Paper-Free House Among Other Things

-My dad has decided to stop buying the newspaper (maybe he’ll get Sunday’s). Although I really enjoy reading the daily newspaper, it does create its problems. I have a tendency to stockpile it in my room and it clutters everything up even more than it already is. Then, there is the fact that everyone is too lazy to actually throw them out (recycle? in our area? Suuure.). There is a place where we put them that is nearly overflowing. Honestly, I should take the initiative and throw them out...maybe I will. But in the meantime, we will save at least $3.00 a week if we stopped buying just the daily paper ($4.50 if we didn’t buy Sunday as well). Twelve dollars a month could afford an extra day of going out to eat. In the end, it’s not really a big deal. The paper we read, the Chicago Sun-Times, has a great online version that doesn’t require you to register so you can read articles (unlike the uppity Chicago Tribune or New York Times). And I can read comics online at sites such as Comics.com and Ucomics.com. Let’s say goodbye to tons of newsprint and say hello to another hour online!

-As I approach nearly six months of doing this blog, I think this excerpt from an AIM conversation with Paul says it all:

Me: I didn’t think I’d enjoy blogging as much as I do
Paul: Heh, no one does

-What’s a good way to kind of alleviate boredom? Make a mix CD, that’s what! I decided to make another version of my Best of GITS SAC CD, given that the second OST has come out. I narrowed the songs down to 16. Here’s the track list:

1. Rise (OST 2)
2. Where Does The Ocean Go? (OST 1)
3. I Can’t Be Cool (OST 2)
4. Stamina Rose (OST 1)
5. Some Other Time (OST 1)
6. Cyberbird (OST 2)
7. Beauty Is Within Us (OST 1)
8. 3tops (OST 2)
9. Inner Universe (OST 1)
10. Living Inside The Shell (OST 2)
11. Surf (OST 1)
12. I Do (OST 2)
13. Velveteen (OST 1)
14. Psychodelic Soul (OST 2)
15. Spotter (Be Human)
16. Monochrome (OST 1)

Comments?

-One of the sites whose forums I enjoyed frequenting has returned. Project Zen is a community that’s part forum, part gallery. The gallery features high-quality scans from anime, manga, video games, and artist collections. The forum itself is full of anime fans (and graphic artists), although they aren’t obnoxious like some smaller anime communities can be. I highly recommend you check this site out. I’ll be adding it to my links now that it’s back.

-So far, we’ve been handling our yearly battle with summer heat. We don’t have central air conditioning (only a room air conditioner in our living room) and haven’t for over 10 years. Our house is brick and as my mom calls it “a hotbox.” It holds in heat very well. That’s a good thing during the winter (my room is always warm during that time) but not so good during the summer. The only room that is naturally cool is the basement.

We use a variety of tactics to keep the house cool enough to deal with. We keep our bedroom doors open to let the some of the coolness from the living room go into the back of the house. We also keep the windows closed unless it’s actually not hot outside. This keeps the hot air from entering the house and making things hotter. In preparation for the summer heat, we also brought up our arsenal of box fans. There is one in each bedroom, one in the living room and one near the entrance of the living room (to circulate the cool air from there into the back of the house). There are more that are available for use, but they are pretty dirty. Before using mine full-time, I cleaned it (with help from my mom). Now, I’ll be cool and have less ammunition to make me sneeze.

-Well, Paul will be back in the Chicago area to go to school near June 21st. He has the daunting task of trying to find an apartment in just two weeks. Daunting tasks seem to be his specialty, so I’m confident he’ll find something.

-Just as Paul gets ready to come back to the Chicago area, Cliff will be leaving at the end of the month. I’ll have to try and visit again before he leaves.

-Those poor One Piece fans...their show has been picked up by 4Kids Entertainment, the company responsible for bringing over (and hacking up) Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Shaman King among others. They will be showing One Piece on their Fox Box lineup beginning this fall. I enjoy reading the manga in Shonen Jump USA but I have never seen a single episode of the anime. There is a glimmer of hope, though. Funimation will be releasing uncut versions of Yu-Gi-Oh and Shaman King. If these 4Kids shows can get the uncut treatment, why not One Piece, a show that is more violent than either of them?