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I came across a posting on Engadget.com of their NYC meetup scheduled for November 29, 2012 about a week and a half ago while at work.  I was very elated at that time since I remember seeing a similar post for last year’s meetup which I could not attend.  I read the post about being able to talk to reps from the companies displaying their goodies, I figured, hey, this might be my way in to network with them to get a good feel for the company and possible employment.  The posting also said that there will be prizes given away, food, and other goodies.

Fast forward to the night of the event, I see a person with a solar panel backpack I figure this is it.  I arrive at Roseland Ballroom promptly at 5:30 and waited on line.  I looked around, saw fellow geeks and nerds with ranging from high school to probably in their mid to late 30s.  5:50 rolls around, a few of the editors walk outside to see the crowd gathered eagerly to get inside.  While talking to them, they mentioned they would be giving away ten of a hot item out right now, the Samsung Galaxy Note II.  It's now 6:00, they start letting people in.  Kudos for starting on time, but the big shocker came once I got inside.

Now, I’ve never been to Roseland Ballroom, but I’ve always heard it was a great venue to hear bands, and there have been a few I’ve been meaning to go see, but that’s for a different post.   Once entering the venue, I can see why it was free.  There was barely anything there.  To my left there were a few tables set up for the various tech companies to showcase their products and give demos.   To my right, the main stage with 10 Galaxy Note II phones.  There was one major flaw: LIGHTING.  Roseland Ballroom was set up for parties, loud music, and it is dimly lit.  If I was a going a rock show, it would be perfect.  While walking through the main floor, there were only about 6 companies there, all of which only had a small setup.  With the amount of people there, I felt like I was at Best Buy on Black Friday rather than looking at tech goodies and getting one-on-one time with the reps.

Samsung brought out their Windows 8 laptop/tablets.  The same goes with Dell.  After looking at Windows 8, I'm not impressed.  I saw a table for the Nook, iRobot (DJ ROOMBA IN THE HOUSE), and Oakley ski goggles with a HUD.  I saw some other stuff which doesn’t really matter because the event sucked.

After about 20 minutes, I left.  I felt sorry for the companies that were there.  Half the time people are fighting their way to the front of their tables to see what tech is out there, and when they get there, they can’t see what’s on the damn tables because it’s so dark.  I would figure there would be more advertisements for their target demographic, but I guess you get what you pay for.  That’s right, this was free.  Another thing, the reps for the companies did not even have any sort of badges.  They shared the same name tags as the rest of us in the room.  You would think there would be some differentiation between someone walking in, and a table worker.  Maybe I'm expecting too much.

The only good part of my night was walking through Rock Center and seeing the Christmas tree.   Beautiful isn’t it?

Of all the animes I’ve watched, Initial D holds a special place in my heart since it deals with another great passion of mine: cars.  Initial D Fifth Stage is obviously the fifth installment of a Japanese anime based off the Initial D manga.  For those who have been under a rock or just don’t care for anime, Initial D is a story of a young man named Takumi Fujiwara, a high school kid who delivers tofu for his father’s tofu shop.  He never had an itch for street racing, and just thought driving was a chore.  His best friend Itsuki Takeuchi, loved cars and wanted to be a member of the Akina SpeedStars and convinced Takumi to race.  Takumi meets Keisuke and Ryosuke Takahashi of the Agaki RedSuns, a rival car club in the Gunma prefecture and through many races, we see Takumi beat everyone and a spark is lit.  We see a natural progression of Takumi’s character similar to that of many young adolescents striving to find their purpose in life.  Now you might be thinking, “Oh what the hell, Cars? Racing? Sounds boring if he keeps winning.”  Well all I can say is this:  This show gives you an adrenaline rush. 

Fifth Stage brings us to where Fourth Stage left off, Project D is still going, Takumi’s Trueno is broken, and he struggles to perfect the technique he’s seen from God’s Arm.  After watching the first two episodes you can tell the producers, animators, and writers took that extra step to make this an even better series.  It’s the little things that stick out, the sound effects the transmission makes while selecting reverse gear, the sound of a car door closing, and also seeing car movement due to the undulation of the road and its effects on a car’s suspension.  All of these things combined together are what makes car lovers like myself say, “Wow, holy crap, they got it right.”

The opening Intro is performed by a band in Japan called M.O.V.E. They have been creating music for this series since the beginning and while some of it is quite good, other songs, not so much.  It’s hit or miss really.   You have to remember this series started in the mid 90s.

All in all, Initial D is a fantastic series which showcases vehicle dynamics, racing technique, and actual character development.  The first four stages are available on Amazon or Netflix DVD rental, so I suggest you watch it.  Fifth Stage is currently being fansubbed by Sage Fansubs which can be found here.