March 12th, 2010
I have been fortunate enough to visit Japan a second time, once again to present work at a conference. The first stop was Tokyo and a nearby small town of Hiratsuka.
This is just part of the big city of Tokyo.
I had a nice view from my hotel room here. This neighbourhood is very expensive to live in.
Streets in Japan are often much narrower compared to what North Americans are used to. This is most likely a two way street, though some areas are unpassable by two opposing cars at the same time. In these cases, drivers must simply look for traffic ahead before proceeding.
I viewed some academic seminars at the University of Tokyo. On campus, space is apparently very limited. In the foreground of this picture, you see two buildings, not one. The upper building is supported completely separated from the building below.
I had one day in the small city of Hiratsuka. It was very rainy and as we were walking away from the ocean, announcements came through the city over loudspeakers that a tsunami was expected in a few years due to the Chile earthquake. Being next to the ocean in this location made me a bit nervous!
The Japanese train operators were also nervous because of the possible tsunami. The local train station was closed just before I was supposed to board one for Osaka. Although I did make it to another station by car farther away, my plans that day were delayed by several hours.
I have posted more pictures in my gallery, and am working on more blog posts to post soon!
Posted in Academia, Japan 2010, Photography | No Comments »
December 27th, 2009
Actually, it’s not so new. This new design is very similar to the design I used from 2006 to early 2009, with simplicity overall and the focus being on large samples of my photography at the top. This revision uses a simpler logo than before and a wider overall format.
I hope you like it. Enjoy!
Posted in Web Development | 1 Comment »
December 22nd, 2009
How pathetic. Anyways, there’s lots that is new, which I will insert here in sections in no particular order!
iPhone
After months of singing the praises of my BlackBerry, I got rid of it and moved to an iPhone. This was an expensive procedure because I am still on a contract with Telus, but selling my old phone and iPod touch helped offset the cost. For me, it’s a much better device that I am happy with. I really wish I could be happy with a BlackBerry for the wide variety of uses I get out of my iPhone, but the manufacturer just doesn’t want to put enough effort into developing the software properly.
Saint John Politics
I am back in Saint John visiting my family for a couple weeks. A few things have changed, but not much, as always. City debates continue to spur over the new Peel Plaza complex, which currently includes a plan to ruin a historic Carnegie Arts Centre building by burying the lower windows so that a tunnel for transporting prisoners can be built. Umm, what?
Academia & Robots
The main reason for my lack of time lately is the amount of work I’ve been putting into my school work. I’m working on a new robot that interacts with people in different ways, though not quite on the level of reading emotions as I previously explored. I did extensive development with my robot, now named PAUL-E, and am now working on a couple submissions to two upcoming conferences, so more travel may not be far away.
New Cell Phone Network
Say what you want about the Canadian cellphone industry, something done right has seemingly accomplished by 2 of the big 3, Telus and Bell. They have launched a new 3rd generation high-speed cellular network which enables them to offer phones that don’t suck, like the iPhone. Rogers offers a similar, compatible network, but it’s only fast in the main cities, whereas Bell and Telus created their network to be the same speed across pretty much most of the country. So far, my experience has been decent, with a few bugs that I hope they work out soon. This network was actually launched several months in advance ahead of the Olympics.
In the United States, people regularly complain about AT&T’s cell service which is the only company officially offering the iPhone in that country. Dropped calls and defaulting to the slower speed network is a regular occurrence in many large cities. Hopefully our networks will continue to be expansive with prices falling more due to increased competition.
That’s all for now. I hope to update my blog more often.
Posted in Academia, Calgary, Politics, Saint John, Technology | 5 Comments »
October 18th, 2009
After a week of sub-zero temperatures, Mother Nature granted Calgary a likely temporary reprieve from the start of winter with warmth in the 10 to 15 degree range.
Fall is definitely here in this park near my house with most of the leaves on the ground already.
I also biked through the entire University of Calgary campus taking pictures for the first time since being here. I didn’t get too many good shots at this time of day, but there’s something I like about the windows of the ICT building.
Lots of artificial colour radiates through the sports fields just south of the university campus.
Looking towards the sky near City Hall.
Posted in Calgary, Photography | No Comments »
