More yellow dust blowing over from the Gobi Desert (link updated on 5/20/2011) in China and Mongolia is due to descend on us today, possibly worse than the haze we experienced yesterday. Read about it here. If it gets too bad, the government recommends shutting down businesses and schools for the day–I should be so lucky.
Month: April 2005
Earthquake, Sickness
It’s 6:12 a.m. on Wednesday morning, and I just felt the apartment building shake for about 5 seconds. That probably means there was another earthquake close by, perhaps in Japan. I’ll have to remember to check the news reports later.
UPDATE Yes, it was a 5.8 magnitude quake, as reported here.
I’ve been sick with a cold for the past week–can’t seem to shake the thing, though I’m feeling a little better this morning, not counting the 15 minutes of coughing that occurs when I first get out of bed. I wanted to get out last Sunday and take some photos of the beautiful cherry tree blossoms, but I stayed home instead.
I did make it to Wonju Saturday, however, to visit Andy, one of our former teachers. He gave me a tour of his campus and told me to put in an application, since a position may be opening up soon. The way it sounds, it’s an ideal university, so I’ll turn in a resume package. I also heard from IPA in Saudi Arabia and they sound pretty positive about at least giving me an interview. I think the Wonju position is now at the top of my list. Second, I’ll go through a Korean recruiter to try to find another job like it, hopefully near Seoul. Next is a State Department funded Masters Graduate Fellowship program, placing candidates in Africa, Indonesia, and elsewhere. Third, I would work a job in Laos or Thailand, no matter that the pay in those countries would be very low. Finally, I’d go with a middle-East job. So many options. More later.
Security Alert
From time to time, I’ll send on the information I have about any new security problems with windows, viruses, etc., to those of you who read this blog and don’t have access to the information. You SHOULD be aware of these issues without my help, but that is not always possible. At any rate, check here for what it’s worth.
Two new ones today: One is about fake Microsoft Security. Don’t click on any links in email that purport to send you to the MS Update website.
The other is that Microsoft will provide a variety of patches, some of them critical, this coming Tuesday.
Again, in my humble opinion, if you are using the Internet Explorer browser, you might be better served by switching to Mozilla’s Firefox, which you can download here. It’s much safer, for now, than IE and it’s fun to use.
It’s another beautiful spring day in Andong, with temperatures forecast to be in the mid 70s. I want to try to get off a few more job apps, but I also want to take another long bicycle ride–after I watch the Yanks-Orioles game on the computer. More later.
Chinese “Yellow Dust”
Yes, it’s that time of year again–the advent of Chinese Yellow Dust season, when dust blowing from the Gobi desert sweeps across not only China, but South Korea and Japan as well. The Korean Meteorological Administration issued a dust warning for the country, and I, not thinking about the dust until afterward, jogged outside today for about 30 minutes between classes. I probably inhaled 20 pounds of the stuff. You could hardly see the nearby mountains because of the haze; it’s as bad as a Montana forest fire. A former Chinese Prime Minister predicts that the capital city of Beijing will have to be abandoned in a few decades due to the advance of the Gobi desert.
Not much else happening here. The cherry blossoms are very near to blooming, so I’ll post some photos of their beauty as soon as they open up. Baseball’s Opening Day saw the mighty Yanks knock off Boston. Unfortunately, Rivera blew a couple of saves–that’s rather worrisome. Should be a fun season, though. Since I signed up for the MLB.com game feeds, I’ll be able to see most of the games. My brother Randy, with nothing better to do, keeps sending me taunting emails about the Yanks, which I refuse to respond to. I don’t think he has a favorite team–the former Yankee fan, now a screeching turncoat, only seems to root against the Yankees, but not FOR anyone else. He joins the ranks of untold thousands in that futile endeavor.
The big earthquake in Indonesian waters a little bit back brought this email from my friend Palm on Ko Sukorn in Thailand (I edited out some of his fractured English grammar and spelling for clarity):
How are you, Ron? Hope you are good. For me now, I am sick.
Do you know about earthquake. I am afraid very much. And every body
gone to the mountain again. Now, I sleep with my mother every night.
Because, I am afraid tsunami, Ron. And I am thinking tsunami is not come.
And what about you? You saw earthquake or not? In sukorn no have tourists and it’s raining every day.
Geez, I really feel for those people. If you’re going to take a vacation in Thailand this year, go to Ko Sukorn. You’ll love it for its beauty (though there are more beautiful beaches in Thailand), but you’ll want to stay because of its people. More later.