Cloud Strife, Cat Poop, and College Baseball

I'm downloading Final Fantasy VII for the PS3 right now. That game consumed my life when it came out in ... um ... I guess it was 1998 or so. I remember that it was released for the PC using the GLIDE API, which meant you could only play it in 3D with 3Dfx video cards (luckily I had one). Years later I'd try to reinstall and play it, only to be appalled at the software rendering (I had an ATI video card then -- Direct3D/OpenGL only). Stupid proprietary APIs -- everybody loses. Anyway, I know what I'm doing this weekend :-)

Texas lost to LSU last night ... 11-4. Losses are bad, but they are worse when you give up five runs in an inning on the back of a walk, two HBPs, and an error. That's just sloppy baseball. Maybe it was nerves? Whenever I watch a sidearm left-handed pitcher throw to a left-handed batter, I get nervous because, due to the camera angle over the pitcher's right shoulder, it seems the pitcher is throwing the ball behind the batter and it's going to hit him. And yeah that happened twice last night, haha.

The toilet training of the cat is going quite well. I was at the stage where the litter box was raised up high on a series of stacked books. That worked nicely until the books got above the level of the toilet -- then the stack became too flimsy to hold Bill, who apparently is a violent pooper. (Great mental image, ya'll!) Nah, actually it's a cat's instinct to cover up his mess, so after he pinches a loaf he will scoop litter over it to cover it up. When he does this, he rocks the litter box back and forth, so because the books are a) stacked high and b) not sturdy, the litter box sometimes falls over. This is bad because it scares him and teaches him that pooping = scariness, which we certainly don't want. Can you imagine if every time you went to cop a squat, someone jumped out and scared you? I imagine that's what this is like for him.



Instead of finding a more sturdy base, I accelerated his training by putting the litter box on top of the toilet seat (the lid is up), which, now that I write it out, is actually finding a more sturdy base :-) He can now jump from the side of the bath tub right into the box and go about his business. I came home from work yesterday and found some pee in there, which means he can get up there and take a leak by himself. Wonderful!

I'm going to leave this like it is for the next couple of days. Since I have off work on July 2nd-4th, I think that on July 1st I'll switch him to a metal bowl inside the toilet. I'm waiting for my off days because I need to be around to teach him how to squat over the bowl and to prevent him from tracking poo all over the house. I don't mind chilling by the bathroom all day as long as I've got Wifi :-)

Exciting times! I'll share pictures when I'm done :-)

Happy 20th Birthday, Game Boy

Thanks for the memories!

Twenty years ago this week, Nintendo released the Game Boy, its first handheld video game console. Excited Japanese customers snatched up the innovative monochrome handheld by the thousands, which retailed for 12,500 yen (about $94 at 1989 rates) at launch—a small price to pay for what seemed to be an NES in your pocket. Nintendo initially offered four games for the new Game Boy: Super Mario Land, Baseball, Alleyway, and Yakuman (a mahjong game), but the number of available titles quickly grew into the hundreds. 

I feel so privileged to have grown up during these times. I see kids (mostly my cousins and -- er, dad) playing on their PSPs and think "Bah, who needs color! Back in my day ...". It's great.

I still remember the time I unsuccessfully lobbied for a Turbo Express. I was like "C'mon -- it can be my birthday present and Hanukkah present!" Unfortunately, my parents didn't bite ;-)

Baseball is Hard

So I bought a copy of MLB 09 The Show for my PS3. Ever since, I've been role-playing as the rookie pitcher Ryan Schmageki. I started in the Orioles' AA organization as a reliever and, after a couple promotions (first to AAA starter, then MLB reliever, now MLB starter) am now pitching for the Athletics. I've got a 93 mph fastball, an 82 mph change-up, and an 87 mph sinker. One of these days, I hope to learn how to throw a curveball.

In a year and some change in the majors, my statistics are, well, they're okay. My ERA is a tad high, over 4.50 I believe. (In 2008, the MLB average team ERA was 4.33). My WHIP is 1.2 something, which I don't think is terrible (2008 average: 1.39). My K/BB ratio is excellent though -- 72/9, or 8 strikeouts per walk. That is pretty damn amazing. In 2008, the MLB average was 2.01 strikeouts per walk.


The game is really really difficult, just like real baseball :-) As you pitch, you have control over two things: the strength of the throw and the point during your delivery at which you release the ball. These two things, along with your energy level, confidence in a given situation, and the wind, will influence the speed and location of your pitch. Each pitch also has numerical ratings in velocity, control, and movement -- you earn points to spend on improving these ratings over time. (This simulates training.) So that's pretty realistic. The better you do in a game, the more points you have to spend. And the game gives you certain in-game goals (strike out a certain hitter, induce a ground-out) and overall goals (increase your stamina rating, give up fewer than 20 hits in the next 7 games, etc.) that earn you even more points -- but count against you when you fail.

The problem is, the game's UI doesn't provide many clues as to how to throw the ball. After about a full season in the majors, I have yet to figure out how to locate my fastball. I've spent a ton of points in fastball control (which is how close your pitch lands to the target you choose) and still can't paint the outside corner (e.g., throw pitches that catch just a little bit of the plate for a strike). I don't walk many batters, but recently I've been going into lots of 3-ball counts, which drives up my pitch count, which decreases my energy level and increases the chance my computer-simulated manager will pull me from the game. I've googled for tips on pitching in the game, but nothing comes up. And the game doesn't have an in-game pitching practice mode. I keep trying to figure out how to throw pitches that land where I want (this combination of inputs produces this result), but to no avail. I can't tell if it's the game's fault or mine.

I also give up lots of bloop singles down the middle. It's incredibly frustrating to give up 2 of these to start and inning; little dinky hits that raise your WHIP (walks+hits per inning pitched) stat. It's enough to make me think it's just a quirk of the game's UI. No one hits that many through-the-box singles in real life. And I seem to get hit for a lot of home runs, too. Mind you, it's usually a good hitter -- Travis Hafner or Miguel Cabrera -- but sometimes it's Ichiro or Kenji Johjima. How can I go from 8 IP, 1 ER against the Yankees to 7 IP, 4 ER against the Mariners? Then back to 8 IP, 0 ER against the Red Sox?!

Because baseball is freaking hard and unpredictable, and this game gives you a really great sense of that, that's why. In the game, I'm a young (19-year-old) pitcher struggling with pitch location and giving up way too many hits. Players typically peak around 28 (maybe sometime in May if I keep playing the rate I do, haha), so hopefully by then I will get better. But for now, to keep myself from throwing the controller through my nice fancy HDTV when I give up a grand slam with the game tied, I'll just reduce the difficulty level. Last night I got really pissed off at it and decided to quit; but upon the light of day I think I'll soldier on. I wish there was an option to plead with your manager for a demotion. I need to go back to AAA to build up some more training points! There's a famous story about Willie Mays asking his manager to bench him because he wasn't performing very well ...

I could never be a baseball player. They say good baseball players have a short memory. You have to treat every batter the same, regardless if you just gave up a big fly or if you just struck a guy out. If you get hammered for 8 runs in one game, during the next game you've got to pitch like it's a new day. You can't have your failures hanging over your head. I am too much of a perfectionist. I get frustrated when I give up a run. But after all, it's not like Randy Johnson or Pedro Martinez never gave one up. And they're two of the greatest pitchers ever.

Gawl dang I love me some baseball.

Not an Idiom, but Close

In talking with one of my co-workers today, I discovered that the computer game "Diablo" is known in China as "Big Pineapple".

Why, you might ask?

Phonetically, "Diablo" sounds similar to Da bo luo (；bō luó');">大菠萝) which means, you guessed it, "Big Pineapple".

Austin: T-minus 19 days

So, the original-original plan was to return to Austin, permanently, on June 28th. That plan was replaced with the original plan, which was to go to Hong Kong in mid-June to renew my visa for the extended stay in Shanghai.

However due to circumstances beyond my control, the original-original plan now is back, with a slight modification in that I'll be returning to Shanghai after all. So I'll be in Austin for about two weeks (landing at 1 AM on June 29th) only to renew my visa, after which I will return to China until January 2009.

I was originally really really hoping to go to HK because I've never been there and could take a couple days off work for tourism. And the more I think about it now, the more excited I am to go back and see my friends and co-workers (and family!) that I've only been talking to voice- or text-wise for so long. Nothing beats a good face-to-face. And like I said several months ago when facing the prospect of returning permanently, I am really really really excited to see how different I feel when I get back. I kind of doubt it will be like in MD where I felt super familiar the instant I landed.

I know that it will be surreal to be back and see people whom I haven't talked with in so long. I am imagining it will be similar to the first time I came back to MD from college. I spent most of the time wandering around going " .... I grew up here." It was a very strange feeling, and to be honest, I still feel like that a little bit every time I go home -- although now it's way less prevalent than it used to be. But back then, I felt like a ghost at times -- I think it's mainly because many of my friends had also moved on at the time. This situation obviously is different because most of my friends are still in Austin :-) It's strange for me because six months either can feel like an enternity or a blink of the eye. It sort of flips back and forth at random.

w00t

I also am planning an itinerary, well, not an itinerary, but a list of things to do (okay, maybe that's an itinerary). These include things like going to Barton Springs (top on my list, actually), spending several hours relaxing at Mozart's on Lake Austin, and eating at various restaurants (County Line, Shady Grove, Kerbey Lane, Olmeca's, etc.) Mmmm. Also BOOK SHOPPING at BookPeople. Oh yes. Definitely reading the Austin Chronicle. Mayhap Mt. Bonnell and Zilker Botanical Gardens. Catch a show at Room 710 or Emo's. OH AND HOW COULD I FORGET THE ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE.

And perhaps I will take a tour of the town, on my own since I'll have a car, via a Lonely Planet guide and take some pictures with my new camera, now that I'm far more disposed towards using it for things other than parties :-) I imagine there also will be dining with friends and well-wishers. And I really look forward to randomly swinging by people's cubes at work and popping my head in with a well-placed "Ni hao!" Haha. I'm also bringing gifts, which reminds me, I need to finish shopping for ya'll. Maybe this weekend.

***

I learned a new Chinese idiom today -- "Lightbulb." (Unfortunately I don't remember the Chinese for it.) It's what you are when you go someplace with a friend and their significant other. In English we would call this being a "third wheel", I guess because a bike with three wheels would not run very well (but when I tried to explain this to my co-workers, I realized that tricycles are perfectly serviceable vehicles. Hm, peculiar.) Anyway the Chinese call this position a lightbulb because, it's like, you're shining the light on this couple so they can't do anything untoward. I hope you all find that as hilarious as I do :-)

Not much else has been happening lately. When my parents came they bequeathed unto me a voltage converter, which means I can charge my Nintendo DS, which means I spent some time this weekend playing Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass. Fun times. I really love LoZ games -- for the most part, the puzzles in the game make you feel very intelligent when you solve them. I played through some of Twilight Princess for the Wii last summer and that was an excellent game also. And I still fondly remember A Link to the Past for the SNES.

It has been raining pretty much nonstop since Saturday afternoon. I was sitting at the Thumb, drinking coffee and reading, when a loud crack of thunder nearly deafened me. I was outside but under an awning, so I kept on reading as the rain started to pour down. It was great -- very relaxing.

It was really coming down, and the rain wasn't showing any signs of letting up. And then all of a sudden out of nowhere, this little frog started hopping around the plaza in front of us. I have no idea where he/she/it came from, but it went hoppity-hoppity hop and was so great :-) I really wish I had had my camera on me, but I did not, so I was unable to capture the moment. Completely random though.

Then I ducked into a KFC for lunch and ended up talking with two random women. Everybody likes it when a lao wai can speak some Chinese :-)

The rain stopped for a bit on Sunday, so I went exploring because I was feeling antsy that I hadn't done that in quite awhile. I took the metro to a random stop, which ended up being the Nanpu Bridge stop. I then wandered around taking pictures of nothing in particular. I took the ferry across to the Pudong side, then wandered around some more, finally going home when I saw the sign for the metro. I guess I spent about 3 hours doing this. It was pretty fun, and I got some great pictures that I'll try and upload to flickr soon :-)

On Monday the rain started again, and it literally has not let up since. My co-workers said this is the beginning of the rainy month in Shanghai, where it's hot and humid but rains constantly for like a month. Oh joy!! Just like in Austin last summer when we had that freak monsoon that nearly wrecked my boat party.

Sorry dad -- doesn't look like I'll be rollerblading anytime soon ;-) And it looks like maybe Suzhou will have to wait until I get back from Austin, too.