Friday, January 31, 2014

10 Second Anime - Kill la Kill - Episode 16

Kill la Kill - Episode 16


All the backstory about life fibers is finally revealed, and Ryuko's and Senketsu's roles in the ultimate confrontation with Ragyo Kiryuin. But what if Ryuko refuses that role, and Satsuki too?


So much exposition, from the Kiryuin side and the Nudist Beach side. Here's what we now know: the life fibers are alien parasites who feed off the nervous system of animals. They chose humans to be their best hosts for their developed cerebra, and subtly improved their evolution so that one day, the life fibers could feed off them in a grand harvest. It was Ragyo Kiryuin who somehow came into possession of the big ball of life fiber, and hatched her plan to make Revocs clothing (a backwards writing of Cover, which is what the life fibers want to do) ubiquitous, and awaken the life fibers sewn into each one when humanity was ready. Dr. Matoi, Ryuko's father, found out about the extraterrestrial nature of the life fibers while researching them for Revocs, and formed Nudist Beach to oppose this harvest. He created an artificial life fiber suit to be worn by his daughter, who was extremely tolerant of the draining effect that life fibers have on their hosts. But before he could present the suit to Ryuko or Nudist Beach, he was attacked by Harime the Tailor, which brings us to the beginning of the show.

A Mako Moment captures the viewers' shock at all this news:

Finds from the Grind - Low Clouds in the Valley

 Low Clouds in the Valley



One thing I like about cooler weather is that the air acts as a natural analgesic. Bluntly, I don't feel as much pain exerting myself harder. Still, I have to be careful of the joints in such conditions, but the muscles are fine to hurt them a little bit more.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

10 Second Anime - Naruto Shippuuden - Episode 348

Naruto Shippuuden - Episode 348


Akatsuki Shippuuden concludes. The ninja world will know Pain.


We see Hanzo extend a welcome to Akatsuki, but only to lower their guard, and set up a betrayal and ambush with the Leaf Village's black ops squad, led by Danzo. Adding a wrinkle to the set of events, Akatsuki had an idealistic source within ANBU warning them that a group had crossed their border. Madara/Obito wants to make sure that Nagato feels the pain of loss and betrayal, so he actively stops the Akatsuki members rushing to Yahiko's and Nagato's meeting with Hanzo.

The ambush is well prepared. Holding Kanon as a hostage, Hanzo wants to force Nagato to kill the Akatsuki leader Yahiko. Yahiko forces the blade on himself, and Hanzo orders his squad and the Leaf ANBU under Danzo to finish the rest off. Nagato explodes in rage, rescuing Kanon first, and then summoning the Gedo Statue. Using the Rinnegan, he yanks the souls of his enemies right out of their bodies, and only Danzo and Hanzo escape. Controlling this power leaves Nagato spent and withered.

Back at the Hidden Rain base, after agreeing with Madara/Obito's plan to rid the world of pain, we see Nagato, Kanon, and Yahiko's body as they appeared later in the story. Nagato explains that since Yahiko has always been the leader, he will still be the face of Akatsuki. The ninja world will know him as Pain.

In these 3 episodes of Akatsuki Shippuuden, Jiraiya's question of how they ended up this way has been answered in detail. How the enmity with Hanzo began, their hatred of the Hidden Leaf because of Danzo's goal to sign no peace treaties with the other ninja nations, and even why Nagato took on the name Pain. That's nice and all, but it's still filler, and we'll have even more next week with chibi Kakashi. Kakashi was such a serious downer badass before the deaths of Obito and Rin, so it would be nice to see how he turned into the nonchalant badass we're first introduced to. Kakashi Shippuuden starts next week.

Finds from the Grind - Ramps Loop

Ramps Loop



Climbing 6 of the 8 ramps that lead out of the Rose Bowl. Strangest figure 8 I ever devised to match the locations of the ramps, all because I hate U-turns.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Omake Gif Anime - Seitokai Yakuindomo S2 - Episode 4 - How You Doin'?

Seitokai Yakuindomo S2 - Episode 4 - How You Doin?


"How are you doing? Wait. How YOU doin'?"

10 Second Anime - Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren - Episode 4

Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren - Episode 4


Shinka runs for Student Body President, but needs the Dark Flame Master's help in distracting Dekomori. But Dekomori finds out she is the real Mori Summer, and wants to elect her queen.


Even though the sophisticated young lady image didn't work out for Shinka, she hasn't stopped trying to reinvent herself. With student body elections coming up, she sees this as the perfect chance to gain a more important new image. Unfortunately, there's this little blonde twin-tailed girl running around attacking her, and she can't have that happen while she's campaigning. Shinka asks for Yuuta's help in keeping Dekomori away from her, but he's reluctant, since he doesn't really see why he should be the one to help her. Welp, there's always blackmail. Hey Yuuta, do you want other people to see all these things you wrote?

Finds from the Grind - Squirrel!

Squirrel!


I'm sure he just wanted to share his nuts with me...

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

10 Second Anime - Yowamushi Pedal - Episode 16

Yowamushi Pedal - Episode 16


Lots of finger pointing this week. Onoda is the wildcard perm-guy didn't totally factor in. And Onoda's otaku ways are rubbing off on Imaizumi?


Well, since this is probably the last episode really featuring the second-years, I won't feel too guilty about not learning their names. If Perm-guy and Quiet-guy is good enough for Naruko, it's good enough for me. As for the pointing fingers, we got 3 laps, 2 riders, and 1 normal guy is not enough to be number one, but a guy who spells his name with that character might be. That was a nice set of images. Perm-guy wanted to crush the Big Three 2.0's spirit in 3 laps, because he knew they couldn't pass other riders after dark. He seems to be as much a tactician as Kinjou, but even Kinjou has been surprised by Onoda's performance, so Perm-guy shouldn't feel too bad. He factored Imaizumi, Naruko, and even Onoda attacking him, and he counted on Onoda's short supply of stamina to keep him in check. Unfortunately, he didn't study what was going on during the last couple days of training camp, because Onoda has gotten stronger with those bad heavy wheels on his bike. Perm-guy got his spirit crushed instead of the younger guys. He didn't count on the otaku power of friendship, or something.

Also, Perm-guy did something at the top of that last crest that pisses me off, and was his downfall: he eased up, and wanted to rest on the downhill. Dumbass. One thing road racers practice is timing their rollover. They keep their effort up getting over the top of a hill until they get to the descent. I see this all the time with recreational riders, where all they need is two more big breaths, and they won't have to worry about losing contact with the big bunch. Well, it hurts a lot to do this, so it's not that surprising that people want to avoid that pain. But in a race, you get bigger pain being branded as the loser who got dropped. How's that feel, Perm-guy? Not too good, huh?

We've had a couple of serious episodes, where someone in their own club was playing the douchebag to let his friend win a spot on the team, so that means we need some levity in the otaku department.

Finds from the Grind - Easier Going Down

Easier Going Down



Climbing month begins today. With some cardio, still no power, and still no shame, I'll say one thing about today: Ouch.

Monday, January 27, 2014

10 Second Anime - Witch Craft Works - Episode 4

Witch Craft Works - Episode 4


Penguins and teddy bears. It seems the Takamiya siblings have much in common. Way too much in common. And the Big Bad of the season is revealed.


We've got some big reveals this week, not least of which (heh), is that Kasumi, Takimiya's little sister, is also a Crafting Witch. She's been the one assigned to protect Takimiya when he's not doing school stuff. Perhaps Takamiya is oblivious, or he can't see it, but there's a teddy bear running around the kitchen brushing its teeth in the morning. Guess whose familiar that belongs to. Kasumi is big into teddy bears. Or is that into Big Teddy Bears? Meanwhile, Takamiya has penguins on the brain. Specifically, sculpture through chiseling. There's just way too much personality in this show for each of the characters. Including Kasumi. We have the trope of the overprotective little sister, but we're given a reason for it. She also likes to tease her big brother.

Sunday, January 26, 2014

10 Second Anime - Saki - The Nationals - Episode 4

Saki - The Nationals - Episode 4


Even deep into heavy mahjong action, we have time for no-pan, ki presence, and puns on names.

With the first round of Kiyosumi's match, that means it's time for Yuuki to shine. Using the expository device of a different school using their research notes on the other schools, we're reminded of Yuuki's strength as the first dealer, but we're also shown how much she's matured as a player. She still relies on huge points during the first few hands, but now she throws in some surprise wins, has learned to break up hands when they can't get any points that round, and can get some more wins even when she's not in the dealer position.

Through Suzu, we also learn of the other girls' supposed powers. One gets better and better hands when she begins to hesitate on her discards. The shrine maiden plays strong defense while she sleeps through early hands, and then awakens. We haven't seen what her awakened power is yet.

Of course, this wouldn't be a Saki episode without some jokes and no-pan thrown in. One thing that threw me was the character written on Suzu's forehead. It's a name-only character, but two of its pronunciations, shin and nobu, involve concepts of "shame." That's a very specific cultural pun right there. The ki power-ups have only been hinted at, but we're starting to see them build up. Next episode is going to explode with some massive point totals!

Weekly Ride Report - 1/19/14 - 1/25/14

Date
Route
Course
Ride Time
Total Time
Distance
Avg Speed
Altitude
Max Altitude
Max Speed
Odometer
01/20/14
Rose Bowl Laps
Flat
00:57:42
01:00:03
16.4
17.1
579
930
27.8
30945
01/21/14
Rose Bowl Laps
Flat
00:57:46
01:02:12
16.5
17.1
498
945
31.1
30962
01/22/14
Rose Bowl Laps
Flat
00:56:48
00:59:27
16.4
17.3
600
935
30.6
30978
01/23/14
Rose Bowl Laps
Flat
00:57:28
01:00:28
16.4
17.1
529
939
29.2
30995
01/24/14
Rose Bowl Laps
Flat
00:57:38
01:00:52
16.7
17.4
607
916
28.3
31011
01/25/14
Huntington Loop - CCW
Rolling
00:56:46
00:59:32
15.2
16.1
941
910
28.7
31027
 
 
Total Time
05:44:08
Total Distance
97.6
Total Climb
3754
 
 
 

Three weeks of cardio is done, and I get an extra day of rest after this block. I feel the fatigue in my legs too, so that's a good sign. You get big and strong during the recovery from effort, not during the effort. Looking at the first week results compared to this week's, I've chopped off about 45 minutes from my pace over a 100 mile distance. When I get into base fitness, I'm going to chop off another half hour from that, so I still have some work to do. Climbing and muscle soreness comes next, and then I'll start dropping about 5 pounds of water weight too.

Here's a bonus Find from the Grind video showing my rolling loop around the Huntington Library neighborhood:



Apparently, the social media rep for the Huntington even works on Sunday mornings. What a nice surprise!


Saturday, January 25, 2014

10 Second Anime - Silver Spoon S2 - Episode 3

Silver Spoon S2 - Episode 3


Fuji Sensei approves of Vice Prez. Maron the horse won't let Hachiken jump. Aki shows Hachiken how to trust a horse. Hachiken jumps high!


With the approval of Fuji Sensei, Vice Prez has been accepted as one of the cast. Good job, Vice Prez! The equestrian club is learning how to jump this week, and Hachiken's failure to launch reveals a bit more about his personality, and some of the circumstances about his mental breakdown in junior high. In horse jumping, most of the work is done by the horse, naturally, and it is up to the rider to react and adjust to the horse's rhythms and actions. Maron, the most experienced and irascible horse in the stable, has been Hachiken's partner since he joined the club, and he refuses to jump for him. They even try other riders to show that it's not Maron that has the problem, but Hachiken. The faculty advisor and club senior know that Maron is protecting the rider.

Hachiken double checks that animals are actually listening to him by running through Vice Prez's commands in front of Maron. Maron blows a raspberry at this nonsense. Hachiken starts to feel that same pressure he had in junior high when he just wasn't getting a subject, and vows to work harder. Aki gets mad at him, telling him he'll hurt the horses that way, and that it's not about practicing more. She can't really explain it in words, so she wants to show him by inviting him to a competition back home.

Mr. Mikage meets them and doesn't seem to be all that mad to see the former part-time worker. He's still protective of his daughter though. In the competition, we see that the best jumper is this little pony that even new riders can handle. They let Aki have a try at the course with a horse she's never ridden before, and while she makes good time, she knocks down a bar for a penalty. She blames herself for not reacting to the horse's way of jumping, and thanks the horse for adjusting to her so quickly. Hachiken then realizes something... Aki lets out her Hokkaido accent when she's being bluntly honest. Hah, embarrassing! The dad knows they're getting pretty chummy by the way he grills Hachiken, and there seems to be a tacit acceptance of how Aki's feelings are developing for the part-timer.

Back at school, Hachiken has a better idea of why Maron wouldn't jump for him. Since he's been riding him all this time, Maron knows Hachiken has been forcing the rhythm of the ride, instead of reacting and adjusting. When they try jumping next, Hachiken asks for Maron's help. Maron then shows him how he jumps for someone he trusts. High. Very high. Too high! Needless to say, Hachiken is very happy about this. Maron, who doesn't like to show affection that much, is not.

Finds from the Grind - Mackerel Sky

Mackerel Sky



Mackerel sky, mackerel sky,
Not long wet, not long dry.

Friday, January 24, 2014

10 Second Anime - Kill la Kill - Episode 15

Kill la Kill - Episode 15


Nudist Beach rolls out. The Elite Four unveil their new uniforms. Cleavage vs. Underboob: Round Two.


Satsuki takes a little time to defeat the Osaka boss, arguing that fear rules people's hearts much better than money. Sanageyama delivers the finishing blow on the Osaka Crab mecha with the Thousand Years of Pain strike. Someone can't be a blushing bride anymore... With impeccable timing, Ryuko crashes the scene, ready to take Senketsu's glove back from Satsuki.

Prior to this, Aikuro had entered the Nudist Beach's lair, and mobilizes them to attack Kiryuin's strike force, and to provide covering fire for Ryuko to battle Satsuki. Ryuko has her hands full just keeping her defense up against a fully transformed Junketsu. When things look grim, Nudist Beach attacks, providing Ryuko a chance to regroup.

Unfortunately, the rest of Satsuki's raiding forces have converged on Osaka after cleaning up Kyoto and Kobe. They also arrive with their new and improved battle suits.

Omake Gif Anime - Sakura Trick - Episode 3 - I Heart You

Sakura Trick - Episode 3 - I Heart You


Look! Look, what I've got!


We see what, uh, you've got, Haruka...

Finds from the Grind - Look @ the...

Look @ the...


Thursday, January 23, 2014

Omake Gif Anime - Mikakunin de Shinkoukei - Episode 3 - Yay Sunset!

Mikakunin de Shinkoukei - Episode 3 - Yay Sunset!


Mashiro-tan celebrates another glorious day!

10 Second Anime - Naruto Shippuuden - Episode 346 - 347

Naruto Shippuuden - Episode 346 - 347


Yay, filler! I mean, anime-only in-depth retelling of previous events. Obito takes on the mantle of Madara. The Dawn of Akatsuki. Danzo inadvertently creates the opening Madara needs to influence Nagato.


With the death of Rin, Obito falls into despair and buys into Madara's plan to plunge the world into a mass illusion. In short order, all the mysteries surrounding the Masked Madara are solved. The black Zetsu is Madara's Will, much like Orochimaru's consciousness is saved in a bit of chakra in his famous curse marks. Madara's Will also turns the wood spikes that Obito can grow out of his new body into black metal rods. Madara reveals to Obito that the Rinnegan awakened in him many years after he had implanted Hashirama's senjuu cells to keep from dying. With those eyes, he was able to summon the Gedo Statue, which was the left over husk of the 10-tailed beast the Sage of the Six Paths had separated into the tailed-beasts we now know. Later, he implanted his awakened Rinnegan eyes into Nagato, of the Uzumaki clan, and a direct descendant of Hashirama. Obito will need his power to summon the Gedo Statue to complete the World Illusion Madara wants to create. And with that last piece of information, Madara detaches himself from the Gedo Flower keeping him alive, and dies.

With all the pieces in place, the only thing left to tell is how the former students of Jiraiya took their originally idealistic group of the Akatsuki (Dawn), and fell under the sway of Madara nee Obito. Here's where the filler begins. Most of this story was told to Naruto by Nagato when Naruto convinced him to betray Madara/Obito. It showed a confrontation with the strongest warlord Hanzo from the village of the Hidden Rain, which Nagato, calling himself Pain won. In this new telling, it is through Danzo's interference to pit Hanzo against Akatsuki that this confrontation took place. I guess we're in the middle of Obito Shippuuden.

Finds from the Grind - Light

Light


Seek the light.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

10 Second Anime - Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren - Episode 3

Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren - Episode 3


The girl from the Dark Flame Master's past makes her entrance! Does an old flame become a rival? And Mahou Shoujou Yuuta? He better keep that Dark Flame Dragon sealed up...


Revealed: Satone Shichimiya, the new girl living upstairs, is the former 8th-grader syndrome partner of Yuuta. In fact, she was the source of his own syndrome, and they had many adventures together. But then he moved away.

Rikka spies her first, which brings on a renewed spark of chuunibyou symptoms, and she tries to get Yuuta to play along with her new mission: to unleash the Dark Flame Dragon, the ultimate source of the Dark Flame Master's powers. In reality, seeing this other girl makes her want to spend more time with Yuuta, and this is how it manifests. They make a bet first though: if Rikka gets a higher score on their next test, he'll wear this marked up T-shirt; if Yuuta wins, the Dark Flame Dragon stays sealed forever. Well, Rikka beat him, and she upped the stakes: using a magical girl outfit to unseal the Dragon power during the transformation scene. Rikka used her keen wicked eye to take Yuuta's measurements:

Finds from the Grind - Sierra Nevada Pale Ale vs Arrogant Bastard Ale

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale vs Arrogant Bastard Ale


Epic Battle of Beer Bike Jerseys! See who wins!

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

10 Second Anime - Yowamushi Pedal - Episode 15

Yowamushi Pedal - Episode 15


Onoda decides to try to make the team for the Inter-High Race. The Big Three 2.0 realize to make the team, they need to pass the 2nd-years, but those 2 have a plan to prevent that.

The new bromance between Onoda and climbing-no-ikemen Manami spurs Onoda to join Imaizumi and Naruko on the team that races at the Inter-High Race. Supposedly, they only allow 6-man teams, and the first 3 spots are already taken by The Big Three. During the first two days of training camp, Kinjou the Captain has been stressing that they'll make the team if they complete the 1000 kilometers in 4 days, but on the 3rd day he reveals the truth. You need to complete the distance in the first 6 spots. Training camp has been turned into a race. The 2nd-years, who have been riding together all this time, already knew this, and they've been conserving their strength to stay ahead of any of the first-years who challenge their placings.

When the Big Three 2.0, well, actually just Naruko and Imaizumi, catch up to those 2 guys in number of laps, they unleash their plan: Breakaway! While one guy spoils and blocks the guys behind, the other guy can get ahead and lap the others. Presumably, when that breakaway guy gets too tired, he can swap places with the spoiler, and let that guy get his laps in. The 2nd-years have done their homework on Naruko and Imaizumi, since they actually raced and got beaten by them when they were younger. But again, Onoda is their wildcard. If Imaizumi and Naruko can't get away, will they let Onoda break away on one of the climbs? We've got race action in a training camp. That Kinjou, what a guy.

This week's cycling porn is more gear and more brands:

Finds from the Grind - Loop

Loop



There and back again, around the Rose Bowl, an hour ride condensed to 2 minutes.

Monday, January 20, 2014

10 Second Anime - Witch Craft Works - Episode 3

Witch Craft Works - Episode 3


Kagari starts Takamiya's training. More witches join the hunt for his, uh, white stuff. Takamiya wa robe de kawaii. Those brooms are nice too.


Those five witches of the tower getting blasted is going to be a running gag, huh? That's fine with me. More running gags are the buttload of death threats Takamiya gets in his shoe locker along with the glares from all of Kagari's fans. She, of course, takes no notice. She's got to get started training her precious apprentice. He's got to hit the books first though. Teacher will help, count on it.

Finds from the Grind - Slow Down

Slow Down


That digital speed limit sign is pretty accurate. I was going 18 mph, when a car behind me tripped the 25 mph alert. Flashing Slow Down. I'm still trying to trip that alert myself without ramping up a sprint. Maybe this year.

Sunday, January 19, 2014

10 Second Anime - Saki - The Nationals - Episode 3

Saki - The Nationals - Episode 3


Maho is a real wildcard. Jealous-Momo instead of Stealth-Momo. Subara! Wa haha! Taco Power! And some actual mahjong competition.

It's a bit interesting to see how much Nodoka has been around. From playing mahjong with the Achiga girls, joining Yuuki in middle school, only to have the Subara! (Excellent!) girl from another school being her original club president. Nodoka obviously has her, uh, charms.

As for Hisa's strategy in bring Maho to the training camp, she deduced correctly that she can mimic another player's style for one hand per game. Look at the shock on Saki's face when Maho pulled out a Rinshan Kaiho! But she's still a beginner, and makes nervous playing mistakes too. This all plays into Hisa's plan for her mahjong monsters to play against themselves, and for them to gather more data for Mako when someone has an unpredictable playing style.

Hisa has her own training regimen, and gathers a table of certain strong players, much to the jealousy of Momo. So jealous, she forgot to disappear! When some of the schools have to leave, she feels a pang of missing new friends because she's never had this camaraderie of mahjong club presidents before, this being the first time she's gone to the Nationals with a team. Ah youth, making memories.

But hey, there's still some actual mahjong competition going on. We see from the other schools' perspectives as they dispatch their foes how Kiyosumi is doing. The news reports that Hisa has been one-shotting schools in the 3rd rounds. Whoa, go Hisa! Now we're getting to some of the tougher schools, and it's Yuuki's taco powered time to shine. Complete with cape!

Weekly Ride Report - 1/13/14 - 1/18/14

Date
Route
Course
Ride Time
Total Time
Distance
Avg Speed
Altitude
Max Altitude
Max Speed
Odometer
01/13/14
Rose Bowl Laps
Flat
01:00:51
01:05:25
16.7
16.5
561
916
27.8
30847
01/14/14
Rose Bowl Laps
Flat
00:58:55
01:01:49
16.4
16.7
525
949
29.3
30864
01/15/14
Rose Bowl Laps
Flat
00:59:06
01:03:14
16.7
17.0
543
946
29.7
30880
01/16/14
Rose Bowl Laps
Flat
00:58:04
01:01:51
16.4
16.9
541
940
30.6
30897
01/17/14
Rose Bowl Laps
Flat
00:58:39
01:04:20
16.5
16.9
551
939
27.7
30914
01/18/14
Huntington Loop - CW
Rolling
00:57:11
00:59:31
15.1
15.8
856
913
34.1
30929
 
 
Total Time
05:52:46
Total Distance
97.8
Total Climb
3577
 
 
 

Only the 2nd week, and I'm already beating my hour courses by over a minute. The cardio is getting better, but I'm still gaining water weight. I've packed on about 4 pounds already, even though my diet has stayed the same. As soon as my muscle and organ groups are used to the increased metabolism, that weight will go down quickly. One more week of pure cardio, and then I can start making my muscles sore. That means I can start climbing hills harder again too. Right now, I need some extra motivation on the steep parts. Like half-way through on this 9% grade.