Monkeys (and general exploration)

This has been the second of undoubtedly many great fun weekends. On Saturday I opted to tour Ape Hill on my own (while my roommate Conk had to work), and the monkeys far exceeded my expectations in both number and playfulness. The video speaks for itself!

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Apartment synth

Ok, here's a quick "synth" of the apartment, created using Microsoft's "revolutionary" Photosynth, which it claims will change the way we look at photos. Personally I think it's a nice way to give a holistic impression of a particular setting and, unlike videos, presents the user with a at-your-own-pace interface. Downloading the Photosynth plugin is required, but I think it's worth it. Oh, and you have to be using Windows. Enjoy!

Update: the Photosynth plugin is apparently no longer required, as long as you have Microsoft Silverlight installed. Personally I think it'd be nice if everything tended towards your standard Flash player, but it's Microsoft!

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The hottest winter!

Tip: You can see the names and comments of the photos by viewing them full screen and toggling the "info" button at the top. I try to tell a story with these, although a broken story at best...

Perhaps it's not technically winter yet, but it's hotter here in Kaohsiung in November than Toronto can ever hope to be in the warmest summer. Anyway, I arrived here safely a week ago, and here are some first photos. No photos of my home yet - be patient, but rest assured it's exceeded my expectations so far.

Some first impressions:

• The people are impressively friendly. I attended a birthday party pretty much right off the plane, and there was absolutely no feelings of being a awkward outsider. Also, having a DSLR inspires awe of divine proportions, regardless of whether it's put to good use.
• Personal scooters are everywhere, and the streets are built especially to accommodate them. Personally, I think they form a rather efficient (if not slightly gut-wrenching) way to allow fast transportation to the masses without the mass congestion of ubiquitous car ownership.
• Food is everywhere. I think anyone who knows anything about Taiwan would already know this. You can find snacks on the streets at any hour of the day.
• The local fauna include cockroaches, house geckos, bats, and delightfully playful monkeys in a nearby forested hill on the coast within the city. I have yet to see the monkeys, but I'll definitely make a point to.

Work has also started off quite well. I was apparently "that guy" that everyone's already heard of, and to everyone's surprise and relief, I speak Chinese better than they had believed. I work directly under the Division President, whom I have yet to meet due to a business trip (his, not mine). Apparently he's taken a special interest in ensuring that extra fun projects involving getting to know the whole company would take up at least half my time. The fact that he's an ex-AIESECer explains it.

The company is in many ways similar to Autoliv - it's a big global electronics manufacturer. Those of you who know me well also know how much I hated being a production support engineer at Autoliv. So, perhaps what's most cool about this job is that now I'm working in the headquarters office, directly for the president. I was delightfully introduced to all the company VPs and upper management on the first day. I really think I won't be "just another worker" here.

So things are off to a great start! The only thing I can't stand is this heat.

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