| todd.tokubo.com | swanktastic.org | peanutbuttermonkeyball.com | www.tokubo.com |
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| Started Nov 12, 2003 | Archive Page | Todd |
| All of my past blog entries will start here... | ||
| 21 May '05 |
2005 E3 normal_blog |
todd |
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My boy, Bret hooked me up with a pass to E3 for the day, so I flew down to LA for the day. PS3
Quick Xbox360 vs. PS3 in general
Other thoughts: The PC's true power is as a development platform (for new games and styles of gameplay) and as a media organizer (why MS can't give a watered down version of media center I'll never understand). Digital entertainment is obviously here to stay. If the RIAA would stop suing people, they would have given DRM guidelines to MS and Apple and called it a day while scraping their 5% off the top. The Nokia N-Gage booth was dead every time I walked by. I think people really have a mental image that a phone is a phone. Timewaster type games (like Snake) will continue to be popular, but except in countries where mass transit for > 1 hour per day is the norm (like Japan), hardcore games will never be on the phone. The gaming empire is divided into a few obvious segments.
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| 4 May '05 |
The Internet is great... normal_blog |
todd |
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Until you can't find what you want... So apparently, Monaco released a second album. However, it looks like it got pulled. The online samples are pretty good, but even Amazon doesn't carry the album. So now I'm scrounging all Internet sites looking for a link to buy it. Bummer...
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| 1 May '05 |
Don't Panic! normal_blog |
todd |
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Went to see Hitchhikers today with RB. I personally found the Lord of the Rings movie at about a 7 to 8 out of 10 for reference on the geek scale. First of all, I loved the books. I loved the game. I typically hate movies based on books that I've read. Given the extreme cult following of Hitchhikers, I would have to say that people will usually have the biggest gripes with the sections of the book that they found some personal tie to. The Guide, as a book, wanders all over the place with tons of side commentary to help fill in the gaps of our understanding of the universe. It also runs around irrevently poking fun at both religion and science at the same time. For the movie, the Guide entries were very well done and very reminicent of the BBC TV series. Zaphod's portrayal by Sam Rockwell is easily one of the best parts. Good Points:
Overall, I think it was passable for a 2 hour version of a book that relies heavily on the reader's imagination. I'm not as upset about the minor details that they missed, as I am about how they've obviously set themselves up to do at the rest of the series, so they figure they don't have to answer all of the questions now.Bring on the next four movies! Rating: 7 out of 10. 5 out of 10 for hardcore, nitpicking Adams geeks. 4 out of 10 for anyone who doesn't understand that religion and science (especially probability) are really funny when you step back and really take a look at them.
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| 1 May '05 |
How do they keep doing it? rant |
todd |
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So, this guy is proclaiming the end of the gaming industry as we get closer and closer to photo-realistic action. He's missing the point entirely and probably has no business being a PC journalist. People will always find new directions for PCs and entertainment. My first IBM XT had a 5 MB HD (over $3000). We were never going fill it up. Right... My cell phone has more memory than that. You can buy PC storage over 10 times that size for less than $20. The point? The PC industry is a lot like the weather, there is no way to accuratly predict what's going to happen. 20 years ago, you thought IBM had the greatest market open to them. 20 years later, they are selling the business off to a company you've probably never heard of. No one heard of nVidia 10 years ago. Creative Labs was actually a bigger name in PC audio 10 years ago. Man... I feel old.
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| 30 Apr '05 |
Wishlisting normal_blog |
todd |
There are some small things that I'd like:
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| 25 Apr '05 |
Why do all new games suck? rant |
todd |
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One of my friends recently told me the reason most of the new games and
movies suck is that the big production houses really only care about
profit. So, they need to keep development and Q/A costs
low. This means basically creating sequels... err... creating a
franchise out of the series. (The word "sequel" apparently infers an
inferior product.) The general loop is a small group of developers consistently create new ideas / technologies, and everyone else just copies them or licenses their technology straight away. So anyway, the only way he sees to get out of this loop is the cost of development must get cheaper. Basically, people need to be able to make game content the same way people blog or the same way people write email. I believe this idea holds true for the music and film industries, except there are the RIAA and MPAA, respectively, hovering over each industry waiting for their cut of any potential product. I suppose the large publishing groups in the game world have the same clout, but there are definitely less barriers to entry in the game world. I just wish people would stop making crappy games, music and films. Cross licensing is a cool idea, but not for EVERY SINGLE property that is released. I am honestly dreading the five billion pounds of Star Wars Ep3 crap that is about to be shoved down our throats...
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| 24 Apr '05 |
Child Safety seats and the rise of the SUV rant |
todd |
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Driving with Chance to Fresno, I thought of something. Many people like Ralph Nader
spend their time protecting people from their own stupidity. Now,
I'm all for child safety, but Chance will be in a safety / booster seat
until he's probably 7. Now, if Sharon and I decide to have
another child, we will probably need a larger car than the CRV, Jetta
or S4, just because of the child seats. This means probably a
mini-van or SUV. Now, the people causing us to potentially buy our gas guzzling SUV are the same people who berate the car industry for even producing them. In effect, these "safety" people have created the market for the large SUVs. Kind of ironic, isn't it...
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| 19 Apr '05 |
Sorely disappointed... normal_blog |
todd |
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What is passing for a "hack"
these days is really depressing... The Sony PSP came out a while
back. People found out that Wipeout Pure's game browser is
actually a full web browser. You could basically redirect the DNS
resolution to a local server and browse whatever web content you want. Honestly, to me a hack is to compromise the machine, so it does something it wasn't intended to do. The PSP has always been intended to be a web-enabled device. Sony just hasn't shipped a browser yet. A hack is like getting Linux to run natively on your X-box (not because the X-box is just a PC, but because the encoded bootstrap is supposed to prevent you from doing that). Anyway, I guess part of the emerging consumer market is to see the term "hack" marginalized into something that really means, "look at the cool stuff I can do with this thing and I didn't even have to pay for it." I think I'm going to go "hack" my iPod and play some "pirated" MP3s that I downloaded from the internet.
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| 12 Apr '05 |
Cheese... normal_blog |
todd |
 Did more uploading of Chance's newest pics. A couple of things I still want to do:
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| 8 Apr '05 |
Yes... Yes... normal_blog |
todd |
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I know... Bad blogger... Anyway, it's been a busy month or so. I must be the king of starting things and never completely finishing. 1) new todd.tokubo.com design 2) new tokubo.com design 3) cleanup all of the old tokubo.com directories 4) continue ripping my CD collection to my iPod 5) think of cool new thing that can make me lots of money Sometime between all of that, I need to spend time with Chance, work, spend time with Sharon and sleep. So if anyone cares, here's my latest wishlist: - Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II (for PC) - Freedom Force vs. the 3rd Reich (for PC) I don't know when I'd actually find the time to do this stuff. Heck, I didn't even finish HL2. I've actually been playing CivIII over and over again for an hour or so, when I need to go brain dead. Chance turns the big "1" next week. Yippee!
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| 28 Mar '05 |
I love the 80s normal_blog |
todd |
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So, webmonkey dropped me a line saying: "Didn't you say you liked New Order?" To which I figured there must be a reason... New Order is touring again. And a new album... I love the 80s. Complete with a DRM licensed sample of WMA music. I hate DRM. From the samples, this album is much more "classic" New Order, as opposed to the last album "Get Ready," which seemed more like a side project / B sides. I'm wondering if I'm too old to buy tickets to a concert like this.
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| 18 Mar '05 |
Bad blogger normal_blog |
todd |
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As the good webmonkey says,
sorry being a bad blogger. After the trip, I've been busy with
work. When I haven't been busy with work, I've been amazing at my little boy. He's creeping around very well now. He's becoming very curious. This has been one incredibly crappy week of work. I can't wait for it to be over...
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| 6 Mar '05 |
Another day, another 10,000 frequent flier miles normal_blog |
todd |
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Shipped off to Japan again. Emergency trip. Hoping that Chance isn't doing cartwheels or something like that when I get home... Very tired.
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| 1 Mar '05 |
Welcome Levi Baylis Grumm normal_blog |
todd |
My friend RB just had son #2.  Levi Baylis GrummFeb 28, 2005 10:47am 8lbs 9 oz 21 in Mommy and baby are doing great.
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| 25 Feb '05 |
The cable company sucks normal_blog |
todd |
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So, I'm updating from work. The main problem is that my cable
modem at home wasn't working when I got back from France. It
appears that everytime it rains, a cable box gets flooded and kills the
high channels. This drops my HD reception and my cable modem. It's been almost a week, and nothing... Anyway, I'm working on a main tokubo.com update. Chance is now able to pull himself up to table edges and the edge of his playpen. It's now a whole new game. In the non-real world, the Warriors traded for Baron Davis. It's almost link Run TMC, with Davis, Richardson and Dunleavy. (DDR?) Except this time, they also have a decent big man in Murphy.
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| 16 Feb '05 |
blogging cannes part deux normal_blog |
todd |
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Traffic sucks when the show is getting ready to close. Food is still good. I haven't had a bad meal here. The show is very interesting. I've been in travel hell trying to re-schedule my flight so I can get home earlier than next Monday. However, it looks like I have been successful. I've taken an opportunity to redo Chance's site since it is starting to get crowded with a lot of pics. It looks like there were some errors during the last upload, so please bear with me.
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| 14 Feb '05 |
blogging cannes normal_blog |
todd |
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So... I find myself now in Cannes France. The flat my company
rented has no phone and no internet, so I have to sit outside my booth
and do things like update the site. Food is great. Weather is good. I am tired. My feet are killing me. My company actually rented scooters for all of us, so there is a crazy set of Americans running around on 50cc scooters... Watch Out! Happy Valentines Day!
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| 9 Feb '05 |
another update... another country normal_blog |
todd |
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Greetings... Live from Toulouse, France! Once again, I've had to leave the friendly confines and my loving family to serve the company. Notes about France: Good food Good coffee Mercedes for taxi cabs I don't know where the French get a bad rap, but i think if you're a good traveler (not a typical stupid American) then they're very pleasant people. Weird observation. On the plane from Paris to Toulouse, no one had headphone on during the plane ride... very weird... Trip summary: Watched Friday Night Lights, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Wimbledon and Catwoman. Played the PSP for over 3 hours.
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| 4 Feb '05 |
More pics website |
todd |
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So I tried messing around with a new scanner to get some of the old
school print photos onto the server. Chance now has a new front page and a new gallery, starting from Thanksgiving time. He's keeps growing. The attitude is starting to come around. He's trying to stand. Crawls about 102 MPH around the house. Parenthood is so tiring...
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| 1 Feb '05 |
My friends... the geeky normal_blog |
todd |
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So, one of my ubergeek friends got his hobby site posted to Yahoo! Picks. I'm so proud. Not only am I geeky enough to have my own website... I get out geeked by my friends.
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| 30 Jan '05 |
Possible Redesign? (default) |
todd |
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I'm thinking about the next version of todd.tokubo.com. I have no idea
what I'm going to do, but I'm thinking something even cleaner like this.
I honestly have no idea about the guy who owns this website, but the
symbol and spelling of the name are the same, so I guess I'm related to
him. Blue... it will definitely be blue.
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| 29 Jan '05 |
Violence and Video Games (default) |
todd |
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One of my biggest pet peeves is people (particuarly the media and the
government) saying that video games are a direct contributor to
violence in young people. I stumbled across an interview with Dr. Henry Jenkins, director of comparative media studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a link to a PBS special talking about debunked video game myths. The main reason I have a problem with this, is that I have played video games since 1979 (Pong and Atari 2600 WOOHOO!). For about as long as I can recall, shooting things and typing in things like "kill grue with sword" have been a part of games. While some people I work with may not consider me socially well adjusted, I do like to think that I'm not homocidal or sociopathic. Blanket statements by lemmings in the media and posturing talking heads in Washington should really make an effort to try to understand new media. (I'm sure they all think the Internet is filled with pr0n, viruses and worms. Oh my!) The lame moral overtones of telling people how to raise their child instead of trying to solve other social issues simply sickens me. Any way, follow the links for some good reads. -- Someone who refuses to raise his child based on the recommendations of a lifetime politician.
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| 22 Jan '05 |
Insight... (default) |
todd |
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I am neither a mac-fanatic or a PC apologist. Yes, I do own an iPod. I was an editor / writer for PC stuffs. This guy's analysis of the new Mac Mini is pretty incredible. This guy definitely has a nice bit of personal insight (claims to not be an Apple insider), but has put a lot of pieces of the puzzle together. I will be interesting. If Apple does offer a movie service or video content management program / platform like iTunes / iPod, I can see a lot of people up in Redmond scrambling...
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| 22 Jan '05 |
Strange day... (default) |
todd |
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Lack of updates = lack of time. I've been working late and trying to spend time with my family. I actually received an email today from a relative in Japan that I never knew actually existed. Then, I somehow got into an arguement about these models. Were they from the Starship Troopers book or movie? Definitely from the movie, (yes there was a book) the troopers in the book got dropped from orbit in their powered armor. Think anime-type power suits without the use of speeds lines. I just noticed that Rotten Tomatoes now does game reviews. Cool... I actually got semi-bored with the PSP, although apparently Sony's got some stuff cooking for their first firmware update. I've also actually started ripping my album to my iPod. I'm such a geek.
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| 17 Jan '05 |
Greetings 2005 (default) |
todd |
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So I bought my first (record) album in what seems to be decades. I bought it through iTunes. After channel surfing past VH1, I heard a very catchy tune. A band with a very 80s sound to it. The Killers, a Las Vegas band (woohoo!) who oddly enough are named for a reference to a New Order song, have a pretty cool album. So basically, it took an 80s sounding band to get me to buy something off iTunes. I was a little disappointed at the overall 80s selection of music. No Alphaville and missing a couple of other key 80s songs, but the experience was like many other on-line experiences... I am getting more and more addicted to Podcasts... I need to get an FM transmitter for my iPod then all will be well with the universe. Chance is getting quite big now. He says things like "mamamamamamama" when he wants something to eat and "dadadadadadada" after he's peed in his pants. I hope these definitions will change as he gets older.
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| 12 Jan '05 |
Back from CES (default) |
todd |
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I actually meant to blog daily for CES, but here are the highlights / lowlights: Lost money playing Pai Gow and Craps: $400 Time spent standing in booth for work: 30 hours Time spent setting up booth: 2 days Money spent on getting our crates back early so we could leave: $20 Time spent tearing down booth: 2 hours Number of REALLY cool things seen: 1 Number of Celebrities sited: 5 Number of celebrity signatures: 1 (Troy Aikman, WOOHOO!) Number of awards my company won: 1 Number of awards my company's customers won (for products we're in): 2 I was a little disappointed overall in the show. There was nothing that really WOWed me. Big displays. Convergence. Endless MP3 players... Hopefully, next year will be better.
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| 7 Jan '05 |
Blogging CES (default) |
todd |
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I'm here in Las Vegas yet again. This time for the 2005 installment of
the Consumer Electronics Show. I've been here for three days already. Highlights: Met Troy Aikman. (got photographic proof) Met up with a friend from jr. high school Spent over 20 hours standing so far Some pretty cool stuff and time is going by very quickly since the show is so busy. I really haven't had much time to go out onto the show floor :( Anyway, it's freezing here. Hopefully, Sharon's got better weather up in Vancouver.
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| 3 Jan '05 |
Happy Start to '05 (default) |
todd |
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Happy New Year to all! I'm actually typing this entry from my living
room. We got a 27" LCD HD / monitor a while ago, and I spend part of
tonight playing with the setup. I've been playing with the iPod and listening to various Podcasts, including some by Adam Curry (blast from the 80s past MTV). We never made it up to Tahoe, so we've been spending the time here with Chance. I'll probably eventually start to break up his image gallery, since it's getting pretty big. I was actually thinking about starting a Podcast myself, but I don't know if I'd have the time. Anyway, here's to another year!
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| 31 Dec '04 |
Happy Holidays? (default) |
todd |
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We tried heading up to Tahoe to spend the weekend with my parents.
However, Mother Nature had some other ideas. The biggest winter storm
in my recent memory closed I-80 off and on for the last two days. We sat at a traffic stop for almost 4 hours on Wednesday night. Dead stop... No movement. Chance couldn't sleep and was getting hungry. Sharon and I were going stir crazy. Eventually, CalTrans pulled it head out of its butt and diverted everyone back down the hill (only took them 4 hours to figure that one out). So we stayed at a Holiday Inn in Sacramento before heading back home. Anyway, best wishes to everyone for a happy and prosperous new year!
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| 23 Dec '04 |
My my my... (default) |
todd |
The gifts just keep on coming. What is this I see? Why a very happy Todd. Actually, it's for work, but I still got my hands on one! Happy happy, joy joy.
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| 16 Dec '04 |
Suprise! (default) |
todd |
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A great suprise gift... Going on a cruise. We leave tomorrow. Be back
Monday. No internet. No cell phones. No Chance. Just time alone with
the wife.
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| 14 Dec '04 |
teh sucks (default) |
todd |
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Stupid cable company... Took them almost a week to figure out that the signal was too low coming into the house. No HD and no internet for almost 7 full days... Oh well. I had some quality time with Chance. He's getting big (read: heavy), so daddy's arms are getting stronger. Anyway, work is work. I bought myself a little Christmas present on my last business trip.  I feel like such a lemming...
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| 2 Dec '04 |
Another long journey (default) |
todd |
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12 hour plane ride to Asia. 2 days of meetings 12 hour plane ride back to USA. Fun fun fun... I can't wait to get home.
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| 25 Nov '04 |
Still kicking (default) |
todd |
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Feels weird to be back up again. I was actually getting used to being
"offline" at home. Chance is quite the large baby boy now. He can sit
and does all kinds of amazing things. Of course, this also means he's
more active, and we have to keep a closer eye on him now. Work is still work...
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| 21 Nov '04 |
Back on... finally (default) |
todd |
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So it turns out that I was not able to get a new DSL connection at my
new house... Sooo... I am now on Comcast broadband service. This also
meant no static IP address. So I've found a hosting company that seems pretty decent (and cheap) so far. The fact that I even have this up and running is a testament to their service. Anyway. Email should be back up now, I'll get getting everything back to where it was soon enough.
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| 29 Oct '04 |
A real candidate (default) |
todd |
Seems just as reasonable as anything else... (Image courtesy of webmonkey Chris) Sharon and I are in the midst of a move so the server might be up and down for a bit.
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| 26 Oct '04 |
El Sucko (default) |
todd |
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My damn server's HD died. So I lost all of blog posts from June 6 until
now. Including some pretty cool pics. Oh well. The real pain in the
butt will be the mail server since I think some people were actually
using it. Anyway. I've kept Chance's pics up to date. Lesson to everyone. Backup your computer stuff... Often...
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| 7 Jun '04 |
All about CJ (default) |
todd |
This pretty much sums up what I was doing this weekend other than working.  I've updated Chance's images. Can you feel the emerging personality?
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| 4 Jun '04 |
Very late quiet night (default) |
todd |
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Sharon took Chance up to her mom's again. It's nice that it's quiet at
home, but I've been working pretty late. Also, Chance has started to
develop a personality. He's starting to recognize people and smile on a
regular basis. I'm trying to get the webserver cleaned up for the root tokubo.com page. We'll see how much time I actually have later.
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| 1 Jun '04 |
Happy happy happy happy (default) |
todd |
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Sharon and I have now officially been married for a full year. We tried
our wedding cake last night, not too bad. It kept suprisingly well in
the freezer for one year. We left Chance with his grandmother for the
day and ran around the City. We haven't done that for a while, so we
got each other anniversary gifts and gorged ourselves at Cheesecake
Factory. The time went by so fast, especially after we learned that the baby was on the way. Amazing, I really can't recall what it was like before getting married.
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| 31 May '04 |
One thing leads to another (default) |
todd |
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Ran across this link a few days ago. It outlines recent trends and the current state of the music industry. Let me cut to the chase: MTV debuts, making the one-hit wonder more common due to the video. Record companies start to focus more on the single, rather than the album. Record companies must also look at the artists' image and "marketability" rather than simply their musical talent. Record companies / TV companies / Radio companies are then allowed to own more than one station per market, leading to fewer choices and less competition in music selection. The industry is also bemoaning the fact that CD sales start to slump, although 20 years after entering the market, you would think that "duplicate sales" (people who had a tape, 8-track or vinyl copy) would start to tail off. The record industry hasn't done much to push innovation of media so forces outside their control do so, debuting the MP3 file. This now totally screws up their current market aim of creating the "killer single". Why even think about buying the album when you really only want the 3 min song, and it's available for free if you look hard enough. I also talked to one of my friends in the gaming industry. He says that innovation in video games is basically dead for the moment. Publishers basically will only take on sequels (to presumably successful games) and known franchises. So if you're wondering about the glut of crappy movie tie-in games. That's one of your answers. Although, he also did say in a few years, the innovation in games will explode, as making a game will be MUCH simpler than it is now. Don't even get me started on the movie industry... Gotta get back to cleaning diapers.
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| 24 May '04 |
Fair and balanced... (default) |
todd |
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I swear some people just some things sound sensational so they can make
sure they're the ones starting the "waves". I just read this article
on a Wi-Fi "hack." Okay people... time to stop and an think about the
connatation of hack vs. its true meaning. While this is really only a
blow to the "enterprise" wireless, I still have a hard time seeing this
as a hack. It's how the function is supposed to work, and just because
someone can use a commerical 802.11 card + a test driver to generate
basically packet noise to disrupt a system, IT'S NOT A HACK. It's
actually closer to a DDoS attack. I am of the opinion that most tech journalists should be shot if they have absolutely no idea what they're talking about. Anyway, happy 27th birthday to my little brother, Eric.
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| 21 May '04 |
One night off... (default) |
todd |
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Sharon took Chance up to her mother's house for the past couple of
nights. It definitely makes a difference. I feel like I'm totally
missing part of myself. Very strange... Good news is that Sharon found
a bottle that Chance likes, and apparently he's not nearly as collicky
as he was before. yay! That's got to be good for at least 1 extra
hour's sleep per night. I re-arranged the den/nerdery a few weeks ago. I still got too much clutter hanging around. Any one interested in about 90 issues of Dragon Magazine? :) I just watched the "Smallville" season finale (PVRs are cool). So here are the running count of Superman references and possibilities: - Clark and Lex are no longer friends - Chloe apparently died (rumorboards say only to come back as Lois Lane, her "cousin's" name she uses in a previous episode) - Lana probably didn't get on the plane to Paris (or was that in the "Friends" finale...) - Where is Pete? - Clark is in the Phantom Zone lured by a voice that is "Jor-El". But it's either 1) Braniac, 2) the Eradicator or 3) General Zod. Funny thing is Smallville is basically the only show my PVR records each week. Heh...
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| 4 May '04 |
Ying... Yang... (default) |
todd |
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Two things can really put life into perspective: having to care for your own new baby (yes, more pictures) and the death of someone close to you. I've been pretty fortunate that I haven't had to deal with any real big tragedies yet. My former boss actually coached this guy and his brother in Little League here in the South Bay. I also went to the memorial service for a friend's mother over the weekend. There is nothing that really hurts me more than seeing someone cry. Seeing my loved ones and best friends cry, and know there is very little I can do about, really make me feel makes me think about what I would do in their shoes. I'm entirely unsure how I would handle the death of someone close to me... On a more positive note, please look at the new pics of Chance! I come home from work everyday so anxious to see him. I swear he grows a ton while I'm at work. The joys of parenthood definitely offset the incredible lack of sleep.
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| 21 Apr '04 |
Everything is fine (default) |
todd |
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Being a new dad is a bit of an experience. Let me give a quick recap: - Most consectutive hours of sleep for me: 4 - Number of time I've been peed on: 3 - Times I've checked my work email: 1 I am really amazed at how exhausting having a baby is. I can't even imagine if I was the one who had to birth him. Sharon's finally getting back to her more mobile, pain-free self. I suddenly am feeling this intense pressure to start planning for my baby's future. I think most of it will be based on his predicted height. If it's over 6' 9", I'm calling Nike right away. They're got to be a market for a half-Japanese, half-Chinese athlete in the world.
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| 17 Apr '04 |
4 (default) |
todd |
 Vital Stats; Height: 19 1/4" Weight: 7 lbs 12 oz. Born: 4/14/04 3:34pm Chance's birthdate is sponsored by the number "4", and he knows it.
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| 16 Apr '04 |
In case you were wondering... (default) |
todd |
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We've been away for the last couple of days doing this. Welcome Chance Jalen Tokubo to the family. I'm offically a father... that means... my mother is now an Obachan (grandmother).
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| 31 Mar '04 |
Good games (default) |
todd |
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So, I finally finished another game, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.
In college, I used to play the original PoP and PoP2 nearly endlessly.
I can't remember if I actually finished one of them. Great game.
Fantastic gameplay, like the originals. They really took the spirit of
the first games (sidescrolling 2D games) and brought it into the 3D
realm seamlessly. Granted, I never played PoP3D, but supposedly, it was
a very buggy game. PoP: SoT has just the right balance of combat (with outstanding animations and combos) plus very well designed jumping puzzles with many twists. The story is very well written (gee... a story, imagine that), and the presentation is top notch. The only real fault of the game is that it can get a little repetitive with the set save points. Also, it's pretty short and the replay value is minimal at best. I also finished Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic a while ago. It's another game that was a total blast. Using the NWN engine, it has very similar gameplay, but with an incredibly original Star Wars flavor. Totally d20 system, great story, replayable. It makes me a little sad, because it seems like only BioWare can make a decent RPG that has reply value (Morrowind was a little over the top in terms of open-endedness). I wish they would do a superhero RPG or a Star Frontiers-like (non-Star Wars) space opera. I guess I shouldn't make such a broad statement, since games like Fallout and Wizardry are fantastic in their own right. We're in the home stretch with Sharon and the baby. End of April is the target date...
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| 26 Mar '04 |
Random thoughts (default) |
todd |
|
So I got to thinking, with all rumors about the Xbox2 being based on a PowerPC processor, why would MS even consider it. They've been basically x86 their entire existence. Then two main things jumped into my mind, Windows on PowerPC, which would be a blow to Apple, but they are such a niche (albeit fanatic) market. The other is it basically moves the whole Windows architecture to a new platform. Why is this key? Because Playstation will become portable, MS needs a strategy to move their developers away from x86 while credibly showing they can move their entertainment platform away from the PC. Nintendo owns the handheld gaming space. Sony is eyeing it, and never let it be said that Microsoft couldn't copy a good idea.
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| 25 Mar '04 |
Another day... (default) |
todd |
|
This story
got me to thinking about my job and working in general. They say
enrollment is down for computer science and engineering professions.
The initial reasoning being people think they can't get a job after
school, so they are choosing other professions. I went to Cal Poly - SLO. I was in an impacted major that was busting at the seams with students. I think a lot of my friends would have really appreciated a thinning of the heard. The biggest problem is that I generally agree with the article; people were going into CS and EE for the money. I am a firm believer that you should study what you enjoy and get a job that you like. Otherwise, it's work. It's a very important distinction. Of course, the subject of outsourcing overseas works its way into this conversation. I don't think it's a big deal. The majority of the critical thinking and "innovative technology" (two words I HATE) in terms of the tech sector still come from the USA. Asia is kind of like DuPont. They don't make the product; they make it better. America will ALWAYS be the place to where the most motivated individuals will make their way. Ask Asia's best and brightest, at some point, they will be here. Also, foreign educations vs. US education system is another discussion. I must say that the US education system is very good at doing one thing, allowing students to pursue what they enjoy. Here if a student has no direction, I truly believe it's a reflection on the parents. It is NOT the school's responsibility to ultimately shape the person here, it is the parents. That's one of the prices of freedom. In the foreign education systems (Taiwan and Japan are really the only comparisons I have), the society has set expectations for the students in terms of test results. Their societies in general are run by the concept of honor and achievement. With a more homogeneous society, they tend to not have the same wide range of opportunities and accepted behaviors that we have here. Overall, I think people should STOP bemoaning the outsourcing of tech. Manufacturing jobs and labor jobs have been leaving the US for decades. I usually like to pin that on unionized labor, but this is the first truly skilled job that is being outsourced. THAT is what is scaring people. But then again, coding (not programming and not computer engineering) has evolved to a point where children are picking it up quite easily. As it becomes a profession that required more and more, will it be seen on equal footing as other tech skills?
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| 23 Mar '04 |
Long, relaxing weekend (default) |
todd |
|
Been a while since I've been able to say that. We had a baby shower for Sharon over the weekend. All
of my aunts from my mom's family came over along with some of Sharon's
family. It was a good time; lots of gifts for the upcoming baby. The baby's getting close. I'm honestly getting pretty exicted about the event. Sharon and I have been going to these various classes (childbirth, new parenting, etc). In between being scared out of my mind and so excited that I wish the baby was already here, I have this feeling of being almost totally grown up. Scary thought.
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| 13 Mar '04 |
My trip to a third world country (default) |
todd |
|
So... basically, I came back from a town in Illinois. No internet in my
hotel room, no big electronics store anywhere near where I was staying,
no Starbucks open later than 9pm. Actually, nothing except the Wendy's
drive-up and the FOUR Walgreens were open after 9pm. I was bored out of my mind. I couldn't believe I was going through withdrawl from being plugged in. On the plus side, I actually got the opportunity to see two movies I was interested in. On the way out, I saw "The Rundown" with The Rock and Stiffler. Neither one of them are A-List actors, and the movie has way... too... many... slow... mo... sequences. But it's an action movie and doesn't pretend to be much else. At least it has a plot (unlike some other action movies I've seen recently). On the way back, I got to see "School of Rock". I really do like Jack Blank. One of my friends got me hooked on Jack Black and Tenacious D. He really is a very entertaining person. It's a feel good movie, a little predictable, but very cute. The baby is getting close. I felt so guilty having to leave Sharon alone for a couple of days, but hopefully, I won't need to be travelling anywhere anytime soon.
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| 9 Mar '04 |
Too busy... (default) |
todd |
|
Sorry for the lack of updates. Work's been really hectic. Lots of
customers coming through. Again, it's a nice problem to have. I'm
finally getting some additional help at work. It's nice to have more
people coming on board, especially when I know I'm going to take a
couple week break when the baby's born. Sharon and I went to our first "birthing" class on Sunday. Let me tell you, there is nothing better than sitting in a room with 10 other expecting couples and watching videos of women in intense pain. All of the "partners" definitely had the guiltly look after watching some of these videos. I just keep thinking that breathing can't possibly help when someone is trying to push a baby out. Warriors suck. Van Exel is hurt, so is Claxton. So Mike Dunleavy, Jr. is playing PG. Ouch... They played Memphis last night, and Jason Williams (the white guy, not the guy who shot his limo driver or the guy who shredded his leg riding a motorcycle) had this OUTSTANDING move. On a controlled break, he palmed the ball, the faked a behind-the-back pass, then brought it back around the defender (who went for the fake) for a layup. Makes me want to go out and play hoop just to try it.
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| 19 Feb '04 |
California lifestyle (default) |
todd |
|
Sometimes I forget how out of whack our priorities are in the CA. I was
out to dinner with some customers from Japan, and they wanted to go to
the Best Buy across the parking lot from the restaraunt. So I headed
for my car and they started walking straight for the store. We decided
to walk since it was only about 200 yards away. The one question I always get is was I born in Japan. It's always interesting to see how people from other countries react to the fact that I'm a fourth generation American, and my parents don't even speak Japanese. I guess we've come a long way to get to the point where people here in the US don't really ask you about being a foreigner. People just assume you belong here. Watching the Warriors / Lakers game and Gary Payton just went Latrell Spreewell all over Speedy Claxton. Just started choking him. Scary. I wonder if GP gets the same "nutritional supplements" as Barry Bonds...
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| 15 Feb '04 |
The weekend (default) |
todd |
|
LOCATION: Lake Tahoe. Visiting my parents for my dad's birthday. I got roped into my usual job of doing IT work for my parent's small office. Upgrade the computer, clean out viruses, sucker my friend into writing a PHP-based front end to replace the ancient command line-driven Informix database they were using to keep track of their customers. You know the usual. Sharon and I got the latest season of Friends on DVD. I haven't sat down and watched the show for a while. During the marathon viewing session. I realized where the majority of me and my friends' (no pun intended) sense of humor comes from. Work keeps going. Still got a busy couple of weeks ahead. It was nice to have a day away from the office to see the family.
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| 10 Feb '04 |
Some down time.... (default) |
todd |
|
So I finally had a weekend to relax a bit. Sharon and I watched "Lost
in Translation" with RB and Traci on Saturday. The hotel I usually stay
at is in the same general area as the Park Hyatt where the film was
featured, so there were a lot of scenes that I saw and said "I know
that place!" I also realized I've spent a lot of time over there, when
I could understand all of Japanese characters' broken english without a
hitch. I completely missed a lot of the humor since I basically heard
it right. Overall, I thought it was a very well done film. You really need to have been to Japan to really "feel" that movie. To me they really captured the idea of being completely alone in a city of millions of people. A lot of things, like the sounds of the city that they sampled, simply remind me of being there. Although, I did think that they could have really emphasized the overall din of the city. All of the outdoor scenes were very subdued. Sharon didn't find it as interesting, but having grown up in Taipei then coming here to the US, she's actually lived this kind of experience, too. For well-travelled people, I think the movie is good to reflect on the journies you've had. For those who don't travel much, it simply re-inforces the standard ethnocentric Americanism in them (I assume). On a tech geeky note, I started playing around with Linux over the weekend also. I loaded up RedHat 8.0 of course there's already a later version now, but at least I have an environment to play with. I wiped out my LAN box and dual booted it with WinXP and RedHat. I'm trying out a | ||
| 4 Feb '04 |
On Travelling (default) |
todd |
|
Having basically living out of a suitcase half of the time I've been at my current company, I always like hearing stories from my friends about their journies. Kangaroo meat doesn't sound nearly as exotic as having snake in "Snake Alley" (Taiwan) or eating "fugu" (blowfish that can potentially have a powerful neurotoxin in it) in Tokyo. Although I must say, my last visit to teppanyaki was very enjoyable as I was introduced to the wonder that is Kobe beef. Like the basketball player of the same name, these cows are hand fed, get massages everyday before meeting their end as a very expensive tasty meal for the public. I kind of miss travelling, but I do not miss being canned up in an airplane for 10+ hours at a time. I still will post a review of my RCA Lyra player when I have time. Which at this point is probably sometime around the time when my kid is born. :)
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| 29 Jan '04 |
Breathing room (default) |
todd |
|
I had to take care of some business at home today, so I took the day
off and am effectively telecommuting for the day. I am really starting
to become a believer in doing this once in a while, just for a little
change of scenery. The workplace can really start to wear on you, and
just having a little change of pace can really recharge your batteries. My lil' bro is moving into his new pad today, so I'm also in for a day of backbreaking manual labor. I hope I'm not too sore in the morning. I'm hooked again on "Smallville" again. The whole Lana / Clark thing gets a little tired, but the way they link in traditional Superman characters is pretty creative. Judging from some of the writing looks like the show is starting to attract better sci-fi writers. I hope they figure out how to tie in a movie. The one thing I don't get is that in the show Smallville (supposedly in KS) is only 3 hours by bus from Metropolis (assumed to be in NY). That annoying detail aside, it has offically become the "only live action show" I care to record on my PVR.
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| 23 Jan '04 |
Longest work week of my life... (default) |
todd |
|
So basically, I have spent every day at work since the day after New
Years. It's been some long days along the way. However, nothing feels
better than getting your goals met. Sharon's starting to get bigger. All of the doctor's appointments have been going very well. After spending some time with RB's kid, I'm really looking forward to having a child. I got nasty cold while I was in Las Vegas. I barely recovered a couple of days ago. The show was huge, but the foot traffic seemed to be mostly booth trolls (people looking for free handouts). I'm constantly amazed to see what some people will do for stupid free swag. Happy (Chinese) New Years!
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| 8 Jan '04 |
Lovely Las Vegas (default) |
todd |
|
Again... I'm here in the LV for CES, the Consumer Electronics Show.
We've spent the last two days setting up. Big show. It's probably the
biggest show I've seen since Comdex in 1998 or 1999. I try not to talk too much about work in the blog (since you never know who's listening), but it's pretty rough right now, especially since I'm trying to spend time with Sharon before she gets into the last trimester. Random thoughts about CES. PCs are offically a consumer product. Intel wants to get into your living room (TV on chip). Microsoft is still copying what other people do, and it will still take them two or three times to get it right (portable media player). There must be a HUGE market for aftermarket car stuff (one whole hall for rice rocketers). Lamborghinis are the slickest rides (two of them sitting in the Monster Cable booth). My feet hurt after standing for 8 hours. I'm actually not gambling too much this time, although I seem to have dropped a C note out of my pocket during the course of the day. Losing $100 without even an opportunity to gamble really sucks.
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| 1 Jan '04 |
Happy New Year (default) |
todd |
|
Best Wishes to everyone for 2004!
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| 29 Dec '03 |
Holiday Thoughts (default) |
todd |
|
Sharon got me the coolest geek toy for the holidays. I'll talk more about it at some later time. I'm still playing around with it. During my daily web browsing I found this article. It talks about the speaker "pushing to see games take on more emotional depth - much like we see in film and other forms of art/entertainment." It got me to thinking about all the crappy movies I saw this year. What if this is true but with a reverse-osmosis twist? The movie industry is effectively "dumbing down" the majority of their movies to keep pace with the new video game generation. I mean I saw so many movies that were laden with visual effects, stunts and cool camera angles, that they forgot to actually have a story included in the filmmaking. I really do hope that games take on more depth. My favorite game right now is "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic". It doesn't just rehash a familiar franchise; it adds more to the whole universe and has stellar gameplay to boot. Anyway, time to go back to playing with DivX and my Lyra.
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| 20 Dec '03 |
Long week (default) |
todd |
|
It turned out the best part of my last trip was the plane ride home. I
got upgraded to business class on the NW flight. There is such a huge
difference in comfort (I was lying almost completely flat in my chair).
The food was slightly better, and I could watch one of five movies from
my seat. And because my light didn't work they gave me 1000 extra bonus
miles. Let me go back to talking about crappy movies for a second. I saw "Hulk", "Spy Kids 3" and "My Boss's Daughter" on the plane. None of which I would classify as grade A movies. Add to this "Chariles Angles: Full Throttle", and I actually think "Tomb Raider: The Crade of Life" was the best out of this group of movies. So many of these were so pointless. I saw a review of "LotR: The Return of the King". The reviewer states, "Even the weakest of these movies is head-and-shoulders above the vast majority of films churned out these days." This does not give me high hopes for the movie only because his words may prove to be true. Although ever since Star Wars: Ep1, I've learned to temper my excitement about any new movie. I'm going to see Return of the King this weekend.
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| 17 Dec '03 |
Linux is not user friendly (default) |
todd |
|
Reason #1 Linux hasn't taken off: there's no one to answer your questions very readily when you're having problems Reason #2, there's no one to blame when Linux does one thing on one PC and another thing on the second. Anyway, I'm slugging along learning how to use Linux for a demo. I get the feeling if I had learned how to use this a couple of years ago, this wouldn't be nearly as foreign right now. It's cold here in Japan right now, and I've been so busy setting up this demo thing I haven't even had a chance to get a good meal. Store bought riceballs and noodles can only take you so far. Can't wait to get home.
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| 16 Dec '03 |
Japanese Football (default) |
todd |
|
I'm actually sitting here watching the Japan Bowl. The Silver Star(s)
vs. OnWard. These guys are all about 180 cm and 80 kg (5'11" 175
pounds). It's pretty uninspiring. I've seen a fumble, a blocked punt
and an interception. All on consecutive possessions. Anyway, I'm over here in Japan (again). I'm going to miss the premiere of "The Return of the King". I finished another book on the airplane. This time I read William Gibson's Neuromancer. "Johnny Mnemonic" is kind of a prequel to this story. Don't know why I'm reading all this cyberpunk stuff now, but it's pretty enjoyable. It really interesting to read sci-fi from the 80s and see how much the idea of a futuristic network has changed. Good book, but I don't know what I'm going to read on the way back. Northwest Airlines have the most uncomfortable flights. The buttbucket in this DC10 was so small. I actually got a cramp because I couldn't share the armrest with my neighbor, so I ended up crumpled up against the window. Hopefully, I'll have some time to get to Akihabara while I'm here. Yes, the image below is of our child. Gotta start thinking of names.
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| 11 Dec '03 |
Coming Soon... (default) |
todd |
 April 24, 2004
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| 8 Dec '03 |
Video Game Awards (default) |
todd |
|
My god... I have seen the WORST
television program ever. The SpikeTV Video Game Awards. Picture if you
will, a program aimed at 18-25 year old single men (Translation: lots
of women in skimpy clothes). However, the content was like a third-rate
website's game of the year list with David Spade as a host and some
celebrities coming out to "announce" the winners. Letterman's Top Ten
lists are more exciting. Thank goodness I was watching this on a recording and not live. I might have gouged my eyes out.
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| 7 Dec '03 |
The Last Samurai (default) |
todd |
|
Just came back from seeing "The Last Samurai". A lot of the movie
people are comparing it to "Dances with Wolves". I would agree with
this thinking on a lot of levels. Although, I think the movie touches
on many philosophical issues, but never fully explores them. The
imagary is pretty powerful, but I think many people will simply ignore
it as they wait for the next flashing-steel sword fight. The coup de
grace battle scene harkens back to scenes of "Ran". It was interesting
to see they did use some dated Japanese language in the movie, and a
lot of the newer slang was not there. While Tom Cruise is not my favorite actor, he is athletic enough to pull off some of the swordplay moves in the pic. Overall, it's a good film, but if you thought "Dances with Wolves" was a snoozefest, then you should probably stay away from this. After reading many of the reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, seeing how many of the reviewers claim this movie to be deep and moving on so many levels, I'm beginning to think that the great American movie is a thing of the past. We may simply be destined to watch works of art such as "Charlies Angels: Full Throttle" (a movie which I have seen four times on my airplane trips, and still have no idea how it ever got off the cutting room floor. Anyway, I am still hooked on KotOR, and I just picked up the latest NWN expansion pack. Hopefully, they will get me through the next couple of trips for work.
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| 5 Dec '03 |
Working... (default) |
todd |
|
Sorry for the lack of updates here. My schedule's been pretty nuts
since my last trip. Now, I find out I may be travelling again in the
next couple of weeks (but I'll be back for the holiday). Right before I
have to travel again. One thing I always hate about the holiday season: finding gifts for my friends. I already got Sharon her gift. A sleek little digital camera from Japan. I was a little disappointed when I saw it in advertisements here in the US, but I still haven't seen it in a store yet. So that's good. I've started a new PC game, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Easily, the best Star Wars game I've played (including the Jedi Knight series). This one is based on the Star Wars RPG and uses the d20 (TSR Dungeons and Dragons rules). For an old-school geek like me, it's heaven. WEATHER: Cold, rainy
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| 27 Nov '03 |
Happy Turkey Day (default) |
todd |
|
Off to spend time with the family. Trying to get my cousins up and
running on their tokubo.com websites. Not the easiest thing to do, but
I think I've finally got everything figured out. Have a nice lonnnnnnnnnnng weekend!
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| 21 Nov '03 |
Coming Home (default) |
todd |
|
Time for me to finally come home. Taking for the Incheon airport in
about three hours. Stupid taxi driver dropped me off at the wrong hotel
last night, so I hoofed it though this HUGE
mall. I think I actually came here before with my boss from my previous
job, oddly enough. This mall is one floor. Goes under two 5 star hotels
and a convention center. It was amazing. Finished Snow Crash last night. I was a little disappointed in the ending, over all the book gets a thumbs up. About 15 hours of reading. The only other author I usually read that quickly in Creighton.
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| 19 Nov '03 |
Thinking of a new site design (default) |
todd |
|
I'm already thinking of a new site design, something minimalist. I'm
going to be helping some of my cousins get webpages up on my server, so
I need to move to something a little less graphic-intensive, or else I
may never be able to surf at home. Hopefully, I'll have a little
downtime here in Korea, and I'll be able to get everything ready to
upload over the weekend.
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| 17 Nov '03 |
Travelling again (default) |
todd |
|
Off to Japan again for the company. I picked up a sci fi book Snow Crash
in the airport. I remember hearing one of my english professors at Poly
talk about the book. Very Gibson-esque. I've read through over half of
it on the plane and train getting to the hotel. I really like good
sci-fi. I hope all these people who think "The Matrix" is cool have a
chance to read books like this. But I digress, the strangest thing about being in Japan is that everyone more-or-less assumes I'm a native. The look on people's faces when I tell them "I don't understand" is truly priceless. Time to crash out. It's 9:15pm over here.
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| 16 Nov '03 |
Relatives and such (default) |
todd |
|
One of my mom's cousins did a pretty complete family tree. So Sharon
and I went down to Fry's and picked up some family tree software. I was
a little disappointed in how the program's HTML export worked, but I
guess I shouldn't have expected too much from a $20 software called
"Family Trees Quick and Easy". Anyway you can take a look at my mom's side of the family here. Also, my grandfather's brother and my grandmother's sisters are married, so I had a lot of data for my maternal grandmother's family also. You can see the Tara family tree here. If anyone from my family should happen to find anything wrong with this, please let me know. Email me at: todd at tokubodotcom.
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| 13 Nov '03 |
(Not so) Fond memories... (default) |
todd |
|
I'm helping Sharon's cousin with his college applications. Things have
changed pretty quickly in 10 years. Most of the schools have their
applications online. Some are online only. There's the SAT2 now. Etc.
etc... Sometimes, I really wish I was back at school, like today when I
find myself still at work at 8pm (and I'm still rushing to get out the door). Anyway, I'm still trying to get everything up and running soon. Sharon and I are thinking about taking a vacation before we get into the third trimester. Now, we just have to decide on a place to go... Warriors won tonight (4-3) over the Detriot Pistons. 87-85 in OT. I'm still think that NBA teams have NO BUSINESS scoring less than 100 points a game. Note: Erick Dampier had a better line than the Defensive Player of the Year, Ben Wallace. I hope some people take notice.
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| 12 Nov '03 |
Off and running... (default) |
todd |
|
Well... it looks like I can finally start blogging with a little less
effort. Don't know what I was thinking designing this page with a
"news" section. I guess I'll just dump my archives in there. A couple
more days, and I should have all of my content uploaded.
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