The End of Days?

I was fortunate enough to enjoy a weekend of sitting around and doing nothing.  I noticed the History Channel was having one of their “We’re All Going to Die” weekends, which I suppose is better than 72 hours of Hitler, since it was Veterans Day weekend.  One of the dooms day shows they were playing was “10 Ways the World Will End”.  One of the ways is an asteroid, of which they discussed that Apophis will dip below our satellites as it passes through earth orbit on April 13, 2029 (Friday the 13th).  Then, if it continues on it’s path as expected, it will hit the earth and kill us all.  Only a handful of people are actually preparing to defend the earth against Apophis.  They believe that by flying a ship close to it, the gravity of the ship will be enough to pull Apophis off course so that it won’t hit us.  This theory is untested, and scientists only think it will work.  But that’s not the the odd thing that came to mind.

The Best Home Made Hot Chocolate Mix

As Baby Day grows ever closer, (3 weeks left), my wife is having constant cravings for chocolate.  One of her favorites is hot chocolate, which she drinks every night, especially now that it is also getting cold.  Rather than going out and buying generic old hot cocoa, I got a recipe from my mother for a home made mix that leaves the commercially made junk in the dust.  This costs a little more than the regular stuff, but you end up with A LOT of it.  Don’t make this unless you have a really big bowl. I don’t know the exact sizes on a lot of these, because depending on where you shop, they carry different sizes of certain items. For instance, a grocery store carries a medium sized container of the creamer, but Walmart only has the larger size. Either is fine. Also, I kind of just grab what looks right when I’m picking them out and don’t really pay attention to the ounces and measuring. You’re going to toss it all into one bowl and mix it up anyway. As for the Nesquik, I use the “medium” size, which I think is the 21 ounce size. As for the creamer, make sure it is on the shelf (not refrigerated). The refrigerated kind, in case you’re not a coffee drinker, is liquid. It should be next to the coffee.

Utawarerumono

Utawarerumono is set in feudal Japan where the “humans” have tails and animal-like ears. Hakuro seems to be the only normal human. He is constantly haunted by images of a raging beast, and always finds himself at the center of conflict. The story is full of strong enemies and big battles, with excellent battle scenes. The action is fast-paced and each battle has it’s own nuances which Hakuro must used his wisdom and cunning to overcome the enemy. The story also has a softer side with Elalu and Amaru, his adopted family. Elalu seems to think of Hakuro as a love interest, but Hakuro calls her his little sister. Amaru calls Hakuro daddy. All the greatest warriors find themselves strangely driven to support Hakuro. What is the mystery this man holds behind that mask?

Utawarerumono is a story that begins in a small village where a mysterious man awakens.  He does not remember who he is or where he is, but he has a strange mask on his face that he cannot remove.  He was found and healed by a woman named Lady Tuskaru, a famous healer, and the grandmother of Elalu and Amaru.  He quickly is adopted into their family, and soon discovers that the village they live in is ruled by an oppressive feudal lord.  Hakuro, as Lady Tuskaru names him, stands up against the sound of the lord to defend Elalu.  This boy destroys a shrine, which enrages the goddess of the forest, Mutikapa.  The goddess is a massive white tiger than cannot be harmed.  She first attacks and destroys a nearby village, killing all of them, and then comes to Tuskaru’s village.  Hakuro cannot stand to see the village suffer as the people huddle in their homes and wait to die, so he stands up to Mutikapa.  Just as she is about to kill him, it begins to rain and she runs off.

5 Things Nintendo Could Do to Improve the “Check Mii Out” Channel

When I first heard about the “Check Mii Out” channel, I thought it sounded like fun.  While I’d rather see Nintendo address other problems, such as support for an external USB hard drive or better on-line communication, at least this was something to make my Miis more useful.  I downloaded it and have played around with it the last few days and have noticed some features that are missing, or a few things Nintendo could have done differently to make the channel much better.  I’m not complaining, because it is free, but Nintendo is showing time and time again that they don’t have a clue when it comes to on-line interaction between users.  This is their first console with on-line support, so some missteps are expected.