Syk3

My fondest memories of Desbreko/Jon were in the AIM chats. I still have most of the chat logs from back in the day (2003-2007), and reading them reminds me of what a kind and knowledgeable guy he was. The group chats with him are a time that I will never forget, and were the highlight of my young teenage years. My thoughts and condolences go out to his family. Thank you, Mrs. Goudy, for raising a young man who touched so many people, and for coming on the forum to speak. Thanks Mike and Laura for letting us all know. And especially you, Jon - thank you for your life. I hope you've found the ultimate master sword.

My god would I have gotten more sleep and studied more. haha I would have probably been a well-adjusted teenager with normal IRL friends and developed those interpersonal skills in high school earlier. How boring. :p I may also have never become as entrenched in Japanese culture, never developing the drive to learn the language and spend 2 and half amazing years living abroad, making lifelong friends in Japan and online. And my online spelling and grammar would have been atrocious. Yeah, life sure would have been different...

Yeah you know, all about how it's tough growing up in the rural hood with 1st-world middle/high school problems.

You took my idea! haha Except mine is not an Apple Watch, it's an Android Wear watch (still waiting for someone to ask me if it's an Apple Watch, apparently people with other smartwatches get asked that all the time >.<). Specifically this is a Motorola Moto 360 Sport that I got last week. The Moto 360 has been around since last year, but I've been waiting at least a year and a half for them to release an Android Wear watch with both continuous heart-rate monitoring and GPS. That way I have all the necessary hardware to just strap it on my wrist and go for a run while listening to pre-loaded music via my Bluetooth headset. I've started loading all sorts of helpful third party apps as well, including one to track my sleep via movements and heart rate. And I'm really excited to eventually use it for interval training on my runs to practice getting my heart rate up really high and then back down to lower resting heart rate, as well as for systematically tracking increasingly further runs to prepare for races. :D

This was a couple years ago, but I figure it's only appropriate to show the time when I trained with Goku in Japan. I was 26 in that picture, so let's compare to when I joined OB at age 13.

Exactly, that's my point. For most people, it is easier to focus on one's diet in order to lose weight. And for me it was the biggest factor in contributing to my weight loss. However, there are going to be people out there who have a history of enjoying or being disciplined in exercise and find it extremely difficult to limit what they are eating. I have plenty of friends who refuse to eat anything green or touch "healthy" food because they find it disgusting. The first step for people like them will not be to ask them to change their diet. It will be to encourage them to burn more calories through something like exercise that, while perhaps not the most fun in the world, is still more enjoyable than dieting. Once they can get into an exercise routine, it's easier to show how subtle changed in the food they eat will get give them more energy and help them to drop pounds on the scale. It's one thing to talk about how to ideally lose weight, and quite another to talk about how people are actually going to make those changes.

In terms of anime I've been watching shows pretty slowly lately, namely One Piece and One Punch Man. One Piece has the amazing capacity to hit you right in the feels time after time, and One Punch Man is an unconventional show that can leave you on the floor laughing with a single well-aimed punch. :p As for manga, I'm currently reading Bakuman and Rokudenashi ("Good-for-nothing") Blues. The former is a detailed manga about kids creating manga, which I brought back from Japan, and the latter was recommended by Tim Ferriss of 4-Hour fame. Since returning from Japan I have been unable to watch anime or read manga that wasn't in straight Japanese, and lately I've been attempting to go completely legal in my consumption of Japanese entertainment. So it does well in limiting what I can watch and read. haha

haha I'm on my second week doing Insanity with my wife. It can be pretty... well, insane, especially if you're not used to cardio. There's a lot of temptation to skip days or pause the DVD and not come back to it, especially when you see Shaun T. and the professional fitness athletes doing the exercises perfectly and you're thinking, "that's impossible, I can never do that." It's not impossible, but it's not easy either and you'll have to push yourself a lot. I have a coworker who has gone through it 3 times already and has gotten completely ripped each time. The potential benefits are there. My recommendation is to commit to "trying it" for 2 months, set aside time and place IN ADVANCE to do it each day, and maybe find a workout buddy to do it with you. It's pretty much the same thing I would recommend to anyone with fitness goals just starting out, or hell... to anyone with goals in general. I love working out, exercising, and getting healthy in general. For someone who wants to get in shape, some combination of diet and exercise are going to be necessary. I could go into what type of exercise, how many sets, how many reps, and all that nonsense but in the end you're going to find that everyone has strong opinions of exactly how it should be done, and the sad truth is that no amount of rhetoric is going to accomplish the change. The important thing when starting out is just to be doing something with either diet OR exercise (depending on what you're more or less comfortable with), and then doing something with the other once you're in the habit of the first. Only after that I'd suggest educating yourself as much as possible on ways of doing it better. :) I recommend reading or listening to the 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferriss. I used his slow-carb diet to lose 22.2 lbs of fat in under 2 months, and his exercise routine to put on muscle and become much stronger.

I first joined OB in 2001 right before in entered high school, and my most active years continued until after I entered college. That was an impressionable time for me, and OB was pretty much the place where I hung out. So it taught me about forming complex friendships and relationships first and foremost. Had it not been for OB I would have learned this stuff elsewhere, sure, but OB was my playground to experiment with all of that. And it was in this playground that I most likely gained an interest in psychology, the field that I work in today. OB also taught me about writing, reading, debating, graphic design, trolling, HTML, the Internet, and most of the other things discussed above.

Good lord... I think it ended with Nerdy Youths, and that pretty much sums us up. XD Could it have been something like the Horny Organization of Really Nerdy Youths? I've been feeling the need to connect anew with this part of my life... seriously, how many thousands of hours did we spend here posting, AIM chatting with other friends, and creating art? When I first started applying to jobs I actually used being a moderator here as leadership experience! I feel ashamed that the last time I logged in was in 2011 and couldn't even remember my password at first. At the very least I've been able to drop in and say hi to a few of you on Facebook, and do random odd jobs for Adam. ;) Anyway, consider it marked on the calendar! So down for a reunion. Group chats would probably throw me for a loop at this point, but posting on a forum (which I haven't done since I left here) is something I can and will do! I'm going to bug Shinmaru and OtakuSennen and others on Facebook. Attached some old school memories.

[quote name='KittyLynn' date='19 March 2010 - 10:08 PM' timestamp='1269050928' post='691895'] I used to be known as CL or Kitty around here almost 10 years ago. I thought of this forum today (with fondness, obviously) and decided I'd check it out and see where it is. Wow, it's different. I'm glad to see it still exists though. Anyone else here from back then? Let's hear from ya! I was so young when I was a regular part of this forum and I just want to say that you guys were seriously an awesome part of my life, and I enjoyed having the friends I did, when I did. I hope OB still has that community feel today. Keep up the good work James. This place basically raised me. [/quote] Wow, I just happened to stumble in here, but I wanted to say hi really quick. I don't know if you remember me, but I'm Greg. I remember we chatted a lot back in the day and me and some friends were trying to find you again for the longest time. I see a lot of old friends around here, good to see that the boards haven't changed that much after all. haha

Wow, are you kidding me? Have these KyoAni people made any statements about this crap they're putting out? I just wasted the last hour of my life catching up from 3-5, so I skipped to the end of 6 and 7, which only helped to increase my RAGE. Am I falling into their trap? This isn't funny, it's tragic. That first episode, hell the first season was sooo good. Why...? And even when it's done, and their little "joke" better be over at the 8th one, are they going to continue replaying the rest of the old episodes again just to piss us off even more? -_- How do they expect this to be marketed in the states, and who would buy it? lol

[quote name='Roxie Faye'][COLOR=#9933cc]The lovely Syk3 and I met up at Otakon, and I have *exactly* one picture with him (too bad we didn't take more). I also met his very nice girlfriend, whom I don't have a picture of. =( I'm also cosplaying Mello from Death Note in this picture... [URL]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/RoxieFaye/2009_0719Image0026.jpg[/URL] [/COLOR][/quote] My picture is better! I think we were actually ready for the camera this time. XD BTW, your Mello costume freaking rocked. I loved the scar. It's too bad I wasn't prepared enough to do my Light cosplay. >_<

Hey all. This is kind of last-minute, but is anyone still going to Otakon and checking this thread? We could try organizing some sort of meet-up if you want. I'd be willing to do it, the only problem is if I'm in charge and then suddenly get busy with panel staffing I might not be able to make it. Then again, I know nothing about staffing so maybe I could ditch them for a while.

I'm at Otakon right now, and I saw this panel in the booklet so I was definitely planning on going to it. I've heard both sides of the debate before, so it'll be interesting to see how each group will respond to the other. For example, there's an common argument among fansubbers that anime will continue to be created in Japan regardless of how it sells in America, but these days a lot of funding comes from American corporations to create great shows like Afro Samurai. I have a camera that takes videos, but I'm not sure I'll have room on top of all the pictures, not to mention I might have trouble uploading such a large file. ^_^;

[quote name='Solo Tremaine'][COLOR=#503f86]I've finally got my Smash Bros. Brawl online, so my friend code for that is thus:[/COLOR] [COLOR=#503f86]0173-2928-6044. I'll come up as SOLO.[/COLOR] [COLOR=#503f86]I also have an XBox Live account, but I don't remember what it is.[/COLOR][/quote] Hey, Solo, I'm going to add you but I wanted to ask - what are people's experiences playing others overseas on Nintendo WiFi? I have plenty of lag with Brawl just playing people in the states!

Well, I guess 3 and a half years late is better than never for getting a Nintendo DS. lol Mario Kart is my only game, but I'm loving it. Here's my friend code: 339450-669837 If you guys add me for this, my Wii console, or Brawl send me a PM! And I'll do the same.

I haven't had too much time to play yet since free time is scarce, but whenever I'm able to get online I'll be looking to play some matches. Brawl code: [SIZE=2]0516-7032-2655 While I'm here I do want to share a funny story with you guys that happened about the Wednesday before Brawl came out. So my friend went to Wal-Mart hoping to pick up a Wii, since Brawl was being released and she was a big fan of the series. For some reason the game had already been shipped to the store, and was just sitting out in a display. Can you guess what happens next? The store clerk lets my friend buy the game, even though the screen kept saying "cannot sell", and when the detector at the front beeped they just highlighted her receipt and let her go. XD I played the game on Thursday and finally bought it Sunday, silly Wal-Mart. [/SIZE]

So my friend calls me last night and says, "someone is importing a Japanese Wii and Japanese version of Brawl, and we're playing it tomorrow night." Holy. ****. They set it up in the campus Game Room, and I was just over there for the past 3 years doing some extreme.. watching. :p Naturally, word had gotten around fast so there were about 30 people crowded around the TV, and instead of trying to split multiplayer up fairly the guy whose Japanese Wii it is played the Subspace Emissary. I think they had tried multiplayer for a couple matches but when I got there they were on their last one. So they started up the Subspace Emissary, which is seriously a game that could stand alone on it's own as a modern side-scroller. What I enjoyed most about it was the sheer variety; you switched around to different groups of characters so you had the chance to play as a bunch (if not all), rather than just the one, and with each group there were new types of levels and bosses to play. The story's pretty impressive, too. After 2 hours and 30 minutes, the guy had gotten up to [spoiler]where Ganondorf is in his high-tech castle and Master Hand is choosing him for whatever evil plan is attempting to be fulfilled.[/spoiler]. He was 28% through the game. I cannot wait to play this game. XD!!

[quote name='Shinmaru'][URL="http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/index.html"][B]It's official. Smash Bros. Brawl is delayed. Again.[/B][/URL] Figures this happens right after I pre-order it. :([/quote] NOOOOO!!!!! WTF, DAMN IT ALL!!!!!11 This has to be some sort of sick, twisted joke. I just recently paid off the pre-order I made back in July, and I was sooooo ready for it to come out next month. ~_~ Now I have to wait until Spring classes are just starting to give their first exams. lol :p

[quote name='Shy'][SIZE=1]I'm very fortunate that I live in a part of the world that people want to visit on a regular basis. Thanks to this (and my own travels) I have managed to meet a number of OB-ers over the years: Juuthena, Babygirl, Solo Tremaine, Nerdsy, Raiha and a couple of others. Each experience was a lot of fun, and I've always been careful enough to make sure that I didn't have a bad experience.[/SIZE][/quote] Oh thanks, Shy, you don't bother mentioning [I]me[/I]! :p Of course, this was quite a while ago. I think we met in June of 2003 when I was on vacation in California with my family, and Shy's job at Disney Land at the time made things quite convenient. lol So we hung out, snuck into rides, took random pictures, and just had a good time. I believe the only other people I've met from OB were Mei, Sere Tuscumbia[U],[/U] and Luminaire. I saw Mei and Sere in November 2003 (yeah, I was busy that year) when my family and I went out to visit some family friends in Oklahoma. We met at an art museum, which turned out to be kinda boring actually, but we had fun for the most part. Luminaire went to the anime convention Otakon in August 2005, so I met up with her there. Baltimore is fairly close to where I live, plus I was staying with a friend who lives even closer, so it was nice actually meeting someone in the proximity. haha I've had ambitious plans in the past to meet up with all sorts of people on the boards, but seeing as I've become a lot less active in the past few years, that's kind of fell through. On the rare occasion that I go on trips, however, I do tend to look up OB friends in the area. lol

[quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Arial]I'm not really sure what you mean by "depth", so....[/FONT][/quote] By depth I'm basically referring to quality vs. quantity. Obviously the more time spent on creating a large roster is going to distract from efforts to work on characters more specifically. Of course, I'm sure that they have a large enough production team to focus on both, but either way less characters = more move variety within characters, larger differences between characters, etc. (I think). So my question is: do you think Nintendo is trying to include as many characters as possible, and could this be a bad thing? Don't get me wrong, the idea of a large range of characters is very intriguing, but I'm trying to step back and play devil's advocate for a second. lol As for which characters they'd use, I'm not too wild about throwing in all sorts of third-party ones. A few is fine (Solid Snake ftw), but I would prefer they stick to Nintendo characters for the most part, which is.. you know, sort of what the game is all about. Oh yeah, and just released today: MOTION SENSORY CONTROLS, BABY. Okay, so it's just a smash attack by flicking the controller, but it makes me happy. ^_^ And they even thought to save button configurations to Wii remotes!!! (yes, you have thought of everything, Sakurai)

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think they've confirmed Sheik at this point as being a form for Zelda in Brawl. Do you guys think it's likely that they'll keep her in for this game, or is it possible that a greater number of characters are intended to make up for "individual multiples"? They're my main characters for Melee, so I'd be highly disappointed if they decided not to keep them. lol And while we're on the subject, does anyone think that individual character depth is going to be sacrificed in favor of numerous additional characters? From what I've seen so far, I'd say probably not, but.. seeing as Sakurai hasn't really denied the return of any characters, perhaps the new ones will simply be added on to the current roster.