Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Blog Spam

Every once in a while, I would read the comments left on other people's Blogs and see some were spam. It would be from someone who writes something like "I like your Blog. If you are interested in whatever, come visit our site". I found them to be annoying.

Well, they just got even more annoying, as these spammers have found my Blog. I had 2 of these spam comments posted just in the last half hour. I deleted them, so you don't have to worry about them. And I will delete any future ones as soon as I see them.

I also checked the Blogger (the folks who host this site for me) settings, and found that I can turn on what they call "word verification". Basically that means that they show a picture of a word, and you have to type that word in to a box in order to publish a comment. This should reduce the number of computers that go around and try to automatically post comments. I hope that this is not too annoying.

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Going back to Japan

It now looks like I will be going back to Japan. I have applied to the school and sent them my tuition money. So it looks like I will be in Japan in October.

I do have mixed feelings about this. Will my going there make a significant improvement in my Japanese? Will not being around and trying to drum up business cause me problems when I get back? Is spending money from my savings on this the right thing to do with the money?

I was much more sure about my going to Japan back in 2003. Back then, I knew it was the right thing to do. I guess I also felt that 12 weeks there would have been enough for me to become fluent - little did I know that the language is just so hard.

I think I will start a separate Blog specifically for my time in Japan.

日本語:
日本へ行くつもりだ。学校に受験申し込みをしたり、授業料を払ったら、した。 10月から日本にいるんだ。

思いは非常に複雑である。日本に行くのは日本語が上手になるかどうか? アメリカにいないのは新たなビジネス機会を創出できないから、大丈夫かどうか? 貯金からお金を払うことのほがいいだろうかどうか?

2003年に日本に行ったのがとって正しい選択だと信じていた。 その時、12週間の勉強はスラスラ話せるようになると思った。 でも日本語の覚えるのは難しすぎるとは思いも寄らなかった。

日本にいることは別々のブログを使うと思っている。

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Saturday, August 27, 2005

Why are we force feeding this guy?

英語だけですみません。

There are 2 quotes in this article from CNN.com that pretty much summarize something that bothers me:

"A judge allowed corrections officials to forcibly feed convicted sniper John Allen Muhammad while he awaits trial in the county for six October 2002 killings."

and

"Muhammad has already been sentenced to die following a 2003 conviction for a sniper shooting in Manassas, Virginia."

Muhammad was one of the two snipers who were shooting at people in gas stations on the East Coast.

I don't understand why we are force feeding this guy?!? He has already been sentenced to death. So to force him to stay alive so that we can bring him to trial again seems stupid to me. The cost of keeping him alive, bringing him to trial, and then allowing for all the legal appeals he will get can be huge. And useless, given that in the end he will be put to death.

If he wants to shorten the process and save taxpayer money, we should give him some rope.

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Men don't want sex?

I read an article in the MaiNichi Daily newspaper that talks about how men in Japan are the ones who stop having sex after marriage.

This surprised me, as the perception I had was that it is more common for women to have a lower sex drive after marriage in America. Actually, it may be after kids instead of marriage. Of course, I could be wrong, as I have not yet been married.

There are variations on the following joke:
"Why was the woman smiling on her wedding day?"
"Because knew she had given her last blow job"

Ok, oral sex is not all there is to sex, but this joke does perpetuate a stereo-type that women aren't interested in some parts of sex for itself, but as a means to accomplish something else (marriage).

Interesting, isn't it. Maybe one day I will get married and find out for myself about the changes in sex life.


日本語:
MaiNichi Dailyの新聞に興味深い記事があった。 「男の人は結婚の後に妻とセックスをしたくない」と言った。

驚いたよ。 アメリカに女の人がセックスをしたくないと思った。実は出産の後だろう。私は結婚していないから、間違えるかも知れない。

英語の冗談がある:
「どうして結婚式の日に女の人はスマイルしているか」
「最後のフェラチオをしたことを知っている」

フェラチオのことはセックスの一部だけだ、でもでもその冗談は女の人がセックスをしたくないが、ほかの理由のためにセックスするの固定観念を永続させる。

面白いね。多分いつか結婚すると、結婚の後のセックスについてもっと多くのことを発見する。

Thursday, August 18, 2005

Go to Japan to study again?

2 years ago, I spent 3 months at a school near Nagoya called Yamasa studying Japanese. Since then, I have been continuing my studies of Japanese by taking classes once a week, and finding opportunities to speak to Japanese people. I really want to become fluent in Japanese.

Because becoming fluent is important to me, I am considering going back to Yamasa to study some more.  If I do go again, it would probably be for 4 to 6 weeks in October or November.

I do have the money to do this, but I wouldn't be able to work while I was studying.


日本語:
2年前に名古屋の近くヤマサと言う学校で3ヶ月日本語を勉強した。その後1週間に1回サンフランシスコでクラスをしたり、日本人と話したり、した。日本語が流ちょうにとてもなりたい。

日本語が流ちょうになりたいから、勉強のためにもう一度ヤマサに行くと思っている。もし行ったら、10-11月から4-6週間にいる。

お金がある、でも勉強の時に働けない。

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Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Great online English-Japanese dictionary

A friend recommended to me a great online English-Japanese dictionary. It is at http://www.alc.co.jp/. It has the most words in its dictionary of any I have every seen. For example, only one of my 3 dictionaries has the word "biotech" in it, and that one has 6 entries. This dictionary has over 139 entries! Many words that I can not find elsewhere are in this dictionary.

Something I won't translate - how to use it. This is a Japanese web site, so the instructions are all in Japanese. This could be a challenge for anyone who is just starting to learn Japanese. The basics are that you enter the word or words in to the blue box at the top, and click the "英和.和英" button to search on this term. It does look for exact matches for the text you enter, so make sure you spell it correctly.

The other button ("クリア") is just for clear, which you can just as easily do by deleting the text in the box.

日本語:
友だちはhttp://www.alc.co.jp/の英和辞典を勧めた。たくさん言葉があるよ。例えば「biotech」の言葉を捜した。英和辞典3本を持っている。でも1つだけはその言葉が6語ある。alc.co.jpは139語があるよ。 見つけない言葉がある。

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

.XXX internet domain

There is an interesting article published by the San Francisco Chronicle about how the Bush administration is objecting to the creation of a .XXX domain.

They are afraid that having web sites that end in .XXX will either legitimize pornography or will cause more porn "to flood our homes". This, to me, is very similar to the "Just Say No" program that President Reagan had. Conservatives often believe that if something is hidden, it won't be a problem.

I think this thought process is stupid. If they allowed this domain for pornography, it would actually make it easier for people to filter out the porn. You could just set you spam filters and parental controls such that your computer wouldn't show domains ending in .XXX.

I find it a bit sad that the government would rather try to hide and ignore this aspect of our country, rather than admit it is there and takes steps to mitigate any problems from it.

今日のサンフランシスコクロニクルと言う新聞には興味深い記事があった。「ブッシュ政権が.XXXのインターネット・ドメインを使ってはだめだ」と言った。

.XXXを使えば、ブッシュ政権はポルノを増加する傾向が怖い。 レーガン大統領の「いいえと言おう」は同じだ。 保守派は不品行を見れば、不品行をすることをよく信じる。

馬鹿だろうよ。 もしそのインターネット・ドメインを使ったら、スパムフィルターは簡単だ。 .XXXのスパムメールはスパムフィルターする。

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Long weekend away


My girlfriend and I went south for a long weekend vacation. On Thursday and Friday, we were in Los Angeles to see the King Tut exhibit (http://www.kingtut.org/exhibition.htm). We also spent some time walking around Hollywood and getting dinner in Chinatown.
彼女と古代エジプトの国王のツタンカーメンの出展を見るために木曜日と金曜日ロサンゼルスにいた。そしてハリウッドのウォーク・オブ・フェイムをみた。中華街の晩ご飯を食べた。

The King Tut exhibit was amazing. Both amazing to see the artifacts, but also amazingly crowded.
ツタンカーメンの出展は凄かった。 出土品は凄かった。 そして凄い込んでいた。
http://www.kingtut.org/exhibition.htm



From Friday through Monday, we were at the beach. We stayed at a town called Pismo Beach, which is near San Luis Obispo. From the hotel, we could see the ocean.  I am very relaxed now.
金曜日から月曜日まで浜辺にいた。 Pismo Beachと言う町はサンルイスオビスポの近くだった。 ホテルから海を見えた。くつろいだ気分になった。

We also went wine tasting. First we went to the Edna Valley area, which was disappointing. All the vineyards charged a tasting fee, which surprised us. One vineyard we really liked was Wolff. They had a great atmosphere - the tasting was more like outdoor dining than tasting. And they didn't charge a tasting fee. On the second day, we went to the Highway 46 area of Paso Robles. The wines were good there, and most tasting rooms did not charge a fee.
そして利き酒をした。 初めてEdna Valleyの地方へ行った。失望させた。ワイン醸造用は手数料がある。 でもWolffと言うワイン醸造用が大好きだ。 いいムードがあった。 そして手数料がない。2日にPaso Roblesの地方で利き酒をした。Paso Roblesのほがいいだった。おいしいワインで手数料がない。

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Thursday, August 04, 2005

Clone "man's best friend" or food?

Sorry - just a quick posting, so no Japanese. Maybe I will add it when I get a chance next week...

The US news media recently reported that Korea cloned a dog and used headlines like "Man's best friend cloned". Here is an example of the story from CNN.

I read this and had to laugh. Did Korea clone man's best friend, or food? You see, in Korea dogs are sometimes on the menu. They are actually considered a delicacy, but mostly older generations prefer them (the younger folks I spent time with in Korea didn't like it). I guess this would be like America cloning a cow, and India reporting that we had cloned a holy being.

Yes, I did try it once (I tried most everything local when I was traveling). Didn't seem all that different than a dark pork to me, though I had it in a stew so perhaps couldn't adequately pick out the meat flavor from the stew.

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

What is good for the body?

Yesterday, I saw a travel show on TV. It is called No Reservations and the Host is Tony Bourdain. Tony became famous when he wrote the book Kitchen Confidential. It was an interesting show.

They were talking about Iceland. Icelandic people have the second longest longevity, behind Japan.

I wonder why this is. In both countries, soaking in hot springs are popular. Is this it? Both countries also eat a lot of fish. Is that it? Or is it something else?

Well, I like fish. And soaking in hot springs. So perhaps I will live a long life.

日本語: 何が体にいいだろう?

昨日の晩テレビで旅行番組を見た。No Reservationsと言う番組で、ガイドはTony Bourdainだ。BourdainさんはKitchen Confidentialと言う本の詠み人だ。 テレビ番組は面白かった。

アイスランドの案件だ。 アイスランド人は2番目長いの延年だ。 日本人は1番目長いだ。

どうしてかと考えている。 両方の国はお風呂に入るのが人気だ。 そうか? 両方も魚を食べることがよくだ。 そうか? 他の理由か?

私はお風呂が好きだ。魚も好きだ。多分長い間を生きるだろう。

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Probably buying a new Laptop

Today, I am probably buying a new laptop. CostCo has one on sale that sounds good. It is an HP Pavilion. Comes with a Centrino M725a processor, 1 GB of memory, 80 GB hard drive, and a DVD writer.

The laptop I am currently using is very old. It is an IBM 600E with a Pentium II chip and only 128 MB of memory. Very slow.

I hope they still have them in stock when I go there later.


今日新しいラップトップを買う積もりだ。CostCoと言う店は特売がある。 HP Pavilionだ。 Centrino M725aと1ギガバイトメモリと80ギガバイトハードドライブとDVD+/-RWがある。

今使うラップトップはとても古い。 IBM 600Eだ。 Pentium IIだ。そしてメモリは128メガバイトだけだ。遅いよ。

あることを望んでいる。