Having managed to leave home for work a little later than intended yesterday,taking a tranist shortcut I stumbled into 7-Eleven between buses and managed to score a Domo-kun beanie cap.Not quite the same as that baseball cap that was blown away in a wind and rain storm earlier in the year,but this could be better in certain cases...

I always have a bad habit of forgetting to get a Mega Millions ticket whenever there's a good jackpot...

Happy 55th birthday to Mari Okamoto...

Yesterday once I was home from work,Miracle Girls episode 3 finished downloading and I then started the download for episode 4.Strange as it may seem,the torrent speed has been rather average(4-5 KB,currently at 49.3%),but it's still faster than the avarege download speed for the two episodes of Kouryu Densetsu Villgust which finally both finished fully downloading a short time ago.While both Villgust episodes were still downloading,some pleasant luck on the Netrunmon torrent download:Not only does it definitely have multiple seeds(at least 2);but also due to lucky spurts of high torrent speeds,it's already 79.8% done.I could begin the torrent for Miracle Girls episode 5(the most recent episode currently available fansubbed)momentarily...

If only I could have such good luck playing Super Lotto or Mega Millions...

Happy birthday to both Takayuki Sakazume(who turns 35)and Ayumi Fujimura(who turns 25)...

Well,my 2 Shobunsha-published atlases(Road Atlas Japan and Tokyo Metropolitan Atlas) arrived last week just days after the online order.Turns out they're actually primarily in English,but Japanese script is retained(accompanying the romaji)for city/town/village/ward names as well as road names,road junctions,major geographical features,and certain points of interests.As for the specifics for each title:

• The Road Atlas Japan covers the whole country at a scale of 1:250,000 except Hokkaido which is covered at 1:600,000,plus a few maps each of the major metro areas and the major tourist areas.A section in the back includes toll tables for the expressway system,though for non-expressway toll roads(municipal toll roads including some scenic routes as well as tolled bridges and tunnels not part of a toll expressway)you have to refer to the mini-table on the relevant map page.Additionally,each map has mini-distance tables for many cities and some towns,as well as micro insets mainly covering the downtown/train station areas of many municipalities plus a number of highway junctions.Though by no means perfect,it's more than good enough to make Kodansha's more globally available Japan:A Bilingual Atlas look amateurish.Not to mention that it complements and can be used together with that Japanese language atlas I have...
  
• The Tokyo Metropolitan Atlas covers the 23 "special wards" of Tokyo on a two-page spread for each one(variable scale from 1:18,000 to 1:38,000),maps of all independent municipalities in the entire Tama area(scales range from 1:25,000-1:30,000 though a couple rural villages on the western fringe are covered at 1:120,000),maps of the 2 central wards(out of over a dozen)of Yokohama(Nishi-ku at 1:12,000 and Naka-ku at 1:20,000),metro Tokyo(including parts of neighboring prefectures)at 1:250,000,and unscaled rail/subway maps.Also,districts within wards/municipalities are in both romaji and Japanese script.It's quite different from Kodansha's Tokyo City Atlas:A Bilingual Guide.However,not only is it actually a unintended complement to this competing title,but it's also Kodansha's best bilingual atlas:it features coverage of the 23 wards plus select neighboring cities at 1:28,000,18 maps of central Tokyo scaled from 1:6500 to 1:8000,downtown maps of Kawasaki and Yokohama,access maps to 3 U.S. bases,and unscaled rail/subway maps.

Of course,all atlases have indexes,but what one doesn't?Also,both Tokyo atlases feature block numbers for all Tokyo neighborhoods...

Yesterday(the first of at least 8 straight off days),while doing normal errands,I went off the beaten track and actually went to an actual Borders store(not an "Express" one).As with the only other full-size Borders I've been in(another part of town),not only was it bigger than Barnes and Noble,but also makes wiser use of store space(taller shelves,and not simply along walls).In addition to a superior selection,they have one section that BN lacks:"untranslated literature" which includes foreign books(including imports)in languages other than English or Spanish.I even saw a couple of Japanese titles(non-manga).In addition to School Rumble volume 3(I've yet to seriously get into it,but I have the first 5 Japanese volumes plus the first 2 English ones)and other things,I also grabbed a recently updated copy of the Tokyo City Atlas(speaking of that title,the copy I had was badly outdated).Afterwards before going home,I noticed a curiously-sounding "East-West bookstore" in a strip mall across the street assuming it specialized in imported Asian books;but after dropping by to browse,it was just a spiritual bookstore...

One thing I've learned from another Indian casino trip:Player's loyalty cards are more likely to reward you when you lose money...

BTW,I nailed a rare company of the rare Lost Universe OP/ED maxi-single CD(featuring Infinity and Extrication,both sung by Megumi Hayashibara)from an eBay Buy It Now listing.I had previously downloaded them in MP3 form from expired-by-now download links at seiyuu,but it's the first time I've been fortunate to even obtain the HTF CD featuring rare seiyuu song I acquired via file-sharing...

Well;at least yachinami,ukyochan,doggiedynasty,or genkireirei didn't lose their journals in the recent account purge that was solely based on a few offending interests.On another LJ matter,if the permanent account sale happens this week(during this long layoff),I'll be ready...

At least Kappei-sama is lucky to never been associated with Arts Vision which could be fighting for its existence due to proven serious allegations of sexual misconduct by its now ex-CEO...

Last night before bedtime,several Windows XP components simultaneously experience unexplained errors,causing it to basically crash.Once I turned it on today,I immediately performed an emergency virus scan which again only turned up the usual tracking cookies.So far,my free Vista upgrade hasn't come in...yet...

Since it's already tomorrow(the 7th)in Japan,happy 30th birthday to Tomoko Kojima...

EDIT:The Mega Millions ticket I bought today for tonight's $370 million draw was a total dud.Hopefully,no one else matched all five basic numbers plus the Mega Ball number...

I've now started employing a new Mega Millions strategy.I'm now buying a single set of advance play quick pick numbers valid for 20 draws.Hopefully,my luck will be better...

I think I've finally hit paydirt:My new 6 GB Rio Carbon has just 1 GB more capacity than my now-returned RCA Lyra RD 2765,but roughly double the maximum battery life.The battery didn't go out until I had used it for at least 14 non-consecutive hours(about 3 hours ago),and I first started using it on Saturday night.Once it's fully recharged,I'll start loading even more music onto it,as I splurged on some more CD's after returning the POS that I was using.I may even start loading up some seiyuu and J-pop stuff onto it.If only I bought this bad boy in the first place...

Speaking of splurging,I also bought myself a couple more new PSP games:World Series of Poker(at Best Buy)and Madden NFL 2006(at Game Stop).However,I have to do I firmware update before trying out the new games;but I haven't been able to do so yet because the battery was "low"(at least one,maybe 2,bars were present). I ended up playing some NBA on it(as my Kings and got throttled 110-62 by the expansion Charlotte Bobkittens) to burn some battery life before recharging it...

Speaking of sports,in belated commemoration of their assured 97th consecutive season without a World Series title...

CUBS LOSE!CUBS LOSE!HOLY COW!



Don't be surprised if I end up starting a thecubsuck community soon...

Is it just me,or are the tough odds of this multi-state lottery game in which California and Washington participate in connected with the wide number ranges(1-56 for the 5 regular numbers and 1-46 for the megaball number)?

Also,since it's already tomorrow(the 14th)in Japan,happy 33rd birthday to Yukino Houjou Masami Suzuki...

Minami Takayama and Meitantei Konan creator Goshou Aoyama tied the month on the former's 41st birthday last month...

Suddenly,why would I be more scared if Kappei-sama's wife/mother of his child(ren) was a seiyuu herself than if she wasn't?

On a lighter seiyuu note,happy birthday to 3 seiyuu who share a birthday today:Megumi Ogata(who hits the big 4-0),Umi Ryuuzaki Konami Yoshida(she turns 38),and Momiji Sohma Ayaka Saitou(at 17,she must be the youngest seiyuu in the indutry at this moment)...

Anyway,I didn't have an ice pack for my lunch pack on Saturday because they were all being used,so I had to make an emergency stop at Lucky Albertsons on the way to work to grab a couple so there would always be a spare when needed...

Speaking of supermarkets,this site is actually very interesting...

On Friday,I was lured into a local Indian casino(I went with my parents.).Being a casino novice;I only played on the penny/nickel machines,and Lady Luck still wasn't kind to me.I brought a decent amount of cash,and fortunately had a few bucks left when I went home...

Watching the late night news one night recently actually made me feel luckier that I don't drive:In a driver intelligence level poll,California drivers ranked 42nd(only 8 states had dumber drivers);while Oregon and Washington drivers were among the smartest...

Unless I'm missing something;the only laptop manufacturers that make offer models that would fit my needs(DVD-ROM that reads CD-R's and DVD-R's,built in digital media reader,built in Wi-Fi compatibilites,at least 2 USB ports,the most current Windows version,optimally-sized hard drive and RAM memory)are Gateway/eMachines,HP/Compaq,and Averatec.For those who own a laptop themselves,which brand is the most reputable?