Author: Justin

Hatsukoi Redux: School’s Out in HD

Back in 2006, I became a bit obsessed with a video I found on this newly-purchased video sharing (or was it video dating?) site called YouTube. It was a 2-minute ad shot in Hong Kong for Nintendo featuring a catchy tune with enchanting vocals called Hatsukoi by Mayumi Kojima (小島麻由美). I blogged about it back then, and looking at the comments, it actually led to a meetup in real life that led all the way to Thailand (where are you, bro?).

That video has disappeared and reappeared (only on YT) several times over the years, always in [potato x potato] resolution, and I’ve tried to keep the post for it updated with a live embed… So it was to my great surprise to find an HD link for it today, after I’d updated the low-res version on my blog post, of course.

Those notes she hits in the chorus (after the lululala) still really do it for me, which is sadly not something I can say for all of the music I used to love – I listened to a lot of it way too much and I can’t even sit through a whole song most of the time now.

I’ll paste the JP lyrics to Hatsukoi by Mayumi Kojima below, because most Japanese lyric sites still employ anti-copy technologies from the early 90’s, which are very annoying.

小島麻由美( こじま まゆみ )

はつ恋

作詞：小島麻由美
作曲：小島麻由美

わたしを置いて　どこへも　行かないと　ゆびきりした　夏の日
悲しい気持ちで目が覚めた　少女の頃に戻った夢

ルールララー　わたしの心は水色
ルールララー　あの頃想えば水色
メリーゴーランドまわるよ

誰かに似てた　遠い昔　背丈を気にしてた少年
わたしは何に恋してた？　その顔さえ白くぼやけて
もっと沢山の歌詞は

ルールララー　わたしの心は水色
ルールララー　あの頃想えば水色
メリーゴーランド　まわるよ

ルールララー　わたしの心は水色
ルールララー　あの頃想えば水色
ルールララー　心はいつでも
ルールララー　あなたを想えば水色
メリーゴーランドまわるよ

Easy Solution for AMD GPU noise

A couple months ago, I put together a new PC out of cheap/used parts since I was still using an ancient 4th gen Intel CPU to power a superpotato tower (ambitiously named “fragmonster”). AMD GPUs are very unpopular in Thailand, so I found a Sapphire 6700xt for a song. I paired it with other decent-but-not-exorbitant components, and made a 1440p rig which made me quite happy. I was using it with USB headphones, and it was all good.

Then one day, I plugged it into my stereo amp via the analog line out and I couldn’t believe the whining and stuttering noises coming out of it that started as soon as Windows booted and got worse as I opened more and more apps. Although I first suspected my CPU cooling fans, I eventually realized it was from the GPU and tried every solution online — reinstalling sound drivers, replacing AMD dll files, running audio troubleshooters, Windows updates, etc. — to no avail. This went on for a few painful weeks, and I just tried to ignore it. I may have, even briefly, come to accept that I could never use the analog sound outputs (front or back!) on my new system.

Then on some obscure forum, in a post from a couple years ago, somebody recommended trying a hardware fix for Sapphire AMD cards in particular — a ground loop isolator. I happened to have one in my truck, since I was going to install it my sound system there. It was an simple RCA connector model, plug and play, and it worked instantly and flawlessly.

The downside to using one of these devices or other isolators/filters is that they may affect sound quality. I am using it for playing audio from a PC, so my expectations weren’t that high from the beginning, and I didn’t notice a difference anyway. What I did notice is that the coil noise (whining, stuttering, screeching) that made the normal use of my PC’s analog sound outputs impossible, was almost completely eliminated… and now I can truly Milly rock, hide it in my sock.

OpenAI Educator Guide

OpenAI has released an official guide for teachers using ChatGPT in their classroom: Teaching with AI

It’s nice to have something official posted, at least. There are some new resources in there that I’m slowly trying to get through.

The official answer to the question, “Do AI detectors work?” is:

In short, no, not in our experience.

https://help.openai.com/en/articles/8313351-how-can-educators-respond-to-students-presenting-ai-generated-content-as-their-own

I asked ChatGPT the same question, and its answer was:

AI detectors, specifically those designed to identify plagiarism or academic dishonesty, can be effective in detecting instances of copied or improperly attributed content.

https://chat.openai.com/

So who knows better, the parent, or the child?

Toshino Kickass

It seems like a funny name for a safety product, but I guess they paid someone’s 12 year old nephew to design it, so whatever… Toshino actually makes some of the higher end power strips in Thailand, though (in a market filled with dubious/dangerous products).

Seen at the Thaiwatsadu home center near our home.

UPDATE: The Jetpack suite for WordPress now contains a built-in AI for providing feedback on my posts before publishing. It has told me:

The content mentions a safety product with a humorous name, suggesting that it may have been poorly designed. However, it also highlights that Toshino produces higher-end power strips in Thailand. The accompanying images showcase the product at a home center.

Overall, the post captures the author’s opinion about the product and provides visual evidence. However, it would benefit from the following actions to improve clarity:

1. Consider providing more information about the Toshino brand and its reputation in the market.

2. Elaborate on why the author believes the product name is funny and how it may impact its perceived quality.

3. Share any personal experience or observations with Toshino power strips or similar products to enhance credibility.

4. Include a conclusion or final thoughts to summarize the author’s opinion.

These improvements will help readers gain a better understanding of the product and the author’s perspective.

Groovy.

A Message to the US Ambassador to Thailand

On September 29, 2023, Robert F. Godec, Ambassador of the United States to Thailand, visited Mahasarakham University to open a new wing of the American Corner, at which Mina and I have been helping run open conversation classes.

If the ambassador’s social media ninjas happen to see this post, please convey a message to him that I was unable to complete when a VIP entourage suddenly appeared: The best historical book in English regarding the Issan region, and Mahasarakham in particular, is The Far Province by Francis Cripps. There are several editions; try and get one with photos and you will see how much this town has developed in 60 years!

Hoping somebody follows the backlinks:

American Corners in Thailand on the US Embassy & Consulate in Thailand website

“ผมดีใจที่ได้ไปเยือน American Corner ม.มหาสารคาม Mahasarakham University เพื่อพูดคุยกับนิสิตและคณาจารย์ รวมทั้งเรียนรู้เกี่ยวกับภาคอีสานที่แสนวิเศษครับ สนุกมากที่ได้เล่าถึงประสบการณ์การทำงาน หนังสือเล่มโปรด และเปิด Reading Corner แห่งใหม่ แล้วยังได้ชิมอาหารอีสานที่ “แซ่บอีหลี” ด้วยครับ! อร่อยมาก!!” – ทูตบ๊อบ โกเดค

????️????️ แซ่บอีหลี! ทูตบ๊อบ โกเดค สนุกมากที่ได้เรียนตำส้มตำ ทั้งวิธีทำ ทั้งวัตถุดิบ สไตล์อีสานแท้ ๆ เลยล่ะค่ะ! ไหนใครจะไปกินส้มตำช่วงสุดสัปดาห์นี้บ้างคะ – usembassybkk

Terrific visit to the American Corner
@MsuUniversity Wonderful to speak with the students and faculty and learn more about amazing Isaan. Had a great time sharing career experiences, favorite books, & inaugurating the new Reading Corner. And Isaan cuisine is “sab e-lee”!! Yum!!! – Ambassador Robert F. Godec