In Medias Resolution

I had a Highlander-esque Quickening moment this morning while I was ruminating on why I am pursuing a PhD. I'm speaking in somewhat general terms, but I do believe that those invested in a PhD-track program do not enter into this journey lightly, and those who may have done so mistakenly may soon find that it is not for them, which is a completely benign thing so long as said folks can transition successfully into whatever else is best for them. Now, more specifically, for th

Recently, our lab received an iPresence remote telepresence robot to help out with class. Of course, we needed to learn how to use it properly. Instead of doing that, however, we began yelling commands at it and dressing it up. #gradschoollife #naist #fun

Here's a media article about my sempai at NAIST, Dr. Raula Kula (pictured here on the far left). I got to know him through many long and in-depth conversations, some while drunk, and others while highly caffeinated. All these discussions has helped me to become the researcher that I am today, and has enhanced my motivation to want to do great work. Thanks Raula, your new-found fame is well-deserved. I hope others can benefit from your expertise as much or even more than I hav

I bought Nerf for the lab to relieve stress. My plan is that by the end of summer, we have enough guns for an outdoor nerf war. #gradschoollife

I was asked to prepare a very brief couple of slides on how to make games. As most of you know, you can't really distill that kind of information in any meaningful way in just a couple of slides. But I tried my best. #gradschoollife

Neato advice: "You are a PhD candidate, so you should present a wealth of contributions." Roger. I don't know yet exactly how to do that, but I will. I think that a lot of the business of doing this at the PhD level involves raising your level of thinking, not only about the work itself, but about YOURSELF. It is no longer a matter of wondering how you will do this, or if you can--rather, it is envisioning that you CAN present a wealth of contributions and be a game-changer.

Since about the end of April, I've had a constant headache every day. So, during Golden Week at the start of May I pretty much took it easy--made sure to rest a lot and relax, but the headache was still there. So, about 2 weeks ago I went in for an MRI and today the results came out. "No abnormalities" is the official conclusion, and I'm relieved about that. And actually, from about two days ago, the headache has let up. I'm guessing now that it was due to stress. Lately I've

Went to Junes-erm, I mean, Aeon for some grocery shopping and managed to pick up some adhesive googly eyes... It begins. #fun #gradschoollife

Today was a very fine day with a very bizarre and slightly disturbing ending. -Took the day off to go on solo walkabout in Osaka. -Got a beef burrito and coconut juice at my favorite Mexican joint, El Pancho in Shinsaibashi -After wandering around aimlessly for awhile, I booked two hours at Karaoke in Namba. Sang a metric ton of Billy Joel, 森山直太朗, and Judas Priest. -Bought two 「NO MORE 映画泥棒」keychains (http://youtu.be/9HdCXYia-Yw) at a gatcha machine, but got two of the same o

I'd prefer not to eschew full sentences for bullet lists, but it already hit the fan and is everywhere: -Replaying Japan: 2nd Int'l Conf. on Japan Game Studies abstract due Apr 1 -CEDEC 2014 proposal due Mar 31 -Game super alpha version prototype due Apr 1 -Finish recording voice actors due today -Reconfirm Karaoke due today -Contact Kevin Shin about establishing internship/exchange program with Univ. of Hawaii due very soon. -If this is your first night, you have to fight. #