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Credits: TheTalkingDad.com & FeedWind.comRecent Posts: M Thomas Apple Author Page
A brief rant about Netflix: No, that’s NOT what “original” means
This is not a complaint about Netflix in general (well, not necessarily, but anyway). Without Netflix, I might have gone, shall we say, a little… …this past winter. I’ve been working temporarily in Montréal, several thousands miles of miles apart from my family, and being able to watch movies and older TV shows has been […]
Super-Earth! Um. Yay?
After completing its first year of observations in the southern sky, NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite has spotted some intriguing new exoplanets only 31 light-years away from Earth. Um. “Only” 31 light years. One planet is 22% larger than Earth, has a surface average of around 490ºF, and a year of just under 4 days. […]
The Trappist Family of Planets has a hard core!
In February of 2017, a team of European astronomers announced the discovery of a seven-planet system orbiting the nearby star TRAPPIST-1. Aside from the fact that all seven planets were rocky, there was the added bonus of three of them orbiting within TRAPPIST-1’s habitable zone. Since that time, multiple studies have been conducted to determine whether or […]
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Category Archives: roles
Sleep, perchance to…
One of the biggest differences since we moved into a house is the sleeping arrangements. When our oldest daughter was a baby, we were living in an apartment with a traditional Japanese straw mat (tatami) room and no bed. So … Continue reading
Paternity leave: It’s a whole new ballgame
Paternity leave just got a big mention in US media this past week, thanks to baseball. New York Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy took three days leave for the birth of his son in Florida. Radio talk show personality Mike … Continue reading
Toy Boy?
This past weekend, my wife and I stopped by at a nearby “home showcase.” Basically, the idea is that a number of construction companies build a model house in the same area, and then you can visit all the big … Continue reading
The Tanakas, “tenkin,” and “o-mutsu-koukan”
A few weeks ago (before all the hospital melodrama), I took my daughter to a nearby supermarket…which had a “baby care room” on the second floor, next to the roof parking lot. We had been invited by a Japanese couple … Continue reading
Leave Starts
It’s official. Today I have become the first male worker ever at a Japanese National College of Technology to take Child Care Leave. I have been granted official leave from April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2011. The term in … Continue reading
Hina Matsuri
Last Wednesday (March 3) was the Hina-matsuri in Japan. Hina-matsuri (usually translated as “Doll’s Festival,” sometimes “Girl’s Festival”) is celebrated by setting up a display of dolls in the house by families that have female children. Since our daughter is … Continue reading
