Pink!

One block away from my place, sakura are just starting to bloom. It's May tomorrow already. Amazing! This year seems out of whack. An early Easter, and late sakura.

Beetle grub lawn

Our lawn is infested with European Chafer beetle grub. Our neighbours' lawns are fine, though. Probably because last year we didn't get the lawn guy to spray pesticide. The crows are making a mess. Headache headache headache...

Eyelid piercing

← Don't click if you have a weak stomach.

Is part of the ring supposed to be rubbing against the eye ball? Isn't it uncomfortable??? In some cases, redness is clearly visible around the area. I know I don't want one.

Peanut Butter Kitkat

When it comes to peanut butter, I've only had Reeze. Finally had the chance and guts to try out Kitkat. It's peanut butter alright. Plus a little bit of caramel? Which makes it very gooey and sticks to your teeth. It's a bit sweet, but offset by the saltiness of peanut butter. Less salty than Reeze, though. Overall it's quite strong. But not as intense as Reeze. Now I just have to try the peanut butter M&Ms. (Just kidding.)

Packaging and the real thing

← This web site looks at 100(?) products and the gap between their packaging photo and the real thing.

Russian car anit-thief device

← Go there and vote for your favorite.

Cannery

Happy b-day Andrew! And thanks for dinner at the Canery! It was awesome!

Eat eat eat

It's my brother's birthday so we ate out for lunch. (Dim Sum.) Got some of those really good cream puffs from Bread Papa's instead of the usual birthday cake. They cost about the same, but somehow I get the impression that the cream puffs are more healthy than cakes.

Got together with some friends for dinner. Needed to check out Ajisai. I haven't been there since last fall. They're still good, but the price went up. When my cousin visits in June, I can still take her there.

Snow in April

Yikes!!! It was nice and sunny in the afternoon, then this?! Ya gatta be kidding me!!! Well, OK, the forecast said snow in the morning. This is delayed for at least 10 hours. Sure didn't expect that. I walked to the post office outlet to mail some stuff, then stopped by the bank and a dollar store. It was a little cloudy. By the time I lined up at the cashier, it was raining hail! Totally off guard and without an umbrella, I had to add a raincoat to my purchase. Would like an umbrella but they have none. Turn out OK because it kept me warmer. It was reeeally cold. Within an hour, the rain turn into snow. Now, there's about 2 inches on the ground. The satellite TV gets no signal. The road is slushy like winter. Aaargh! Where has spring gone???

And I was hoping to catch tonight's episode of Death Note on YTV where I think L gets killed. (T_T)

Photobucket again

OK, now they're reeeeally getting on my nerves. They changed the upload button. It lets me click, but nothing happens. This better not be some kind of evil sneaky way forcing users to allow pop-up ads or else the upload won't work. Guess what, Photobucket, are you listening? I'm ready to go elsewhere if you keep this up.

Luckily they kept the old uploader as an option. I'm so glad that it still works. My guess is, they didn't test compatibility with Firefox.

So! Went to QE Park again on my way home from the chiropractor. Took some more photos. The shards of light through the clouds were awesome. There is no comparison between a photo and the real thing.

Yup, sounds like the wind storm has arrived. Forecast says it might even snow in some area tomorrow morning. We'll see.

More sakura

Cloudy all day. Even a few tiny drops of rain.
And I locked my keys in the car. It took 45 minutes for the BCAA guys to show up. It was cold. (T_T)

Panic button

... At YMCA. They're so stinking rich, they're now renovating the building facet. There's always something. If not renovation, then purchases. Like leather sofas and huge plasma TV. Sorry, I don't think members come to sit around and watch TV. Those are purely for the staff. The lockers were still usable, so were the basketball court doors. But they were replaced. The interior walls were fine too. They didn't need to be repainted. Yet the gym floor is so cramped with machines, 2 people can barely walk side-by-side. (OK I'm exaggerating a little. ) And they only beautify the "outside" things like walls and doors. What really need attention, are the washrooms. Especially the toilets. They're really old, and the 10" circular plate flushing button on the wall really sucks.

Photobucket & Telus

AAAAAARGH !!!!!
This message from Telus online virus scan shows up around 4 times a day. I counted. It took me 355 clicks to get rid of it this time. According to knowledgeable friends, this is a false alarm. I tried, but cannot get to the file to delete it. Help!! I can't deal with it anymore! I'm going crazy!!! (T_T) (T_T) (T_T)

This "ad" appears on Photobucket recently. At first I thought it must be something I clicked accidentally. Instead of having you click on an ad link, they seem to have figured out a way to activate the ad even if you change folder. But no! This time, the only thing I touched was the scroll bar! So is it random? Or is it set to open once you enter Photobucket? It used to go away after you click the close box. Now, no matter what you click, it hijacks your browser and takes your page to that site, plus, blows it up to full screen. This is super invasive!!! I reeeally get turn-off, and close the tab. Which forces me to open Photobucket again in a new tab. So annoying!!! This ad is E V I L !!!!!!!! My rating of Photobucket dropped from "really good" to "below average" just because of this ad. Are you listening, Photobucket?

Sakura

The weather was gorgeous today! I'd say it was the nicest day so far this year! According to my friend, the trees at QE Park are only blooming at 30%. I was tricked by the trees in my neighborhood. (They're already gone.) So, I might go again next week, if the weather allows. (^_^)

Going... going...

Will there be enough sakura trees left tomorrow?

Stalled car

The guy had his feet inside the car for a while. It looked quite interesting with just his body sticking out. By the time I got my camera ready, he was changing lane and did the "normal" push. (Hey, shouldn't he turn on the hazard lights?)

Nendoroid vs Pinky

← BTW, this is Nendoroid. "Nendo" means "clay". In the beginning, this series specialized in super-deformed gag face version of certain non-mainstream game characters. Eventually they turn towards popular anime/game/media characters. And then they also put less emphasis on the gag face.

This might be a threat to Pinky Street. It's cute and retains character likeness very well. Although quite limited, it's posable, and it's body size matches Sylvanian Family funitures. There are still a few things that haven't caught up with Pinky yet.

• It can't stand up on it's own without a base.
• It's character-specific. The head is way too big to be customize-friendly.
• Parts from different characters aren't exchangeable. But the newer ones are. And the company is developing a universal system.
• They actively pump out products unlike Pinky, which products are difficult births and almost always delayed. Keep the fans waiting too long and they'll go elsewhere.
  
• Much more expensive then Pinky. (Pinky default series = 714-777 yen, characters = around 1700 yen. Nendoroid around 3000 yen.)

However, their Petite Nendoroid at 500 yen is dangerous. Sold as blind box trading figures, they have almost the same features as the full size ones (minus the props). I wonder if their heads can be transplanted onto Pinky bodies.

At this point, the 2 companies' product concepts are completely different. If Nendoroid releases its original characters, then they will be crashing directly at each other. Pinky Street is a well thought out concept and well-designed system. There's a Korean imitator "Ava Doll", and a Disney one "Minnie Up!". There's also a Hong Kong one but I can't find any info online yet. None is as good as Pinky.

Miku Hatsune

Lovely 3DCG of Miku Hatsune, Nendoroid version. Thanks Touko!


One more. Earlier CG.


Oops, almost forgot this one. The orange lyrics seems to be the section used in the original leek-spinning Orihime flash that stormed the web. I'm just so impressed that someone can recreate this entirely in Vocaloid.

Time

Finally! The clock in my computer matches real time!

Truffes Fantaisie

Oops! Thought I've written a review already. Turns out I haven't. The packaging is long gone and I can't read the brand name from the photo. (T_T) Sorry...

So, this 1 kg box came last December. Took 3 people 3 months to finish. (But... we didn't do our best.) It's highly addictive and extremely dangerous. Every time I have to eat at least 3. Can't stop. The content is separated into 2 foil bags. But 500 g is still way too intimidating.

The truffle itself is coated in cocoa powder which gives a deluxe taste. When the inside melts in your mouth, you'll go "mmmm~". This sensation is very similar to my favorite Winter Cocoa Pocky. My only complain is, it's not completely smooth. Sometimes there seems to be microscopic grains of... sugar??? Or cocoa??? I'm not even sure if it's supposed to be like that. Anyway, it scores high on my scale. Oh, I do have another complain. The box is way too big! When it takes too long to finish, you tend to get a little tired, or, it might go stale. My mom put the last half-a-bag in the fridge, and totally ruined it. (T_T)

Sakura

One single tree in a parking lot near Fraser and 50th. Doesn't seem like there will be any sakura picnic this year. The friend who usually organizes it is busy lately. (T_T)

On a different subject, something weird is growing in my throat. Cold? Or is it just allergy?

Manhole cover

Didn't know we have such a pretty manhole cover in town. (West Broadway and Bayswater.)

Gianduja Kitkat

Part of the treats Sora sent me from Japan. Thanks Sora!! (^_^)
Gianduja...??? Needed to look it up. The internet is so awesome, hehe! So, it's "a preparation of chocolate containing about 50 percent hazelnut and almond paste" according to Wikipedia. The Japanese Wiki has slightly more info on the history side, but doesn't say anything about the %. Oh well.

Is it me or is it the chocolate? Somehow Kitkat keeps giving me this "too sweet" taste these days. I can't say it enough. The Kitkat in my memory is less sweet. Hmm... anyway, this Gianduja has a dominant sweetness from the chocolate. The nuts are a little too weak, but nevertheless, there. It's not loud, but blends quietly and nicely into the chocolate. It's a good match. The other thing that bugs me is, there are only 2 individually packaged sticks in the box! I thought there should be 4? Well, the "normal" Kitkat does, right? I forgot, but are the other "deluxe" Kitkats like this?

Happy April Fool's Day!

Just for fun...

Asian weirdness. A collection of images. (Original title refers to Japan, but clearly not all images are from Japan.)

Eyelid piercing. Don't click if you have a weak stomach.


Now, some goods for your sakura viewing party.