Archive for October, 2018

潜水士試験:合格

Thursday, October 11th, 2018

What a mess that was… everything completely in Japanese and out of more than 300 testees, I was the only non-Asian person. Well, I passed and that’s what counts.

Above: I was testee #0047

Looking at the list, most people passed but there were some who failed. Anyway, most people used more or less the same textbooks, I will post mine here later. There does not seem to be so much variety of textbooks on this subject.

Next step: Find employment as part-time scuba diving instructor?

Anyway, time for a celebratory beer…

 

Books I’m reading at the moment… October 2018

Tuesday, October 9th, 2018

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Short_History_of_Nearly_Everything) – finished

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant part I by Stephen R. Donaldson (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Thomas_Covenant) – finished

攻殻機動隊 1.5 Human Error Processor by Masamune Shirow

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant part II by Stephen R. Donaldson (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Thomas_Covenant) – finished

The Last Ringbearer (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Ringbearer)

Scientific experiments I’d be interested in (I) – coffee

Tuesday, October 9th, 2018

Recently, I’ve been thinking about some experiments which I can’t do by myself but would very much like to know the results… therefor, a new series on this blog.

First up the question “can you trick the body into reacting to caffeine with a non-caffeinated fluid”?

Evidently, the body reacts to the chemical caffeine when coffee is drunk. What I would like to know is if it’s possible to trigger the same reaction by drinking a non-caffeinated fluid that tastes and looks the same as coffee.

Cons that it’s not possible:
-If the fluid does not contain caffeine, there will be no reaction because it’s a physical reaction triggered by the intake of such a fluid

Pros that it’s possible:
-There is such a thing as a placebo effect
-If you can quicken your beard growth by thinking about sex, why not invoke a bodily reaction to caffeine intake?

Pending further research…