• January 31st, 2011 Personal, Videogames 1 comment

    Hi there ^^,

    Just wanted to let you guys know that the video game me and my brother made, Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles is now 100% FREE for PC. Here’s the trailer:

    YouTube Preview Image

    Download here.

    The game was released for Dreamcast and for Korean handheld consoles in both English and Japanese, and we hope that you can play it too (for Free!)

    It is a puzzle doujin soft / independent game which I’m sure you’ll enjoy ;D

  • August 11th, 2009 Personal 3 comments

    Turtle eating papaya on nom nom nom

    Ever wondered how a turtle eats? My land turtle / tortoise was particularly hungry today so I decided to videotape her/him ^^;  Anybody else with cute pets?

    YouTube Preview Image
  • May 5th, 2009 Personal 7 comments

    Rei Tsukuba Sakura

    I’m very pleased to announce the new Author here at Instant Ramen: Alejandra Quirós, aka Rei*. She is currently studying for a Doctorate’s Degree and researching on Computational Vision (kakkoi! ^^) at Tsukuba University in Japan thanks to the MEXT scholarship that I’m currently applying.

    Here are some words from Rei* herself about her role around here:

    Hi everyone! I’m happy to be an author here at Instant Ramen and will hopefully bring you lots of photos and articles about known and unknown Japan! Hope I share some of my experience with everyone around here — readers, passersby, or J-bloggers. Yoroshiku ne!

    Rei Momiji Japanese Maple

    Alejandra was also in charge of some programming for Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles including many key parts — security, encryption, and website backend programming. She’s been traveling here and there in Japan and knows some key aspects on studying, how to live, how to rent appartments, and many other tips about Japan.

    Her newly purchased hardware is a Canon Kiss X2 and her first J-picture will remain one of my favorites — takoyaki:

    Takoyaki たこ焼き

    Dericious! Not only did she take the picture, she also made the takoyaki (yes, convincing her into writing a “How to make takoyaki” picture guide soon! ^^)

    Hope you enjoy her posts and give some stir to my usual topics around here! =) If anyone would like to see something in particular from her point of view be sure to ring some bells! Oh, and don’t forget to add _alechan to Twitter!

  • April 28th, 2009 Japan, Personal 22 comments

    Tokyo University Todai 東大 東京大学

    Been thinking about this for a while and now I need your help: This year, I will be applying for a Scholarship in Japan for a Postgraduate degree, still haven’t decided if Masters or Doctorate’s Degree and will explain why below.

    Pictured above is Tokyo University (東京大学), usually abbreviated as 東大 (Todai), which will be one of my three choices, along with Keio University and Yokohama or Waseda University. But first…

    Continue reading this entry »

  • April 18th, 2009 Anime, Personal 5 comments


    Hao Anime illustration drawing

    Here’s an original animé illustration/drawing by me ^^, dating back  to 2006. As I mentioned before and on my profile page, I love(d) drawing as a hobby, but actually stopped doing it a long long time ago, about ten years ago. As with my piano, I did this particular drawing for a special occasion :) done 100% CG without scanning anything, which is harder to do since I’m not used to graphic pens.

    Continue reading this entry »

  • April 7th, 2009 Personal 5 comments

    Piano

    I’ve mentioned before that one of my hobbies is (was) playing the piano. Well, it’s more like “sitting in front of a piano and slamming the keys to see if something rhymes” ^^; since I’m seriously très terrible at it.

    Anyway, wanted to share with you guys my 2005 recording of Clair De Lune from Debussy’s Suite Bergamasque, a masterpiece from the Romantic period.

    To play, simply click on the link, a cute embedded player will appear ^o^:

    Clair De Lune – by Hao

    Continue reading this entry »

  • March 28th, 2009 Personal 8 comments

    Hao squat 260 pounds

    As I’ve mentioned before, one of my favorite hobbies is weightlifting. But not bodybuilding, or machines, I mean the real deal. On the picture above, I’m about to squat 260 pounds (~118 kg), about 65% more than my body weight. video available here:

    YouTube Preview Image

    Continue reading this entry »