tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321122102024-03-13T10:10:33.492-07:00Youngki LifeAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437896634915919909noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32112210.post-39058615478285046482013-08-02T13:31:00.000-07:002013-08-02T13:31:32.092-07:00<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Invictus</h2>
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by William Ernest Henley</div>
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Out of the night that covers me,</div>
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Black as the pit from pole to pole,</div>
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I thank whatever gods may be</div>
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For my unconquerable soul.</div>
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<br /></div>
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In the fell clutch of Circumstance</div>
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I have not winced nor cried aloud.</div>
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Under the bludgeonings of Chance</div>
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My head is bloody, but unbowed.</div>
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Beyond this place of wrath and tears</div>
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Looms but the Horror of the shade,</div>
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And yet the menace of the years</div>
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Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.</div>
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<br /></div>
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It matters not how strait the gate,</div>
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How charged with punishments the scroll,</div>
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I am the master of my fate:</div>
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I am the captain of my soul.</div>
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This poem has been a daily prayer for me to overcome my cancer.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437896634915919909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32112210.post-35626156089225362232010-03-30T00:04:00.000-07:002010-04-01T11:38:02.329-07:00Wordnano to learn a vocabularyI actually forgot to update my own blog to talk about a website I recently created with my friend Paul, called Wordnano. This website was a follow-up on <a href="http://laipiel.blogspot.com/2009/03/progress-on-japanese-word-memorizer.html">my previous project posted before</a>.<br /><br />As I mentioned before, I am interested in learning languages, and I hope other people are also interested in languages, and even further other cultures as well. And as a small step, we made a flashcard website that helps people learn vocabularies, <a href="http://wordnano.com">http://wordnano.com</a>.<br /><br />We are still working on adding features that will make the website more interesting and different from any other flashcard websites on the web.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437896634915919909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32112210.post-46409201880568893612010-01-14T23:13:00.000-08:002010-01-14T23:18:22.625-08:00Applications/ServicesSo far TODO list has been the app that I have been consistently using with my iPhone.. I should try more apps in iPhone, especially those location-based.<br /><br />It seems there are a lot of efforts on translation between languages with human intelligence. However, so far there is no single app that satisfies my translation needs.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437896634915919909noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32112210.post-91289968952348280682010-01-04T22:12:00.000-08:002010-01-04T22:13:09.888-08:00Happy 2010Happy New Year.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437896634915919909noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32112210.post-21913439169401771902009-06-24T09:33:00.000-07:002009-06-24T22:19:22.395-07:00Old Idea, Different WorldThere are many web services that are mostly the same idea, but targeted at different cultures. For example, Google for western world, Baidu for China. Facebook for western world, Cyworld for Korea, Mixi for Japan. It is hard for a single web service to dominate the entire global market because every culture has different taste. Sometimes I think localization is more important than an innovative idea.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437896634915919909noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32112210.post-91187777763378293102009-06-09T00:58:00.000-07:002009-06-23T22:00:57.749-07:00New type of Social Networking SiteThese days I have been using a twitter quite a lot. I've used facebook, CyWorld(A Korean social networking site), and Mixi (A Japanese social networking site), but none of them solve the problems I have: Privacy and Simplicity. Once being a friend, somehow I know where friends have been, they know what's going on me by looking at pictures, walls, etc. If I block them or apply restricted permission to them, they'd notice it because they know they cannot access some parts that they used to access before. Also they are not simple to use. If I go to Facebook, my profile looks very disorganized and very complicated in a look.<br /><br />I don't know about privacy on twitter; but I think I like twitter's simplicity. Moreover, what I really like is the fact that I don't need to spend my time to do something on twitter. Whenever I want to write something on twitter, I can just open the twitter by "toggling" on the computer and write it. Or I can tweet anywhere using my phone. I don't need to spend my time in front of computer to "organize" my wall and my contacts. I think that's the strength of it. I don't need to open a browser to do something complicated.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437896634915919909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32112210.post-61397639576521186022009-05-31T15:29:00.000-07:002009-05-31T16:28:04.195-07:00Nov 23 2007, Yudanaka Onsen (湯田中温泉)I am now writing a blog post about my trip that happened more than one and half a year ago.. I know it's already late, but it's still better than never, so I decided to post it before it fades away from my memory.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laipiel/3582446271/" title="IMG_2793 by cyoungki, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3607/3582446271_abfa57628e_m.jpg" width="160" height="240" alt="IMG_2793" /></a><br />Me staring at monkeys<br /><br />Randy, Junko and I went to Yudanaka Onsen (湯田中温泉) on November 23, 2007. Yudanaka Onsen is famous for monkey bath - there you can see monkeys taking bath in hot springs. So hot springs are not human-dominated resorts; monkeys also enjoy them. :) When I was young I always saw Japanese monkeys taking baths as if humans are taking baths, in TV, and this was something I really wanted to see in Japan. So, I went to Yudanaka onsen located near Nagano, with Randy and Junko.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laipiel/3583094628/" title="IMG_2300 by cyoungki, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3382/3583094628_44d2e19739_m.jpg" width="160" height="240" alt="IMG_2300" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laipiel/3582285635/" title="IMG_2301 by cyoungki, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3644/3582285635_de1afe3205_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="IMG_2301" /></a><br /><br />We went to Nagano by Shinkansen first, looked around the city a bit.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laipiel/3583120810/" title="IMG_2320 by cyoungki, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3305/3583120810_f41893c05b_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="IMG_2320" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laipiel/3582320159/" title="IMG_2328 by cyoungki, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3607/3582320159_79cae4aa23_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="IMG_2328" /></a><br /><br />Then we went to our first destination, Yudanaka Onsen, the monkey bath resort.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laipiel/3582436271/" title="IMG_2756 by cyoungki, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3618/3582436271_3c4df3b840_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="IMG_2756" /></a><br /><br />There were tons of monkeys..<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laipiel/3582399695/" title="IMG_2658 by cyoungki, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2456/3582399695_b5428fc8f5_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="IMG_2658" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laipiel/3582424815/" title="IMG_2728 by cyoungki, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3397/3582424815_a10df7b1f7_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="IMG_2728" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laipiel/3583215462/" title="IMG_2686 by cyoungki, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3598/3583215462_78238c7d7d_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="IMG_2686" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laipiel/3583210746/" title="IMG_2663 by cyoungki, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3329/3583210746_2454e6afd6_m.jpg" width="160" height="240" alt="IMG_2663" /></a><br /><br />Even more monkeys...<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laipiel/3583196190/" title="IMG_2582 by cyoungki, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3641/3583196190_7ef8523a84_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="IMG_2582" /></a><br /><br />...and they are making more monkeys...<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laipiel/3582455583/" title="IMG_2858 by cyoungki, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3648/3582455583_df32b7a42b_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="IMG_2858" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laipiel/3582455311/" title="IMG_2857 by cyoungki, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2478/3582455311_a71b21b282.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="IMG_2857" /></a><br />Shit..! Don't take pictures..!<br /><br />After monkey onsen, we went to an actual onsen, called Kusatsu onsen (草津温泉). Throughout the entire year of my stay in Japan, I've never seen any better onsen than this. If you want to experience the authentic outdoor Japanese onsen, this is the place to go.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laipiel/3582634591/" title="IMG_3215 by cyoungki, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2476/3582634591_6ee40e1651_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="IMG_3215" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laipiel/3583448732/" title="IMG_3253 by cyoungki, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3376/3583448732_d439ab66c3_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="IMG_3253" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laipiel/3583459320/" title="IMG_3315 by cyoungki, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3652/3583459320_20cc478d6c_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="IMG_3315" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laipiel/3582583711/" title="IMG_3413 by cyoungki, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3381/3582583711_3c4001219a_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="IMG_3413" /></a><br /><br />Then on the way, we stopped by a lava place to enjoy sightseeing.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laipiel/3583407356/" title="IMG_3537 by cyoungki, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2450/3583407356_9ec0592be6_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="IMG_3537" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laipiel/3583407828/" title="IMG_3544 by cyoungki, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3375/3583407828_8c827f7391_m.jpg" width="160" height="240" alt="IMG_3544" /></a><br /><br />Then we came back to Tokyo.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/laipiel/3583413208/" title="IMG_3628 by cyoungki, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2438/3583413208_6df19d6271.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="IMG_3628" /></a><br />Night of Tokyo, from Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (東京都庁舎).<br /><br />It was a good trip, and I am very glad I finally wrote a blog post about this trip..!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437896634915919909noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32112210.post-39234982419833977602009-05-23T18:25:00.002-07:002009-05-31T16:33:09.747-07:00Twitter's approachI have been using Twitter a while, and I really like the concept Twitter makes it easy for users to tweet. You can tweet anywhere with anything: through cellphone, smartphone, stand-alone application, web application. You don't need to sit down in front of the computer to spare you time to post things. You can just "tweet" instantly when somethings comes out of your mind through your iPhone, blackberry, or even QuickSilver in mac.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437896634915919909noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32112210.post-18075509598444532842009-05-23T18:07:00.005-07:002009-05-24T16:06:16.950-07:00My new blogging directionAdmitting that I have been negligent and too lazy to update my blog regularly, I promised myself again that at this time I will be more diligent on keeping up with my blog. And today, I thought about what kind of topics I should post to my blog, and this question then derived to what I want to do, what are my interests, and what I want to write. So here are the products of today's contemplation.<br /><br />My main interests are cultures and societies in multi-dimension. By "multi-dimension" I mean in terms of time, regions, and individual. Therefore, cultures in dimension of time would be history, societies in different regions are countries and nations, and individuals are people from different backgrounds. I am also interested in connections of cultures and societies: transportation, human languages, internet, social network, etc. I like to study them, and I like to look into how we can improve them. How we can help people communicate each other without language and cultural barriers, how we can enhance transportation overhead between regions, how we can keep in touch from different part of world, are all my interesting problems. In a short sentence, as a software engineer, my goal is to solve those problems by use of technology. <br /><br />So, my blog is going to be about my interests mentioned above. In my blog I will talk about how I would like to address those issues. I will sometimes find existing solutions, discuss what other problems the solutions still cannot solve, or I will sometimes bring my own solutions to the problems. I will also talk about my trips, memories with my friends, and encounters with awesome people that have happened, or will happen in my life. Meanwhile I will post technology issues as well that might somehow be related into what I addressed above.<br /><br />Alright, let's begin..!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437896634915919909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32112210.post-85221093538551662442009-03-31T13:56:00.005-07:002009-03-31T14:26:09.900-07:00Skype on iPhoneAlright, I've been waiting for that to come out. The skype has been the popular service for long-distance / international phone call through the internet, and I think it will be another trend to shift towards to using the VoIP rather than the landline phone.<div><br /></div><div>Carew, Sinead. "Skype to come to iPhone, BlackBerry." <i>Reuters</i>, March 30, 2009, Available from <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090330.wgtskype0330/BNStory/Technology">http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090330.wgtskype0330/BNStory/Technology</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437896634915919909noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32112210.post-57971170951256663852009-03-03T15:16:00.002-08:002009-03-03T15:18:30.635-08:00Progress on Japanese word memorizerI decided to collaborate the work with Wendy, and made a start using Google App: <a href="http://langbook.appspot.com">http://langbook.appspot.com</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437896634915919909noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32112210.post-44246117930699176172009-01-23T06:12:00.004-08:002009-01-23T06:53:31.393-08:00New YearIt's been a long time since I blogged last time.. Yes, I don't deny the fact that I was abundantly lazy and still have a lot of posts waiting as drafts to be posted..<div><br /></div><div>But I finished my one-year internship in Japan on last August, came back to school to finish my undergrad, and also got a job; I am joining Yahoo! on May, 2009. I will be working on Yahoo! Search Technologies (YST). Until that, I am enjoying 4-month break at home, helping parents' business, etc.</div><div><br /></div><div>While enjoying my free-time, I decided to start a little project. I am going to make a web browser plugin that collects the Japanese words that I do not know the meaning, automatically retrieves meanings from the online dictionary, saves them, and later I can re-practice my memory through online quiz.</div><div><br /></div><div>For the target browser, I think I will make it for Safari because that's my default web browser, but eventually Firefox, as Firefox is more cross-platform that can run in all major operating systems (Windows, Linux, and Mac). </div><div><br /></div><div>Also, even though it starts as a Japanese word memorizer, I will generalize it as a memorizer to anything, such as English word memorizer, jargon memorizer, etc.</div><div><br /></div><div>I will post more about this as I have some progress on the development, and also I will try to post all my pending drafts as I promised myself to be less lazy than last year...</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437896634915919909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32112210.post-69202585351803611632008-05-31T23:10:00.004-07:002008-06-01T00:02:05.244-07:00辞書で使ってるNintendo DS今日からときどき日本語でもブログを書くことに決めた。そんなことでもしたら、いつかは日本語を自由自在で駆使するそんな日が来ないかたい。<br />NDSを買ってから僕の生活が便利になった。前は辞書がなかったから知らない言葉があるとパソコンがなければ意味を分からなくて過ぎて行く時が頻繁だった。なおパソコンでも漢字を捜すときに画を数えて捜すから不便で時間もかかった。でもNDSに筆記認識機能があるから、漢字を捜すことが便利になって、何よりもパソコンがなくてもどこでも日本語単語の意味を捜せるから良い。今日は”Financial Japan"という日本経済雑誌を買って読んで見た。まだ読みにくいけど、前より読解速度がすごく早くなった。今まで言語障壁があるからよく英語である雑誌や新聞を読んだけど、そのほうは大部分外国人の観点から見渡した日本の姿だった。でも僕は日本人の観点から見渡した日本がもっと知りたいので、その雑誌はとてもおもしろかった。雇用問題、経済、女性と外国人問題、教育などの時事問題についての記事を読みながら日本人が考える日本に対して習ったから良かった。Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437896634915919909noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32112210.post-76118364656417888532008-02-26T05:47:00.003-08:002008-02-26T05:52:51.982-08:00Marco's Birthday<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg-EdFu8ULxAqzMtdzYtFi7IEiPATHNzBROXA8VMVSkTeC_uL5SsPGL7NTDqc61mwYHuCZPwI4b0_WmIEiKUeG1O9tq2dBaCXhjrIMBaVlQ3sxIihCW00gsv8iisSWuZsupIVr3g/s1600-h/2008_02_26+Marco%27s+Birthday+-+38.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg-EdFu8ULxAqzMtdzYtFi7IEiPATHNzBROXA8VMVSkTeC_uL5SsPGL7NTDqc61mwYHuCZPwI4b0_WmIEiKUeG1O9tq2dBaCXhjrIMBaVlQ3sxIihCW00gsv8iisSWuZsupIVr3g/s320/2008_02_26+Marco%27s+Birthday+-+38.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171286103597886130" border="0" /></a><br />A picture from Italian restaurant to celebrate birth of "Uncle Marco". Happy birthday Uncle Marco..!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437896634915919909noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32112210.post-75802687770926523312008-02-24T04:59:00.002-08:002008-02-24T05:04:40.672-08:00Japanese exhibit<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdTXzrGerRmt3Vidmsvmg3hotltKoIVgXb-AXSVjzblFY0gMXd5z0rnNot-uj4_7IVvFMUQTpdInQYGGzyPOdtHWUVZCJtkDzUMJa5JeZTO4XWpUTAGoFYUeM-mY3bAFnXd-6BMg/s1600-h/Last+Roll+-+37.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdTXzrGerRmt3Vidmsvmg3hotltKoIVgXb-AXSVjzblFY0gMXd5z0rnNot-uj4_7IVvFMUQTpdInQYGGzyPOdtHWUVZCJtkDzUMJa5JeZTO4XWpUTAGoFYUeM-mY3bAFnXd-6BMg/s320/Last+Roll+-+37.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5170531160016399010" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I saw this in Saty today.. This costs 99800 yen, which is almost $1000. But it looks cool.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437896634915919909noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32112210.post-79558831185314580212008-02-14T09:33:00.003-08:002008-02-14T09:35:26.402-08:00Valentine's Day<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsqvYusnnR1elFFAp3ii7kLCgyZ19YR5OQk8fcX1IfRKFLp3dyrYOH7iLl3CjfoqIxda6Q9a5llDI5bWWBfEg1-HiHeiKhJerecZpL_bH964BDJb0XwvKPkLgP_QKt5_pDx6_NEA/s1600-h/DSC_0248.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsqvYusnnR1elFFAp3ii7kLCgyZ19YR5OQk8fcX1IfRKFLp3dyrYOH7iLl3CjfoqIxda6Q9a5llDI5bWWBfEg1-HiHeiKhJerecZpL_bH964BDJb0XwvKPkLgP_QKt5_pDx6_NEA/s320/DSC_0248.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5166890539577879186" border="0" /></a>Everyone Happy Valentine's Day..!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437896634915919909noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32112210.post-51231391065214626352008-01-12T02:28:00.000-08:002008-01-12T04:25:59.594-08:00November 18, 2007, Marathon3: Nikko(日光)After Shuzenji trip, I came back home, slept 5 hours, and went again to Nikko with Bert, Loic, and Junko.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov182007Nikko/photo#5154562584048097986"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/laipiel/R4ivXDK02sI/AAAAAAAACds/6SnAqP2cZew/s144/n543637473_444175_4406.jpg" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov182007Nikko/photo#5154562601227967202"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/laipiel/R4ivYDK02uI/AAAAAAAACd8/euRXrCqnrJ8/s144/n543637473_444185_7300.jpg" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov182007Nikko/photo#5154562618407836402"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/laipiel/R4ivZDK02vI/AAAAAAAACeE/YP3_8KrILmI/s144/n543637473_444188_8192.jpg" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov182007Nikko/photo#5154562626997771010"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/laipiel/R4ivZjK02wI/AAAAAAAACeM/rMoNYNDjhYc/s144/n543637473_444199_1747.jpg" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov182007Nikko/photo#5154562936235416354"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/laipiel/R4ivrjK02yI/AAAAAAAACeg/Am17DM2myVo/s144/IMG_5376.JPG" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov182007Nikko/photo#5154562897580710674"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/laipiel/R4ivpTK02xI/AAAAAAAACeU/IKj5moXmevk/s144/IMG_0654.jpg" /></a><br />A lot of temples, etc. But the best photo was this:<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov182007Nikko/photo#5154562592638032594"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/laipiel/R4ivXjK02tI/AAAAAAAACd0/NestH1XoNo4/s144/n543637473_444181_6152.jpg" /></a><br />can't speak, can't listen, can't see three monkeys.<br /><p>And there was a circle gate of fortune where people cross and walk around to pray for wishes and lucks.</p><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov182007Nikko/photo#5154563129508944690"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/laipiel/R4iv2zK02zI/AAAAAAAACew/j_BNYLGyOqA/s144/IMG_0680.jpg" /></a><br />I danced for wishes.<br /><p>This was the finale of my three-day marathon for that weekend. After Nikko, I basically faded out on that night, and had to carry on my fatigue throughout the week.</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437896634915919909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32112210.post-73232409932488152008-01-11T21:36:00.000-08:002008-01-12T04:07:24.436-08:00November 17, 2007, Marathon2: Shuzenji(修善寺)My marathon had not finished yet. We stayed at the club until 5am, and took a train back to HonAtsugi from Shinjuku. When I arrived at HonAtsugi it was already 7am, and it was 7:20am when I came back home. I changed my clothes, when Randy just knocked my door. It was 7:30am. Then I went on another journey to Izu(伊豆), Shuzenji(修善寺) with Randy and Wendy.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov172007Shuzenji/photo#5154506607739328930"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/laipiel/R4h8czK02aI/AAAAAAAACa4/F-4lKxjkzzU/s144/IMG_1613.JPG" /></a><br />So, by reading this post you can tell that I had not slept a minute. I tried to sleep inside the train, but Wendy bothers me.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov172007Shuzenji/photo#5154512856916744818"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/laipiel/R4iCIjK02nI/AAAAAAAACcs/Ordkh7Ys61s/s144/IMG_1618.JPG" /></a><br />And Randy did nothing.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov172007Shuzenji/photo#5154506831077628338"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/laipiel/R4h8pzK02bI/AAAAAAAACbA/aggAKzH5EUc/s144/IMG_1639.JPG" /></a><br />...So I was going to die.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov172007Shuzenji/photo#5154508364380953026"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/laipiel/R4h-DDK02cI/AAAAAAAACbI/E45XWhpQOuY/s144/DSC_0074.JPG" /></a><br />But they did not care. So I decided to not give up on my life.<br /><p>Seaside in Izu is famous for its beautiful scenes and sightseeing. But we did not go to the seaside. We stayed around Shuzenji. I should go to Izu again later probably in Spring for sightseeing.<br /></p><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov172007Shuzenji/photo#5154509373698267602"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/laipiel/R4h-9zK02dI/AAAAAAAACbQ/XWecA-sXlY0/s144/IMG_1686.JPG" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov172007Shuzenji/photo#5154510013648394754"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/laipiel/R4h_jDK02gI/AAAAAAAACbs/2wg2Gi-n-y4/s144/IMG_1697.JPG" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov172007Shuzenji/photo#5154509794605062642"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/laipiel/R4h_WTK02fI/AAAAAAAACbg/h_UYLtngabQ/s144/IMG_1698.JPG" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov172007Shuzenji/photo#5154510378720614930"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/laipiel/R4h_4TK02hI/AAAAAAAACb8/uItAo-k_7ec/s144/IMG_1719.JPG" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov172007Shuzenji/photo#5154510610648848930"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/laipiel/R4iAFzK02iI/AAAAAAAACcE/y5jE6Mh5KPU/s144/IMG_1754.JPG" /></a><br />The view of the temple with splendid maple colours was magnificent. Besides the temple was also a small hot spring for feet bath.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov172007Shuzenji/photo#5154510833987148338"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/laipiel/R4iASzK02jI/AAAAAAAACcM/Wm8vGrf7lvo/s144/DSC_0089.JPG" /></a><br />It was interesting, but I did not dip my feet into it; I was too lazy to take off my socks.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov172007Shuzenji/photo#5154510975721069122"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/laipiel/R4iAbDK02kI/AAAAAAAACcU/9L7YTqzSy3c/s144/IMG_1785.JPG" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov172007Shuzenji/photo#5154511199059368530"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/laipiel/R4iAoDK02lI/AAAAAAAACcc/j_Ue8wxNpLs/s144/IMG_1879.JPG" /></a><br />By that time I was really tired.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov172007Shuzenji/photo#5154511774584986210"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/laipiel/R4iBJjK02mI/AAAAAAAACck/V3snZUHArb8/s144/IMG_2040.JPG" /></a><br />But it was good to see the maples, especially together with a tranquil view of the temple.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437896634915919909noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32112210.post-35474601178661794052008-01-11T21:32:00.000-08:002008-01-12T00:32:01.522-08:00November 16, 2007, Marathon1: night in Shinjuku (新宿) and Roppongi (六本木)I remember this as a starting day of my marathon for the weekend. I left work at around 5pm, went to Tokyo to watch a documentary film called "Darwin's Nightmare". The movie seems to show how the introduction of a new species into the local ecosystem can destroy the area biologically as well as economically. But I did not finish the movie till the end. I went out at around 9pm to meet up with other people in Shinjuku(新宿). From this moment start my marathon did; from now on I will explain how I managed a karaoke, clubbing, going to Izu, and going to Nikko during this weekend with only a sleep of 5 hours in total. First of all we went to izakaya(居酒屋) with a karaoke facility.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/2007_11_16KaraokeNightInShinjuku/photo?authkey=QTTHX4hpcIM#5154465358873417906"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/laipiel/R4hW7zK02LI/AAAAAAAACZA/Sz_r0Pphxk8/s144/DSCF1323.jpg" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/2007_11_16KaraokeNightInShinjuku/photo?authkey=QTTHX4hpcIM#5154465376053287106"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/laipiel/R4hW8zK02MI/AAAAAAAACZI/ViTw-qjI8vE/s144/DSCF1325.jpg" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/2007_11_16KaraokeNightInShinjuku/photo?authkey=QTTHX4hpcIM#5154465406118058194"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/laipiel/R4hW-jK02NI/AAAAAAAACZQ/R8jHzi33NF8/s144/DSCF1326.jpg" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/2007_11_16KaraokeNightInShinjuku/photo?authkey=QTTHX4hpcIM#5154465431887861986"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/laipiel/R4hXADK02OI/AAAAAAAACZY/yYmFgVgNAz0/s144/DSCF1330.jpg" /></a><br />We really had a blast on that night. After the Karaoke we went to clubbing in Roppongi(六本木).<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/2007_11_16KaraokeNightInShinjuku/photo?authkey=QTTHX4hpcIM#5154465449067731186"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/laipiel/R4hXBDK02PI/AAAAAAAACZg/RtU0wbX9LIY/s144/DSCF1349.jpg" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/2007_11_16KaraokeNightInShinjuku/photo?authkey=QTTHX4hpcIM#5154465474837534978"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/laipiel/R4hXCjK02QI/AAAAAAAACZo/vZIKtqx2WfI/s144/DSCF1356.jpg" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/2007_11_16KaraokeNightInShinjuku/photo?authkey=QTTHX4hpcIM#5154465496312371474"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/laipiel/R4hXDzK02RI/AAAAAAAACZw/WNSeYh0u2wQ/s144/DSCF1359.jpg" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/2007_11_16KaraokeNightInShinjuku/photo?authkey=QTTHX4hpcIM#5154465526377142562"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/laipiel/R4hXFjK02SI/AAAAAAAACZ4/AEIA-rqRDww/s144/DSCF1361.jpg" /></a><br />On our way we stopped by a club with the name "Holy bitch".. I don't know why, but we all had a snap shot in front of the name.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/2007_11_16KaraokeNightInShinjuku/photo?authkey=QTTHX4hpcIM#5154465539262044466"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/laipiel/R4hXGTK02TI/AAAAAAAACaA/n8bURq498uE/s144/DSCF1362.jpg" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/2007_11_16KaraokeNightInShinjuku/photo?authkey=QTTHX4hpcIM#5154465565031848258"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/laipiel/R4hXHzK02UI/AAAAAAAACaI/9h84PyQTHP0/s144/DSCF1363.jpg" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/2007_11_16KaraokeNightInShinjuku/photo?authkey=QTTHX4hpcIM#5154465586506684754"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/laipiel/R4hXJDK02VI/AAAAAAAACaQ/dzu1WBSlsHw/s144/DSCF1364.jpg" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/2007_11_16KaraokeNightInShinjuku/photo?authkey=QTTHX4hpcIM#5154465603686553954"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/laipiel/R4hXKDK02WI/AAAAAAAACaY/nyvwW1BHI4A/s144/DSCF1365.jpg" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/2007_11_16KaraokeNightInShinjuku/photo?authkey=QTTHX4hpcIM#5154465616571455858"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/laipiel/R4hXKzK02XI/AAAAAAAACak/UiVII_fSZ08/s144/DSCF1366.jpg" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/2007_11_16KaraokeNightInShinjuku/photo?authkey=QTTHX4hpcIM#5154465646636226946"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/laipiel/R4hXMjK02YI/AAAAAAAACas/RiPiG3BfTUk/s144/DSCF1367.jpg" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437896634915919909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32112210.post-6561481952545133102007-12-02T21:32:00.003-08:002008-01-12T00:28:28.840-08:00Wendy's birthday and welcome party for Juan and MarcoIt has been more than a month but I finally managed to upload photos for the night of Wendy's birthday and Juan and Marco's welcome party.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/2007_11_09WendySBirthdayAndWelcomePartyForJuanAndMarco/photo?authkey=pko3vSsITEg#5141975542713797330"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/laipiel/R1v3g0MzytI/AAAAAAAACSU/2MJf6J_Zgig/s144/IMG_0811.JPG" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/2007_11_09WendySBirthdayAndWelcomePartyForJuanAndMarco/photo?authkey=pko3vSsITEg#5141975813296736994"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/laipiel/R1v3wkMzyuI/AAAAAAAACSc/fVQSSjCphiw/s144/IMG_0853.JPG" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/2007_11_09WendySBirthdayAndWelcomePartyForJuanAndMarco/photo?authkey=pko3vSsITEg#5141976444656929538"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/laipiel/R1v4VUMzywI/AAAAAAAACSs/ehNTeZ4j4HI/s144/IMG_0914.JPG" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/2007_11_09WendySBirthdayAndWelcomePartyForJuanAndMarco/photo?authkey=pko3vSsITEg#5141976474721700626"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/laipiel/R1v4XEMzyxI/AAAAAAAACS0/uJNTm0kaV_E/s144/IMG_0916.JPG" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/2007_11_09WendySBirthdayAndWelcomePartyForJuanAndMarco/photo?authkey=pko3vSsITEg#5141976504786471714"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/laipiel/R1v4Y0MzyyI/AAAAAAAACS8/UeHMpgvjYKI/s144/IMG_0918.JPG" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/2007_11_09WendySBirthdayAndWelcomePartyForJuanAndMarco/photo?authkey=pko3vSsITEg#5141976530556275506"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/laipiel/R1v4aUMzyzI/AAAAAAAACTI/gprUu4EBuFs/s144/IMG_0920.JPG" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/2007_11_09WendySBirthdayAndWelcomePartyForJuanAndMarco/photo?authkey=pko3vSsITEg#5141976564916013890"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/laipiel/R1v4cUMzy0I/AAAAAAAACTQ/TgmNj0JZwbs/s144/IMG_0922.JPG" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/2007_11_09WendySBirthdayAndWelcomePartyForJuanAndMarco/photo?authkey=pko3vSsITEg#5141976612160654162"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/laipiel/R1v4fEMzy1I/AAAAAAAACTY/CAibKIj7n7A/s144/IMG_0923.JPG" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/2007_11_09WendySBirthdayAndWelcomePartyForJuanAndMarco/photo?authkey=pko3vSsITEg#5141976633635490658"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/laipiel/R1v4gUMzy2I/AAAAAAAACTg/34h-Ud-_mQY/s144/IMG_0926.JPG" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/2007_11_09WendySBirthdayAndWelcomePartyForJuanAndMarco/photo?authkey=pko3vSsITEg#5141976655110327154"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/laipiel/R1v4hkMzy3I/AAAAAAAACTo/V0GEBfHuonc/s144/IMG_0931.JPG" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/2007_11_09WendySBirthdayAndWelcomePartyForJuanAndMarco/photo?authkey=pko3vSsITEg#5141976685175098242"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/laipiel/R1v4jUMzy4I/AAAAAAAACTw/eS1bUlUEPOs/s144/IMG_0936.JPG" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/2007_11_09WendySBirthdayAndWelcomePartyForJuanAndMarco/photo?authkey=pko3vSsITEg#5141976710944902034"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/laipiel/R1v4k0Mzy5I/AAAAAAAACT4/kMGZlRU7P5M/s144/IMG_0939.JPG" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/2007_11_09WendySBirthdayAndWelcomePartyForJuanAndMarco/photo?authkey=pko3vSsITEg#5141976741009673122"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/laipiel/R1v4mkMzy6I/AAAAAAAACUA/MgMt9eI9hRw/s144/IMG_0942.JPG" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/2007_11_09WendySBirthdayAndWelcomePartyForJuanAndMarco/photo?authkey=pko3vSsITEg#5141976766779476914"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/laipiel/R1v4oEMzy7I/AAAAAAAACUI/q6GCOdH_euo/s144/IMG_0944.JPG" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/2007_11_09WendySBirthdayAndWelcomePartyForJuanAndMarco/photo?authkey=pko3vSsITEg#5141977591413197762"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/laipiel/R1v5YEMzy8I/AAAAAAAACUQ/xJJi29Jt7L0/s144/IMG_1029.JPG" /></a><br />This year was special to me because I have lived in three different countries and made good friends. Even in Japan, the last four months have been great time because of friends I made here. My friends, let's also fill the next year with a lot of unforgettable and joyful memory.<br /><br />Tomorrow, I will be gone on a 9-nights-10-days trip to Kansai and Chugoku region of Japan. Everyone, happy new year..!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437896634915919909noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32112210.post-37229501815742727952007-12-02T21:32:00.001-08:002008-01-12T00:31:43.493-08:00Nov 11, 2007, Yokohama(横浜)This was the day when we used to blame the Japanese weather because it used to have been sunny throughout weekdays and suddenly become cloudy and rainy during weekends. That weekend was not an exception; Bert, Loic and I were supposed to head out to Nikko, but because of the rainy weather, we had to change the plan at 5 am. Why 5 am? Because we woke up that time to take the earliest train to go to Nikko. After a debate, we changed our plan to Yokohama. Then we went back to sleep, and I woke up at 12pm. Then afternoon we went to Yokohama.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov112007Yokohama/photo#5141951886033930850"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/laipiel/R1vh_0MzymI/AAAAAAAACRY/UEZbxlUdSC8/s144/DSC_0008.JPG" /></a><br />I like Yokohama's atmosphere. The streets were wider than Tokyo, and the buildings were not positioned so tight to each other. The city looked more like North America's than Japan's, and this reminded me of Toronto.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov112007Yokohama/photo#5141952152321903218"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/laipiel/R1viPUMzynI/AAAAAAAACRg/UvFU3-mgJco/s144/DSC_0021.JPG" /></a><br />There I finally understood why Yokohama is so-called "Couple Republic". You can see couples everywhere. Yokohama is a very romantic place for dating, not to mention that we were three of guys walking through them snickering them.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov112007Yokohama/photo#5141952242516216450"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/laipiel/R1viUkMzyoI/AAAAAAAACRo/fTg_ctWEbyw/s144/DSC_0037.JPG" /></a><br />and I kept taking that kind of weird pictures of mine. After looking around the bay area and the red brick house we headed to China town.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov112007Yokohama/photo#5141952379955169938"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/laipiel/R1vickMzypI/AAAAAAAACRw/bESllRLgECE/s144/DSC_0056.JPG" /></a><br />As far as I can tell Yokohama China town was not that impressive. I already saw San Francisco's China town and compared to that one Yokohama's did not really impress me much. Maybe I should visit China to regain my satisfaction.<br /><br />After looking around China town we walked towards Minato-Mirai.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov112007Yokohama/photo#5141952487329352354"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/laipiel/R1vii0MzyqI/AAAAAAAACR4/tc4KQpvFjWA/s144/DSC_0061.JPG" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov112007Yokohama/photo#5141952616178371250"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/laipiel/R1viqUMzyrI/AAAAAAAACSA/l37MzA4-Gw4/s144/DSC_0067.JPG" /></a><br />Here comes a quote from Mr. Loic Nigay refering to that bridge:<br />"If a guy crosses that bridge without a girl, he will become a gay". (No offence to people with homosexuality)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437896634915919909noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32112210.post-43748697378375491962007-11-13T20:53:00.000-08:002008-01-12T00:28:44.718-08:00Camera Phone<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNbF2BDJVo6gUP11hWYa1xFwXX3VtW_NxmcAVVvxgDkvFAFnZ5HcaIouNDSxH6vhCrrwtW52I5UyK3lCq2VR1qT6SbBKI-dw2gW_PV5q5Gxc_YriHevGFq5ubyR7PoeydpMKuN2A/s1600-h/071114_1236~01.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNbF2BDJVo6gUP11hWYa1xFwXX3VtW_NxmcAVVvxgDkvFAFnZ5HcaIouNDSxH6vhCrrwtW52I5UyK3lCq2VR1qT6SbBKI-dw2gW_PV5q5Gxc_YriHevGFq5ubyR7PoeydpMKuN2A/s320/071114_1236~01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137534536373831538" border="0" /></a><br />This is the picture of the camera phone while having lunch with Randy during one of those days...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437896634915919909noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32112210.post-88175361819646481392007-11-04T00:38:00.000-07:002008-01-12T00:29:59.560-08:00Nov 3, 2007, Tokai University Festival (東海大学建学祭)Yesterday I went to Tokai University festival with Boy, Kinya-san, Pedro, Ryan, and Hunglun. I haven't been in Japanese University before and I was curious of the college festival as well, so I gave it a shot yesterday to visit Tokai University annual festival.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov32007TokaiUniversityFestival/photo#5128886029239920290"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/laipiel/Ry12q2pPJqI/AAAAAAAACN4/Q7FAFtGeUCc/s144/DSC_0007.JPG" /></a><br />Just like any other festival, it started with an abundant amount of food and people. One thing that made this college festival different from normal Japanese festivals is, however, that since there are a variety of nationalities among students, I was able to see more food from other nations than Japanese. the nationalities varied from Japan, Korea, China, Thai, Germany, etc. And students were selling the food of their nations.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov32007TokaiUniversityFestival/photo#5128886072189593266"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/laipiel/Ry12tWpPJrI/AAAAAAAACOA/kjiaCgMQ02E/s144/DSC_0008.JPG" /></a><br />...not sure what nationalities they were, but there were a group of power rangers crossing the middle of the market.<br />Anyways, after filling our stomach, we started looking around more.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov32007TokaiUniversityFestival/photo#5128886093664429762"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/laipiel/Ry12umpPJsI/AAAAAAAACOI/mAvArcFMIY4/s144/DSC_0013.JPG" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov32007TokaiUniversityFestival/photo#5128886115139266258"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/laipiel/Ry12v2pPJtI/AAAAAAAACOQ/dczc7F9lcKw/s144/DSC_0014.JPG" /></a><br />Inside the buildings were many open-houses from various college clubs. We tried many open-houses, but we spent the most of time on English-speaking society club. The rules were that every conversation must be in English. And people there were very open to foreigners, eager to talk with us. So it was not so hard to spend an hour there with them.<br />When we left the building, it was already dark. But the festival was not over; in fact, people were prepared to serve dinner food and beer, which I had been wondering why I could not see any beer during the day in college festival. We bought something to eat and a cup of beer, and watched the concert from a band invited from outside the college for this festival.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Nov32007TokaiUniversityFestival/photo#5128886368542336738"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/laipiel/Ry12-mpPJuI/AAAAAAAACOY/z9rhcnG-6N0/s144/DSC_0019.JPG" /></a><br />We did not spend there too long. After a couple of songs, we left the school and returned home. It was good to see how Japanese students enjoy the University festival.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437896634915919909noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32112210.post-54633169134690676712007-11-01T08:44:00.000-07:002008-01-12T00:30:33.000-08:00Language TranslationI now have been for a little more than 2 months in Japan. So far I have been amused, fascinated, shocked, and surprised by various aspects of Japanese culture for the last two months, and one of them is Japanese language. I was especially surprised at how similar Korean and Japanese languages are to each other in terms of grammar and words. The grammar structures in both languages are very similar; if I read kanji in Korean pronunciation, that is exactly the Korean word; even some idioms and the expression forms are also very similar. I think Korean and Japanese languages resembles each other in many ways.<br />So, I have been wondering, if grammars, words, and even idioms are similar, then this would be the area where the machine learning could sneak into and work really well. As everyone knows by their experiences, the machine translation so far has basically sucked. Even if it works well, the expression might sound awkward that you would rather not use in daily conversation. This is currently the status of the machine translation. But if we tweak and apply machine learning into translation between two similar languages, then it could hopefully solve awkwardness of expressions because the computer might be able to "learn" new idioms and slangs and express the same feeling through another language if they are really close to each other.<br />Of course the translation between Korean to English or Japanese to English would not work well because the language structures are completely different. But I think we can somehow make a 100% perfect translation technology at least between Korean and Japanese; or any other similar languages such as German and English, French and English, Portuguese and Spanish, etc. Right now I am envisioning Korean and Japanese people having non-awkward online conversation using their own languages, or Korean people reading Japanese websites that would have been perfectly translated into Korean without awkwardness, and vice-versa, if this technology becomes true.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437896634915919909noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32112210.post-48276670497797159022007-10-30T08:02:00.000-07:002008-01-12T00:29:42.924-08:00Halloween partiesThis Wednesday is the Halloween day. Well, the concept of Halloween as a party culture has arrived at Japan in recent years, and it was not hard to find the ads targeting the Halloween day since few weeks ago. I am not sure whether or not there will be kids asking around "trick or treat" at Wednesday night, but at least on the last weekend there were quite some parties and I went to the Gugenheim mafia Halloween party with Asahi-Kasei people. Gugenheim mafia is just the name of the bar. Most people there were all dressed up with costumes, except us from Asahi-Kasei. :P Well, at least I brought a mask.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Oct262007GugenheimMafiaHalloweenParty/photo?authkey=iVSBpePAdh4#5127144991232042530"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/laipiel/RydHNGpPJiI/AAAAAAAACM4/pOmrHeVFTQE/s144/IMG_0484.jpg" /></a><br />I am the guy with a mask :) The party was really fun. I met some new people, had a chance to talk to other asahi-kasei people as well. We stayed there until 3:30AM, and went back home and blacked out.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Oct262007GugenheimMafiaHalloweenParty/photo?authkey=iVSBpePAdh4#5127145038476682802"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/laipiel/RydHP2pPJjI/AAAAAAAACNA/xxI9YcOc2Rk/s144/IMG_0496.jpg" /></a><br />Question: Who are non-Japanese people in this picture? Hint: There are 5 non-Japanese. It is not hard to find three white guys there. If you can find me there, then the real question is to find one more non-Japanese person unless you know Bert. :)<br /><br />Next day I was supposed to go to Yamanote Halloween party with other people. Yamanote Halloween party was in Ikebukuro station in Tokyo. So, I had to take a train to go to the party. But because of the typhoon, we had to cancel the plan and decided to have a common room party instead with some horror movies, which were Evil Dead 1 and 3. For the sake of Halloween, those who had Halloween costumes were encouraged to wear them in our party. So the atmosphere looked somewhat like below:<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/laipiel/Oct262007GugenheimMafiaHalloweenParty/photo?authkey=iVSBpePAdh4#5127149775825610306"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/laipiel/RydLjmpPJkI/AAAAAAAACNU/xe_BixgQCZY/s144/IMG_9224.JPG" /></a><br />It would not be hard to find me in this picture. :)<br /><br />Anyways, so this weekend was quite fun because of Halloween.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437896634915919909noreply@blogger.com1