home.social
  1. This is pretty cool: a remote-controlled electric tug for pulling airplanes out of the gate.

  2. Transport in Buenos Aires. I'd stay away from the kickboard myself, but the bus network is impressive. Check the alt text for details.

  3. Annoying: you're 16 and your mom says "Stop slouching. You'll damage your back".

    More annoying: you're 56 and your doctor says "You've damaged your back with that slouching. Didn't your mom tell you?"

    OK, so he didn't actually mention my mother. He just thought it very loudly.

    And yes, stop slouching. It really isn't good for you.

  4. So, I'm learning the . And today a group of us sang and played at the graduation ceremony where we accompanied the traditional dancers with Kajadefu.

    This is from the ceremony livestream; not sure for how long this link will work:

    youtube.com/live/u8uZqXTm_rA?s

  5. On my way to in now! will have a booth and I will be hanging around there for much of the time. If you're going, come by and say hi!

  6. This kind of shop is why you want to live in a big city:

    A Remote Control store. Selling and repairing, all brands, all models. I hope the good people of Buenos Aires know what rare pearl of a place they have here.

  7. I needed some wire because of LED lighting.

    LED light bulbs are great, but they're heavier than the old incandescent ones. So my cheap knock-off desk lamp kept sagging from the weight.

    I *could* find a new set of springs with a larger spring constant. But an easier fix is to restrict part of each spring, effectively making them shorter, and resisting a larger weight. Works fine!

  8. My employer ( @oistedu.bsky.social ) is opening a special grad student application round for students currently studying at US universities.

    The application period begins now and is only two weeks, but if accepted you may be able to start already in September.

    Please reshare to get the word out.

    oist.jp/admissions/special-app

  9. Afternoon cup of coffee at in . Yunnan Dehong yeast fermented beans. Fruity and light but not notably acidic. A treat!

    I find Söt Coffee to be 90-100% of coffee in quality, but at half the price and a way more relaxed cafe environment. You can actually sit down and read a book or something while enjoying your drink of choice.

  10. FYI, if you happen to be a scientist in a large English-speaking country with uncertain future research financing; my employer, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) is looking for grad students, postdocs and PIs.

    It's a research institute, so no undergraduates, and the working language is English - no japanese required. And its located on a (semi) tropical island in the Pacific.

    oist.jp/careers?f%5B0%5D=oist_

  11. I'm back in for my holiday.

    Shout-out to Sababa in (amemura); the best place I know in Osaka for good falafel, , bread and so on!

  12. A couple of pictures from . The "clock square" in JR Umeda station at dusk; and Umeda Sky building from the new park area.

  13. I have no idea what is going on in this picture.

  14. The :d from to Kansai Airport is possibly my favourite train in Japan.

    Not just because of its design; but also because this is the train we'd always take when going to the airport and abroad. Boarding this train is, to me, always the start of an adventure.

  15. Today's is from La Democracia in Huehuetenango, Guatemela, an anaerobic coffee roasted by Coffee Roasters in . Brewed it 16g/250g in a Switch for 3 minutes at 92°.

    I swear it smells like really good pipe tobacco. Not a dry, sour tobacco smell, but the good bits: the sweet, almost brandy-like leather notes in a tin of rough cut tobacco.

    The taste is more towards a spicy and nutty flavour, with a good balance of sour and bitterness.

    A new favourite coffee!

  16. Ko no Sumika in crater lake in .

    First place I've been with an actual grinder in the room. Not a great grinder, but still, a different level from the usual instant coffee.