This is what I want.

With every new class, I change rooms.  On Wednesday, I change rooms five times, but teach the same material, so I end up writing the same agenda and phrases on the whiteboard five times - and in a rush.  If you knew what my hand writing looked like, you would feel pity for my students.  If I take my time to write something, it becomes legible, but never pleasing.

According to KoreaBeat, some schools will try moving the students from class to class rather than the teachers.  This is for high and middle school students rather than university, but I am pleased with they will experiment with the new plan.

I hope it is clear why teachers would like the idea - and not merely for selfish reason, either.  Our time spent preparing and organizing will decrease, meaning we can spend more time with the students, actually teaching.

I was surprised, but interested, to hear a reason why some teachers and administrators might be against the change.  It is a good reason, just one I hadn’t thought of.  If students stay in one room, they can care for that room, possibly decorate it and keep it clean because they have to spend time in it - they might feel ownership for that room. “I want to keep the room clean, because I don’t want to sit in a pigsty for six hours a day”.

That’s a good reason for high schools and in understanding why it isn’t a good reason at my university teaches me a little about the bigger picture.  Our students are already moving from class to class.  They come to our building (strangely, the engineering building) for English then move to a different building or floor for their next class.  First and second year students are taught one hour by a native speaker and one hour by a Korean English teacher.  Every hour, then, I switch classes and maybe this is reasonable.

Maybe.

One person moves or twenty.  One person packs and unpacks a book, an attendance book, class notes, pens and markers, homework, prepares the whiteboard... or twenty students pack and unpack one or two books and a pen.

Yeah, ergonomically, I should move.  But Koreans should understand my unique and special history. 

bicycles in the news

Somewhat creepy, but definitely well-experienced designer, Andre Kim, is now working on bicycles.  The Joongang article describes his bikes a little and also mentions Chanel and Gucci as other new entrants into the bicycle market.

Korean designer Andre Kim says he wants to bring color to bicycles, pictured right with models. Provided by Freya Hatlem-Olsen

Meanwhile, also from the Joongang (via Marmot's Hole), police in Ulsan have created a bicycle squad.

A newly organized 11-member police bicycle squad carries out its first patrol in the city of Ulsan after its inauguration on Thursday. The squad is the first of its kind in Korea organized by a local metropolitan police agency.[NEWSIS]

Among other things mentioned in the article, bicycle police squads apparently improve the public's perception of the police.  I suppose it's hard to sleep in a quiet backstreet on a bicycle.  Less sarcastically, I expect that the ability of the police to interact more easily and the requirement to be more transparent (you can't hide much on a bicycle) will help.

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If only the weather were better, I would add some personal cycling news.  Alas, I can only look out the window at the falling rain.

Dracula sneezes

I am sick, although I am told tonsillitis is not contagious, and am more conscious of disease-spreading behaviors.

On the bus yesterday, a man in front of me was resting with his arm over his eyes.  He coughed many times, but at least he didn't spray his own eyes.

In class a student coughed loudly and vigorously in my general direction without covering his mouth.  Well, many students do that, but this one had taken a winter course with me an dI knew him fairly well so I teased him and told him, and the class about "Dracula sneezes".

The photo is from the print version of Time.  Here is the online version with no picture.

It took me a while  to figure out why they sneezed into their elbows.  This way they can still use their hands without undue concern.  They can shake hands or touch door knobs or the like.

Tuesday night I went to Emerg and was given a needle and two days worth of medicine and told to come back during business hours to see the proper doctor.  When I returned, yesterday, after having been coughed on and the like, I also bought alcohol swabs to disinfect my hands when I am away from a fully-equipped bathroom sink (At the university the sinks have cold water, no soap and no towels.  Some people use a wad of toilet paper to dry their hands but I worry too much about people later in the day who may need that TP more desperately).  The pharmacist who helped me choose the alcohol swabs seemed to roll her eyes a little at why I was buying them as if she thought I was a hypochondriac, but I am tired of being sick.

Actually, as I think about it a little, she rolled her eyes at me the same way I rolled my eyes at a co-worker who would always open push-doors by pushing at the top of the door, not the commonly-used handle.  Sorry, Bill.

Start your article with a hook

In the Korea Herald is an article about SCUBA diving in Korea and the title is "2nd best place to enjoy summer: under water".  I love to swim and dive; so much so that I have to wonder what could possibly rank higher.  In reading the article, I still wonder.  (Related: if this is their second best idea, what was their first?)

From the article:

She said diving contribute to a healthier lifestyle for expats for a number of reasons. First, she said diving is a very safe sport because you're not exposed to any possible injuries that often occur in sports we play on the ground.

"Diving underwater increases your cardio-vascular endurance and allows you to experience what it is like to move in a four-dimensional world like in space."

She said cardio-vascular endurance is the ability of the heart, blood vessels, blood and respiratory system to supply oxygen and fuel to muscles at a steady rate for a considerable length of time.

...

"Also, my love for the nature has driven me to learn more about it, and made me realize we, as divers, have so much to do to protect and preserve the marine life, which is surprisingly damaged a lot by old fishing methods, pollution on the land, deforestation, you name it. The more I dive, the more I want to get out there to make a difference, even if it's just by picking up garbage in the water."

  I need to make two snarky comments.  Again, I love SCUBA diving and feel it is a safe sport, but it needs significant training.  I think there are many who would question the relative safety of SCUBA compared to tennis, for example.  Still, it is not hard on your joints -unless you get the bends, in which case your joints fill with nitrogen bubbles and you could DIE!

"Maneuver in a four-dimensional world?"  Alright, including time, I guess there are four dimensions, but not many people maneuver in that fourth dimension.

Okay, snarkiness over.  I like the idea that diving will make people more aware of the environment and work to protect it.  I believe that is true.  On the other hand, I have doven with Korean divers and diving can be a way to get fresh sushi.  I remember diving in Koje Island and pointing out an octopus I saw under a rock.  I turned away, then looked back to see the octopus being stuffed into a bag.  Later, the diver's daughter ate the ring of tentacle on a stick like an eight-legged lollipop.

Here in Sokcho, I see men and women out harvesting the bounty of the ocean to such an extent that I can't believe they leave anything behind.

It looks like Dano is next week

I often find out about various events just before or as they occur in Korea.  The Herald used to do travel reporting on festivals that were concurrent with the festival - not much time to make plans to attend.

Well, I am giving four days notice.  Dano festival starts on May 24th and run to the 31st.

This is Gangneung's biggest event.  Gangneung City Hall ran a tour for local foreigners last year and here are my posts (1, 2, 3).  City Hall actually ran two tours for foreigners, one for those living locally and one for those living further away.  The former tour was good and I learned a lot about the culture and history behind the event - and had a good time.  A coworker who didn't live in Gangneung last year took the latter tour and found it poorly organized and was unhappy with the whole thing.

Yangyang Airport on the BBC

That claim-jumping other Brian has imbedded video about our white elephant airport.

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I guess the joke, if it were funny, is old now.  It's Brian in Jeollanam and I don't own Gangwon.

Born with the gift of laughter and the knowledge the world was mad

The quote above might be as true for me as it was for Sabitini's Scaramouch.

Random bit of bad news: KwandongAlex was sick and feverish ten days ago, KwandongWife was sick and feverish two days ago (and may still be) and now I, too, have tonsillitis.  It looks like I won't need surgery, just medicine and I've started taking the normal-for-Korea pack of six pills after each meal.

I have always had a cold or a runny nose.  I have a few allergies and foreigner's long nose but mine is pinched and narrow so all my life I have sneezed a few times a day -except now.  Tonsillitis has given me a sore throat but my breathing is so much clearer and easier.

I don't really understand the random illnesses I have had here. I've had pneumonia, Bells Palsy and now tonsillitis.  Bell's Palsy, in particular, is disease that strikes randomly and I've always considered myself too healthy to worry about pneumonia.

Random bit of good news: MSN Messenger on the Windows side side of the partition has 'found' the video camera so KwandongAlex chatted with GeorgianBayGrandma last night.  I had started to investigate why the camera wouldn't work, wasn't recognized, in Windows, but hadn't done anything.  Suddenly, now it works.  woo-hoo!

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Oh, Scaramouch is a great, swashbuckling sort of movie, but the end of the book resorts to some ugly politics (for our era, at least) to sort out the plot.

can you embiggen this photo?

There's gold on Jo Island

Conditions looked right for a rainbow but I was in a canyon of apartment buildings, so I picked a random one, rode the elevator to the highest floor and walked the stairs to the roof to take these photos.

By chance, this apartment had a great view of Cheungcho Lake.  In the foreground  of the picture below are several rows of pipes.  They will be towed north at some point to a deep water plant that, I guess, draws the water from over a thousand meters down to the surface and desalinates it.  I don't know how distilling water (or whatever other method they use to desalinate it) from a pure source differs from using a contaminated source - removing the salt requires enough work that most every other contaminant will be removed as well.

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I posted these pics in fairly large format, but they won't expand for me.  I hope they do for you.

Video Chatting

When MSN Messenger first came out, I put everyone I knew on my contact list and chatted with many of them frequently.  When circumstances allowed, I bought a web-cam and used it with a few people.

In the last two or more years, I have only chatted with my mother.  We chat using the web-cams so she can see her grandson -well, also to talk to me and such, but mostly for the chance to see her grandson that her cruel, unfeeling son keeps 10,000 km away.

In buying the new computer, an iMac with built in web-cam, I figured that video chat would improve or at least stay the same.

This is not the case.  Apple's iChat does not work with MSN Messenger.  I have the Windows OS as well and when I use it, the built in web-cam isn't found or recognized.  anyway, it isn't functional while using Windows.

Does anyone know if this is a problem with my version of Boot Camp?  I started checking an iMac forum, but was called away just as I started reading something on that subject.

I am tempted to set up Google Video Chat - I use Google for just about everything else - but it seems like a step backward.  I expected a new computer to expand my options (and it has, mostly) not simply exchange one option with another.  If I were changing because Google Chat were a better service, that would be one thing.  But to change due to software incompatibilities is another, less palatable thing.

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Oh, I downloaded Chrome on the Windows side and I like it.  Very functional but without any flash (I mean ostentation, I guess it features Flash animation and the like).

Sand sculpting in Donghae

From the Joongang:

...1st Korean International World Sand Sculpting Championship and Exhibition in Donghae 2009. The sand sculpting event, in Gangwon Province, will take place May 16 to June 28 with 30 artists from 15 nations. 

The WSSA (World Sand Sculpting Association) says the event finishes on the 17th, while the Korea Times confirms the original dates and specifies the location as Mangsang Beach, just north of Donghae and near the whale museum I visited earlier.

--

As an aside, look at the spelling of Korea in the Google results for my search.

An Influential English Daily in South Kroea

Thursday, May 14, 2009 | 9:17 p.m. ET ... A careful touch: A sculptor repairs a sand replica of Sungnyemun, which was burnt down last year, in preparation of the 1st Korean International World Sand Sculpting Championship and Exhibition in Donghae, Gangwon Province, Thursday. The event will be held through Saturday ..

This was the link for the Times.

Sokcho doesn't care about swine flu

Who would plan a 'hog rally' at a time like this?

Actually, I'm trying to find a place for the little guy to see a few Harleys.

Teacher's day fake out

This morning, in my nine AM class, a student arrived late, really late.  She is normally a strong student so I didn't feel she had slept in or any such thing.  Also, she came to class with a armful of flowers.

The words,  "Thank you" whispered, luckily, escaped before I could stop myself.  I tried to ignore the flowers and continue class, all the time thinking, 'today is Teacher's Day.'

At the end of class, a student gave me a 200ml bottle of orange juice.  The flowers were either for or from her boyfriend -yesterday was Rose Day, another triumph of Korean marketing.

First ride of the year and 'Somdari' review

I rode my bike nearly to Naksan Temple, which isn't a long trip.  On the other hand, my legs are sore this evening, but not aching; the ride might have been the perfect length.

I started by riding to a Naksan Temple on fire!

Relax, it wasn't on fire, but some metal certainly reflected a lot of sun at the base of the Kwaneum Statue.
Closer, we can see a few trees are growing on the hillside.

On the south side of the temple, on Highway 7, at Seorak Beach, is Somdari Chocolate.
I stopped in and the chocolatier gave me a glass of water without my asking.  After looking around, I ordered an ice chocolate drink for 5,000 won.

It was fantastic!  Strong and rich and sweet enough that I had to ask for another glass of water once I had finished it.  Like Travolta in Reservior Fiction (or whatever the movie was called), I have trouble paying five thousand won for a chocolate drink, but this may well have been worth it.

They make chocolates onsite and they all looked good, although the box titled, "Seafood chocolate" gave me pause.  I don't think they were serving Korea's version of Monty Python's chocolate Frog (it has a frog, lightly killed, in it), but rather some interesting translation work.

I plan to return to try the clam chowder they also serve.  It does appear to have seafood in it.
Anyway, after my stop, I headed home, taking an inland route, increasing my total distance to 25km.  I would like to ride to work in the last week of May and that's around 70km, so I have some work to do.

1st North Korean Defector living in Gangwondo

Here is a man who just seems comfortable.

From the Chosun, comes a biography of Rhee Young-gwang, the first defector from North Korea.  His defection is particularly interesting as North Korea was doing better economically at the time.

Excerpts:

As a 21-year-old North Korean soldier, Rhee Young-gwang crossed the border and came to South Korea in the night of Sept. 18, 1967, just three months after he entered the military. At a press conference one month afterwards, Rhee said, "I came here to travel the world." Intelligence agents and journalists alike had a hard time with his seemingly preposterous reason for defection at the height of the Cold War. 

Now, 42 years later, Rhee is living deep in the mountain in Jeongseon, Gangwon Province, having chosen a philosophical life in nature rather than globetrotting.

Rhee Young-gwang (right) and his wife, Park An-ja

But travel is still on his mind. "My dream is to sail from the East Sea down to the South Sea and then to the Yellow Sea and reach the Yalu and Tumen Rivers in a rubber boat when the Koreas are unified. Then I would like to go to Fiji and live peacefully until I die," Rhee says.

hhkkl

The papers are full of good news!

Another inspiring story, this time from the Joongang.  Climber Um Hong-gil, completed a promise he had made 23 years ago to build a school in Nepal where a fallen Sherpa had lived.

Mr Um was previously mentioned here in March.

Good for him

Korea Herald article and photo.

Olympic Gold Medalist Bak Tae-hwan met with swimmer-with-a-disability*, Kim Sae-jin recently to offer support and coaching advice.

From the article:

Beijing Olympic gold medalist Park Tae-hwan, 20, has inspired a junior disabled swimmer.

Only recently did was it known that Park met Kim Sae-jin, 13, a junior swimmer with congenital dysplasia, on April 14 in a swimming pool in Gangnam, southern Seoul.

According to SK Telecom Sports, Park's swim team, the two swimmers met right after Kim's dream, which was a meeting with Park, also known as "Marine Boy," was conveyed to Park. Their meeting was filmed by MBC-TV. It will air on the "MBC Human Docu Sarang" program on May 15.

Kim went through hardships in life despites his age. He was born with a limb deformity and he was adopted when he was only five months old. Luckily, his supportive mother, Yang Jung-sook, 41, and his own willpower gave him the strength to lead a productive life.

The junior swimmer's hard work finally paid off; Kim won seven medals, including three gold medals, in Britain's National Junior Swimming League that took place in Sheffield in March.

Meeting with Park was dream come true for Kim. This promising swimmer always wished for three things; meeting Park Tae-hwan, participating in London Paralympics (Olympics for the disabled) and becoming a member of the national swimming team.

I have nothing but good things to say about this.

The more I read about Mr Bak though, the more I realize I'm old fashioned about sports.  I know amateur sports teams are taking on more blatant sponsorship deals every year, but I still don't like it.  What kind of name for a swim team is SK Telecom Sports? By the way, I would love to get back into coaching, so if SK Telecom wanted a Canada-trained coach/ ESL teacher, I might be available.

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Around 15 years ago, Canadian sports groups changed the names for describing athletes with disabilities.  It was felt that " disabled swimmer", for example, with 'disabled' at the beginning, unduly emphasized the disability.  "Swimmer with a disability", puts the person first.  It's a good idea but around 14 years ago, I usually saw "SWAD" in competition programs and to call someone a SWAD seems little improvement.

Sleepers

Sleep in class, get post online!

Is the blur tool useful for anonymity or just creepy?

A second year student.
A first year student.

Well, KwandongAlex was taken

This man is not my son.

I like the blur feature for obscuring phone numbers and such.

Butterfly

There's nothing special about this butterfly.  Like all butterflies, it's beautiful.  I guess I'm just showing off the macro feature of my new camera.  The original photo on my screen is much bigger than the live version.

Cyworld: Explorer, Firefox and Safari

As part of their homework, third year students are required to make three videos through the semester. Most post their videos to Cyworld and send me a link. I am able to access most of these videos with any of the three browsers I use.

Well, until two weeks ago, I used Firefox almost all the time and Explorer the rest. These days, I use Safari (Apple's browser). if it doesn't work, I shut down, change OS and try Firefox. Finally, I try Explorer. Explorer always works but I wonder about viruses and spyware, feeling that Firefox offers more protection. Sarfari apparently offers so much protection I don't see any anti-virus software or concerns.

Anyway, today, I was able to watch all but four videos on Safari. The "mini-hompy"s (a typical Korean abreviation of Mini -homepage) didn't even open. On Firefox, they opened, but the video wouldn't play. Finally, after re-entering my login data manytimes, I was able to get to my emails in Explorer, follow the link and watch the video.

Maybe, for completeness, I should try Chrome, Google's browser.
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One other thing about Safari is that when I hover over a link, the link doesn't appear anywhere for me to read. In Firefox and Explorer, I can see the link URL before clicking on it. I like that better.

Warning: Feral bear loose near Wonju!

It escaped from a farm in 2007 and wants to eat your huney!  No word if there is also a tigger loose.

From the Korea Times:

Regional environmental agencies, civic group Korea Wild Animal and the Plant Service Association along with other experts are to carry out the shooting, though a final attempt to catch the bear alive will be made. 

Local residents have welcomed the decision. 

Manchurian black bears are on the verge of extinction and natural monument No. 329. 

The ministry has imported 27 from North Korea and the Maritime Province of Siberia since 2004 as part of a restoration project.

However, those bred at farms are ``hybrids,'' which are genetically different from those that are government-protected, environmental officials said. They are bred for meat and gall, which is known to be good for men's stamina.

I think they are using a different definition of 'known" than the one I am familiar with.  Perhaps, here, it means something more like, "believing in a crazy-ass superstition despite all evidence to the contrary and allowing horrible suffering for financial gain".

The bear could be a threat to people in the vicinity, although if it hasn't hurt anyone in two years it seems likely it won't in the future.  It is damaging crops and farmland and sadly, I have to admit that recapturing it or putting it down* are probably the best courses of action.

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*I think of this euphemism everytime I suggest someone who is holding my son to set him on the floor.  It takes a real effort not to smile or grimace while saying, "put him down".

Biryeong Falls, Seorak National Park

Today, the Coast Guard had their semi-annual picnic in Seoraksan and the picnic included a hike to Biryeong Falls.  As Kwandongwife is a coastie, the little guy and I were invited.

Although I thought I had been just about everyplace in the park, I had missed this place.

From the Seorak Dong entrance (closest to Sokcho), your choices are some seriously long hikes or several around 2-4 km.  These shorter hikes all seem to be pool table flat for eighty percent of the hike and ranging from steep to very steep for the final bit.  The hike to Biryeong is no exception and wheelchairs could probably make the first kilometer and a half.  The final 700 meters include a lot of steel stairs, some with fencing overhead to stop or slow down falling rocks.

The little guy had a fever through the night, but recovered in the morning.  Still, I didn't begrudge carrying him when he asked.  By the end of the event, he was tired and now he is feverish again.  I foresee a trip to the hospital soon.

Anyway, we saw a few animals along the way.
I caught this frog and showed him to my son.  After I returned him to his pond, a man told me to wash carefully.  I planned to, anyway, because the pond water was dirty and I was worried about parasites.  He explained, though, that he was concerned about poison.

The frog did have bright warning-style coloration, but only on it's wonderfully orange belly.  I didn't think there were poisonous frogs in Korea.  I did wash my hands and don't seem to have suffered any strange effects.

I was more cautious with the snake we saw and chose not to catch it.  It was about 30cm long and not at all afraid.
The hike started at an overflow parking lot 2km from the main entrance.  We then hiked to the entrance, which was about the halfway point of the hike.  Once we had visited the waterfalls, we returned to entrance area and picnicked under some trees.  Carrying the little guy slowed us down so we arrived late - happily I was carrying my beach blanket so we settled down to lunch quickly.
I recommend the hike, especially if you don't have much time.  This hike doesn't have the long views that the other hikes do.  This is more intimate, although not private.  Actually, I don't know how many people normally do this hike as I was surrounded by over 100 coasties.  Still, no short hike near the main entrance is going to be solitary.

Oh, in case of emergency,  figured I could call 122, as it would be a Coast Guard emergency - is that funny?

Getting comfortable at home

The new iMac computer is working great and it is almost fully set up.  It will take significant time to get really familiar with it, though.

The computer came with Korean instructions in hard copy although it was easy to set it to operate in English (or Korean).  I downloaded some manuals but I feel I am still missing stuff.  When I first set the computer up, I was surprised at having only four USB ports and a short cord for the mouse.  It seemed damn inconvenient although serviceable.  I received help partitioning the drive and in doing so, saw the serviceman plug the mouse into the keyboard.  Turns out the keyboard has two USB ports built in.

Am I just unobservant or was that tidbit included in the Korean instructions?

The computer looks great on my desk.  The CPU and hard drive and all that are built into the monitor.  The keyboard is notebook sized or possibly even smaller.  combined, I have more desk space with the desk top than I did with the notebook.  I am no longer balancing textbooks on open drawers or pulling kitchen chairs close to pile needed materials on.

Everything is backwards or, at least, turned 90 degrees, on the iMac.  The on/off and other controls are on the upper left, instead of the bottom left.  To close a window (can I still use that word?), I click on an icon at the upper-left instead of the upper-right.  The tabbed pages in Safari close on the left side rather than Firefox's right side. ...

I can't compare Apple with Windows because my closest comparison is the old and slowly failing notebook, which I will continue to use a great deal until this semester finishes.  The features on this iMac blow the notebook away but Vista might do the same.

The trick is not to think outside the Microsoft box, but ignore that box even exists.  There are a lot of similarities (Safari and the newest Explorer both look a lot like Firefox) but the key is results and not how the two paths are different.  Hmm, paths and boxes -mixed metaphors, I guess.

Boats, big and small

The weather for Children's day was fantastic. The little guy's mood was more variable and I was lucky to finish the day on a high note so he didn't go to bed cranky.

Someday, I'll learn what order to upload photos. This pic of people on sit-on-top kayaks was the last thing we did that I took pictures at.

I was concerned that the boat wouldn't hold me. With the little guy aboard, we topped 105 kg and every other boat was paddled by a child less than half my weight.

The boat was fine but KwandongAlex was disturbed by the rocking and by the way the paddle dripped water on his head on occasion. Later, we had cotton candy and he was cheered immensely.

This was at the Canoe Club on Lake Yeongnang. It is actually a club for competitive Kayaking and no canoes, recreational or sprint, were in sight.

Before attempting the kayaks, we went to tour the Coast Guard ships.

A three-year-old with a gatling gun!

A SAR boat. It looks like a lot of fun to race around on.
On the main deck.

Our final stop on Children's Day was Sokcho Beach, where we had a good time, I swam (very briefly) and we picked up 25 discarded, twisted sparklers.

The limping man says

Clean up your fucking sparklers at the beach when you leave!

I am not crippled, but I am limping.  It's ironic that it happened to me as I frequently take some time to collect them and remove them from the beach.

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Every one knows what a 'sparkler' is, right?  It is a length of wire that has 30 cm or so covered in some bright-burning compound.  When the tip is lit, it will burn brightly and shoot sparks.  It is mostly safe when in someone's hands (although I have been burned once or twice).  The ones I find, twisted and mostly buried in the sand, are half-ass caltrops.

a smaller photo

This photo may be a repeat, but now it is blogging sized.  I'm learning.  It was darn hard to find after I adjusted the size and saved it, though.  I hope that gets easier.

Posting a pic on Safari

I'm not hunting wild animals in Africa, I'm trying out my new iMac.  It's beautiful and seems to have a lot of features but I don't know how to shrink a picture - I normally post pics around 100kb, but this is likely around 2mb.

Oh, the picture itself?  My son's footprint -concave although it looks convex - at Sokcho Beach.

I expect to love this computer, but it will take a while to stop expecting things to work the way Windows does.

having fun

My mother took the first picture, although I trimmed it a fair bit.

Road Trip

My mother is visiting and we rented a car on the weekend as I have Monday off. I had planned to go to Yeongwol and Taebaek, but decided they were too far. They probably aren't that far, but we were travelling with the little guy and I wanted a trip we all could have fun on. For the record, the longest drives were about two hours and the little guy was great in the car.

So, instead of Yeongwol (I wanted to visit the astronomy observatory), we went to Jeongdongjin and Donghae, returning through Odaesan.

The pictures are in reverse order - I seem to recall blogger uploaded photos in the order I placed them in the past - so I will tell my story in reverse

.elpmet gnoejloW...
Alright, we arrived in Odaesan just before dusk and ran through Woljeong Temple and Sangwon Temple. Below is Sangwon seen from the trail.

Before Odaesan, we went, not to Donghae, but to Mangsang's (just north of Donghae) whale museum. We all enjoyed the whole museum but the little guy most liked the dinosaur models. There were also some fossilized dinosaur footprints that were pretty cool.

Before Donghae, we were in Jeongdongjin. We enjoyed the beach and the hourglass (yearglass?) but the best part was the ship on the hill, part of Suncruise Resorts.
We had an expensive but good meal -your entry ticket gives you a discount, don't throw it away.
Our first stop was the Pre-history museum in Yangyang. There were signs for the museum before construction began so I didn't believe there really was a museum. There is, it's big, beautiful and modern, and it's fun. I wouldn't come to Yangyang for it, but if you are already here, you should see it. It's just across the street from Sol Beach resort.

Last snow (Again)

Suicides in Gangwon

I don't have a lot to say; I prefer to attempt humour or sarcasm and there's little material for that here. Still, I can probably do as well as Dram Man did.

Somehow, troubled people found each other online and made and followed plans to meet up in Gangwondo to commit suicide together. " 12 people in five groups have killed themselves in Gangwon. They belong to diverse age groups ranging from teens to people in their 40s, and they apparently plotted the joint suicides in cyberspace..." (Joongang).

The Joongang helpfully also explains in detail how they did it.

Also in the Joongang, is a letter to the editor about the suicides. Here is an excerpt:

This year, unemployment and family issues caused by the economic crisis have probably been a major reason why some people have taken their own lives. To find out everything you need to know about ending your own life, all you need to do is spend some time searching online and eventually you will find what you want to know.

As of 2007, 24.8 out of 100,000 people in our country killed themselves, the highest rate in the Organization of Economic Corporation and Development. If we cannot solve the problem of suicide in this country, our long-term future looks grim and we will forever be labeled as a country prone to suicidal tendencies.

The police have already revealed a plan to mobilize officers specializing in cyberspace to monitor the Internet sites that offer information on suicide, but in reality it is easier said than done to check every posting on countless Internet portals where information on suicide can be delivered in secret.

Therefore, the responsibility to delete images and writing related to suicide falls on the shoulders of the portals. It seems that teenager-frequented portals have become hubs for information about suicide because they have not done enough to monitor their sites.

In addition, the media must be careful when reporting on suicide. Describing methods used to end one’s life might give information to people contemplating suicide.

Let me comment on the last point first. The next paragraph in the letter describes how the groups killed themselves - a little strange, that.

The important parts of this article are the questions why do they kill themselves and what can be done?

At least some of the deceased are teens. I have trouble believing they are killing themselves over economic problems. In addition, although the suicide rate may be higher now, it has always been high here. People were killing themselves before the economic crisis (or between such crises).

I cannot compare Canada to Korea, as I have not lived there for ten years. When I try to make the comparison, I think about Korea now and Canada when I was a youth. Until university, I ate at least five evening meals a week with my parents and was involved with them daily. As I type this, I realize, in horror, that my son is at daycare for many hours a day so spends most of his time with teachers. He is having a very Korean upbringing.

Well, again, he is having a Korean now upbringing as opposed to a Canada then upbringing.

My main point is that I am not sure if I can honestly blame Korean family life or academic competition for the younger ones to have made this choice. I do think families need to observe each other more closely for depression and to act on what they see. In the letter to the editor, the writer discusses actions the police are taking and on the people running the internet portals.

They should be doing something but they must be in an impersonal position. I did not do research before writing this post (I'm a blogger, I don't do research), but if I had, would I be under investigation?

One prevention technique that has worked is informing lodging staff what to look for (Donga):

Around 7:38 p.m., another owner of a pension reported to police that five people in their 20s checked into his hotel. Seven officers arrived about 20 minutes later to find the group having a barbecue and drinking in the front yard.

When the officers asked them to cooperate amid a spate of group suicides, the five said they were just picnicking there.

When asked to give their addresses, each of the five gave different cities: Ulsan, Gongju, Bucheon, Siheung and Cheongju. The officers then concluded that they were there to commit group suicide.

Police asked the five to open the trunk of their car, and found ... items used in a recent series of group suicides in Gangwon Province. The five eventually admitted to police that they did indeed seek to commit group suicide.

I have to compliment the pension owners on their observation skills and well, compliment everyone involved in preventing the deaths.

I wish I had any kind of answer for why chose to kill themselves. To me, their motivations are completely alien and the things they do first are mystifying. Just as the two Columbine killers reportedly went bowling before killing, this group had a picnic.

We are one month away from a sad K-blogging anniversary. Three years ago one of our own committed suicide.

tonight's parade cancelled

The first photo is of some pre-Buddha's Birthday parade event, starting at 5:00pm. The second pic is of the grounds just after 5:00. The parade is cancelled. I'll try to post the make-up date, when I hear it.

World Malaria Day, April 25

I've been taking part in events over the past week; chiefly drinking gin & Tonics and killing the odd mosquito in our apartment. I recommend both activities for all readers.

The official website, which lists Korea as an elimination zone.

Previously at Gangwon Notes:

Confused Joongang Ilbo

Not-so-funny

sorry for the late notification

The Joongang has an article about traditional Korean homes and lodging in them.

If you had registered by the deadline, a week ago, you might have been able to stay at a traditional home in Gangneung for free. Still, you are still able to stay at one if you pay.

I am late in announcing the event and also lazy in describing it. Here is a long excerpt from the Joongang:

To promote hanok culture and help tourists find one they can stay in, the government set up a Web site (http://korean.visitkorea.or.kr/hanok) this month that contains information on 145 hanok available for lodging across the nation.

In addition, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization have been subsidizing renovations at over 100 hanok to make the aging homes more suitable for commercial lodging.

Visitors can search hanok by location, price and program. The site also has explanations on tourist destinations nearby, and an English language service will be available soon, the ministry says.

“The Web site was created to help visitors experience the Korean traditional residential style and learn about the advantages of living in hanok,” said Jung Jae-hwon, an employee at the tourism organization.

To mark the launch of the Web site, the ministry will provide free lodging and cultural programs for 80 people at a hanok in Gangneung, Gangwon, on April 25 and 26.

The Gangneung Seongyojang, built during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), was the first privately-owned hanok to be registered as a cultural asset. There will be traditional masked performances, folk plays and sessions on Korean etiquette and woodcraft.

Interested parties can apply via KTO’s Web site (www.visitkorea.or.kr) through April 19. A similar event is scheduled for a hanok in Andong, North Gyeongsang, on May 23 and 24. More information on the second event will be available later from the tourist organization.

Comet found by Yeongwol amateur astronomy

I had originally planned to write about the Joongang Ilbo article to mock the writer who mixed up insectarium for astronomical observatory. However, I was probably wrong and the writer right; the amateur astronomy also works at the insectarium so the writer doesn't seem to have screwed up - sorry for doubting you.

Still, the story is interesting on it's own as the amateur astronomy discovered a comet.

In related news, I will try to take the little guy and my mother, who is visiting from Canada, to Yeongwol, at least partially to see the observatory, this weekend. I now also want to see the Insectarium.

Computer down again - possible virus identified

I use Google's version of Norton anti-virus and PC Tool's Spyware Doctor. Now, I also use Ahnlab V3 because it is required at work.

A few weeks ago, Spyware Doctor informed me that I had around 200 copies of "BACKDOOR GirlinRed " on my computer and chose to have them removed. Afterwards, I lost internet capability but I wasn't ready to link the two events chiefly because my computer is so old loss of services is common.

The great people at the service centre at my university fixed me up and I enjoyed the internet for four days before learning that I had 194 copies of "BACKDOOR GirlinRed" on my computer. Once they were removed, no more internet.

Now, I am pretty sure that the virus (to an oldtimer like me, all these things are viruses - should I be saying malware or something?) or the anti-virus software process of removing the virus is the culprit, but I can't really say. For what it's worth, the problem seems to be a change in the Windows software that requires a backdoor and reinstall. MSN Messenger troubleshooting tells me that I have an invalid IP address.

From the Threatexperts: (link above)

Possible Security Risk
Attention! Characteristics of the following security risk was identified in the system:

Security Risk
Description
Backdoor.GirlinRed
Backdoor GirlinRed is a backdoor which will let infected system to be controlled for malicious purpose.
Attention! The following threat categories were identified:

Threat Category
Description
A malicious backdoor trojan that runs in the background and allows remote access to the compromised system

A malicious trojan horse or bot that may represent security risk for the compromised system and/or its network environment

A program that downloads files to the local computer that may represent security risk

Gangneung house

I just happened to walk past this restaurant in Eun-pyeong Gu, Seoul.

The king is dead, long live the king!

Now that Waterpia's rates have climbed beyond what I am willing to pay, I am happy to find that Aqua World has an extensive discount this month. I think that the 50% discount will put an adult ticket at around 12,000-15,000won, but I may be wrong.

The complex isn't as extensive as Waterpia's but it does have a good variety of pools.

To get there, take the same bus as for Waterpia; number 3 or 3-1. You need to ask the driver as (and I have never figured out why they don't just add a few more number) only some of the #3 buses go there.

mmm... erotic cigars!

Who knew that sour apple flavour was erotic?

Sokcho Bike Parade

All Gangwondo, and possibly all Korea had bike parade on Saturday. The theme at Sokcho was reducing CO2 emissions.

Here is some grandfather - tinkerer with a motorized bike - the trailer is filled with batteries.

Blogger has seen fit to shuffle the photos and I don't feel like re-ordering them. Below should be the fourth photo. 3km into the ride, I noticed that i was feeling bumps more and more strongly. Carefully, I threaded my way to the sidewalk and found the rear tire was leaking air. I expected to have to cross the road and catch a bus home, but for these would-be helpers.
In fact, they didn't have the proper adaptor for their pump so the tube was made completely unrepairable. At the back of the cyclist group was a truck that we loaded my bike onto and removed a rental (by the city of Sokcho - free for me) for me to complete the ride. All in all, it was wonderfully well organized.

This is near the beginning of the ride. The maximum speed seemed to be about 15 km/hr so we were grouped pretty tightly but at least the young and old didn't feel out of place.


The weekend was also the local Cherry Blossom festival and the entire route was bordered by cherry trees and a pink snow fell as we rode.
The bike at the front is the one I finished the ride on. It was made or set up for a ten-year-old so pedalling took some work but, again, the pace was not taxing. I quickly caught up to the main group.

I still haven't replaced my computer at home

I can use my computer at home for everything except connecting to the internet and it has seemed like too much work to copy blog posts written at home to a USB drive, take them to work, go to my office (itself an annoyance as my office is, well, not that far, but the farthest of all the ESL professors from the classrooms), and post to blogger. Expect posts...soon.

Oh, I had a great Bike festival in Sokcho, it seems most town in Gangwon had bike festivals and I will post photos - I'm really sorry that I couldn't give forewarning as the event was well run and fun.

In Seoul

Kwandongwife is halfway through a two week course in something Coast Guardy in Cheonan. We chose to meet in Seoul this weekend and here we are.

I may post pictures once I am home, but they'll mostly be of interest to family, I suspect.

Pranks: successful but not satisfying this year

I was unable to think of a good April Fool's Day prank for the blog. Certainly nothing to match the success of 2007. Several co-workers set their clocks ahead. I also learned that ESL teachers are not math teachers as they worried about being late for work - April 1 was a Sunday and most caught on before the day ended, but if they hadn't fixed their clocks they would have been early for work.

This year, I had two pranks in mind. We ESL professors move from class to class through the day. Each Wednesday, we attend the same rooms but the schedule is hard to memorize. I check my schedule until late May, not needing it for the last class and exam.

Three professors have thumb tacked their schedules to a bulletin board in the staff room. One of them had too much handwriting for me to replace, but the others were relatively simple to change. Relatively: I tried at home but the template was a challenge so I gave up after two minutes and asked a secretary to open the original files and I changed a few classes for Wednesday and printed them up.

The prank was not completely smooth; I tacked the new schedules up over the old ones but put the wrong one on top. One of the professors thought something was wrong as her schedule was in the wrong place., but accepted the change as puzzling but minor.

On Wednesday, I saw her read her schedule and head to her (wrong) class. I chased after her, unnoticed, and set my camera to video. She did go into the wrong classroom and was suitably surprised but I probably won't post the video (even if she does give permission). She might have had some media relations training as when she didn't know what was happening but did know she was being filmed (by this point) so she just didn't say anything. I tried to goad her into saying something but come off as a jerk in the video while she appears (correctly) as sweet and innocent and very good-natured about the joke.

Her husband's schedule was also changed but I had to leave the university to return home before he was exposed to the changes. I will find out on Friday what he did. He's kind of a big, muscular guy so I hope he took it as well as his wife (He will, he's also as good natured as his wife).

In another prank, I convinced a co-teacher to come to my class to threaten me (I do this often - When the teacher leaves, I ask the students to describe him for the police). He came in and my students were prepared with sticks and swords and trained a Lord-of-the-Flies sort of chant, "Kill the teacher, Spill his blood, Bash his head!"

This was late in the day and he was prepared for April Fool's type pranks. He was maybe a little surprised but not terrified or anything.

I may have to take a year off or plan my pranks for earlier in the morning when others might not be aware of the date.

Another reason to not post video is that the files are so large - the new camera is higher definition than the old one - I should have set it on a lower setting. The files are huge but maybe I can shrink them.

Six boring months until the next great day: Hallowe'en.