Thursday, March 05, 2026
Wednesday, March 04, 2026
more Chuck Norris AI
I'd forgotten that there's a hilarious moment where Chuck does the most badass thing ever: He saves John Wick's dog.
another quiz!
Another quiz done, this time for compound and possessive nouns! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel: Part 6 is the last noun section, then we move on to verbs. Generating these quizzes is proving to be easy compared to the vibe-coding I'd been trying to do for my Do You Deserve to Vote? app, where it's just difficulty after difficulty.
As always, try the quiz out. If you have problems or disagreements, please leave a comment, air out your grievances, or leave suggestions/observations/smartass remarks. Of course, since most of the people reading this blog are not paying Substack subscribers, there's no way for you folks to check whether the quizzes indeed match the material being taught. But you can check other aspects of testing logic, perceived fairness, overall "playability," and other factors as well. I've thought about adding an "answer explanations" feature. If people start to clamor for one, I'll provide it, but it's going to mean exponentially more (vibe-)coding, which will bog me down with work. It's better just to leave your questions either in a given quiz's comment section or on Substack. I'll be happy to answer whatever questions I receive.
Because it's been hard to "scale up" the quiz coding to the size of a test, I'm beginning to wonder whether creating tests is even feasible. At some point, I need to learn how to code so I can create my own architecture myself.
Anyway, check out the latest quiz.
work/life balance before a "big" walk
This year's walk promises to be the shortest of the "big" walks that I've ever done.* Officially 146 kilometers, the Geumgang trail promises to be a compressed series of dams (the dams are more spread out along the Four Rivers trail). Since I love Korean dams, this ought to be a treat. Paradoxically, though, I'm having to prep for this trip a little more thoroughly in terms of equipment because I'll have no choice but to camp for one night. So: big backpack to carry the camping equipment, freeze-dried food, mess kit, and chemical fuel for a chemical campfire (not used in years... I hope it's still good). In case it rains, I need to bring rain gear for myself and my backpack, as well as a Ziploc bag for my phone to keep it safe from the damp.
Practice walks are part of the prep. When you do practice walks, you don't want to overexert yourself right before you set out on the real walk: blisters, etc., acquired before the walk only become bigger problems during the walk. So you have to leave yourself a few days to heal from whatever aches and pains come with the practice walking. My practice-walk schedule is: do a 9.5K walk (which I did yesterday), then an 18K walk (that's tomorrow), then a 33K walk (that's Saturday). Next week, practice walking with the backpack—9.5K walks next Tuesday and Thursday, nothing strenuous. Meanwhile, prep equipment, perform any last-minute checks on the route, and squeeze in some work.
For me right now, "work" basically means quiz-generation and book-creation. I plan to pump out two more quizzes before my departure date (March 15th, the Ides), then concentrate on my movie-review book. On the days I do my 18K and 33K walks, I doubt I'll have the energy to do any work at all. This means I'm working today, walking tomorrow, working Friday during the day, walking Friday night to Saturday morning, then working straight through the 14th of the month (9.5K-walk days are also work days).
March 4 (today): work on quizzes
March 5 (Thu.): walk 18K to Bundang (+ work...?)
March 6 (Fri.) work on quizzes
March 6-7 (Fri.-Sat.): walk 33K, Yangpyeong to Yeoju
March 7 (all day): probably rest
March 8 (Sun.): work on movie-review book
March 9 (Mon.): work on book
March 10 (Tue.): 9.5K walk with backpack, work on book
March 11 (Wed.): work on book
March 12 (Thu.): 9.5K walk with backpack, work on book
March 13 (Fri): work on book
March 14 (Sat.): work on book, final trip prep
March 15 (Sun.): depart for Daejeon, stay overnight
March 16-20: walk the Geumgang trail, pref. w/no injuries
March 20, evening: arrive back in Seoul
March 21: back to work, maybe with another quiz or three
before April 20: finish the ebook version of the movie-review book
April 20-30: repopulate Substack, the blog, etc.
before May 15: finish the dead-tree version of movie-review book
__________
*I've done several 120K walks from Incheon to Yangpyeong over the course of four days before, so it's not as though 146 km is that big of a difference. Just a day's difference is all.
a new quiz is up at Test Central
The quiz corresponding to my post Nouns, Part 4: Collective Nouns is up over at my Test Central blog. I'll have another quiz up by tonight, then a third quiz up either late Thursday (tomorrow) or sometime on Friday. You need to become a paying subscriber to understand the rules governing collective nouns, especially the rules for US English, before you try the quiz. Otherwise, be my guest and try several rounds of the quiz without reading the lesson, and if you see any problems with my questions, leave a comment.
In other news: I'm halfway through Season 2 of Kingdom. I've never been a fan of zombie movies and shows, but Kingdom has been pretty good so far despite logic problems.
As the Starks might say, A review is coming.
Tuesday, March 03, 2026
old news now, but did you hear this one?
While most of this story is now known to us (see my review of The Lost King), the surprising part is what the analysis of King Richard's paternal DNA line showed.
first walk in March
Today was a good day for a walk, so I walked out to the Han River. It was around 10.6ºC when I started (about 51ºF), so I wore just my jacket. Eventually, I'll have to do two or three training walks with a backpack on my back.
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| looking up Gaepo street; my apartment building's on the far-left edge of the photo |
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| the footbridge I always cross to get to the Tan's creekside |
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| walking along the Tan (note the baesumun/배수문/drainage gate) |
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| "I See U" graffito, grit-blasted off but still visible |
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| traffic dummy, resting |
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| scrawny tree, "conversation pit," creekside brush |
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Click to enlarge, then right-click and select "open image in new window" to see, up close, the yellow sign between the trees. |
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| Almost at the confluence with the Yangjae Creek; I'll turn right here. |
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| about to cross the Yangjae; I'll continue along the Tan (off to the right) |
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| where the Yangjae flows into the Tan |
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| a rare shot between the two low bridges (pedestrian + bike) |
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| Egret? "You know nothing, Jon Snow." |
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| The fish are back. |
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| Whoa—a new cairn (tap/탑) has sprung up. |
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| a closer look |
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| A CLOSER LOOK |
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| I never walk this short boardwalk. Don't know why. |
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| other, cruder cairns? |
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| You can't see it, but the Tan Creek is off to the right. |
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| all paved over now—no more fencing or construction equipment |
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| a view down the path and down the creek |
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| I'm stepping off into this long parking lot (left). |
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| looking way over at Jamshil, the district where the Lotte World Tower is |
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| stadium across the way (formerly an Olympic Stadium from the 1988 Seoul Olympics) |
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| a different stadium, plus other colors |
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| walking along the parking lot—Pylon F |
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| Pylon(s) H |
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| crossing the Tan Creek and nearing the halfway point, where I turn around |
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| Jersey barriers and—whoa, who's that? |
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| the almost-final stretch to the U-turn point |
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| plastic Jersey barriers |
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| two more bridges to go |
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| seeing the beauty in the ugliness |
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| Professor X would be proud. |
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| rebar crosses |
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| There's been a lot of aggressive landscaping, like this ramp. |
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| Could I live here? |
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| construction, scaffolding, etc. |
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| almost at the turnaround point—final bridge ahead |
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| This red rig-thingy was pumping up and down in a rather naughty way. |
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| looking left |
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| where I turn around—right by the Tan/Han confluence |
When I was about a quarter done, I was standing at the Yangjae/Tan confluence, taking pictures, when a random old guy sauntered up and handed me two little nurungji (toasted-rice flavor) candies. You should never accept candy from strangers because you never know if they're trying to poison you, so I pocketed the treats, bowed in thanks, and went on my way. I did eat the candies upon my return, and I didn't die. Maybe the poison needs something to react with to be activated, so stay tuned. Or maybe the guy was making a statement: Big fella, you look as though you could use some food. Here you go.
After I had turned around and by the time I had done about three-quarters of the route, I suddenly realized that I had seen only guys on bikes. With the imminent arrival of spring, all of the fair-weather pussies are back out, but today, for whatever reason, I had seen only guys. A rolling sausage party. Then suddenly, at about the three-quarters mark, a line of female bikers appeared—maybe four or five ladies in rapid succession, thoroughly owning their side of the path. It was almost as if the cosmos had responded to my having noticed a deficiency; it supplied a correction. For those of us not in relationships, anyway, women make everything better. A bit like bacon. Just remember which one to fry and which one to eat.
On Thursday, I'll do a longer walk, maybe down to Bundang (18K). Then on Saturday, I'll try a nighttime-to-morning walk from Yangpyeong to Yeoju (33K). Basically, I'm testing whether I can do these stretches with no major problems. The upcoming walk promises to be brutal: short, but with a 40K segment and a 34K segment: Days 1 and 4 of five days on the trail.
I don't know if I'll be taking pics of my upcoming little walks, so treasure the photos you see here. Naver Map is still being vague about the actual, full distance I'm walking when I do this particular route. Sometimes, it's 9K total; sometimes, it's 10K. I'm tempted to split the difference and say it's 9.5K. Whatever. A vague "9 or 10K" is fine for such a short walk.
Right—more later. Maybe.
how I know I'm getting old
When your French brother's twenty-something son sends an invitation to his wedding, you know you're getting old. I got the following PDF (reduced in size for blog purposes):
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| Jeanne et Pierre Ducoulombier = my French Maman et Papa Véronique et Dominique Ducoulombier = my French "brother's" wife and my French bro "Have the joy to announce the marriage of Manon & Augustin They are happy and will be united for life" |
That last part is very literally (maybe over-literally) translated. If you read certain French translations of the Bible, though, and you're looking at the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5), you'll immediately see that "Blessed are those who..." is translated as "Heureux qui...", i.e., "Happy are those who..." This is probably because the Greek term in question (Μακάριοι οἱ) can be translated as either "happy" or "blessed." So a less literal, looser, yet more "noble"-sounding translation of Ils sont heureux et vont s'unir pour la vie might be "They will happily enter into an eternal, blessed union." This introduces nuances not in the original, but you're taking a risk no matter how you translate something.
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| "M&A will be happy to find you on a day full of love and tenderness, rich in emotions to celebrate their betrothal. Saturday, July 4, 2026 The religious ceremony will take place at 3:00 p.m. at St. Eutrope Church 79270 Le Vanneau-Irleau. At the end of the celebration, the families will have the pleasure to greet you for a cocktail party that will be served at: Domaine du Château des Loups (Domain of the Château of Wolves) Chemin des Loups 79000 Sciecq |
St. Eutrope Church is the cathedral right next door to where Dominique runs his B&B. He's in a very small, town-y, peaceful location. Even the cemetery by the church feels peaceful, not creepy. In 2018, my B&B room looked over the cemetery.
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| DINNER We will rejoice to receive you at 8:30 p.m. for dinner at Domaine du Château des Loups, 79000 Sciecq You can set up a camper, camper-trailer, or a tent at the reception area to celebrate as one should. Response desired before April 4, 2026. |
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| M = Manon A = Augustin (a.k.a. Auguste or just Guste) |
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| We will be delighted to greet you the following day, Sunday, July 5, 2026, from 11 a.m. to have brunch and to prolong the celebration at Domaine du Château des Loups, 79000 Sciecq. Response desired before April 4, 2026. |
I took a long look at that name, Sciecq, and finally decided it should be pronounced "see-eck" or "syeck." And I was right! I looked Sciecq up, and it's a commune (small geographical region) not far from where Dominique lives.
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| cute couple |
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| Response card: Thank you for returning a response before April 4, 2026. Your family names and given names: ☐ Yes, we will be present—_____ adults, _____ children (under 12) ☐ No, we will not be able to be there. ☐ Special dietary requests: ______________________________ |
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| Ah, our path together. Note the French style for writing dates: 04-07-26 means July 4, i.e., 7/4/26. |
I'm still trying to decide whether I have the funds to go. Technically, I do, but a plane ticket followed by the price of staying at Dominique's B&B (he'll insist on not charging me, but I plan to sneak him cash if I do go) will put a big dent in my dwindling budget.
Timing is also a factor. I can theoretically say yes by April, get a fall uni job by May, use my dwindling cash to travel to France in July, then use the rest of my cash to move to whatever city my new job will be in (right now, I'm guessing Ulsan or Daegu).
Decisions, decisions.
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