No update yesterday, because we went to Nara, about an hour away by train, and hurried out to get an early start. Thursday was a light day, anyway– the highlights were a visit to Nijo Jinya, which is a preserved Edo-period inn for feudal lords visiting Kyoto, and includes a number of slightly over-the-top security… Continue reading Nijo-jinya, Kaiseki, Nara
Author: Chad Orzel
Tetsugaku no Michi
(These regular updates are brought to you by the loaner laptops in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency, and the fact that jet lag has me waking up at 5 every morning, well before the restaurant opens for breakfast. They may or may not continue from Yokohama when we get there, but for now, it… Continue reading Tetsugaku no Michi
Saiko no Densha
(I think that’s right– we’re drifting into phrasebook stuff, here…) Another day of tourism, another golf shirt with visible salt crystals from dried sweat. Did I mention that it’s really frickin’ hot? Today was a split day– we spent the morning looking at temples near the Kyoto station, and after lunch took a train down… Continue reading Saiko no Densha
Sugoi Atsui Desu
My rudimentary Japanese will run out much too fast for me to keep up the conceit of titling all travel updates in Japanese, but we’ll run with it while we can… I don’t know if there’s a Japanese equivalent of “It’sãnot the heat, it’s the humidity,” so we’ll just go with this. When I told… Continue reading Sugoi Atsui Desu
Yoroshiku Onegai Shimasu
I’m sure I’m neither the first nor the last person to note that it probably says something about Japan that the ordinary meet-new-people ritual includes asking them “Please be kind to me.” But, you know, sometimes you have to be obvious. Anyway, I’m in Kyoto, typing on a loaner laptop in the hotel lobby. Don’t… Continue reading Yoroshiku Onegai Shimasu
Meet Your Guest-Bloggers
As mentioned several times hereabouts, Kate and I are headed to Japan on Saturday, where we’ll be spending three weeks touring around and attending the World Science Fiction Convention in Yokohama. We will have at least some Internet access, and I may post the occasional travel update from Japan, but I’m not going to try… Continue reading Meet Your Guest-Bloggers
O’Reilly, Reali, What’s the Difference?
A couple of days ago, Brad DeLong hoisted a proposal from comments (originally suggested by Bernard Yomtov): A reporter should not be assigned to cover subject X unless he has as good an understanding of X as a baseball writer is expected to have of baseball. Kevin Drum isn’t sold on the idea: Man, does… Continue reading O’Reilly, Reali, What’s the Difference?
The Science Fiction of the Gaps
A little while ago, James Nicoll posted about the shifting subject areas of SF: In fact, a fairly consistent pattern in SF is to retreat away from areas that have come under the light of scientific examination. When probes began to visit the planets, SF retreated to the stars (There are very few novels these… Continue reading The Science Fiction of the Gaps
USVI: Love the Hat
One final vacation picture: what with all the snorkeling and boat-chartering and hiking, I was starting to worry that I might seem too cool to be a physicist. There was a chance that I might meet somebody, and not have them realize immediately what I do for a living. At the same time, my Northern… Continue reading USVI: Love the Hat
Fundamental Research Funding
Michael Nielsen, who’s so smart it’s like he’s posting from tomorrow, offers a couple of provocative questions about the perception of a crisis in funding for basic science: First, how much funding is enough for fundamental research? What criterion should be used to decide how much money is the right amount to spend on fundamental… Continue reading Fundamental Research Funding