Meme Power
I figured this had to be put on the internet somehow…
Thanks to Mike for this. Fantastic.
Archive for the 'Commentaries' Category
Japan: Nagoya, Regional Differences
On Wednesday, Dec. 22nd, I had arranged to meet up with a medical school friend, Masaru. His hometown in Japan is Nagoya, which is located about an hour by Shinkansen from Tokyo. Although he also was acting as my translator during my trip, it was interesting to see another friend from home on my trip, as well as another narrative on various places I visited.
Japan: Tokyo, Lodging
Considering our first day in Japan was a shortened one, leaving the airport late in the afternoon and checking into our hostel in the evening, it was good to get a fresh start on day 2 (Tuesday, December 21st).
Japan: Arrival, Transit
Dan and I had started thinking about a trip together to Japan during his Spring Break roadtrip to the east coast back in March of 2010.  It was meant to be a return trip for Dan and a vacation for me, mainly as a post-Step 1 trip, albeit during winter break and not immediately after the exam. Plans solidified in the autumn with the purchase of airfare, JR Pass, and Dan booking a few hotels and hostels for the skeleton of our trip route. We both left the US from our respective airports on Sunday, December 19, and met up in Narita Airport, in Tokyo Japan on Monday, the 20th.
Umbrella Locker
I see lockers like this every once in a while; you put in your umbrella and get a key so that nobody walks away with it. It makes sense in a country where umbrellas are so important, but man, is it weird.
Teachers’ Cars
There are a lot of interesting cars here; here are two of the neater ones: an Alfa Romeo and a Legacy WRX.
This school has, strangely, tons of Subarus. I’ve seen a Porsche before, and a BMW.
Programmable Thermostats: Do they work?
Natalie recently found this article explaining why programmable thermostats save you money, and I thought I would share it because it is so useful. It’s apparently a confusing topic to most, and I’ve already gotten into several arguments about it. Actually, I remember thinking as a child that keeping the temperature constant in a house was more efficient than having it fluctuate a lot by turning the heat down when you left or went to sleep. After taking classes in heat transfer and control systems in college, it’s obvious to me that I was wrong, but most people have no reason to take such classes. Here’s a good article summarizing it in layman’s terms instead:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2970/does-turning-down-the-thermostat-at-night-save-energy
