My Lucy tattoo, Australopithecus afarensis.
Thanks for the submission fuckyeahforensicanthropology! That’s a great tattoo :)
Posted 3 months ago
Posted 9 months ago
hong kong
Made it to Hong Kong, China, and back with no real complications. The China part wasn’t too interesting - ride to hotel (felt unworthy to be in all of them, very nice) - sleep - visit supplier - drive/fly/train to next stop - foot massage - lather, rinse, & repeat 5 times. I did have one new experience - I was used to feeling that bead of sweat from on the spine & trickle down the waistband, reform & creepily trickle down from there… But China was so humid that during the factory tours, the sweat would pour down the legs & collect at the knees - from the knees down the pants were soaked. I heard many times that life in the big cities (Shanghai especially) was hard - costs are similar to ours, except apartments are outrageous, but their income is a fraction of ours, and guys are expected to own an apartment before they can marry.
Hong Kong - What a fantastic city. My first impression was the juxtaposition, the contrasts - British & Cantonese, the high rises backdropped by the gorgeous mountains, the business bustle and the traditional fishing boat in the pouring rain. But then I realized it all seems to work, it’s a microcosm of the inter-connection of all things. No doubt there’s a seamy underbelly, and wealth disparity - but it shows differences can co-exist.
Pics in the aptly named “hong kong” set
http://www.flickr.com/photos/79450994@N06/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/79450994@N06/
In a lot of ways, it’s the opposite of Taiwan. Nearly everyone speaks English (but if they learned it from the Brits, why no accent?). Of course, driving is backwards, and it’s terribly hard to think about looking to the right, even though that warning is painted in the street. There are trash cans everywhere, where Taiwan is on the strict carry-in/carry-out protocol. And the fantastic mass-transit system - convenient, clean, on-time, heavy ridership but not over-crowded, and easy to navigate - makes scooters unnecessary.
Some things are global, though. McDonald,s both 7-11 and Starbucks on every corner. And the Subway guys have a heavy Indian accent.
I didn’t get out as much as I hoped, the first couple days were rainy. But I did get to a wetland park, that’s where the wedding party was doing the photo shoot. It was nice, well set up for an educational park, but not as expansive as I expected. It did allow me to get home in time to hang out at the roof-top pool, though.
Posted 10 months ago
taiwan update
More pics on flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/79450994@N06/
I’m getting pretty comfortable, this is a cool city and it’s almost feeling like home. Every time I get mildly lost, the neural intelligence system gets tweaked, it’s to the point where I rarely need the map, it’s not intimidating any more to drive to a new supplier, or just head out on the bike to see where the roads go. It’s a very bike-friendly place, as drivers are used to watching for scooters, and with the bike traffic laws are completely discretional. The last couple weeks, I’ve started to explore the city on the bike, but after a few minutes of sneaking through intersections I had to head out into the open roads & hills. Check out some of the pictures “bike route”. Fortune provided a cool drizzle too the last couple weeks, it’s much preferred riding in that then the baking sun.
There’s a lot of natural beauty in the surrounding country - I found some dragonfruit, and the banana flower (?) is gorgeous. The dragonfruit is apparently an air-rooted plant (pardon the technical jargon) - farmers attach it to the side of a tree, much like an orchid. The natural beauty extends to the thriving svelte female population, zipping around on scooters in shorts or impossibly short skirts.
I stopped on one of my motorcycle rides to check out some rock - from the road it looked climbable. Access was through an abandoned tunnel, which some large bats were using for a nap. Pretty cool, these guys had about a 12” wingspan. But the rock was nasty. There are more plentiful bats in the city, they show up in late afternoon - but their smaller, about half the size. Still it’s neat to watch them flit about when you’re sitting at a traffic light.
In more mundane matters, I got my US phone fixed, finally. Don’t need it much here, but will when I come home (more on that later). And the water heater - a neat little tankless gas job - is ignited by a battery. When the battery dies…. only took about 3 days to take the cover off and see find the battery. Also, the kitchen faucet doesn’t draw enough flow to fire the igniter, so to wash the dishes you have to run the shower…
I had a good few rides on the motorcycle, but returned it after the month rental was up. I intended to get a scooter, to become more assimilated (and most scooters are faster than that bike), but this shop that specializes in servicing foreigners had no way of communicating with me. I think he was saying someone would call when one was available. So I ended up walking home, about an hours hike from the center of town to my apartment - not a bad hike but with no artificial or natural protection from the sun, my scalp got a little red and with the 75% humidity I was quite literally soaked.
I had to cancel my Mt Fuji trip, work would rather pay for something actually work related. So I’m headed to China next week, starting in Hong Kong. I have to get there Thursday so I can get my visa Friday, and then somehow have to find something to do all weekend. I thought HK was just a solid mass of people, but the natural beauty here too is breathtaking. The next week is 5 cities, 5 hotels, 5 days. At least I’ll have someone accompanying me the whole way.
http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/attractions/green.html
I’ve set up my “home leave” - arrive Thursday 8/16 late and leave Monday the 27th. It’s going to be another hectic week, but I’m looking forward to the Covered Bridge ride and helping Ryan move into college.
Carpe Diem
Posted 10 months ago
Reblog if you’re a girl who likes girls, a boy who likes boys, or a person who believes it shouldn’t matter.
Why hasn’t everybody in the world reblogged this already.
WHY ARE THERE NOT 7 BILLION REBLOGS? WHY?!
(Source: beliefs-in-make-believe)
Posted 10 months ago
Differentiating neuronal cells that have been triple stained for actin (purple), microtubules (green), and DNA (yellow).
Image by Dr. Torsten Wittmann, The Scripps Research Institute.
Posted 10 months ago
Let’s see - over the last couple weeks, I’ve put some miles on the motorcycle, tried out the bouldering gym, and drove the couple hours (on the toll freeway) to the nearest developed climbing spot - but probably won’t head out there againm at least for climbing. But it is a pretty place, with a couple big temple complexes and some fantastic views - check out the gwandzlng set, especially the panoramic shot, in the photostream. Climbers can ogle the rock, and the nice shiny bolts on the exposed face. I stopped exploring when the approach turned into sketchy ladders with moss-covered cotton rope - and a big spider web. It’s not a well-travelled spot, if anything happened it would have been weeks before they found me.
Here’s the bouldering gym, the Taiwanrocks.net is a pretty good source for all things climbing here
For my birthday, I went to the local theater to see Prometheus - the kind of theater with the big comfy recliners where they serve you drinks and show you to your seat, all for about $15 including $6 of overpriced food. Regular tickets are about $10. Then I went out to buy myself some new toys, a handful of quickdraws. Price is about half again as much as REI / EMS and the selection is poor. But it was my birthday.
It looks like I’ll be coming home mid-August, which is perfect timing for the Covered Bridge ride, and Ryan’s transition to PItt. But before then, I have to make a trip out of the country to get my visa stamped, I’m looking for guided tours nearby - Japan (Mt. Fuji!), Philippines, maybe China.
Posted 10 months ago
Reblog if you would still love someone even if they had self-harm scars.
About the tenth time I’ve had to say this, but I’m also going to say something different. 1: I’m writing a novel. The main character has some pretty serious issues and a serrated blade. Do you know what happened? People loved that character MORE after she cut herself. 2: Perspective time. Mr/Ms anon here is apparently a very shallow person. Self-harm scars are proof that the person with those scars is human. No other animal in the known Universe will hurt itself to feel better. Conclusion: anon is an idiot; scars not a reason not to love. 3: who says the person with the scars wants to be loved by a guy? What if they want to be loved by a girl? Inconsiderate asshole.
(Source: abipolarteddybear)
