So, I was playing Wii Tennis… and let’s just say that the strap broke and flew directly to my left with a loud “THUD” onto the wall. I wanted to also mention that my roommate was *directly* to the right of the impact.

I had a feeling that the strap was extremely insecure (as it’s really really thin; upon inspection of the cord, it’s just like a thin thread wrapped around thin plastic), but man, I didn’t know it would lead to that. After a few apologies, and a shaken up roommate, I’m really afraid to wield the Wiimote again.

Nintendo really needs to make the string that hooks into the Wiimote stronger or something; I mean christ, she could have been seriously injured.

I know that I held the Wiimote firmly, but I guess after around an hour of play with sweaty palms… yeahhhh.

Broken strap, dented wall, and pissed off roommate… maybe it’s a sign to go back to my studies.

I propose titanium threads – it may cost more, but at least it will spare you from a possible lawsuit and charges of indirect murder.

As for the Wiimote itself, sans strap, there’s a small chunk of the plastic now missing from the top left corner of the IR (Wiimote face up). So yes, it still works, you inconsiderate jerks.

“For those who feel that they’ve completely lost in life: it’s alright to feel failure, and it’s alright to cry because of it.

Even the most successful can be brought to their knees; they have to start over again. Where to start over, how to start over? There is no real answer to this, but it’s never too late to begin.

The foundation is there already there to step upon – the tears of self-acknowledgment. Build upon it with accomplishment, make it as high as the success you wish to define.

I want to tell you, that right now, I am a failure in many ways, but I look forward to the future, where I can rebuild with persistence the me I wish to be.

I used to have doubts about who I was, but that was only because I doubted myself. Although I am a failure…

(Photo credit Cecil Williams)

…my wings have never grown so long, father.”

Song: REIRA starring YUNA ITO - Truth

Note: I am not a math/calculus genius, but I do enjoy what it offers to us. Hence, I am not an expert in this topic. My explanation is meant to be extremely simple. The graphs below assume that both the F-Zero cars are going on a straight path without any obstructions, accelerating at their maximum.

What is this that we sometimes see in the movies, TV, or even in our calculus book? This sexy elongated s-shape is called the integral. Like people, the integral can come in many forms:

The indefinite integral

The definite integral

I’m sure you’re going, “Man, it’s hot, but what else can it do?”

Although this is the most simple way of putting it, the integral is used to find the area, the volume of a 3-d object, the mass of an object, or the displacement/distance. There are MUCH more uses, but those are the common uses at the beginning calculus level.
What do these forms mean?

In the indefinite integral , we would be finding the entire area/volume/mass.

In the definite integral , we would be finding the area/volume/mass over a range that goes from a to b.

I’ll give an example.

Let’s take one of the best racing games ever, F-Zero for the SNES. I loved playing with the Golden Fox, due to its rapid acceleration:

See the curve that represents the rate of speed? Well, if we knew the equation that gives that curve, then we can use integration to see how far the car would be going at a particular point of the curve. Let’s compare it to the Fire Stingray:

Let’s say that we want to know how far a car is after speeding from point a (starting) to point b (the halfway point). Points a and b represent time, where a=0, and b is the halfway point of the graph. I say half-way because we don’t exactly know what time the halfway point is.

So, what we do is take the definite integral from point a to b, which is the area under the graphs from a to b.

of the Golden Fox:

of the Fire Stingray

The blue shading represents the displacement, or how far the car has gone. So, at point b, the Golden Fox will gain a set distance (because the line is straight the entire way), while the Fire Stingray is still gaining more distance.

However, at point b, which is further along? Well, let’s combine the graphs together:

The above graph shows that at time point b, The Golden Fox will be further along than the Fire Stingray, because the Golden Fox has a larger area (it has the red + blue area) than the Fire Stingray (just the blue).

However, what if we took the integral from point a (time = 0) to infinity (time = MAX, although that’s not really possible in real life):

In the above graph, I took the (indefinite integral), which means to take the entire area under the curve. So, we have the entire area for the Golden Fox and the Fire Stingray now.

What does it show? At the maximum time, the Fire Stingray is now ahead of the Golden Fox because the area of the Fire Stingray is greater than the Golden Fox. Since both are at their maximum time, the Fire Stingray will eventually outrun the Golden Fox.

However, when we took the of the curves, the Golden Fox was further along at time b, while the Fire Stingray was lagging behind.

Let’s say that the race lasted b seconds. The Golden Fox would win, because the Fire Stingray would never be able to achieve a greater distance until after point b.

I hope you’ve learned a lot today! This was a really simple explanation without going into the actual math of it. Also, feel free to reply and correct me if I’m wrong with any of my stuff.

Song: F-Zero GX - Mrs. Arrow

Everything I write below this sentence is probably not true. But, I had to write my semi-disgust somehow.

I purchased my first DS game, Children of Mana, as I am a fan of the Mana series. If you are unfamiliar with the Mana series, it is a free-roaming (definition depending on which Mana game you are playing) adventure RPG, that involves the Mana Tree, which supports the world. Of course, the games exist because shit happens to this tree – birds crap on it, burly gnomes take its magical bark, or a group of power-hungry people try to steal its seeds.

If I was that tree, I would be pissed, and find someone to do something about it, well, because, I’m a tree, and can’t move.

So gloomy… and alone..

So, for some reason, this tree always seems to have some magical sword, the Mana Sword, which purifies, removes barriers, and cuts things.

Did I tell you that the tree is probably also a pedophile? Yeah, it seems to favor little children with its sword. And thus, a group of unsupervised children (or in Children of Mana, just you and up to possibly three other comrades) go off to save the tree.

I’m currently playing as this dancer. Maybe the Tree is expecting a free show…

I’ll tell you that in Children of Mana, this is partially true. In the eight hours that I’ve played so far, I have reason to believe that the Tree is saying, “Screw this shit”, and is doing some self-cutting to have children run to it (because, you know, the Tree is a pedo). My evidence? The higher Mana spirits are bitching about being woke up to the cutting sounds.

Save me from myself, Children of Mana!

I’ll save you the time of any more reading; you’ll like this game if:

• You like the lack of a storyline, or any form of character development
• You think only redeeming element of a game is hack and slash. Lots of it.
• You enjoy playing with up to four players (but that probably won’t happen, since you know, no one likes an emo Tree; oh, and the fact that it only works if you’re within 10′ of another player with the game as well)
• You were turned on by the image of the dancer above (Do not buy this game because of the dancer, please)
• You dislike the use of magical elements in your gameplay, as the magic in the game is absolutely useless
• You find yourself without any other DS game (like me!)

Do I regret my purchase?

Yes and no… I find myself glued to it regardless of the repetition at times; if I had time-reversal capabilities, I would purchase Magical Starsign, or Contact instead.

As for a reward, here’s a song that will lift your whimsical magical vacation?

Song: Ys II - In Adventure World (Stay With me Forever)

One of my most favorite shows is School Rumble. The second season ended around a month or two ago, and I’m sure there will be a third one (since the manga is still ongoing). If there was the best comedy for romantic misunderstandings, this story would win awards. It also has a really nice ending song, which is the title of this post.

Love at last, or am I just pulling your chain…?

Song: Ami Tokitou - Kono Namida ga Aru kara Tsugi no Ippo to Naru