Sudoku on the iPhone

For the last year, Kaoru has been doing Sudoku puzzles in the newspaper. She's started buying Sudoku puzzle books as well, and swears that Sudoku is helping her keep mentally sharp.

Myself, I'd settle for mentally awake, so I decided to buy a Sudoku app for the iPhone. I actually researched it, and went with the app recommended as best for beginners, though it only had 50 puzzles on it.

It came with a tutorial, which I took advantage of, having never challenged Sudoku before. Then I tackled the first puzzle. It took me an hour and a half. I couldn't believe it! I just assumed that I was about the densest person in Japan, especially since puzzle #1 was surely the easiest puzzle.

So I redid it, and cut my time down to 65 minutes. Enough: I moved on to #2, and finished it in 15 minutes.

Today, I finished #40, and decided to go back and challenge all the old puzzles to see if I could improve on my original times. I figured I was now pretty damn good at this. I smiled in anticipation of acing #1, but it was still damn difficult. It took me just over 30 minutes.

I moved on to #2, and finished in 10. It appears that #1 was NOT an easy, level 1-type puzzle.

I mentioned this to Kaoru, and she said she'd like to take it on. I figured she'd embarrass me, but she couldn't even finish it (she said she was tired, and she prefers working on paper). Anyway, I'm pleased that I'm not mentally impaired.

A final note: We went for our regular flu shots tonight. After the Swine Flu, I had no desire to repeat the experience with the seasonal flu. Hopefully, now I won't.

Ten Days Later

I find it hard to believe it's been ten days since my last post. Time fries when you're having puns.

This past week, the headmaster of our school has been in Great Britain leading a group of alumni on a visit of graveyards. I can't make this stuff up. Our school was founded by Anglican missionaries 130 years ago, and now this group is over there looking at various missionaries' graves. Hard to believe.

The link between CMS (Christian Mission Society, the missionary branch of the Anglican Church) is pretty much severed. No one wants to come to Japan. There's almost no point. Only 2% of the population is Christian, and that number never changes. Also, Japan is, in so many ways, Westernized; it's just not a very sexy posting. China would be a sexy posting.

But it must be said that that 2% who are Christian are really Christian. They go to church every Sunday, unlike me, who certainly considers myself a Christian. Perhaps being in such a minority pushes them into having a stronger, more visible faith.

No School Today!

Kaoru and I woke up at 5:45 this morning to check out whether Kaoru had to go into work. The wind was blowing strong, and the rain was really coming down. Severe weather alerts abounded at 6:00, so she fell back to sleep on the sofa with a smile on her face while I took a shower before checking back to ensure that the keiho were still in effect at 6:30 thus closing my school. They were, so Kaoru and I both went back to bed.

About an hour later, I remembered I needed to bake bread (bread machine, though I can make it the old fashioned way if I'm in an American kitchen rather than a Japanese one, so I went back down, got the loaf started, and went back up.

A couple of hours later we got up for real and made breakfast: Kaoru bake biscuits and made coffee, I fried up some bacon and made a cheese omelette. By this time, the typhoon had pretty much moved on, and the sun broke through around 1:00. Of course, the yard, driveway, cars, basically everything was covered with leaves and twigs, and a couple of dead pine trees just behind our property snapped in half, but no real damage was done.

I called my folks because my British cousin and his wife were visiting them. I always see Derek and Pauline when I go to England with my students, so it was good to talk to them. After, we drove into town to take care of some banking stuff and do some shopping. It was good to put the top down as we drove, listening to Magical Mystery Tour at a volume that caused Kaoru to cringe.

No school today, and nothing so special to write home (or a blog) about, but it was a good day, relaxed. Now the wine is uncorked (a 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon from the Clare Valley in Oz) and in the glass.

A pleasant time was had by all.

The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind

For the second time this term, the 9th grade classes have been closed for the rest of the week due to H1N1 Type A flu. My teaching schedule is getting riddled with holes. It's hard when you only teach each class once a week. With some of these classes, I've already missed three lessons. Fortunately, I built some extra lessons into the schedule, so my core textbook-based lessons are still safe.

Tomorrow in the early hours of the morning a major typhoon is scheduled to hit Japan. I have to check at 6:30 am to see if there is any keiho (severe weather warning) posted for Osaka. If there is, school is cancelled and I don't have to come to work. If there isn't, school isn't cancelled, and I DO have to come in. For me, it would be great NOT to have to come in, as my only class tomorrow, in the 9th grade, has already been cancelled. The 11th grade students and their teachers are on a 4-day school trip to Hokkaido, so those classes and my two scheduled meetings (International Department and English Department) are cancelled as well. If I come to school tomorrow, it will just be hanging out and doing prep work.

Wait and see. In the meantime, here is a link to the Japanese Meteorological Agency's English site:

http://www.jma.go.jp/en/typh


Share the suspense!

Hold Me Tight

I really wasn't going to blog tonight. I posted my usual daily cryptic pseudo-poetry updates to Twitter and Facebook, and have settled in with my glass or red.

But seriously, this Beatles box is just great. I'm now listening to early Beatles, and the remastered versions are just so damn good. I like the fact that they're stereo recordings; they sound just fine. It's exciting to be excited by this music again.

So forgive me for the brevity. I'm up to A Hard Day's Night, and it's only 10:30.

Yeah, yeah yeah!

The Beatles Stereo Box set arrived today. It's awesome!

I'm listening to Abbey Road's Oh! Darling right now. Cranked. Everything is so up front, crystal clear, NOT muddied, muddled. And it begs to be played loud.

I have just replace my entire primary Beatles collection (all the studio albums plus Past Masters) with this box set. Kaoru has been VERY understanding, but I suspect she thinks I'm just a tad bit daft (British English to match the mood). However, even Kaoru could tell the differences is sound quality between the 1987 discs and these remastered ones.

Damn, I'm listening to I Want You (She's so Heavy), and the organ blows me away! I just wish I could listen to all the albums tonight.

The mundane: I returned to work today, and discovered I'm still not 100%. I was not my usual teacher self. The rhythm was off. It seemed to take me twice as long to do simple tasks like taking attendance. Still, I got through the day without screwing anything up too badly.

I need to go. The "second side" of Abbey Road is starting. I need to listen.

Another Healthy Sunday

Yesterday was good, but today has been better. Knowing I was good to go from the moment I awoke, I have felt energized. Watched my final M's game of the season (we won, Junior hit another homer, maybe he'll stick around for one more year), did some yard work, did some school worked, marinated meat for the barbecue (now if only the damn coals were faster), am now on a second a second beer (at 5:55 p.m., I think I'm doing OK for a Sunday). Tonight I'm barbecuing a chunk of beef which I actually started marinating last night, a pork tenderloin, and some chicken breasts, enough meat for three or four main dishes over the course of the week. Last night I made spaghetti and meatballs, but froze 14 of the meatballs in two packages for future use as well.

I also have been "tracking" my Beatles stereo box set which I ordered from amazon in the States a month ago (they were sold out). It finally shipped out yesterday, and apparently arrived in Osaka at 11:00 this morning and where it apparently still sits, having been "scanned in". I paid for "premium shipping" and still save $150 over the cost of the box set here in Japan. It's stupid to be impatient after having waited a month, but impatient I am.

Tomorrow it's back to work. I'm actually looking forward to it. I least I can ride my commuter trains without having to worry about catching the Swine Flu. Now it's a case of been there, done that.

H1N1 Type A Flu: Saturday, Day 6

Woke up to another day of pure health and splendor. The sun was out, and I felt great. Kaoru and I went to the clinic in the morning, where I was declared free of the H1N1... to hell with it, the Swine Flu...and given written permission to return to work on Monday. It's been a strange week. To reiterate:

Monday: Sent home with high fever, diagnosed with Swine Flu.
Tuesday~Thursday: Sick with Swine Flu
Friday: Feel better
Saturday: Doctor says I'm OK to go back to work on Monday

What did I do during all this time? Rest, for the most part. Kaoru and I did rent five DVDs of Dexter, Season Two, which we just finished watching tonight (and why she didn't rent ALL of Season Two I'm not sure, but as all married people know, it is better not to press the matter and just get the rest of the discs tomorrow when I return the first five). 

I also published three photo albums on Facebook, which you can access here if you want:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=147524&id=747126693&l=80538669a3


http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=147523&id=747126693&l=f441a8eabe


http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=147514&id=747126693&l=51db017c59

This was the first time for me to publish photos on Facebook, and I was surprised that it all went so smoothly. And let's see, what else? Oh, I know! I started this blog, and have thus far been pleased with how well the site is working. I swear, two years ago I'd write a post, go to post it, and it would all disappear in cyber limbo, an unpleasant experience at best.

Over the course of the week, I've managed to update both my Facebook status and my daily Tweet using the iPhone app Duo, which takes one message and pushes it to both sites. Since I've been limited to 140 characters, I've been posting pseudo haiku, which I've enjoyed writing.

I've eaten mainly comfort food (thanks, Kaoru) including Mac and Cheese, meatloaf. chicken noodle soup, oven baked chicken, and spaghetti and meatballs (tonight, I cooked for the first time this week). Oh, and Mister Donuts donuts...excellent fever food! And two still in the box for tonight...yum yum.

And today, I washed my car.

It has been years since I've had any flu... I take the yearly shots instead. The Swine Flu unkindly reminded me of how miserable the flu is. I made an appointment to get my regular flu shot today, when I went it to the clinic for clearance. It's been a miserable week, and I recommend that all of you get BOTH types of flu shots when they become available. 

H1N1 Type A Flu: Friday, Day 5

Today was a much better day. The headache is gone, as is the sore throat. I started running a slight fever in the afternoon, but it has been no higher than 37.4º C (99.3º F), and has mainly been below normal; right now, 36.5º C (97.7º F). I'm ready to get out of the house, but will wait till tomorrow, when I'll go back to the clinic to get clearance to return to work on Monday.

There is a story on all the wires and CNN about an American father jailed in Japan for trying to get his children back from his Japanese ex-wife, who "kidnapped" them back to Japan. Here's a link to the CNN story:

http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/2009/10/01/tennessee-man-jailed-in-japan-i-want-americans-to-know-whats-happening-to-me-2/

What is weird is that this is not a story in Japan. I mean, not at ALL. It's not considered news. Very strange.

H1N1 Type A Flu: Thursday, Day 4

Today was the first day I slept through the night and well past my normal, pathetic wake-up time of 4:55 a.m. I opened my eyes at 7:10, but didn't really move until 8:30. My headache seemed worse, but my fever has yo-yo'd between normal and 37.5º C (99.5º F) and the body aches and fatigue are gone. According to the doctor, I have to be fever-free for two days before I can go back to work. I also have to go back to the doctor to get paperwork saying I can go back to work before my school will let me go back to work! Needless to say, I hope the fever breaks soon, as the clinic is closed on Sunday and I really need to get back to work.

Kaoru will go back to work tomorrow. We were worried that she was coming down with this, as she's been toying with a similar fever, so we went to our usual clinic this afternoon (which was inexplicably closed on Monday when I had to go in), and tested negative (as did I), but Kaoru doesn't have any of the other symptoms.

I feel like I'm on the mend, but I need the fever (and this damn headache) to go away.