Walmart is popular in this country because we can buy anything we want at low price. It's really amazing. They are huge and sell a lot of items (I guess we can stay in the store for a couple of weeks without going out. They have foods, clothes, drugs and daily necessaries.) Instead, the quality is terrible. I was excited when I went there the first time, but now it looks most of the items are "pre-waste" to me especially in cloth and toy department. I bought cheap sandals last time. They were oily and smelled funny. Cheap items have various "reasons" why they have cheap price. The concern about the quality has been rising in my mind to protect myself. I'm thinking to avoid cheap items especially made in China.

Driving test

I took driving test today. I thought I did good job, but I couldn't pass the test. The stuff said "You didn't look bikelist when you were making right turn." She was right. I didn't care about bikelist because I didn't see any bikelist during the test. Anyway, I have to go to DMV again and hope I will pass next time.

Proverb

I found a good proverb last night. "We begin aging when we stop learning". This could be true. My dad has stopped to learn anything since he retired. I hope he will find something exciting to learn.

Gray hairs

I saw myself in a mirror after taking a shower and realized my gray hairs are increasing. The gray hairs began to sprout when I was a junior high school student. I guess it's too early. We say "The people with a lot of gray hairs experienced a lot of troubles and overcame them", but it isn't true of me. I addition, proverbs say "Gray hair is a crown of glory" or "It is gained in a righteous life." But I just wish I would have healthy shiny brown hair again.

Dinner

This is my today's dinner. I get to eat a lot since I came here. I still have appetite even if I eat this steak. Of course, I gained weight about one pound every month last year, but now I'm getting skinny and my body weight is almost average. I have no idea where my fat is gone. It seems I won't get weight any longer. Now I can say "I love fatty food!".

Wet lab duty

I was wet lab duty today. My laboratory focuses on fish infectious diseases especially for virus and parasites so that we routinely keep various fish for our experiment. On weekends, We have to go there to take care of our fish in turn. I don't have my own fish now, but it's fun to see fish eating their food. When I come to the fish tank, they are excited and scatter water spray over me... Chinook salmons!!

Sunflowers

Davis is a small city and is surrounded by fields of various crops. This is a picture of sunflowers and they are planted to extract the oil. It looks like "yellow sea". We can enjoy them in summer on the way to Winters.

Fuel from rice

Apparently, the fuel produced from crops, such like corns or sugar cane, is getting popular as a substitution of gasoline. It's called bio-ethanol and it seems to have various benefits. The price of bio-fuel is cheaper than that of petroleum and it may improve air pollution (because it's a particulate-free burning fuel). The true aim of the government is to reduce consumption of gasoline and to boost its economy without depending on mid-east. In the United States, it could be practical idea because the production of corn is huge (though there are a lot of issues to be solved). On the other hand, Japanese government and Tokyo university has started one project to produce bio-ethanol using rice as a raw material. They say it will help to improve environment and promote employment at depopulated area. But it doesn't make any sense. Unlike USA, Japan is a small country and the area suitable for agriculture is limited. They will not be able to produce plenty of bio-ethanol to prop their economy. The scientists just want to pursue the current dynamics in energy situation, but they never consider the facts. I wish Japanese government would quit following other countries and could think of breakthrough in energy production.

My favorite picture

This is one of my favorit picture. I saw him in Montrey bay and he had a napping on a breakwater. He looks happy and peaceful, doesn't he? I want to be like him and spend a nice life.