linusc9516Outside
What I do when I'm not coding. Short entries, added when there is something to add.
Concerts
Concerts and live shows I've been to or watched.
Yanagi Nagi Green Light Live Tour
TIDES Whampoa
Yet another new concert arena in Hong Kong. It was full standing, even for VIPs, so my view was partially obstructed at times. But this was the concert where I was physically closest to the artist, which gave it a unique excitement. The show followed a story format, which was innovative, and the audio was really clean, but it was a bit short at only 1h 40min. Still glad to see やなぎなぎ back in Hong Kong after so long, rounding off with the timeless "You can count on me".
Vocaloid Essentials on stage 3
Queen Elizabeth Stadium Performance Hall
One of the biggest concerts I've been to so far, with 花たん, one of my favourite utaite, performing alongside big names such as SERRA, Pokota, Kizuna AI and Akie秋絵. The special part was the orchestral accompaniment by Hong Kong Doujin Philharmonic (HKDP again, I love this group), and the performers were clearly of much higher quality than at the previous HKDP concerts I attended. There was even an original song, but the arrangement left much to be desired, and the Performance Hall was not built for orchestral performances, so the audio quality had room for improvement.
Tokoyami Towa 2nd Solo Live "SHINier"
Streamed on Z-aN
Crazy how much streamed solo lives have improved over the years: the audio between the live band and vocals was much more balanced.
marasy Symphonic Live in Hong Kong ft. Hong Kong Doujin Philharmonic (HKDP)
Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall
Practising his arrangements (歌に形はないけれど, from Y to Y, 夢、時々 and other Vocaloid classics) is what pushed me to go for ABRSM Grade 8 piano, so I was really glad to see him live. A bit disappointed with my seat: lower deck, wrong side of the piano, so I couldn't see his hands on the keys.
Joy∞Stage - 次元を超える音楽祭
Hopewell Hotel 16/F Ballroom
Quite the expensive pricing in a relatively unproven arena (Hopewell Hotel had only reopened a month prior), but the event had a hyped environment and the audio was very nice for a ballroom. Featuring HACHI (my main reason to go), 七海うらら, 閻魔るり and 月島クロス (one of the most famous HK VTubers), it was a good show for two or three hours, though they didn't do a group medley.
HKDP Doujin Chamber Concert Vol.3
Cultural Activities Hall, Tsuen Wan Town Hall
A mix of nostalgic 2000s and 2010s game OSTs and anime covers. I didn't expect the whole hall to be packed, and hearing more modern pieces in a chamber hall was a new experience. Uneven overall: several arrangements felt rushed and sloppy and some performers weren't up to standard, while others were outstanding.
Mikeneko fan meeting
Data Technology Hub, TKO, Hong Kong
I was quite surprised that her first fan meeting was in Hong Kong: a small, ballroom-style venue, but still packed with around 300 fans and even a few Mikeneko cosplayers. She only sang four or five songs, but the interactive games made it a lovely afternoon.
Tokoyami Towa 1st Solo Live "Break your ×××"
Streamed on Z-aN
Spent the whole show hoping she'd sing サンビタリア (Sanvitalia), and cried when it finally came.
Rhythm games
osu!
I play osu!, mostly standard and catch, on both stable and lazer. I like marathon maps and consistency picks, sightreading anything once, and chasing accuracy. I also do staffing, mostly referee and commentator roles.
maimai
I play maimai on the international server, buttons only, with thick gloves on. I play weekly, mostly doubles with friends, and I mostly stick to 13 to 13+ Masters, which is enough to keep it fun rather than a grind. My goal on both is an SSS+ full combo: on Xaleid◆scopiX my best is SS so far, and on ヒバナ Remas I have SSS and a full combo, though they came on separate runs.
Favourites
A snapshot of what stuck, not a feed: . Three per category, cannot really order them within the three, so the honourable mentions below each carry the rest. Concerts are listed rather than ranked. Deeper thoughts go on the blog when I get round to writing them.
My MAL is badly out of date. I am backfilling it from memory, which is slow and will never be complete, so treat it as a partial record rather than a full list.
Musical artists
Albums
Songs
Anime
Manga
Visual novels
Concerts
YouTube creators
Riichi Mahjong
I've been playing Riichi Mahjong for 4 years now, and it's my preferred variant of mahjong because of the wide variety of strategies that come into play. As score is tabulated over multiple rounds, and even across games in a tournament format, the same hand can have different interpretations depending on the overarching situation, which is fun to analyse and discuss with friends. I used to play on Mahjong Soul regularly, but have since moved to Tenhou (irregularly) and in-person play: introducing beginners at NTU Riichi and club games at *SCAPE.
Hands worth remembering
Hand analysis
Toitoi with sanankou and dora 5, waiting on the 5p (by holding the 0p, the red five), holding 9995p 333s 2222m (open kan, dora 4) and 6666m (closed kan). The 2m was dora as well. The interesting part is that this was a live 四槓子 (suukantsu) chance, the rarest yakuman and quoted as rarer than tenhou or chiihou: three tiles away, needing the 9p and the 3s kanned and then waiting on the 5p, with all of those still unseen in the discards at the time. Not much analysis to be made here as it was not a club or ranked game.
Hand analysis
333z 123456789m 66z, tsumo on the 6z.
This was a club game at *SCAPE. South 4: kamicha on 43000 (1st), toimen on 23300 (3rd), shimocha is oya on 34100 (2nd), and I was on -400 (4th). I knew I needed a tsumo sanbaiman (6k/12k), or a rare haneman 12k direct deal-in from toimen, to take 3rd.
My starting hand was a mix of manzu and chihai (234589m 36s 2p 3357z), so I had to move quickly towards a honitsu or chinitsu draw. I drew into a block of sha (333z), with the rest of the hand at 12345789m 67z. After tsumoing the 6m, I had to make a tough call: tanki on the unseen 6z, then hope for an extremely unlikely sanbaiman needing ippatsu, tsumo and ura 3 (with at most one more 2z in the wall), or for toimen to deal in. In the end my ippatsu broke, so it was just a 3k/6k haneman tsumo.
This was special because it was my first confirmed 一氣通貫 hand (not enough 19m to go for kyuuren, unfortunately). It also taught me that even when a position climb looks far away, there is still a chance to reduce the deficit.
Things I've been to
Events and trips outside of uni. Bigger ones get their own page.