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3I/Atlas coming to a planet near you!
https://www.space.com/news/live/interstellar-comet-3i-atlas-closest-to-earth-flyby-week-dec-18-2025 Discovered on July 1 by the NASA-funded ATLAS telescopes in Chile, 3I/ATLAS is only the third confirmed interstellar object known to have passed through our cosmic neighborhood, following 1I/‘Oumuamua in 2017 and comet 2I/Borisov in 2019. Its trajectory shows that it originated from beyond our solar system and will eventually travel back into interstellar space. https://www.space.com/astronomy/comets/interstellar-comet-3i-atlas-makes-its-closest-approach-to-earth-on-dec-19-heres-what-you-need-to-know […]
Geminids, Geminids, Geminids!
It’s been several months since I last posted…too much work and no play! Until this past Sunday. Whew. After a morning lecture about ancient Japanese myths and “deliberately forgotten” kings (maybe), I was grateful to be able to take a quick power nap… …so that the family could go up a nearby mountain and watch […]
Life on Trappist 1e?
In two separate papers published Monday in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, astronomers zeroed in on the TRAPPIST-1 system, which consists of seven rocky planets that orbit a single star. Both studies outlined initial results from observations by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, suggesting that one planet in particular, known as TRAPPIST-1e, may have a nitrogen-rich atmosphere like Earth’s, […]
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Category Archives: education
Ten Years of Taking Leave
Looking back, it’s amazing to me now that I dared to even apply for a year of paternity leave while living in a foreign country. But I’ve never regretted the decision. As I told an audience of university students and … Continue reading
Posted in book, day care, education, gender roles, Japan, Japanese, Japanese culture, Japanese society, parenting, Paternity leave, school
Tagged bilingualism, blogging, child care, child-raising, children, education, family, family leave, fatherhood, gender roles, haafu, Japan, Japanese, Japanese kids, parental leave, parents
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First Year Wall (Part 2) – The (not-so voluntary) parent-teacher conference
In mid-April, I went to a parent-teacher conference. Actually, it was more like an enforced PTA committee, which one parent per kid had to attend. As a group. We sat at our kids’ desks (tiny!) and introduced ourselves. This was … Continue reading
Posted in education, Japan, Japanese, Japanese culture, Japanese law, Japanese society, parenting, school
Tagged education, elementary school, Japan, micromanaging, names, parents, PTA
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The First Year Wall (Part 1) – Gakudo and the Kid
Three weeks ago, our youngest daughter went to nursery school for the last time. The following Monday, she started gakudo (学童, short for 学童教育 gakudokyouiku, which is usually translated as “after school program”). Since both my wife and I work … Continue reading
Posted in child safety, coming of age, education, Japan, Japanese, Japanese society, parenting, school
Tagged children, education, family, handmade, Japan, Japanese customs, life, parents, schooling
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