Finally Working On It

A couple weeks ago I was all psyched up about my new website and was shooting for a January 1 move for this blog. Obviously, the move still hasn't occurred. This is because I've been quite busy for the last few weeks and haven't really touched it since 2006.

In the last couple days, my schedule has finally started to open up a little bit and so I'm back to working on it. Hopefully, I'll have it ready sometime soon.

As an aside, I really recommend Wordpress to all of you who are interested in hosting you own blog. It allows a great deal more flexibility and reliability than any of the free hosts while providing a more feature rich platform. If you make the switch to Wordpress, give the K2 theme a try, while a bit intimidating at first the more I learn about it the better and more useful it gets.

Quotation of the Day

I saw a fantastic quote today that's worth sharing:

"How small, of all that human hearts endure, that part which laws or kings can cause or cure." - Samuel Johnson

The commentary that went along with it is pretty good as well, from Boundless:

There's no question that government is important: It has some necessary functions. Still, we'd do well to remember the centuries-old words of essayist Samuel Johnson: "How small, of all that human hearts endure, that part which laws or kings can cause or cure." These days, alas, governments can cause a lot more of "what human hearts endure" than they used to, as technology has made control and destruction so much easier. (The 20th century, especially, was all too full of examples of such evils.) But they can still cure precious little, and often make things worse when they profess to try.

Not a bad summary of government if you ask me. Read the whole article, while brief it has some excellent insights into the limitations of government and the way that real people change the world.

Japanese Appliances

For the record: Japanese appliances are lame. Now, considering the Japanese obsession with conservation and their tendency to small everything (small food portions, small cars, small apartments etc.) it would be silly to expect them to produce large, macho household machines. Still with the reputation they have achieved for high tech gadgetry you might think that even if small their stuff would be good. Alas, such is not the case.

The typical "range" is has two small gas burners with a miniscule smokeless grill in a tray underneath. Basically, the setup is a glorified camp stove.

Homes and apartments here are heated and cooled by small air conditioner units that sit in the windows. As a result, there has to be a separate heater in every room and it's impossible to achieve consistent heating. This problem is amplified by terrible insulation. They've got nuclear power plants and yet they can't figure out central heating and fiberglass insulation.

Their washers are small but bearable. Dryers on the other hand are small and worthless. My clothes are currently in the drier and according to the LED timer they will be done in a little under 6 hrs.

I could go on...

So far the only nifty appliances I've seen are microwaves that also work as ovens and refrigerators.

Updating Maslow

I was surfing around today when I stumbled on a poor, poor blogger that has been without internet access at her home for months but has acquired service of some kind in the last few days. I shuddered at the thought of life without internet and her recent triumph warmed my heart. Connection to the world and it's digitaly stored knowledge has become a necessity in my life. As I thought about this my mind made a leap of association (as it often does) and I recalled Abraham Maslow and his so called, Hierarchy of Human Needs.

Poor Dr. Maslow, lived in a time before computers and formulated his hierarchy in the 1940's. Thus his model shows gaping holes when it is used in modern times. It's time to bring it up to the present:

 

Maslow's Hierarchy has more problems than the single one I've corrected and there will never be consensus on a definitive ranking of needs and wants. Nevertheless, I think I've delivered a long overdue correction that everyone can agree with.

Thank you Wikipedia for the source image.

First Pirated HD DVD

The new HD DVD format for movie distribution as been confirmed as cracked. Early this week a complete, un-encrypted HD DVD version of Serenity became available as a 19.6 GB BitTorrent download. From this point on, those with large hard drives and no fear of the MPAA can expect to see all of their favorite new movies become available in all their high definition glory.

It seems oddly fitting that Serenity, with it's anti-authoritarian vibes and geeky cult following should be the film to pioneer HD DVD piracy.

Thanks to Tarrick Twilight for the heads up.

Getting Organized

I never make New Year's Resolutions and this year was no exception. I didn't even crack my usual lame joke about resolving to break my resolution.

However as this semester has started, I've really been working to clean up the scattered mess that is my life. Unlike a resolution, there was no defining moment when I declared my intention. Instead it has been happening here and there over the last two weeks that I see something out of order and think, "My life would be simpler if that was neater."

It started with my email inbox. I cleaned out the hundreds of messages clogging my screen at every login, labeling the important ones, making all the reply's that I had been procrastinating and archiving everything for future reference. For the first time in more than a year I had an empty inbox. Now I try to empty it every evening.

The second day of class, I was taking one of the innumerable class handouts being passed around when I decided that I didn't feel like dealing with the huge floating pile of unsorted papers that has been a constant in my life for as long as I can remember. From that point forward, anytime I receive a handout or am given a piece of paper, I immediately label it in the upper right corner. I created folders at home for each of my classes and have been cleaning out my backpack and my desk into the folders a couple times a week.

I've actually started using a calendar. Geek that I am, I am using the web-based Google Calendar program. I inputted my schedule and all the test days on my syllabi, church, etc. setting them to repeat on all the proper days. I've also been using it as a kind of dated to-do list. Currently it's set up to email me a list of the days activities every morning at 0500. This gives me a reminder of all the things on my daily itinerary.

For the first time in my life, I've been self-motivated to keep my room clean. My Mom wouldn't believe it if she saw it.

As these small habit changes begin to permeate my daily routine, I have begun to have a much greater sense of relief. I'm not constantly worried about forgetting things. I feel less distracted. Really, it's a wonderful sensation.

Now, the only question is, "Will it last?"

Sick

I'm not feeling well today. While I haven't thrown up yet, from the way I feel now I think it's pretty much inevitable.

I've already emailed my teachers to let them know that I won't be coming to class. This marks the first time I've ever been too sick for school in the 3 years I've been in college.

Update: I'm feeling almost completely better and have decided to go in to school after all. All I've missed is my first class.

Why Worry?

I was doing my bible reading today from Matthew when I came across a verse that both convicted and encouraged me. Despite having it memorized and having read it countless times, I had somehow forgotten it's simple truth:

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

-Matthew 6:33-34 (NIV)

Just today I was considering the challenges of funding my next year of university, stressing about my career options and generally allowing myself to get lost in the problems of the future. I've spent the last several days running about trying to tie up details and organize my schedule for the semester that I've allowed my eyes to lose sight of the God who is bigger than my situation and demands my attention. Like Christian in Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress I started to sink in the Slough of Despond. Now I realize that so long as my focus is right, God has promised to work things out for my benefit.

I Want to Ride My Bicycle

After a bit of confusion I finally got a correctly registered bike. It's so nice to confidently ride past police officers without fervently praying that they don't stop me and ask for registration. In honor of my new registration I stopped and talked to three cops this evening (I should mention that my getting hopelessly lost probably played into this).

When I got the bike, I discovered two unexpected devolopments. The first was that the bike is pink. Yeah, you heard me. I'll be riding a bright magenta vehicle to school everyday for the next three and a half months. Go ahead and laugh it up. Hardy, har, har. The second surprise more than made up for it though. Instead of the usual anemic mamochan, it's a three speed. Unlike the vast majority of Japanese bikes I can change gears for hills. Pretty neat, eh?

Simplification

Today, I was able to adjust my class schedule to accommodate a 3-day per week arrangement. Now instead of having International Monetary Economics splitting my Tuesdays and Thursdays in half, I merely stay an hour later on Monday/Wednesday/Friday for Psychology. This should allow me to get a decent job and even if that's not possible, it's still a more

My Schedule

God has really been blessing me lately but at the same time I feel convicted at how poorly my devotional habits have been. I am so unworthy of His providence. I guess it's a mini-lesson in grace.

Busy Day Off

Today I had a day off from school because my only Tuesday/Thursday class's teacher was unable to come in. Unfortunately, the lack of school didn't mean that I got a lot of time to myself.

First, I got up early and headed into downtown Shinjuku to get the address on my foreigner registration card changed. The ward office I had to go to was in one of the unseemly districts but fortunately, I was spared seeing any of the really gross images I'm told are frequently displayed there. I was able to find it relatively quickly via a handy online map that I retrieved with my phone. Getting back to the proper station enterance proved to be a chore but with a bit of trial and error I eventually figured it out.

From there, I went to my landlady's apartment to get a bike. She had lost the key to the bike so I had to carry it to the bicycle shop where she had the old lock taken off and a new one installed. The process was supposed to take a half hour so she went off to perform other errands leaving me to pick up the  bike when it was finished. Unfortunately for me, she didn't sign to have the registration changed. As a result, I had to take the bike without proof that I owned it, a very dangerous thing to do here in Japan. She also didn't give me instructions on how to get back to my apartment with the bike so I explored a bit until I found the ward office I had visited earlier in the day. There, I was able to pick up a detailed map with which I was able to navigate back home. It was a rather stressful afternoon but I eventually made it back. Still, I don't have registration so I can't use the bike for commuting yet.

After getting back I did a homework and worked on schedules and budgets for the rest of the semester. Needless to say, I'll enjoy my sleep tonight.

Spring Classes

School started yesterday and now that I've had a chance to evaluate both my Tuesday/Thursday and Monday/Wednesday/Friday classes I think that I will have a good spring. My course load appears to be significantly more challenging and at the same time more interesting than last semester.

The economics proffesor who is teaching three of my courses seems to have a good sense of humor while at the same time running a strict and fast moving class. He is also currently in the process of conducting economic research and I am hoping to get a chance to assist. Experience in research can't hurt me when I attempt to get a job after school or apply for post-graduate education.

My Psych class also appears like it will be useful. The course centers around teaching students to conduct scientific, academic research. While this might sound a bit dry, the ability to effectively use academic search tools, construct a research proposal and design scientific experiments will be useful throughout the social sciences, including in my chosen field of economics.

In other news I'm pretty much settled into my new apartment. I'm sure I'll continute to learn all the quirks about the building and my roomates and I'm still far from familiar with the neighborhood but I expect things to work out well here.

All in all, things are shaping up well. God has been good to me.

Reading 2006

The Polka Dotted Pickle recently posted a great list of all the books she read in 2006 with brief reviews. I enjoyed her list and they say that imitation is the sinceres form of flattery so here goes:

A note on my scoring: I use a 5 star system. 2.5 stars is indifference, less than 2.5 are books that I'd recommend avoiding. 3 stars marks a reasonably good book and anything higher indicates a book I really loved.

The Ionian Mission - Patrick O'Brian. Three stars. This is book #8 of the fantastic Aubrey-Maturin series which novelize early 19th century naval warfare. While not my favorite in the series it is worthwhile.

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen. Four stars. What can I say? I really enjoyed this book. Contrary to the belief of inumerable hordes of teen-aged girls this isn't a romance, it's social satire.

Life on the Edge - Dr. James Dobson. Three and a quarter stars. Dr. Dobson lays out a compelling challenge for young adults to seize hold of their own destiny and to use the early years of adulthood wisely.

Backyard Ballistics - William Gurstelle. Three stars. This book gives instructions on how to build a variety of shooting, flinging and launching devices. In all honesty I was a little disappointed by the projects but the fascinating history tidbits made the book well-worthwhile.

How to Stay Christian in College - J. Budziszewski. Three stars. A good primer but I'd already heard most of the advice from his columns on Boundless.

Till We Have Faces - C.S. Lewis. FIVE STARS! This retelling of the Cupid-Psyche myth was fantastic. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Just for Fun - Linus Torvalds and David Diamond. Four stars. This autobiography of the Finnish creator of Linux was fascinating, inspiring and humorous.

Art of the Catapult - William Gurstelle. Three stars. Like Backyard Ballistics but focused on trebuchets, mangonels and ballistas.

The Icarus Hunt - Timothy Zahn. FIVE STARS! This was actually a re-read. This Sci-Fi adventure story was so fun that I had to read it again. I passed it on to my non-sci-fi fan mom and she also loved it.

Out of the Silent Planet - C.S. Lewis - Four stars. You can't go wrong with C.S. Lewis. This tome begins his Space Trilogy.

My Man Jeeves - P.G. Wodehouse. Three stars. A funny collection of short stories.

Perelandra - C.S. Lewis. Four and a half stars. My favorite of the Space Trilogy.

That Hideous Strength - C.S. Lewis. Three stars. The conclusion of the Space Trilogy was very different than the original two books and I didn't like it as well.

Freakonomics - Stephen D. Levit and Stephen J. Dubner. Three stars. While interesting, and commendable for bringing Econ to the man-on-the-street, I think some of the studies showed errors in methodology and reasoning.

An Army of Davids - Glenn Reynolds. Four stars. This book by the author of Instapundit presents an optimistic and inspiring view of the future and a bright eyed look at how future technology developments will improve our lives just as current innovations are making positive changes to todays world.

Outbound Flight - Timothy Zahn. Three stars. I'm really getting tired of Star Wars. Even Zahn was only able to achieve "good" instead of his usual "fantastic."

Economics for Real People: An Introduction to the Austrian School of Economics - Gene Callahan. Three Stars. A good start but the Austrian School's ideas can't be compressed into such a small book. The examples given in the book were a bit cheezy.

In Fury Born - David Weber. Three and a half stars. Another military Sci-Fi. A fun read.

Adventures from the Technology Underground - William Gurstelle. Three and a half stars. An online add for this book is what originally motivated me to pick up Gurstelles first two books. This one deals with dangerous but extremely cool science projects including rail guns, tesla coils and flame throwers.

Free to Choose - Milton and Rose Friedman. Four Stars. Reading his book this summer increased my sadness when this economic masterbrain died in the fall.

That concludes my list. I know that I'm missing some books, but these are the ones that I really enjoyed. With one exception all of them were read before I came to Japan. The lack of a good library, the busy blur that my life has become and the plethora of good articles, conveniently available on the internet prevented me from putting much time into books during the fall. My resolution for this semester is to make it through a dozen books before I go home for summer break.

Moving In

I have found an apartment and so I've been spending the last few days settling details and moving in. I ended up choosing the place that I found on Friday.

I called and met Marika, the landlady, and arranged to see the apartment at 5:00. I arrived almost an hour early but I made good use of this time to explore the neighborhood a bit and scout out the local stores. Then at 5 til, I went back to the building and rang the doorbell. 

I was slightly embarrassed when I realized that the Marika was a dance teacher and that had interupted the last few minutes of a lesson. I guess she didn't mind too much because as soon as the lesson was over she began cooking a special New Year's dish for me and another tenant. It became quickly apparent that Marika is a very friendly lady and has a much, much closer landlord/tenant relationship than normal. Just a few minutes after meeting me, she enlisted me in slicing meat for dinner. She made soft rice with herbs, which she told me is the traditional food eaten by Japanese people to cleanse the palette after the rich foods consumed during the New Year holiday. We also had fish sashimi and the Japanese version of my ancestors' pickled herring. Although not terrible, I won't be looking to eat more in the future. Probably, my appreciation was poisoned by my general dislike of seafood.

After dinner Marika gave me a tour of her apartment buildings. She has four of them. I ended up choosing a room in a building that is just one block from Nakai station on the Oedo subway line. This gives me direct access to Shinjuku and school by train. Better yet, because of the apartments location in centeral Tokyo, I'll be able to get to most of the city, including school by bike. It looks like I will once again be biking to school everyday. To make my commute easier, Marika is selling me a better bike. I should be able to make it to school in approximately half an hour.

Back in Japan

I arrived back in the Land of Sushi yesterday. My plane flight was uneventful and relatively comfortable. I was slightly surprised upon boarding that the plane was not a Boeing 777 but rather an Airbus A330. I may sound like a traitor by saying this but I liked the A330 better. The seats were more comfortable and the TV's allowed you to play a wide selection of movies and games on demand rather than showing just 3 or 4 movies on a set schedule.

I am staying at the home of some friends from church while I look for an apartment. They have a very nice apartment in Chiba. They have an extra bedroom so while I am here I have a room all to myself. They are so generous. God has really blessed me with good friends.

Today I've been scouring the net for places to live. I've found several that look like possibilities although they are a little bit more expensive than I had hoped. Since I don't speak Japanese, Shou, my host, has assisted by making telephone inquiries for me. I've also been sending out emails. So far I've arranged one viewing for this evening.

All in all, I've had a very smooth arrival in Japan. So long as I find a decent apartment in the next few days I can say that God has blessed me with a nearly perfect transition.