After something like over 2 weeks since the release of Firefox 3.6 I finally got around to upgrading. If it weren’t for a friend telling me I wouldn’t have known since Firefox never did notify me that an update was available. Anyway the big thing with this update is the introduction of Personas which are kind of like themes. Of course the first thing I did after the update was to search for some otaku-related ones on the Personas for Firefox site. There are a decent number available but most of them are not that great. I also wish people tagged their personas better so that I can actually search the database easier. Of the ones I stumbled upon I found a dozen decent ones to use.

Asuka Fox Girl – The creator doesn’t seem to know it but this ones actually a Wagaya no Oinari-sama persona. I’m a big fan of the series and Kuu-chan so I had to grab this. I like its simplicity and how Kuu-chan is tucked in the corner which keeps her visible since I usually keep only 2 toolbars visible.

Cardcaptor Sakura – I like moonknives‘ artwork so I had to get this. Too bad most of Sakura’s face isn’t visible when I try to use this.

Katawa Shoujo – SD Girls – Out of the other Katawa Shoujo personas I saw this one is my favorite for the SD-look and the simple repeating background.

Kitsune Marisa Purple – I wish there were more Touhou themes that weren’t Flandre. I like her and all but I need more variety. This Marisa one though looks pretty nice and works well with my setup.

K-On Guitar – This should look familiar since I use this same image as one of my blog headers. I wish I could have found a good Yui one though.

Kosmos Flowers – The artwork for this is nice too and the gradient to white keeps the text readable and the theme clean.

Nodoka Miyazaki – As my namesake I’m obligated to have this one. I wish the background was a little more complicated though like include some Pactio Cards or something magical.

Nodoka of -Saki- – The image of Nodoka herself is nice but I especially like the the mahjong tile background.

Saki- Tsuruga – As much as I like the members of Kiyosumi, Tsuruga was my favorite school from Saki. I blame Momoko’s moe stealth mode.

Shinigami no ballad – Momo – Momo is such a cute Grim Reaper. Interestingly enough I also watched the dorama version and liked that as well. I’ll get around to drawing her, Enma Ai (Jigoku Shoujo) and Fumika (Shigofumi) together in a picture sometime.

Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoshitsu – This was the only Haruhi persona that stood out to me since it features Yuki prominently and the background is nice to look at.

Vocaloid -Miku Hatsune – Finally the persona I’m currently using. I like the illustration which works well since I can still see all of Miku’s face on my setup and the background is cute without being gawdy.

I’ll probably be on the look out for more themes. Right now I’m disappointed in the lack of 07th Expansion and iDOLM@STER themes. I’ll definitely make my own theme when I’m not so busy with exams like I am right now. If anyone knows some good personas to use I’d be delighted if you shared them.

While Aorii was readying the hotpot to eat last night I went outside to get something. Seeing the sparkling snow I had an idea. I went to my room and got the Cirno plushie I got the other afternoon and started putting her in the snow and taking some pictures. The way the flash reflects off the ice crystals while keeping most of the photo dark looks so nice.
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Today one of the supposedly most severe snowstorms in the state’s recent memory started. Something like 20 inches is expected to fall which considering the average for the region is quite high so a rare thing happened. UVA is kind of famous amongst us students as being very stingy in regards to holidays. We never have any days off except for the basic ones that it can’t get away with like Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday and Thanksgiving. Unexpectedly the university canceled classes today which has only happened very rarely in the past few decades.
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Honya’s been on a translation tear lately, but when she mentioned that her next project was going to be Kuribayashi Minami’s tune Muv-Luv (because no one else has translated it yet, apparently), I begged her to let me do it instead. “Muv-Luv” is one of my favorite songs, and Muv-Luv Unlimited/Alternative  would be on my short list of visnovels to play except that it’ll never be translated. Ah, well. Here’s hoping you enjoy my latest humble translation effort!
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Following up on more Nanoha Movie goodness I also translated its ending theme song. Basically if we assume the song is from Nanoha’s perspective this time since it’s sung by her seiyuu then it’s about how Nanoha can’t communicate her feelings to Fate properly through words and instead uses a bouquet of flowers in place of her feelings. The song is pretty simple but I like the meaning of the lyrics plus I’ve been listening to more Tamura Yukari on the way to class lately so that might help. The single also has the ending theme for the Nanoha PSP game Battle of Aces so I’ll get to that eventually (translating the lyrics and buying the game I mean). Until then enjoy:
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Exactly two years ago I posted “my ideal family” if it were to consist of anime, manga and game characters. Basically the idea came to me when I stumbled on an amazing thread randomly in which people would post a list of characters to form a family. Think of Kyouran Kazoku Nikki and that’s pretty much the basic premise. I found the idea so amusing that I started seriously thinking about it and after some major contemplation I posted my list a few days later. Suddenly two years have passed and I’ve finally gotten around to updating my family roster. I’ve been planning to redo it for a while since I have an even bigger “gene pool” from which to select family members from. The list is divided into the family I grew up with and the family I raise as an adult. Continue on for some strange shenanigans.
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Yesterday I came back to school and waiting for me at the house was a package containing a copy of Dengeki G’s Festival! DELUXE Vol.5, the Key special issue, and my Cospa Hirasawa Yui shirt. Since I can only talk so much about a t-shirt I’ll focus on the magazine only. The reason I decided to get it other than the obvious fact that I’m a Key maniac was the pack-ins. In hindsight I think I felt a little shafted having missed a similar promotion last time so I didn’t want to miss it this time. Aside from the magazine the box set also comes with a Kud Dakimakura Cover, Key Playing Cards and a Kanbe Kotori Key chain. I’ll definitely use the key chain and cards but I honestly don’t know what to do with the dakimakura cover so I’ll probably just keep it in the plastic and store it somewhere.
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For some reason I spent yesterday in 07th Expansion Mode and ended up watching the first two episodes of Ookami Kakushi. From the very start I couldn’t help but get my tablet ready to take down notes as per usual for mystery-solving purposes and before I knew I had enough to make a post. In my theory-induced mood I also finally got around to watching the second half of the Umineko anime. If you haven’t watched/read Higurashi no Naku Koro ni/Kai/Rei, Umineko/Chiru or Ookami Kakushi be prepared for tons of spoilers.
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Just as promised Microsoft Japan finally released it’s otaku theme packs for Windows on its Bing Campaign Site. The five mascots come in two flavors each, one normal and the other special, which can be downloaded here and here respectively. They come in .themepack files for Windows 7 and .zip containing the same images and audio for manual installation in previous versions of Windows. For the person who wants all ten of them like me it takes up a lite 36.7MB. As of writing this it seems that Microsoft is still fixing up the download pages but hopefully everyone will be able to get them soon like I did.

Currently I’m using the special version of Nanae since she sounds like a clumsy Amami Haruka (iDOLM@STER). I love you Microsoft JP.