The sin of self righteousness

Yesterday morning I watched the movie Death Note. It's based on a manga series and was one of the most popular Japanese movies released last year.

The story is another illustration of how power and the belief in the rightness of ones cause can lead one into the path of evil. The story starts with a university student finding a notebook that when you write someone's name in it they will soon die. The student starts using it to kill criminals who appear to have evaded justice.

Now I can't say I don't enjoy vigilantism. I'm a big fan of Batman, who is nothing if not a vigilante. In fact, most comic book heroes are vigilantes. However, the student takes things a step further. The police notice the pattern in the killing and start investigating the person behind the deaths.

The start of this investigation involved a press conference in which a spokesman announces to the world that the police are hunter the killer. Angered by the idea that the police are hunting them, the student uses the book to kill the spokesman. As it turns out, the spokesman was a criminal sentenced to death, but that does not change the intention of the students actions.

This is just the start of the students self serving actions to get away from the investigators and follow his own plans. His schemes to thwart the investigators includes killing numerous investigators, and at the end of the movie in a scheme to infiltrate the investigation he sets up an elaborate situation that ends with the killing of his girlfriend.

While you can have a certain amount of respect for the student for his cunning and clever schemes, but his actions are nothing but reprehensible. And the justification for his actions is that he has a plan to make the world a better place that has no crime. This sort of self justification is dangerous as it allows the believer to justify nearly any action, no matter how despicable. No matter what the situation, no matter what the cause, there are some actions that cannot be justified, and no ends that justifies the means.

I'm not sure if I'll watch the second movie that concludes the story, I probably will, but mostly because I hope that the student gets caught and dealt with in an appropriate means.

End Post
Writing time: 23 minutes
Time since last post: 5 days
Current media: Absolute Power 2x05

Fuck

Fuck, fuck fuckety fuck.

End Post
Writing time: 10 seconds
Time since last post: who cares
Current media: None

Cowboy Bebop

I've started watching the full series of Cowboy Bebop. I've watched a few episodes in the past, but not in a regular fashion. I started watching because I wanted something in Japanese so I could do some more listening to spoken Japanese outside the context of trains and bars.

So far it is really good. The animation is great, and the music is fantastic. The stories are pretty good, but so far there hasn't been much of an overall story, although reliable sources have stated that there is one. I'm only up to episode 5 out of 26 so it probably hasn't had time to develop and become clear yet.

Anyway, I'm going to keep going through listening to the Japanese audio. Later on I may try the English audio, as I have noticed a few times when the English words don't exactly match up with the English audio.

End Post
Writing time: 5 minutes
Time since last post: 15 minutes
Current media: Cowboy Bebop episode 5

A Good Idea

Today on Slashdot there has been a discussion of an idea I think is definitely a good one that should be implemented. The idea is that legislation should use a Version Control System to manage bills introduced and the amendments made to them.

This is a really good idea as at the moment there are too many instances of self serving or clandestine legislation being done (see here and here for but two examples, and pork barrelling n general). I've have written before that excessive amendments to bills is a bad idea, and these sort of actions reinforces those points. Having a publicly accessible record of who introduced what changes and when would be a valuable tool for the public to keep an eye on their elected representatives.

End Post
Writing time: 21 minutes
Time since last post: about half an hour
Current media: Cowboy Bebop

Whither Turkey?

Bad news from Turkey via the BBC today. A Kurdish politician Ahmet Turk has been sentenced to 6 months in jail for referring to Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan as "Mr Ocalan". Apparently using Mr is a sign of respect for Mr Ocalan, who I don't know enough about to make a judgment call on. In any case, the use of Mr is a pretty standard thing, which usually doesn't make much claim about the person being referred to.

All of this of course is prevaricating before dealing with the main issue. This is of course a massive violation of Mr Turks right to freedom of speech. Mr Turk has the right to respect whoever he wants, and to speak about other people in any manner he sees fit. 6 months in jail for saying Mr Ocalan is outrageous.

End Post
Writing time: 28 minutes (I was a little distracted)
Time since last post: about half an hour
Current media: Cowboy Bebop

More for EMACS

When it comes to VI vs Emacs I tend to sit in the Emacs camp, although I have been known to use VI on occasion. But today I found out something new that Emacs can do. You can now post to blogger using an Emacs extension. The text editor that can do everything can now do even more. Take that notepad.

I won't be making use of this, since I have only just installed Emacs on my macbook, and am still looking for my .emacs file, and where to put it since they've changed some things around for the mac version. I also am more than satisfied with the web browser interface so don't feel the need to mess around with this just for the heck of it.

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Writing time: 14 minutes
Time since last post: 5 days
Current media: None

Good Idea Coonan

I read in Crikey today that communications minister Helen Coonan has put forward the brilliant idea that all media in Australia should be classified in a scheme similar to that currently used for films. This includes newspapers, magazines, books and of course the Internet.

This idea has several problems, the main one philosophical, other logistical and jurisdictional. The main objection to this is that this censorship, which violates the principle of freedom of speech. Requiring every book, magazine, newspaper and website to be classified before publication is a massive act of prior restraint.

Logistically, this is a nightmare which would require a massive increase in the staff of the department. The number of books, magazines, newspapers and websites published dwarfs the number of films and games released each year, with a frequency and speed that a government department would be hard pressed to keep up with.

Finally there is the issue of jurisdiction on material published on the Internet. If I use an American service (oh, for example, Blogger) to host a blog that I write in Australia, am I required to submit it for classification, and how about the reverse situation. What if someone visits Australia and writes a few posts for there blog based in England. Others can come up with more convoluted situations that can be used to muddy the water and show how this cannot be implemented cleanly, clearly, fairly, and efficiently.

End Post
Writing time: 11 minutes
Time since last post: 1 day
Current media: The Daily Show

Something Good Comes of Nietzsche

I found a funny website thanks to some random browsing of Wikipedia. I was reading the article on The Family Circus and one of the external links that was in the article was for something called The Nietzsche Family Circus. It randomly takes one of a selection of Nietzsche quotes and pairs it with a randomly selected Family Circus cartoon.

The combination is quite surreal and the contrast between the pictures and the words is striking.

End Post
Writing time: 21 minutes (I got distracted)
Time since last post: 2 days
Current media: The Daily Show

Another Quiz result

Some random browsing found this quiz - Which Firefly character are you.

Your results:
You are Dr. Simon Tam (Ship Medic)
Medicine and physical healing are your game,
but wooing women isn't a strong suit.


Click here to take the "Which Serenity character are you?" quiz...

It turned out I had a tie for the doctor, the captain and the mechanic. I'm not quite sure how the quiz broke the tie (I had a look at the source and it seems to be an artifact of the sorting algorithm). I don't really see myself as the captain, but there are aspects of the doctor and the mechanic I see in myself.

End Post
Writing time: 7 minutes (including examining the source code to work out how the tie was broken)
Time since last post: half a day
Current media: none

Wow

Wow.

That is all.

End Post
Writing time: 10 seconds
Time since last post: one and a half days
Current media: none

Sunday Night Musings

A quiet week this week. I spent perhaps a little more time getting to know my computer than I should have, and playing Mario Kart on my DS. Next week I shall try and limit the amount of time I spend sitting in front of the computer. That doesn't mean it won't be on, just I won't be actively using it. I just need to make sure I don't find more things with it to play with. For instance, tonight I found out that the mac comes with Apache and PHP preinstalled, and so of course had to get that up and working and play with it a bit.

Work is getting to be pretty much routine. I've done most of the ordinary lessons enough now that I don't really need to do much preparation any more. Kids lessons are also no longer a major hassle, just some of the kids. For some classes I wish I had one of those adjustable gates parents use to block doorways because there is one kid who is a bit precocious and whenever something doesn't go her way she runs out of the room. The gate would be handy in preventing that.

Over the last week or two I've had some training for some of the specialised classes that Nova teaches, which have basically been 40 minute briefings on what the aims of the course are and what the lesson management plans (LMPs for those who use the things) look like. Then your on your own. I've yet to actually teach one of these classes, but we'll see how things go when I do.

I'm currently reading a book of short stories by Neil Gaiman. Most of them are pretty good. They're a bit different and are usually humorous. I particularly like the one where going out and giving presents each year is part of an eternal punishment for Santa Claus and the elves are his jailers. It's impressive what you can do with just 100 words.

I got a new game for my DS when I bought my computer. Mario Kart DS. It's pretty good, lots of fun, and so far there's always something new to try. In addition to all the different single player games, you can play online using a wireless internet connection. A pretty good challenge. I played a little bit last night and the result after 4 races was a three way tie.

Anyway, I should stop typing now as it is getting late and I haven't been sleeping much this week (too much messing around on the computer coupled with my housemates alarm clock going off early for my liking).

End Post
Writing time: 30 minute (including various distractions)
Time since last post: 4 days
Current media: silence

Switched

Yesterday I bought a new computer. A laptop. A Mac.

In the past I've been derisive of macs. This started at high school which from grades 8 to 10 had a bunch of old macs which were replaced with PCs in grade 11, which seemed to demonstrate the PC as much better. Then there were the fruity iMacs, which made the computer look like a toy.

But since then apple has come around. They got rid of the silly colours. They put out an impressive OS.

The biggest factor in getting me to consider a Mac is the iPod. 18 months ago I got an iPod and it worked great. iTunes just worked and it made listening to podcasts that much easier (on that note I have a ton of podcasts to catch up on).

The Mac is pretty good. I've had a few hiccups in getting used to the way the Mac does some things differently (e.g., installing programs) and the keyboard is a little different (although that is more likely because it is Japanese not because it is a Mac).

On the good side, setting up the Mac was a breeze. Every device I've tried with it has worked (iPod, cellphone, wireless keyboard), so I'm confident my headphone/mike will work when I plug that in as well. I also really like the remote control for the Mac, which makes it really easy to enjoy music and movies on the Mac if you want to use your computer as a media center, which is going to be one of its main uses.

Edit: I forgot perhaps the most unusual parts in the story of getting the Mac. The sales person I talked to to get the Mac recognised me. I initially thought it was just because I had been into the store a few times over the last few weeks looking at different computers. That wasn't it. She recognised me from the B-Trip, the bar I and a few friends go to on Monday nights. Of all the gin joints in all the world and all that.

End Post
Writing time: 28 minutes (I wanted to do some fact checking, but didn't use it)
Time since last post: 6 days
Current media: The Combat Information Center

A Mushless Mind

I had my third Japanese lesson tonight. For the first time I left without my brain feeling like mush. I am taking this as a sign of progress.

I'm still having problems with vocab, but I can generally get the right category (e.g. I mix up breakfast with dinner).

Anyway, my Japanese is increasing rapidly (although that may just be a relative thing in that a little is much more than none) and let's hope it continues to do so.

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Writing time: 5 minutes
Time since last post: 2 days
Current media: The Games Season 1

Twosteps forward, one step back

I think I may have messed something up. Not irrevocably, but a step backwards after several steps forward.

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Writing time: 30 seconds
Time since last post: good question
Current media: Unsquare Dance by Dave Brubeck

Scary Dream

I just woke up from a really scary dream (thank you alarm clock). The dream was that I had gone back to working at GE, which I think says enough.

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Writing time: 2 minutes
Time since last post: a day or so
Current media: none

Mummy Yummy

A funny thing happened at my kids school yesterday. The kinder class is the only one where the parents (well, mothers, although I did see a father once) bring their children and pick them up. After the kinder class yesterday my feet were a bit smelly, so I sprayed on some deodorant onto my feet and torso in the tiny teacher's room (literally a cupboard). When I came back out to say goodbye to the kids and start getting ready for the next class the mothers were all "Wow, you smell really nice" and wanting to know what the fragrane was. Not exactly the response I was expecting, but a nice surprise.

End post
Writing time: 15 minutes
Time since last post: two hours or so
Current media: the end credits of Once Upon A Time In Mexico

Life continues

Life without a computer continues. I seem to be getting used to it. In fact at one point the thought "Maybe I won't even get a new computer" went through my head.

I have noticed I've become more sociable without a computer, both with my housemates and with other people. I've also been going through my DVD collection, and managed to hook one of my housemates on Firefly. All in all, life in Japan is good.

News from back home has not been so good. My uncle in law (Mum's brother in law) has apparently got a brain tumor, which is very uncool. Word is it's not going to be easy to get rid of. Given how last year went for this part of my family, this means the suckiness just keeps on coming.

Today I'm doing a shift swap so I have to work on what is normally my day off, but it's worth it because it gave me more time to spend with Mum while she was over here in January.

I haven't seen much in the news I want to comment on, but there was an editorial I want to quote later on (it's somewhat time independent so it can wait).

End post
Current media: The sounds of a housemate making breakfast
Writing time: 15 minutes or so (damn stylus)
Time since last post: A week or so

Who is Esonlinji?

Today I finished reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. The end was not really a surprise after reading through the book, given that the grand plan was announced about two thirds the way through the book, and the rest of the book was the fulfilment of that plan.

The philosophy Rand puts forth agrees a fair bit with mine, and I can see myself incorporating some more of it into my own ideals. The main agreement is in the fundamental basis of the philosophy: the existence of a external, independent, consistent reality which man lives in. This is to me the only place to start thinking about the world we live in. To think the world is as we think it to be instead of the way it is is plain delusional. To think that you can change the world just by thinking it so without taking action to achieve such a change is to ignore the true nature of the world we live in.

Rand also points out the dangers of collectivism in the novel. The idea of taking from the rich, the skilled, the creative, and giving to the poor, the unmotivated, the leeches is not the one that socialists put forward, but is definitely a result that could happen when such a system is put in place. I think that the idea "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need" should be supplemented with "From each according to his need, to each according to his ability." Each person should give their best and should be rewarded accordingly. Each person should pay their own way, pay for the resources they use in their endeavours. I'm having a little trouble fitting "to each according to his need" into this, so, except for the fact that it ruins the symmetry of the statements, I'd suggest dropping it.

I don't agree quite so strongly with Rand's ideal of laissez-faire capitalism as the ultimate form of guiding societies production. I think the problem with such systems is that once the means of production sufficiently outweigh the means of consumption, the scarcity that underpins capitalism of all forms falls away. Combine this with the reduction in physical labour due to technologies such as automation, and Rand's idea of production as the greatest of tasks seems a bit empty.

The contrast I've got in my head with the world of John Galt is that of Iain M Banks' The Culture, a post scarcity, anarcho-socialist mish mash. I think Rand would despise the hedonistic human citizens of The Culture as looters of the worst kind, having created greater beings (the Minds of the Culture) hamstrung into acting as willing victims who give their sanction to those who live off their power and ability. I think the Culture is a much better long term goal society wise, but Ayn Rand's ideas are an important step in getting there.

I'll write some more later, but will stop here since I'm rather tired.

End Post

Japanese Lessons

Today I went on a quest to find myself somewhere to take Japanese lessons. My first stop was the Toyonaka International Center. I had previously looked at their lesson schedule but it had not fit in with my work schedule. However, starting this Thursday my Thursday shift starts at 10:00 instead of 1:20, and ends at 5:40 instead of 9:00. This means that I can make the lesson at 7:00.

This is good as I've been meaning to start taking lessons for most of the time I've been here. Hopefully it won't be too hard. One thing that has really emphasised my lack of Japanese is my kids classes. There have been some cases where an accident has happened or someone has got upset and I haven't been able to do much too help as I can't find out what the problem is.

Anyway, I'll see how the lessons go.

Oh Dear

I've just finished reading this article about the latest consequence of the Palm Island incident. The Queensland Police Union apparently feels that certain aboriginal groups should be left to themselves under tribal law.

This of course neglects the fact that one of the guiding principles of a modern democracy is that all people are equal when it comes to the law. All people follow the same laws and those laws treat all people the in an equal fashion. All people should receive equal protection from those who break the laws. The idea of letting some people live under a different set of laws undermines all this.

Then there is the nature of the groups that the QPU wants to abandon. Telling aboriginal groups that they are separate from the rest of Australian society only works to increase the divides in our country.

The Palm Island incident has highlighted some of the problems that still exist in Australia. It should not be used as an excuse to move backwards.

End Post
Writing time: 15 minutes
Time since last post: not sure
Current media: Dilbert season 1 - The Knack

Wikipedia 1, Japanese sales staff 0

As part of my acquiring Opera for the DS, I had to decide how much I trusted Wikipedia. The sales staff at the store told me that any DS game acquired in Japan would not work on my DS from Australia. On my first visit I took their word for it, as I didn't know any better.

The next day I read up on the DS at Wikipedia to see if I could maybe at least use US games on mine, and found out that any DS will play a cartridge from any country (there is an exception with China, but that doesn't affect me).

So now I had to decide how much I trusted Wikipedia. As most people know, I am a big fan of Wikipedia, have contributed a bit, use it for most basic fact checking, and more. But this was the first time my money was on the line. I decided that I trusted Wikipedia with ¥3410, and bought the DS Browser, which as you can see is working in my Australian DS.

So, final score, Wikipedia 1, Japanese sales staff 0.

End post

Browsing on a DS

Today I bought Nintendo DS Browser. I made this purchase to offset my lack of a computer for another few weeks. So far the browser is OK. It's rendering is a bit iffy, but that is a factor of the screen size.

Input is a little slow, and the handwriting recognition is almost painfully so. I think I'll stick with the keyboard on the screen, which I don't have to wait while it decides which letter I've just written.

Blogger doesn't seem to want to let me log on with the DS, so I'm using the feature that lets you email your entries in, since I can use gmail.

There's a few more sites I need to try to see if I can get by without visiting an internet cafe every day or two (it doesn't show all the pictures on a page, so I'll have a backlog of comics to read).

Anyway, I want to play around a bit more, so I'll wrap up now.

Serenity

I'm no going to put much details here right now, but recently I've been feeling quite at peace with the universe.

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Writing time: 1 minute
Time since last post: ?
Current media: iPod

New Toy

So after three months my new toy has arrived. Three months ago it arrived at my old house in Brisbane, about one month after I'd left. Today I picked up my Nintendo DS from the post office here in Japan and having been playing with it nearly every chance I've had since. I got one game with it, Super Mario DS, which is pretty fun. It doesn't use the stylus and touch screen much, but I'm sure other games will.

Anyway, since this has taken me about 16 minutes to write (I decided to play another level of Mario), I'm going to stop typing and start playing.

End Post
Writing time: 16 minutes
Time since last post: 25 minutes or so
Current media: Super Mario DS

Nostromo?

I've decided to help Chris in spreading the message that Nostromo Sucks. This is not a decision I haven't taken lightly, just for the entertainment.

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Writing time: 1 minute
Time since last post: 1 day
Current media: Geeknights

Hiroshima

Yesterday and today I spent in Hiroshima sightseeing with Mum. We went there by shinkansen (bullet train) which was a first for both of us. It was a little pricey, but very quick. However a large amount of the travel time is going through tunnels, so I didn't miss too much by taking naps while in transit.

Hiroshima was cold and damp (not raining, but you wouldn't be surprised if it did actually start raining). Yesterday we had a look at part of the Peace Park and a look through the museum. It is quite a somber experience.

Today we explored the rest of the Peace Park and then went over to Miyajima to see the Itsukushima shrine. Very pretty, but likely to be more so at high tide. Anyway here are some photos from the trip. More can be found here.

The A-Bomb Dome: One of the buildings closest to the detonation

Looking up at the hypocenter. The A-bomb exploded about 600 meters above where I was standing when I took this photo.

Probably one of the few rare pieces of photographic evidence that I am actually in Japan and not just stealing someone's photos. Thanks to the Japanese guy who offered to take the photo for us.

The great torii.

A shinkansen

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Writing time: 13 minutes
Time since last post: 4 days
Current media: None

Kevin Shrugged

Inspired by recent adventures in book-wankery of others, and lacking other reading material, I decided today to buy a new book and make it one that one reads more for the sake of saying one has read it than for the book itself. The book I chose was Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.

So far I've read about 50 pages and my main response so far is that she's really laying it on thick. You have no doubts which characters she sympathises which and which she despises. 50 pages is more than enough to get the general idea underlying the novel (I don't foresee a major change in this, just exploration of the idea). I'm not sure where the story will go, but the general themes are well established.

I sort of agree with some of the ideas Rand is espousing here, but dislike the extremes she takes them too. As I have said before, any idea, no matter how good or noble, when taken to extremes becomes a source of bad.

Anyway, I will post a longer and more thought out statement when I finish the book.

End Post
Writing time: 8 minutes
Time since last post: 1 day
Current media: None

Awesome

On the way home tonight I saw something and just thought "awesome". Just outside my apartment building is a beer vending machine. And as I was walking up to my building a guy on a scooter pulled up at the vending machine and proceeded to acquire some beer (given he was using a note, maybe several beers). Anyway, I can only hope he had the patience to wait until he got home to start drinking.

End Post
Writing time: 2 minutes
Time since last post: about 13 hours
Current media: None

War With Iran

It seems that America may be going to war with Iran sooner than expected. It seems that American forces have already raided Iranian territory, as reported on wikinews (they cite several other sources so this appears reliable. Interestingly, none are American.). The territory in question is the Iranian Consulate General in Erbil, Iraq. Under international treaties, place such as this are considered the territory of the nation, so this action by American troops is an attack on Iran, and could be construed as an act of war.

And in a strange reversal of roles (almost a Russian Reversal you could say) Russia is condemning America and expressing shock and dismay with America's actions.

I'm interested to see what the American explanation for this action will be. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has asked for an explanation from Condoleezza Rice.

I'm not quite shocked and dismayed by this action, but someone was asleep behind the wheel on this one. Iran is a sensitive issue at the moment and this won't help. Surely someone along the way knew that it is not OK to attack another countries consulate.

End Post
Writing time: 9 minutes
Time since last post: 2 days
Current media: none

Preparing for Isolation

In a little over a weeks time I have to return the laptop I've been using to Mum. This is only fair as it is her laptop and I've been using it since late September. I had initially planned to have bought a new computer before this time, but due to various circumstances this has not happened. I could afford a cheap one in a few days time after pay day, but I'm currently planning on waiting until February. At this time I'd have plenty of cash. February will be my first pay that doesn't have a repayment for my advance taken out of it, so will be a fair bit more generous than previous pays. Plus by splitting the purchase over 3 months, I will have more overall and won't have to skimp as much in the meantime.

At the moment I'm preparing for the lack of a computer for a month. This will be the first time since the first year of university I haven't had access to a computer of my own. I'm burning a lot of stuff to DVD (my diminished music collection and videos from recent months) and removing a lot of the programs I've installed during the time I've been using this computer (I doubt Mum is a fan of Starcraft or Wizardry).

During the time that I don't have a computer, I think I'll be visiting an Internet cafe on a regular (daily) basis. There is one on the way to work, so I may just head into work an hour earlier each day (I'm not sure about days off, we'll see).

End Post
Writing time: 17 minutes
Time since last post: 1 day
Current media: Stargate 10x11

Exploring Okamachi

Tonight on the way back from the convenience store to buy some razor blades I came to a street veering off the main arcade mall type thing that all the shops are along. I haven't been down that street before, but it sort of cuts a diagonal between the convenience store I went to and my place. I walked past it thinking "I should go down that street some time". Then I thought "Fuck it, I'll do it now." And with that I went down the side street. It wasn't quite as straight as I thought it was, but it nonetheless got me back to my apartment. Anyway, I just wanted to commemorate this small spirit of exploration I exhibited tonight.

End Post
Writing time: 5 minutes
Time since last post: half a day or so
Current media: None

Podcasts I Listen To

This is mainly so I can find the list of podcasts I listen to for when I acquire a new computer in the next month or so. A list of the podcasts I listen to can be downloaded from here.
The list is
A Brobdingnagian Minute, Jedi drinking songs and more.
Ask A Ninja, the only ninja who could beat a robot pirate monkey.
Battlestar Galactica commentary by Ron Moore.
Digital Debates, some American politics.
Galactica Sitrep, Battlestar Galactica news.
Galacticast, scifi comedy
Geeknights, late night talk show for geeks.
Hope is Emo, Emo kids are funny.
Mathgrad Maths is cool.
Media Watch, the best news show in Oz.
Military History Podcast, a little history about fights.
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! Americans lame ass attempt at a show like Good News Week. They have some success.
Penn Radio, the home of Monkey Tuesday.
Point of Inquiry, Yay secular humanists.
Briefly Patriotic, these are very scary people.
Slate Explainer, find out the stuff that you don't think to find out until you really have to.
The Chaser's War on Everything (here's hoping it comes back this year)
The Combat Information Center, more Battlestar Galactica talk.
The Onion Radio News
The Signal, after early cancellation several years ago, people are still talking about Firefly.
Sunday Night Safran, as the show says, late night discussion of religion, politics and hoochies.

End Post
Writing time: 21 minutes
Time since last post: 3 days
Current media: Ask A Ninja

It's Snowing

The title says it all.

End Post
Writing time: 10 seconds
Time since last post: 1 day
Current media: none

The Ashley Treatment

I first saw this in the International Herald Tribune today and it's popped up on several of the Internet news sites I read. The longest article is on Wikinews here, and more information straight from the source is here.

The matter is a rather tricky ethical matter. A family has a child who is severally mentally handicapped, but not physically. The child, Ashley, is now around nine years old. The family after much consultation with doctors, has had Ashley undergo several forms of medical treatment to prevent her further physical development. Hormone treatment has stunted her growth so she won't grow much more than her current 4 foot 5 inches (already relatively small), and has had her uterus and breast buds removed, preventing her from developing breasts or menstruating later on. She also had her appendix removed

There are a number of aspects to consider while debating the merits of this course of action. From a practical standpoint, someone the size of a small child is a lot easier to look after, move around and so on. Preventing menstruation also avoids further means of Ashley making a mess of herself. However taking such extreme actions on a person just to make your life easier is not so palatable.

The reason that has been put forward by her family is that by preventing further growth and development it will make Ashley's life better. She won't have to be manhandled as much when older, she can stay with her family, she won't suffer menstrual pains that she would not understand, she'll be less likely to endure bed sores and other problems associated with those who spend large amounts of time still. Having her appendix removed now removes the risk of it developing problems which she can't tell other about if she experienced them, and could only otherwise be detected at the last minute.

I think Ashley's family has mostly thought of things from this second viewpoint, but I'm sure ideas from the practical standpoint have crept into their thoughts.

I'm still not sure where I stand on this. I'm not sure I approve of such massive stifling of someone's development, even someone who may not be able to make use of a full grown body. Perhaps a treatment to her problem may be developed in 10 years time, leaving her to grow old in the body of a young child.

It's a murky issue, and it's probably just as well I didn't have to make it, as I'd still be thinking until the child was grown up.

End Post
Writing time: 27 minutes
Time since last post: 2 days
Current media: none

New Years on a Bus

This New Year's Eve was spent in a manner both different and similar to previous years. This year I spent New Year's Eve travelling on a bus from Luang Prabang to Vientiane in Laos. The bus left at 7:30 at night and got into Vientiane bus depot at 5am. I didn't get any sleep during the night, but luckily it was almost a full moon, so I could see a silhouette of the mountains in varying shades of gray which was quite pretty. Not quite as good as during the day, but still quite nice. Some photos of the trip are here, but none of the night trip (I doubt they would have turned out, and the battery on my phone was flat in any case).

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Writing time: 5 minutes
Time since last post: a few hours
Current media: Get Shorty

Food Poisoning

Here's a warning. Avoid the fancy Japanese restaurant at the Bangkok airport. I think it was called KinRamen. I'm pretty sure it was their horrible katsudon that gave me food poisoning that caused me to be quite sick on the flight from Bangkok back to Japan, and has made life unpleasant for me since then. Today was the first time I've managed to get down a full meal since then. And given that I hadn't eaten much in the 24 or so hours preceding that, I've been quite peckish. Anyway, don't eat there.

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Writing time: 2 minutes
Time since last post: an hour or so
Current media: iTunes shuffle of all the track 3s - currently Wrong Number by GUD

200 Posts

I wasn't sure which of a few things I was going to write about here, but most of them got put by the wayside when I noticed that this will be the 200th post to this blog. An arbitrary round number for sure, but it still represents a fair amount of time and thought. A fair bit has changed since I started this blog, but many things are still the same.

When I started I was about halfway through a PhD, and trying to decide if I wanted to keep going. The blog was an outlet for me to try and get my thoughts out in a somewhat coherent way. The posts were a lot more introspective, philosophical and emotional. Part of this was because I didn't really expect anyone to read it. It was a journal that just happened to be available to anyone who randomly came across it. It probably says something about me that I felt more comfortable opening up to random strangers than to friends and family, but given how unlikely it was that anyone actually read it at that stage, it was more a theoretical point than a practical one.

Since then I dropped out of my PhD and left academia, worked in a call center for about a year, spent about 6 months unemployed, done a little IT contracting of various levels of respectability, tutored and am now working in another country. I've visited Thailand, and just now Laos. I've gone from relative affluence to living paycheck to paycheck, and am on the way back to relative affluence (once my advance is paid off this month).

There has been one death in my immediate family, and two more in the second degree of separation. I went to two of the funerals, but due to distance and timing I didn't attend the third. These deaths have all been in the one family which has made them so much more devastating for those involved that just three randomly distributed deaths would have been.

Internally, not that much has changed. I'm still uncommunicative with a lot of people, take a long time to open up to new people, etc, etc. I get along well with the people I work with, but don't do much outside of work with them. I spend a bit of time with my housemates, but not a lot. All of the touristy stuff I've done around the place has been on my own. Sometimes I look at the people who came here around the same time or later and how much more involved with other people they are and wonder how the hell they do it.

Well, I'm going to finish this one here, as I seem to have quite distracted myself (I started to check if I was the first or zeroth degree of separation from me and have ended up about to read a maths paper by the actress who played Winnie Cooper in the Wonder Years. The chain goes something like this Six degrees of separation -> Bacon number -> Erdos-Bacon number -> Danica McKellar. Four degrees, how easy is that.).

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Writing time: 1 hour 23 minutes (less distractions previously mentioned)
Time since last post: 10 days
Current media: iTunes shuffle of all the track 3s - currently Synaesthetic by the Blue Man Group

Working On Christmas

For the first time ever I worked on Christmas Day. I think it was the first time I've worn long pants on Christmas. It's definitely the first time I've worn a long sleeved shirt and a tie. At least it was quiet. Each lesson was only one person, and two of them didn't turn up.

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Writing time: 1 minute
Time since last post: 1 minute
Current media: Same as the last post

Incommunicado

I'm off to Thailand (and possibly Laos) soon for about a week. Internet connectivity will be sporadic at best. I'll be back on the 2nd.

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Writing time: 1 minute
Time since last post: 2 days
Current media: He Died With A Felafel In His Hand

Hyde and Seek

Completing the trifecta of classic horror stories I've been reading recently is The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, perhaps better known for Treasure Island than this work (I hadn't know RLS was the author of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde until I read the introduction to the collection). It was by far the shortest of the three, so much so that while reading Dracula at one stage I worried that there wasn't enough room for the third story, but at a mere 70 pages it's a relative lightweight.

Jekyll and Hyde is much more like Frankenstein than Dracula, again being about a scientist who brought forth something he couldn't control. The difference here though is that while Frankenstein's monster was separate from himself, Jekyll's monster was his own darker side.

Frankenstein's big idea was don't overlook the humanity in that which appears monstrous, while Jekyll and Hyde is about not overlooking the monstrous in what looks human. Hyde is Jekyll freed of his inhibitions and as he would say nobler self, a man who only answers to his desires.

Jekyll though is not free of blame in this story. He sought the freedom to be his darker self. And when he realised it might be a problem, he kept on going to the dark side, until ultimately he was unable to come back.

Overall, a warning not to succumb to the temptations that exist in each of us.

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Writing time: 51 minutes
Time since last post: 51 and a bit minutes
Current media: Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me

The Story of Ami

I've been trying to decide if I was going to put this up on the blog, and have decided to, since some people already know, and it was somewhat of a new experience. Anyway, here's the story.

On Mondays, I usually meet up with two of the teachers I've met here (K and J to protect the not so innocent) and we spend the evening at some bars in Umeda. The Monday before last (the 11th) was the last Monday before payday, so merriment was a bit more free than usual. Indeed, instead of going our separate ways and heading home at midnight on the last train, we decided to go to a bar near J's place and then crash at his place.

So after catching the train to Tsukaguchi, we started walking from the train station to the bar J liked (Mamasita's for the record, a nice place, but does have a cover charge). On the way there was a girl about to get on here scooter. We suggested that she come with us to the bar, and I believe K started wheeling her scooter towards the bar.

The girl's name was Ami, and while at the bar we talked a fair bit (about two hours, although I don't recall enough talking to fill all that time), but didn't really communicate as her English was only a little better than my Japanese. We did get a little touchy-feely (holding hands, or one might say I copped a feel or two) and we swapped phone numbers. J, K and I left the bar a little after Ami did, and a little bit after we got back to J's place I got a call from her.

I didn't call her back for several reasons: an uncertainty on what to do, how to communicate without a common language, my usual poor memory for these things meaning I didn't really remember what she looked like (short, Japanese, female), and the main one, fear of the unknown. I think I left it too long, because when I did call her on the following Monday, under pressure from K and J, the little I got from the phone call was "eigo, ie, bye bye".

Ah well. 'Tis better to have loved and lost, and all that, etc, etc. (Love is overstating, but you get the idea).

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Writing time: 27 minutes (typing, I've been thinking about if I should write it or not and what I would write since the morning after)
Time since last post: a little bit
Current media: still none

I had an idea for a project

Today while doing a voice session I had a really good idea for a project, but I don't think I can really do it over here. I'm putting it up here so that in a few years time I can look back and remember it.

Anyway, the idea is as follows. Get a bunch of old refedexes or UBDs or any book with street maps for your city, one for each year, or as often as they are released. Find some interesting part of your city, and get the map for that part each year. Scan in the maps, and make a video out of the images.

Not particularly original, but it would be interesting to see how the city has changed over the years. The challenge would be getting all the old refedexes.

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Writing time: 2 minutes
Time since last post: 4 days
Current media: None

More thoughts on Kids Classes

Monday was my third week of regular kids classes. I've learnt almost all of the kids names (although I did get Haruka (a girl) and Haruki (a boy) mixed up). I've got into the swing of the activities. I'm more energetic in the classes. This weeks lessons went OK. The kinder lesson was naming actions (he's running, she's jumping, etc). They definitely understood the words but were more interested in doing the actions than in saying what they were doing.

The juniors went a lot better than I was expecting. This weeks language was relatively tricky (is the x in the room? Yes it is/ no it isn't). I started out by making sure they understood yes it is/no it isn't (is this a ball?, is this blue, is so-and-so a girl?, etc) before moving onto the actual language involved. I think this helped a lot as the rest of the class went pretty well. I think it helped that their was one kid who really got it and led the others.

The seniors went much the same as last time. They're capable, but I'm not sure how motivated they are. They do get very competitive at times though.

I did do a few things a bit different this week. I cut out some of the singing, and switched around some of the timing and changed the games a little. A few of the ideas came from some co-teaching lessons I had on the weekend, as part of a transition for some kids classes I'm going to be taking over from one of the teachers who's leaving soon.

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Writing time: 28 minutes
Time since last post: a few hours
Current media: Torchwood 1x10 Out of Time

Back in Drac

One of my recent literary achievements was finally reading Bram Stoker's Dracula (the original, not the novelisation of the movie (seriously, they made a new book out of the movie that was based on a book)). As far as stories go, it was pretty dry. The suspense wasn't that great, although to someone who hadn't been exposed 12 combined years of Buffy and Angel, a passing interest in Vampire: The Masquerade in it's various incarnations, and other pop culture vampire bits and pieces (for example, someone who read it when it was first published) the mystery of the book would be much greater. The great mystery in the 2nd part of the story is pretty obvious to the modern reader.

It's the oldest book I've seen that was written as if it was made up of the several characters different views of events (I'm sure some more literary type will tell me that there are older examples of this).

The one bad bit in the matter is the actions of Dr Van Helsing. From the start he was pretty confident he knew what type of creature he was dealing with, but he did not do everything he needed to do to protect Lucy. He took some half measures, and delayed her demise, but he only got serious about the matter after an innocent life had been lost, and more were likely to follow.

Similarly, later on they miss the obvious similarity of the symptoms that Mina Harker is suffering from with those that afflicted Lucy. In such a situation where they are taking great pains to piece together all the bits of knowledge they have, this stuck out like a sore thumb.

Overall, Bram Stokers' Dracula is not the best of stories, but is pretty important for all that it has inspired.

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Writing time: 19 minutes
Time since last post: half an hour or so
Current media: iTunes shuffle of all the track 5s - currently Ooh Child by Nina Simone

Ru-Mi-Na-Ri-E

On Sunday I went to Kobe to see the Luminaire. This is a light display that is a memorial to those who died in the 1995 earthquake that devastated Kobe. When I first saw the posters advertising the event at my local train station I thought it was something similar in spirit to the Christmas lights we have in Australia. However, while I was talking with a student about going he told me it was actually a memorial. He also gave me some advice on how to find it in Kobe.

So, with a somewhat more sombre mood than I had planned on, I caught the train after work to Kobe. I wandered in vaguely the right direction, until I found some signs for the event with maps on, then wandered a bit more to make sure I was heading in the right direction. After a while I found some streets closed to traffic with a throng of people walking along, but there was a fence stopping people from just hopping in. So I followed the fence to the entrance, and started walking.

The route follows an s shape, going up one street, down the next and then up another. The first two streets aren't that impressive. One or two buildings put some lights up, but that was it. The good stuff waited until the third street. The street wasn't that much, but at the end was a covered walkway type area filled with lights.

The walkway went on for quite a while, and then you come to the big round lighty thing, as well as the souvenir stands, lottery stands, and food stands. I picked up a prepaid train ticket and part of a Christmas present for someone (I know who, but don't want to ruin the surprise).

Here are a few photos. More can be found here.






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Writing time: 27 minutes (I got a bit distracted reading other tabs)
Time since last post: 3 days
Current media: iTunes shuffle of all the track 5s - currently Ugly Men with Beautiful Women by Tripod

The Believer's Bleak Default Option

Because of the general lack of English literature available in Japan, I've started reading newspapers again. My paper of choice at the moment is the International Herald Tribune, partly because it's generally thicker than the other English newspapers, and also it has a more world wide focus so I get to hear some things that are going on back in Australia.

I was somewhat outraged by one of the editorials that appeared in it a few days ago. It was titled Atheist's Bleak Alternative, and you can read it yourself here. Written by Jeff Jacoby, it laments the lack of religiosity in modern society, as reflected in the lack of religious iconography and verbiage on this years run of Christmas cards. A large number of cards don't even have non religious Christmas images like Santa Claus. An interesting phenomena to note, but nothing to get to riled up about.

Mr Jacoby takes it a step further, and complains that this lack of religion, specifically Christianity is a major problem, resulting in moral relativity and an inability to install positive values into society.

The part that really got me annoyed was the following quote:

That is because without God, the difference between good and evil becomes purely subjective. What makes murder inherently wrong is not that it feels wrong, but that a transcendent creator to whom we are answerable commands: "Thou shalt not murder." What makes kindness to others inherently right is not that human reason says so, but that God does: "Love thy neighbor as thyself; I am the Lord."

I'm sorry Jeff Jacoby, but murder is not inherently wrong just because God says so. It's wrong because it harms others by depriving them of life. If God had said "Thou shalt murder", would it be our moral duty to whack everyone we could? That would be a religion I hope no one would follow. Similarly, kindness to others is good because it makes life better for others and ourselves.

Additionally, the suggestion that without the fear of God people would do bad things with no remorse is quite frankly insulting. I don't go around killing people because I know that it hurts them and is an act of violence. I don't need to be told by some man in the sky. I can work that out for myself. If the only reason you don't go around killing people is because God says not to, then you sir, are a very scary person. I treat others well because I respect them, not because I hope to avoid eternal punishment by doing so.

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Writing time: 71 minutes (I stopped to watch the latest BSG)
Time since last post: 1 day
Current media: Battlestar Galactica 3x11

In Soviet Russia, Cookies Eat Santa

Today I had my first kids class at my regular school. I'm covering for one of the other teachers while he's on holidays. Anyway, during the lesson, which was seems to just be learning some basic vocab (eat, drink, presents, cookies, map, etc) one of the kids piped up with "Cookies eat Santa" instead of "Santa's eating Cookies". This immediately made me think of the good old Russian Reversal. I did say "In Soviet Russia, Cookies eat Santa", but not surprisingly, it was lost on the kids.

In other news, after about a week, my sore throat is almost gone, but a bit of a cough and a lot of phlegm remains. Hopefully that will be gone soon.

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Writing time: 10 minutes
Time since last post: 13 hours
Current media: None

Some Quizes

I just did some online quizzes. These are a bit geekier than your average on-line quiz. Anyway, here are the results.


Which OS are You?


Which File Extension are You?


Which Website are You?

I like the third result, can kind of understand the first, but was a bit shocked and annoyed by the second. Ah well. They're just silly quizzes anyway.
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Writing time: 1 minute
Time since last post: 2 days
Current media: iTunes shuffle of all the track 7s - currently Polka Power! by Weird Al

Holy Shit That's Fast

I don't think I've truly realised how fast the Internet is over here in Japan. Now, I have some idea. Except for the blurring to prevent incriminating myself, this is an actual screen capture. Please note the speed. I will admit this only lasted for about 30 seconds, but it is still none-the-less impressive.

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Writing time: 7 minutes (had to touch up the picture a little)
Time since last post: "go" days
Current media: none

Something Really Messed Up

I saw this article on the BBC news feed today and am trying to decide if I'm disgusted, revolted, or just plain shocked. A woman has been charged with aggravated murder of her own baby. The weapon of choice? Microwave oven.

As this has yet to go to trial, I won't comment specifically on the woman, as at this stage it is inappropriate to make assumptions of guilt, and innocent until guilty still applies. However, the idea of killing your own child is reprehensible.

And putting a baby in a microwave? Well, I know how a microwave works. I've had fun putting CDs in a microwave (don't leave it on long), as well as other objects. There's even a joke "Curiosity didn't kill the cat. A three year old with a microwave did". I should hope that ignorance is not part of the defense strategy.

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Writing time:17 minutes
Time since last post: 2 days
Current media: The Daily Show December 6

Coup No 2

Fiji's had a coup. This is the second coup of 2006, and Fiji's fourth. Like Thailand's coup, this one has been building up for a while, but was a lot more public, with negotiation going on between the military and the Prime Minister for quite some time beforehand. Some pretty good background reading can be found here, here, and here.

I don't know as much about what's been going on in Fiji as I do about Thailand, but again I disagree with the idea of the military stepping into politics and trying to control or influence the elected government.

I just had the idea of keeping all military facilities outside of the actual country, on islands and atolls and that sort of thing, but that is perhaps a bad idea for a few reasons. They include the fact that it isolates the military from the people, and two, isn't really practical for most countries.

Anyway, I once again state my support for democratically elected governments, the ideal of a non-political military, and hope that regular government is restored to Fiji soon.

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Writing time: 10 minutes
Time since last post: 10 minutes
Current media: iTunes shuffle of all the track 3s - currently Tribute by Tenacious D

Kids Lessons 2: The Regulars

On Monday I had my first regular kids classes. It was a help shift at a kids school. I had one class of each of the three big groups, Kinder (3-6), junior (7-9), and senior (10-12). It was exhausting. The juniors were the most exhausting. The classes had 5 kids for kinder, 6 for juniors and 3 seniors.

All of the kids were kind of into it, and had various levels of success. The kinders could name the things (presents, bells, other christmassy things), but usually dropped the "there are" from
"there are n items", but got the general idea. The juniors were a bit better, but their language for this week was a bit easier. I did get mixed up with the flashcards I was meant to be using, so for the first activities used some of last weeks. I realised halfway through so I just got the extra cards and put them in the pile. The kids didn't notice.

The seniors were OK. They got a bit mixed up when I said "How are you today?" instead of the expected "How are you?" (there's a bit of a ritual for starting the lesson that includes asking "how are you?" The rituals a bit different for each level.) so they answered "Monday", but I realised what was happening and rephrased. I had been told the seniors were not quite so outgoing and willing to compete, but this group were, although it is a smaller group. It's also odd that of the three, a boy and a girl have the same name.

The schools not far from my regular school, so travels not really an issue. It's just sort of a front desk and a room, and the teachers room is essentially a closet. I'm probably not going to spend that much time in there, in any case. The classrooms outer wall is a glass wall to a hallway, so I could see people (parents presumably) watching me and the kids, but I didn't worry about them.

On a related note, since I knew I'd need lots of energy for the classes, I had decided to load up on sugar, and the best source I had was a packet of musk sticks (thanks Justin). The staff member (I can't remember her name (Etsuko or something like that)) asked if the kids could try some. I said sure. Maybe one or two out of the 6-10 who tried some liked it. Most people over here (gaijin and locals) have not appreciated the taste.

I did make a bit of an impression while juggling some paper balls between lessons, so next week I'll take my juggling balls in with me.

Anyway, that's my adventure in kids classes for this week.

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Writing time: 17 minutes
Time since last post: 1 day
Current media: iTunes shuffle of all the track 3s - currently Rock Me by Steppenwolf

Repeal Day

As the ad at the end of The Onion's podcast has been telling me for a week or so, today is the anniversary of the repeal of prohibition in America. The ad has only been part effective, because while I know it was an ad for some type of alcohol, I have no idea what brand or type it is.

Anyway, prohibition was a bad idea, and seems to have inspired some of the modern prohibitions on other chemicals people choose to indulge in, which are just as effective as the prohibition on alchohol back then was.

Anyway, cheers (or kampai, as the locals say).

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Writing time: 8 minutes
Time since last post: a little while
Current media: Red Vs Blue

Rent A Coder No Longer So Attractive

Every so often, I check the newest jobs on Rent A Coder to see if there's any good jobs available. In recent months though, not much has shown up. Most of the jobs fall into one of three categories. 1) Bigger than I'm willing to do because of lack of knowledge and or time, 2) the maximum bid is too low to be worth my time, or 3) just plain scum.

It's category number three that is really making me think about not checking Rent A Coder for new jobs. When this sort of job is the majority of work available, I'm not so keen to be a part of it.

Some recent examples of less than noble jobs include someone's semester long project (with a deadline of 3 days), someone who wants their company on Wikipedia, and someone wanting you to run their Google Adwords campaign because they have been banned for breaking the rules.

I've taken one job where I went in not quite sure about the buyers intentions, and after doing a small job with them and then turned down further jobs because I didn't think they were doing the right thing.

I have heard of similar sites that I may check out, but I expect that they'll be of a similar nature.

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Writing time: 15 minutes
Time since last post: a few hours
Current media: Stargate Atlantis - 3x12 Echoes

It's Christmas in Japan

Despite not being a majority christian country, or a decent minority christian country, or even a we like to call ourselves christian but don't actually go to church or anything like that country, Japan is still getting ready for Christmas with lots of lights go up over the place, as well as other Christmasy things. The KFC near my place has Colonel Sanders is a Santa outfit.
This was taken from the staffroom at work on Friday night when there was some sort of event happening at around 7:30ish. In any event, it was all over by the time I got off work at 9. And if you look carefully, the decorations in the trees are indeed four leaf clovers. But, what the hey, they're foreign, right?
This is the Osaka JR station in Umeda. I meant to get some photos of the Hanshin station as well, but forgot to.
This is a house I can see from my balcony. It's the only one with visual range with such decoration.

This is just a photo of a big intersection in Umeda. It is intentionally blurry, to try and convey the sense of hustle and bustle (and not the fact that it's so cold my hands shake at night).

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Writing time: 13 minutes
Time since last post: 4 days
Current media: none

A Good Lesson

Yesterday I had a really good lesson with a student. The main reason it was so much better was that she was really enthusiastic and put a lot of effort into the lesson. The differences between the lesson with this student and other students was remarkable. The lesson was about the news, headlines that sort of stuff. For this lesson I have started introducing the 5 Ws before introducing the rest of the language, as it's really useful for getting the language down. Normal I just tell the students the list, and then apply it to the language. But this student once I mentioned the 5 Ws started guessing them.

Anyway, having a student that motivated and keen was really good and it had an uplifting effect on me. Here's hoping there are more like that.

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Writing time: 21 minutes
Time since last post: 0 days
Current media: The Colbert Report- November 28

Final Word Count

As yesterday was the last day of November, it was the last day of National Novel Writing Month. This was the chance for my last ditch effort to reach 50,000 words. Since I needed about 47,000 words, it didn't really happen. The final total word count was 4,117 words. This included some words that came from the brilliant idea to present a long conversation as a transcript, which of course had to include a bunch of extra data such as time of recording, a list of participants and other formalities. The conversation was also formal, and so allowed the reuse of some of the extremely long names and titles I'd created for just such a reason. I'll try and keep working on it, but will slacken off the pace a bit.



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Writing time: 13 minutes
Time since last post: 2 days
Current media: The Daily Show Nov 28

A "Your Mum" Joke for the masses

More joy from the interwebs



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Writing time: 1 minute
Time since last post: 0 days
Current media: Farscape - 1x02 - I, E.T.

Kyoto-ho

Today I went to Kyoto for the first time. It's about an hour away on the train if you take the express from Juso. I walked around a few temples and also some just general walking. There's a few photos, but I'd forgotten to recharge my phone so it died halfway through the day. Anyway, here are some of the better photos of the day.

This is a creek going through Kyoto, with some nice sort of dock places for you to sit and enjoy the creek. It was flowing pretty fast (the ducks seemed to be swimming pretty hard just to stay still).





These are from Heian-jingu, the northern-most of the temples I visited (I spent the day in Southeast Kyoto).

A pretty tree I saw along the way.



These are from Chion-in. This is where the battery on my phone went dead.

After this I also visited Kodai-ji and Kiyomizu temples. Kiyomizu was very impressive with some lovely views. It's well worth a visit if you get the chance.

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Writing time: 22 minutes
Time since last post: 3 days
Current media: Kill Bill Vol 2

Kids Lessons

During November I've had various training for the different kids classes that Nova teaches. The training was OK, but about half the time they wanted you to act like a kid. Learn to teach by being a student. While you can learn some things that way, teaching kids isn't one of them. The actual getting in and trying it for yourself was much more useful in my perspective.

Today I had chibikko training, which is for kids 2-3 years old (the earlier training was for 3-12 year olds). It also had the whole learn by being a student, but the guy doing the training was sensible enough to not force the whole process to be that way.

My big concern with the whole kids classes is that I'm not really that exuberant and energetic person, and so won't be that good as a kids teacher.

I had my first lesson on Wednesday at a different school (I was doing overtime), with two kinders (3-6 years), and I did sort of ramp up the energy to try and keep their attention. From December I'm going to have a regular set of kids classes on Mondays, so we'll see how they go.

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Writing time: 63 minutes (I got distracted with spider solitaire)
Time since last post: 2 days
Current media: None

And the Church House Burned, Burned, Burned

I saw this story the other day but was to busy to write something then, so will do so now. It's about a man who burnt down one church, and is implicated in the arson of another. And why did he burn the church down? Because he thought that they had deviated from the bible and the word of God.

Now I don't know why this man thought he knew better than they did, but this is another example of how absolute certainty can cause violence and danger. This man thought he knew the one true path, and because these other people weren't following that path, it was OK to burn down their church.

I think that the man involved believed he was doing the right thing, which really shows the dangers of believing in something absolutely. Had he taken a moment to think "What if I'm wrong?" he might have taken another moment to consider an alternative course of action.

The good part about this article is the response of the people who had their church burnt down. They have responded with forgiveness rather than vengeance, which is an attitude to be applauded.

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Writing time: 20 minutes
Time since last post: Indeterminate
Current media: Farscape - 1x01 - Premiere

Frankenstein Revealed

Being in Japan, my reading of books has somewhat declined, due to the general lack of availability of books I can read. I have greatly increased my reading of newspapers, but sometimes I just want to read a book.

About a week ago, after being told of its existence by some students, I visited a bookstore near my school. It's one whole floor in a rather large building, and has two whole shelves of English books. After discounting the children's books, romance novels, and books I'd already read, the main category of books that appealed to me were classics. Basically the 19th century stuff everyone knows the name of but few people ever read except when made to in high school.

The volume I picked up is actually three books. Frankenstein, Dracula and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. I hadn't realised that Robert Louis Stevenson had written Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde until reading the introduction.

Last night I finished Frankenstein, and was really amazed at the difference between the vague ideas I'd picked up from popular culture about Frankenstein and the actual novel. I already knew that Frankenstein was the name of the professor, not the monster, but that's not the big difference.

The main misconception I had was that the creation of the monster was the main ambition of Frankenstein, and the main plot of the story. There's also the matter of the harnessing of lightning, grave robbing for parts, Igor the assistant, but these are details that flow from the main misconception.

The story actually glosses over the creation of the monster, and looks at the consequences of the creation for both the creator and created. Both are locked into a bitter cycle of reprisal, and each lets their pride cause them to be unwilling to see the others point of view. Frankenstein refuses to see the monsters humanity, and shows it in his cruelty towards it. The monster on it's part is all too ready to harm others so as to hurt Frankenstein, and kills a number of innocents while seeking its revenge against Frankenstein.

I'm still trying to decide if there's a greater moral to the story, something about being wary about one's creations, or if it's just meant to be a story to scare the reader, as is suggested in the introduction by Mary Shelley.

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Writing time: 18 minutes
Time since last post: 30 minutes
Current media: iTunes Shuffle - Muse - Stockholm Syndrome

The Second Great and Bountiful American Empire

So yesterday was rather cold. And at lunch time (about 5pm) I was feeling like a warm drink. Due to my aversion to both coffee and tea, this pretty much leaves me hot chocolate as my beverage of choice (not that I'm complaining, I like hot chocolate).

Now over here, if you like coffee or tea you are spoiled for choice. Hot and cold coffee of different strengths, flavours, varieties, celebrity endorsements, brands and what not, from shops and vending machines. But not much in the way of hot chocolate.

But, I did see one possible source of that which I desired. An organisation I have never really felt much desire to visit, as they concentrate on beverages I don't desire, and in most places there have been alternative sources of warm chocolate drinks. But in this land, I did not see much by way of an alternative, except not having a warm drink.

And so I went to Starbucks. Except for the prices being in yen, and having katakana above the English on the menu, it seemed pretty much identical to the Starbucks I walked past a lot in the Myer Center. At lunch I got a grande premium hot chocolate for 480 yen (I usually pay that much for lunch). It was pretty good, which was a bit of a surprise, as I was expecting something a bit more average. I ended up going back after work finished for a tall one, which I drank on the train (they're a lot less paranoid about that sort of thing over here, although I did get odd looks from one lady).

Anyway, I've just looked and there does seem to be one near my usual work (I was doing overtime in a school far away yesterday), so I may be frequenting the Second Great and Bountiful American Empire a bit from now on.

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Writing time: 13 minutes
Time since last post: 4 days
Current media: iTunes Shuffle - Rasputina - Dig Ophelia

Oh yes, bonus points for whoever identifies the source of the phrase Second Great and Bountiful Empire.

Burqa Ban Bad Move

OK, blogger just screwed me over with a longer version of this (spell checking a link and then clicking on it to change it doesn't quite work as expected), so this is the rough and ready version.

The Dutch government is proposing a ban on wearing burqas in public places just before the election next week.

This is a bad idea for many reasons.

1) it's persecution based on religious beliefs. The law is written to include some non-religious items like covered helmets, but the government's only talking about the burqa and Muslim women when discussing the issue. This is bad in and of itself

2) Such persecution is a bad idea for those who want respect and tolerance for people of all creeds. such persecution leads to marginalisation and division between groups within society.

3) The Dutch immigration minister says that "It is very important that we can see each other and can communicate with each other. Because we are so tolerant we want to respect each other." Respect or lack thereof based upon what someone wears is superficial at best.

4) Most importantly, it's a violation of individual freedom. Everyone should be free to choose what they want to wear. Wearing a burqa, jeans and t-shirt, a suit, or any other garment only affects the person wearing it, and they should be allowed to choose whatever they want. Freedom is easy for the things you like. Your commitment to freedom is tested when you have to stand up for things you don't like.

My position is this: I don't wear or want to wear a burqa, but if anyone else does, they can.

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Writing time: 57 minutes
Time since last post: 1 day
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OJ Simpson is the biggest idiot ever

OK, so a long time ago, some people got killed, and someone was tried and found not guilty. There was a lot of controversy, perhaps some legal shenanigans. Following the trial where he was found not guilty, a there was a civil suit against the person by the family of the people killed, and due to different standards in civil and criminal suits, some liability was found and he had to pay a lot of money to the families. There was a lot of doubt about the whole thing, and there were many different opinions about his guilt.

Now, more than a decade after all this happened, you'd think this person would be trying to avoid anything related to this unpleasant series of events. But no, O.J. Simpson is about to release a book called "If I Did It", which tells how he would have gone about committing the murder of his wife and another man, if he had done it. He features as the central character, and the book goes into significant detail.

I'm curious if the investigators who worked on the case will read the book, and how close it comes to the way they thought events happened.

While Simpson cannot be tried again for the crime, this does seem a rather foolish and or callous thing to write.

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Writing time: 11 minutes
Time since last post: 1 day
Current media: None

National Chapter Writing Month

So, my partaking in National Novel Writing Month is progressing, but at nowhere near the needed 1667 words per day. So far I'm at just above 2000. I think I'll aim to double that. Today I reached a kind of finishing point for the first chapter. I'm thinking of creating a bit of an interlude before starting chapter two. I'm thinking of a kind of future historical document hinting at what is to come, a bit like the quotations at the start of each chapter in Dune, but I don't know if I can write enough to make it worthwhile without giving away too much of what's to come (which of course would mean I'd have to make it up now as well, instead of as I go). Actually I've just thought of maybe writing something that's a current history book in the story, giving a bit of information as to where the stories set (like the bits and pieces at the end of each chapter of The Watchmen).

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Writing time: 6 minutes
Time since last post: 15 minutes
Current media: iTunes Shuffle - Weird Al - Amish Paradise

Fit to be tied

So, I think most people who know about my job know that I have to wear business clothes every day, and this includes wearing a tie. In previous times I did not wear a tie ofter, and did not relish the prospect. When I started work here, I would take my tie off as soon as I left the building work was in. As time has gone by, this has changed taking the tie off on the train home, to really loosening the tie and undoing the top button, slightly loosening the tie and undoing the top button, to today where I didn't do anything to my tie until I was home and changing my shirt. I guess this is partly just getting used to it.

I also think part of it is that the good outfit I used to wear back in Australia for interviews and other formal events actually included a shirt that was bought for my high school graduation, which while still mostly fitting, it would appear that my neck has somewhat widened since then. So the neck on that shirt is so tight it's hard to do the top button up, whereas the new shirts I bought just before leaving are quite comfortable around the neck. The fact that my shirt doesn't suffocate me has made wearing a tie more bearable.

Anyway, it's just a thought, nothing too significant.

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Writing time: 8 minutes
Time since last post: 12 hours
Current media: iTunes Shuffle - Patty Mardina - Still Life

More YouTube goodness

Fun with Non-Newtonian Liquids.

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Writing time: 1 minute
Time since last post: 1 day
Current media: None

Iran Doesn't Get It

While I was reading over the news this morning I came across this piece about how Iran is unhappy with Google. You might wonder, why would Iran be unhappy with Google. Is it helping faithful Muslims find blasphemous texts, or those cartoons of Muhammad.

No, they're hosting someones video on Google Video. And the video gets some geography mixed up, and says that the city Tabriz which is part of Iran is part of Azerbaijan. Looking at the summaries at Google Video, the video is a bit biased, but Iran is complaining about the wrong people.

Google did not make the video, did not endorse the video, did not fact check the video, or do anything other than let the video's makers express themselves. Don't go shooting the messenger.

I also don't think Iran should be as upset about this as it is. The city in question is quite close to the border with Azerbaijan, has a large population that speaks Azeri, was historically part of Azerbaijan (and they even call it Eastern Azerbaijan). Perhaps the video makers were just trying to make a point, albeit in a tactless way.

Add in the free speech aspect of this and Iran doesn't really have a leg to stand on on this issue. They can complain (freedom of speech cuts both ways), but they shouldn't expect to get anything changed.

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Writing time: 35 minutes
Time since last post: 1 day
Current media: iTunes shuffle - Capture of Trillian

The difference between science and blind faith

I found this at The Funniest Thing. It's very insightful.





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Writing time: 1 minute
Time since last post: a few hours
Current media: None

Helsinki Complaints Choir

Another fun video from YouTube

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Writing time: 1 minute
Time since last post: 2 days
Current media: None

Sucks to be in Australia

This to everyone in Australia who's missing bananas because they're so expensive. Yesterday I bought 4 bananas for 138 yen. That's $1.53. The last bananas I bought in Australia was $13 for three bananas.

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Writing time: 3 minutes
Time since last post: 1 day
Current media: Battlestar Galactica 3x07 A Measure of Salvation

Sore Throat

I woke up yesterday with a really sore throat. It feels like the top of my throat is inflamed, and swallowing aggravates the problem. Fortunately talking doesn't, or work would be really crap right now. I was hoping it would go away overnight, but it didn't. If it's still a problem tomorrow I'll try and find a pharmacy and attempt to make myself understood, and hopefully get something to help the problem.

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Writing time: 5 minutes
Time since last post: 1 day
Current media: None

Colbert is Awesome

I've just watched Wednesday's Colbert Report, and The Wørd was absolutely awesome. Everyone should watch it.

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Probated

Today I had my probation observation, which is where my immediate boss sits and watches me give a lesson. It went pretty well. It was a mid level lesson about the news, and it ran smoothly. I avoided a big conversation at the start, so I had time to actually get through all the activities. After that was a bit of feedback, some advice on how to have the students interact with each other more, and that was about it. I should be off probation at the end of the month. I'm actually lucky in that I arrived near the end of a month, so I'll only be on probation for two months. Most people start early in the month, and so are on probation for almost three months.

I've got a meeting with the area boss on Sunday week, which I gather is a more how are you settling in, are your immediate bosses helping you get into the job, that sort of thing. They call it onboarding, which I think means the people who came up with the idea have been working with Japanese people too long, as it is very engrish.

After that, I'll have another observation lesson at about the 6 month mark, so around my Birthday.

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Writing time: 18 minutes
Time since last post: 2 days
Current media: none

And don't forget your booties 'cause it's cooooooold out there today

Yesterday and today were significantly colder than the rest of my time in Japan, prompting me to always wear a jacket outside and a second shirt. And this is only the middle of autumn. It was a rather sudden change, which caught me a little surprised. I have heard from those who've been here a bit longer that so far autumn has been very warm, and that winter is usually much colder than I'm used to (not much chance of snow in this area, but still colder than any part of Australia I've lived in).

My strategies for keeping warm are basically limited to wearing a jacket, an extra t-shirt, and in days gone by letting my hair down to cover my ears and neck. I may look at getting some sort of hat soon to keep my head warm, as I noticed last night that my head and face got very cold outside.

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Writing time: 14 minutes
Time since last post: 1 day
Current media: Battlestar Galactica 3x06 Torn