WalshWorld

In Cites

2009-12-25T18:58:00.000+09:00

For a while, I'm just going to collect some quotes here...

Doubt is humble.

What we think is a problem is often a protection.

Time is the fire in which we all burn - Star Trek

For a concept to become a functional tool, it needs to become semantically heavy but procedurally light. - Eduardo Negueruela

Curiosity did not kill this cat. -Epitaph of Studs Turkel, Oral Historian

Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness. - Martin Luther King Jr.

Retailers to offer 100% off after xmas sale

2008-12-27T20:36:00.004+09:00

In an effort to kick start the economy, retailers are planning a massive sale for the post Xmas season. All goods will be offered at a 100% percent discount. With most of the workers laid off and the corporate division in hiding, stores will be staffed directly by the illiterate children that produced the goods in sweatshops in exploited poverty stricken countries. They tend not to notice the lack of labor laws since they can't read. The plan is to somehow lure consumers to the shops and although they won't make a profit from the goods given away, parking fees and corndogs should produce hundreds of dollars.

This will scratch your ass good.

2008-12-11T09:36:00.002+09:00

Tools that make tools that make tools, just so we could screw up the planet.

Just Say No

2008-12-07T13:49:00.001+09:00

Consolidate them all into Ford and force them to produce 1/2 electric models. Let the shit hit the fan, but come out in the end with almost a global monopoly on what everybody's been saying is necessary.

It aint over

2008-12-06T00:16:00.007+09:00

2008-11-30T22:33:00.002+09:00

I'd be glad to pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today. I'd be glad to sell you my I.O.U.s from guys who promised to pay me for hamburgers last Tuesday.

Too big to face justice.

2008-11-26T14:47:00.007+09:00

Give me the money and pay interest on it too. I dare you not too.

2008-11-21T10:38:00.006+09:00

My bird and the economy like to nose dive. Nice picture of the bird anyway. Also, we're getting ready for Texas by studying the local dialect. (click here)

2008-11-18T23:35:00.006+09:00

Come on y'all! Get yer vocals on and sing along!
... 1,2,,,1234
We'll be coming around the mountain when we come.
We'll be coming around the mountain when we come.
We'll be coming into Texas and we hope the weather won't vex us.
We'll be coming around the mountain when we come.

He'll be coming around the mountain when he comes.
He'll be coming around the mountain when he comes.
He teaches about Al Gore, but he dashes to the mega-store,
He'll be coming around the mountain when he comes.

She'll be coming around the mountain when she comes.
She'll be coming around the mountain when she comes.
She likes to sleep all day and get beat at chess by Creigh,
She'll be coming around the mountain when she comes.

2008-11-12T20:38:00.008+09:00

Geez! And hope it is! You know darn well that a lot of emotion poured out around the whole planet when we realized it was really really real. For us in Japan it was Wednesday afternoon. I sat on the floor and blubbered like a fool. As a reborn American, I need to represent this to my students. It's even bigger than it feels like now. The mindset shift just went into overdrive all over the world. Fear mongers of the world, your game just got lame. Of course the gridlock has causes and causes of causes, but the tone is opening up.

Yours Truly,
born again american still preaching to the converted....

I Told You So...

2008-10-05T16:16:00.008+09:00

Getting my crash course in U.S. finance, real estate games, and so on while dealing with my Dad's things, the thing that dawned on me was that the house prices didn't make sense. For example it would seem reasonable that a house would cost more or less depending on the average incomes in an area, which of course get higher closer to economic centers, and would work out to...... however many years of income. Similarly house prices would correlate to rents and turn out to equate to X years of rent, again a percentage of incomes. You would buy if you had the down payment, felt secure and the numbers made sense. However what I saw was that these sensibilities had been abandoned and the name of the game was to buy a ridiculously priced house knowing you could sell it 5 years later for a doubly ridiculous price. This curve seemed upwards at about 20 degrees. The houses never get fully paid for but rather 'flipped' and shuffled with all sorts of people whose job it is to make this easier for you. Who cares about interest rates cause it's all coming back next shuffle. Well anyway, I just saw the clearest explanation I've seen so far of the crises and was reflecting on that summer and my first contact with how it all works in the US. If you care to take a look the link is below.

Warren Buffet on Charlie Rose 10/2/2008

Everywhere like such as

2008-10-02T19:03:00.006+09:00

I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because, um, some people out there in our nation don’t have maps and, uh, I believe that our, uh, education like such as, uh, South Africa and, uh, the Iraq and everywhere like such as, and I believe that they should, uh, our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S., uh, should help South Africa and should help Iraq and the Asian countries, so we will be able to build up our future

Bird Brains

2008-09-18T20:49:00.002+09:00

There are 4 bird brains in this picture. Can you tell us where?

Meet 'Little Wing'

2008-09-13T15:07:00.004+09:00

No sooner had we wondered off on bikes to look at more bird goods than did we get the call. The stork had brought our cockatiel. The pet shop gave us the crash course and we got some other necessary things. On the bike ride home with chick in cardboard box, we toyed with the names Alice or Kris before the real name came: Little Wing.

Pet Peave

2008-09-12T23:21:00.007+09:00

I ain't joking, I really want a pet!!!!!! Should I get the crazy cross lab/beagle from the dog shelter? Or the lab puppy from the hardware store pet shop? Maybe the frenchie from the good pet shop? Jeez, there's a fatal problem with every option. Alas, we will get a cockatiel! Chick should come end of September so we are arranging the cage and studying up on how to be bird parents.

2008-08-13T22:56:00.002+09:00

LARKS IN THE PARK

oala!

2008-07-15T18:22:00.004+09:00

Who needs a recipe when it's just as easy to mix any number of canned foods vaguely Mexican into a frying pan, stir it up into a nice slop, and add garlic?

2008-07-11T10:09:00.008+09:00

Sock Anxiety

Yes, that's right. You are looking at an enormous number of the same brand and size of new socks. After a long and arduous sock quest spanning decades, I have found these to be the toughest and most comfy. 25 bucks a pair but they last way way long. I will now proceed to throw away all the other socks in my drawer and never have sock anxiety again!

2008-07-07T23:37:00.005+09:00

I went to doc's today and got the news. After 24 weeks, the virus has disappeared and become undetectable in the blood. Congrats on that big fat piece of luck. It was a little late in doing so, so doc wants to extend the treatment from one year to a year and a half in order to ensure any hiding critters are gone, so I guess I'll be putting up with the meds a bit longer, but who cares! There is a chance the virus could come back after the treatment is done, and there is some liver damage that won't go away but knock on wood, its looking like the main worry is gone!!

Blueberry Letter

2008-06-11T16:25:00.005+09:00

More Pics! Munch is not all scary. I saw the paintings at a museum.

Below are friends at a cherry blossom picnic, and a little mysterious picture I took: what happened to the girl in the shoes?

The Cherry Blossoms fall like snow. Cherry Blossoms have many cultural meanings.

Strawberry Letter 23

2008-06-11T13:15:00.004+09:00

Hmmm...Well, Mom is a blog entry junkie and she needs a fix.

For the lighter side. Let's watch our fearless leader tell them how it is:

See if you can catch the thing about waffles.

Other than that news is that I'm finally up and riding my bike so my blood sugar is way down. Also, it's embarrasing, but I had a bit of a relapse with ciggarettes but on Kerry's advice I got this new med called Chantix which has got me off of them. I've gone a step up on the health front.

Here is a picture of my students and me on the Child Labor Awareness March in Osaka organized by 'Free the Children' a groups started by a 12 year old in Canada. This year was the best turn out. About 15 from my school.

Ami's shining collaboration

2008-04-27T12:03:00.006+09:00

My friend and artist Ray Dunlap made the piece of wood on the back. We tried a couple of different things before this one made the cut. It's finally in place! Click on the picture to make it huge.

MSF volunteering

2008-04-20T23:53:00.010+09:00

The photographer was from Germany and goes to Kenya every year and takes pictures of the slums near Nairobi with his digital version of the legendary Leica camera that Robert Capa (Spanish Civil War.. etc.) and all those guys used. It costs 6 thousand dollars. Most of the pictures were from the AIDS clinics run by Doctors Without Borders there. The gallery layout was designed by an artsy fellow who gave me a card that read 'independent curator.' Tokyo language is a little different so all the men sound a bit feminine or childish and the women sound educated. He was a very nice guy and it turns out he and Yukari have some friends in common from the art world in Kyoto. It was an event designed to attract people to a fashion goods building that has all those stores like on Rodeo Drive, handbags that cost 10 thousand dollars. It's in that part of Tokyo. Me and the other volunteer interpretor went downstairs to get a soft drink, and she was shocked when her little mango juice was going to cost 10 dollars. She and I followed the photographer around and translated everything he said for a dry run, but when it came down to the time when the viewers gathered for the lecture, the young member of MSF Japan, I think she was a nurse who actually went to Kenya, decided she wanted to do it herself so I ended up sitting around a lot. I got a lot of pictures I will laminate and use in the classroom.

Crossing my energetic fingers!

2008-04-10T21:26:00.003+09:00

I got the carnitine and energy juice packets in the mail. I took them and now I'm a bright-eyed funky monkey spry chicken, chronic fatigue out the window!!!!! Boy oh boy, I hope it continues like this!!!!!!
By the way, before this it was seeming like I was on slope into FUBAR land: tired, sleepless, and a lazy sod possum.

Dollar shop baking tinned this.

2008-03-31T19:33:00.008+09:00

Bran fiber cereal
Bran flakes
Oatmeal
Pancake mix
Milk
Eggs
Bananas
Apples
Cherry Cranberries
Dried fruit
Honey
Coconut Syrup
Peanut Butter
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Vanilla
Baking powder

MSF, here I come!

2008-03-25T21:24:00.002+09:00

I might have just landed a volunteer gig as an interpreter for Doctors Without Borders, the coolest of the cool!

Other things done instead of working on dissertation.

2008-03-24T14:12:00.006+09:00

> Saw Laurencin paintings at the art museum. (Paris,... so what?)

> Saw Munch paintings at another art museum. (Awesome, not as dark as you think.)

> Saw Bach's 'Matthew's Passion' by the Thomenchor (The real deal) at the Symphony Hall.

> Took a class from the premier academic in my field. (Rod Ellis)

> Made cakes and gave them away.

> Made spaghetti.

> Friend Blake came over from Tokyo.

> Got Bose speakers that hook up wireless for my bathroom, so I can listen in the shower.
(Now the whole house plays the same music)

> Downloaded lots of music and beefed up the sound library.

> Watched 2 years worth of Grey's Anatomy on 'youku' where you can watch any TV show like a youtube screen.

A factor of more than ten.

2008-03-05T09:01:00.003+09:00

I was ecstatic in the docs office when he saw the viral load test. They've decreased to less than 1/10th what they were contradictory to what he"d predicted before the results came in!!! Remember enzymes are a tad up. This therefore means there is an immune system battle happening now. Me and meds verses goonie critters and some liver cells are collateral damage. This is to be expected and not dangerous. Enzymes were higher than that before.
This was awesome news! Statistically, clearing totally by week 4 is very significant and means treatment will most likely be successful, and with the initial high load, I'm not there, but on the reverse side having no decrease in critters by week 28 can mean it won't work and I'm way out of that zone!!!!!! Congrats to me and knock on wood! Doc says taking it easy is important now. No workaholic stuff. That's easy.

Blood test

2008-02-27T09:30:00.003+09:00

At week 4, there was a blood test but the nurse screwed up and forgot to put blood in the tube for viral load, I went in a few days later and gave again but this delayed the result. It hasn't come back yet, but the enzymes haven't dramatically dropped off so doc estimates that I haven't had an incredidble response yet. He figures the 12 week mark will be more of an indicator. Since at the beginning the viral load was high, it would be unreasonable to expect to be cleared by week 4. In any case, I'm interested in the results so I will go in and ask for those again sometime this week. Video below.

A video.

2008-02-25T14:41:00.002+09:00

If you have time, check this out. 20 minutes, I think.
http://www.bhammash.com/MASH_events/Osaka08_pics/Osakavideo/walsh/walshvideo.html

Mom's pissed at home depot. Etrade is my peeve.

2008-02-19T23:05:00.002+09:00

Those guys won't let me change the PIN on my debit card. 30 emails, hours on the phone, 4 PIN reminders fed-exed, and a total of three debit cards issued. There is a missing reference number that the robot asks for. VISA operator handles this so Etrade doesn't know. Can't find their arse in the dark. Finally the big excuse is that when they send PINs abroad, they don't allow you to 'personalize' it. .. Come on!!! You are supposed to change your PIN at regular intervals or anytime you think it's been compromised!!!!! Loose security or more likely, a lie to shut me up. I told them to cancel all of the debit cards. I'm gonna send letters to VISA and Etrade and force them to be accountable on paper.

5th shot, results next week.

2008-02-19T19:01:00.003+09:00

This graph is not mine, but I got the 4th week blood test today. Doc says not to bother rushing in to see the results when I would be coming in a few days after that anyway. He figures it's not gonna be completely cleared since that is a pretty darn rare thing to happen, but it would be good to hope for a 10-fold decrease. Also I figure ALT and other enzymes will be 'looking good'.

4th shot

2008-02-12T21:43:00.000+09:00

4th shot so next week I get some blood work to see if I got a good and fast reaction to the meds. I'm just writing this cause I'm screwing around with my new gmail account. If it works out I'm gonna dump my old email account.

New Glasses!

2008-02-11T13:04:00.000+09:00

I finally got some glasses! Ray-bans, yes but no 'falling down' comparisons please. References to the Blues brothers or Thelonious Monk are welcome though!

Looking Good

2008-02-10T13:45:00.000+09:00

Stinky Kangaroo is in the cage and even if I feel a little tense sometimes it doesn't show,.. I think. I just wanted to add this message in case you all were worried and I didn't want to leave ya'll hanging with that last message, the introduction of Stinky Kangaroo. Something nice happened. Within the last few weeks 2 or 3 people that I respect said on different occasions that I was the best academic writer they knew! I'd better be honest and add the fact that most of by friends are well-baked and pickled 40 somethings who are still trying to figure out the plot. Jokes aside, it felt good.

Stinky Kangaroo! Go in the closet!

2008-02-06T12:47:00.000+09:00

For now I'm going with the name 'Stinky Kangaroo' and we keep him in the closet unless he jumps out swinging. I read on the net 'it's not a rage, it's an irritability with an obsession.' and I can see the ability to put something out of mind is key. I also don't really see myself going byserk, but rather going on and on getting more excited. Anyway, thanks mom, I got the kiss!

Mood Swings

2008-02-04T17:11:00.000+09:00

It's embarrassing to write about but I was throwing a temper-tantrum and couldn't get it out of my mind. Nobody was around luckily, it was in reaction to the fact that I couldn't get a hold of Yukari on the phone and she was ignoring me. I also noticed myself being mouthy at work last week, but I was saying just things. Today, after yesterdays panic, I'm feeling better and have been mentally training myself to keep my mouth shut. I'm gonna wait to see if I can control it before I inform the doctor because he will bring the dose down if he thinks i'm in danger, thus lessening the chances the treatment will be successful. I've been reading on the net and folks with similar experiences often encourage eachother by suggesting to keep a quiet environment. Also a common theme seems to be not to quit and stick it out. One person said things mellow out after week twelve. I'm a tough cookie and will keep my mouth shut if I start thinking sick shit. I gotta remember I have some funny sunglasses on at the time.

My second shot.

2008-01-30T11:10:00.000+09:00

I had my second once-a-week shot yesterday and there was no fever after it while I was sleeping so I think the fever thing was just at the beginning and it isn't a weekly phenomena. The blood sugars have mellowed a bit too, I think because the fever is gone. So,... if it continues like this, it's a piece of cake!!! I could almost say I feel better then normal. There is an ever so subtle spacey feeling but it's a comfortable one. The next big thing is week 4 when I see if I have responded and the virus critters are decreasing. There is some data about prognosis depending on where you are at week 4. So, I just keep my fingers crossed and hope things keep going as miraculously well as they have been with just about every other aspect of my life. It's a mystery that puts you at ease.

Sunday Morning

2008-01-27T09:54:00.000+09:00

I was getting more and more spacey yesterday as the evening progressed, but it was more of a matter of having sat on my ass all day and letting the sugars rise. I upped the Lantus to 75 and got a resonable reading this morning , plus I feel just fine!!!!!!!!!

First Full Day on Meds

2008-01-26T08:05:00.000+09:00

It was no big deal. I also was doing my big experiement so I had 5 different kinds of hand outs for different classes and was able to handle the complicatedness. My sugars were way way high and doc told me this would happen so while I was pumping more and more insulin to see when it would finally break, I got shaky in my last class and had to eat a candy bar after getting an 85 coming down from 455 sometime that day. So I gotta work out the new dosage of lantus that's all. No biggie. The morning was really easy. I hope the worst of the fever is over and its not a case of 1st day after shot is always hottest or something...

2nd Day I guess

2008-01-24T13:43:00.000+09:00

Started the morning sweaty at 37.3 degrees C, but not miserable or anything. Rode the bike through the cold rain to get to my one class for the day since the 11th graders have some tests today. I felt a little spacey but not in an uncomfortable way. I get the idea that its gonna be like this, sweaty nights but smooth days. Tomorrow will be the first full day with the meds on board.

So far so good

2008-01-22T19:55:00.000+09:00

Well, it's only been a few minutes since I got the shot as you can see in the picture, but I can't feel anything different yet. I'll keep updating this post tonight and tomorrow in a timeline fashion.

7:00 pm 1/22
Got there just in time to get the shot. Yukari came with.
They didn't mind the pictures.
It's a neighborhood thing.
OK let's get a Pizza!

6:05 am 1/23 Wed
I have been curled up in a fever position feeling good about my electric blanket but when I do get up and come downstairs it's not like I'm shivering and howling. It's a slight fever that seems manageable. I hope it drifts away in the daytime when I'm active.

11:28 am 1/23 Wed
Been in and out of bed this lazy slightly feverish morning just cause I got no other commitments. Meanwhile I'm peaking on the net and exchanging mails about how to get statistical software going. First of all I gotta figure out what statistics I need. D'uhh...

---By the way----
This is not one of those deals where if the treatment doesn't work things get grave all of the sudden. It's more like a high enough number of people with the virus have problems way way down the road so it's better to try this interferon while you are still young. The interferon also works better when you are young. No worries.

8:29 pm Wed
It ended up being an in-bed-all-dayer but I wasn't suffering or anything, it just seemed like the bed was a better option than tinkering with the computer. Yukari came home and we had dinner at the chinese place. Now we go to the sento. I figure that will make the medicine circulate more. I did get a little emotional about one of my students speeches but those are the best cries in life. Albeit pushed out a bit from the fever, a cry for beauty and a cry for hope. I'll show you the speech someday. Yukari says I look a little bug-eyed, but I don't feel any more spacey than usual. Now off to the bath. I feel a runny nose coming on but it's a good runny nose!

Next post will be a new one since I think I'm over the first stage.

Tomorrow evening start.

2008-01-21T09:50:00.000+09:00

Boy oh boy, what a question! It had me thinking , asking, and searching for such a long time. The doctor asks for my preference of treatment. Both are basically the same combination of drugs, but different brand names. Well actually there is probably some sort of difference difference between Interferon alpha A and apha B, but actually A was approved after B. Almost every medical article studies A and I can find no articles supporting B over A. To make things complicated he says he has a slight preference for B just because he has experience using it before and has confidence on being able to counter side effects. Also A is used with the brand of ribavirin 'Copegus' which is new to Japan. This makes him nervous a bit since there hasn't been enough time for any evidence to emerge about post-treatment side effects or the like. Rod did a lot of research on the net and sent me links. Yochi gave us lots of talks on the phone and sent over info on the two drug therapies. I decided to go with Pegasys and Copegus for a couple of reasons, none of which are solid:

1) All the articles are written about them, implying nobody is researching Intron anymore.
2) Material from Yochi seems to imply its better for genotype 1.
3) I did find a BBS that had people saying the side-effects were more managable.
4) It's newer.

Ok I will update tomorrow after the shot!!!!

Diss aint no thang

2008-01-18T19:15:00.000+09:00

Dissertation under way and launched. Will make progress just as soon as I watch these 7 episodes of CSI I rented because I have three days off in a row and nowhere to party (a thing of the past...) . At the video store they couldn't take my spiffy new credit card with the e-money function but I've been around town buying more diet cokes than usual just in order to see that sensor glow and hear that refreshing sound. Doc will have me starting the interferon meds and while asking my choice of therapy can't figure out if it's 5 grand a month or a mere 700 shmackarinoes. Thinking about how much stuff costs isn't his main concern .... I hope. It's 700 bucks but I only pay 2 hundred thanks to Momoyama, we find out since we got access to sister in law Yocchi who, being a pharmacist, has the books with the government set prices.
Laufer and Hulstijn have it whittled out to a manageable framework. It's a hop-step until I get my research question in the form of a hypothesis according to my main man, the researcher-supervisor David Field. Lots a folks in my corner. 22 days off the cigs.

daily headlines

2007-10-25T16:00:00.000+09:00

The train is a good time to dip into some reading about task-based learning. You can also people-watch simultaneously. Dictagloss and jigsaw tasks show no difference in accuracy of output, post test results on isolated items or amount of language-related incidents. However, the tests weren't aimed at the items the learners discussed with each other and they both worked fine to create a scaffolding environment because the learners had to write and worked in groups.

Bathroom remodeling should be done on your own terms, otherwise those guys will make it dorky. Looking at the receipt, I see 300 bucks for slapping up plywood on the ceiling but the tile guy was the Buddha master. The coolest thing he said was ' I'm in my 60's but I haven't gotten any chronic illnesses simply because I can't afford them.' This was in relation to the contractor boss who got some weird germ in his shoulder so they had to remove a bunch of cartilage and now he's got a joint that's basically bone and socket with no grease.

Making the insistent goofballs sit in the corner is something that must be done but who could have predicted the bonus display of gonads this joker acted out on his own. No pants down luckily. I think he was practicing 'airing out the sticky things' like I like to do under an air conditioner after a shower in the hot summer. By the way, this guy likes to tell the class how he's a sex-addict and spends his Sundays in hotels keeping quite active the whole day through. Pretty relaxed with himself for being 15. I wonder about the accuracy of his output though.

Steer the ship sometimes

2007-10-24T15:16:00.000+09:00

The frame has been presented and you have been obliged to respond with either A or B. Maybe you should wait for your turn. You sense the issue you want to touch on is implicitly present. It should surface sooner or later. But it never does so instead of waiting you make a soft leap and throw in your 'C' right there. You have slightly deviated from the rules but the force of it was unarmed. The initiator has the option of acknowledging and responding or slamming down and demanding the A/B dichotomy be adhered to. Such a violent move would imply the frame was intentional, a rhetorical trick from the beginning. Maybe it wasn't and we are allowed to veer. Maybe it was and the mask is off, or pinned on if you will. Either way we made it to C even if only for a bit.

To boldly go

2007-10-24T02:23:00.000+09:00

I'll be doodling on this blog to try to share and be understood when lucky. This makes one more of this brood in the loop of blogs. Please add this one to your links and I'll do the same. I look forward to clicking around and getting reality updates from all directions. I warn you however that I reserve the right to make no sense at times.