Messages

61

Except for the Pig / Re: Small Animal News

« on: March 06, 2012, 11:27:23 am »

Unfortunately no.  Everything was proceeding as planned, but then he stepped in and canned the whole thing.

A lot of us have big doubts about their current manager; if you know his temperament, honestly they could not have picked a worse guy to run things.

From Tuan Tuan - "The only thing he has going for him is that he has no life, and therefore plenty of time.  Otherwise, he has no real positive qualities.  Let me say this:  very few Pandas aren't welcome in Wolong[1], but he's one of them."

So that's pretty much it.  Pandas as a whole are very laid back, and harsh words coming from another Panda are practically unheard of, except in the most egregious of cases.  Normally the bunny brigade would try to intervene, but they're in a more important operation against the gang to the north.  It's more important to have that succeed than to try to deal with an errant Panda. 

[1] Wolong National Nature Reserve, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolong_National_Nature_Reserve

A bunny who has been intercepting their electronic communications reported over the past months that their communications seem to have lost touch with reality. 

"Many e-mails seemed to refer to imaginary things like sections of the venue that do not actually exist, for instance making repeated references to events held in the 79th floor of the Von Borscht building (no such building exists, nor does any building the venue have anywhere near that many floors).  Others seem to be simple paranoia, in which he imagines a bunny who works in bookkeeping is engineering a conspiracy to overthrow him.  There was even one set of e-mails where the Panda was discussing his attempts to sell the organization to 'a media company from Canada' for a large sum that is never fixed, varying between three to seven million dollars."

"Even worse are the podcasts in which the Panda is supposed to discuss things but instead talks about the everyday goings-on in his life.  Honestly he spends most of his time 'blowing up' and getting mad, at one point he even smashed the
camera and all you can hear is audio until his assistant replaced it.  Nothing of import is ever discussed, it's always just stuff like about how he's really upset he got sacked in a virtual football game or yelling at the camera so loud it's unintelligible what he is actually trying to say."

BTW I honestly don't know if they will be at one of the summer events.  Perhaps the one to the far north?
But almost certainly, they will be in the local area for November, and January.

---

The girl I talked to last night said the bunnies were 'hopping mad' and pretty much in a full revolt.

When asked what the deal was, like does he hate her, the response was "No, he's just fscking incompetent."

There's huge gaps in the schedule, so it's not like they were overbooked or anything. 

From Mikey "They're at the point where they're no longer a small group, they need some structure and some people to be in charge.  But, they haven't really figured out who they want to be in charge yet.  Like Tuan Tuan said, it's not the people who are the most qualified who are in charge, because this type of person has their own lives and hence not enough time to take an active role.  It's the no-lifers who don't play well with others and and really don't have any skill at what they do."

---

Yes, one of the local small animal groups will have a table, just make sure you find the right one.
If it's not the right one, you will know.

Also, Killer Lolitas and Scary Shoujo - Sunday 4:30p to 5:50p.  (Higurashi Fan Panel)

62

Except for the Pig / Re: Small Animal News

« on: February 28, 2012, 05:07:26 am »

All that shows is a textbook case of 'how not to run your gang'.

Cat L was in charge for roughly a year, from September 2009 until the time his owner left town, September 2010.
In that time, he looted gang coffers, taking roughly 650,000 carrots for himself and 240,000 carrots for his cronies over the course of the year.  But the cat's real damage was in expenses, legal, travel, operational, etc.  These went from roughly 9,600,000 carrots to 14,500,000 carrots.  Gang revenue from shakedowns, collections, protection fees, etc. seemed to be holding steady at around 10,000,000 carrots, but in reality accounting tricks were used (see 'Kitty Kat Accounting') -- deferred revenue[1] increased roughly 1,400,000 carrots in order to hide a drop in actual revenue of 12% to 15%.  Also notable was a 'settlement' paid out to C for roughly 280,000 carrots.

At the end of 2010, the gang was roughly 3 million carrots in the red, with less than a million or so carrots in their stash.  Cat L was long gone and the hapless Cat P had taken over, and would soon make a deal with another cat in exchange for a loan that even then fell short of the roughly 3,600,000 carrots that would have been required to keep things going for another year.

All carrot figures are approximated at the current exchange rate.

It would be about two to three months before Cat P would cave and make a deal with his ex-rival, Cat F.  Cat P was under great pressure, cats from affiliated gangs were clawing at his door almost daily demanding their kickbacks and fees, which he had no hope of being able pay.  Protection money and collections from small animals was far below expectations, leaving few actual sources of income.  He had narrowly escaped a few scuffles in dark alleys with a mysterious bobcat, and would have probably perished were it not for his ever - loyal and determined - to - stick - with - him - to - the - end assistant, Cat T. 

In the end, Cat P's paw was forced and he sold out the gang that had survived several generations of cats on its own for a mere 2,000,000 carrots to Cat F.  This was not enough to outright save the gang, but enough to keep it going for a couple of months more.  Unless 'something big' happened, the gang was still a goner, and Cat F would walk away with anything of value they still had. 

[1] A difficult concept to explain to non-accounting people, think of deferred income like a shop that sells 'gift certificates' at a discount in order to create cashflow (get more cash on hand) or increase reported revenue during a particularly bad quarter.  Many gangs will have some form of deferred income, kickbacks, protection fees, shakedowns, and other things that are paid up front for a set period of time.  But a dramatic rise in deferred income almost always means one of two things, either the gang is providing its 'services' at a discount in order to try to create short-term cashflow, or they are 'calling forward' future unproven revenue (with equivalent expenses) in ordue to try to disguise a drop in currently reported revenue.  The latter case might be known as an 'accounting irregularity' in human accounting practices, but it is par for the course among cats.

---

I think it's some new drug.
Don't do drugs!  Also don't support/take/buy drugs that were tested on animals.
"After-effects include:  drowsiness (67%), depression (44%), nausea (32%), dry mouth (54%), difficulty breathing/shortness of breath (22%), seizures (17%), suicide (7%), non-suicide death (3%)."

---

I wouldn't be too concerned.  It honestly seems, roughly half-and-half.  There are some rumors of political problems and such, but hard to say how much (if any) is real. 

"Everyone knows where the UT/VO/TO groups are going to be."

63

Except for the Pig / Re: Small Animal News

« on: February 14, 2012, 07:50:32 pm »

Note:  A direct translation is almost impossible, there are so many colloquialisms that would make a direct translation nearly unintelligible.  But the general situation is this:

When the attacks were active, the eastern volunteers were acting in concert with us (westerners) to fight against them.  But now that the attacks against small animals have largely subsided, at least for the time being, heavy infighting has broken out among the eastern volunteers who were far from united to begin with.  The infighting has shut down most of their communication network and resulted in utter chaos among their defense organizations.  While some of the eastern volunteers are still supportive and want to continue to fight, others apparently feel the bunny brigade or just bunnies in general have too much say in the Chain of Command and the actions of the defense groups.  But honestly it's totally unclear who feels what or in what numbers[1].

[1] literally, from Samantha, "Most of the non-bunnies to the east don't even know what they really feel"

When the brigade has tried to establish communications with the individual defense groups to the east, sometimes the leader is cool and willing to listen.  But other times bunnies are ignored or simply told that they are unwanted and to go away.  While being ignored appears quite common, in reality there is no way to tell if [our] bunnies are being ignored or simply not responded to because the communication network is down.

Mikey commented that most of the eastern volunteers are hamsters, which tend to be older (not in terms of years, but in terms of lifespan -- hamsters have a much shorter lifespan than bunnies which can regularly live 9-15 years.  "We found in most cases the relatively younger bunnies of the bunny brigade were dealing with hamsters who were middle-aged and older.  And this is only true among the eastern volunteers.  The rest-of-world, west included, bunnies are most common volunteers and the ranks of defense groups are filled with younger bunnies and then some guinea pigs.

It's not that bunnies haven't had infighting before, we only need to go back a few years to recall the incidents with Yue-bing or the fiercely debated Bunny Caucuses of the past.  But, there's probably a bit of a gap along these lines.  "In the east, the hamsters feel they should a bigger say in the way things are run because they are 'older'.   But in the rest of world, bunnies are in the majority so they feel they should have the most say.  And the way that small animal politics work[2], that's more or less the way it ends up.

[2] majority rule, or largely democratic, versus say the politics of the neighborhood cat gang.

---

It is '80% figured out', according to an insider (no comment on who).  The other 20% is in progress.

"Very few people know.  Most of the Vanguard knows, but that's it."

---

(subjects) First, slow down.  Embrace and do it slowly, gently.  Don't apply too much pressure, it looks bad.  Hold hands.  Hold for a couple of seconds.  No tongue (looks bad).  (photo) Some fill flash, as two people tend to block the light.  Watch the angles.

---

Yes, it is now confirmed that the Cat (cat F) will be there. 
From Mikey:  "Even if you don't like her, please don't harass/stalk/abuse/tease/etc. her.  In the end she's just a cat.  Sure she out-schemed Cat Y in order to take over his old show, the show he basically made into what it was, but that's how cat politics works.  Someday another cat will come along, and do the same to her."

---

She is not, so please do not ask.  She's just sticking with her usual VO/TO stuffs.  At least that's as of 'right now'.

BTW often times she claims something like "I'm going to do this, and this, and this, and this, and this..." but then in the end only ends up doing one of those things.

64

Except for the Pig / Re: Small Animal News

« on: February 07, 2012, 10:21:57 pm »

They do not.  It's an impostor.  It's been confirmed through their own statement (or there is more subterfuge going on here, ie. someone in their group acting without any knowledge, or they 'disavow all knowledge' of unseemly activities like in the TV series 'Mission Impossible'.  All doubtful.

---

I think this is the situation.  Other than a (relatively) small number of followers, bunnies and guinea pigs mostly, the rest of the small animals aren't so much enamored with the guy.  The things that keep coming up, like him banning the snake, when it was that same snake that is widely thought to have brought things back from nearly falling over the edge, make people question if he's really any better.  By now everyone knows the cat is on the way out, and he's likely to be replaced by someone who really is better, or is at least a known entity.

Small animals know what's going on, word can travel much faster than people realise.  As strange as it sounds, the snake actually has his own followers and has certainly made no secret of it.  And there are those in his own organization showing marked discomfort over these situations; and these people probably aren't going sit on it forever.

---

In response to "Most of the attacks are on bunnies".

(Household % among total households with small animals, Total Population in the US)
Bunny:  40%, 5.3M
Hamster:  29%, 3.7M
Guinea Pig:  18%, 1.4M
Ferret:  10%, 1.0M
Rat or Mouse:  10%, 1.6M
Gerbil:  8%, 1.0M
Chinchilla:  3%, 231K
Hermit Crab:  2%, 220K
Pot-bellied Pig:  2%, 297K
Hedgehog:  1%, 55K
Other:  15%, 4.0M

Yes most of the attacks are on bunnies, more precisely bunnies from one and a half to two and a half years old.  But bunnies are also the most common small animals in the US, so it's not much of a stretch really.

Also, most bunnies are kept in a household only a few months.  Many are bought around Easter and then 1-6 months later, they are no longer wanted and 'let go' into the wild.  As for the 'one and a half to two and a half years old' gap, that is the earliest age where statistics are compiled, bunnies younger than one and a half years presumably fall into that age bracket.

---

Your small animal cannot add comments until she/he is signed up for the event.  Once your small animal is signed up as "Yes", the 'post' feature will become active and then she/he will be able to add comments.

65

Except for the Pig / Re: Small Animal News

« on: January 31, 2012, 12:27:40 pm »

In regards to the perpetrators, the following is the best translation.

"We don't know who is doing this. As this is happening on a massive scale, it is likely that an organized group or several groups are behind this."

"The matter is currently under investigation.  At this time, please take all necessary counter-measures!"

Worldwide, volunteers are investigating to find the people and/or group(s) of people responsible for the attacks.  Measures have been taken to assist in the coordination and exchange of information.

Samantha, who spent several months in Japan supporting a relief effort following the earthquake, believes the threat may be related to the upcoming olympic games, but Mikey added that there is no concrete evidence to specifically support that.  In other words, just a hunch on her part.

Mikey believes the attacks will continue and may even get worse as time goes on. 

"The only real long term defense is to build infrastructure to stop them.  All we have at the moment is volunteer teams 'looking into it'.  We don't know who 'them' is at this point, but we will find out.  In the meantime, we just have to keep our paws together[1] and do our best to design and deploy infrastructure to counter this threat."

[1] 'sit tight' or equivelent

Personally, I don't know if relying only volunteers is the best strategy, but Mr. Sparkles notes that volunteers have been more effective than paid employees or state workers in the past.  Samantha adds that the Bunny Brigade is an all-volunteer force, and it seems to be plenty effective at preventing and/or responding to local small animal attacks.  "There's no reason it can't work on the worldwide scale.  [Give it some time.]"

---

Another quote:

"Some of us may say 'someone' tells imposters to kill, or they attempt to put an imposter in her place.  But it's fruitless to say that we will begin blaming each other to spend all the thread[1].  There is no evidence, stay cool.  No matter who attempts to get profit, we can fight against them in the same style to save her."

[1] Is that some kind of sewing analogy?  I have no idea, I'm really not sure about this one.

Needless to say, sometimes, it can be difficult to understand with any precision the words written by small animals.

---

I'm told they use the designation "WVD-01".  I have no idea what that stands for, or how to contact them.  I'm not even sure who they are.  Mikey says he overheard them being discussed in a small animal bar, but the only concrete thing he heard was that they was that "some Panda" was assisting them.

---

That's "bunny N"  See the earlier post:
« Reply #79 on: December 13, 2010, 07:54:50 pm »

---

Revisited:

"Some of us may say 'someone' tells imposters to kill, or they attempt to put an imposter in her place.  But it's fruitless to say that we will begin blaming each other to spend all the thread.  There is no evidence, stay cool.  No matter who attempts to get profit, we can fight against them in the same style to save her."

I think I've got the proper translation of this now, basically s/he was saying that it might seem like since all the attacks have been on, say, bunnies, that it might seem like the motive is to make, say, guinea pigs, rats, hamsters, ferrets, and other small animals more popular by 'bringing down' the popularity of bunnies. 

And by now, someone else has commented that even this assertion isn't true, the attacks haven't been limited to just one like that.  According to Mikey, "They're going after everything.  And everyone.  Indiscriminately.  There's no obvious pattern."

---

It just came in, here is a quick translation of her statement.

"[CFM] is in agreement, and our agents are gathering information.  That is a real group, but we don't know if there is any real connection.  We have sent communications to them, and await a response."

So really now that they are aware, we can just be patient and wait.
Sad state of things that this has come too... the attacks started in November of last year and only now they (the authorities) are starting to take notice?  Small animals need to be more of a priority for them.  Someone needs to -- someone will -- stand up to whoever is doing this and start fighting back.

66

Except for the Pig / Re: Small Animal News

« on: January 24, 2012, 08:42:23 pm »

It's larger than that.  They've already got a team to the far north, and they're in the process of assembling a team to the (nearer) north.  I think that's the real key; you can only go so far with technology alone.  Having a full team of people there that support it will go much farther than that.

But I don't expect they'll go after the neighborhood cat gang, not yet at least.  We'll see in march, perhaps that will be their first real appearance?  It's local, at least.

---

Just the preview, wait till you see the full video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJezQlYvO9c

And the scary part is:
This video is most popular with:
#1: Male    35-44
#2: Male    45-54
#3: Female 13-17

Remember target audience of Creamy Mami is girl from 6 to 12 years old.  And yet that's doesn't even make the chart.
The world is a scary place, watch out for staklerz.  And it's very big in the PRC too, more than twice as popular in the PRC than any other country like the USA.  Must be all those Pandas.

---

Due to the current logistical and supply shortages, they are limited to only 50 Tuan Tuan Posters.  If you want a poster, the representative will begin handing them out at roughly 9am.  So if you want one, you better show up early.

---

From Mikey:
"The reports are true.  I recently spoke to an infiltrator who described how for the past couple of weeks, their main office had been overrun by rats.  You'd think the cats wouldn't have much problem setting up rat patrols, but the higher-up in charge of this, Cat W, has been slacking as of late since it's obvious he's on the way out and isn't likely to secure enough votes to keep his position in the Vanguard at the next Kitty Caucus.  At one point the rat problem became so bad that the cats had to call in an exterminator, that led to a short-term decrease, but a few days later, the rats came back with a vengeance and Cat P had to cancel one of his mandatory morale-boosting 'pep rallies'.  He reports it's a big problem, and growing day by day."

---

Rumor has it that Cat P is 'done', and will be removed from his current position in "A couple of months, or maybe sooner."  Cats W, T, and others who have supported him are unlikely to survive the aftermath.  His likely replacement is the cat who he sold his soul to, aka. Cat K, or one of his many henchmen. 

The rather prominent snake and enough of the other cats who are likely participants in the Kitty Caucus are behind this move.  According to Mikey, "There's always been a sentiment among the gang's lower levels -- thugs, assorted low-lives, and other general bad and/or misbehaving kitties that P was an ineffective and incompetent leader with no idea how to run the gang.  This is normal, but in the past few months, this sentiment has moved up the ranks, now you have many of the top cats in their respective areas seriously doubting his ability and wanting him out.  It's past the point of no return, he's been a zombie[1] from the beginning and only he and his inner circle haven't realised it."

[1] Not the horror-movie zombie, Mikey is using it in the economic sense (ie. Zombie bank, Zombie company, etc.) of something that is already dead, or perpetually failing, but kept alive through outside intervention.

67

Except for the Pig / Re: Small Animal News

« on: January 09, 2012, 10:51:40 pm »

From Mikey:
"He was most certainly there.  Friday, in the far hall, I walked right by him.  Or more, he waddled past me, flanked by a few of his best buds.  You can't really miss that fat cat, though I just continued along nonchalantly, not wanting to make a scene."

"The next day, the snake made reference to having to find 'el presidente' due to some logistical problem that had come up.  So he must have been there during then also."

"It's kinda strange they let him there to begin with.  Oh and this was before 'that incident'[1]."

[1] Cat P's and T's close call with his new publicity-gathering idea

One of the booths / merchants (kappa berra or something like that) was handing out free helium balloons, the cat wanted to use the balloons to leap off the balcony and slowly float down to the plaza below.  Of course, being so overweight, it was not possible to gather enough balloons to support himself, instead he volunteered his loyal servant 'T' for the task.  A bunch of balloons were tied to T with some ribbons by his assistants, but his assistants were holding onto him in the process and weighing him down, throwing off the measurements and they ended up tying too many balloons to him so that when they let go, he started to float off and up into the sky.  This normally wouldn't be a huge problem, as they could just wait a few hours for him to come back down; but they were near an airport and if he floated too high he might end up sucked into an airplane's engine or something like that.  So security was summoned, and they had to 'rescue' him.

---

It is not part of the bunny brigade; it is actually three members of the black bunny squad that were captured during the action and are being held captive.  The black bunny squad is a well-known mercenary group of 'expendables' that is sometimes hired out to do tasks that the brigade deems too dangerous for its own members.

---

Because it was an actual contest.  There were no second-rate or second-tier attempts.  Everything was very well done.  I don't know who won, but the judges captured video to aid in the judging.

---

You do not have to do anything to get one of the life-size Tuan Tuan Posters.  You just have to show up.
Supplies may be limited, and one poster per person only.

---

She moved, in relation to the neighborhood cat gang's territory, she is 'one to two hours to the east'.
At least, it's a much better spot for her than where she used to live.

In relation to Mikey's area, she is "pretty far away... north till you hit the big mountain range, then east about an hour or so."

68

Except for the Pig / Re: Small Animal News

« on: December 12, 2011, 08:08:30 pm »

1) Generally, the end difference is background exposure, which is why it's good to do both.  If you lock them on the custom dial (ie. C1 and C2) then you can switch between them real quickly.  And choose which one looks better in post.

If properly set, bounce flash will not illuminate the background.  Since it's coming down on the subject from the ceiling.  For AV mode, the camera will expose to the frame and then add a limited amount of 'fill' flash, as to not blow out the subject.  To some extent, you can tweak the balance between exposure and flash using the EV adjust.  And you can tweak the absolute flash intensity with FEC.  For M mode, the camera is going to expose as it is set up, adding flash to bring the exposure up to standard brightness.  But, since only the subject is being illuminated, it will likely overexpose the subject if left alone.  If the flash metering is set to center weighted average, you will probably need to use FEC -1 or -2 EV in order to keep the subject normal brightness.  You can try spot metering or center-only modes for flash metering, if available, these shouldn't need any adjustment.

When absolutely necessary, direct flash can be fine.  Just adjust it way down with FEC. 

2) It doesn't have to be that bad, you can make a 'speedlight-on-a-stick' using light monopod, a heavy ball head, and some velcro and zipties to secure it.  Secure the flash to the bottom end of the monopod, the heavy ball head serves as a counterweight, allowing you to hold it close to that end.  This contraption will be balanced enough to hold in one hand, or even anchored underarm (and above the opposing elbow) or such. 

You can get 30 degrees offset this way easily, tangent of 30 is around 0.6, so if you are 8 to 9 feet away from the subject, 30 degrees is around 5 feet out.  That way, even if you keep the background in focus, which is generally preferable in this case, and faces and other features won't appear flat. 

---

I really doubt that's true.  It's just laughable that they would even try that.  But if it is, you know who to talk to.  I'm not the one to fix it; I can't fix it.

---

I'm still trying.  The software I had access to couldn't do it.  And there's already other sources out there, so it's not a big time rush.  Honestly if it never happens, it's no big loss, there was another person there with a full team so I really just took a step back and tried to stay out of their way.  What's important is that the Akiba's identity stay a secret, we don't want to 'blow his cover' so to speak.  I don't know the details, but honestly, it's not something I need to or care to know.  We were joking about it the other day, [insert random explanation here], like that he's a fugitive dog on the run from the animal control, or he has a salaried position at some major firm working as a public face, or he's enough of a celebrity or recognizable figure who doesn't want to be 'outed', or it's secretly [deleted] himself, and he doesn't want his face or identity known too well, or for people to know it's him, or so on.  That's why, most people like me insist:  Don't say anything more, I don't need to, or even want to, know. 

69

General Forum / Re: The 1080p question!

« on: December 07, 2011, 10:18:00 pm »

Speaking of paws, scientists have tried for many years to determine visual acuity of small animals, with only limited success.

When tested, only a small portion of guinea pigs, bunnies, rats, mice, hamsters, or other domestic small animals could tell the difference between 240p and 320p video.  So honestly, anything above 480p is overkill.  The same is true for 10-bit color, most small animals have dichromatic vision, they can (at best) perceive two different colors like rabbits can tell the difference between green and blue but not much else.

Audio on the other hand is quite lacking, as 48000Hz sampling rate audio actually sounds quite horrible to small animals whose ears work to the upper limit of roughly 60000Hz (for many small animals like guinea pigs) to 90000Hz for a few such as rats.  My main recommendation would be to to use an audio sampling rate of at least 192KHz and preferably 256KHz rather than the paltry 48KHz that is standard today.

70

Except for the Pig / Re: Small Animal News

« on: December 02, 2011, 01:44:37 am »

I was told to "just keep trying".  People say that it works on some days and doesn't work on other days.  If a few days go by and you still can't get it to work, try calling them.

---

Right now I will say that sentiment is between 'mixed' and 'negative'.  It's certainly not positive. 

According to Mikey, "It's not just one reason.  It's a collection of reasons, and something is going on.  Someone is goofy here, it's hard to say who, or what.  But if those are the decisions they are making, internally, I don't expect it can last.  It's going to cause a revolt among his own, or it's going to sputter out."

---

So far, only Vocaloid (2pm) and Touhou (4pm).  Please don't ask me to do the MLP one, I still have nightmares about that from when I was young.  I've already had to tell a few people no.  If there is a PS&G I'll do that one, maybe some of the others but definately no MLP.

---

13/109 is my best count, not bad.
16/114 now. 
18/116, it's significantly over 10%.

----

So Far:
Friday
* 2 pm - Vocaloid - Pool Deck
3 pm - Pokemon - Pool Deck
4 pm - Adventure Time - Pool Deck - maybe, ONLY if one of my friends is in it
4:30pm - All video games
5 pm - Capcom vs SNK - place TBD
Saturday
12 pm - Valve - Patio
* 2 pm - Vocaloid - Pool Deck
* 3 pm - Vocaloid Dance Competition(?) - Pool Deck
3 pm - Final Fantasy - Pool Deck
* 4 pm - Touhou Project - Pool Deck

---

It's fine.  I'm not a big fan of it indoors.  But outdoors, no complaints really. 

---

This is starting to get ridiculous, that's the second time this has happened.  I searched and a lot of users are having this exact same kind of problem.  They claim it is 'extremely rare', but it doesn't seem so.  I can keep bypassing it to the alt, but it's really getting rather annoying. 

Note:  I'm still trying to figure out exactly what caused it.  I pieced it out and I haven't got anything back for the individual pieces yet.  I'm starting to think it may be just a wierd glitch, one that only happens when everything is put together.  But in the past, it's taken 48 hours for that to come back, so the only thing to do is just wait.

Okay, I think I figured it out.  The new system can trigger based on the length of the complete video.  So if a compilation video gets rejected, try keeping it short or splitting it up into smaller videos that are under 15 minutes long or even under 5 minutes long. 

It may not be a perfect, but the site isn't perfect either.  It's just what we have and have to live with right now.

---

That's not a myth, it was very much true at the time.  His doctor told him that he was developing carpal tunnel in his wrists and hands and that there was no treatment other than to stop playing the computer game for a while.  So he had to stop for several months, and while he was not playing his friends joked that he had been placed on 'injured reserve'[1]. 

71

Except for the Pig / Re: Small Animal News

« on: November 23, 2011, 11:13:25 pm »

"Final" simply means it will be the last time the current setup and technology is used.  In my conversations with the snake, he said they are waiting for the next iteration of the technology and redesign of the setup to get it 'right'.  Because their current iteration is just not there.

According to Mikey, "As a singular setup, it can work, pretty well in fact.  But it's not a crowd-pleaser, not much at least."

Honestly the current setup leaves much to be desired.  It was dated from the beginning and we all knew it.  It was just a very modern implementation of an old idea, the system itself -- already an incognito group of pigs and bunnies are able to get close to mimicking it all with little more than 20,000 carrots in funds. 

So in all honestly, we'll see where things go from here. 

72

Except for the Pig / Re: Small Animal News

« on: November 14, 2011, 11:06:50 pm »

Yes, he really is.  He mentioned the conversation went something like this:

"Oh, by the way, I'm sorrey but your blacklisted from [deleted]."

I don't think he was faking it.  And the funny thing is, no one quite knows why.  It's totally nonsensical.
He wasn't banned for a reason or because he actually did anything.  And he stands out too much to be any kind of sabotage risk, unless
he tries to ninja his way in.

I wouldn't put it past him to still show up.  It honestly can't be too hard to slither around whatever incognito safeguards they've tried
to set up.  Of course he disavowed all knowledge of that, but we'll see.

Nobody knows what's really going on inside C's head.  But if he banned the snake without a reason, he's going to lose a lot more,
because that snake for instance has a pretty good relationship with two of his bunnies, among others.  I saw it, they were right in
front of me.  Not to mention, a decent sized following among others.

---

Yes, and times two.
I'd check, but I just don't care.

---

It was pretty bad.  The lighting consisted of a mix of incandescent, 2500K, 2800K, and 3200K.  The two setups I used were:
C1 AV f/2.8 ISO3200 EV -2/3 AB 2/3 FC-DNF DR-C C2 M f/2.8 1/100 ISO800 FEC -1/3 C3 AV f/2.8 ISO2500 FEC -1
C1 AV f/2.8 ISO1600 FEC -2/3 C2 M f/2.8 1/100 ISO800 FEC -1/3 C3 AV f/2.8 ISO2500 FEC -1
flash set to 3200K.

---

It got a CID match, so I deleted it.
I'll upload it to an alternate account soon.  I know CID can be defeated, but it's easier to just upload it to an alt.
The sad thing is, it's a guy standing right there playing a melody from a song on a keyboard.  Recorded through a video camera.  Just the base melody, no lyrics or anything.  And somehow it gets a CID match.  Something's screwed up with that, but go figure. 

---

Yes, shortly after I posted it, I got a pm from one of the small animals saying that one of the Akiba didn't want his face shown in the video and asking me to obscure it.  So I made it private, I'll see if I can do that on youtube and if not, I'll do it over the weekend.  I don't have the video editing software to do that, but I know a few people who probably do.

---

Quite simple really, that dog, like a lot of English Springer Spaniels, is over prone to 'rage syndrome'.  If baited, even slightly, he will 'blow up' and begin behaving aggressively toward people.  These fits include loud barking, growling, and lurching/charging at animals and even people who happen to be close by.  It's become so well-known that many have made it a sport to bait him to see what he will do next, since the episodes tend to be rather humorous and draw a lot of attention. 

From Mikey:  "If he takes over, you can be pretty sure he'll kill it.  I'm not sure why anyone would want that dog in charge."

73

Except for the Pig / Re: Small Animal News

« on: November 08, 2011, 12:01:01 am »

Yes, snake E, who works for some local firm (unknown) as a manager.  Middle-aged, approx. 40-45 years old (snake years).  Was known to be friends with the late snake S, as well as the snake J, but openly states his dislike of nearly all other snakes.  Even the generally-outwardly-friendly snake Z.  He's never been known to threaten small animals, and most think of him in a similar way to snake Z, ie. "Mostly Harmless".

---
Friday:
Nonaka and Imegawa 5pm LP1
Asian Food Challenge 7pm Marina

Saturday:
Moon Prism Poptarts 11am LP1
Cosplay Contest 3:30pm Main Event
Vocalekt Visions 7pm LP2

Sunday:
Ladies of Tenchi Muyo 12pm LP2
Christina Vee 1pm LP2
Tsuyoshi Nonaka 2pm LP2

---

That is correct, by all outside appearances, he has been 'erased' from the gang.  Checking their photos from a year ago (and more), they have been edited / photoshopped, often poorly.  In most, his image was simply erased, in one case leaving a cat who had been on his back simply floating in midair, or leaving prominent empty spaces in group shots.  In a few cases, his image has been covered with a photo of Cat F.  Oddly enough, he still appears in plenty of video releases from the gang, presumably 'erasing' him from video is either beyond their capabilities, or this effort is a work in progress.

This is an unusual measure, in most other cases, those who have been forced out (ie. Cat R, Cat L) typically remain in past photos and literature.

74

Except for the Pig / Re: Small Animal News

« on: October 29, 2011, 01:54:17 am »

Yes, and I can verify it.  According to Ollie there was no resistance at all, though I wouldn't conclude much else because it's just one guy honestly.  It's heavily hierarchical, we already know that.

"With the drop in security issues, the [skeleton crew] was pulled, re-equipped, and reformed as the forward interdiction team.  It was sent north, for operations against the gang."

"The maps were made in March, and hence outdated.  But knowing that the southeast segment of their territory fell under W's responsibility, all twenty bunnies formed up in a tight formation and advanced.  We were not met with any resistance as we could see W's owner's house.  But we found the house to be abandoned, with evidence of what looked like a bank foreclosure."

"It didn't take the bunnies long to find a way in, by gnawing through a hastily boarded up window and the house was found to be completely abandoned save for a few rats.  Following this, a garrison was set and the house secured as a forward base."

[Honestly it doesn't say much, it doesn't necessarily mean that W is done or anything like that.  Just that he no longer lives in that house.]

---

(Continuation)

"It didn't take long to find out from the local rats that the house had been abandoned for more than a month.  A mercenary from the 'black bunny squad' was quick to show up and offer his services to our force when enticed with a small stash of carrots.  He was tasked with scouting out the gang's main base (to the northwest) and reporting back the number of cats and any other forces.  Before night our intelligence officer met with him and went over photos of some of the prominent (or once-prominent) cats in the gang like Cat Y or others who may be willing to flip with the right enticement."

"At night our first supply team arrived with a bunch of carrots, rope, and fresh water.  The mercenary set off and promised us that the would be back by sunrise."

"Mr. Hops, the primary lookout, reported seeing some apparent cat eyes in the dark distance at several points throughout the night.  But we couldn't figure out if it was a cat with the gang, an ordinary stray, or someone else."

...

---

She will be there, but she has an extreme case of total sociophobia, meaning that despite being (apparently) rather gregarious and active online, she does not interact with or even acknowledge people irl.  According to her sister, "this is perfectly normal behavior (for her)." 

"The girl sat in the corner, facing the window.  She had no will to interact with the group at all.  Her only interaction with the world was to occasionally sip her milk tea that her sister had given her earlier in the night.  Otherwise she was completely engrossed with her laptop screen and completely ignored the world around her.  When it was time to go, her sister tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention, and then she silently closed the laptop and followed her sister out the door."

---

I don't believe so.  I probed and found nothing solid.  Whatever went on was just your usual back-and-forth (normal discourse).  It wasn't the type of thing you could pin down.  So honestly, I wouldn't worrey about it too much at this time.

75

Except for the Pig / Re: Small Animal News

« on: October 14, 2011, 02:24:06 am »

I don't think so, but we'll see if it (really) matters in due time.  Success, false success is the greatest threat to those who live under illusions.

And personally, I just don't care.  There's honestly no reason for me to care.

With things apparently cooling down, the Lepus alliance has recalled their skeleton crew back to the north to begin operations against the gang in their home area.  They say that there haven't been any cats spotted in their safe zone and that it appears the gang is 'clamping down', scaling down their activities to conserve what little fuel is left in their stores.

According to Mikey, the inside word is that Cat W is very close to being ousted as part of P's inner circle.  "W's support by the 'rank and file' of the gang has been teetering, and P doesn't think much of him either.  W can barely get the other cats to listen to him, much less consider what he says.  I don't expect he'll survive through the end of this year."  K, the japanese bobtail, is well respected and a threat to P.  P isn't terribly fond of him, but having already sold out, he can't get rid of him. 

---

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w337ij3wtXA
"Cirno's voice has been fixed.  All the voices are done by an actual girl"

Note:  16:19 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_ching#Trigrams

---

For snakes, this type of 'everyone is out to get me' paranoia is quite common.  In reality, snakes are territorial and solitary creatures that make a habit of avoiding other snakes.  And it's not uncommon for this general fear of others to extend to any type of animal, to the point that most snakes are simply not capable of any kind of cooperation with other animals. 

"It's just not in them.  A snake has no understanding of when to back off, when to slither forward, and so on.  If two snakes are forced into close proximity with each other, it will almost always end with a fight in which one snake eats the other."