I finally figured out what to do with my Lillian Academy cell phone charms that RightStuf gave me with my Maria-sama ga Miteru pre-orders. (My phone doesn't have a charm hole.) Behold! Marimite USB flash drive charms.

Marimite DVDs, Lillian Academy cell phone charms, and my Reki-type lighter.

Yeah, they do look fruity as all Hell.

Also pictured for no reason is my Austrian Imco lighter, which is sure to be the envy of all true Haibane Renmei fans, even if they don't smoke. Unfortunately, contrary to true Haibane fashion, I was not able to acquire it secondhand.

This is the cover of the last R1 Full Moon wo Sagashite DVD released.

I just wanted to point out it has now been more than a year since the last Full Moon wo Sagashite DVD was released. MORE THAN A YEAR.

You know who didn't have a year?

THAT'S RIGHT.

Testing the new CCFL.

It's a miracle. I managed to swap out the CCFL on my IBM Thinkpad T42p notebook computer. I am finally back to full UXGA glory. It was actually relatively easy to install the replacement CCFL. The only scary part was snipping off part of the leads before soldering; I was afraid I had cut them too short. (I don't think you're supposed to trim the leads before installation, but mine were definitely too long.) Taking out the old CCFL was a different matter. Because of the way the original was secured with tape, I completely destroyed the old light while removing it from the screen in November. I fell into despair after that, to tell you the truth. As you can see, it took me weeks to muster enough nerve to install the new one.

My R50 next to my reborn T42p

If your laptop screen dies, I recommend just buying a whole replacement from eBay for $60 if you're not reasonably comfortable with soldering and handling extremely fragile objects. I also definitely introduced some dust particles between the sandwich of layers comprising the LCD monitor while replacing the bulb. I presume I was not diligent enough in ensuring clean conditions. Alas.

28:13:15< Evirus> The art in Marvel Mangaverse isn't that great until the 2006 series.
28:13:16< Divine> I couldn't read something called "Marvel Mangaverse" on principle
28:13:17< Tir_McDohl> Marvel Moeverse

There's a mystery at ani-nouto.

I vote Todai. [Update: It wasn't Todai. That was a completely wild guess on my part; I'm not actually sure how to go about finding places. On the other hand, anime teaches us that if you're looking for people: students will be on the school rooftop, students who secretly want to sleep with you will be in abandoned classrooms or deserted club rooms, and anyone else will be at the river.]

Asuka May/June 2009 calendar.

Someone get me this calendar. You have until Friday.

IBM Thinkpad T42p fan.

So, to recap, my IBM Thinkpad T42p with the sweet ass (and extinct) UXGA monitor died once in 2006 when the fan stopped working. That one was covered by the warranty and IBM fixed it right away even though I was out of the country at the time. Then the CCFL stopped working (again while traveling) in 2008, but that was my fault for trusting it to checked baggage, I'm pretty sure. Well, the fan burned out again a few weeks ago. (Note to self: Do not run Chinese-built Thinkpad 24-hours per day, seven days per week.)

IBM Thinkpad T42p fan.

Well, thanks to the magic of eBay, I was able to find a replacement fan easily enough. Swapping them out was a lot easier than replacing the CCFL, let me tell you. Typing on a different keyboard in the interim? A nightmare.

The screen went out again, this time thanks to my shoddy workmanship earlier. Disassembly was easier than before, but re-soldering the CCFL and properly insulating the ends was a bit more difficult as was re-assembly. My eyes are definitely not as sharp—nor my hands as steady—as they once were.

I don't know why a vampire would need a helmet and goggles.

In Bakemonogatari episode 13, Mayoi refers to enigmatic silent character Shinobu as the girl with goggles on her helmet. That got me thinking that it's generally accepted anime characters will have some defining quirk that prevents them from looking like every other anime character. E.g, Haruhi's hair band keeps her from looking like some random K-On! retard. How often does this occur in real life? Is there an article of clothing or piece of haberdashery that defines me? I suppose if I had to pick something, it would have to be either my houndstooth flannel shirt or my combat boots. I do have a rugby shirt exactly like the ones worn by that guy in Rizelmine, but I never wear it. [Update: Turns out I also have a rugby shirt exactly like the one in Summer Wars.]