For your daily dose of random crack and geekery~

[tammaiya]

 me: Do you remember what the proper word for layers of earth is?
 Rohan: Nope.
        Google it.
 me:    This is me checking to see if I'm forgetting English or if it's normal not to know that.
        Okay, so it's not just me.
        Although it's a little worrying that I had to go through geography and geometry before I hit on geology.
 Rohan: Crust, mantle, inner core and outer core apparently.
 me:    No, I meant the word "stratum".
 Rohan: That is much more concerning.
        OK. That is not a common word.
 me:    as opposed to "earth layers" which was my first response.
 Rohan: Geology on the other hand.....
 me:    yeeeeeeeah

(Context: my kanji book had a chapter on geography followed by a chapter on geology. I wasn't even reading the headings or I would have already known this, but I was reading through the characters in the geology chapter going, "Mine... iron... lava... earth layer-- I'm sure there's a word for that-- wait, I am beginning to sense a theme. EWW, I HATED GEOGR-- *long pause* I mean, geom-- *frustrated noise* Geo... geo... GEOLOGY.")

Also, another moment of sheer hilarity came in the form of the 53rd state of America. If you all just went "Wait, fifty-THIRD?" you're not alone; I had a similar reaction when my kanji textbook threw up "America's 53 states" as vocab for "state" and at first I assumed it was a really bizarre error.

Me: ... wtf, kanji book.
Me: I'm writing the words for the kanji for "state"
Me: and it has, Amerika no 53 shuu. (The 53 states of America)
Me: did you guys add some states when I wasn't looking? Canada, maybe? XD
Me: okay, since google japan comes up with hits, I can only assume Japan counts these things differently.

... Apparently Japan is the 53rd state of America.

*crying with laughter at the conversation on a Japanese message board about what the states of america are*
Becky: ............... that shouldn't crack me up as much as it does, but it's kind of really sweet.
Becky: ....so what are 51 and 52?
Me: It took me a while to find--
Me: 51 is Puerto Rico, 52 is Canada, 53 Japan.

I think Canada would be unimpressed. XDDD
Becky: as;ldfkjaslkj this shouldn't make me laugh so much, but... as;dlfkjasl;kj crying.  Canada. Canada.  A state!
Becky: (It's really sweet/cute, though.  I don't mean to be derisive.  It's just.  Canada.  A STATE.)
Me: Oh hey, there's reasons.
Me: (I know, though. Canada would be SO PISSED. XDDDDD)
Me: Canada because it's dependent on America, Japan because it was a colony, Puerto Rico as a self-governing dominion.
Becky: ....this kind of makes me want a Hetalia fic like that.
Becky: Little Canada's face.

So yeah, I think it's a turn of phrase-- like sometimes with John Howard people in Australia would joke about us being the 51st state of America-- but yeah, it's kind of hilarious.

Also I find it extra funny that Canada DID turn out to be included, since I was totally joking! XD (Actually, when I first heard 53 states my initial sarcastic response was Canada, Japan, Australia? so I was weirdly close!) ... Sorry, Canada, for what it's worth I totally don't think you deserve it. :<

I also spent far too much of today having the following REALLY GEEKY CONVERSATIONS about using characters for naming electronic equipment, mostly computers, and... w-well. I had to share.

Me: ... I wonder if it was a wise idea to call something you want to run smoothly Naruse.
Meg: you have to admit everything would be perfectly planned out
Meg: I may rename it Storm tho
Me: So slightly less of a bad idea than calling it Hamlet, maybe.
Me: Which one of my friends called her computer once, I think.
Meg: .... I'm sure that ended well
Me: as these things do
Me: I'm trying to remember what names for computers I or people on the flist have thought of and then discarded when considered carefully
Meg: Sephiroth
Meg: Satoshi
Meg: Kamui
Meg: Sei-chan
Me: I was never quite sure of the wisdom of calling my keyboard Crowley.
Meg: Subaru
Meg: um no.
Meg: see, I named mine Reeve and he has been a lamb.
Me: I voted in that poll.
Me: Reeve is a good name for a piece of electronic equipment.
Meg: .....Guy might not be a great idea from what I know of Tales
Me: Well, he doesn't DIE, at least...
Me: there are worse Tales names you could choose.
Meg: yes but he'd make you suffer right?
Meg: Vaan.
Me: SDFJKLSDJFKLDSFJKLS
Me: BADTOUCH
Me: NO
Me: it would be an EVIL, EVIL COMPUTER
Me: infested with trojans
Me: and porn spam D:
Meg: lollll
Meg: I would never name a computer Rio either
Me: *has Vaan trauma*
Meg: as much as I loev him
Me: Tendou
Me: it'd be SO TEMPERAMENTAL
Meg: but Kagami would be okay! It would be a little slow but always do its best.
Me: that's what I was thinking. for a less high tech but reliable pc.
Me: Tendou would probably refuse to network.
Me: Unless your network was Kagami.
Meg: Misaki would be a great one for an eee
Meg: oh totally
Meg: or Tadokoro, it would never die
Me: hahaha
Me: Tsurugi would be bad on a number of levels.
Meg: Yes.
Meg: ...I would also never, ever name a computer Riku
Me: oh GOD, no
Me: And Sora would be too airheaded.
Meg: might name one Ran, tho
Meg: Kairi would be good
Me: nice and sensible
Me: I was about to say that
Me: and it can kickass when need be
Meg: Axel would just be asking for pain
Me: so would Roxas.
Me: Axel would fuck with you for fun
Me: and Roxas would ignore all your commands
Meg: inorite
Me: D:
Me: ... also, I think this conversation would make it into one of those "you know you are a TRUE GEEK when..." lists.
Me: HOORAY, OUT OF THE VOLCANO. -->(*was playing Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology*)
Meg: o/
Meg: Yes.

~ later continuation upon same theme~

Becky: .....I hate you.  I want to name a computer Tendou now, but I suspect that anything with fucking Vista on it is not suited to Tendou.
Me: No, Becky, don't do it! D: Imagine how picky it would be! It would demand absolute precision in all things! and not play nicely with other hardware.
Becky: But I'd name the external harddrive Kagami.  D:
Me: Like, okay, when it did something I'm sure it'd do it perfectly.
Me: BUT WHAT ABOUT ALL YOUR SOFTWARE
Me: WHAT THEN
Becky: Or maybe Hiyori, since Tendou is kind of a jerk to Kagami sometimes.
Becky: But it's sleek and silver and runs so quietly.  D:
Me: the computer would probably be secretly pissy about anything being transferred to the external harddrive D:
Me: actually, not that secretly
Me: because Tendou is a CRAZY JEALOUS BITCH.
Me: esp. if it's Hiyori.
Becky: Then again, it has Vista on it.
Becky: I'm pretty sure Tendou would have a fit if I tried that.
Becky: It would be willing to share things with the external harddrive, but if I tried to introduce anything new to it....
Becky: Maybe I should call the other one (the family one) TheBee.  It'll accept anything being plugged into it.
Me: Maybe you should go with Tadokoro, which on Meg's reasoning would refuse to die.
Me: XDDDDDDD
Becky: If it were a black computer, I would think about it, but it's a shiny silver.  Perhaps I shall call it Tsurugi.
Becky: Half of the time it works brilliantly.  The other half of the time it has fucking Vista on it.
Me: ... that would be ASKING for trouble.
Me: "Please die, computer!"
Becky: .............................shit, you're right.
Me: maybe you should call it Yuuto.
Becky: Okay, Tsurugi is out.  And I'm not naming it after any of the creepy badtouch guys.
Me: half the time it is awesome! half the time it's RETARDED.
Becky: It might be kind of cool to have a computer named Mishima-san, but you'd also just be asking for it to die.
Me: ... ew. See also my reasoning about the Vaan computer.
Becky: I like the idea of naming it Yuuto.  Not quite the right color, but the awesome/retarded ratio seems about right.
Becky: You know what I'm never naming my computer, though?  Ryoutarou.
Me: oh god
Becky: I love you, Ryou-chan, but no.
Me: imagine the crashing
Becky: You'd have to give it at least four--and probably five--high powered upgrades before it worked decently well.
Me: Haha, so true.
Becky: I am also not naming it BoukenSilver because then I'd just want to punch it in the face all the time.
Me: Not that this is a problem for you, but I would also never call my computer ANYTHING from Mirage of Blaze. No. Just... no.
Me: Well, maybe Ushio.
Me: But otherwise, NO.
Becky: I wouldn't name it ANYTHING from X, either.
Me: It'd be like asking for SO MUCH PAIN.
Me: Ahahaha, not so much. Well, maybe Yuzu...
Becky: Or Keiichi maybe.
Me: But otherwise you're just inviting trouble.
Becky: Maybe I'll name it Misaki.
Me: Yeah, she's sensible AND kickass.
Me: Like Kairi, but moreso.
Becky: You know what you should never, ever, ever name your computer?  Krad.
Me: HAHAHA. Virus central!
Becky: Or, really, even Dark, because that'd just be asking for Krad to try to attack it.
Me: Seriously. it would HATE you.
Me: Truer words.
Becky: I might name it Umeda, too.  Sometimes awesome, sometimes so stupid I want to bop him on the head.
Me: Although I think Takaya, Vaan, Ryoutarou and Subaru still win for most DO NOT WANT computer names.
Me: And possibly also Axel.
Becky: *wistful*  I wish I could call it Sephiroth.
Me: Axel is kind of way up there, because he'd cause you endless pain and then fry.
Becky: But that would also be inviting trouble.
Becky: Yeah, no, stay away from Axel at all costs.  Either he'd abuse you horribly or else... well, abuse you horribly and then die.
Me: Yeah, no, totally. Abuse you horribly FOR FUN... and then die. Spectacularly. Possibly explosively. I'm sure there'd be short-circuiting involved.
Becky: *thoughtful again*  Or maybe I'll name it Cecil.
Me: Shiny, silver, sometimes awesome, sometimes you want to smack him in the face for being a DOUCHE... I can see it.
Becky: You think it's going to be totally whimpy, but actually turns out to be surprisingly strong, I'd hope that's the way it goes.
Me: (Kain, on the other hand, is WORLD OF NO. Prone to outside tracking cookies and viruses. Probably going to go down in a flaming heap of system fail.)
Becky: Also on the list of names to never give your computer:  Fuji
Becky: It's just asking for a giant headache.
Me: I concur completely. ~___~; And Tezuka would be awesome right until the moment some really vital component broke.
Becky: Eiji is a big old NO and Echizen would just be a brat.  Oishi might be okay, though.
Me: Not too flashy, but reliable.
Becky: ....man, I loved Oishi.  He did not get enough love.

Further suggestions are of course welcome. XD

And, since I'm bothering to make this entry and all, some observations I made on handheld usage in Japan:

Me: It would be far more useful to have a waterproof DS than a DS that can take photos, honestly.
Me: have you heard about the iDS? I think that's what they're called.
Becky: Omg tell me about it.  (Though, I've been tempted to fiddle with the DS to see if I can get it to read text files so I could read fic on it, except it's not really big enough for that to be all that worthwhile.)
Me: There's a new DS that's just been released maybe a month ago that they're CONSTANTLY plugging on the Chuuou train TV screens which takes photos and plays music and stuff.
Me: ME: ... how exciting. ~___~
Becky: Japan loves their DSes, don't they?  XD
Me: And PSPs.
Me: Handhelds are good because you spend so much time on the train.
Me: Although, after a comment Mayuka made when explaining my PSP to her dad -- "they're the ones you see boys playing all the time!" -- it made me think about it and really, you see EVERYONE holding DS but it's usually young men you see with PSPs. A LOT of young men, so I'm not saying they're not popular-- or that you don't see young men playing DS too-- but it's just interesting.
Me: But girls, kids, adults-- they seem more likely to have a DS than a PSP.
Me: (By adults I mean working professionals in their late 20s, 30s rather than people my age.)
Me: Although, I find the PSP more convenient on the train because you can turn it off whenever and turn it back on to the exact same place.

ETA:

Becky: You know what else I'd never name a computer?  Vejiita.
Me: AHAHA
Me: NO.
Becky: It'd destroy EVERYTHING.
Me: baaaad idea.
Me: like, there goes your ipod!
Me: FRIED.
Becky: And then burn itself out.  I mean, it'd surive, but everything else would be TOAST.
Me: I was just about to say, I would consider naming a computer Roy.
Becky: AHAHAHAHAHA
Becky: Oh, man, you MIGHT be able to get away with that, so long as you named nothing else around it "Fullmetal".
Me: It'd be so competent! And good at networking! but it might secretly plan revolt. XD
Becky: Because whatever that was, it would attack it mercilessly.
Me: AHAHAHA yeah, that would be waiting for disaster.
Becky: And destroy everything around it.  And fail really hard, but still destroy lots of shit.
Becky: Also:  Do not name your computer Heero.  Bad things could only happen.
Me: Self-destruct. D:
Becky: The very first day you got it even.  D:

Comments

[beckerbell.livejournal.com]

MORE NAMES TO NOT NAME YOUR COMPUTER:

Guu - it will abuse you for its own amusement and the amusement of those around you, making you cry into the night and never recover from the trauma, even if it makes you a stronger person. And then it'll eat you.

Dama-baa-chan - IT WILL FOLLOW YOU TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH EVEN AFTER YOU'RE READY TO GET A NEW ONE.

Also: ANYONE FROM THE CAST OF ODIN SPHERE.

[tammaiya.livejournal.com]

Oh man, Odin Sphere can stay the hell away, I do not need an apocalypse to happen to my electronics. *twitch*

[icefalcon.livejournal.com]

I name my computers after figures from William Blake's poetry. My current computer is Enitharmon, and my tiny little Acer is Thel.

I name my hard drives Cloud and Sephiroth though - and when Sephiroth (the First or Second maybe - I'm up to Sephiroth the Fourth at the moment XD) semi-exploded, I may or may not have re-enacted said explosion with their figurines that were sitting on top of the computer...

I also renamed the network to The Planet, and any dvds I burn are automatically labelled Zack. I just like everything sitting all nice and pretty together in Windows Explorer!

Akiha/Umeda Community

[keksdiebin.livejournal.com]

Hey there!

I saw that Akiha/Umeda is included in your interests and wondered if you would like to join my community http://community.livejournal.com/akiha_umeda/profile ?

It would be great if you could help us spread the love for this great pairing ^.^!

Cu!

~Keksdiebin

[(Anonymous)]

Strata is so a common word.

My old computer was called banana muffin, and appeared that way on our network. I am yet to christen the current computer with anything interesting.

I only opened LJ to get my bunny avatar again. Now I have to see who still actually writes, and read up on stuff. Funfun.

[sanabas.livejournal.com]

Comments work better when I actually login. Let's see if I still remember my password....

[tammaiya.livejournal.com]

Matt! You're okay! Nobody had heard from you for ages so I was really worried! How are things?

[sanabas.livejournal.com]

Not too bad. I ignore the world for months at a time, as evidenced by this reply taking so long. Emerge for coaching and playing hockey, and that's about it lately. Contemplating dealing with the mental health system again, but I am able to procrastinate about that like you wouldn't believe.

Also, you should read this comic: http://xkcd.com/549/ :D

[tammaiya.livejournal.com]

AS YOU CAN SEE I similarly fail at communication. orz I was intending to respond to you straight away and it totally didn't happen. We need to meet up! I still have a bunch of your books! Of course you probably have replacements by now given how long it's been but... uh...

HAHAHA that's hilarious. I love the Princess Bride, even if it is inherently flawed. XD

[sanabas.livejournal.com]

I think the copy of Snow Crash was a spare one when I gave it to you. Haven't the foggiest with the others. Catching up would definitely be good. I managed to move beyond procrastination when it comes to dealing with the mental health system again, I had another 3 weeks of that awesome hospital food while hiding in psych ward, got out again a couple of weeks ago. On the plus side, I am now motivated, sort of. I WILLLLL be at uni again next year, doing some sort of teaching degree. Plan for the next few weeks is to find out exactly what hoops need jumping through to get that to happen.

Saw Princess Bride again last week. So so cheesy, but so so awesome. :)