Long Time Expat In Japan
My daughters love this new viral video. When I first watched it, I steeled myself. I was used to Japanese comedy. While I was certain I couldn't influence my kids too much, I was hoping that I could show them that Japanese comedy was at best low brow. Confronted by this insurmountable task, I chose … Continue reading Pen Pineaplle Apple Pen
Kana seems like my strong suit, 4th kyu. But I'm stagnating these days, not seeing any progress. I'm sure I know what it is. I just practice once a week. And I only do kana one of the weeks in the month. Time to make a decision, double down or maybe more. Not just this … Continue reading September Shodo
So what does summertime fun have to do with floating melons and submerged plums, you might be wondering. Well, I'm glad you asked. Another four character idiom for shodo this month. See the bit of kanji below (yes, my brush was a little too soaked with ink, but it was the best of the bunch): … Continue reading End of Summer Fun
The word "semiconductor" changed my life, but it has nothing to do with computer chips, the Internet, or cat videos. It's just me. This blog is a little long and very navel gazey. Forewarned. I got a real kick outta learning languages back in the day. I'm feeling like I lost that a bit, which … Continue reading On How the Word “Semiconductor” Changed My Life – and not in the way you think
Last week I started to carve my own hanko. My Sensei found me a stone. Don't know what kind. But one thing I can tell you is that it is very soft. You can smooth it down with sandpaper. Which is how I flattened it out to prep the surface. First with rough sandpaper. Then … Continue reading Making a Hanko
China has the badass-iest computer in the world. Had the spot in 2010, lost it for a couple of years, and got it back in 2013. Now, in 2016 they took the number one spot again with the TaihuLight. That makes people nervous. I'm not sure why. Technology is a wonderful thing. We use technology … Continue reading ChauJi DianNao (Chinese for Supercomputer)
Book Review - Hunters of the Red Moon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley I took a walk down memory lane, took the wayback machine to 1973. That's when the book was written, not when I read it, I'm sure. I would have been all of seven years old, so it is unlikely that I would have … Continue reading Book Review – Hunters of the Red Moon
Book Review-Glasshouse-by Charles Stross Accelerando was the book that sold me on Stross. Probably the book responsible for more "wow" moments in scifi reading in the last decade. Technically, the series of short stories was published in 2005, so I suppose it is more than the last decade. Hair splitting aside, it meant that I … Continue reading Book Review – Glasshouse
If you want to be a beta-reader, please send me an email or leave me a comment and I’ll share the rest of the story. — Matter of Pride I knew he was my Papa from the first time I laid eyes on him. From the time they decanted me, I would follow him around, … Continue reading Story Excerpt – Matter of Pride
June was a lean month in shodo. I go with my littlest to the classes on Saturday. Really just going to the sensei's house around 10, writing, getting pointers and leaving around noon. But June was filled with events for both my girls. Chorus, piano, chorus again. I think I only went to shodo once … Continue reading Anniversary
B.S. Donovan 