samsung galaxy s2

Some years ago, I bought an external USB hard disk drive for archiving. It has worked well, but the past year or so it began making a horrible noise frequently. Usually this noise comes from the disk itself, but on closer inspection I figured out it was the fan in the power supply for the external disk drive, not the disk itself. I just kept on using it, and finally about a month ago the power supply died. We consulted with CH's computer store owner friend, who recommended we simply buy a new case online, "internet shopping" as they say here. CH ordered it on Friday, and to my surprise it arrived on Saturday morning!



Also surprising is how small the new unit is. Some of that size reduction is because this new case will only hold 3-1/2 inch disk drives, while the old one could also hold a 5-1/4 inch drive. But more amazing is how small the electronics have become. The old unit had a fairly good sized circuit board full of parts for the interface, this unit only had ONE chip to do everything! Well, I'm not complaining. And the new unit powered up just fine and now I can access all my old emails going back to 1994 from the archive.

Another interesting thing this weekend is that I decided to branch out with my telephone food ordering experiences. Previously I had only phoned in an order to the pizza shop across the street, and then only after I had visited the store often enough that they knew me. Sunday I decided to call Domino's Pizza and order a pizza all by myself. It took me three calls to get to a person. When I called, there was a recorded voice speaking to me in rapid Korean, then nothing but silence. After three calls, listening carefully to this message, I realized it was asking me to press the number "1" or "2" on my phone (although I don't know WHY). I took a chance and pressed "1", then I got a real person on the line. I told her in Korean, "Speak slowly, I am an American". She replied that she understood, but her speech was anything but slow! Maybe her normal speech is double-fast? Anyway, I ordered a pizza, and was momentarily stumped until I realized she wanted me to give her my address. I told her that in Korean, and the deed was done. I think they really have my address from Caller ID, and just wanted to check that I was not a prankster.

Well, the pizza arrived and it was delicious. I chose something called a Double Crust Steak Pizza. After eating it, I could not exactly figure out why it was called a "double crust". I went to the Domino's USA website, and it was no help. Apparently the menu, even the basic crust styles, are completely different in USA and Korea. It has been pointed out to me (and after a taste test, I agree) that in Korea the Domino's and Papa John's Pizza shops are top quality, whereas in the states we tend to lump them at the bottom of the quality barrel. I've read an interview in the newspaper with the Papa John's president here in Korea, and it sounds like they have a very strong commitment to high quality. On the down side, these pizzas tend to be the most expensive in Korea, whereas they are among the cheapest pizzas in the USA.

Today CH and I finally got around to visiting the doctor who sewed up my leg after the subway accident last November. I think I may have mentioned that I still have quite a nasty bump at the site of the injury. Well, the doctor poked around the bump with his fingers, and examining it with an ultra-sound machine. He proclaimed that the bump was simply a collection of blood and fluid. The reason I have this bump is that the outer layer of my muscle (facia?) is missing right there where I was cut. He said he could open it up and try to sew the facia back together, but in his experience there was a very good chance that it would not work well, and I would still have the bump even after a second set of stitches.



I'm not sure I'm completely happy with that answer. But it is not causing me any problems for the time being, and it is not dangerous, so I'm going to live with it for now. By the way, the total bill for the doctor's visit and the ultra-sound examination was only $20, and remember that I am paying full price because I don't have Korean health insurance. And I was in and out of there in less than 15 minutes TOTAL time - that includes waiting, the doctor's visit, the ultra-sound, and the payment. Completely amazing.

After the doctor's visit, we ate ice cold noodles, a traditional Korean summer-time dish that I'm going to learn to like this summer. It isn't the taste that bothers me, but I have mental-block about eating cold food that is, um, well, food. For some reason, my mind insists that cold food should be a beverage, something sweet, or salad. I hear that some western people immediately take a liking to this food, so maybe I'm a little bit unusual (no comments, please).

As a follow-up to the sandal scandal post, let me state that my Korean engineer friend JI told me that while it was indeed the style to wear socks with sandals in Seoul, it was only an OLD MEN's style! Thanks, JI. (If the sock fits...) Well, given my reportely permanent leg disfigurement, and my ignorance of footwear ettiquette, I believe I must now give up any ambitions I may have had for becoming a sock and sandal model!

Above is photo of my ugly legs proudly showing my subway accident "bump", and also displaying what I've now been told on two continents is the proper method for young men to wear sandals.

Quick story, again praising the Samsung phone service center. Last night when I got home from dinner, I noticed that my cell phone display screen looked weird. Some of the colors were backwards, almost like a negative. I decided to reset the phone by removing and re-inserting the battery. Well, when I did that, the main screen was a complete blank and the small outside screen had two odd looking shapes. I have no idea what happened, I don't remember dropping my phone. Anyway, CH made another reservation for me at the Samsung service center this afternoon, and I went by myself to have it repaired. The man examined my phone, and told me it would require that the LCD be replaced, and would cost about $50. That may seem like a lot in the USA, but here in Korea a cell phone can cost between $500 and $800. He told me it would take 40 minutes, but in fact he was finished in only 30 minutes. I brought along a book to read while I waited, and during the wait the staff went around service iced tea to all the customers waiting for their repairs! That's definitely a little step up from cell phone service I've experienced in the USA.

Every morning when I check news and blogs on my computer, I always notice the daily temperature forecast for Seoul and my hometown. It always seems to me that Seoul is cooler. I looked online today to see if there was any archive data easily available, and to my surprise it is both available and easy. I was looking for high and low temps, but only found daily mean temperature. That is fine to prove my observation. Here is a chart I quickly made in Excel showing the temperatures for this year only (the data goes back to 1995, but that made the plot too busy).



I've shown it above in both temperature scales. Except for a few days recently, Seoul seems to be consistently cooler than Huntsville.

Mosquitoes (MOGI in Korean) have been bothering me lately. I don't leave my windows open, so I have no idea how they are getting into the apartment. My only guess is they fly in through the door when we go in and out. Or maybe twice a day I will open the window for maybe 30 seconds, lean out and check the weather. If this is how they get inside, they must be always hovering right outside the door or window just waiting for a chance to come in.

When John and I first moved here we had some "Mogi Killing Machines". I still have one, but I question how well it works, especially after 2 years. There is some kind of chemical inside, and I think perhaps it has lost it's effectiveness. Here is that machine, which is battery powered:



Yesterday, I got tired of being bitten so much, and CH recommended another style of Mogi Killing Machine, which is shown below. This one plugs into the wall, so no batteries to replace. But, there is a small piece of blue cardboard that contains the "Mogi Yak", which I believe translates to "Mosquitoe Medicine". It only last about 1/2 or 1 day, which is a bummer. The verdit is still out on this device. I had it running all night, but still found three mosquitoes flying around this morning.

This photo is to show off my new sandals I got in Hawaii, and to make Young Stumbler #1 cringe. She always tells me you cannot wear socks with sandals, but that is very popular here in Seoul.

I tried a recipe I found last week in the Korean Herald newspaper. Summertime Watermelon Milkshake. Since watermelon is one of my favorite fruits, and I love ice cream and milkshakes, I was eager to try this. With all apologies to the author, this milkshake was a complete flop and I didn't enjoy it. It was a waste of good watermelon and ice cream. At first, the shake tasted pretty nice, but it left an aftertaste that I didn't like, and when I finished the glass I felt kind of sick from the something - could be the sweetness, I just couldn't put my finger on it. I won't publish the recipe, but if someone really wants to try it please comment and I'll send it.

Here are the indgredients:





The finished drink, after sitting in the freezer for 1 hour per the recipe instructions. It looks surprisingly like the tomato juice I made last week for the vegetable soup!



I have no photos, but also last night I failed at cooking my dinner. I thawed out some chicken meat and stir fried it with some 2-week old squash and onions. I have run out of most of the food in my kitchen, partly because the folks at the nearby store are still on strike. I ate my stir fried chicken with a bowl of rice, and it really was not good and had no taste. So last night my cooking ability was off, my taste buds were failing me, or both.