Tuesday, December 9, 2003

   Version 7 & A Few Questions...

As many of you know, work has now begun on the next version of the boards. We finally have our hands on very-near-final vB3 and we can actually start to apply our unique design to it. Today was really "Day 1" of development. It was the first time that we began making some fundamental physical changes to the layout of the software. And I think it's definitely fair to say that, compared to previous versions, Version 7 is a massive undertaking. When I actually sit there and consider all of the areas of the site that need to be edited...I feel incredibly overwhelmed. It's a very large-scale job. I would even go as far as saying that OtakuBoards will be a bigger project than myOtaku.com itself -- at least in terms of the physical time that will need to be invested in it. So far, even at this early stage, we've had some successes. Things are working out. I know that there will be further obstacles -- difficult ones -- but I'm confident that we'll get there. I'm confident because we have Justin Blessing doing our programming. Justin (for the two of you who don't know), was the guy who used to run theOtaku.com's Xbox site. And before that, he ran Absolute Sega. Even back then, at a very young age, he was a fantastic programmer. I remember commenting to him a long time ago, when I first met him, that his work was very impressive. So all OB fans should thank their lucky stars that we have Justin on board for this project -- he is truly what will make it a success. Without him, there would be no talk of a Version 7. And on that point, I'm even wondering whether or not I should be calling it "Version 7" in the first place. I say that because, the more I look at what we're doing and what we are planning, the more I feel that this isn't "just another version". It is really something else entirely. It's really like a big catalyst for the site. It is a complete reinterpretation of what OtakuBoards is; a very critical examination of how we can rebuild what we have now, from the ground up. In that sense, it's kind of scary. I know that when the boards relaunch in their new form, some people will not like what they see. At least, they will feel uncomfortable with the changes for a while. I say this because even the removal of Newbie Lounge -- a pretty pointless and inconsequential forum -- made some people uncomfortable for a while too. If that made them uncomfy, then Version 7 is going to give them multiple heart attacks. lol Having said that, I would only ask OB fans to consider what I have done with the boards since v2. I'd ask you to consider how they've evolved and how my own ideas have shaped things. If you feel that things have progressed well from version to version, then hopefully you feel that I haven't given you reason to doubt me. I hope that this will allow everyone to be confident about the next version. Not to mention the fact that it will have a beta test group and that it will be examined by people who I consider to be great designers. So in many ways, it's a far more thorough process. I'd like to provide little progress reports on the new version now and then, if you guys are interested. At this early stage, I don't want to over-hype it...because I could definitely say a lot more about it than I've been doing so far. But at the same time, I do think that most people -- even people who are expecting big changes -- will be surprised at just how big the changes are. As the title of my post suggests, I also want to answer a couple of questions in this post, from my Guest Book. Sixthcrusifix: Popularity is simply determined by the number of unique visitors that your page receives. You can find this number on your main status page, when you visit your backroom. Ben: Thanks for the compliment. Finding good pictures for RPGs is really hard; I do it because, if possible, I'd rather show a picture than use a description. It just gives a better sense of what I'm thinking of in my own mind, really. In terms of where I get the pictures, there are a few places. One of them is AnimeShrine.com. They have a wonderful gallery with a huge selection of art. The second place is RPGamer.com. They have massive stocks of promotional art for a huge variety of RPGs. It's a wonderful place to go, if you're looking for character ideas in RPGs. You'll find a lot of different themes and styles. I do sometimes draw my own characters...but that is rare, because it takes me a long time to do. Regarding your site...I do visit it sometimes, but I don't comment. I rarely comment in people's blogs, really. I only comment if it's an issue/subject that I really have a specific opinion on. But I definitely contribute to your visitor numbers. So don't feel too unnoticed. ^_^ Circeus: I'll have a look at your account. Hopefully it's a minor issue that I can fix. I sure hope that the next version of the boards doesn't encounter this problem. Since it's on all-new software, it hopefully will be a lot better in this regard. It certainly seems to be significantly more advanced, from what I've seen of it, anyway.

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Friday, December 5, 2003

   In the Mood for Revolution

Thankfully, I'm now feeling a lot better. I want to thank everyone for wishing me well on AIM and here on myOtaku. It's really flattering when someone goes out of their way to wish you a speedy recovery. It definitely keeps my spirits high. ^_^ I've been reading various myOtaku sites over the past couple of days, and I notice that some people are not only talking about their history with OtakuBoards, but also their history with specific people. I have always known that OtakuBoards was a place that became a hub for not only discussion, but also friendship. Lots of people have developed casual friendships from OB, some have developed very serious friendships and others have even seen love blossom from it. It's quite amazing; it certainly never ceases to surprise and interest me. When I think about my own history at the site, I come away realizing that I have made many friends. And I've discovered a lot of truly interesting stories and talents in the process. I've been fortunate enough to read people's poetry and fan fiction and participate in their RPGs and witness their artwork. This is one aspect of our community that I will never become tired of. I really love to see people do creative things and I especially love it when people's talents are nurtured. I was recently reading Tony's myOtaku/WiP and I noticed his comments about myself and Charles and Josh. In particular, I found it interesting to consider how I first met him and how he came to the boards. I can even remember that in the beginning, he wasn't too enthusiastic about the whole affair. And yet, here he is now, an incredibly popular member in the community. It's amazing, really. On this note, I turn my attention again to the next version of the boards. Obviously, in terms of skins, I'll be making the "defaults" myself. But I would really like to recruit people from within the community to make their own skins for the site. Tony knows that I already have him in mind as a prime candidate; I believe that his artistic talents would be a huge benefit to OtakuBoards. I know that when I ask Tony to do anything related to art/graphics, I'm not going to get some highly-pretty-but-very-cliche work. I know that I'm always going to see something very unique and interesting. In some ways, it makes Tony's work unpredictable; but I love that. As much as Shift did great work, for example, his stuff all looks the same. It's like he's taking a big rubber stamp and pressing it down on every canvass, with only minor changes in place. It's pretty, yeah. And it does wow the crowd. But it's not fresh. It would also be fun to explore some of our other artists. In this way, we'd really be using the community for itself. I mean, the community would have an opportunity to put back in. I think that would be great. Of course, it's really too early to say whether or not we'll move in that direction...but it's a nice thought at the moment. Anyway, I'm going off on a tangent yet again. I guess that this post is more or less a response to things I've read lately. I didn't write this with any specific point in mind...I'm just thinking aloud. A blog like this can be such a luxury, in that sense. When you write your thoughts down, they can seem so much more clear to you. Oh, and before I go...I must say something that I've been meaning to say for a while. I wanted to comment on wrist cutter's top 50 Japanese artists. He's now finished and it's actually kind of sad. I was a regular reader and I really felt that I learned a great deal about an industry that I hadn't known much of beforehand. So, I feel that's worth mentioning. I really enjoyed reading wrist cutter's analysis and comments; it was actually something I really looked forward to reading with each myOtaku visit. If any of you haven't yet read wrist cutter's top 50 Japanese artists, I strongly recommend that you do so. It doesn't disappoint.

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Tuesday, December 2, 2003

   Sickness is Bleh

If you haven't seen much activity from me in the last few days (especially in Kill Adam), you should know that it's because I have a very nasty throat infection right now. In fact, I had tonsilitis only last week. It started to go away of its own accord, but somehow an infection developed out of it. Apparently my tonsils themselves are not infected -- but that doesn't stop me feeling like I have a golfball in the back of my throat. It's extremely uncomfortable. Whenever I swallow, I feel like I'm being punched in the head by a gorilla. It's nasty stuff. Luckily though, I'm feeling a little better this evening. I've been taking antibiotics for two days now and it's starting to kick in slowly. Phew. It's not easy to work and do other things when you have a nasty infection. Bleh. Still, it hasn't stopped me a great deal. Despite the discomfort, I've been able to cope with it relatively well. I've still been able to get a lot of things done (non-Otaku, work-related things), which is good. I tend to be able to cope with pain/injury pretty well; at least, it rarely stops me from doing the things that I usually do. Still, it's nice to finally feel a bit relieved. It's definitely a confirmation that I should slow down a bit here and there. Sometimes it's important to just smell the roses, as they say. ~_^ That's all boring stuff, though. In terms of Otaku-related things, I still have to hammer out a new page design for Adam, because of the new header and such. We'll get there eventually, it just takes a little time and effort. Should be no problem. I'm sure that you guys will enjoy the results. At the very least, your myOtaku pages will be spruced up as a result of the new graphics. ~_^ Also, in regard to Kill Adam...I've asked Josh to complete the chapter for me. I don't think I can write anything creative for it right now...at least, not until I'm a little better. So, Shinmaru and Tony, you guys will have one more opportunity to post. Shinmaru will die in this chapter, also. But who he is killed by and what the circumstances are can be chosen by you guys. I should have mentioned that he'd be killed in the chapter intro, but I intended to post myself -- unfortunately, it was around that time that I began to feel both sick and uncreative. Bleh. Still, once this chapter is over, I will immediately start the next -- regardless of how I feel. In particular, I want to give Torisuki more opportunity to write about the history of her character. So that should be fun. This current chapter is probably a bit longer than normal, as a result of the number of characters involved. So yeah, if you can understand all my rambling above, good for you. ~_^ EDIT: Oh and, Animeia...I don't really have a favourite video game. There are lots that I love, especially Nintendo classics. Thanks for signing my Guest Book, too!

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Thursday, November 27, 2003

   Winds of Change

I feel sorry for Adam sometimes, at least in terms of his stress level. Programming jobs are far behind -- they're just not getting done. And we both believe that we can't start adding major features until the niggling little bugs are fixed. It is my hope that these things can be sorted out as soon as possible. Hopefully our programmer/s will have time. Still, it doesn't mean that we won't be making some rather significant changes. For one thing, Adam has asked me to redesign the upper menu bar for theOtaku.com. Whenever Adam asks me to do something like this, there are two schools of thought with me. Or should I say, there are two prominent questions in my mind. Do I take what we have and make it a little more functional and a little more contemporary? Or, on the other hand, do I completely ditch what we have and develop a new style? Usually, it's a combination of both that ultimately wins out. If you look at our current header, which we've had since v4 of theOtaku (v1 of myOtaku) launched, you'll notice that it's pretty different to anything we've had in the past. Each time, things tend to get more elaborate and expansive. Not that I mind what we have. I actually like the "two curls" now more than I did at the beginning. Even for me, as the designer, they've grown on me over time. So that's a good thing from my persective. The big problem, of course, isn't so much art related. It's more design related. When you have a single image as a block, you have to change every header whenever you add a new link for example. Not only does this take time, but it means that users have all-new images to cache in their browsers. This slows things down for narrowband/dial-up users. And, as you can see by the layout of each one of our sites...everything has been designed with speed and clarity in mind. Everything is designed to be easy to read and to load very quickly, no matter how fast your modem is. Compared to other major anime sites, I think we achieve that pretty well. We really haven't littered a bunch of pointless images all over our pages. If you see an image, it's either the header or it's something you can click to view at a larger size (ie: artwork or a screen capture). In other words, we have tried to keep miscellaneous imagery limited. Why do I say all this? No really significant reason, really. Just to muse over the current state of affairs, I guess. But also, the design I've been working on is quite different to what I had originally expected. I have shown the finished design (or near finished design) to Ger already, to get some feedback. He really liked the two designs (the new myOtaku logo and the new theOtaku.com header graphics), so hopefully Adam won't see them as too different or radical. I think he gave me a lot of freedom with the v4 stuff though, so I am sure he will be as generous this time around. Besides, I know that Adam wants to push things forward. He likes surprising members and visitors with cool new stuff all the time. And I think he has so many ideas and concepts (we already have two full sites coded and ready to go), that he wants to unleash as much as he can. Of course, programming limitations and other unforseen issues often arise. Heh, this post has probably been my least structured ever. I'm pretty much just thinking out loud at this point...so I'll stop. But, I will leave you with an important message: there are many cool surprises to come yet.

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Monday, November 24, 2003

   A Winter Trend?

Well, my next post here isn't really an Otaku History post. Maybe next time. Instead, it's a brief rant about recent suicide/cutting/etc threads. After closing the "living hell" thread in Otaku Lounge, I received a massive PM from wiccansamurai. It included everything from research reports on suicide to dictionary definitions and who knows what else. Apart from the fact that I've experienced suicide first hand (and therefore don't desire to read an encyclopedia article about it), I also feel that my decision with that thread was justified. Obviously, there was the question of people simply spamming. Posting something like "Hello?!" or "bye" as the entire content of your post is obviously not going to win you any brownie points. But more importantly, I do agree with some that there is a kind of trend during the cooler months; a trend to create depressing threads. On the one hand, I do see some validity in people discussing their thoughts and feelings online. I mean, if you are seriously in trouble or if you are suffering depression, I'm sure that talking about it amongst friends can only be a good and positive thing. It's not that aspect that I take issue with. Instead -- and as I'm sure you can predict -- I take issue with the "posers". Or, the people who really come across as though they have no real problems other than boredom. Of course, it's impossible to tell online. But that's half the point; it's the reason why anyone can say anything they like. And it's one reason why I personally tend not to talk forever about my personal problems on OtakuBoards. I don't think that the membership at large is all that concerned and moreover, OtakuBoards is an entertainment destination. I don't want kids to be bogged down by overly-depressing discussion. Of course, we do foster some serious debates at OB. And that's fine. It's even a good thing in many cases. But how many cutting/suicide threads can pop up before you start saying "Okay, this is enough"? I don't want to imply that I'm contemplating a complete removal or "banning" of this type of thread. That's not the case. Sometimes the discussions are very legitimate and reasonable. But what happens when a bunch of newbies jump in and start holding private conversations with one another, which are often incredibly shallow and pretentious? In this case, I closed the thread and banned the people who I felt were the most problematic. Maybe these kids do have legitimate problems and maybe they don't. My own feelings strongly point to the latter, though. But also, I think there's a bigger point. If kids like this are in serious trouble, aren't there suicide-help related forums out there? It might just be that these guys aren't aware of them, I don't know. Either way, it's not a simple question to answer. But I am sure that we get an awful lot of teens on OtakuBoards who get grounded for drawing on the wall, and then subsequently go on OB and talk about cutting. Sometimes you can feel it, when someone posts something like this: "OMGF!!! i liek, totaly kut myseph l@zt nite!!!! Fuk, im leik, soooooo xperienced @ taht!!!!" Know what I mean? It's interesting that these things are also somewhat seasonal. We don't seem to get nearly as much of this stuff during the summer break. Somehow, I don't think that suicide is that dependent on the weather.

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Tuesday, November 18, 2003

   Otaku History?

Since these Otaku history discussions seem to be so popular, I thought I'd write one of my own. I enjoy reading other people's take on OB's history as well...it's interesting. I don't know how much post-v2 members know about my history with theOtaku.com. It's kind of interesting though, especially as I look back on it. The way that I first became involved at all was really by chance. I had applied to write articles for a site called Absolute Sega; a site that Justin Blessing used to run. It was a pretty fantastic site, too -- sites like SegaDojo had mentioned it and so on. Of course, SegaDojo has its own history too; it was one of the founders of CloudChaser, which then became what is now known as XenGamers.com. But anyway, I digress. It was my application to Absolute Sega that really got the ball rolling. But not long after I applied (and was accepted), I heard that the site was due to be taken over. Absolute Sega was to be taken over by none other than theOtaku.com. I guess "taken over" is the wrong term -- "merged" is a better term. I guess Justin and Adam both decided that they could do something mutually beneficial at the time. As it turns out, the merger came at a time that might be considered theOtaku.com's peak, in terms of content. Back then, we had both anime and gaming sites. Absolute Zelda was out there in full force, and Absolute GameBoy had been running for quite a while already (since 1999). Absolute GameBoy was really where it all started though; theOtaku.com grew out of that site. AGB was really successful. I don't think that theOtaku.com would necessarily have become so large of its own accord. AGB became a big feature of it, as well as the much newer Pokemon and Digimon sites. So, when I began to write for Absolute Sega (as part of theOtaku.com), it turned out that I completed maybe two articles before things rapidly changed again. Justin had become tired of covering Sega. Dreamcast was really looking like it was going to fade away and all the hype was centered around the Xbox unveiling. So, we changed the site to "Absolute Xbox". It was Absolute Xbox that gave me so many important starts. I wrote so many articles for that site -- mostly previews, and some editorials. At that time, we had quite a lot of writers. It was exciting and it was new and it felt very fresh. I was really enjoying it. Justin was incredibly supportive and he encouraged me in everything that I did. It was around this time that I registered at theOtaku.com Forums. Back then (during v1), the URL was theOtaku.com/forums. In other words, there was no such things as "OtakuBoards", as it is known today. Though, you might consider theOtaku.com Forums as "v2" rather than v1...if you include the very first AGB Forums. But they weren't particularly large or busy, so, I guess theOtaku.com Forums is where the history books start. ~_^ Despite the fact that I was registered, I personally didn't spend much time on the forums. At that time, I found them to be pretty boring; I preferred using AIM and I wanted to stick to writing. In some ways, I was more like Adam; I didn't have much activity on the forums and I spent most of my time with site updates. It wasn't long before things changed a great deal. In early 2001, Adam decided to move theOtaku.com Forums to their own server and URL. This is considered to be the move between v1 and v2. At last, "OtakuBoards" was born. It was a far more impressive beast in v2 form -- larger, broader and more visually impressive. We also had the very latest UBB software installed. You know, back when it was cool. It was also at this time when I launched my own site within theOtaku.com -- Absolute GameCube. While we had some fun with it (Clay, Adam and myself focused on all the writing), it really wasn't easy to push forward. The main reason was simply that we knew nothing about GameCube at that point. We'd seen the 2000 tech demo stuff, but really, there wasn't a lot to cover for a while. Even after E3, all we could do was write a few previews and features. Really, we'd launched the site a bit too early and without enough resources. Still, I had fun. I spent a lot of time working with Clay Jones, who did some fantastic comics for our GameBoy section. How I miss those comics. I will never forget that little purple goo character (though I forget his name...it's on the tip of my tongue, if you remind me I'll love you forever). The little goo character was Clay's own creation. And he was a regular feature in the comics. I remember one comic where he called Nintendo of America and offered them an idea for a video game. Some representative yelled at him through the phone and he put it down, with an incredibly hilarious look on his face. It was great; I wish I still had that one. Clay also did cartoony versions of Adam and myself. If you go to theOtaku.com now, you will actually see the little cartoon Adam...that's the one that Clay originally drew. He did a picture of me with spikey hair (when it was spikey), but I don't have it anymore. I wish I did. Clay is one of the staff who I miss the most. I wish he was still around. We had some fantastic conversations and we had so much fun with theOtaku. I'll miss his enthusiasm and happiness; I think he could cheer anyone up. There was also Frank, who apparently disappeared off the face of the Earth at some point. I wonder what he's doing now. Anyway...the bottom line is that in some ways, I was more active with theOtaku.com then than I am now. In fact, I'm kind of amazed to still be around after all this time. When Absolute GameCube was in its prime (and when it actually did receive letters from readers), I became an Administrator at OtakuBoards. It's important to understand that during this time, OtakuBoards had a decentralized staff system. That is, there was really nobody in charge. Of course, Adam ran things. But because he wasn't always directly involved with the boards, the Administrators were the group who held all the power. And, back then, there were many Administrators. I think at our peak we had eight or something along those lines. Frank was one, as was Hbomb. Frank and Hbomb were both popular guys. I looked up to them, even though I had relatively little contact with them. I was doing my own thing, so to speak. In particular, most of my time was focused on the Nintendo forum, setting up discussions based on AG articles. I'm not even sure why I became an Administrator in the first place. Nobody from the boards appointed me; it was Adam who did it. I think it was mostly related to the concept of linking our gaming sites with the boards a little more...maybe Adam wanted me to have the ability to set things up in that way. I don't really remember the specifics, to be honest. In any case, that was the beginning. It wasn't long before v2 was torn apart, quite literally, by a group of members. One of them (Shinji) had managed to get Adam's password. I think I actually scolded Adam for not being careful enough about his passwords. Not least because the results created headaches for me. But I shouldn't really complain -- the end result was far more positive than negative. Without that incident, we would not have what we have today. I don't think we'd be as lucky as we are now, honestly. The reason that the situation became uncontrollable was because the password was given to so many people. Once one person became an Adminstrator, he would then make everyone an Administrator. And, unfortunately, most people took it upon themselves to fool around. They posted junk in people's signatures, they "impersonated" others, they deleted and banned other Administrators...it was an enormous mess. At that time, there was only one option; to shut down the site entirely. It was Justin (not Blessing, but our OB Justin) and kuja who helped me take control again. It's kind of ironic that kuja ended up being a complete pain in the butt subsequently...but at the time, he was very committed. So I shut down OtakuBoards for good. It was a complete and utter mess. There was no way that Adam or I could have cleaned it up and restored everything to the way it was before. It just wasn't going to happen. At that time, it looked like OtakuBoards would cease to exist. In other words, there were no immediate plans to bring it back. I think it was very much a case of thinking "No, it's too much trouble...better to just let it die." But Adam is too committed to let that happen. So what did he do? He went out and purchased a shiny, brand new Virtual Bulletin. He set it all up for us...and we re-opened, in v3 format. Of course, we had to start from scratch. We had no members, no nothing. In some ways, it was good. Truly committed members came flooding back; everyone was so pleased that the site was back online. And everyone was excited about the all-new software, too. It was great. I was very proud of Adam's efforts and I felt a renewed sense of commitment toward the site myself. The "v2 incident" prompted several changes. For one, Adam decided very firmly that we were not going to have many Administrators. It was considered to be a security risk that we weren't prepared to take. For a short while, Adam was the only Administrator. But I think it became evident that, as he continue to focus his work on theOtaku.com, someone was needed to run OtakuBoards itself, as a stand-alone site. And it happened to be me. The reason it was me wasn't particularly groundbreaking or eath-shattering. I was the person who was around...I'd dealt with the problems on v2 and I was still there. Some of our other Administrators had either left, were inactive or weren't as involved with theOtaku.com as I was. So I think at the time, I was really the only person Adam knew who he felt comfortable with. I'm thankful for that. So, I became the Administrator of v3. I gathered a group of trusted Super Moderators around me, in an attempt to basically re-build what we'd lost. I was literally re-building the staff at that time, too. Some people (like Nerdsy), were not afforded their old positions. But there was really no specific reason for that; it was just because at the time, we were all very frazzled. Adam basically re-hired those who he had known/remembered from v2...it was a somewhat rushed atmosphere. So I think it just happened that some missed out as a result of the running around. But it wasn't intentional or anything like that. That's the best way I can explain it, anyway. So, v3 was a big test for me. While I'd worked on theOtaku.com primarily for some time, I had really never focused my attention on the boards so much. And now, I was the sole individual responsible for running the entire thing. It was somewhat intimidating, but I felt comfortable with the people around me. Out of all the staff who have ever worked for me, I think Sephiroth stands out the most. He was my biggest and closest supporter during v3/v4. He supported me when it seemed like few were. And he was always someone who I felt I could talk to. So, I will always be grateful to Sephiroth for his support and encouragement. He always worked hard and was always so committed. Anyway...that's basically a summary of my history with the site up until the start of v3. I don't want to write any more now, because I might bore everyone even further. But I know that some of you are interested, at least. If you liked this post, I might write more next time. ^_^

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Monday, November 17, 2003

   Blarg.

Your Anime Life by kazoku Your username Gross income of creators $3,309,087 Genre Shounen-ai Your role Villain Your secret You have a clinical addiction to pocky. Will you save the world? No, you ultimately fail and all is lost. Created with quill18's MemeGen! Hah! Very interesting.

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Sunday, November 16, 2003

   Final Week

Finally, the last week of school has begun. I have one last project to hand in on Friday and that's it for me for the year. ^_^ So, this means that I'll be able to really finish everything. I have a lot of work to do for N-Sider in particular, which will take precedence. Then there's OtakuBoards v7 and so on. I have some more myOtaku work to do as well. I'll have so much time though, that it should be pretty easy to move through everything. Also, I finally chose the cast for my RPG. I'll start it soon. I wish I could have included more people, but I just don't think it'd have worked. Too many people would make the story too drawn out and such. There isn't too much else to report in this update, really. I haven't taken a quiz or anything for a while, so I thought I'd steal some friends-related questions from Ken's page. I'm sure he won't mind. ^_^ (187) Do you have any gay/lesbian friends? Yes (189) Who's the one person that knows most about you? In terms of friends, probably Shane, Drew or Wei-Fong. (190) What's the best advice that anyone has ever given to you? That I'm as worthy of love as the next person, I guess. That's what sticks out in my mind the most. (191) Your favourite inside joke? Lollipops. It's not an inside joke as such, it's just a silly conversation-ender. (192) Thing you're picked on most about? I used to be picked on for being short. lol But these days nobody really picks on me as such. I'm sure there are things people don't like about me though. (193) Who's your longest known friend? Drew. He's been my friend for about 16 years. (194) Newest? Japan86? Mimmi? (195) Shyest? Josh-Cookie. (196) Funniest? Shane. (197) Sweetest? Beam. (198) Closest? I don't know. (199) Weirdest? Ger. (200) Smartest? Tony. (201) Ditziest? Robert. (202) Friends you miss being close to the most? I can't think of any... (203) Last person you talked to online? Tony. (204) Who do you talk to most online? Josh. (205) Who are you on the phone with most? Nobody, really. (206) Who do you trust most? I trust most equally. (207) Who listens to your problems? Any true friend; that's why they are friends. (208) Who do you fight most with? I don't fight with my friends. (209) Who's the nicest? Jason. (210) Who's the most outgoing? Shane...maybe Tom. (211) Who's the best singer? Weh! (212) Who's on your black-list? I don't have a blacklist. (213) Have you ever thought of having sex with a friend? Yes. (214) Who's your second family? Online friends, in some ways. (215) Do you always feel understood? No. (216) Who's the loudest friend? Hayley. (217) Do you trust others easily? I trust people who earn that trust. (219) Name one person who's arms you feel safe in: There are a few that I can think of...but I don't want to mention them here. (220) Do your friends know you? Very few really know me. (221) Friend that lives farthest away: Any of my Californian friends, unfortunately. <_<

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Tuesday, November 11, 2003

   Tetsujin

Here I am again, finally. ~_^ Despite the fact that my two biggest projects are due tomorrow (and that I'm having some major difficulties with my minute-long animated project), I feel surprisingly good. Well, I guess it's not a surprise as such. I've just had a good couple of days, thanks largely to various OB members and staff. I think that this is testament to the idea that some kind words and geniunely good conversations can really lift your spirits; and ease your stress too. It's nice and it makes me happy to be able to talk to so many great people. I also visited my Guest Book today and noticed a lot of new comments. I want to thank everyone for signing my Guest Book. Even though I am often unable to go around to each person's site and thank them personally, you should all know that I'm very appreciative. The fact that you've taken time to say hello is a nice gesture. And, AniFreak, I like your site. Your background is quite cool. ^_^ I've had a good weekend, too, despite the work. I saw Matrix Revolutions and I've posted my semi-review of it in the thread at OtakuBoards. I enjoyed it (moreso than Reloaded) and I almost feel sad that the series is at an end. I miss it already. But, on the bright side, I'm sure they'll come out with some sort of boxed set; which I will not hesitate to purchase. Actually, you'll notice that my Kill Bill theme is a bit off right now, with the two different coloured backgrounds. That's just because I can't be bothered going back and editing all my other posts. I'm waiting for us to implement an "edit all" feature. When that happens, I will create a new and uber-cool Matrix theme. ~_^ I will be so glad when this week is over though. Next week is Review Week, where we'll have a final, week-long project. But that's okay...I can handle that quite easily. It'll be nice to know that it's all I have to do. The last few weeks have been great, in the sense that I love my classes...but some of the projects have really been annoying. I haven't enjoyed them at all. Oh well. I'll stop complaining now. The fact that I'm even able to get on here and type this...and talk with so many great people on AIM, pretty much cancels out any problems I've been having. Still, it'll be nice to relax when the time comes.

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Wednesday, November 5, 2003

   Crazy Week!

Well folks, it's been a rather insane week for me. This is mostly due to a lack of "physical intimacy" (yes, I can't survive a week without it...so sue me). But moreover, school is at its most stressful peak right now. I have one project due today (all done) and another four due next week. Then I have exams. Bleh. No fun. So, this also means that I haven't started the Kill Adam RPG yet. But don't worry, for those of you who have signed up...it will most definitely start. The blood will flow, so to speak. ~_^ Anyway...again, there isn't really a lot to report lately. Josh told me that I should update myOtaku, so that's what I'm doing. ~_^ But I guess that even with OtakuBoards, things have been pretty even lately. That is to say, nothing terribly major has occurred. Maybe that is what leaves me with so little to say. *shrug* Maybe a little myOtaku progress report? Hehe. Well, I'm sure Adam won't mind me mentioning the fact that he hasn't been too happy with the way that quizzes are used on myOtaku. That is, he's been wanting to create a "quiz system" for myOtaku members -- a way for people to store their quiz results and to generate their own easy-to-produce quizzes. It looks like, in the near future, myOtaku members will be able to make quizzes with a special quiz generator on myOtaku.com itself. And then, those quizzes can be shared with other members and "plugged in" to their own sites. I'm not even sure how it will work, but I know that Adam's already organizing something. So that should be really fantastic. Anyway, I might post another more exciting post here on Friday or the weekend. That way, I won't disappoint you too much. ~_^

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