[Mail Call] 2017/09/11 – Progress updates, misc stuff, and more

Hey folks. Feels like it’s been a while since I posted anything (actually it’s only been a couple of days, heh).

Basically, I’ve been sick. Then real life work picked up, so stuff has gotten busy. November and Sima have both started new jobs, so books will come at a slower pace (though still plenty of shipgirls to be done). Zero’s busy juggling a million things too, and with the advent of the new school year, our regular corps of folks return to their usual business.

Still, things are moving along. For instance, printers got unblocked last week, and our collaborators are busy mailing out preorders for the Navy Foods book. Here’s a picture of theirs for example. xD

Once that starts to go out, we’re going to sort out 2016. People are still asking for Trump posters xD So … here’s hoping that it does well. We’re probably not going to do 2018. Though, 2020 might be in the works (if we ever get that far).

Then what remains is to release Silent Service, and eventually, vol. 2. Somewhere along the way I should probably translate my own stuff. But to maintain a website update schedule is hectic, and I will probably have to slow down a tad bit. We’re getting to the point where it’s becoming difficult to manage lore – that’s why we’ve got that revamp project going on, after all.

Also, since I’m posting this on the anniversary of 9/11… I feel obliged to say something. But I’m not too sure what I want to say. What’s needed to be said has been said already. So I think remembering it would be nice. Though, looking at what’s around me… It feels that 9/11’s almost gotten forgotten already. After all, it’s been sixteen years.

Funny how stuff fades, huh? I’ve said it before. History is important. Otherwise, we forget, and if we forget, we end up losing bits of ourselves.

You’ve heard all of it before. This isn’t new. I’m just glad I’m not sick anymore and can get back to the stuff that I enjoy doing (and not enjoy doing – such this life!)

Lens of History: 13 (?!)

STEC Archives, Digital Document Division
September 8th, 1989

Correspondence no. 103
Sender: New Jersey, Shipgirl
Recipient: Michael Yin, Commander NBA

Mike,

I hate to be anti-fun and all, but there’s something that you should probably be aware of. Please see file attachment below and let me know what I should do.

I found this poster plastered all over the hallway next to my office along with an oversized banner. The banner says “FREE ANTI-ABYSSAL MIND CONTROL PROTECTIVE HEADGEAR – JER APPROVED – GET YOURS FOR FREE TODAY – INQUIRE WITHIN.”

(I know what this is in reference to, by the way. It’s in celebration of our recent anti-mental interference program’s success. We don’t have a name for it yet, but we MIGHT as well call it TINFOIL at this rate.)

I’m not against Marby doing her thing and all, but people here take ideas from our shipgirls very seriously. The potential for Abyssal units to mentally dominate or influence our men IS a valid concern (hence why we even embarked on that project in the first place).

The problem is that with the recent slew of television “documentaries” and talk-show radio discussing matters of various new-age bullshit I’m a little worried about people actually taking this seriously. I took the posters down but am a little unsure as to how to proceed. On one hand, I really don’t want to draw attention to it through sending out a base-wide announcement. At the same time, these posters have my face on it, so …

Maybe I should say something.

Thoughts?

Correspondence no. 205
Sender: Leon Harris, USMC
Recipient: New Jersey, Shipgirl
cc: Michael Yin, Commander NBA

Morning Jer.

Some of my men have been wondering about uh, some very creative solutions to protective gear. I figure I oughta ask since I got fooled by Marby before. This one her tricks? The aluminum hat?

Correspondence no. 217
Sender: U-552, Shipgirl
Recipient: New Jersey, Shipgirl
cc: Michael Yin, Commander NBA; Marblehead, Shipgirl

Tinfoil doesn’t block out anything! If anything it AMPLIFIES the effects!

Proven by German science! I’ll even attach the paper!

Correspondence no. 227
Sender: Marblehead, Shipgirl
Recipient: New Jersey, Shipgirl

I DIDN’T KNOW YOU WATCHED “Secret Alien Overlords: The Plot to Take Over Earth and How You Can Resist” too!! Doc Z JUST talked about the special properties of tin foil. Says it can block out mind-control beams from the evil Alpha Centurians’s MIGHTY FLYING SAUCERS.

You should have put the requirements on the poster too. Apparently you’re supposed to bless the hats by putting them in the microwave and superheating them for a good five minutes and fifty-five seconds. It’s because according to ancient revelations the number five symbolizes the defenders of earth and their five elements. So

Correspondence no. 229
Sender: Marblehead, Shipgirl
Recipient: New Jersey, Shipgirl

Wah, Jer, sorry my connection cut off for a second and the message sent itself.

Anyways, so you have to realize that then the secret to being

[MESSAGE TOO LONG FOR DISPLAY PURPOSES (56203 characters exceeding the displayable character limit for this program. To access the full contents of this message please log in on STEC’s historical archives]

Correspondence no. 301
Sender: Michael Yin, Commander NBA
Recipient: U-552, Shipgirl
cc: New Jersey, Shipgirl; Marblehead, Shipgirl

…There’s an actual paper on this?

And yes, go ahead. Jer. Sorry. I’ve had my hands full all morning.

Correspondence no. 339
Sender: New Jersey, Shipgirl
Recipient: Marblehead, Shipgirl

Um, thanks for the very detailed explanation for the TV show. I haven’t watched it but with your explanation I probably don’t have to, haha.

You didn’t make the poster?

Correspondence no. 440
Sender: Marblehead, Shipgirl
Recipient: New Jersey, Shipgirl

Wait I am confused now. You haven’t watched it at all? Not even the pilot episode?

Of course not! In fact I’m kinda sad that you’d think that I couldn’t tell apart fiction from reality…

I’m sad now. Thanks a lot.

Correspondence no. 495
Sender: Essex, Shipgirl
Recipient: Michael Yin, Commander NBA

Have you seen my posters? The ones that Weavy and I were working on? We were planning a pirate-themed party. They’re fairly cute cartoonish styled ones with every shipgirl but in pirate hats.

Let me know if you find them. I’m missing my metallic paints, too. But that I probably just misplaced.

Correspondence no. 1003
Sender: U-552, Shipgirl
Recipient: Michael Yin, Commander NBA
cc: New Jersey, Shipgirl; Marblehead, Ship

Of course! German science is best in the world!

Correspondence no. 8904
Sender: New Jersey, Shipgirl
Recipent: [Mailing list: Avalon base]

I have discovered and apprehended the troublemakers and pranksters that created a misleading poster.

Appropriate disciplinary action has been meted out with due justice.

Please be considerate next time. Thanks.

Jer

【1941年美国海军食谱】威尔士干酪

威尔士干酪

菜系:英国

你知道吗,当时我卡在这道菜的中文名上了。Welsh rarebit……首先,rarebit是啥?我查了查才知道这词源于威尔士语的“兔子”(rabbit)。那么咱该叫它什么?难道真叫它“威尔士兔子”?但这道菜里并没有兔子啊。我又查了一下,发现它有正式的中文名——“威尔士干酪”。嘛,其实也不够准确。实际上它跟吐司更相似,是盖着各种奶酪啊肉啊等等的烤面包。

真的,这东西很简单,但还是应该介绍一下它的正统做法。 Continue Reading

Clean-up progress: day 27

Pictured above: one of our Chinese team member’s trip to Beijing’s military museum (I think).

September usually gives us a bit of a breather. Unfortunately, this year’s September is anything but. About half the team is starting the new school year. For the rest of us, my research work tends to get busy around these last few months due to deadlines, and Sima & November have both started new jobs that takes up a lot of time.

Zero is still running around all of China too, and he’s doing that in addition to his actual day-job.

So, we’ve been pretty busy. I have a sore throat and a cold at the moment. Tried to do some reading, but couldn’t really. So I’m going to take it easy for the next couple of days.

That being said, here’s where we’re at.

Pacific vol. 2’s English translation: on backburner. You’ll see why in a bit.

Action report’s English translation: Basically what the site lore updates and the stuff is. It’s just massively expanded on the topics we’ve mentioned.

2016 (English): In academia we call its current status “in press.” It’s done. It’s just not released yet (probably because Zero has to figure out shipping fees again – stuff’s pretty expensive).

2016 (Chinese): Being refined and edited, but in all seriousness it’s probably lower on the backburner.

Pacific vol. 3 (all languages): I was a little too optimistic in thinking we can get this done in time for August. Currently in limbo. You’ve seen the preview book, so it’s coming.

You know what the irony is. Japan might get vol. 3 before us or the Chinese.

Silent Service (English): Main text is actually … actually mostly done! It’s sort of our current daily update anyways. The problem now is putting it together. Right now it sits at approximately 30k words, which … is going to be hard to actually fit into a book.

Silent Service (Chinese): What the Chinese translator team is busy going over right now. With Ethan and Zero’s friend’s help, it’s taken a lot of pressure off of my back. Again. Any time I’m not translating my own words back and forth is more time I can put towards creating stuff.

Silent Service (Japanese): Haaaaa yeah this is going to be troublesome, isn’t it. If we want to make winter Comiket or any of the conventions in … November, we’re going to have to do it soon.

Navy foods (Chinese): Actually this one’s progressing pretty fast due to St. Bernard drawing at a pretty clipped pace. She’s the one with the most amount of time out of all of our artists currently, so … vol. 2’s going to pop out pretty fast.

Navy foods (Japanese): This one’s actually done. Just stuck at the printers due to that environmental check-up I was talking about earlier.

Navy foods (English): You know, it’s probably easier if I just post some pictures of the scans instead. Again, sort of low on our priority list.

Other books that Zero’s working on like the Historical Fate project: Seriously that’s beyond my ability to handle things.

Website consolidation: Getting there. Most of the tags have been cleaned up. There’s work behind the scenes about giving the site more functionality (we might move off of wordpress in a bit). The plan is to consolidate the mail calls and the other content into one easy to access page so people can actually figure out what we did.

Website infrastructure upgrade: We aren’t dying whenever there’s traffic. So that’s … good, I think.

So, yeah. As you can see, a lot of work to be done, but a lot of work done as well. I sometimes forget that it’s a hobby and not a job. x)

Alright I know you’re here for shipgirls. Here’s a sketch of Narwhal’s “twin.”