Best license plate ever

A friend from NC sent me this pic he took of a real license plate. Fucking awesome.

Stand Alone Complex

So I have watched all that Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex has to offer: two seasons and a made-for-TV movie. The reviews are in, and they are mixed.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (season 1):
The first season of the show was good. Not as good as the movie, but good. There was a lot of what I would call philosophical-babble about entities on the net, AI, and "stand alone complexes". I call it babble because it doesn't mean anything, causing you to lose interest and/or your eyes glaze over. And despite several whole-episode conversations about "stand alone complex", I still can't tell you what the fuck that means and it's the title of the goddamn show. Also, Motoko's outfit was ridiculous. It was not sexy, classy, fashionable, or practical. The guy who approved it should be fired, and he quite possibly was since she had a new outfit for season two. Also, the CG intro was crappy and out of place. But despite these flaws, the show was interesting, entertaining, and fun. The underlying story about the Laughing Man was complex yet followable, and the occasional action sequences stylish and understated, much like the 1995 movie.

Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG (season 2):
The second season, titled S.A.C 2nd Gig, was a big improvement, and not just because Motoko has a new outfit that is both sexy and practical. The intro is cool and hip, with a much better song. In fact, the music all around was better. The philosophical-babble was drastically cut down, though not completely removed. The story itself was interesting and much easier to follow. But best of all, this season saw more introspective on our Section 9 crew, including Motoko, Saito, and Pazu. Overall, this season was leaps and bounds better than the last one, and I really think it is an example of the best of Japanese serial animation.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society (TV-movie):
Finally, we have the made-for-TV movie. I really had high hopes for this movie, coming off a superb 2nd season of the series. But to be honest, the movie stunk. I thought the base story was actually strong, but the presentation and some plot choices were really poor. Motoko retired from Section 9? When last we saw them, they were in new Tachikoma ready to kick ass in a scene reminiscent of the first issue of the manga, which has all kinds of implications itself (the beginning of the end?). But now Motoko is out of the force, working on her own because she was "too restricted"? Fuck that. In addition, Batou is acting like an asshole for most of the film. And just to top it all off, the action sequences were boring and uninspired. In the end, it was just a really poorly done film. Any one of the episodes from Season 2 were better than this.

So here's my ratings:

1. Stand Along Complex (season 1): •••
2. Stand Along Complex: 2nd Gig (season 2): •••••
3. Stand Along Complex: Solid State Society (TV-movie): ••

So watch season 1, love season 2, and skip the movie. Well, maybe watch the movie if you are a big fan as I am, but be prepared to be disappointed.

I'm holding out for another season in hopes that they explore some of the other characters as well. I particularly like Ishikawa and Togusa, and we know next to nothing about Borma. So here's hoping for season 3.

Star Trek XI

So after seeing the movie a second time, I have to say I enjoyed it more. The first time, I was too distracted by the new actors and all the changes. I was watching too closely to see how they all did. So when I saw it a second time, I was able to simply enjoy the movie. And while it isn't an instant classic or anything, I enjoyed it. I'd give it 4 out of 5 stars.

But I think my original list of pros and cons still stands.

Pros:

• Bones - Karl Urban nailed it and he was my favorite part of the movie. Bones is easily my favorite character from TOS, maybe ever.
• Alternate Reality - I thought that was an awesome way to free themselves from any restrictions of the shows and movies that came before them. And it's hardly a new concept in Star Trek, so it fits with the canon.
• Kirk - He played it well without mimicking Shatner, which would have just turned into a parody.
• CG - The CG of the ships and worlds were awesome. The Enterprise coming out of the dust cloud around Saturn was sweet. All the little touches on the ship made it feel more real.
• Overall the story was good and to the point. It introduced characters but didn't dwell on origin stories, which could have really dragged.

Cons:

• They did a little of the shaky-camera action bullshit that Hollywood is addicted to. Shaking the camera does not make anything more exciting, it just annoys your audience who is trying to follow the action. Fortunately, this was limited to only a couple scenes.
  
• If you had told me yesterday that there would ever be a Beastie Boys track in a Star Trek film, I would have called you a retard.
  
• Sulu with a katana? The whole point of Sulu's character was that he was one of the first Asian guys on TV that wasn't a martial artist. Sulu was Asian, but he was just a dude, no kung-fu or samurai swords. They kind of ruined that, and I feel like Hollywood has moved backwards. It's like making Chekov a communist, or giving Uhura ghetto slang lines; "I gots kids to feeed wit yo special!".
  
• Spock's Ship broke the Star Trek feel and moved into Star Wars territory. Star Trek doesn't do one man vehicles with pointless moving parts, that's Goerge Lucas crap. I always felt like part of what kept Star Trek grounded in plausible reality was the fact that an advanced ship that travels space needs a large crew to operate and maintain it.
• Spock and Uhura? Really? The guy who came up with that should be fired.
  
• This is really nit picky, but I wish they had stuck to more of the original technology. Such as the solid beam phasers, both with the Enterprise and the hand phasers. It really made Star Trek unique in sci-fi tech and again seemed to be more plausible than most. And power requirements, such as raising shields during warp, shouldn't be possible. Power management was a big deal in TOS. It took time to raise sheilds, and you had to sacrifice engine power to do so. Again, it adds to the plausibility, but also allows for some space battle intrigue, such as when Kirk would hesitate to raise shields in a gamble, but takes a photon for it.

Ghost in the Shell

The Ghost in the Shell movie was pretty awesome, and is certainly one of my favorite movies. I tend to like near-future sci-fi movies (Minority Report, Blade Runner, Total Recall). I also like noir films. GitS has it all. It's noir, sci-fi, deep, artsy, with kick ass action. What's not to love?

So when my first disc of Star Trek: TNG came, and I finally opened it I found it was broken right in half. Since my Star Trek marathon had been interrupted, I decided to take a break from it. I have been wanting to watch Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex ever since it came to Netflix Instant Watch. So I've started watching them, with six episodes down and 20 to go. While the TV show isn't as good as the movie, it is still pretty cool so far. I'll write a review when I finish the season. There's also a season 2, but I'll wait and see what I think of this one first.

Week 17

"Hello, Computer!" - Scotty

So for week 17 I watched the remainder of the original cast films, 3-6. I also saw the new film, but I will post separately about that once I've seen it a second time.

The odd-numbered movies do suck, the curse was true. I think part of it is whom they allowed to direct. Nimoy directed III and Shatner directed V. III had some redeeming qualities, such as storyline and setup for future movie plots, but the directing, action, and writing were over all poor.

The Voyage Home was a comical break from traditional Trek. The idea is not foreign to TOS, so I feel like it was appropriate. And finally, The Undiscovered Country was a good note to finish on for the entire crew. The plot was great, the directing good, better writing, and the story is very timely where it reflects on a changing world with aging actors. It was a good way to go out and say farewell.

103. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock •••
     
104. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home ••••
     
105. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier ••
     
106. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country •••••

Count 106 of 737

Two More Arcade Sticks

So I did two more arcade sticks that I just finished last weekend. I made one for Darklord as a wedding gift, and while I was at it, I offered to make one for Admiral if he paid me for the parts. It was a lot of work doing two at once, but they really came out great. I didn't want to part with them once I had them finished. They are way nicer than mine. They're small, a more reasonable size, and I modified the design after playing mine for a while. I moved the joystick about 1" further from the edge because my hand kept rubbing the plexi. Also, the headset plug I used for these is much nicer. I also love the 45 degree chamfer I used on Darklord's. I think his is my favorite.

See more pics here.

Arcade Stick Building Info

Admiral Nelson asked me to send him all my info I have collected during the course of my arcade stick production. So here it is.

Links for design ideas:
http://www.joystickvault.com/index.php
http://byrdo.org/arcade_joysticks.htm
http://forums.shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=115479&page=4

Shoryken's Essential Joystick FAQ
http://forums.shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=132452

Button Layout templates:
http://www.joystickvault.com/showgallery.php?cat=506

Frame Construction Example (my frame design was very similar):
http://omgbbq.com/tfight360.htm

Joystick Mounting Options:
http://www.slagcoin.com/joystick/mounting_layering.html

Xbox Modifications at Xbox Scene (tons of controller info, including PCB maps for all editions):
http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=471958

If you remove the analog pots for the analog sticks, you need to replace them with resistors:
http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=581799&st=30&p=4153934&#entry4153934

The analog triggers (RT/LT) require a small circuit to make them behave as digital buttons. This is the diagram, except I found I also needed a small resistor between the base and the button:
http://www.joystickvault.com/showphoto.php?photo=415&cat=507

I ordered all of my arcade parts from Lizardick.com. I recommend them. They have a great selection.

General Tips:

1. Use stranded wire, not solid. Stranded is more flexible and will put less stress on your solder points.
2. There are two styles of wireless controller, Matrix and CG. The Matrix style needs two wires per button, but the CG is common ground, so there is much less soldering required. See this post to determine which is which without having to rip the controller apart. I just went around town to all the Gamestops looking at the used controllers until I found the right style.
3. Radioshack has everything you need electronincally; resistors, PNP transistors, mini-PCBs, etc.
4. If your soldering iron didn't come with a holder, buy one. It is well worth the $8. It will keep you from accidentally melting shit, including your hand.
5. Soldering flux is a good idea, especially when soldering to the PCBs. It helps clean the contact to make sure the solder sticks well.
6. Tin the wire ends (melt the solder into it) before soldering to the board. Makes it easier so you don't need three hands.
7. Cutting plexi: Sandwich the plexi between two sheets of scrap wood or MDF and cut through the whole thing. Plexi is notorious for cracking and chipping. But it only cracks and chips when it flexes too much, so if you keep it steady between some scrap wood (and use lots of clamps), then it will cut beautifully. I used a jig saw and hole saw with no problems. Also, do NOT use spades to drill holes in plexi. A lot of idiots try to use spades because they are cheap and hole saws are expensive. The hole saws are worth the extra money.
8. Be very careful when desoldering the PCBs. You can rip out the rings and break the contact. Don't force it, just be patient and make sure you remove all of the solder and it will come right out.
9. Clean the contact pads on the controller PCB with a wire brush rotatary bit. The CG boards are more difficult to solder the digital directions, but you can do it. Just wire brush it to clean off the top coating, use flux, solder it, and then use hot glue on top of it to help secure it