOR THE EYE CAN SEE (because I turned right already!) 3)My license plate. EFF THAT. I'm contesting this, but the question is, In Person or By Mail? I'm leaning toward In Person. Last time I contested something by mail, I lost (even though it was stupid). Plus thankfully Suke was in the car so I have at least a witness. Thoughts? Also, anyone creative and decent at design that can help me whip up something small really quickly? I'll pay with at least a lunch if it works out. Current Mood: annoyed Current Music: THE iDOLM@STER Master Artist (Kotori Otonashi) - Sora (10 Comments |Comment on this)