Robot Claw

First Day

August 21st, 2023

It was the first day of classes today. This is now my 21st year of teaching. The cycle continues as it always has.

Dramatic weather this morning, although it warmed in the afternoon. I hated wearing jeans, but I’ve never taught in shorts. For years now I always wear the same ‘outfit’: black jeans, t-shirt and shoes.

Here’s the room in which I teach my morning class, which has about 70 students. They looked young, and were very quiet (as the current generation often is). Many sat half way or further back until I chided them, at which point half moved to the front. I expect next lecture many will have moved closer to the front.

Some things never change, such as people selling posters at the start of semester. I remember this being an occurrence even 33 years ago when I first started University. I flipped through the selection and saw many eternal topics (Bob Marley, Star Wars, Superheroes) as well as some much more recent ones (Harry Styles, Fortnite, Stranger Things). There were also many people I didn’t recognize. Streamers maybe?

Coincidentally enough, one of the posters was Australian and over 30 years old! Do kids these days buy posters of bands their parents were into?

My afternoon lecture is taught in a bigger lecture center, and has 175+ students. They were much rowdier than the morning class, probably because it wasn’t so early in the morning 🙂

Here’s my office. I spend many hours in here each week, mostly accompanied by students looking for help. It’s fun, but tiring, and makes the time – and days – speed by.

21 years! How much longer will I be doing this?

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89 More Hours Of Ultraman!

August 16th, 2023

My previous four posts covered 270 hours of ultra-series but only a fool would think that was enough. And I’m no fool. So let’s continue with dozens more hours over six series and a film…

Ultraman Gaia (1998, 51 episodes 20.5 hours)

This series had a somewhat tedious opening arc, despite the inclusion of a second antiheroic Ultraman (Agul) to introduce some tension. It got better mid-series, but the ‘big bad’ (some sort of ‘dark being’) was ill-defined, I was never a fan of the main character and the supporting cast lacked charm. Overall one of the weaker series.

Ultraman Neos (2000, 12 episodes, 5.2 hours)

This was a short direct-to-video series with a more adult tone. It had very impressive special effects for its era (mid 90s) and with no need for filler episodes it never outstayed its welcome. As a bonus the girls were cute and the fanservice addition of ‘Ultraseven 21’ was wonderful.

Ultraman Cosmos (2001, 65 episodes, 26 hours)

This was great! I loved the characters and the fx/monster suits were leagues beyond Gaia. The ‘pacifist Ultraman’ premise worked well enough, and the series included story arcs and returning guest characters that worked well. Some episodes were very poignant, and the ending a tear-jerker. My only negative: the prequel film isn’t great. One of the better ultra series.

Ultraman (Season 3) (2023, 12 episodes, 4.6 hours)

The third and final series of the Netflix animated series (based on the comic) was phenomenal. It has a wonderful story with nice twists, and the final villian reveal, although not unexpected, was magnificent. It introduced a new Ultra and – even better – a new suit for the hero, and the last episode is one of the best anime episodes I have ever seen. Fantastic!

Ultraman Nexus (2004, 37 episodes, 18.5 hours)

This is a strange show. Tsuburaya wanted an ultra series for an older viewer, and Nexus was the result. It departs from the usual setup in many ways, such as having multiple hosts for Nexus throughout the series, and monsters that stick around for several weeks. In some episodes Nexus barely appears! Unfortunately it mostly fails due to flat characters and a too-slow story. The last third redeems it somewhat, but I see why this was canceled early.

Ultraman Taiga (2019, 36 episodes, 13 hours)

The first of the Reiwa era Ultras! Taiga is a fast paced show full of colour and energy. There’s a lot to love here: a very likeable ultra, a mysterious and charismatic villian, fantastic and flashy special effects, cute girls and some wonderful self-referential writing. This is a series for fans of all ages and I loved every moment of it!

Shin Ultraman (2022, 2 hours)

Hideaki Anno drew obvious inspiration from Ultraman in his famous Evangelion series, and I knew when it was announced he was writing this film (and especially after his superb Shin Godzilla) that it would be something special. I was not disappointed! Everything here is crafted with style and care and love, from the first appearance of the redesigned Ultraman, through the episodic sequences that reimagine familiar (to a fan) foes in interesting ways, and finally to the confrontation with the ultimate antagonist. Absolutely sublime, and immediately one of my favourite ever films.

If you’re keeping track, I’m at about 360 hours of Ultraman series watched so far, but I’m not done yet. In the next installment there’ll be at least six additional full series, and maybe a film or two. And depending how long that takes me, maybe even the US-made animated film may be out as well?!

But before then I think it’s time for a review of some Ultraman-adjacent material. I’ll probably get to that soon…

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NYC: United

August 9th, 2023

I woke feeling the weight of two very active days. Many said to me ‘take it easy’ on this trip, and I’ve really tried, but even my east days seem to consist of a lot of exercise!

I ate the remainder of yesterdays sub for breakfast before heading here:

It’s the United Nations. I wanted to once again visit the stamp counter, which had been closed for over three years due to Covid. After waiting in very hot sun to get through the multiple steps of security I was in… and had to wait a bit longer for the stamp shop to open 🙂

Unfortunately the stamp selection wasn’t as large as last time I was there, and they also weren’t selling postcards. I did have some on me (here’s a protip: always carry spare postcards just in case) but hardly enough for everyone. I’ll know next time.

Now I’m on the train in my private ‘roomette’ trying hard not to fall asleep as we travel along. I had fun in the city and I bought me and KLS some fun stuff but it’s a little bittersweet that summer is now coming to an end and work begins again very soon.

I guess I’ll look forward to our fall trip to NYC in only two months 😉

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NYC: Edge

August 8th, 2023

I slept in this morning, rare for me, but it’d been a late night last night what with all the postcards, blogging and burning my Puzzle & Dragons stamina. I ventured out for some late (for me) breakfast, before walking to this building:

It’s called ’34 Hudson Yards’ and at 103 floors is one of the tallest skyscrapers in the USA. If you look closely near the top, you’ll see a triangular platform jutting out. That’s an outdoor observation platform called ‘Edge’, opened only a couple of years ago, and was my destination today. At first I was a bit underwhelmed – since the building is new and has no history, the line experience was very dry – but once I rode the elevator to the observation deck my concerns just melted away…

Unlike others I’ve been to, the edge of the platform is just a glass wall which seemed to deter many people from stepping too close. It’s the 100th floor and since the glass is diagonally away from the edge when you go right up to it you can look directly down. It’s fantastic!

The views are spectacular, and the position closer to the river gives a different perspective on the city from the other three towers I’ve visited (this trip and last year). If you compare to yesterdays photos from the ESB you’ll see the visibility was better today as well.

The above is a photo of the Empire State Building taken from Edge, and you can see the two observatories are about the same height. They’re both outdoors as well, although the glass-only walls of Edge are better (more thrilling) than those of the ESB. That said, the outdoor part of Edge is only one side of the building, although you can view in all directions inside the building.

Edge has a transparent floor section you can stand on, and many patrons didn’t want to anywhere near it. In the above photo I am 1100 feet above the ground, standing on reinforced glass and looking down to the street. Had the floor broken, it would have taken me about 9 seconds to hit the ground, and when I did I would have been traveling over 300 km/hr. I imagine Kristin would have retired on the lawsuit money as well 🙂

The glass walls are very thick (at least an inch) but have gaps you can stick your fingers through. It was amusing to watch people summon their courage to walk close to the glass walls but still be hesitant to stand near the gaps. Even though they were scared I think they were having fun though.

I’ve now done four observation decks in NYC and enjoyed them all, and it’s interesting how each has its own strengths. Rockefeller center is the best placed, One Vanderbilt had the best experience at the lower levels (the mirrored rooms were extraordinary), ESB has a rich history and wonderful 360 degree views and Edge has the thrilling glass walls and floor. If you had time to do only one of them, I think I’d recommend the Empire State Building, but if you’re interested in these sorts of attractions then I believe there’s worth in all four.

Of course there’s two other notable decks in NYC as well (one is in the above pic). Do I have a third trip in my future?

After dark I skipped down to Times Square to see the lights and the people and neither disappointed. Every time we visit it seems the screens get bigger and you can barely see the buildings now for all the advertising! Covid is a very distant memory now (there’s absolutely no hint of the pandemic any more and I don’t believe I’ve seen a single mask these two days) and the city is once again bursting with tourists.

And since I know you’re interested, my meals today were an egg/bacon sandwich for breakfast, a turkey sub for lunch, some hot candied cashews for an afternoon snack and a burrito bowl for dinner. It was all delicious!

I head home tomorrow but not until mid afternoon. I’ve got a special plan for the morning; something that wasn’t possible the last three years. Let’s hope it works out…

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NYC: Empire

August 7th, 2023

I’m in New York City for an end-of-summer mini vacation!

Today I did a lot of shopping, a lot of walking, and a lot of eating. It rained a bit before lunch, then got very hot and humid, so it was a bit of an uncomfortable day. But to this veteran of hostile climes, I barely felt it!

I’m here to visit two more observation towers, and todays destination was the Empire State Building. It opened in 1931 and was the worlds tallest building for almost 40 years, and still ranks as one of the tallest (and very likely the most well-known) buildings in America. People have been ascending to the observation level for almost 100 years now, and today it was my turn.

It wasn’t very busy, and I was able to enjoy at my leisure the many displays visitors pass through on their way to the elevators. These include extensive histories and historical artifacts, a curved ‘theater’ showing excerpts from the hundreds of films in which the ESB has featured, a section where King Kong himself looks through the windows at you as you pass, and a gallery of celebrities that have visited the tower over the years, only one of which impressed me:

And then I rode the lift to the 86th floor for some sky-high views of New York City:

The green patch in the middle is Bryant Park, and the black and gold building on this side is the hotel I’m sitting in right now! As you can see it was a bit hazy today, but the views from the outdoor observation level were still fantastic. If you look closely you can see three buildings disappearing into the clouds in the distance: these are all residential skyscrapers. Imagine living with views like this?

Here’s the view in the other direction (south) toward Battery Park and the Statue Of Liberty (which isn’t really visible in this pic, but I could see fairly easily from the tower). I’ve given these pics a ‘ye olde’ filter since there was a sense of history being up the ESB. It wasn’t my first visit, but I barely remember the other time 18 years ago and the full experience is a lot more professional and impressive now.

Of course they exit you through the gift shop, where I briefly considered buying Bernard this lovely King Kong stuffed doll, before coming to my senses and heading onto the streets again to look for dinner.

Speaking of food: here’s what I ate today! A turkey sub, two mochi donuts (from different shops) and a chicken kebab from the just-opened and new to America ‘German Doner Kebab’ chain. It was delicious!

Tomorrow: another tower. Stay tuned…