MILES to GO || before I sleep

Stolen shamelessly from frannyan. I don't know if there's more to this meme, but I'll do it if there is! :P

→ Take a screenshot of your desktop. (This is actually just one of FOUR desktops I have. But the other ones just have different wallpaper, not anything else...)

→ Take a screenshot your media player (if you have one up). (I finished my taxes and promptly looked up the "Victory Fanfare" from Final Fantasy V. Because my search wasn't specific, it brought up everything else with "Vict" in the title, which is why the Currently Playing is something from another video game. There's TuneUp to the right, with a bizarre cover art suggestion for a Fushigi Yuugi album that's missing art. I don't think Tasuki would like penguins...)

→ Take a screenshot of another program you have up. (This is Cyndicate, my new feed reader. Do I have too many feeds? I'm not even sure if it's working for LJ yet, picking up protected entries/saving cookies. I wish my custom RSS feed--made with an S2 style--would display authors properly, but I wouldn't know how to modify it to get it. Anyone have any ideas?)

→ Pick a tab you have up and take a screenshot of it. (This is a tab where I'm previewing a file I made in RapidWeaver. I liked the theme for "The Rose Chronicles," so I started trying to put it together as a fic site. Problem is, I don't much understand the plugins, so I'm not sure which one is best for a fanfic. Stacks? Blocks? Accordion? Also, the Carousel page I'm using for the Fanart is a little difficult to setup. For some reason some of the art displays to the right of the "page" content area, and some displays to the right. But isn't the thumbnail slider pretty?)

→ YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO CHANGE ANYTHING BEFORE TAKING A SCREENSHOT OF IT

I didn't! They're all just straight screenshots taken with SnapzProX. Does anyone know a screen capture tool which takes screencaps of the whole screen, even what's past the scrollbar? I thought Little Snapper did that, but I'm not sure how....

Apparently none of my Tweets from Anime Expo weekend made it to my journals because LoudTwitter crashed and may not be coming back. That sucks. I wonder if there's another way to import Tweets to LJ and DW? But hey, they are all on Twitter and probably on Facebook via FriendFeed, too (as if anyone cared)! :P

Also, RSS feed for my LJ Friends Page still not working. I used a different one that IS working, but I don't think it's grabbing protected entries (even when I append '&auth=digest' to the end of the URL), and I don't like that. Also, I'm so behind on LJ, reading only the last 50 entries does nothing for me. Trés annoying.

I have yet to make any of the AX recap posts I wanted to, because I tend to be super-exhausted ;ately. My sleep schedule is hell right now and it being summer, I'm not too inclined to fix it. But I do have tons of stuff to do, so I might as well try, tired or not.

Work-wise, I've started on a handbook for the other Student Assistants here at work. My idea is to have the different sections have a portion of their page margin colored, so that someone can easily see all the pages that are in a particular section. Does that make sense? I have no idea how to do it though, and if I should be using Publisher instead of Word or something. Damn Microsoft.

I'm also learning a bit more about PHP and mySQL. I've been trying to get PHPMyAdmin 2.11 installed on the NSLS account so I can manage its databases for Wordpress. It was looking to be too damn impossible thanks to these dumb instance errors and junk, but right now, it looks like it COULD work, if I could just get PHPMyAdmin to install. Is there an "Installing PHPMyAdmin In Plain English" guide somewhere? The documentation sucks.

My dad thinks I'm too much of a critic. I think that having the standards I do ("being so critical") will serve me well in my chosen career as an editor. It's not like I've set a goal to be a hard-ass with impossible standards, but I do think that if I follow Dad's advice of "Reach for the stars, land on the moon; reach for the sidewalk, land in the gutter" is quite applicable. What I take it to mean is that if we set the bar too low, the results we get back will be lower than expectations, instead of meeting or surpassing expectations. But if we set a high standard, we might not get "excellence bar none," but we'll still get some pretty good stuff that, with a little bit of work, might just be "excellent!"

I don't think there's any excuse for not editing your work when you have the chance. For example, if you make an icon and someone tells you a word is spelled wrong, short of you having NOT saved the *.psd or whatever, what's stopping you from remaking it? Obviously, if you get the email when you're not at the computer with your graphics editor, etc. it's fine if you don't remake it immediately, but why not do it when you have the chance?

Same goes for fics. When someone says "comments and constructive criticism are appreciated!" or whatever and someone DOES offer those, shouldn't the author take them to heart and apply their newfound knowledge? It's not a matter of "Ouch, someone had to correct me on my bad spelling/grammar/canon facts," it's a matter of "I can make this better!" Even if you only apply it to future chapters for the time being, at some point, it's fairly easy to do with already-posted chapters. It takes about the same amount of time to fix fic errors as it does for icons-- maybe ten minutes, assuming the problems aren't too numerous or too major.

With fics, especially, "financial feasibility" is not an excuse. That's about the only one I'd accept from a manga publisher (like Viz); it's not always feasible to revise a manga just because of a few spelling errors. But posting fics is free, and I can't stand anyone that bothers to post their fics when they're too lazy to go back and FIX the things for future readers (or re-readers).

Anyway, manga's the whole reason I brought this up; I got myself the new "VIZBIG" edition of Fushigi Yuugi today, which compiles Vols. 1-3. I'm guessing it's the English equivalent to the bunkoban Fushigi Yuugi that were released in Japan a few years ago. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like much has been revised, either in the way of writing, translating, or art. Sure, two of those three fall on Watase's shoulders, but I'm looking more at Viz here; it's entirely possible they didn't use the bunkoban re-releases for the VIZBIG editions and instead opted to re-use their original translations, re-flip the images to their proper direction (Viz first published FY when manga WAS NOT in the original "right-to-left" format), etc.

What's especially got my goat is easy-to-spot problems that you don't see in their current titles:

* 'Whoa' being spelled was 'Woah' repeatedly (common mistake and probably a small one for me to get worked up over, but STILL!)

* References to American pop culture, rather than the original Japanese ones. This is my biggest pet peeve, even if there was only one distinguishable one ("Look! Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow in bikinis!") throughout the whole VIZBIG volume. They had this problem in the original translation release of "Ceres: Celestial Legend" too, but they fixed them for the second edition releases, and explained what the references were, e.g. who SMAP was and such. I realize lots of American shows get dubbed in Japan, but honestly? Miaka doesn't strike me as the type who watches "FRIENDS" or knows who Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow are, anyway. *shrug* It could just be me, but... why not leave it? I bought the title to read a TRANSLATION, not a REVISION of the original author's words.

* Their romanization system. MAKE UP YOUR DAMN MIND AND PICK ONE, VIZ. There are lots of romanization systems out there. The one I was taught to use (I believe it's the most common academically, and is also widely used in manga translation) is the Hepburn system, where Miaka's surname would be spelled out "Yuuki" or written "Yûki," but they don't bother to do that. They use the circumflex for the title, but, as per Watase-sensei's request, they use "Yuu" as her name, instead of "Yû." Why can't they just pick one system and stick with it? I, for one, prefer to see "Miaka Yuuki" and "Fushigi Yuugi" instead of "Miaka Yuki" (no circumflex, even!) or "Miaka Yûki" etc.

* The SFX glossary in the back. Yes, it's nice and helpful, but honestly? Who's going to flip to the back of the book every time they're curious about what the kana on their given panel mean? Especially in a VIZBIG volume which is several HUNDRED pages long!? Why not just put the translation of the kana (romanization and meaning) in a smaller type just above the kana in question, or off to the side if it's a page-wide sound effect or on a screen toned background?

* General mistakes: a panel where Hotohori calls Miaka "princess" instead of "priestess," a place where "Imperial" was misspelled as "Emperial" (NOT A WORD, PEOPLE. Even in Star Wars, ships belonging to the Empire were Imperial Star Destroyers and whatnot. This was a big issue in Sailor Moon too, when they kept on calling the Ginzuishou different things, like the Emperium Silver Crystal and I was like "But the Moon Kingdom wasn't an Empire! They didn't have an Emperor/Empress! WTF!?")

FY was originally released in the Japanese in 1992. Viz first picked it up a while after that, and they finished their second edition run of it YEARS ago. So why when they release their first compilation (and supposed "revision," but maybe that's just my interpretation of a "collector's edition" or whatever... the BEST stuff made BETTER) is it chock full of such BASIC errors?

Yes, it's cool that they're using the Chinese names for the people and places (I don't know if they did that for the first edition releases; my only first edition volume is back in S.F., and for all I know I'm getting it mixed up with the anime from when I first saw it), but for a manga that's over a decade old and is still considered one of the definitive shoujo manga, it's not good enough. They need to do more than include more color images and an SFX glossary. They need to do more than use the Chinese names and have a table showing their Japanese and English equivalents.

*sigh* What sucks is, once upon a time, I would have said to myself, "I can do better!" and I would dream of being an editor at Viz. Now, that no longer really interests me, even though I DO think I could probably do it. But for all I know, I'd suck at it because I'd want to spend more time and money on titles than the company wants to. But for me as a consumer, if I'm going to be paying more than $9.95 for a graphic novel title (which is already expensive enough as it is, considering the tankoubon in Japan are usually ¥300-700), I want it to be top-notch quality. I pay that much for what Del Ray puts out because it's DAMN GOOD QUALITY. The cover, the translation, the editing, EVERYTHING. I was actually pleased that Miwa Ueda's latest title "Papillion," got picked up by Del Rey instead of Tokyopop, who did an AWFUL job on "Peach Girl."

So, barring the dream job of making manga better myself, there's not giving companies that I think suck my money. But the fact is, it's impossible to find titles like these in complete sets anymore. I didn't have the money to buy FY when it was originally coming out, so I don't own any of it, except for that one crappy first edition translation and one Japanese edition (Vol. 14 of the original release, not even the bunkoban!). I should be glad that they're even re-releasing it! And to be honest, 3 volumes in 1 is a pretty good deal for $17.99, plus a selection of full-color images in the back.

Viz did a somewhat sucky job with "Yu-Gi-Oh!" too, but I still bought all 36 volumes because I wanted to read the story in English, not struggle with my Japanese. I only buy Japanese titles when the English equivalent (if there IS one at all) sucks SO HORRIBLY it makes me cringe. Think anything from Tokyopop (er, Mixx)'s old days. I hated their Peach Girl. I hated their Sailor Moon. I want Del Rey to pick them up (their Japanese versions were originally published by Kodansha, Del Ray's parent company, anyway) and revise them!

The only thing I can think of to do where I still get my manga and I feel like my voice will be heard is... write. So I'm writing. Maybe if enough people write and complain, their editorial staff will start to get some higher standards. I really don't think changing "Woah" to "Whoa" takes all that long, no matter what typesetting program you use. Okay, so a revision of the first VIZBIG FY might not ever come out, but if the second volume is better? I'll be happy and MUCH more willing to part with my $17.99 plus tax.

SIDE NOTE: Anyone here use Google Reader? I was using Sage, then Sage Too, then Simple RSS, then Wizz RSS-- all extensions for Firefox. I don't know whether it's something about Firefox 3.0.5 or those extensions or what, but THEY ALL SUCK. Some don't accept cookies (which means I can't read friends-locked entries), and some kept on changing my RSS feed URL and I'd have to go back to the howto entry to copy-paste it in again. I've been using it lately and it looks okay, but I'm not sure if it accepts cookies, and that's kind of a MUST for me. So far, Wizz RSS was the only one that did, but I'm frankly sick of it changing my RSS URL all the time. It's probably related to the weird bookmarks issue Firefox is having, which I have determined has nothing to do with the Del.icio.us extension. So... grr. Any tips for BEST FREE RSS READERS, web-based or otherwise, would be greatly appreciated.

 Kaze no Uta by Chika Sakamoto from Fushigi Yuugi - Character's Vocal Memories (Rating: 0)

So I remembered hearing about this eatery that specializes in breakfast at the end of one of the metro lines here in San Francisco. I want to check them out online, find out exactly where they are, what their hours are, etc., so I go to their site.

...Which is probably the sparsest website I've seen in a VERY long time. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for simplicity. Not everyone (or every business) requires a Flash-heavy, Java-rich, super-interactive explosion of complicated code and database handlers (that aside, I do want to learn PHP/Flash/Java at some point in the not-so-distant future). But still... to have a SCAN of the menu that doesn't even fit on a 1440 x 900 resolution screen (you need to scroll)? To not list an email for contacting the web designer/maintainer? To not show the restaurants' (there are two locations in S.F.) hours of operation? To not tell MORE about the restaurant's history?

Seriously, folks.

Mom and Dad both say I'm too critical, but Dad says that I can put that to good use being a consultant. This is the second or third example of a business that I think I could help become so much better than it is just by revamping their existing material. Before it was the bookstore that Baba and I went to, and also kind of this Thai place that Mom and Gary like. A few simple (likely inexpensive, in the long run) changes, and BAM! Better exposure, better business. Better business PRACTICES!

So it'd be a bit awkward to contact these people and say "Your site sucks" or "Your menu sucks" or "Your bookstore sucks" and then proceed to say how, if they pay me, I can make it better. It's not like I have any experience in this-- it's just an idea, just a thought. A very optimistic thought. I can't guarantee that me revamping a website or a menu or a bookstore's practices will truly bring in more business or be more "efficient." I wouldn't necessarily know how to measure that last one, anyway.

But I kind of want to try for the "editing" experience at all (and in a way, it's also journalism/interview experience, because I'd have to "consult" with the business owners to find out their needs and wants, limitations and hopes for the future). So, how does one approach this?

I've already considered setting up an e-business of sorts to offer my editing/computer services-- a freelance site, if you will, where the offers come to me instead of me trying to hunt down the offers. Admittedly, without my name previously out there, it might not actually happen, but I'd be looking to edit people who don't look in the "usual" places-- help college students with their papers or projects, tutor people in web design or computer programs, etc. I'd be a lot more inclined to doing THAT than, say, writing a 500-word article for a freelance article site. I signed up for those, but I could never get around to writing the articles because I didn't feel they were original enough compared to what was already there, even if I did have a niche to write in.

I already have a possible domain name, and maybe even a site design picked out, but no business structure, no plan-- so I'm not letting out too many details just yet. But what I have let out, does it sound plausible? Interesting? Useful to you or anyone you may know?

( A possible new structure for Seventh-Star.Net )

I've started using Apple Mail to read my Friends' page as an RSS feed. Problem? I don't think it can get protected entries. When I added the "&checkcookies=1" to the URL, it didn't get ANYTHING. I removed it and got 50 entries... which I'm missing more of. I haven't read my FL in a while. I don't even know if Apple Mail uses cookies for RSS. Help?

Also, I'm probably going to nix my ProCare subscription next year. To be honest, I don't think I get much value out of it, even when I do use it to make near-instantaneous reservations for a Genius Bar spot at an Apple Store. It was pretty freakin' awesome that they rushed my keyboard repair to under an hour (when it was supposed to take 48), but I think I'd get more out of the One-to-One, if I did end up replacing the ProCare. I did think it was stupid when they separated the two, and I barely had the chance to use them when they were together (because I was in Japan).

That said, I renewed my MobileMe/.Mac subscription today, because I do feel THAT is worth $99, even with all the stupid problems MobileMe's been having. Actually my subscription was due up in September, but all the issues got me a 90-day extension. I forgot about it until they sent me an email today asking for an updated credit card. -_- I'm still broke. I shouldn't be spending $99 on anything, let alone something intangible and replaceable like an email address with calendar and address book sync capabilities. Sure, I've also got web hosting from them, but I pay MUCH less than $99/year for my usual hosting and I like Surpass plenty (not necessarily MORE than Apple, because their products aren't really comparable, but you get the idea). But the switching thing would be a pain in the ass.

But I'm disliking what I have tried to use on MobileMe's site end-- I tried out iWeb for shits and giggles, but the movie I have embedded on my photo gallery slideshow page NEVER loads, and because I can't inspect the code or the site structure in iWeb, I don't know why. Is it because it's large? Is the file in the wrong place? What? Plus, I deleted the files of my old Japan blog off the .Mac server, but it keeps trying to find that site whenever someone goes to the main index of my MobileMe site. VERY ANNOYING.

Also annoying? Playing my old SNES games with my PS2 controller using the new SNES9x 1.5 or what-have-you (the latest version of SNES for Mac OS X). Suddenly Sailor Moon's Fuwa Fuwa Panic feels like SUPER BALLOON POP MAYHEM ON SPEED! I'm getting my ass whooped in this game (it shames me to admit it), because I swear to DOG, it was never this fast before. On the bright side, I do still kick ass at the Sailor Moon puzzle game (where you flip over hearts, zap daimons, and try to collect the 3 Talismans before your opponent). Also, I've been replaying Super Mario World (I think I mentioned that before, actually). I started out playing it using a Super Mario All-Stars + World ROM, but none of the cheats for SMW worked (but I got all the way through the Forest of Illusion, anyway!)-- so I got a new ROM (hey, I own the cartridge!) and BAM! Crazy-Invincible-Green-Face Mario! That doesn't mean everything's easy, mind you, but it sure is fun to change Mario colors and walk right through Big Boo! (Figuring out just which cheats work and which don't is a pain.)

( Meaningless Memes )