Quinn and I celebrated our 10th Valentine’s Day together. She got me an awesome new jacket, a Kettlebell weight, and framed the art that Bucket from The Toasters signed.

My 1 year anniversary with Barenbrug happens to also be Valentine’s day. They even took me out to lunch, and I’ve gotten some fairly nice compliments at work this week. All things considered, this is a really awesome job– a great fit for me. I like the job, enjoy the variety, find it mentally stimulating, and really enjoy how often I get to work outside and work with my hands. My co-workers are a real blast too.

For Ska ‘n Biology, I’ve been in touch with some musicians, and even had one group message me directly. Pretty cool if you ask me. I’ve also picked up an editor.
http://skanbiology.wordpress.com/

I’ve got Tae Kwon Do tonight.

Parks and Rec is on tonight!

Life’s pretty awesome right now.

Yes – a day centered around red roses, love, chocolates, cheesy pick up lines, and if you’re lucky, perhaps some of that tantric sex like in that sleazy independent Taiwanese film (don’t act like you don’t remember)…

Well, here is something everybody can enjoy. Give them to random people on the street.

I never have that problem

ANGER:

WTF are you talking about?

BARGAINING:

I will pay you to go down to Kai’s house and hit him for me

DEPRESSION:

ok lalalala lets all just stand here and die and not fight back

ACCEPTANCE:

k.

Since long before the rise of man, Geoff has shaped our world, eliminating the Dinosaurs so that we could rise and conquer the planet, in his image:

A living God, Geoff was often the subject of great works of art:

Never one to shy away from fame, Geoff was a mainstay on American Television during much of the turbulent 1980s.

Future generations will surely benefit from the wisdom and leadership of Geoff:

Okay, maybe not a whole generation, but a whole classroom of 30 middle school kids now know a little something about Geoff.  And they taught me things about Geoffs, too! All sorts of things I didn’t know about Geoffs!  Here are the questions that I asked (without any prior information given):

Why do people fear Geoff?  Where do Geoffs come from?  Why is Geoff spelled with a G instead of a J?  These are questions that I needed answers for.  Here are some of the answers I received:

There are so many more, and so amazing.  You have to click the read more tag or you will never live a satisfied life!

So what is a Geoff like?  He is a person like mega mente (MegaMind).  He is like a god for the people.  People fear him because their powers are just plain suckier.

Oh, wait, no.  I got that wrong.  The only people who like Geoff are people who lost their stomachs.  That’s why he runs away from or to a door clearly labeled “META.”

All kidding aside, we all know Geoff is like a Titan. He can do whatever he wants.  Also, he comes from the sky.

The kids were able to tell pretty quickly that Geoff likes Hermes.  According to some, he is like the brother of Hermes! He maybe even comes from the planet Hermes!  (Or maybe from Africa.  Or Brazil.   Or from energy.  Or from nothing- these kids really understand the Geoff mentality.)  They also know that there are many gods Geoffs do not like.  Geoff doesn’t like Hades because Geoff doesn’t like to die.  Geoff doesn’t care much for Poseidon, either, because Posiden has fish tail and smells ugly.

Did you know Geoff was in the Bible?  He is like a man of marathon!

This kid saw past the illusory picture I drew of Geoff and gazed into the ineluctable soul of the Geoff monster.  Geoff is a creature that kills people that are bad.  He is big with sharp and long teeths.  He is a furry and was created by Hades.  He protects people, but when he wants to he can kill them.

Happy Birthday, Geoff!  You win again!

Now, do these count? Or are they to J-popish?

Muramasa – Hectic
Ore Ska Band – Monkey Man
Ore Ska Band – Pinocchio

This is a ska/rock cover of the Anpanman theme song (Anpanman is an incredibly popular cartoon character who fights the ghost of Robert Atkins for children’s dietary souls- not really but that is a lot more interesting than the actual story).

Anpanman Theme (Ska-Rock Cover)

This is a Ska cover of the Sesame Street theme song, by Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra. You will like it because it’s very enjoyable! This giant robot will save all of earth yes! ROBOT GO NOW! Uuuwhaaaa!!! He is too powerful always!

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra – Sesame Street

Same band, the Lupin III theme song! Ignore the fact that the audio clips come from the 1980s video game and really terrible 1986 OVA!

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra – Lupin the Third Theme

Same band, that Tetris music that everybody remembers because it was Soviet brainwashing! Fun fact: Dr. Mario illegally aborted thousands of tetraminoes before he finally found his calling as an immunologist.

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra – Tetris!

This is not to say I win every match. Far from it! But this guy did such a good job of it, I had to save it. Those parries! Those combos! This is how I WISH I could play.

Have you seen this vid of Capcom trolling their own franchise? Pac-man in a Mokujin mech suit is rad, but I’m not sure what to think of Mega Man. Do I find it funny? Or as a fan of Megaman am I a little pissed off at this.

Newegg had Street Fighter X Tekken available for pre-order + free shipping for $45, so I’ve paid in full for a game that drops in March. This is kind of my most anticipated game of 2012. Street Fighter 4 has been good to me, and it looks like they’re putting that experience to use and adding in Tekken characters. I’m dying to play this game, and SF3s Elena is rumored to be in the game. Even if she’s not, I’m sure this game will be huge, plus quite a few bands I like (such as Rise Against) are being featured on the soundtrack. So this is a day one buy for me.

That being said, I also may have day 1 buyer’s remorse, as Capcom may have $30 of DLC planned already (just a rumor).
http://shoryuken.com/2012/01/31/rumor-street-fighter-x-tekken-dlc-leaked-adds-christie-leo-cody-and-guy/

And since I’m a sucker, I’ll probably drop the $8 for capoerisita Christie. Which prompts the question, why can’t I just buy the character I want? I might fool around with Guy or Cody, but I really don’t have an interest in Leo.

This is why I hate DLC crap. Just last generation this stuff would’ve been standard on the disc. I hate the nickle-and-diming bullshit, and Capcom’s one of the worst offenders. DLC doesn’t drop in value relative to the actual game. So while the $60 release title can usually be had for less than $20 a year out, the DLC stays at the same price. Seriously some of Street Fighter 4′s costume packs are still at $15 almost three years after the fact. $15 for fucking costumes?! Get the fuck out.

I’m not a huge fan of character DLC in fighting games either. Fighting games stand out on their characters, and having a truncated roster because you didn’t pony up the cash diminishes the experience. Now most companies have been smart about this; even though you don’t buy the character, you can still fight them in online matches. Also DLC characters tend to be balanced, so it’s not like they’re locking away the tools to win. But it seems like only a matter of time…

Also, why the fuck don’t they allow you a limited preview trial for character DLC. I tend to pick a “main” and a “secondary” and focus in on just two characters. If I buy a DLC character, and decide they don’t fit my play style, that’s not exactly money well spent. The ability to demo a character’s move set before purchase would be really fucking helpful.

Speaking of characters, I’m “in the lab” with a few Street Fighter characters. I’m trying to get my Dudley mojo back. In SF3, I’m trying out the twins (Yang and Yn) and seriously considering the add-on that would make them usable in Street Fighter 4. I still try my hand with Rufus and Crimson Viper in Street Fighter 4, but nothing’s really grooving right. Though I will say, Crimson Viper, is a hell of a lot more straight-forward in Marvel vs Capcom 3.

I’ve been reflecting on why I chose particular characters, and here’s a list of reasons:
-No charge characters–I tend to butcher the back to forward transition, causing wiffed moves.
-Limited or no projectiles–Because how much fun is throwing Hadoukens all match, really?
-Good rush down–See above. I don’t zone well, so I like to get in close and give a beat down.
-Simplified button scheme–In street Fighter 3, Elena’s specials all use kick, meaning you can practically ignore punch. Thus turning a 6 button fighter into an easier to lear three button fighter.
-No S tier– I like my wins to be hard earned. I hate when people tell you, “you only won because that character’s broken.” So I tend to avoid the fighters deemed highest tier.
-Style– I tend to pick styles I’ve tried before, so capoeira, Tae Kwon Do, and nunchuck characters are heavily favored. Characters with a unique style also get a play.
-Design– I need to “like” a character design in order to want to use them. Why the hell else would I use Chang and Choi in KOF? (That last one’s for you, Warren).

Yeah, this could’ve been a webcam post. But I don’t have my webcam. So there you go.

At least he addresses the Imp imbalance: “The buzz seems to be that PvP is unbalanced, but you know how it goes… Cows go ‘moo’, dogs go ‘woof’ and MMO players go ‘the PvP is unbalanced’.”

I’m just trying to get a head count for The Toasters concert this Thursday. Sean and Alan are a defininte “no.” I’ve got Geoff, Jared, and Jules in the “probably” column and Warren and Micah in the “maybe” column.

It’s only $10, and the show starts at 8pm–though that’s what they said the last time, and I’m pretty sure it didn’t start until nine. Anyways, Quinn and I are trying to plan whether or not to stop in LO to arrange a carpool. So let me know if you’re going, and if you want to carpool.

Not wanting to be the guy who’s so dumb he never saw the writing on the wall, I’ll come out and ask the question point blank.

Warren.
Are you running for political office?

I await your response.

BTW it’s on the 5th, so just a few days after the Toasters concert.

No bullshit, it exists.

(Link purposefully left untargeted to annoy Jared)