Dave's Blog » Quickies http://unknowngenius.com/blog Chemically-enhanced neural rewiring, on a semi-regular basis... Thu, 29 Jul 2010 01:06:24 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Refreshments? http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/07/25/refreshments/ http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/07/25/refreshments/#comments Sun, 25 Jul 2010 07:44:49 +0000 Dave http://unknowngenius.com/blog/?p=3381 Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

Refreshments?

]]> My kitchen sink currently has two tap water temperatures: warm water and hot water.

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Refreshments?

]]> http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/07/25/refreshments/feed/ 1 Lost in Irony http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/07/24/lost-in-irony/ http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/07/24/lost-in-irony/#comments Sat, 24 Jul 2010 05:34:49 +0000 Dave http://unknowngenius.com/blog/?p=3379 Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

Lost in Irony

]]> It is just mind-boggling how many Japanese have come away convinced that I must be a US citizen, on account of my shirt having a tiny US flag shoulder patch (right above where it proclaims in large gold stitch letters that I am a “Boy Scout of America”).

On the other hand, this lack in the whole irony concept, puts some of the clothing commonly spotted through the streets of Japan in a radically new, slightly scary, perspective…

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Lost in Irony

]]> http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/07/24/lost-in-irony/feed/ 0 Startup Sound http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/07/18/startup-sound/ http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/07/18/startup-sound/#comments Sun, 18 Jul 2010 03:16:26 +0000 Dave http://unknowngenius.com/blog/?p=3362 Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

Startup Sound

]]> The cicadas outside my window have started singing.

Summer is officially here.

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Startup Sound

]]> http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/07/18/startup-sound/feed/ 1 Election Fatigue… http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/07/06/election-fatigue/ http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/07/06/election-fatigue/#comments Tue, 06 Jul 2010 08:36:48 +0000 Dave http://unknowngenius.com/blog/?p=3330 Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

Election Fatigue…

]]>

Dear local Kyoto-fu LDP candidate for the upcoming upper-house election:

True: I cannot cast a vote in this election and sway your chances either direction.

But let me assure you that, if you keep insisting on circling my block multiple times, every morning between 8 and 8:30, inane election slogans blaring from your van’s speakers at top volume, I will be more than happy to contribute to your historical legacy by setting post at the closest grassy knoll with whatever long-range weapon I can get my hands on.

Thanks.

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Election Fatigue…

]]> http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/07/06/election-fatigue/feed/ 0 Cultural Sensitivity Quarter http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/06/27/cultural-sensitivity-quarter/ http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/06/27/cultural-sensitivity-quarter/#comments Sun, 27 Jun 2010 02:05:09 +0000 Dave http://unknowngenius.com/blog/?p=3292 Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

Cultural Sensitivity Quarter

]]> Really, Hawaiian… it’s just Japanese pronounced with a thick US accent, right?

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Cultural Sensitivity Quarter

]]> http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/06/27/cultural-sensitivity-quarter/feed/ 0 Hey, let’s mock objectivism for a bit… http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/06/02/hey-lets-mock-objectivism-for-a-bit/ http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/06/02/hey-lets-mock-objectivism-for-a-bit/#comments Tue, 01 Jun 2010 17:07:29 +0000 Dave http://unknowngenius.com/blog/?p=3209 Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

Hey, let’s mock objectivism for a bit…

]]>

There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.
John Rogers

No particular reason, just felt in a Rand-bashing mood tonight.

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Hey, let’s mock objectivism for a bit…

]]> http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/06/02/hey-lets-mock-objectivism-for-a-bit/feed/ 2 Tonight near Sanjo Bridge http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/05/27/tonight-near-sanjo-bridge/ http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/05/27/tonight-near-sanjo-bridge/#comments Thu, 27 May 2010 12:22:27 +0000 Dave http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/05/27/tonight-near-sanjo-bridge/ Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

Tonight near Sanjo Bridge

]]> … There is a young guy applying strokes to an oil painting while frenetically dancing to tribal trance music…

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Tonight near Sanjo Bridge

]]> http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/05/27/tonight-near-sanjo-bridge/feed/ 0 High on Life… and cough syrup… http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/05/06/japanese-cold-medicine/ http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/05/06/japanese-cold-medicine/#comments Thu, 06 May 2010 06:20:15 +0000 Dave http://unknowngenius.com/blog/?p=3077 Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

High on Life… and cough syrup…

]]> Pros and cons of attempting to survive on maximum recommended dosage of Japanese cold medicine on a workday:

Pros: Finally answering the old nagging question of whether Vapnik–Chervonenkis dimension makes more sense on mushrooms (or any satisfyingly close approximation thereof).

Cons: The answer is: no, it definitely doesn’t.

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High on Life… and cough syrup…

]]> http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/05/06/japanese-cold-medicine/feed/ 3 “Ah, you must be Mr Gaijin-san” http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/04/02/ah-you-must-be-mr-gaijin-san/ http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/04/02/ah-you-must-be-mr-gaijin-san/#comments Fri, 02 Apr 2010 06:19:08 +0000 Dave http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/04/02/ah-you-must-be-mr-gaijin-san/ Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

“Ah, you must be Mr Gaijin-san”

]]> You know you are in Japan when…
you show up to renew your Kyodai ID and a staff you’ve never met before immediately pulls it out of a stack of 300 identical cards, before you had a chance to give your name.

Yea: not a lot of whities in my faculty.

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“Ah, you must be Mr Gaijin-san”

]]> http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/04/02/ah-you-must-be-mr-gaijin-san/feed/ 1 Neverending Winter http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/03/29/neverending-winter/ http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/03/29/neverending-winter/#comments Mon, 29 Mar 2010 11:47:57 +0000 Dave http://unknowngenius.com/blog/?p=2921 Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

Neverending Winter

]]>

Today is the 29th of March, sakuras are in full bloom and i am walking home under snow falling.
FML.

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Neverending Winter

]]> http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/03/29/neverending-winter/feed/ 2 Back to usual levels of linguistic confusion… http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/03/19/back-to-usual-levels-of-linguistic-confusion/ http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/03/19/back-to-usual-levels-of-linguistic-confusion/#comments Thu, 18 Mar 2010 23:37:01 +0000 Dave http://unknowngenius.com/blog/?p=2879 Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

Back to usual levels of linguistic confusion…

]]> Just when I was starting to get the hang of that German language thing, I am back in Japan.

Which means I will probably spend the next few weeks, answering any question in Japanese with: “Genau” or “Na, klar“…

Let’s see if that confuses Japanese combini clerks as much as their German counterparts.

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Back to usual levels of linguistic confusion…

]]> http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/03/19/back-to-usual-levels-of-linguistic-confusion/feed/ 0 Back from the Clubs… http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/03/13/back-from-the-clubs/ http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/03/13/back-from-the-clubs/#comments Sat, 13 Mar 2010 06:36:23 +0000 Dave http://unknowngenius.com/blog/?p=2853 Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

Back from the Clubs…

]]> Berlin, 7am.
I have more ink on my wrist than… a… erm…

Too soon?

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Back from the Clubs…

]]> http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/03/13/back-from-the-clubs/feed/ 0 Electrostatic Research http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/03/12/electrostatic-research/ http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/03/12/electrostatic-research/#comments Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:17:47 +0000 Dave http://unknowngenius.com/blog/?p=2848 Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

Electrostatic Research

]]> You know it’s time to visit a hairdresser when:

  1. You get shocked, touching your own desk.
  2. You get shocked, touching the metal doorknob to your office.
  3. You get shocked, washing your hands (not touching the faucet, mind you).
  4. All of the above.
  5. All of the above, over a 20 minute timespan.

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Electrostatic Research

]]> http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/03/12/electrostatic-research/feed/ 0 You know you are in a Bioinformatics lab when… http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/03/05/you-know-you-are-in-a-bioinformatics-lab-when/ http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/03/05/you-know-you-are-in-a-bioinformatics-lab-when/#comments Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:43:03 +0000 Dave http://unknowngenius.com/blog/?p=2839 Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

You know you are in a Bioinformatics lab when…

]]> Lab sysadmin recently announced that, due to excessive use and lack of server space, individual user directories were now capped…

… at 4 terabytes…

… per user.

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You know you are in a Bioinformatics lab when…

]]> http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/03/05/you-know-you-are-in-a-bioinformatics-lab-when/feed/ 0 This month’s ticket purchases… http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/02/13/this-months-ticket-purchases/ http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/02/13/this-months-ticket-purchases/#comments Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:25:31 +0000 Dave http://unknowngenius.com/blog/?p=2822 Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

This month’s ticket purchases…

]]> On the program for this month, we have so far: two operas, three official Berlinale screenings, two music recitals and a couple exhibits.

Sometimes I do work too.

Now you know why updates are scarce around here…

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This month’s ticket purchases…

]]> http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/02/13/this-months-ticket-purchases/feed/ 0 Stronger or Strongest? http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/01/12/stronger-or-strongest/ http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/01/12/stronger-or-strongest/#comments Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:24:31 +0000 Dave http://unknowngenius.com/blog/?p=2785 Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

Stronger or Strongest?

]]> At the local store, trying to pick hair styling wax and looking for the lightest one. Two strengths are available: “mega starker” and “ultra starker”…

The only question is: does either go up to 11?

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Stronger or Strongest?

]]> http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2010/01/12/stronger-or-strongest/feed/ 2 Bioinformatics Conference Pro Tip http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2009/12/15/bioinformatics-conference-pro-tip/ http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2009/12/15/bioinformatics-conference-pro-tip/#comments Tue, 15 Dec 2009 02:54:44 +0000 Dave http://unknowngenius.com/blog/?p=2774 Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

Bioinformatics Conference Pro Tip

]]> Can we all agree already to skip the “Why research on cancer is useful” introduction slide from now on?

If your talk lasts 25 minutes and goes into the minutiae of protein-protein interactions with regard to oncogenic pathways, maybe spending half of it convincing an audience of biologists and bioinformaticians that cancer is a bad thing that needs curing is not the best use of presentation time.

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Bioinformatics Conference Pro Tip

]]> http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2009/12/15/bioinformatics-conference-pro-tip/feed/ 2 Think you know Japanese music? http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2009/12/06/think-you-know-japanese-music/ http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2009/12/06/think-you-know-japanese-music/#comments Sun, 06 Dec 2009 05:02:55 +0000 Dave http://unknowngenius.com/blog/?p=2752 Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

Think you know Japanese music?

]]> End-of-year Japanese Music Quiz, over at KanjiBox’s dev blog: 10 tracks, 10 artists, many genres…

Guess them all and win a bunch of iTunes coupons for free installs of KanjiBox for iPhone (along with my undying respect for your extensive musical culture).

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Think you know Japanese music?

]]> http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2009/12/06/think-you-know-japanese-music/feed/ 1 So many zeros… http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2009/12/06/so-many-zeros/ http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2009/12/06/so-many-zeros/#comments Sat, 05 Dec 2009 17:49:23 +0000 Dave http://unknowngenius.com/blog/?p=2748 Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

So many zeros…

]]> Today, the entire 3-month research stipend covering the cost of my stay in Berlin (living expenses, plane ticket etc), was deposited on my bank account. All at once.

Am I a bad person for even wondering how many years I could live off that, were I to accidentally end up on some remote beach island instead of Berlin’s Max Planck Institute for Molekular Genetics?

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So many zeros…

]]> http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2009/12/06/so-many-zeros/feed/ 2 The Art of Subtle Rephrasing http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2009/11/19/the-art-of-subtle-rephrasing/ http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2009/11/19/the-art-of-subtle-rephrasing/#comments Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:28:50 +0000 Dave http://unknowngenius.com/blog/?p=2705 Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

The Art of Subtle Rephrasing

]]>

Japanese girl at local bar: Do your prefer Japanese girls or foreign girls?

Dave: Err… huh… dunno… Country doesn’t have much to do with it…

Japanese girl: Aaah, of course… It does not matter…

Dave: Indeed.

[...]

Japanese girl: Ok, so… Which type of girl do you prefer: long straight black hair or blonde with blue eyes?

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The Art of Subtle Rephrasing

]]> http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2009/11/19/the-art-of-subtle-rephrasing/feed/ 3 Weekend Patterns http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2009/11/14/weekend-patterns/ http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2009/11/14/weekend-patterns/#comments Sat, 14 Nov 2009 08:04:48 +0000 Dave http://unknowngenius.com/blog/?p=2689 Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

Weekend Patterns

]]> Note to Self of Two Weeks Ago: Great foresight on that massive batch of bolognese sauce in the freezer! Should consider storing more Saturday-morning emergency food around the house.

Note to Self of Yesterday Night: Maybe not so heavy on the distilled sweet potato juice, next time. Should consider picking a recreational heroin habit instead.

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Weekend Patterns

]]> http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2009/11/14/weekend-patterns/feed/ 0 Sentō Gossiping http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2009/11/10/sento-gossip/ http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2009/11/10/sento-gossip/#comments Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:18:23 +0000 Dave http://unknowngenius.com/blog/?p=2683 Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

Sentō Gossiping

]]> So… the crowd of people standing near that building down the street, last week, with lots of people in all sort of suits and uniforms and a large blue tarp across the entrance… wasn’t a fire, as I thought it was at the time…

It was… MURDER!

The things you learn, chatting with your elderly neighbours, stark-naked and soaking in boiling hot water…

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Sentō Gossiping

]]> http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2009/11/10/sento-gossip/feed/ 5 Talking about remembrance… http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2009/11/06/talking-about-remembrance/ http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2009/11/06/talking-about-remembrance/#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:37:58 +0000 Dave http://unknowngenius.com/blog/?p=2636 Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

Talking about remembrance…

]]> Yesterday, I completely forgot to remember, remember…

And now it’s already the 6th of November in Japan.

Maybe it’s not too late to go buy some gunpowder and have a celebration on my balcony tonight.

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Talking about remembrance…

]]> http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2009/11/06/talking-about-remembrance/feed/ 0 Why wear a t-shirt after all… http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2009/10/24/why-wear-a-t-shirt-after-all/ http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2009/10/24/why-wear-a-t-shirt-after-all/#comments Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:49:20 +0000 Dave http://unknowngenius.com/blog/?p=2611 Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

Why wear a t-shirt after all…

]]> Yesterday night’s program included ample (and unexpected) display of full female topless nudity in a public place. For the second time in less than a week.

I must obviously be doing something right. (or very wrong, depending on which side of the ‘gratuitous boobage action’ moral debate you sit on).

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Why wear a t-shirt after all…

]]> http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2009/10/24/why-wear-a-t-shirt-after-all/feed/ 2 Stop screwing with me, Gas Monkey… http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2009/09/30/stop-screwing-with-me-gas-monkey/ http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2009/09/30/stop-screwing-with-me-gas-monkey/#comments Wed, 30 Sep 2009 03:03:44 +0000 Dave http://unknowngenius.com/blog/?p=2574 Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

Stop screwing with me, Gas Monkey…

]]> You know what is worse than waking up to a water-heater that refuses to work when you go for your morning shower?

[...]

Having the fucking thing finally work, after you finished taking your cold shower.

There’s a poltergeist in my house, and it has a really stupid sense of humour.

Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

Stop screwing with me, Gas Monkey…

]]> http://unknowngenius.com/blog/archives/2009/09/30/stop-screwing-with-me-gas-monkey/feed/ 2