Some 50 (fifty) American citizens are being held (more or less with their [uninformed] consent), in quarantine in a hotel south of Seoul.
There were in a week long training seminar, about to launch careers as private school (hogwon) teachers, when disaster befell them.
One of their teachers was the Devil himself.
No, just joking, Satan is fine and at home, there's no need to worry about him.
One of these American teachers had contracted AH1N1, aka Dreaded Suckling Pig Flu, somewhere in his or her travels.. Acting with Keystone Cop lightning reflexes, Korean Ministry of health officials rounded up all the Americans from that hotel, and quarantined them in another hotel in a suburb of Seoul. Luckily, they grabbed one right after he'd been riding on the subway. That's just awesome.
And thus began their saga of thermometer probs and crappy meals, which you can read about HERE HERE HERE HERE YAY!
In related news, we have reports of recent British people arriving in Korea having their temperatures taken as they disembark. So if you're coming in and out of Korea this summer, try to keep your cool, or suffer an extra ten days of vacation courtesy Korea health.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
Bold New Dirty Deed
THIS is what you can expect from dynamic young nations like Korea, and crazy film directors like Francis Ford Coppola, always out there searching for new ways to, well, get plastered.
Wine in a can. Guuuuuuhhhhhh. If, as Rock-philosopher-Gods AC/DC postulate, dirty deeds are indeed done Dirt Cheap, then surely wine in a can is not only the cheapest, but the dirtiest I've seen, in a long long time.
You can't drink wine from a can. It doesn't matter what you line the can with, if it's not in a glass, then the bouquet will not rise from the liquid and all you're left with is boozy grape juice.
Wine in a box was bad enough, but in a can? Jesus people. Anyways, read the article. Enjoy
Wine in a can. Guuuuuuhhhhhh. If, as Rock-philosopher-Gods AC/DC postulate, dirty deeds are indeed done Dirt Cheap, then surely wine in a can is not only the cheapest, but the dirtiest I've seen, in a long long time.
You can't drink wine from a can. It doesn't matter what you line the can with, if it's not in a glass, then the bouquet will not rise from the liquid and all you're left with is boozy grape juice.
Wine in a box was bad enough, but in a can? Jesus people. Anyways, read the article. Enjoy
Korea! Better than Real!
THIS explains so much of life in Korea.
Big thanks to Brian in Jeolla Nam Do not only for the post, but years of posts.
On a quasi related topic, after years of seeing Pro - Korea slogans like, "Korea Sparkling", "Korea, hub of Asia", and "Bravo your life", I've finally come up with my own:
Korea! Better than Real!
Big thanks to Brian in Jeolla Nam Do not only for the post, but years of posts.
On a quasi related topic, after years of seeing Pro - Korea slogans like, "Korea Sparkling", "Korea, hub of Asia", and "Bravo your life", I've finally come up with my own:
Korea! Better than Real!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Mike White (R.I.P. little dude), revisted
Mike's mom Stephane continues her battle against the powers that be with absolutely no help from her government.
I'm not going to go into details, but only because it's late, and I'm going to bed, but take note, possible and current travelers, if you are an expat, expect absolutely nothing from your government if you get into ANY trouble.
Unless you are rich.
And I mean Batman rich.
Read here
then here
big thanks to Rokdrop for keeping the files that point the way.
I'm not going to go into details, but only because it's late, and I'm going to bed, but take note, possible and current travelers, if you are an expat, expect absolutely nothing from your government if you get into ANY trouble.
Unless you are rich.
And I mean Batman rich.
Read here
then here
big thanks to Rokdrop for keeping the files that point the way.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
build your own tricorder? Hell Yes!
Yup. Just found an article where Eric Paulos, an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute, is pushing the boundaries of cell phones.
His ideas include adding sensors to your cell phones to sample air quality and uv exposure, among other things. The first hurdle to overcome with this idea is that cell phones spend most of their time in pockets and bags. Personally, I think the first "sensor" that needs to be created is a simple solar based plug in charger. This would get that phone out into the open, where such sensors can then take the time needed to investigate the users physical environment. The big question they're raising is how is this going to change how people move through the world. I think that once people get used to the idea that they can discover more information regarding the world they move through, they're going to become addicted to it. Knowledge is power, yes, but it's also like a heroin - steroid cocktail, addictive and empowering. Once you have a tool that tells you things, you just won't be able to stop using it.
Think about all the tiny questions you are not allowed to answer in the course of the day: is the air conditioning in this building smelly, or is it just me? How much asbestos did they use in this old building? What exactly is in the air here? Is this place a safe environment for my kids? Why does this water fountain taste strange? If this was cleaned recently, how clean is it really?
I live in Seoul, one of the biggest, dirtiest cities in the world. However, I'm also one seriously curious ape by nature. Even out in the wilderness, a place I don't get to go to very often anymore, I would still like to know what's been going on in that environment since my last visit. Has the water changed? What's this soil composition?
I wholeheartedly support this idea. There will be resistance, absolutely, because there are people who prefer, insist, need to remain willfully ignorant. Dealing with hard facts on ground level environmental conditions is positively going to gross some people out. Imagine how you're going to feel if you are standing on the street watching your cell phone air quality meter when a diesel bus drives by, and for the first time in your life you can see what you've been breathing in every time one of those beasts drove by. How good is the ventilation in your school? Is that fog, or a dust storm?
Yeah, scary, might make you want to stay home, or wear a mask outside, or call up your representative in government and complain. It might make you want to stop driving your SUV down the street. It might make you start thinking seriously about the way we live, and that the faster we change certain things in our lives, the better it's going to be for everyone.
Even better on this idea, is the fact that it's not mainstream yet. Manufacturers are not interested, until the tech has been vetted over a few generations. This is very, very good for you my friends who have had the skill and strength to read this far. Why is this good? Well, once big companies get involved, they're going to select a small group of sensors that THEY think will be the most interesting to people. This selection process will be affected by powerful people who don't want you to be able to access information which may influence your opinion. However, the base tech for this is already out there, and genies are notoriously hard to put back in the bottle.
Yeah, I know, you're thinking, "Crap 'Nails, I don't know nuthin' bout puttin' no technology together." Really? Ever put lego together? Yes? Then you're ready for this. The only difference is that the pieces are more expensive and you might have to use a soldering iron. Your parents and teachers will help you, if you have the cajoles to ask, and the shutzpa to ask a hundred times.
I dare you.
ha!
His ideas include adding sensors to your cell phones to sample air quality and uv exposure, among other things. The first hurdle to overcome with this idea is that cell phones spend most of their time in pockets and bags. Personally, I think the first "sensor" that needs to be created is a simple solar based plug in charger. This would get that phone out into the open, where such sensors can then take the time needed to investigate the users physical environment. The big question they're raising is how is this going to change how people move through the world. I think that once people get used to the idea that they can discover more information regarding the world they move through, they're going to become addicted to it. Knowledge is power, yes, but it's also like a heroin - steroid cocktail, addictive and empowering. Once you have a tool that tells you things, you just won't be able to stop using it.
Think about all the tiny questions you are not allowed to answer in the course of the day: is the air conditioning in this building smelly, or is it just me? How much asbestos did they use in this old building? What exactly is in the air here? Is this place a safe environment for my kids? Why does this water fountain taste strange? If this was cleaned recently, how clean is it really?
I live in Seoul, one of the biggest, dirtiest cities in the world. However, I'm also one seriously curious ape by nature. Even out in the wilderness, a place I don't get to go to very often anymore, I would still like to know what's been going on in that environment since my last visit. Has the water changed? What's this soil composition?
I wholeheartedly support this idea. There will be resistance, absolutely, because there are people who prefer, insist, need to remain willfully ignorant. Dealing with hard facts on ground level environmental conditions is positively going to gross some people out. Imagine how you're going to feel if you are standing on the street watching your cell phone air quality meter when a diesel bus drives by, and for the first time in your life you can see what you've been breathing in every time one of those beasts drove by. How good is the ventilation in your school? Is that fog, or a dust storm?
Yeah, scary, might make you want to stay home, or wear a mask outside, or call up your representative in government and complain. It might make you want to stop driving your SUV down the street. It might make you start thinking seriously about the way we live, and that the faster we change certain things in our lives, the better it's going to be for everyone.
Even better on this idea, is the fact that it's not mainstream yet. Manufacturers are not interested, until the tech has been vetted over a few generations. This is very, very good for you my friends who have had the skill and strength to read this far. Why is this good? Well, once big companies get involved, they're going to select a small group of sensors that THEY think will be the most interesting to people. This selection process will be affected by powerful people who don't want you to be able to access information which may influence your opinion. However, the base tech for this is already out there, and genies are notoriously hard to put back in the bottle.
Yeah, I know, you're thinking, "Crap 'Nails, I don't know nuthin' bout puttin' no technology together." Really? Ever put lego together? Yes? Then you're ready for this. The only difference is that the pieces are more expensive and you might have to use a soldering iron. Your parents and teachers will help you, if you have the cajoles to ask, and the shutzpa to ask a hundred times.
I dare you.
ha!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Anniversary Riots in Seoul
Last year at this time there were a series of mass movements in downtown Seoul as over a million morons believed media lies about mad cow disease hiding in American beef, and how the current government wanted to poison all good Korean people with it.
I'm not going to write about that. There's been so much blogging about it, if you really want to find out, google it. I was here for it, and it was so mind numbingly stupid I still feel head pain from it. It hurt my brain to see so many people herding themselves neck deep in stupidity. Irrational, thoughtless, ridiculous, irresponsible, moronic. Millions of people ready to take to the streets without checking a single fact, believing everything they see on the idiot box.
1984 gone horribly, horribly wrong for the government. If anything, it proves that for 1984 to actually happen, you need really, really competent people running all the facets behind the scenes. They just don't have that here.
I am going to link you to video of this year's anniversary protest of the anti-beef protests.
needless to say, last year's protests killed the last chance for the KorUS-FTA to pass.
Just so you know, while literally hundreds of Korean products, from vehicles and parts and plastic bits and lcd monitors and so on, are sold in Canada, the only Canadian product I've ever seen here is some of the worst, cheapest maple syrup out of Quebec I've ever tasted. Canadian beef is still banned, as it has been since 2002 (?) when a case of mad cow was detected. Blackberry phones are forbidden here, because of protectionist economics.
Right now the Canadian Government is trying to broker a free trade deal here.
Not a month goes by that Canadians living here aren't demonized as drug crazed, lazy, AIDS carrying child molesters who are here to despoil the women and steal money from good Korean people, as well as spread AIDs, molest children, do / deal drugs, AND be lazy at the same time, a great burden upon the good natured, peace loving, jolly Korean people.
Right now the Canadian Government is trying to broker a free trade deal here.
Canadian citizens came here fifty years ago to fight and die for the freedom of these people. That's already been forgotten. As the elder generation passes on, they leave behind children and grand children who believe that the Americans at best came here to prop up dictators, and at worst invaded their country.
Right now the Canadian Government is trying to broker a free trade deal here.
Why? There's better quality and better deals out there.
I'm not going to write about that. There's been so much blogging about it, if you really want to find out, google it. I was here for it, and it was so mind numbingly stupid I still feel head pain from it. It hurt my brain to see so many people herding themselves neck deep in stupidity. Irrational, thoughtless, ridiculous, irresponsible, moronic. Millions of people ready to take to the streets without checking a single fact, believing everything they see on the idiot box.
1984 gone horribly, horribly wrong for the government. If anything, it proves that for 1984 to actually happen, you need really, really competent people running all the facets behind the scenes. They just don't have that here.
I am going to link you to video of this year's anniversary protest of the anti-beef protests.
needless to say, last year's protests killed the last chance for the KorUS-FTA to pass.
Just so you know, while literally hundreds of Korean products, from vehicles and parts and plastic bits and lcd monitors and so on, are sold in Canada, the only Canadian product I've ever seen here is some of the worst, cheapest maple syrup out of Quebec I've ever tasted. Canadian beef is still banned, as it has been since 2002 (?) when a case of mad cow was detected. Blackberry phones are forbidden here, because of protectionist economics.
Right now the Canadian Government is trying to broker a free trade deal here.
Not a month goes by that Canadians living here aren't demonized as drug crazed, lazy, AIDS carrying child molesters who are here to despoil the women and steal money from good Korean people, as well as spread AIDs, molest children, do / deal drugs, AND be lazy at the same time, a great burden upon the good natured, peace loving, jolly Korean people.
Right now the Canadian Government is trying to broker a free trade deal here.
Canadian citizens came here fifty years ago to fight and die for the freedom of these people. That's already been forgotten. As the elder generation passes on, they leave behind children and grand children who believe that the Americans at best came here to prop up dictators, and at worst invaded their country.
Right now the Canadian Government is trying to broker a free trade deal here.
Why? There's better quality and better deals out there.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Cloaking device activated
This is one great article detailing the latest in cloaking devices.
Man, just think of how that's going to change things.....
Man, just think of how that's going to change things.....
And in South Korean Photos
Good ol' Brian Deutsch of Brian in Jolla nam do posts up a great gallery of this weekends Anti-America rally in Seoul, as it intersected with the opening ceremonies of the HiSeoul Festival. Scroll down on Brian's page for some great pics, links to more pics, and some video of what it's like to be in a Korean Riot.
I love the pic of the babies lined up in their buggy's in front of the riot cops. That's so awesome, I think part of my skull is weeping. In joy, for the patriotism of those kids. That one's from the Anti-American beef riots in the summer. I can't wait for the Anti-Swine flu riots to break out next.
Bozo's.
I love the pic of the babies lined up in their buggy's in front of the riot cops. That's so awesome, I think part of my skull is weeping. In joy, for the patriotism of those kids. That one's from the Anti-American beef riots in the summer. I can't wait for the Anti-Swine flu riots to break out next.
Bozo's.
Absolute Must See!!!!
You have to check this out. Hat tip to http://Koreabeat.com who hat tips East Wind up Chronicle for the link.
ala KoreaBeat:
"Photographer Toman van Houtryve posed as a businessman interested in investing in a North Korean chocolate factory in order to photograph the Stalinist country, and despite constant surveillance brought back photos so stunningly diverse and well-composed that if he hadn’t done similar projects before I would think the whole gallery was a hoax.
Hat tip to the East Wind-up Chronicle."
Here's
the link
The slide show is cool, but make sure you go through them one at a time to read the descriptions. If you only see one, check out
this poster
Some of these shots are startling beautiful. All are filled with absolute sadness. A must view.
ala KoreaBeat:
"Photographer Toman van Houtryve posed as a businessman interested in investing in a North Korean chocolate factory in order to photograph the Stalinist country, and despite constant surveillance brought back photos so stunningly diverse and well-composed that if he hadn’t done similar projects before I would think the whole gallery was a hoax.
Hat tip to the East Wind-up Chronicle."
Here's
the link
The slide show is cool, but make sure you go through them one at a time to read the descriptions. If you only see one, check out
this poster
Some of these shots are startling beautiful. All are filled with absolute sadness. A must view.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Three Thumbs Up!
I've got three thumbs up for these folks and their actions to provide music free of charge for people who want to put music on their youdube videos.
There's some groovy stuff, but you have to hunt for it. It's also interesting to see what some people consider "rock" here in the closing down of the first decade of the 21st Century.
Regardless, the Gods of Rock smile favorably upon sharing Rock, and I'm sure extremely memorable sex has been granted unto said artists, and if not, then it's probably on its way.
Rock On!
Update! While searching through the ranks, found this band from Quebec: called "top johnny"
They've got a classic early 80's glam rock vibe, some catchy lyrics which I couldn't quite hear from the other room, (thus, making it perfect glam rock), and the one song that sounded perfect for a little Kung Fu video my lady's working on rocked so hard, that it continued over three songs! Yeah! Now that's rock! Ok, just slightly kidding about that last bit.
Top Johnny mixes some serious glam rock guitar with synth and some weird sounds here and there. There's nothing really seriously artistic about their music, but Top Johnny certainly embodies the "Rock Out with your Cock Out" ethos. It's kind of like listening to Bon Jovi, before he learned to care about more than his hair. I say right on listening for those nights when you're having a field party with a bunch of douche bags you don't really like, but can't hold their liquor so you're guaranteed some free beer.
"Who makes a song called "Glucose" for chrits sakes?"
"An Indie band!"
Update 2! Honourable mention:
Black Robes!
these dolts just don't rock at all.
"Who makes a song called "Glucose" for chrits sakes?"
"An Indie band!"
There's some groovy stuff, but you have to hunt for it. It's also interesting to see what some people consider "rock" here in the closing down of the first decade of the 21st Century.
Regardless, the Gods of Rock smile favorably upon sharing Rock, and I'm sure extremely memorable sex has been granted unto said artists, and if not, then it's probably on its way.
Rock On!
Update! While searching through the ranks, found this band from Quebec: called "top johnny"
They've got a classic early 80's glam rock vibe, some catchy lyrics which I couldn't quite hear from the other room, (thus, making it perfect glam rock), and the one song that sounded perfect for a little Kung Fu video my lady's working on rocked so hard, that it continued over three songs! Yeah! Now that's rock! Ok, just slightly kidding about that last bit.
Top Johnny mixes some serious glam rock guitar with synth and some weird sounds here and there. There's nothing really seriously artistic about their music, but Top Johnny certainly embodies the "Rock Out with your Cock Out" ethos. It's kind of like listening to Bon Jovi, before he learned to care about more than his hair. I say right on listening for those nights when you're having a field party with a bunch of douche bags you don't really like, but can't hold their liquor so you're guaranteed some free beer.
"Who makes a song called "Glucose" for chrits sakes?"
"An Indie band!"
Update 2! Honourable mention:
Black Robes!
these dolts just don't rock at all.
"Who makes a song called "Glucose" for chrits sakes?"
"An Indie band!"
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Worth Reading!
This article in the NY Times is well worth reading. It's short, but it details a bold new way of thinking about how we connect bits inside our machines.
This more, shall we say, flexible, way of connecting electronics opens up a whole new way of tailoring the physical manifestations of our personal technology, if you allow it.
I remember, some years ago, as nano-technology was taking its first steps. Pundits and prophets heralded the dawn of the nano age, and were expecting that in their lifetimes there would be nano mini factories that could sit on your desk and produce what you needed at the click of a button, if you had the base materials to build and the power to run it.
Sure, pencils, paper, such not, that is conceivable. A mini-factory could store the basic design, stack the carbon bits and solder molecules together, but what about a cell phone? Or a speaker? Or a laser pointer? Complex electronics would certainly take ages for a nano-factory to produce, building and placing chips and circuit boards, wires, casings, gah! Wouldn't it be simpler to just go out and buy one?
Maybe. Maybe not. Read the article linked to above. "Silver ooze", they call it, and take a second to dream of the possibilities. If the innards of an electronic device become liquid, well then.... instead of worrying about running connectors and wires, solder and snap in components, well... hmmmm.
Food for thought.....
This more, shall we say, flexible, way of connecting electronics opens up a whole new way of tailoring the physical manifestations of our personal technology, if you allow it.
I remember, some years ago, as nano-technology was taking its first steps. Pundits and prophets heralded the dawn of the nano age, and were expecting that in their lifetimes there would be nano mini factories that could sit on your desk and produce what you needed at the click of a button, if you had the base materials to build and the power to run it.
Sure, pencils, paper, such not, that is conceivable. A mini-factory could store the basic design, stack the carbon bits and solder molecules together, but what about a cell phone? Or a speaker? Or a laser pointer? Complex electronics would certainly take ages for a nano-factory to produce, building and placing chips and circuit boards, wires, casings, gah! Wouldn't it be simpler to just go out and buy one?
Maybe. Maybe not. Read the article linked to above. "Silver ooze", they call it, and take a second to dream of the possibilities. If the innards of an electronic device become liquid, well then.... instead of worrying about running connectors and wires, solder and snap in components, well... hmmmm.
Food for thought.....
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