Entries from Kelake tagged with 'Living in Taiwan'
Searching Taiwan
Here is something I am playing with - a search of specific websites in Taiwan. For some reason it has a hard time with phpBB installations. Give it a try....
New Hobby
For years I have missed the quality bread of home. In Taiwan especially, with the exception of a few isolated bakeries, it's pretty difficult to find a quality loaf of bread that doesn't cost you an arm and a...
A Taiwan Moment
I love these guys. It's not enough that they have been working on the apartment across the alley for over a month - with their usual crap Taiwan contractor aplomb. Now they block the exit to my house with...
Anniversary past
It was eight years ago, August 23rd 1998, when I first arrived in Taiwan. I forgot this auspicious date this past August, perhaps in an attempt to keep the length of my internment as vague as possible. Everyone always asks...
The Taiwan Name Thing
I have been having some problems with my name lately. At my bank my account name uses my full name while my visa with the same bank uses just my first and last. Mail arriving to my house uses either...
Marijuana Café
When I first saw this sign for a new café in Hsinchu a number of weeks ago I did a double take as I thought for an instance that I had been transported through the continuum to lovely Amsterdam....
Taipei Zoo via Highway 3
The Taipei Zoo is one of my daughter Catrionas favourite places to spend the better part of a day - I think she would go everyday. But as good as the Taipei Zoo is, if you are going to spend...
Hinet's Tubes Clogged
Hinet Taiwans tubes must be clogged. Since coming back to Hsinchu I have been experiencing some real network latency and general 'suckiness' in my broadband connection. There seem to be excruciating delays at Hinet's usa-paix router making American sites (about...
Lost in Translation
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Kelake & Elvis
Originally uploaded by lovelvishoot. 2 years ago at Chiao Tung University in Hsinchu...
You think your job is bad
I just came back a short time ago from the local General Hospital where I had gone for the biennial "full medical" check-up so that I can once again renew my visa. Most of the check-up is done with the...
Schools are an Oasis
Catriona is out doing laps at the all girls high school behind our house. I think in the near future I should join her as my girth continues to grow day by day. I'm very thankful that schools here...
Blog Development
Nice sign. Poor attention to detail by a slip shod marketing agency. Funny stuff. Read the full write-up at Taipei Nights. Hat tip to Michael Turton for the post title and link....
Wei Ya
Michael Turton sums up beautifully the one aspect of the impending Chinese New Year holiday that I forgot to mention and won't miss, the end-of-the-year banquet, called a wei ya. The basic idea is similar to the office Christmas party...
The Approaching Holiday
Chinese New Year (CNY) approaches and brings with it a nationwide holiday giving most people in Taiwan a deserved break from work. It has been my favourite holiday of the year as it has meant a one week vacation and...
Jazz Club in Hsinchu?
Yet another format for a restaurant at this corner near minzu rd. This time it seems like we might get a venue presenting some jazz and blues. I couldn't be more hopeful or pleased at the thought. The last...
Sick
I've been back from my mini-break but somehow managed to catch a terrible infection in my chest. Ugly stuff coming up. I thought I had left these kind of colds back in Canada years ago. Visiting a doctor here...
Electrical (un)safety in Taiwan
"Anyone who's lived in the busier areas of Taiwan longer than five minutes will already know to trust the electric and fire safety about as far as they could throw a hippo. What surprised me is when I moved...
Coffee WiFi and Hsinchu
Hsinchu may have per capita more coffee/tea shops than most Canadian and American cities but generally they are missing one of the most important features of such establishments - WiFi (and good coffee). That is until I learned that...
123 Restaurant, Hsinchu
This poor fish was my dinner recently at one of my favourite restaurants in Hsinchu called simply 1,2,3. It's a Hsinchu institution, having been in the same location for perhaps 20 years or more (as I have been told)....
Good Morning to you
Last week this was one morning's early entertainment. Prior to hearing my alarm which was set for 6am I was awoken to the sweet serenade of 3 marching bands and assorted other local drums and noise makers. When I...
3 Strikes
Yes that is my hairy leg with a bandage on it. Young children and total strangers like to pull on the hair whenever they get the chance. I'm not sure but apparently Chinese men tend to have less hair...
I Love This Car (Peugeot 205CJ)
Spotted in a overpass parking space was this lovely red convertible Peugeot 205CJ. According to Peugeot the 205 is the "model which saved the brand, and is (was) the standard bearer for a new generation. The first model was produced...
Be warned: Pay your Hsinchu Parking Bills On Time
Parking on the street in Hsinchu like many cities costs money. It's quite cheap though at a cost of about 20NT$ per hour. The system relies not on parking meters but on "attendents" assigned to a particular territory who go...
Big Spiders
I have just discovered the most evil looking spider I have ever seen. Taiwan has some fairly large spiders which when encountered for the first time scared the hell out of me. When we first moved into this house we...
Tax Day
Today is the last day to submit the 2004 "individual income tax return of the Republic of China". It's my habit to leave many unpleasant things to the last possible moment. The GTD gang call this cringing and set up...
Everyday mysteries
I feel very fortunate to have found a large house to live in in the downtown area of Hsinchu. The house is old, horrifically ugly, and some important things don't work (doors, hot water, toilets, the roof) but it affords...
Reflection
I didn't quite make the deadline for the thesis this past Monday but as painful as it was I did manage a lot of words in a short period of time. Now if only the words made sense. The draft...
Polluted Taiwan
Not surprisingly Taiwan has been ranked one of the most polluted nations on earth in the 2005 index of environmental sustainability. Read the New York Times article while you can as they have an annoying habit of requiring you to...
The End
I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making...
Drilling holes
I have a feeling that one of the national pass times for men in Taiwan is drilling holes in concrete. Here I am sitting in my office on a sunny Saturday trying to focus on completing some tasks with the...
The twelve days of ubi-Christmas
Pasted directly from Fredshouse and found courtesy of a Feedster news alert. On the twelfth day of Christmas, my research lab gave to me... Twelve active badges Eleven sensor networks Ten wireless beacons Nine memory prosthetics Eight tangible interfaces Seven...
IC Radio Interview
線上聆聽Clark在IC之音廣播電台談他在工研院的工作與生活 I have no idea why I was chosen - if you follow the link you will find smart people doing cool research. I think my ideas are interesting and fun but the other interviewee's are kings among kings. Anyway,...
Protect the family jewels!!
There is never a dull moment here in Hsinchu, Taiwan. It may be hard to believe since Hsinchu's claim to fame is primarily a science park full of high tech. factories and work hour traffic congestion. Yesterday's slice of excitement...
Hot Babes
Going through a large series of photos for a project I am working on I came across what could represent the 'companies' calendar girls. It's not of course but I think at the time it is about the best...
It seems I never learn.
I worked at home Friday to do some concentrated effort on a couple projects. I find it difficult to gain any focus in the office for tasks that actually require me to think creatively. Too many phones ringing all the...
Super sized.
I had a dream the other night that I looked like the fat guy in Fight Club. I'm getting close I think - just give myself another few months and my ever expanding gut and chest will compete with the...
Perfect Massage in Taipei
Corbett claims to have found the perfect set of hands in a visit to a massage parlour in Tien-mu. Is it ok to say parlour I wonder? It conjures up images in my mind of busty women in pink teddies...
Its a windy day in Taiwan's windy city.
The temperature is rising and the sun is shining. The wind has the added effect of blowing all the bad smells and pollution away from the city. Unfortunately it also generates allot of dirt and sand that immediately hits you...
You know you've been in Taiwan too long when
Apparently this list has been circulating on the internet since Kane met Able and despite the risk of pissing some people off I thought I might repost it here. Some of it is slightly funny and some too close to...
A delirious fascination with the everyday
"In the decade I have spent teaching graduate art students, I have witnessed certain prevailing (if occasionally annoying) themes. Among them, a delirious fascination with the everyday, the banal, the flneur; an abiding interest in skewing perception and challenging temporal...
Life in Taiwan 11
I've often looked for a solution to a problem which has perplexed me for much of my time here in Taiwan. I have noticed an overall lack of interest in community standards that would govern how we interact and treat...
Life in Taiwan 10
Taiwan Culture Terrie Brown has wonderully positive outlook on life in Taiwan and shares it through her web site. She lists some of the fun things her and her husband have learned since they have been in Taipei. Some of...
Life in Taiwan 9
SARS Wars Allot of people are speaking out about Taiwan's seeming inability to handle the SARS outbreak. The scene here is utterly surreal. I have my temperature checked no less than 4 times a day, everyone wears masks, and everyone...
Special and Smart
A good quote which sums up an aspect of life here: "In Taiwan, a guy who's caught drunk driving will refuse the breath test and curse the policeman to the third generation," said Loh I-cheng, a jovial former deputy ambassador...
Life in Taiwan 8
Fireflies in Neiwan One of the interesting things about living in Taiwan is discovering the lengths that people will go to to see even the most seemingly sublime things. I have oftened marvelled at how the Taiwanese will travel for...
Misc. Movs / Merry Xmas
One of the courses I am taking this term at Chiao Tung University requires the completion of weekly assignments covering various topics. We have written and mixed music, created identities, explored type, different metaphor visualisations, and filmed a short story....
2 Days in Taipei
I had the pleasure of travelling to Taipei this past week to give a talk to some students at a design school. It's always great to discuss design with people who are really excited about the possibilities of creating something...
Life in Taiwan 7
The coming of the apocalypse? When I left for work this morning the sky was gray and gloomy and the air was cool. The wind was whipping up a terrific sandstorm which helped to make the heavy traffic all the...
It all costs as much as Hong Kong
Another good one from Travel Intelligence. "From its early days as the capital of the Kuomintang Republic of China, it has become used to being the Gorgon of Asian cities. One look at it and one is turned into a...
Taipei Sauna Oil Massage
My fourth most often requested search query is taipei sauna oil massage and since I have little knowledge about this particular topic let me please recommend you to check out the Carlton Spa here in Hsinchu where a friendly masseuse...
Life in Taiwan 6
Life of a Working Stiff After reading, Wooing the Sandman at Jugglezine (too bad I hadnt read it yesterday since I was awake all night) I stumbled upon a couple articles Productivity in the Home Office: Pure ROT and Working...
Another earthquake
We were just hit with another large earthquake aprox. one hour ago. Reports state that the earthquake measured 6.8 and was centered off the coast of Hualien. While it appears at present that this one was not as powerful as...
Life in Taiwan 5
Ban Pin Shan Once upon a time, when Ban Pin Shan was still undivided, a small village existed at the foot of the mountain. One day, an old man who was selling dumplings came to the village. He had white...
Sleep
Sleep or the lack there of has become a big issue for me. Since I keep coming to work with larger and blacker bags under my eyes people have started to notice. They ask if I am under a lot...
Life in Taiwan 4
Scooter It has been a week since I have started driving through the streets of Hsinchu. I would love to say it has been a liberating experience but driving in Taiwan in any kind of vehicle is anything but. I...
Life in Taiwan 3
Hsinchu small. Taipei big. I went to Taipei yesterday to visit the Free Time Gears store at the big Eslite building on Dunhua and the store on Roosevelt. There is one here in Hsinchu at the Sogo but it has...
Sometimes...
Say what you want about the earthquakes, the traffic, and the pollution but no where else in the world will you find people so nice as to give you a drive home on a cold frosty night (and in a...
Life in Taiwan 2
Traffic in Hsinchu One of the many aspects of Taiwan life which I can never understand is the seemingly magical changes in the amount of traffic on Hsinchu's streets. The weather is always a factor. If there is even a...
Chilly
Though I'm sure people will say, "but your from Canada", I find the Weather in Hsin-chu incredibly cold. The funny thing is that the temperature may go up 10 degrees in a day. Thats the nature of Taiwan weather -...
Life in Taiwan 1
Dorothy's Birthday Last Friday our office held a suprise birthday party for Dorothy who has become known as my ITRI mother. Part of the festivities involved 3 short comedy skits which more or less gave us an opportunity to act...
I seem to have forgotten to recognize the new year. Funny how I seem to forget all these traditional holidays now that I live in Taiwan. Lets hope it's a happy one. As well it seems that it is harrumph's...
Yummm
To celebrate the renewed cold wet Taiwan weather I today left behind my usual "cold food" lunch consisting of fruit and enjoyed a hot bowl of chicken leg noodles. Perfectly simple. If I was out shovelling snow in Canada and...
6.8
Strong Earthquake Off Taiwan (washingtonpost.com). It had me scared....
Oh God -- that was a big earthquake....
User Testing
This afternoon marked the first time that I have run a formal user test of a website. Video camera and facilitator included. It was just a run through for the real thing tomorrow morning. Should be interesting. I was asked...
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