I usually have some kind of music ringing around in my head. Maybe it proves I'm crazy.

Could be worse; could be voices. Anyway, these days it's usually something from anime. But for the last week or so, it's been the second movement of Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra. Which at least has the distinction of being classy, as opposed to trash like the OP of AsoIku.

And I hope that posting about it will make it go away.

UPDATE: Seems to have worked. Now it's battle music from Dog Days.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in Daily Life at 09:11 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Well, for the people who have been complaining that the show has been slow and uneventful, in this episode things begin to pick up.

The Odette II is being trailed by hostiles. The nature of the hostiles isn't yet clear, but it's probably related to the EW attack while they were in the space dock.

And in this episode everyone on the ship finds out about Marika being a candidate to become captain of the Benten-maru.

There were surprises in this episode. One was that Jenny Doolittle, the club president and current captain of the Odette II, and Lynn Labretta, VP of the club, both already knew about Marika. From their reactions when told, the others on the ship weren't aware. But they all know now.

In the pilot, way back when, there was at least one scene where other schoolgirls called our heroine "Marika-sama". Now that they know what's going on with her, maybe that's why.

Jenny surprised me in a lot of ways, in particular in how she decided to let Marika become the ship's strategist in the battle they face. And given her utter inexperience, Marika came up with a pretty good plan.

After a while it occurred to me that this is an aspect of the sempai/kouhai relationship in Japanese schools, where the older students see themselves as being responsible for guiding and teaching their juniors. (That is particularly the case in school clubs.) Once it's out in the open that Marika might become a pirate captain, Jenny sees it as her duty to help develop Marika's skills -- and developing strategies and tactics for particular situations is certainly part of what Marika will need if she becomes captain of the Bentenmaru.

Kane and Misa are on board, and they're playing an interesting game. The Bentenmaru is also shadowing the Odette II, and when the stealthed ships were discovered, Kane called the Bentenmaru to tell them about it. Which the students weren't supposed to know, but Chiaki tapped his call.

Indeed, there seems to be a lot of benign espionage going on in that ship. Kane and Misa have been listening in on the bridge when the girls have been doing all this. Chiaki tapped Kane. And it seems that Jenny and Lynn have been doing some of it, too.

Lynn seems to be an uber-hacker. She got suspended from middle school for hacking, for instance. One of the attackers seems to be an unmanned drone, which Marika thinks the bad guys are going to use as a relay for an electronic attack on the Odette II. In the next episode Lynn is going to try to take it over, so that they can use it against those who deployed it. Should be fun!

The Odette II was once a warship, as well as being a pirate. It turns out to have a lot of its original equipment still installed. So far we've seen a military grade electronic warfare unit, a high frequency targeting radar, and a military IFF system. Makes you wonder what else got left in. Is it still armed, for instance?

In particular, maybe when it was decommissioned they locked down the weapons instead of uninstalling them, and maybe Lynn can get them back on line. I doubt that's where this is going; I think this battle will be electronic warfare.

UPDATE: A possibility occurs to me: this is an improptu training exercise for Marika, quite possibly by Chiaki's father.

A further possibility: Jenny knew it was coming, and knows what it's for, and that's why she's letting Marika be strategist and tactician. Maybe she was warned about it at the same time she learned about Marika's candidacy.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in General Anime at 04:45 PM | Comments (24) | Add Comment
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HorribleSubs is first out with today's episode of Mouretsu Pirates. But I won't download it.

At least they stopped putting "Haters gonna hate" in every entry they submitted to TokyoTosho, which I found intensely annoying. But I still won't download anything of theirs. That's because they're ripping it all off from Crunchyroll.

I'm a member of Crunchyroll, having joined last year. But I don't use it. It was a guilt payment, as well as an encouragement. They're doing what we all say we want: giving us access to shows when they're broadcast in Japan, rather than forcing us to wait months or years. I want to encourage that. So I give them my money each month.

But they don't offer Download-To-Own. Irrespective of price, fansubs are still a better product.

For a while I had settled on [RS] for Mouretsu Pirates because they were posting 1080p versions. But they didn't give us ep 3, and there's no sign that they intend to keep up with the series. Alas.

For ep 3 I ended up with [WhyNot], and they're probably who I'll go with today, too. But their release was 720p.

HorribleSubs offers a 1080p version, because Crunchyroll does, but I won't get it. The line has moved, but there is still a line I won't cross. I still have some tatters left of my principles.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in General Anime at 10:26 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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This is interesting:

A major security flaw was revealed in December 2011 that affects wireless routers with the WPS feature, which most recent models have and enable by default. The flaw allows a remote attacker to recover the WPS PIN and, with it, the network's WPA/WPA2 pre-shared key in a few hours. Users have been urged to turn off the WPS feature, although this may not be possible on some router models.

So I just now got into Railgun's setup menus and looked around, and I can't even tell if Railgun supports that feature, let alone how I might disable it. Ye Gods.

UPDATE: Here's more about it. Wifi Protected Setup (WPS) seems to be a protocol to allow things like printers to use Wifi easily. It uses an 8-digit access code, but evidently the real password space is only about 11,000 values, which means it can be cracked by brute force in just a few hours by exhaustive search.

I don't think Railgun has this feature.

UPDATE: Whew! I downloaded the user manual (something I should have done a long time ago) and searched it, and this feature is never mentioned. I think that means that the Netgear SRXN3205 doesn't have it.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in Computers at 05:14 PM | Comments (11) | Add Comment
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Yet another Hot Air Greenroom post.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in Weird World at 07:24 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Sato continues to tell his story in what some may consider to be a leisurely pace, which is to say that he's concentrating on his characters, not on trying to give us visual fireworks. He's got two cours to tell his story, and he isn't in any hurry.

For those like me who are in sync with his rhythm, it's going nicely. In this episode the yacht club begins its trip in the Odette II. After launch from the space station, they deploy their solar collectors.

Words sometimes survive their original use and continue to be used in other contexts. What I'm doing right now is called "typing", even though there isn't any typewriter involved. Indeed, I think it's been ten years since I last saw a typewriter. And I doubt there's a piece of physical type within a mile of here.

The solar collectors are on long mechanical arms, and in a nice conceit they're referred to as "masts", and specific ones are given names like "mizzen-mast". That was clever. Likely a lot of this came from the original light novels, but still credit where credit is due.

Turned out that one of the masts didn't deploy properly. The ship doesn't have any repair bots, so we have to have a space walk. Kane takes the first-year students out to have a look.

The Kane character is surprisingly interesting. Sato isn't falling into the trap of making him a perv, thank goodness. He's surrounded by nubile young things, but he isn't trying to sneak a peek, and isn't really affected by it. When he first introduced himself to the class he informed them that he was married. Whether true or not, the real message was "Don't mess with me." He's got a job to do, and he really is doing it well.

We get a nice example of operations in this one, including the way that the bridge monitors everything, and the way that everyone coordinates with one another. Kane uses the opportunity to help the students learn how these things are done; he doesn't outright take command and give orders -- which he could do. He's the faculty supervisor, and he's spent most of his life in space. But he wants the girls to learn; this is a training mission, after all.

The visuals on the ship continue to be nice. I like this design for the ship's bridge:

The one on the top left, sitting on the seat that sticks out, is the commander. Marika is sitting next to her and seems to be the helm. (Kane is in the lower right corner with his back to us.)

So we got a problem, and Kane will take six students out to try to fix it. So we get a locker room scene; first fan service of the series -- and not really very explicit.

And inevitably the suits are rather snug:

Chiaki continues to be an enigma, but one thing is clear: she wants Marika to become captain of the Benten-maru.

She shows up at the cafe again, to have another parfait. When she walks in, Marika and Mami greet her as "Chiaki-chan!" And she harumphs and says "Chan janai". More or less Don't call me 'chan'.

In terms of the series construction, there's a hell of a lot of foundation being laid in these episodes, but I think the most important thing is development of the relationship between Chiaki and Marika. You can see it happening.

Sato has said that he eliminated all romance from the story. Which suits me just fine. Romance subplots can make for good stories, but usually they're a crutch for writers who don't have anything else to say. It appears that this series has a deep enough story to tell that it doesn't need that.

I continue to be enthusiastic about Mouretsu Pirates.

UPDATE: Chiaki mentioned "the renewal of the Letter of Marque" as an event in the immediate future. What I've put together in my mind is this: if there is a captain from the designated family line, then renewal of the Letter of Marque is automatic. If there isn't, the Letter expires. There were originally several privateers, but by this point all of the other Letters have expired, for whatever reasons. That's why the Benten-maru is the only privateer from that planet still operating.

We don't know when the critical date is, but it doesn't seem to be really immediate. Were that the case, Kane and Misa would be in a lot more of a hurry to get Marika to agree to become captain. So we're probably talking months.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in General Anime at 11:15 AM | Comments (11) | Add Comment
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Was sitting here a little while ago, thinking, "You know? It's been forever since I've gone out for breakfast. I hardly ever eat out at all, in fact. Maybe I should go out for breakfast tomorrow, just for a change. There's a Hooters near here, isn't there? It's supposed to have a good breakfast; maybe I should give it a try."

"Or at least, therer was a Hooters over there six years ago, the last time I walked past. I've never been in it, and I wonder if it's still there?"

So I got onto the web to check out the Hooters site. And it told me I had to install Microsoft Silverlight in order to view the site. No thanks.

Fortunately, the restaurant locater page didn't require that. So I plugged in my zipcode, and it told me that the nearest location was Jantzen Beach. Which is hell-and-gone away from here. It sure as hell isn't walking distance.

Jantzen Beach is where I-5 crosses the Columbia River. Google Earth says it's 10 miles as the crow flies, but the crow would be flying over Forest Park and the West Hills. By road it's more like 15 miles.

Rats. Oh, well; I'm too old for that kind of thing anyway.

UPDATE: There was a pastry shop over in the SW corner of the Beaverton Mall last time I was there, but that was something like a year ago. I wonder if it's still there?

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in Daily Life at 08:12 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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It's strange the things that come to you when you're sitting around bored. I remembered this and I've been giggling about it for the last half hour.

I like the fact that young people are rebelling against "sensitivity" and "politically correct" speech. The way they are in the habit of saying, "That's so gay!" -- and the fact that it makes middle-aged lefties mad -- gives me hope for the future. And naming a Magic-The-Gathering deck "hard gay" is magnificent.

As long as each new generation is unafraid to jeer and laugh at the previous generation's religion and pretension, then this country will continue to be great.

America is a land of continuous revolution. When the revolutions stop, when the revolutionaries are cowed into silence, then the America I love will be dead.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in Weird World at 08:58 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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1 You've never encountered Hard Gay before? (Lucky you!)

Warning: link contains video of the Japanese entertainer in question.

Posted by: Avatar_exADV at January 20, 2012 09:16 PM (GJQTS)

2 Avatar misspoke.  It really should have been Japanese "entertainer".

Posted by: Wonderduck at January 20, 2012 09:39 PM (f/6aJ)

3

I thought that "hard gay" was the term for a particularly kind of character, as epitomized by Hapshiel and Kawasaki:

I didn't know there was a particular character by that name.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at January 20, 2012 09:42 PM (+rSRq)

4 I think I first ran into that term in some blog's writeup of ep 5 of Macademi Wasshoi.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at January 20, 2012 09:52 PM (+rSRq)

5 He's famous enough that you see knock-offs of his character pop up in anime.  There's one in the background of episode 12 (broadcast) of Haruhi Suzumiya   He's posing in the hallway during the school festival IIRC.

Posted by: ubu at January 21, 2012 07:59 AM (GfCSm)

6 Now that you mention it, I do remember seeing cartoon versions of him. Damned if I can remember where, though.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at January 21, 2012 10:50 AM (+rSRq)

7 I know where it was. It was in a flash game I downloaded.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at January 21, 2012 12:59 PM (+rSRq)

8  

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at January 21, 2012 02:58 PM (+rSRq)

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Gravion was one of many shows that demonstrated why Gonzo really deserved to go out of business.

I just discovered that there was a BD release of Gravion and Gravion Zwei, and even though the story was stupid and the characters not believable, the one thing Gonzo really could do was to draw attractive women.

That's one of Sandman's bridge bunnies.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in General Anime at 06:40 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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The Feds just shut down Megaupload and arrested the owners for piracy.

The four were arrested in New Zealand and presumably will be extradited.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in Weird World at 01:20 PM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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1 Copyright infringement, definitely; you'd be hard-pressed to find non-infringing content on services like Megaupload. The racketeering and money laundering charges, on the other hand, just look like abuse of RICO laws to get the result they want: it's easier to extradite a gangster than a web-site owner.

-j

Posted by: J Greely at January 19, 2012 02:48 PM (fpXGN)

2 Interesting theory. Megaupload had an "uploader rewards program" that gave people incentives to upload stuff. I can see how you could at least put together an argument that doing so meant you were already outside the bounds of the usual DMCA safe harbor provision...

Posted by: Avatar_exADV at January 19, 2012 03:17 PM (pWQz4)

3 Let's just say Anonymous didn't take it very well.

Posted by: Jaked at January 19, 2012 05:29 PM (ihVoM)

4 Wow! The ants sure are pouring out of the nest, aren't they?

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at January 19, 2012 06:11 PM (+rSRq)

5 So, they'll steal credit cards and publicize personal information from Stratfor subscribers for vague, mostly undeclared reasons (people and governments we don't like pay them to read wire reports and provide analysis!), but when it comes to RIAA and MPAA, all they'll do is whine and DDoS for a few hours?

What am I missing here?  How is this supposed to make sense?

Posted by: BigD at January 19, 2012 09:38 PM (u0/7E)

6

What am I missing here? How is this supposed to make sense?

That's what you're missing.

Less snarkily, the "membership" of Anonymous ranges from nearly rational libertarians to mindless anarchists.  The actions attributed to them may illustrate their worldview, but are unlikely to constitute any sort of cohesive plan.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at January 19, 2012 10:17 PM (PiXy!)

7 It's not an organized group. It's a mob.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at January 19, 2012 11:29 PM (+rSRq)

8 Nothing so cohesive, Steven.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at January 20, 2012 05:29 AM (PiXy!)

9 Mobs have a greater tendency to stick together and stampede in a single direction.

Posted by: ubu at January 20, 2012 07:35 AM (i7ZAU)

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