Category Archives: Geek

Geek, Personal

Digital Mortality

I’ve been thinking a lot about my digital footprint and what will happen to it when I pass — I know, a little morbid, but if I pass now, I’d think I would disappear from the internet within a few years. My domains will expire at some point. Hosting services will stop being funded. After a few years of inactivity, my accounts will be deleted — emails, public/private photos and documents, work profile, etc.

In high school, I remember in English class we read an except from a diary from the 16th century and I thought to myself, “wow, we can’t achieve physical immortality, but to have my thoughts read/studied by a class of students some 400+ years later would be amazing!” And around the same time I remember watching a Max Headroom episode (S2.E2 Deities) where the reporters go visit a church where “(they are) able to store cortical scans of its members and keep them on-line for the day when cloning is perfected and their personalities can be placed in new bodies” (TVDB). These ideas fascinated me.

We’re not to the point where we can do cortical scans, but we do have a digital footprint that could be stored indefinitely. For awhile, I keep a written journal… that’s become a blog, now. I have a pile of photos, both physical and digital… I’ve been slowly converting the physical ones to digital. I have e-mail conversations with friends going back until the mid-90’s — nothing earth-shattering, but my digital connections. But all of that combined makes up a part of our digital footprint… Stuff like what I post on Facebook or what web-site I visited or what I posted on Reddit — even though a part of my digital footprint — isn’t something I’d consider taking into my digital afterlife.

I’ve started using the Synology Photo app, trying to consolidate/sort out my photos and images… Something happened around August, 2019… After Yahoo sold Fickr to another company… I didn’t renew my “Pro” account and my photo “back-ups” stopped… Shortly afterwards, I upped my iCloud storage… And I started using Google Photo as a backup, but I’m quickly running out of photo storage (I just checked, as of today, I’m under 1 TB of photos)… I have multiple copies of the same photos that it’s driving me crazy. I think problem started when I started looking at different back-up strategies; and has gotten worse over time. I now want to make sure I have a master copy on our NAS & then clean up what’s on iCloud, Google Photos, Amazon Photos, Flickr, etc. I realized with our trip to Japan, I probably took over 2,000+ images — quickly blowing through all of my on-line backup storage. I’ve decided it’s probably better to just keep 1 to 2 years of photos on-line, everything else should be move off to NAS/Synology storage.

I’ve also given up on the idea of having unlimited on-line photo storage, unless I set up some kind of trust fund to curate some type of digital immortality…

Geek, Personal, Travel

Splunk .conf 2024

I’m back in Las Vegas to experience CriblCon & Splunk .conf 2024. I wanted to get a good picture of the Sphere, but couldn’t find a good enough angle from the convention center, or Uber. There was a One Piece promotion going on at the time & wasn’t able to get a good video of it. :-/

Since Cisco bought Splunk, the conference felt a little different this year… Or I’m just getting old. The vendor area seemed smaller. The excitement didn’t seem a grand as before. Should be interesting if Cisco continues the conference, or if it gets folded into the bigger Cisco conference.

This was the view from in front of the hotel.

Anime, Geek, Otaku

Oh! My Goddess

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So during this Covid-19 pandemic, I’ve resorted to watching a lot of Oh! My Goddess episodes in between catching up on Westworld and spring season anime… I remember watching the movie a long time ago, and maybe a few episodes, but I couldn’t tell if it which season… I also remember reading the manga series when Dark Horse released it in the US… But I can’t actually pinpoint when I fell in love with the series… Maybe after college?

As someone put it on reddit, Belldandy was the original waifu, before goddesses became insane in anime…

I’ve avoided rewatching if for awhile, thinking in the back of my head that I don’t have all the seasons… or I’m missing a special. And there’s a certain nostalgia about the series when you compare it to modern anime… the pacing is a little slower. And it’s 50 episodes with specials and a movie — it’s a lot to sit through.

I watched season 1 in English, which made it go faster… As I write this, I discovered on my self I have a S.A.V.E. copy of season 2, in both English and Japanese… So I’ve been ripping those and watching through them in English. I remember having a VCD copy of season 1 somewhere, that I got off eBay.

As I’m watching through the series, I’m releasing the season 1 & 2 were released in 2005/6… Hard to believe it’s only been 15 years. But I’m also realizing that the very first OVAs were released 1993/4… I’m thinking this is when I fell in love with the series & became aware of it. The OVAs covered a few things that were drawn out into a few episodes in season 1… I can’t which did a better job… The nuance about causing trouble for others is there… Belldandy meeting Keiichi during childhood (which was talked about in season 2) was very different from the OVA… since the Batman story has been told and retold many different times, with different ways, I’m not so much hung up on cannon…

For an anime that’s saccharin sweet, there is a pervy vibe that runs through it… Even from the beginning, in the original OVAs, there’s a drag race competition between the Nekomi Institute of Technology Auto Club and a rival club. In between races, girls in skimpy swimsuit-like outfits hold up signs, either as cheer-leaders, crowd motivators, or announcing the next race… there’s a few cut screens where all viewers see are butts, crotch-shots, or boob-shots… there should almost be a eechi-index (and there might be), of how many sexualized visualizations there are within a title…

Anime, Comics, Geek

Interesting Stories

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Today as I was driving into work, I started thinking about what stories do I like the most. What has captivated my attention to keep watching (in anime and TV series) or reading in comics…

From the masterful story teller, Alan Moore, I learned about framing/book-ends — start with one story, show how it leads into another story, then close it out with the original story; tying the two stories together with reference to similar subject matters, a play on words within the exposition, or visuals leading from the first story to the next (ie. zooming into the eye of an character in the first story, switching in the next frame, then zooming out from a different character in the next story). Alan’s background details not only foreshadow things to come, but added atmosphere, depth. His ability to tell multiple stories, where one story thread feed into the other kept me engage.

Alan’s villains also had dimension. Time was given not only to create depth in his heroes, but the bad guys were more thoughtful, twisted.

Switching to anime and a little bit, TV, there are certain stories that I really love. Most of them tend to be Isekai (異世界, “different world”), but with the overall story, the characters are very likable, you want them to succeed, you become invested in them quickly — then something happens and you as the audience despair. The first few seasons of Game of Thrones was like that — you wanted the Starks to win, but then the father is killed. Or for Rob to be happy in love on the battle field, but then the red wedding. But with GoT, after awhile, it became cliche to kill off a characters you became emotionally attached to.

In anime it’s a little different. There tends to be a villain that seem over-powered at first, that comes into the story punching you in the gut. Or the villains are arrogant, weaselly, no more than high-school bullies, but then they pray on some the weaker, timid, shy. You see it coming like a freight train down the tracks, but can’t stop it… In many cases, it’s a change of atmosphere, the visuals are darker, the music switches and you get that sinking feeling in your stomach, that whatever happens, it’s not going to end well.

Comics, Geek

The Green

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Once upon a time, I created a web-site called The Green dedicated to DC’s anti-superhero Swamp Thing. I had a few collaborator that sent me content. It talked about the comics, the animated series, the TV show, the movies, and the toys. I wanted to build a comic book database with pictures, summaries, synapses and reviews, but I was learning PHP at the time and was trying to figure out the best way to build it, while failing to add data to the DB. I still have all the image files somewhere and some old static pages…

With the advent of streaming services and the success of Marvel’s complex stories via the MCU, DC is trying to tap into the zeitgeist by producing Titans, Doom Patrol and now Swamp Thing. After there’s been a few episodes released, I’ll start watching it; in the mean time I’m avoiding reviews. I have mixed feelings about it… could be all horror, without Alan Moore’s poetic words in the background to help frame up each episode. Or could follow in the foot steps of it’s former series… which didn’t really appeal to me — felt more like a B-rated horror flick. And to be honest, I don’t think any of it will capture Alan Moore’s run on Swamp Thing… Or I could be wrong and smarter people than me are doing just that.

Anyway, more later…

UPDATE: Well, maybe not… Looks like the series might have been cancelled.

Comics, Geek

Doom Patrol

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The more I read Grant Morrison’s work, I find myself in a suspended state of discontent. I’ve read some of this Batman work, Animal Man, JSA, Filth, Supergods and found it to be ok… Some of it is hit-or-miss with me. And I think part of my problem is, I’ve compared his work too much to Alan Moore, since most critics tend compare one against the other… I’ve fallen into this trap too.

I’ve watched Happy! and found myself liking this dark, creepy, surreal world Morrison created (I haven’t started Season 2 yet). The translation from graphic novel to tv worked. Morrison’s worlds tend to be fucked up, no sugar coating, or no ultimate force of good — either you’re ignorant, or depraved. His heroes tend to be just as depraved as the villains, but at some point, some imaginary friend helps them in finding a moral compass and do what’s right… ish.

I’ve read reviews where they summarize Morrison to be a two-bit, shock-artist that lack substance… The latex fetish scenes just just reinforce this idea. But every once in awhile, Morrison has nuggets of good ideas.

When I started Doom Patrol, I suspected the show runners would source Morrison’s work for stories; and I didn’t know how I’d feel about that or how well it would translate to a tv series. And to be honest, it hasn’t disappointed. Similar to Happy!, the main characters suffer from past wrong-doings. The shock-value is there, but might be toned down (being a DC property).

I like the idea that the super-villain exists outside the 4th dimension in the “white space”. It allows for interesting (funny) commentary on the show and characters itself. The show plays on chance and happenstance in some interesting ways (similar to another show I’ve been following, Milo Murphy’s Law)…

Anime, Geek, Video Games

Pokémon GO (Update)

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So Pokémon Go just added the ability to add friends and allow for Pokémon trading… It’s been needed for a long time.  There are some Pokémon we realize that we’ll never be able to collect — we’d have to be world travelers and do lots of raid battles to catch legendary Pokémon.  What’s funny is that now I have enough Pokémon Go friends, but they’re scattered across the globe — meet through our interaction with the LEGO fan community.

The other exciting news is that Pokémon Go will interact with the new Pokémon Nintendo Switch game.  It sounds very limited and a little lame, but I know I’m not the target audience…

The wife and I started watching season 16 or Pokémon XY.  We about 2-3 generations of Pokémon ahead of PokéGo… so can’t wait until the game catches up to our viewing… to be honest, we’ve caught a few episodes of Pokémon Sun & Moon via Netflix in between bingeing on other shows…

Anime, Geek, Video Games

Pokémon GO

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Pokemon-GO-Tech2-720-624x351A few days ago, I wanted to post my status on Facebook as “So my evening conversation with my wife has become, ‘which Pokémon have you caught today?’.”  Which is funny because it’s been so true…

I didn’t grow up on Pokémon.  As a matter of fact, I didn’t start watching it until after college — I caught it on Cartoon Network as I was getting ready for work in the mornings… Don’t know which season, or where in the story line I started… And I barely remember the episodes I caught.  I just remember that the show wasn’t bad, and I could see the appeal.

I’ve also never collected any of the cards.  And I’ve never played any of the Pokémon video games, although I’m playing Pokémon GO… I’ve even got my wife playing it.

The game itself is pretty interesting.  And having downloaded a few of the first episodes of Pokémon, it stays true to the story line.  I did read an article saying that the game lacks the heart of the show — pfft, whatever.  It’s about beating your opponent and building your Pokémon army, friendships are secondary, dude!

So if I had to look ahead 5 years, I’d think Niantic would create a convention, and at the convention, hold live gaming tournaments.  Only people at the conventions could catch super-rare Pokémon and collect convention medals.  And then, and only then… after about 5 of these happening, will this fad die out.  Until then, Pikachu, I choose you!

Geek

Mad Max: Fury Road

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Over the weekend, I watched Mad Max: Fury Road, but not before rewatching Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. 🙂 I had forgotten some bits and pieces about Thunderdome, but not that basic plot… after awhile, it felt like watching a movie from the 80’s… seemed slower paced, not as much computer CGI, etc.  Fury Road felt like the CGI was a little over the top, with some parts just going against the laws of physics.  Nevertheless, I did enjoy  the post-apocalyptic mythology.

Fury Road, hieroglyph edition
Fury Road, hieroglyph edition

I spotted an article on Boing Boing, called: “Fury Road, hieroglyph edition” And fell in love with the artwork.  It’s a good recap of the movie, you begin to understand what the images mean after seeing the movie.

I don’t know if it’s tongue-in-cheek, but Boing Boing had posted several articles on Fury Road since the movie first came out… from the flame throwing guitar, to the edible spray-on silver paint, to the strong feminist overtones… all in praise of the movie.  Personally, I thought the movie was good, but a little hard to swallow at times.

But I think it was the mythology I most enjoyed… from the devout fanatical devotion of the half-life War Boys, to the wanting to maintain genetic purity of the line, survival after hope is dead, the iconography of different tribes of survivors, iconography of the different war machines, the iconography of the chastity belts, etc.  There’s probably symbolism behind the 5 wifes that I’ve missed… I’m sure there’s more symbolism in this movie that I missed as compared to Thunderdome, that made Fury Road stand out more.

For the most part, Fury Road was predictable… even the bit about the “Green Place” — it was like learning that Captain Walker didn’t return all over again.  You knew it was coming.  Didn’t mean the movie wasn’t enjoyable… I think I enjoyed Fury Road more than Thunderdome, but if I had to grade it, it’s a solid: B-