The three people still reading this blog on a regular basis (two of which possibly paid by the Chinese government after some bizarre translation mix-up convinced them I was a dangerous political dissident to be monitored) might have noticed the lack of substantial news on this blog for quite a long time. OK: even less<\/em> substantial content than usual.<\/p>\n I also realise that the lack of proper context as to my whereabouts made a lot of past blog entries somewhat puzzling. If this can make you feel any better, I am pretty sure that my own genitors have had only the faintest sense of my exact location, occupation or plans, ever since I was last sighted, putting a finishing touch<\/a> to my grand In fact, it took all that time for the plan set in motion nearly a year ago<\/a> to finally reach its final stage (tonight).<\/p>\n After only a few thousand hours of application-writing, test-taking, interviewing, back-and-forth travelling and soul-searching, interspersed with twelve months of sitting idly, waiting for answers, I was finally notified officially tonight that the Japanese Ministry of Research and Education would be happy to finance my many costly vices for the few years to come, while I pretend to apply myself to a PhD in bioinformatics (the lengths I will go to, just so I can legitimately add that ‘dr’ title back to the header of this blog).<\/p>\n Considering my academic background as hobbyist mathematician, occasional computer-scientist and pretend-linguist, my new field of research<\/a> might come as a surprise to some. And a supreme irony, to the few that know my strong atavistic predispositions (and equally strong will to contrariate) on this path. I will have ample occasions to ramble about bioinformatics here in the future, but to put it in a few words, it is the [new-ish] discipline where math, physics and computer science meet molecular biology and make beautiful futuristic little kids together. It’s fresh, exciting and brimming with promising prospects as only a still-very-naive-and-uncrushed PhD student can see them.<\/p>\n As to why I chose to go there, beside the obvious reason (taking my Nobel Prize chances from zero<\/a> to three), it all started not so long ago<\/a>. The final decision was only made halfway through the PhD application process last year, after much hesitation for a career in computational linguistics. Other notable highlights along the tortuous path to PhD adoption: a very uneasy feeling when turning down concrete offers at both<\/em> Cambridge and Tokyo University in favour of one still hypothetical position in Kyoto.<\/p>\n It all miraculously worked out, though.<\/p>\n As of last month (as a temporary visiting researcher: as of the 1st of April, as an official student), I have joined the venerable University of Kyoto<\/a> (usually referred to as Kyodai) for three years of fun and research.<\/p>\nWorld Domination Plot<\/s> Master Thesis.<\/p>\n