Soba, udon, sushi, yakitori, and beer! Daiso and Seria are the largest 100 yen store chains here in Japan, but I think Can*Do has the best charcter tie-in merchandise.
Japanese food-related Pac-Man stickers at the Can*Do 100 yen shop
Dragon Quest campaign at Loft 2025
Last month when we went to Keyaki Walk Mall in Maebashi, I found another big display of Dragon Quest merchandise at Loft! I showed the Dragon Quest sale at Loft last year on my blog. This time it was for the release of DQ I and II.
“Welcome to the Loft Dragon Quest I & II 2025 goods campaign!”
The first things I noticed were all the plush dolls. These retro character sprite cushions look cool.
Cups and silverware.
So much random stuff. Soap dispensers, clips, pins, stickers, and so on.
A DQ raincoat! Wild.
November 2025 Linux desktop wallpapers
Here are the desktops to all three of my Linux computers. I’ve switched from Shantae back to Nadia. First up is my Mint Mate desktop, my main computer. I just recently learned how to set the terminal transparency. Neat effect!
Zorin OS on my laptop. I’m still getting used to Zorin. It’s not bad. Pretty friendly.
Raspberry OS running on my Raspberry Pi 5. I’m only using a 32gb SD card for the hard drive and I maxed it out by just adding some Rifftrax movies to the Home/Videos folder. I intend to buy at least a 128gb SD card to upgrade.
Pac-Man ghost plushies from Shimamura
A few weeks ago, I came across these 45th Pac-Man anniversary plushies of Inky and Blinky on discount at Shimamura. I hadn’t noticed these at the store until they were moved to the front of the store, in the clearance area.
Minmay from Macross mini iron beads project complete!
I finished this iron beads project using Perler Nano and Hama Mini beads. I found the sprite on Pinterest, and I believe it probably comes from one of the Macross games on the NEC PC98 computer.
Space Invaders Counter Attack
I was in a small mall in southern Maebashi City this past weekend when I noticed Space Invaders Counter Attack. I have posted before about Space Invaders Frenzy. Counter Attack is a semi-similar game, but this time you’re shooting ping pong balls from a gun at a touch-sensitive screen. I’d never played this game before, and at first I was confused because I didn’t realize that I was supposed to shoot balls at the screen. Defeat the invaders and turn your attention downwards. You then have to repel the Invaders with your shots as they get closer to your base. No matter how much I shot them, I still lost. I really couldn’t get the hang of this game on my first try. Someday I’ll give it another shot, but this is the only place I’ve ever seen this game. I like Frenzy more.
SEGA logo iron beads pinned to the wall
I found a perfect spot to put my new Sega logo iron bead sprite, under my neon Pac-Man sign. I’m so cool that I’m jealous of myself.
Nakoruru iron beads work finished
Another iron beads project finished! This is Nakoruru from SNK Gals Fighters for the Neo Geo Pocket Color. I’ve added her to Athena, Mai, and Yuri on the wall, all from that game.
Earthion ship plus the SEGA logo iron beads
Made some iron beads this weekend! Sega logo plus the fighter from the new Megadrive shmup, Earthion.
I got to cuddle a meerkat at the pet shop in Maebashi!
There’s a pet shop in Maebashi called Wing 21 where Mayu buys crickets to feed to her beloved pet, Kuromaru. There are two meerkats in cages there and every time we go there, I call out to the two meerkats, “Little guys!” They get SO EXCITED to see me every time. So this time the pet clerk lady asked me if I’d like to hold one. My facial reaction alone was enough for her to know that I really wanted to. So, I got to snuggle and smooch this little meerkat. SO CUTE! I want one! But, no pets are allowed in our apartment. Plus these little guys have gotta be super expensive. They’ve been there for a couple of years now and they do not have a home yet. Kinda sad. There was a third one, but that one must’ve been sold about 3 years ago. She didn’t recommend that I hold the other one, because it is too “high tension.” So I guess it gets too excited and acts up if you hold it. It was pretty jealous that I held the other one.