Monthly Archives: July 2005
Office Battleship Campaign
Who knew that Excel spreadsheets could be such fun? I’ve been waging a naval war against Huw for four days, and the score is now 2/2. Today will result in glorious victory for one of us, and crushing defeat for the other. Is Battleship really that fun? It is when you play with special weapons. … Continue reading
Brainstorming
This is a new game I’m going to test out next semester.
An ALT-less Ubuyama
The bright lights, fast pace of life, and massive crowds of people make visiting Osaka like visiting a foreign country for anyone who has lived a year or two in rural Kyushu. My successor on the JET Program left for her home in Canada yesterday, ending a chapter of my stay in Japan. This was … Continue reading
New Vocabulary
Homodachi (n.)- two guys who are a little more than just tomodachi.
Hack the Beer?
Open source beer! Another link for today: This is straight from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, except for slight fecal differences.
Abunai
Spotted next to the Yodogawa river. What is the danger depicted on this sign? I don’t know, but I don’t think I’ll be venturing into the water.
An air-tight quote
Whoever gave this quote is a pro: Asked to comment on the document, a senior British official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “We do not discuss intelligence assessments.” Reading these words, I can almost see the look of utter disappointment on the reporter’s face as he hears his informant tell him this after … Continue reading
On the blackboard
This is part of what the students at my school study, when they’re not sleeping, reading comics, applying make up (and it’s not just the girls these days), drawing pornographic pictures, using their cell phones, or the various other extra-curricular activities that they pursue during class time. The students here work pretty hard outside at … Continue reading
River Griz
A catfish the size of a Grizzly Bear (at 646 lbs.) that might set a new freshwater world record? I can’t wait to fish the Mekong, and if I catch one of these it will not have to fear for its life. This fish …”persists on plant matter and ‘meditates’ [in the deep, stony pools … Continue reading
The A-Bomb Challenged
This research negates the widely held view that the U.S. was justified in dropping the A-bombs during WWII in order to save the lives of American soldiers: …in his new book, “Racing the Enemy: Stalin, Truman, and the Surrender of Japan” (Harvard University Press), Tsuyoshi Hasegawa, a professor of history at the University of California, … Continue reading