I don't know what to write about.

All things considered, I could still "win" this thing if I missed a day. But, who said this was a contest? It's more of a "this is a thing we want to do, let's draw strength and encouragement from each other". Kinda like a diet buddy, but with words instead.

I'm forced to wonder, however: what exactly am I getting out of this? Sure, for the past year or so I've wanted to write about serious topics that weigh on my mind. But, instead of actually trying to put that stuff to words, I'm bullshitting a paragraph of text. The weird thing is, as I'm typing this, I know that all this rambling will come off like some disturbed and emo teenager on LiveJournal in the mid-00s.

I was just telling my mom this evening that I write this blog for me. So, given that, why should I care what words I lay down? I'm me and I understand the context within all this is written. Of course, come next year I'll have lost that and be just another outsider looking in with only a vague recollection of the times my current self was going through. But, even given that, it's still me so why should I worry?

Aha!

Despite this notion of writing for my future self, I'm fully aware of the publicness of these ramblings. Any Joe Schmoe (or people I know and know read this blog) can and will happen upon this post. If they've made it this far, they're wondering "okay... just how crazy is Matt?" And I'm aware of all this.

As I continue to type.

Fully knowing that eyebrows will be raised. Raised in a curious pondering, perhaps a tinged with a little worry.

...

Belinda blinked.

I dunno. Running out of ideas to write about that aren't heavy, heavy topics. So, instead I'll write little blips about the anime shows I've sampled this season.

WWW.Working!! - Sidequel to one of my favorite shows, Working!! Same universe, same restaurant chain, different actual restaurant and, thus, different cast of characters. Each one has their own particular tick, and each week we're given a glimpse into their interactions with each other. I haven't warmed up to these new characters yet, but I'll give it time.

Flip Flappers - Just watched this last night, but don't recall much. Some space girl finds some other girl and then are teleported by a pet robot into some "Illusion Zone" or whatever. Hijinks ensue, turns out everybody is a magical girl, there's some yuri undertones, and the credits roll. It was bright and shiny and had some fluid animation. Reminded me of a studio Trigger knock off.

Girlish Number - Looks like my favorite characters from "Gekkan Shouko Nozaki-kun" and "Humanity Has Declined" have been rolled into one up-and-coming voice actor. Sweet on the outside, utterly cynical on the inside, you have that ol' fashioned Japan cute factor mixed with sassy inner monologue and it's quite lovely. I think I shall continue to watch this show.

Kiss Him, Not Me - Here's a fun one to explain. Nerdy, pervy (creepy pervy), overweight girl is so destroyed by the death of a character in one of her shows, that she locks herself in her room for a week and, when she exits, is suddenly thin and gorgeous. Naturally, she gathers a harem of love-struck boys at school. I've never watched a reverse harem before, but after seeing this, all the flaws in the harem shows I've sometimes enjoyed are completely exposed. Naked before my mind to comprehend... I might watch a couple more episodes.

My Wife is the Student Council President - I'm convinced the animators of this show are just trying to find the line with the censors. There's really nothing more that can be said. It's a terrible piece of garbage and I am watching it...

Yuri on Ice - It's the ice skating equivalent to "Free". Kid did a bunch of figure skating in high school, flopped at some big competition, got fat for a while, but suddenly his Russian rival (and man crush) swoops in to train the poor boy. There's lots of pretty boys and abs and cleverly placed branches. The story itself is compelling enough that I may continue to watch, but I do not believe I'm the target audience...

So, that's what I've seen. Oddly busy season for me.

Want to polish up my LED grid a bit before writing more on that, so I'm going to do that "stream of consciousness" thing again. Giving myself four minutes out of the gate, this time. And... WE'RE OFF!

The easiest thing to start this off on is my day. Or my weekend? We'll stick with day, it's a lot shorter and I only have so much time.

Attempted to move the voltage converter circuit off the breadboard and onto a circuit board. Got everything designed up in Eagle, fidgeted with the printer for a bit because printers suck, and then attempted to iron it onto a copper board. Well.... that didn't go so great, so maybe I'll just solder everything up on a perfboard. Still, I want to get this etching shit figured out.

Other things I did today was gorge on 'Nilla Wafers. There are a lot of things I would say are "krytonite-esque" for me, but 'Nilla Wafers are the real deal. I fucking love these things and always have. They're cookies, clearly, but there's something special in their simplicity. The way the crumble under the pressure of your tongue as the spit in your mouth begins to slowly dissolve the cookie. The rush of flavor that dances across your taste buds as those little crumbles brush past. Oh, what's this? Looks like somebody has decided to douse the whole scene in some lovely, lovely milk. The flavors are mingling together, creating an experience that is greater than the sum of its parts. You savor the -

TIME'S UP!

Guess I had a bit of a Remy from Ratatouille moment, there. Play with matches only if you're going to do something cool... like set things on fire!

My Mario 64 cart arrived today, so I clearly can't be bothered to write a full blog post. Instead, here's a video of a thing I'll be writing about very soon.

The last couple years or so, I've been on a big Alan Parsons Project kick. This no doubt stemmed from my dad getting me a compilation album for Christmas. Since, I've purchased most of the albums on LP and have listened to them quite often. The aforementioned compilation set gets frequent playback in the car, which means I'm listening to it a lot because the Bay's commute traffic is awful.

When listening to an artist so much, you start to pick up on things they like to do. One of these I noticed about Alan Parsons Project is what I'm going to call "setup, opposite comparator" (or SOC). Over the course of a verse, a series of back-to-back comparisons (often opposites) are made. Here's a bunch of examples:

What goes up... (Pyramid)

What goes up, must come down What must rise, must fall

Gemeni (Eye in the Sky)

Watching, waiting Rising, falling Listening, calling ... Touching, feeling Seeing, believing

Psychobabble (Eye in the Sky)

It ain't Kodachrome and it isn't black and white ... Well, I'm never on my own but there's nobody in sight ... It's in Dolby stereo but I never hear it right ... Well, I see the way to go but there isn't any light

and the Queen Mother of all of them is You Don't Believe which I won't write down, because the whole song is a series of SOCs. Check for yourself:

I'm sure I've missed a few of these, but those were the one's off the top of my head. It's an interesting hallmark of the group for sure.