Bring the funk

broderic on April 20, 2008

Took the new steed out for a ride on the NCR trail yesterday morning. That’s why I got it for. To be a more rugged bike for riding the NCR or other bike trails around the area (BWI or Annapolis).

Things to know about this bike. It’s a single speed and can be set to fixed gear. One gear. To go faster I have to pedal faster. To go up hills I have to grind them. It’s weird, but I hope that it will help develop some leg speed and some strength.

So, the NCR is flat. I did 26 miles. And I wasn’t even winded. Legs weren’t jelly for this early in the season. I have to thank my work outs for that. At first it felt too easy on the ride, but I targeted a 15mph speed. Didn’t get there because I had to slow down some.

It was somewhat cold also in the morning. I had to go back and get my jacket from the car. It warmed up around 10. Lots of people started showing up and the trail head was packed.

I think I can do this to PA and back. Next time, I’ll go out longer. Earlier. Faster.

Link of the Day [4.19.08]

broderic on April 19, 2008

Official website for the official BrowserMetrics Japanes baseball team, the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. Just the idea of a carp being a good team symbol/mascot is funny. Look at the other teams in the Nippon Professional Baseball league and they’re all birds or something fierce. They swoop down and eat carp from the pond. Is it any wonder that they are stuck to the bottom of the standings?

http://www.carp.co.jp/

Quote of the Day [4.18.08]

broderic on April 18, 2008

"I propose that the federal government suspend all taxes on gasoline now
paid by the American people — from Memorial Day to Labor Day of this
year. The effect will be an immediate economic stimulus…"Republican presidential candidate John McCain

Link of the Day [4.18.08]

broderic on April 18, 2008

Yesterday, for dinner I made some miso soup. I tried to synthesize my
own recipe. I cribbed most of it from the link of the day, but also
looked at the back of the package for some other inspiration.
Basically, it was silky tofu and frozen stir fry vegetables thrown into
a pot of boiling water until they are cooked. Add the miso, stir, let
it simmer for a few minutes, then server. It was alright, but was
missing something. I think it might have been the "dashi."http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/31/recipe-of-the-day-nearly-instant-miso-soup-with-tofu/

This isn’t subtitled

broderic on April 18, 2008

Doing a daily post whether it be link or quote of the day makes posting an actual item even more urgent. I don’t want my “latest post” list cluttered with those lame titles. And they are lame. So I have to post something worthwhile. That hopefully some one will comment on.

Anyway, I’ve been watching some anime lately, and I must admit to not minding the English dub.

Whaat?!

Those anime-maniacs would be yelling blasphemy right now. They’ll say that the English voice actors could not match the original japanese seiyuu. But they’re too clannish and can be wrong at times.

I do eventually watch the anime I own over again with the original language and subtitles, but I like to watch the shows first in English to actually watch the anime. I don’t want to be busy reading and not taking in the animation. Or seeing what is being shown on screen. If you’re too busy reading sometimes you miss things.

The English dub is also good for multi-taskin while watching the anime. I can listen to the story while surfing the net or doing something else. When I watch in the original japanese, I have to either pause or rewind to get the gist of the present scene.

The recent anime I have seen have the English voice actors try to capture the original tone and performance their japanese counter part. I say they have done a good job for the most part. They’ve been matching tone and delivery very well.

One thing though, I find that I watch the anime that are television series or 30 minutes or less in the English dub first. Any movie anime, I watch in the original language. I wonder why is that? Perhaps, I like to think that the movie anime is more artful than a tv series.

Of course, I guess I’ll have to learn japanese so that I can not worry about all this. Yeah, right!