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Jan. 13th, 2020 07:11 amIt's been 9 years since the original "Madoka Magica" anime came out (2011), and now they're making a spinoff, "Magia Record". It takes place in the same universe as the original. It's too soon to tell where it is chronologically, or if it's in the same timeline as the end of the original series, or how the original characters are going to play into the new show. The whole franchise is a vast universe, fertile ground for many tangents and side stories. Either way, I'm stoked.
Every now and then I look at new cars and I end up kind of disappointed at what's available. It's getting difficult to find another car like Ai or Nozomi: A blend of small, lightweight, punchy, efficient, practical. Sure it would be nice to have a much newer car to have as a daily so I can really dig into fixing up Ai, while not overloading Nozomi, since the first rule of project cars is to make sure the daily driver is solid and not a project car itself. If I do get another car at some point, I'll probably end up getting a Civic Si. Or an ILX. Maybe. Eh. I don't know. There's a car show coming up in Baltimore next month; I'll take a closer look at all of them then. (Also it takes place in the BCC, where Otakon used to be. Nostalgic!)
That said, my car insurance has a tool where I can plug in a theoretical car and see how my rates would be theoretically affected. If I buy a brand-new 2020 ILX, a $30k car which is clearly in "sensible" territory and doesn't pretend to be anything else, I'd have to pay only another $220 more per 6 months for full coverage. If I replace a car, the rates will either go up only a little, or even go down. Which makes sense when considering that a 2020 model will be much safer than a 1995 or 2005, and insurance companies know dented steel is always going to cost way less than broken bones.
Why the ILX instead of the Civic that it's based on? The 2.4L naturally-aspirated engine in the ILX ultimately produces the same amount of power as the Civic Si's turbo-charged 1.5L. While I'm more comfortable with the idea of a car that was designed with a turbo as opposed to an aftermarket added on, and if anyone would pull that off it would be Honda, I'm not THAT comfortable yet. Also, the ILX engine is from the K-series of Honda engines, and similar to what's in Nozomi, so I have that familiarity.
The table for the train layout is up! It feels pretty solid so far. I designed the legs to accomodate threaded casters, so I can move it around and re-level it if needed. Most of the weight is already in the frame and surface, because after that, any extra mass is going to be from plastic and styrofoam. I have something of an idea on the general track plan. As for how to do the scenery or its overall theme, I haven't thought that far ahead.
Ghosts of anime conventions past: Anime Mid Atlantic. Initially started in 2001 in the Richmond area, it never really went large. The last one of those I went to was in 2007, because in 2008 they moved further away than I could be bothered with. For its entire span, it was run by its founder. Then the last few ones in 2017 and 2018 didn't make much money, then he started having medical issues, so he decided to put the whole thing on hold. That usually means it's the end; cons usually don't come back after skipping years. It's also a prime example of the weakness of that style of management. Any other con would have simply handed the reins to someone else to keep it going while the founder was going through treatment and recovery. Unless the con's situation was getting that bad that medical reasons seemed like a good time to bow out.
Nanahira is making her first appearance in the US at an anime convention in Idaho, of all places. I was seriously looking at the logistics of either flying there or making a road trip, and haven't really stopped. If she were going to be at a con on the east coast, then I'd almost definitely go. This is like the time when Anime North had KOTOKO as a guest in 2006, but with 2000 more miles in each direction. I'll see how the girls feel about this before considering the road trip option. Anyway, somehow I'm pretty sure that of the songs Nanahira will perform, she probably won't perform this one:
Every now and then I look at new cars and I end up kind of disappointed at what's available. It's getting difficult to find another car like Ai or Nozomi: A blend of small, lightweight, punchy, efficient, practical. Sure it would be nice to have a much newer car to have as a daily so I can really dig into fixing up Ai, while not overloading Nozomi, since the first rule of project cars is to make sure the daily driver is solid and not a project car itself. If I do get another car at some point, I'll probably end up getting a Civic Si. Or an ILX. Maybe. Eh. I don't know. There's a car show coming up in Baltimore next month; I'll take a closer look at all of them then. (Also it takes place in the BCC, where Otakon used to be. Nostalgic!)
That said, my car insurance has a tool where I can plug in a theoretical car and see how my rates would be theoretically affected. If I buy a brand-new 2020 ILX, a $30k car which is clearly in "sensible" territory and doesn't pretend to be anything else, I'd have to pay only another $220 more per 6 months for full coverage. If I replace a car, the rates will either go up only a little, or even go down. Which makes sense when considering that a 2020 model will be much safer than a 1995 or 2005, and insurance companies know dented steel is always going to cost way less than broken bones.
Why the ILX instead of the Civic that it's based on? The 2.4L naturally-aspirated engine in the ILX ultimately produces the same amount of power as the Civic Si's turbo-charged 1.5L. While I'm more comfortable with the idea of a car that was designed with a turbo as opposed to an aftermarket added on, and if anyone would pull that off it would be Honda, I'm not THAT comfortable yet. Also, the ILX engine is from the K-series of Honda engines, and similar to what's in Nozomi, so I have that familiarity.
The table for the train layout is up! It feels pretty solid so far. I designed the legs to accomodate threaded casters, so I can move it around and re-level it if needed. Most of the weight is already in the frame and surface, because after that, any extra mass is going to be from plastic and styrofoam. I have something of an idea on the general track plan. As for how to do the scenery or its overall theme, I haven't thought that far ahead.
Ghosts of anime conventions past: Anime Mid Atlantic. Initially started in 2001 in the Richmond area, it never really went large. The last one of those I went to was in 2007, because in 2008 they moved further away than I could be bothered with. For its entire span, it was run by its founder. Then the last few ones in 2017 and 2018 didn't make much money, then he started having medical issues, so he decided to put the whole thing on hold. That usually means it's the end; cons usually don't come back after skipping years. It's also a prime example of the weakness of that style of management. Any other con would have simply handed the reins to someone else to keep it going while the founder was going through treatment and recovery. Unless the con's situation was getting that bad that medical reasons seemed like a good time to bow out.
Nanahira is making her first appearance in the US at an anime convention in Idaho, of all places. I was seriously looking at the logistics of either flying there or making a road trip, and haven't really stopped. If she were going to be at a con on the east coast, then I'd almost definitely go. This is like the time when Anime North had KOTOKO as a guest in 2006, but with 2000 more miles in each direction. I'll see how the girls feel about this before considering the road trip option. Anyway, somehow I'm pretty sure that of the songs Nanahira will perform, she probably won't perform this one:
