June 15, 2003
Omatase!
I've been taking a little hiatus lately every since I came back to California. Haven't really responded to many emails, except for the ones pertaining to my future job, and not much activity on the Internet. As such, I got quite a few things done:
1) SECURED A JOB! It didn't really come as much of a surprise as I had been expecting it for quite a while. It's with the same person I did my co-op with during undergrad, so by having that connection, I didn't really need to think about job hunting. What really surprised me was the salary I was given. Won't mention here, but I assure you that it's more than enough to feed my little Japanese addition going (as long as I don't have to deal with providing for someone else's wife).
2) Consolidated my collection. It actually took quite a while to do because I was also encoding stuff (see below) at the same time. On top of that, I spent a few days in pure panic as I thought I had lost 15 of my CDs, including all of Azumanga Daioh, some J-Pop, and others. However, I discovered them in my grandma's carry-on baggage. I had asked her to help carry them for me as she was return from my graduation. Stupid me. Current collection as of today (the foremost pile of DVDs next to the scanner on the right is my "to-watch" backlog. Quite a bit as I haven't been watching much anime either these past two weeks).
I'm quite fond of my "Harem" row. :)
3) Encoded all my Japanese related CDs into lossless FLAC audio format. It takes up more than 65 gigs on my hard drive. However, by using FLAC, I get the *exact* same quality audio as the CD. MP3 on the other hand, is lossy and reduces the quality of the music in order to get it compressed so small. For the average computer listener using cheap speakers/headphones, the difference isn't noticeable. However, due to the next reason:
4) I bought a new receiver for my up-and-coming home theater setup. On the music side, I have my old laptop that has an optical audio output which I connect to the receiver. The receiver uses that information to process through Dolby Prologic II or Neo:6 which makes the stereo sound into surround. As such, any minor distortion in the audio becomes accentuated. That's why your typical downloaded MP3 would sound TERRIBLE with a surround sound setup. The audio files are played through a wireless connection between the desktop in my room o the laptop in the living room.
The receiver (Panasonic XR45) also does Dolby Digital EX, which is a 6 speaker setup (two fronts, one center, two side surround speakers, and one back surround speaker) setup. Final Fantasy X-2 has its cut scenes encoded in Dolby Digital EX. I thought scenes were incredible before, but now it's something to drool over. Oh, I'm watching all my anime on this setup from now on.
5) Will be getting a PowerMac next week. Wanted to get it sooner, but a Mac conference will be happening next week and odds are that they'll announce new models and lowered prices on old models. Soon to be a Mac head, that I am. Another switcher.