Hanshin: December 29, 2002 - January 04, 2003 Archives

January 04, 2003

Linda's Computer - Day 1

Four hours. It took me four hours to figure out what the problem was.

I came home today and watched TechTV's Anime Unleashed while I ate dinner. They were having a Crest of the Stars marathon (well, four hours). I wanted to make it home to start watching it at 8 but got there at 8:30 so I missed the first episode (I always miss the first episode!). The show's pretty good. I thought it'd be more action but it's a lot of story and at first it was pretty boring. And plus it was dubbed and it was sooo bad. They talked super slow and depressed all the time. Bandai has to do something about the dubbing cast! (Also, they screwed up on the first DVD and had to rerelease it!) Oh wells, without it, I wouldn't have survived day 1 of Linda's computer.

All the parts had come in for Linda's computer and I was anxious to see how it would turn out. I put everything together with lots of care. That only took about an hour but when I finally powered it on, nothing showed up on the screen. And no beep from the computer either. I tried for three hours trying to figure out what the problem was (with Crest of the Stars in the background). I checked all the components and nothing seemed wrong. Built-in video and sound, new RAM, new CPU -- with only those components connected, it should be okay unless they were the culprits. But I didn't think they would be damaged so I finally decided to connect the motherboard to my sister's power supply and bam! Booted up fine and dandy. Should've done that earlier. Stinky power supply. That's what I get for going with a $20 case I guess. Tomorrow (today), I'mma go back to Advanced Computers and Technology to exchange it for a new case...and I'mma try to test the power supply there to make sure it works before I spend more time on it. I was sooo tired after working on it and then I had to clean up too...and I made a huge mess so that took forevers. Plus I had to pee super bad because I was so set on finding the problem, I neglected some more important matters. I took a couple pictures that I'll post later. The case looks really nice and the inside looks way clean cuz of all the built-in stuff and plus the way I setup the cables too. I didn't put in a modem yet but those pix are obsolete now because I had to take everything out. Anyways, can't wait for day 2.

Edit: Here's a side and angle view of the case. Guess it wasn't as neat as I thought it was going to look. But that's just the picture. It's really tidy in there in real life, I promise. Angle And wow, that Iomega burner sure brings back a lot of memories. Got him just over two years ago at a New Year's sale at CompUSA. He was only $100 when the Plextor (exact same drive) was still going for $250. Too bad it's off-colored now. =P

Posted by chuonthis at 04:07 AM | Comments (181)

January 02, 2003

80 Days and 80 Nights

January 1 - March 21

Posted by chuonthis at 10:40 PM | Comments (179)

The Best of 2002

Happy New Year everyone! Just in case you guys didn't know, the main page has been moved to http://www.chuonthis.com so go there instead! If you guys miss the anniversary site, it's still there. Just look at the bottom for links to different parts of the site. Lotso stuff that's still being worked on though. Oh wells, school's about to start so I'mma be busy and probably won't be able to work on it for a while. Anyways, for the New Years, I thought I'd do a little Best Of 2002 blog. Here goes!

The Best of 2002
Best Movies (That I've Seen)
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers What'd you expect? With a runtime of just under 3 hours, this movie kept me wanting more of the LoTR. Lotso action, lotso little hobbits, and did you see Legolas jump on the horse?! Can't wait for the DVD and then the extended version! Hopefully there'll be a gift set too! =)
Lilo & Stitch This movie is probably the best Disney movie that I've seen. It's so funny and there aren't too many songs. I hate it when they interrupt the movie to do a big performance (that goes for all them Freddie Prinze Jr. movies too!). Don't have the DVD yet cuz there's supposed to be a specialer edition coming out this year. Can't wait to watch all the extras!
Minority Report Tom Cruise is one of my favorite actors and this is definitely one of my favorite movies. Steven Spielberg does a great job here. I actually haven't watched a bunch of his most popular movies like Saving Private Ryan but I will definitely give them a shot as soon as I get the chance to get the DVDs.
Hmm...we didn't watch many movies this year and any movies we did watch weren't that great. There were the two big hits Spider-Man and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, which I waited in line for at least an hour each to catch it on opening night. But those didn't have all the aspects of a good movie. Mostly hype and action.
Best DVDs (That I Have)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Collector's Gift Set Another clear winner. This DVD boasts so many special features (too bad I haven't seen any of them yet) and the box looks so kewl! Bookends! Woohoo! Also, the extended edition of the movie is soooo much better than the normal version. It deserves to be re-released on the big screen. I'm sure they can make a bunch of money with people watching this new edition and Two Towers!
Alright, after writing my description up for the LoTR DVD, I can't find any other DVD that can compare to it so that's it for the Best DVDs! Honorable mentions go to the Simpsons season boxsets, the Brotherhood of the Wolf Canadian Special Edition, and the Escaflowne Limited Edition boxset.
Interesting Numbers: DVDs Before 2002: 1 DVDs Bought in 2002: 79 (counting boxes as 1) Cost of DVDs in 2002: $1608.45
Best Anime (That I've Watched)
Azumanga Daioh See that cute little picture at the bottom left? Wonder where "Hanshin" comes from? Watch Azumanga Daioh! I can't even describe how funny Azumanga Daioh is! Whatever anime you think is the funniest is now second funniest. Can't wait for the DVDs (or should I import them at like $50 a pop?). I was pretty sad when I finished watching the last episode because there's no more! At least I'll be able to rewatch it in my anime club.
Neon Genesis Evangelion As hard as it is to believe, I hadn't seen Evangelion until this summer. I was pretty hyped up to see it because lotso people say this is the best anime and it was still really good, which means if I wasn't hyped up, I would've even liked it more (maybe...). It was good all the way up until the last episode. There is no way you can call that an ending! Now I gotta wait for my Death & Rebirth and End of Evangelion DVDs to come in order to finish off the series.
Chobits Another fun anime to watch. It had some weird/depressing parts (which I think shouldn't be there but I guess it's good for character development)) but overall, a great show. The first is DVD coming out in March with a box and extras!
Spirited Away Went to watch this at the El Capitan theater and it was a lot better than I expected. Sure I knew it was going to be good but I thought maybe it was going to be a kid movie or something but it's enjoyable for everyone because it turns you into a kid (or is it just that I still am one?). The exhibit was pretty kewl too. Another DVD must-get when it comes out. Also gotta look out for other Hayao Miyazaki.
Lots of anime watching done this year and it was tough choosing the best. I'm sure I must've missed a couple big ones that could've changed the results. Honorable mentions go to Cowboy Bebop, Onegai Teacher, and Those Who Hunt Elves.
Best Songs (That I've Heard)
Justin Timberlake - Cry Me a River Gigi D'Agostino - L'Amour Toujours (I'll Fly With You) Fat Joe feat. Ja Rule & Ashanti - What's Luv? Nas - I Can Nelly feat. Kelly Rowland - Dilemma Jennifer Lopez feat. LL Cool J - All I Have Oranges & Lemons - Sora Mimi Cake (Azumanga Daioh Opening Theme)
Heh, this year there has definitely been a lack in music-listening. I almost forgot what an MP3 was. Sorry for some of the links to Tower Records (vs. my regular Amazon.com links). They have more clips to listen to but it sure does look ugly. Lotso other songs I'm forgetting cuz I don't listen to them enough. Oh wells, anime > music anyday.
Best Friend (That I Had)
Squishybear