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.