Light Blogging Ahead

I'm going to be traveling this coming week, so regular blogging will be postponed until about Friday or so. There might be some interesting tweets, so check the side bar to see what I might be up to.

10 Second Anime - Naruto Shippuuden - Episode 379

Naruto Shippuuden - Episode 379



Hashirama vs. Madara Round 3. Sasuke, Naruto, Tobirama and Minato lay down combination attacks and teamwork on Obito, but his defense is too strong. His weakness may be Sage Jutsu and Nature attacks.

Heh.

Madara only has eyes for Hashirama, and their battle looks like it's following the same pattern as when Hashirama defeated him right before they found the village. It will be different this time because Madara has Hashirama's own cells implanted in him.

Performance issues Naruto? I don't think ninja Viagra can help you out, and you'll just have to wait until Kurama is done collecting chakra.

Hey, Obito can't handle toad spit. Maybe he can't handle Sage Natural Energy based attacks either.

All those combination attacks and great teamwork, and the good guys are only trying to figure out Obito's new abilities.

That black stuff around Obito can actually destroy parts of a reanimated body. It must have some jutsu nullification properties too.

The other half of the 9-tails inside Minato befriended him too. This makes sense, since he was able to turn the beast cloak into that golden glowing mantle. But his glow has a black trim. Is the other half of Kurama the yang to Naruto's yin? Or the other way around? And when did Minato make friends with him anyway, since he was dead all this time?

Hmm.

With Obito being way overpowered as the 10-tail's jinchuuriki, it should be time for a game changer. Minato's version of Kurama connecting with Naruto's could provide that, but we'll have to see what they do once they combine their powers.

Hashirama and Madara have been contained in their own battle, so the other ninjas need to get back into the game. Being healed by Sakura isn't good enough. They'll need to get Naruto's beast cloak back, and the other half of Kurama would be a great source of extra chakra for that.

This battle is far from over, and the other Kages haven't even made it back to the war zone yet. There's still lots of action to be seen.

Weekly Ride Report - 9/22/14 - 9/27/14

Date	Route	Course	Ride Time	Total Time	Distance	Avg Speed	Altitude	Max Altitude	Max Speed	Odometer
09/22/14	Rose Bowl Laps	Flat	00:55:05	00:59:52	16.4	17.9	591	964	28.5	34295
09/23/14	Glenoaks Blvd	Climb	00:52:17	00:55:57	13.6	15.6	919	1417	31.3	34308
09/24/14	Rose Bowl Laps	Flat	00:52:33	00:55:12	16.4	18.7	589	963	29.6	34325
09/25/14	Glenoaks Blvd	Climb	00:51:41	00:58:09	13.6	15.8	934	1417	32.2	34339
09/26/14	Rose Bowl Laps	Flat	00:52:45	00:56:54	16.4	18.7	590	965	30.8	34355
09/27/14	Lida Berkshire Single Loop	Climb	00:59:04	01:01:48	16.0	16.3	895	1484	28.5	34371
		Total Time	05:23:25	Total Distance	92.4	Total Climb	4518

This was a transition week, with a lot of soft pedaling. I had just finished a three week block, and I was going to be traveling for a week the following week, so there was no need to start up another block, so I just had some fun spinning while enjoying the cooler weather. I still had enough time during my workout to test out certain things on my pedal stroke, but without worrying how hard my effort was. Riding a bike while enjoying the scenery? Can he do that? Apparently, yes.

The Bro handled my camera...

The bro accidentally took an action sequence with my camera. http://t.co/140NXl17nx
— Joe Morris (@joeschmo1of3) September 26, 2014



...and he said, "What's this button do?"

10 Second Anime - Majimoji Rurumo - Episode 12 [END]

Majimoji Rurumo - Episode 12 [END]



Part flashback episode, part new beginnings, we see a world without Rurumo for a short while. The gang then welcomes in the new year.

Heh.

Kouta's friends are so shy in asking if it's okay if his "little sister" Rurumo can come with them to the new year's festival.

Nice guy Shibaki works hard for the money. To rent Rurumo a beautiful kimono, of course.

People forgot about Rurumo, but the physical evidence of her presence was not. That's not a very good magic spell.

With Rurumo forgotten, Mama Shibaki thinks there is only one reason Kouta made and borrowed money.

10 Second Anime - Naruto Shippuuden - Episode 378

Naruto Shippuuden - Episode 378



Obito becomes the 10-Tails' jinchuuriki, but blindly lashes out. Madara takes his chance to face off against Hashirama. Obito reclaims his identity to control the 10-Tails.

Heh.

Man, that Tobirama is ruthless when it comes to inventing new jutsus. Did you ever wonder why the Reanimation Jutsu covered the substitute bodies in paper tags? It's because the final form of the jutsu turned all those tags into bombs which could also summon more bomb tags. Dayum Tobirama, you scary.

Something I haven't mentioned before, but I just want to point out: Minato in his 9-Tails Sage Mode has black highlights instead of the light golden glow Naruto has. Could be important, later on.

Madara vs. Hashirama, let's get it on!

Hmm.

Obito continues to be our tragic anti-hero. After trying to convince Naruto that his own name wasn't important for him to bring about the Infinite Dream plan, he had to reassemble his broken parts of his psyche to synchronize with the 10-Tails and control it as its jinchuuriki. He will have to face the most painful parts of his self before he enters his anticipated blissful slumber.

Interesting to see that Sasuke's Susanoo can block the black nature chakra of the Sage of the Six Paths. That will be important too.

Next time, two ninja gods have their long awaited rematch, while Obito will show how overpowered he has become. I'm looking forward to counting how many times Madara yells out "Hashiramaaaaa!"

Finds from the Grind - One Rose Bowl Lap

One Rose Bowl Lap



One lap around the Rose Bowl with GPS telemetry.

10 Second Anime - Akame ga Kill! - Episode 12

Akame ga Kill! - Episode 12



Night Raid welcomes its new members Susanoo the neat freak and Chelsea the playful master of disguise in its new headquarters. A new villain stalks the capital city.

Heh.

A bunch of new characters means a bunch of new quirks to discover and a bunch of new ways our established characters play off of these quirks. Quite a fun episode.

That guy Wave is such a good guy. Well-meaning, but hardly ever gets any appreciation for it. At least Kurome noticed.

I was a bit disappointed to see Incursio fashioning the same halberd style for Tatsumi. He's a swordsman. New Death (the name of the secondary weapon) should be a sword.

To get on Akame's good side, bribe her with food!

I love it when Najenda hopes to get praise for something minor. Yes, your new Emperor's Tool is great at house chores, and building houses, apparently.  Cooking, cleaning, Lightning Fast Susanoo is your man.

Finds from the Grind - Glenoaks and GPS

Glenoaks and GPS



Up and Down Glenoaks with more GPS Telemetry fun. On the way down I passed a couple on a tandem climbing up Glenoaks. That's the way to get your captain strong and maybe encourage the stoker to get stronger or lose some weight.

10 Second Anime - Sword Art Online II - Episode 12

Sword Art Online II - Episode 12



Gya-Gya Online continues just a little bit more before the actions starts. Sinon destroys Death Gun's rifle, but that still leaves him with a sword to fight Kirito.

Heh.

That Kirito is pretty smart. He also considered the probability that Death Gun has accomplices, and they might even be inside the game, not just camping near people's homes to kill them for real.

Even with all that gya-gya, this game has only been going on about an hour and 45 minutes?

Hey, with Dark Wind taken out, that means only Sinon is available to win the money now, right?

Thanks to the nurse, the Japanese audience knows a little more German to trot out.

Good for Asuna in recognizing another agility based sword. Death by a thousand pricks would fit the style of killing someone with a syringe.

Hey, that guy is using a sword too!

10 Second Anime - Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Episode 25

Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Episode 25

The students encounter many attackers as they evacuate. Tatsuya suits up. Tatsuya at full strength shows mercy to his comrades and none for his enemies.

Heh.

Erika wants to keep all her brothers for herself! She doesn't approve of one fiance, and she thinks her oldest brother is batting out of his league. Go ask Miyuki for some more brocon advice, okay Erika?

Okay, I thought Tatsuya looked like a mix of Batman and Superman flying around, but neither of those guys can heal other people just by pointing at them.

Masaki's blood magic is effective... at making his classmates puke. Oh, and killing bad guys too, I guess.

Careful Tatsuya. You've got two ice queens on your jock. And they know how to tag team!

Either those tank robots use a lot of lube or hydraulic fluid, or the animators are making a real point that the Great Asian Alliance is using those Sorcery Boosters in them, which contain the brains of magicians, spraying all that red liquid all over the place.

Who wouldn't want to kick ass for President Azusa?

Omake Gif Anime - Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun - Episode 12 [END] - Valentine's Chocolate

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun - Episode 12 [END] - Valentine's Chocolate



Getting candy from Nozaki-kun is like White Day, or something! Nozaki thinks he's being punished...

Trying to give Nozaki his chocolate for 5 months isn't the only sign of non-movement in this show.

Finds from the Grind - Flat Colorado and Big Thumbs Up

Flat Colorado and Big Thumbs Up



This stretch of Colorado through Arcadia is one of my favorite flat roads in the San Gabriel Valley. I'd also like to point out the old guy on the bus bench giving me a thumbs up sign as I pedaled past. When I sprinted through the yellow light, he also pedaled with his hands. If your poker face on the bike looks like a goofy grin, I guess people will usually be happy to see you.

Weekly Ride Report - 9/15/14 - 9/20/14

Date	Route	Course	Ride Time	Total Time	Distance	Avg. Speed	Altitude	Max Altitude	Max Speed	Odometer
09/15/14	Huntington Loop - CCW	Rolling	00:53:56	00:58:13	15.2	16.9	752	927	30.6	34166
09/16/14	Rose Bowl Laps	Flat	00:55:08	01:00:54	16.4	17.8	592	965	30.2	34182
09/17/14	Huntington Loop - CCW	Rolling	00:53:54	00:57:37	15.2	16.9	751	926	28.5	34198
09/18/14	Rose Bowl Laps	Flat	00:53:43	00:57:31	16.4	18.3	594	967	30.2	34214
09/19/14	Huntington Loop - CCW	Rolling	00:53:44	00:55:26	15.2	17.0	753	926	29.6	34230
09/20/14	Laverne - Arrow Hwy	Flat	02:50:30	03:18:09	48.5	17.1	1781	1065	34.6	34278
		Total Time	07:20:55	Total Distance	126.9	Total Climb	5223

The heat wave finally broke this week, so my legs started feeling better towards the end of it. Just in time to visit Coffeeberry in downtown Laverne. This place used to be one of my turnaround spots on my Saturday rides years ago, but I haven't been there in a long time. They didn't even used to be open on Sundays! Still a friendly spot, mainly serving the students of Laverne University. I never saw them there on an early Saturday morning, but I saw quite a few during this visit.

I checked out my stats on my last ride to Camp Williams in 2010, and I beat last week's ride time by 6 minutes. I figure that riding in 100 degree weather had something to do with that. I was still feeling the fatigue on Monday, and when the temperatures finally came down on Wednesday, I felt much better on the bike. Of course, I think I was coming off a peak too, so my times were barely in my peak range by Friday. You can't feel at your best all the time.

10 Second Anime - Locodol - Episode 12

Locodol - Episode 12

The Nagarekawa Girls perform last at the Locodol Festival. They don't win, but leave early enough to make their city's own festival.

Heh.

We got a great concert performance out of this episode. The performance also served as our flashback montage as we saw all the scenes that inspired the lyrics.

For a local idol unit only funded by the city government, they were pretty professional with including animated versions of themselves on the huge venue displays.

Omake Gif Anime - Barakamon - Episode 11 - Handa's Parents

Barakamon - Episode 11 - Handa's Parents

Here we see where Handa gets both his tendency to overreact and his patience.

Finds from the Grind - Flat Ride?

Flat Ride?



The flattest 50 mile ride I've ever designed for the San Gabriel Valley, and it still has about 1700 feet of climbing.

10 Second Anime - Rail Wars! - Episode 12 [END]

Rail Wars! - Episode 12 [END]

Nana and Takayama come back from an apology tour and have their own adventure keeping an older train in working order. The Rail Wars! season ends with Takayama's friends all welcoming him back home.

Geh.

Nana's special episode needs a special end card.

Nana, like a boss, does everything all the other girls got to do with Takayama.

Finds from the Grind - Fun with GPS Overlays

Fun with GPS Overlays



GPS data overlays make my daily ride look a video game. I finally played around with my camera's video editing software (it still doesn't compress worth a damn, but I have my own software for that) and imported the corresponding GPS data file. After some time adjustments, you can see what one of the overlay templates look like. As you watch the video, you can also see why I prefer to use a normal cycle computer for my speedometer.

10 Second Anime - Majimoji Rurumo - Episode 11

Majimoji Rurumo - Episode 11

The Occult Club forms a Girl Band to recruit new members on a musical TV show. Rurumo becomes the lead singer, but her shyness stops her from singing in front of a large crowd.

Heh.

Sure. Make it Tanako's fault we got a convoluted plot that somehow delivered Kouta in his dream role as lead singer of an all-girl band.

Kudos all the way around for bring all the little elements of the side character development into the story. From showing that Rurumo is no longer shy in front of this large group of people, which shows they are now her friends, to everyone accepting Masako's costume making skills, to even showing the other disciplinary committee girls as just regular cute girls.

Kouta never did get his bunny girl band.

10 Second Anime - Kill la Kill - Episode 25 [OVA]

Kill la Kill - Episode 25 [OVA]

A couple of weeks after the last battle with Ragyou, her assistant Hououmaru comes back for revenge. Senketsu's spirit is still with Ryuuko, and the students have one last victory.

Heh.

What a nice epilogue. It reminded me very much of when the Hobbits returned to the Shire after the events of the Lord of the Rings, and had one last skirmish with a weakened Saruman to show how much their adventure had strengthened and matured them. Same thing here, with Satsuki giving up the sword for real, because she only picked it up to defeat her mother, and Hououmaru's return wasn't going to snatch victory from the jaws of utter defeat, plus her Council Members all became better versions than their black copies, naked or not.

We had our nostalgia with Senketsu, because even if a sailor uniform is something to be outgrown, it is also something to be remembered fondly and to be carried within a woman's heart.

Even Mako's first Moment reminded us of that. Senketsu is still alive within Ryuuko. She'll wear her Sunday Best on the inside!

10 Second Anime - Naruto Shippuuden - Episode 376 - 377

Naruto Shippuuden - Episode 376 - 377



Special filler episode featuring Mecha Naruto from Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution facing off against Naruto himself.

Heh.

Both episodes were full of heh. It was as if they took an episode of Rock Lee and animated it straight.

Orochimaru as Dr. Frankenstein who loses control of his creation was well-played and over the top.

Yamato making sick faces instead of his stern spooky face was also a nice gag.

Meh.

Not one shout of "Naruto Biimu!" I am disappoint.

Finds from the Grind - No Poop Zone?

No Poop Zone?

In front of the same place that forced San Marino's mayor to resign. http://t.co/iEahSB6tEX
— Joe Morris (@joeschmo1of3) September 17, 2014

10 Second Anime - Akame ga Kill! - Episode 11

Akame ga Kill! - Episode 11

Night Raid repels Dr. Stylish's assault on their headquarters by his collection of human experiments. Najenda returns in time with two new members to help counterattack.

Heh.

Akame and Mine are good girls because they're fighting in their pajamas, which meant they went to bed at a reasonable hour. Shame on Leone, Lubbock and Tatsumi for passing out.

Akame still had time to put on her penny loafers.

Mad scientists don't lack for ego, obviously, which is why Dr. Stylish thought he could take on Night Raid by himself and his little army of gay go go dancer freaks. Because of his miscalculation, I count at least 3 Emperor's Tools that have fallen into Night Raid's possession.

Don't you dare throw knives at mai waifu's face!

Finds from the Grind - San Gabriel Canyon Descent

San Gabriel Canyon Descent



The descent part of this ride should be in quotes. It's a cumulative "descent," but the road coming down from the East Fork Bridge is a rolling saw tooth course, so you've got to save your climbing legs for the 9 miles back down to the San Gabriel River Trail.

Omake Gif Anime - Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun - Episode 11 - Bear With It Chiyo-chan!

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun - Episode 11 - Bear With It Chiyo-chan!

You know he's not acting lovey-dovey, but it feels like it so much, and you want it so much, but it's not real, and, and, and...

10 Second Anime - Sword Art Online II - Episode 11

Sword Art Online II - Episode 11

GGO, or Gya-Gya-Online continues. Kirito thinks Death Gun has an accomplice. Asuna wants answers. Kirito and Sinon form a plan to defeat Death Gun.

Heh.

If you thought all the gya-gya-gya was over last week, you were wrong.

You know, I come up with all sorts of interesting crime solving while inspecting female butt cleavage too. What can I say? It's soothing...

With all that yakking about how a bullet in the game can't kill you and with nothing going on, I was about to ...

Omake Gif Anime - Fairy Tail S2 - Episode 24 - Gray and Juvia

Fairy Tail S2 - Episode 24 - Gray and Juvia

Juvia loves it when her Gray-sama plays hard to get.

You can't have a sad face at a celebration party. Erza knows how to cheer Milliana up.

Finds from the Grind - The Road to Camp Williams

The Road to Camp Williams



The climb past two dams and two reservoirs is not a steady one, and the road to Camp Williams on East Fork Road is just a bit more climbing to remind the legs that it is a full 15 miles of climbing from Duarte. After all that climbing in 100 plus degree temperatures I was ready for a big cup of ice.

Out and back for 54 miles: good enough.



10 Second Anime - Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Episode 24

Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Episode 24

The students repel an assault team and prepare for evacuation. Tatsuya's friends find out about his secret identity as a military strategic asset. Miyuki releases Tatsuya's magical restraints so he can fight at full power.

Heh.

I'm not going to lie. I got chills when Miyuki gave up her dream of a regular high school life and released Tatsuya's magic governors. The way Tatsuya bent down on his knee was like a knight receiving a special gift from his queen. The governors may have made Tatsuya the equivalent of a "Weed," but his mind was not blocked, which is why he was still the BAMF that he was.

Hah. Shut up, Jouji! Ain't got time for your sputtering!

I liked the kids' reaction to Tatsuya and Miyuki attacking and cleaning up after the intruders. "Hey, we can fight too!"

Now for a real magic trick: catching bullets in one hand.

Omake Gif Anime - Jinsei - Episode 9 - Ikumi Tickles Fumi

Jinsei - Episode 9 - Ikumi Tickles Fumi

Ikumi is tickling Fumi. Ti-ckl-ing. Fine. She's molesting Fumi. Mo-lest-ing.