So, the original ‘Giant Pachinko Machine of Doom’ blog went online on this day in 2004. That would make the GPMoD 18 years old today. Holy shit. What? How? I don’t even.
I don’t really have anything to say right now, but the site will be making a comeback in the near future. COUNT ON IT.
I haven’t been posting much content here lately, and I hope to change that…of course I have trouble enough keeping up with content for MAKE COOL THINGS, so how that’ll go is anybody’s guess.
That isn’t exactly what I’m here to talk about though, on this, the 16th anniversary of the founding of the GPMoD.
I look forward to a time in the not-so-distant future, where this will be the home for things like my Twitch streaming and other shenanigans. Until then, stay tuned!
I was going through some old chat logs from November 2008 when I found this little gem…
<@Bakamoichigei> Real men play 2d fighters on the NEO-GEO! ;o
<ogopogo> i OWN a fucking neo-geo
<ogopogo> let’s see you do as much :3
<@Bakamoichigei> I own TWELVE.
<@Bakamoichigei> You just got served.
<ogopogo> riiight?
<@Bakamoichigei> http://media.giantpachinkomachineofdoom.com/blog/2008-10/images/boardmv1b.jpg
<@Bakamoichigei> http://media.giantpachinkomachineofdoom.com/blog/2008-10/images/boardmv1c.jpg
<@Bakamoichigei> http://media.giantpachinkomachineofdoom.com/blog/2008-10/images/boardmv2fa.jpg
<@Bakamoichigei> http://media.giantpachinkomachineofdoom.com/blog/2008-10/images/boardlot1.jpg
It’s not like I need HELP with my fuckery, but when someone gives me such a perfect setup, my typical automatic schadenfreude is elevated to what I can only describe as sheer predatory glee. Â CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!
Decided it was finally time to put my Metal Slug games in Shockboxes, so I was going to need the logos!
What can I say? Â I’m very good at this.
I have been known to make sport of people on IRC, it’s one of my pastimes. But usually someone has to catch my attention to be targeted. Let’s talk about one of my pet peeves: Away messages and notifications. Seriously. It makes sense if you’re a channel regular, or staff, or really anyone people give two shits about, but if you’re just a randumb (My term for those sub-voice users who just stumble into the channel.) there’s no fucking reason for it. This is where our story begins.
<exReality|afk> ffffffffff
<exReality|afk> i cant change my nick without leaving the chan
* Parts: exReality|afk (~exReality@test.a.ban)
* Joins: exReality (~exReality@test.a.ban)
<exReality> woops left the wrong channel
<unmei> a) register b) it’s probably a +M channel blocking you …
<exReality> yeah i have to link the nick
<exReality> or group…
<kyouma87> how’s that for you?
<+Bakamoichigei> Why the fuck do you think anyone cares if you’re AFK?
<unmei> yeah, the command is group
<+Bakamoichigei> I’m the most conceited son of a bitch here, and I -know- no one cares if -I’m- away.
<exReality> i play this game called erep
<exReality> people keep pming me
Hmmm, erep? Could it be? I should note that in this channel erepublik is a banword because people keep coming in and spamming URLs. I don’t actually know what the site is, but after his next response, I figure it’s some stupidfuck game like mafia wars and that other shit. Which only made me want the inevitable outcome even more…
<+Bakamoichigei> erep?
<exReality> ya
<+Bakamoichigei> What’s that?
<exReality> its on the same server
<exReality> some political web browser game
<+Bakamoichigei> Got a link or something?
<exReality> www.erepublik.com
* Athena sets mode: +b *!*@test.a.ban
* exReality was kicked by Athena (Watch your language!)
<&jdp> BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
<+Bakamoichigei> I am a golden god.
<&jdp> fucking (　｀ー´)八(｀ー´　) ＨＩ５
I do so love being right, and evil.
I’m not always an asshole though, I do high comedy as well, if I do say so myself.
<@cardslash02> flash it sounds like you manage the same software i used to work under at a call center
<@cardslash02> what’s it called?
<&FlashGordon> clarify
<@cardslash02> the software that handles call volumes
<&Bakamoichigei> inb4 that’s what it’s called and we’re about to reenact “Who’s on first?”
<&FlashGordon> [21:25] (@cardslash02) the software that handles call volumes
<&FlashGordon> not certain
<@cardslash02> do you use it yourself?
<&FlashGordon> only team managers and supervisors are made familiar with such software
<&FlashGordon> i use clarify
<@cardslash02> oh dear
<@cardslash02> baka
<@cardslash02> it is called clarify
<&Bakamoichigei> “What software do you use?” “Clarify.” “The software that handles call volumes.” “Not Certain.” “Yeah, I know Certain, we use it for payroll. So what do you use for call volumes?” “Clarify.” “The software you use!”
My first computer was an Apple II, my first modern ‘Personal Computer’ was a Macintosh 512k. I was a Mac before it was hip. I was a Mac before there was a PC. Â (I was a Mac before many of you were BORN.)
I went over to PCs around the time Windows 95 came out, at a time when almost no apps had cross-platform file compatibility, and boy was that a pain in the ass! Â Yet I can honestly say I’ve never thought about going back.
I always felt it was Steve Wozniak and the engineers behind products like the original Macintosh that made such things possible, Steve Jobs just made them sexy enough for you to want to buy them. There’s a point at which Apple stopped being about using hardware wizardry to make game-changing products that no one else could or wanted to, and turned into a hipster version of what they always hated: IBM.
That said, I am no less saddened by this news. Because while the engineers may have been responsible for the technical magic, it never would have left the garage in Cupertino if Steve Jobs hadn’t been able to market it, to make everyone want something they didn’t know they’d always needed; a personal computer, thus changing the world.
Okay, I’ve made this argument many times on IRC and in random threads here and there since Rebuild of Evangelion 2.22: You can (not) advance came out, so I thought I’d lay it all out right here.
The new Evangelion ‘Rebuild’ movies are not a retelling of the series, they are a sequel. Â The events of these movies occur after the original End of Evangelion movie, and I’m about to show you why that is obvious to me.
Shinji rejected instrumentality and in that single instant in which he was basically in control of all living things, and effectively reality, opted to reboot the world. Â So, the events of the new movies play out as if the series never happened, but nonetheless takes place after the events of the series and End of Evangelion.
Seas of Blood
The seas are red. Â The opening shot of rolling red surf is almost identical to a shot in the last few minutes of End of Evangelion. Â An alternate explanation however is that they are picking up more details from scripture this time and the seas have been red since Second Impact. (A fact supported by EVA2.22) Â Revelation 16:3 says “And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man; and every living thing in the sea died.” Â Though given the additional evidence, I’m willing to go as far as ‘It happened in EoE, and was hand-waved in the rebooted reality as having happened during Second Impact.’
The Moon
The line of blood across the moon occurred in End of Evangelion; it was arterial spray from ‘Giant Naked Rei’. Â There is no other possible explanation for this.
The Mass Production EVAsÂ
The outskirts of Tokyo3 show evidence of the remains of the Mass Produced EVA units, some of which descended from Low-Earth Orbit, crucified, and run through with duplicates of the Lance of Longinus. Â Remember that no angels had surfaced since Second Impact, and no EVA unit had been successfully activated yet, so there’s no explanation for EVA/Angel-sized chalk outlines and depressions in the bloodied ruins surrounding Tokyo3.
Ikari Yui
There is no evidence that the soul of Ikari Yui resides in EVA Unit 01. Â None of the instances of Unit 01 acting on its own to protect Shinji are present. Â This fits with Shinji bidding farewell to his mother, as Unit 01 drifted out into space, and the light going out of its eyes. Â There are two small holes in this theory however; the original berserker incident is left almost completely untouched, and when the Dummy Plug won’t initialize, Gendo still says his original “Why are you refusing me, Yui?” line. Â But neither of those are definitive proof of anything and could very well be red herrings.
Kaworu
Damn-near all of Kaworu’s dialogue up to this point seem to indicate that he is conscious of the fact that this is not the first time these events have played out. Â It’s a common trait given to him in various media that he sometimes says things relevant to different continuities, and occasionally breaks the fourth wall, so that’s pretty normal.
“If Shinji could remake the world as he wanted, why is he still suffering?”
This is a good question. Â There are a several theories. Â It could be social commentary by Hideaki Anno about how screwed up youth are today; think “If you could make the world however you wanted, you’d choose to still be miserable!” Or, Shinji realized that if he had a ‘normal life’, he’d never meet any of these people who he cares about. Â Maybe he simply wanted to ‘try again’; Â he seems to be getting better. Â Asuka is treating him (marginally) better. Â He’s managed to get closer to Ayanami, who is acting a lot more human now. Â He is close to maybe getting along with his father better. Â And he certainly manned-up to save Ayanami, all on his own. Â Of course, maybe Shinji’s just…Shinji…and it never occurred to him to try and be happy.
“Why would it be a sequel? And if so, why wouldn’t they just say it? Â This is pretty convoluted, man.”
We’re talking about Hideaki Anno.  You know damned well he hates EVA fans and just wants our money.  Also, he’s batshit insane.  In all seriousness though, why not?  It adds depth to the lore that isn’t immediately apparent and makes it so old fans get more out of it, while new fans don’t have to go back and watch the series.
Once again, a comic has spawned from my crazy head and Swift‘s pen.
Just some quick background since this is like half a dozen inside jokes crammed together into a superdense lolularity… Â EvilLinkz is obsessed with some girl on NicoNicoLive we refer to as ‘the webcam goddess’. Â The geese thing comes from Liru, who attends U Waterloo, where campus geese are constantly harassing people, and so that’s become a sort of meme. Â And then there’s me, being an SNK nerrrrrrd.
[08.02/04.08.38] <+Swift> Also I hope evillinkz didn’t die in a fire
[08.02/04.09.21] <@Bakamoichigei> Oh, it wasn’t a fire. :3c
[08.02/04.09.44] <+Swift> Geese?
[08.02/04.10.08] <@Bakamoichigei> Yes.
[08.02/04.12.15] <@Bakamoichigei> Geese Howard killed EvilLinkz’s father, and EvilLinkz set out on a journey to train himself and become the world’s best fighter and defeat Geese Howard! But he was a little confused about his training, and challenged a pack of Canadian geese to a fight.
[08.02/04.12.19] <@Bakamoichigei> It did not end well.
[08.02/04.12.26] <+Swift> hahaha
[08.02/04.12.45] <+Swift> I’d draw that if I wasn’t lazy
Anyway, here’s the result:
It feels good when technology just works. Â Back in February, I bought a real goddamn RAID card, five 2TB hard drives, and a tray-less 3-to-5 SATA2 hot swap bay enclosure.
Then, last week, my RAID card made a horrible shrieking alarm sound that made me think the apartment was on fire. Â Turned out it was just my RAID5 array… Â One of the 2TB drives failed, hard. Â I’m used to motherboard RAID losing sync with drives if they time out, and claiming the array failed, so I gave it the benefit of the doubt and attempted a rebuild. Â It failed to rebuild.
So, first thing I did after I got the money together was bought another drive from Newegg.  Then I did an RMA on the original drive through Western Digital.  It was a very painless experience; Enter the serial number, enter the reason for requesting an RMA, choose between cross-ship, and normal return (Normal, since I already had a drive en route from Newegg.), and then pay $6 for a UPS return label.
New drive arrives from Newegg (this morning), and we set about what needs to be done.
Holy shit, son. Â It’s like we’re livin’ in some kind of FUTURE SPACE WORLD, where shit just works like it’s supposed to!
Now I’m gonna go on to the gritty details of the hardware, with a couple pictures, after the jump. Â So stay tuned if that sort of thing interests you. Â (I guarantee premium hardware porn, you betcha!)
I was looking through my directory of miscellaneous Illustrator files, a lot of which are cool logos and stuff I’ve done, and it occurred to me I haven’t shown off a lot of this awesomeness. Â So I decided to show off a bunch of the logos I vectored for my arcade games.
Click a thumbnail to the see the full-size image!
Samurai Spirits ZERO
(Samurai Shodown V)
Bakumatsu Roman – Gekka no Kenshi, Dai Ni Maku: ~Tsuki ni Saku Hana, Chiri Yuku Hana~
(The Last Blade 2)
The King of Fighters ’96
The King of Fighters ’97
The King of Fighters ’98
 The KOF’97 logo is my favorite out of the KOFs, with those cool-ass flames and stuff.  It’s strange though that it’s the only one without that official KOF ‘F’ in it.  But the game’s sub-logo DOES include it.
So, yeah. Â I’m pretty good with Adobe Illustrator. Â I mostly did these to put on spine labels for the cartridge cases on my shelves, though I could easily cook up new mini-marquees or really anything else.
