Brought to you by the BB

Went out last night with the Bitter Baron and a small crowd of friends, whose younger sister is in for a week with her boyfriend, en route home to England. A number of amusing things occurred, but most of them were the confusion of humor, insults, and nonsense from the BB himself. We were laughing so hard it was necessary that I begin taking notes of the things that were said. It is best to picture them at top volume, spoken with the pomposity of a circus ringleader, gesticulating with all the bluster of a British lawyer in full regalia, wig and gown.

[cell phone rings] "You see? YOU haven't got any friends, because all your friends are here, but I have friend, who aren't here, and they're emailing ME!!!"

[to a friend heading to Harvard law school come September] "You, are actually a maggot, preying on the fungus which fed on the animal--which was us! that you killed in the Independence War!"

"Don't think about that, because if you don't, you won't agree with it."

[on recent additions to Florida law, and what exactly is "self-defense']"You said hello with a slight aspiration on the H--and in hoallamllama-go, THAT is aggressive! BANG!! I shoot you in the face!"

"Adding one letter to 'democrat' makes DEMON-crat. But adding 'n' to Republican makes Republicann."

[on drawing attention]"It's like a seal! It'S like an aquarium!! Waa-waa-waa-waa!!!"

"The label hid the melicious layer!"

[On his own virtues, by comparison] "Now we all know that the person from Virginia isn't very smart, even though she's going to the best law school in the historical planet!!!"

[On dialects of English in his sister's boyfriend] "The Geordie force is strong in you!"

"He's preparing himself to produce THE GEORDIE!!!"

"It's not that interesting, but I'm building up."

Thoughts

As The Wife has said, I've been very busy these past few weeks. I had, for one of my classes, an involuntary break as I waited for my textbooks to arrive. I had ordered my book using Amazon's patented "Buy now and we'll never send it to you, ever" technology." When my texts finally arrived I was in the middle of everything else. Time seemed to snap forward, propelling a giant spitwad of accumulated work my direction. My plans of intense training at the pool were absorbed into the glowing screen of a once working laptop. Still, as far as semesters go, I enjoyed this one immensely. I was studying cryptography and databases, and, while I dislike databases, both classes were pleasing for different reasons. More importantly, the further I progressed in my research, the deeper I wanted to go. Unfortunately, while this research, of which I will be able to speak more freely about shortly, has given me a direction to explore, I still find the general field of Computer Science interesting, rather than a very narrow subject. The key now is finding something that I find intriguing enough to maintain my interest through a PhD program. I'm looking at the field of machine learning as a cohesive way to combine my interest in information theory and genetic algorithms, but I'd also like to progress in my study of cryptography, or more specifically, the number theory behind it, which I've recently become enamored with.

The last weeks of my semester went something like this: project, project, final, final, all research done by the 17th to meet publishing deadline for paper. Then, after the last project, but before the first final, insert a new job. I'm teaching English up North, near Hikone. It's been an eye-opening experience in that it has expose me, first-hand, to one of the major problems in Japan, the continued discrimination of the descendants of the untouchables and the effects it is having. Still, the teachers are all quite friendly, and I'm finding my time spent here well worth it.

My main qualifications for the job were: 1) I am a native speaker of English, 2) I'm large and practice martial arts. The interview process was amusing, to say the least. I met with the head of the board of education and the mayor. In fact, I played the mayor at Go. I happened to win, but only by 12 pieces, and I was given a 9 piece head start. It wasn't bad for my first time playing and only being vaguely familiar with the rules.

I've been using my hour long commute, by train, to read, study, or sleep. So, after starting, but before my first final I was using whatever time I could find to study, but upon returning home, but, upon returning home, I had to devote my time to research. Regardless, the semester ended on a good note, though by the skin of my teeth, which really is a bizarre expression.

The job, combined with everything else, destroyed my chances at a good practice for the Japan Masters on the 22nd. I went in with only three days practice and I felt it. I swam the lead in a 100m medley relay and managed to do my 25 backstroke in 15 seconds, which I suppose isn't too bad, but I don't judge anything on the 25. I was signed up to swim both the 200m free and 200m back, but, halfway through the 200m free, both of my legs cramped. So, while I achieved my goal of going to the masters, I was quite disappointed with my performance.

Which pretty much brings me up to date, with a few exceptions. The Wife and I were looking forward to having Dan and his new wife with us for a bit in the autumn, but now it will only be Dan. I tend to be empathetic to my friends and was quite elated when Dan gave us the news. I was looking forward to meeting the person that brought him so much happiness. As it stands now, both The Wife and I are happy that we will be able to spend time with him again, but...

There is also some very heavy work that needs to be done with "The Society for Reflective Consumption of Media." We are trying to develop a full manifesto that will define our goals in both the positive, what we are, and the negative, what we are not. The current statement is quite vague and has lead to some disagreements between reviewers. We've agreed to hold off on some of our reviews until we can better convey what it is we want to accomplish. Encouraging discussions is one of our goals, and we have certainly achieved that, at least amongst our small group. I also have some reviews that will be going up shortly. First is, "A Course in Computation Algebraic Number Theory;" followed by a multipart commentary and review of, "Guns, Germs, and Steel," "Technopoly," and "The Technological Society;" and then a review of hBOA. I'm still enthusiastic about this endeavor, but it needs some maintenance, which I haven't been able to give recently.

The Wife has already mentioned that we are moving to Hikone this summer, but I thought I should add my own opinion. I'm really pleased that The Wife has chosen the way she has. Certainly, I had input, but the choice was ultimately hers to make. While the uncertainty of things has increased, so have the number of opportunities. By uncertainty, I mean economic uncertainty, while the opportunities are social and cultural. It will be nice to step outside the bureaucracy, which has served as a nice safety net in many instances, but is something we would like to move beyond. I will probably need to pick up a part time job. Even though I'd like to stay at my current job, I doubt that will be possible. The parting with friends in Minakuchi will be difficult, but we are not an impossible distance away.

I'm looking forward to this coming summer, though it is the first time, in the time we've been here, that we won't have any visitors. It will make the summer seem lonely, but perhaps we will have some money at the end of it. That is, of course, depending on when Dan comes. If he comes sooner rather than later, or if we receive a notification that a friend is going to visit, we might have a guest. This is merely thinking too far ahead.

So, with the start of classes in two weeks, the job, and my continuing research, I'm back to a normal schedule. That's all for now. I'll probably be writing more frequently, as I have a fair amount of free time to do some thinking.

"Hmm? Oh, That was my instrument of justice. I’m actually a vocalist!"

In this exciting episode, we will answer these questions!!!
-WHY is the husband bald?
-WHY the fascination with cleaning?
-WHAT is Sorrow Sheeps?
-HOW do you find oil paint in Kyoto?
-WHERE is Mexico?
And so much more!!!

There is some updating on events to be done. So listen, children, gather round. It’s been an interesting weekend.

Security Husband has been burning the midnight oil to finish research, work at job, and try to swim to prepare for the Japan Masters. I had midterms at school this week, so I took a personal day, lounged around, did some writing, got some sleep. I took off the afternoon on Friday to have time to bake cookies for a breakfast brunch in Kyoto. Friday night after class we went to Saizeriya with R from Minakuchi, the BB, Nishida, and L from Minakuchi. L is my new aerobics buddy from Peru. She lent me a fistful of Peruvian TV shows on DVD. Wootwoot!!!

Saturday, Security Husband took it easy. Rested. Swam. I expected to launch myself in the direction of south Shiga, but instead found that my plan for all day cleaning had fallen through! (Joyce from church is heading back to America, and we had been planning on helping her do that final housecleaning before moving out.) So, I called up B from Nara instead. We ended up at the Hiromi Ichida collection of indigenous clothing on display right now. Very cool. Out of time to make more cultural things happen, we went for Indian food at the marvelous Raju’s. I got to show how smart I was, pointing out that “Paneer Butter Masala” had cheese in. B informed me that paneer was the name of the cheese. YES!!! I am smart.

I bid B adieu, and zoomed over to Katata. Caro-chan asked me a while back to go see the Ring Side Horfars, because they had a live performance that night. They have a great sound, which I really enjoy. They were also last in the lineup, which was seven bands. We came halfway through, so I only saw four. Huckleberry live house is a very small room, roughly a third of which is a stage. There is a small bar, a balcony for band members, and two or three tiny tables, but no real seating. This place is for hearing music, plain and simple. And to comment—most of the people there were the bands, a couple of girlfriends, and a few friends. Me an’ Caro-chan were the only foreigners. It’s an odd feeling. Most of the lineup was hard rock or punk, or something I like to term "loud." It is interesting when the wall you are leaning against can give you a back massage. Most groups handed out a questionnaire after their short set. Sorrow Sheeps asked for criticism, and gave me a sticker, even though I commented that occasionally their vocal harmony needed work. (See above quote. As a vocalist, that is the only real perspective I can offer and know what I am talking about!) Also got to hear Wasted Breed. Loud, but entertaining. RingSide had an old CD for sale for 200yen!!!! I bought it. Also a pleasure to my ears were Nayuta -- who have a very eclectic sound—"What genre would you say we were?" asked the questionnaire. Maybe electronic/progressive? What do I know about genre? More than cheese? I picked up their CD, too. They all looked very tall on stage, but when I spoke to them briefly after, I saw that it was not so. They also have "very good looking" going for them. Ring Side, of course, was great, and brought their ambient, electronical, muselike sound to everyone, soothing our ears and letting our minds take flight after hours of very loud guitar and screaming into microphones.

All of the groups want to perform, and some of them are really talented. Most of them put together their own CDs, and occasionally someone gets signed. But for the most part, nobody knows they exist, which is sad. Either that or they have no way to find their target audiences. One of the guys mentioned that the current situation in Japan was kind of how the US was in the early 90s… These guys may be the groundbreakers in a real independent music scene in Japan. But for now, they are playing to a mostly empty house. But they are all really nice, and I wish them big crowds that dance and scream their names. Whenever I get a car, I can put a Sorrow Sheeps sticker on the bumper, and point and say, “Now THIS is indy.”

When I returned home at 1:30 am, I found Security Husband running around with no hair. Yes, he had to get up at 5 am for the Masters, and had shaved his head to be swimmy. He was gone before I was conscious, and I hauled myself, my cookies, and some mint from the balcony in to Kyoto. It was the goodbye brunch after church for Joyce. It would have gotten kind of emotional (and it was anyway), but she said she would pop in just before leaving for the airport next Sunday. So it was a goodbye sans goodbyes, which was good. There were some visitors, and I was asked if I was the "layout artist" for the church homepage. That was gratifying. I had a good laugh about that.

I also had a good laugh on Friday at Japanese class, when I had to explain that Mexico was not an island in the Caribbean. Mexico is the country which borders the continental United States to the south, and is quite large, with a variety of terrain, in case you were hazy on that one. But then again, I shouldn’t mock, because I couldn’t label all the countries in Asia if I had to.

And finally, if you want oil paint in Kyoto, don’t go to Maruzen. They ain’t got it. Go to Loft, around the corner. Loft’s art stuff floor is HYOOJ. It’s amazing. And yes, this project is as secret as it is experimental.

As for the quote that starts this article, see its original context by clicking it! Also check out weekly-updated running webcomic by the artist, called Flaky Pastry. It is beautiful. And funny.

The excitement never ends

It isn't everyday you get to blow through an entire paycheck, within two days of receiving it.

Security Husband and I have had terrible luck with laptops. Now, part of that is due to my Death Touch, which took the form of a perfect cup of coffee last summer (it doesn't do a thing to processor speed, in case you're wondering). But this time, we have mechanical problems, pure and simple. Our new laptop which we acquired after the coffee incident runs warm, but starting midwinter, it began overheating. We chalked it up to a variety of factors, propped it up on erasers. In the last few weeks it has been shutting down regularly, but we thought it might be due to some other factor. Tuesday evening, it flashed up a blue screen, said there was some kernel error, and said it should be restarted. Well. It didn't. Hard disk would not respond. (Though, on a matter of luck the next morning, it restarted long enough for me to shuffle EVERYTHING important from the C drive to our external hard drive.)

This timing could not be worse, yet at the same time, could not be better. Security Husband has research for school he MUST finish. Hard deadlines to meet. He had been looking forward to coming home that evening and then programming for hours. On the other hand, Tuesday was payday. Security Husband started a job last month, and this month he will receive his first paycheck.

To make a long story short, we went on an excursion with the Bitter Baron and R from Minakuchi...to the Apple store in Otsu. The BB picked up an external hard drive, R priced laptops, and we walked away with an iBook. No more Windows. Well, at least until our other laptop gets back from the shop--it IS, luckily, still under warrantee.

It seems like a good idea to name all the computers, now. I was given Chibi-chan, my teeny laptop running Win95 from a friend, already named. We refer to the lump of inert circuitry in our closet at The Coffee Computer... but what now? The white computer was just "research computer," but I feel like it should be called something a little more accurate. How about 暑死？ Atsushi is a perfectly legitimate name for a guy... But with kanji that mean "hot" and "death"... I think that should work. Now to think of one more, for the mac.