I saw it on digg.com and found myself in agreement.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Friday, February 23, 2007
Dust and the Helix Nebula
Explanation:nasa.gov
Dust makes this cosmic eye look red. The eerie Spitzer Space Telescope image shows infrared radiation from the well-studied Helix Nebula (NGC 7293) a mere 700 light-years away in the constellation Aquarius. The two light-year diameter shroud of dust and gas around a central white dwarf has long been considered an excellent example of a planetary nebula, representing the final stages in the evolution of a sun-like star. But the Spitzer data show the nebula's central star itself is immersed in a surprisingly bright infrared glow. Models suggest the glow is produced by a dust debris disk. Even though the nebular material was ejected from the star many thousands of years ago, the close-in dust could be generated by collisions in a reservoir of objects analogous to our own solar system's Kuiper Belt or cometary Oort cloud. Formed in the distant planetary system, the comet-like bodies have otherwise survived even the dramatic late stages of the star's evolution.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
proposed to my gf
I guess I should say my fiancée from now on! Here is the exact ring design. It was on Feb 13, for future references, just in case.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
two of my favorite things
Snow and motorsport.
The Swedish Rally is underway:
The Swedish Rally is underway:
Gronholm leads in snowy conditionsPast winners.
2007-02-09
Favourite Marcus Gronholm holds the lead after today’s first leg of the Uddeholm Swedish Rally, setting three fastest stage times in his Ford Focus.
But the Finn has less than a dozen seconds up on his regular main rival Sébastien Loeb, while Petter Solberg is a further eleven seconds behind. Solberg took the early morning lead in snowy conditions and it was only on the fourth stage today that Gronholm managed to move ahead and gradually open a lead. Moving ahead after his mishap on yesterdays’s Super Special Stage, when he stalled the Citroën engine, Loeb caught everyone except Gronholm to end the day in second place. ...continue reading
Comet Between Fireworks and Lightning
Explanation: Sometimes the sky itself is the best show in town. On January 26, people from Perth, Australia gathered on a local beach to watch a sky light up with delights near and far. Nearby, fireworks exploded as part of Australia Day celebrations. On the far right, lightning from a thunderstorm flashed in the distance. Near the image center, though, seen through clouds, was the most unusual sight of all: Comet McNaught. The photogenic comet was so bright that it even remained visible though the din of Earthly flashes. Comet McNaught continues to move out from the Sun and dim, but should remain visible in southern kies with binoculars through the end of this month. The above image is actually a three photograph panorama digitally processed to reduce red reflections from the exploding firework.NASA APOD
Thursday, February 01, 2007
seven NOVA teachers arrested
7 NOVA teachers arrested for possessing cannabis, cocaineWhat were they thinking!? I can see another batch of US first-tier stars coming over to do a few new NOVA commercials and swoosh there goes its mend.
Seven foreign teachers working at the NOVA English language conversation school have been arrested on suspicion of violating a law on illegal drugs and the Cannabis Control Law, police said Wednesday.
Police accuse the seven of possessing five bags containing a total of about 1.5 grams of powdered cocaine, and 15 bags containing a total of about 8.2 grams of cannabis, on a street in Tokyo's Roppongi district on Nov. 19 last year.
Investigators said a 32-year-old American teacher who was arrested on the spot on the same day told police another NOVA teacher had made a request for the drugs. The 32-year-old said the drugs were purchased from a street dealer.
Six other suspects later surfaced, including a 35-year-old teacher from Canada who was working at the same classroom in Saitama Prefecture, police said. (Mainichi)
Friday, January 19, 2007
new congress and its 100hr promises
Ideal would be non-partisanship. But when all failed the left still makes more sense, even if it means not doing anything at all sometimes. Yeah, what a sad view of the world although here is a glimpse of humanity:
The bills passed by the House as part of the 100-hour agenda would:
_Slap a "conservation fee" on oil and gas taken from deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico; scrap nearly $6 billion worth of oil industry tax breaks enacted by Congress in recent years; and seek to recoup royalties lost to the government because of an Interior Department error in leases issued in the late 1990s. Passed Thursday.
_Lower interest rates on federally subsidized student loans from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent in stages over five years at a cost to taxpayers of $6 billion. About 5.5 million students get the loans each year. Passed Wednesday.
_Make the government bargain directly with drug companies with the aim of reducing prices of prescriptions for Medicare beneficiaries. Passed Jan. 12.
_Expand government-financed embryonic stem cell research. Passed Jan. 11.
_Raise the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour over 26 months. Passed Jan. 10.
_Bolster terrorism-fighting efforts with more cargo inspections. Passed Jan. 9. via Yahoo!
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
my job
Here are my responses to questions asked related to new recruitment in replacement of my position. I thought it might be a good idea to post them as it's almost time to conclude: (two more months, fingers crossed)
1) In addition to a pretty busy eikaiwa schedule, I go to a kindergarten (in town) on Weds (10:30-12:00), and used to go to an elementary school (next town) every Thurs (10:30-12:30) but gave it to another teacher when he came on board.
2) My apartment is quite new. I'm guessing 5 years. It includes a living\bed room, a kitchen, a toilet, and a bathroom. Size-wise it's OK for Japan. It's certainly bigger than my last place near my station. Amenities and furniture are all available in alright condition as far as the school apartment check-list is concerned.
3) My neighborhood is also pretty new, in fact all the houses here are no more than 10 years old. My pad is more or less like a mini-townhouse. I got a parking space in front and a small garden to look at, as well as a tiny alleyway for a backyard. The area is a quiet and safe. To some people it might be a little too quiet. Not much traffic at all since it's tucked away from the "main" street. It takes 10 minutes to drive to the city center, if it could be considered one.
4) There are some 10 English-speaking foreigners from the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and England. So I'll go ahead and say it's not exactly the easiest place to make friends if those are the only options. I haven't been hanging out much with fellow gaijin because I'd done a lot of that first two years in Japan. But I'm able to make great friends with the locals. For someone who doesn't speak Japanese or a first-time "Japaner", I imagine it would be quite tough. A little resourcefulness would go a long way here.
5) Day trips to these cities are quite reasonable:
Choshi (30min by car or train) kujukuri beaches, a marina, a college, a light house, the first sunrise of Japan, good seafood
Narita (40min by car, forever train) bar hoping and shopping
Kamisu (50min by car) shopping
Kashima (70min by car) baseball games
Yotsukaido (90min by car, 70min train, but who really wants to go there ^_^)
Chiba (100min by car or train)
Tokyo (2hr+ by car or train)
Night life in Asahi is virtually non-existence. There are a bunch of izakaiya, two borderline proper bars but no one hardly goes there, well and your run-of-the-mill karaoke.
6) My position is best for people who have a retirement attitude. By now you must have suspected that there is nothing here, and rest assure, you're right. I've lasted this long for one reason only - I like quiet middle-of-nowheres. Well of course the rest comes with it, to name a few, the nature, nice people, and a cheaper standard of living. Surfing is a pretty big thing here as well. Last but not least it's a great place for some money-saving.
7) In addition to what's been said, one might find my schedule pretty hectic. There aren't enough breaks between classes. I kind of brought this upon myself. I basically let them cramp as many classes as possible because initially I wanted to make some overtime money. I'd worked 6 days plus two public schools for (school owner), averaging 350 minutes of teaching a day, for 18 months.
8) I work in A school on Mon, and B school Tue - Fri. The staff are great. I have no complaints whatsoever. They're very helpful and I have a good relationship with all of them. The A school itself is a little awkward. It's in a tiny mall right next to a bathroom so sometimes it smells funny and a couple of bugs would join the class in session since the room partitions don't go all the way up. Otherwise it's quite alright.
9) You are right about the car. I do think it makes sense in a place like this to have access to a vehicle, although it doesn't have to be a car, some scooter would do, and last time I checked (school owner) has one.
1) In addition to a pretty busy eikaiwa schedule, I go to a kindergarten (in town) on Weds (10:30-12:00), and used to go to an elementary school (next town) every Thurs (10:30-12:30) but gave it to another teacher when he came on board.
2) My apartment is quite new. I'm guessing 5 years. It includes a living\bed room, a kitchen, a toilet, and a bathroom. Size-wise it's OK for Japan. It's certainly bigger than my last place near my station. Amenities and furniture are all available in alright condition as far as the school apartment check-list is concerned.
3) My neighborhood is also pretty new, in fact all the houses here are no more than 10 years old. My pad is more or less like a mini-townhouse. I got a parking space in front and a small garden to look at, as well as a tiny alleyway for a backyard. The area is a quiet and safe. To some people it might be a little too quiet. Not much traffic at all since it's tucked away from the "main" street. It takes 10 minutes to drive to the city center, if it could be considered one.
4) There are some 10 English-speaking foreigners from the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and England. So I'll go ahead and say it's not exactly the easiest place to make friends if those are the only options. I haven't been hanging out much with fellow gaijin because I'd done a lot of that first two years in Japan. But I'm able to make great friends with the locals. For someone who doesn't speak Japanese or a first-time "Japaner", I imagine it would be quite tough. A little resourcefulness would go a long way here.
5) Day trips to these cities are quite reasonable:
Choshi (30min by car or train) kujukuri beaches, a marina, a college, a light house, the first sunrise of Japan, good seafood
Narita (40min by car, forever train) bar hoping and shopping
Kamisu (50min by car) shopping
Kashima (70min by car) baseball games
Yotsukaido (90min by car, 70min train, but who really wants to go there ^_^)
Chiba (100min by car or train)
Tokyo (2hr+ by car or train)
Night life in Asahi is virtually non-existence. There are a bunch of izakaiya, two borderline proper bars but no one hardly goes there, well and your run-of-the-mill karaoke.
6) My position is best for people who have a retirement attitude. By now you must have suspected that there is nothing here, and rest assure, you're right. I've lasted this long for one reason only - I like quiet middle-of-nowheres. Well of course the rest comes with it, to name a few, the nature, nice people, and a cheaper standard of living. Surfing is a pretty big thing here as well. Last but not least it's a great place for some money-saving.
7) In addition to what's been said, one might find my schedule pretty hectic. There aren't enough breaks between classes. I kind of brought this upon myself. I basically let them cramp as many classes as possible because initially I wanted to make some overtime money. I'd worked 6 days plus two public schools for (school owner), averaging 350 minutes of teaching a day, for 18 months.
8) I work in A school on Mon, and B school Tue - Fri. The staff are great. I have no complaints whatsoever. They're very helpful and I have a good relationship with all of them. The A school itself is a little awkward. It's in a tiny mall right next to a bathroom so sometimes it smells funny and a couple of bugs would join the class in session since the room partitions don't go all the way up. Otherwise it's quite alright.
9) You are right about the car. I do think it makes sense in a place like this to have access to a vehicle, although it doesn't have to be a car, some scooter would do, and last time I checked (school owner) has one.
celebrating 30
30 years has gone in a flash. My birthday was a couple of days ago. I'm glad that it's over so I can get on with my life. Not that I didn't have a great time. I had two cakes which is more than usual. My girlfriend made me breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They were delicious. Congratulatory emails were sent and received. There was moderate drinking involved. My friends and a couple of students bought me cute presents. Everything is fine but I'm just glad I'm done walking across that line.
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