I've had a life-long struggle with omiyage neurosis. Did I buy enough presents for everyone? Did I buy too little? Did I forget anyone? Is it going to fit in my luggage? I've made some progress over the years, but man... I kind of envy mainland people -- they can just go on a trip and just enjoy themselves without omiyage neurosis!

Here's part two of my San Diego Comic-Con adventures -- this time about my time in line at the Hot Wheels booth to buy a limited edition batmobile for my friend Goopy. And yes, it was just me and a whole lot of 40-something and 50-something year old men. Go figure!

Got back a week or so ago from Comic-Con 2007 in San Diego. Woo-hah! Mardi Gras for Geeks, y'all! Lots o' folks in costumes, huge crowds and people going kooky for freebies or limited edition stuff. If you haven't already checked it out, do visit my Comic-Con 2007 Photo Gallery on my manga site at About.com.

I was going to call it "Burning Man for Geeks" -- but I figured the folks back in Hawaii wouldn't get it. Burning Man is such a Bay Area cliche, oops, I mean institution, one tends to forget that the whole world doesn't revolve around the mayhem that happens in the Nevada desert on Labor Day weekend...

Ah, I got caught up in the Harry Potter hype and bought the latest and last book in the series when it came out a few weeks ago. Trouble is, I've been so crazy-ass busy with work, freelance projects and my manga site for About.com, I haven't had the time to even crack it open!

So whatever you do, if you've read the book, DON'T TELL ME HOW IT ENDS! PLEASE!