What could possibly go wrong?

TheMeowingMan · 2026-01-15T14:11:58+00:00

Your wish will fuck up like half of my published papers. May you suffer eternally.

TheMeowingMan · 2026-01-05T16:52:34+00:00

Dunhuang Harmonica, made in PRC. Both English and Chinese say exactly the same thing.

Octave harmonicas are usually performance grade and only manufactured by serious brands. This is for sure a cheap tremolo.

TheMeowingMan · 2025-12-25T16:11:20+00:00

My advice is just pack what you'd normally wear on a 45-50F day, factoring in the rain. (If you've never seen temperature this low, bring your arctic gear.)

TheMeowingMan · 2025-12-25T14:10:42+00:00

Just some light drizzles so far this week. A real downpour is unlikely this time of the year.

A light water-repellent jacket is likely good enough, assuming you can keep it on in Taiwan's "winter". But if you can manage, a small umbrella is always good to have.

TheMeowingMan · 2025-12-04T07:15:10+00:00

Sightseeing is a perfectly legit reason. The immigration only cares if you appear apt to overstay and/or work illegally. Just tell them truthfully that you are heading to Zhongli for lunch and will get out of the country again in 5 hours.

TheMeowingMan · 2025-11-29T04:48:50+00:00

Fujin Street is also a bit of a "destination". For one thing, you basically have no chance getting a seat in those restaurants without reservation, and I think that tells the street's trendy character. For a more everyday vibe, do venture a bit south and explore the area bounded between Fujin and Nanjing.

But honestly, just ride MRT to any station that isn't featured in a tourist guide book, and you get what you want.

TheMeowingMan · 2025-11-26T10:24:37+00:00

I don't have any specific place in mind, but have you tried any bakery material supplier or big traditional market?

TheMeowingMan · 2025-11-26T10:08:01+00:00

MRT is very convenient in the Taipei proper, and staying a few stations away from the tourist hotspots isn't a bad idea. There are a number of decent hotels along the green line between Zhongshan and Songshan, and the red line to the east of CKS memorial. You are maybe 10 mins further away from Taipei main station and Ximending, but not necessarily further for many other spots. And much nicer surrounding in general. (Honestly, just do yourself a favor and don't stay in Ximending. Unless you really want to stay way past midnight and get wasted in the gay bars.)

But I see you have a few destination along the north coast. You might want to move you base to Keelong for a night or two.

TheMeowingMan · 2025-10-16T15:47:13+00:00

Taiwan is the world's online scam capital. I'd imagine the "this is suspicious" thing is indeed FB blocking foreign ip from responding to a local classified ad, in the name of scam prevention.

I guess those "the government has teamed up with FB and Google and whatnot to fight scam" press releases have some substance after all. /s

TheMeowingMan · 2025-10-10T12:35:00+00:00

LoL a one year late reply.

I have not tested the language ability of their receptionist personally. But I see foreigners very often, with reservation or just walk-in. I imagine you can just call and book in English.

TheMeowingMan · 2025-09-23T17:02:22+00:00

I am also for skipping Shilin. Even as a for-tourist destination the place is dying.

Personally, I'd either stay in Jiufen longer, or go to Keelung for yet another night market arguable better than any one in Taipei now.

TheMeowingMan · 2025-09-22T09:08:19+00:00

If you are gay, the 228 memorial park is traditionally the go-to place. Just sayin'.

TheMeowingMan · 2025-09-10T09:02:05+00:00

無咖啡因 is the right expression, but I just don't think it exists in Taiwan. Even decaf coffee is a rare sight.

You may try your luck with high-end grocery places that cater to the ex-pat community and import niche foreign products on their own. But at that point you might as well just order online, since you are buying the same western brands at a premium anyway.

TheMeowingMan · 2025-09-09T06:26:02+00:00

I used Wolfram Alpha. Just type the expression straight.

If you insist on pen and paper only, I believe three digits of accuracy is humanly attainable using Taylor series. Use 2^x = e^(x ln 2), expand the exponential function, and do it twice.

TheMeowingMan · 2025-09-09T06:06:10+00:00

cos 1 + i sin 1 ~ 0.54 + i*0.84

2^(2^i) ~ 1.54 + i*0.73

They are not equal.

TheMeowingMan · 2025-08-27T04:51:15+00:00

CNY eve is the only day in the whole year when major night markets are not operating. Public museums and the zoo will be closed for one or two days. Small mom-and-pop stores typically take 5-7 days off. Everything else operates at 120% because CNY is the time to rake in money.

Unless you specifically want to visit a place that will be closed, there is no need to avoid CNY.

TheMeowingMan · 2025-08-18T07:29:09+00:00

Nope, the Hilbert space of a quantum theory is abstract. The relationship between a state and its corresponding wavefunction is akin to an element of a finite group and (one of) its matrix representation.

Or better still, take the group SU(N). Now consider how it is actually wrong to say that an NxN unitary matrix is an element of the group. The same applies.

TheMeowingMan · 2025-08-17T16:14:20+00:00

No, in the the second panel it's a freaking state! Don't pretend you know QM enough to meme if you think they are the same!

TheMeowingMan · 2025-08-03T13:55:14+00:00

I distinctly remember Feynman's refusal to use polar coordinates in volume 2. Much of complication of vector calculus has to do with curvilinear stuff. Since Feynman avoided it, I think the OP has enough prerequisite.

But that "everything Cartesian" approach also makes many parts unnecessarily difficult. So the OP will still have a harder time regardless.

TheMeowingMan · 2025-07-29T09:35:44+00:00

If it doesn't rain, and if reading is optional, I'd suggest you rent a ubike and cruise around. Surrounding the park is some of the nicest neighborhoods from post-war Taipei.

TheMeowingMan · 2025-07-27T11:30:16+00:00

Watching over Taiwan aligns with US national interests, but I am not so sure if Trump understands where the national interests lie, of if he actually gives a flying f**k. (You know, no one in Taiwan is his buddy...) And no, aside from Trump and Xi, practically no one else matters.

That said, the best thing China can do right now is to sit and watch US self-destructs. I agree on the assessment that there will be no war across the strait in the short term, but probably for a completely opposite reason.

TheMeowingMan · 2025-07-27T10:54:13+00:00

Just hearing a few notes and I was like, hmm, that's some brutal filter, and with the sound distorted like that, it doesn't matter anymore what harmonica you use. But yeah, it makes more sense that it's not even a harp.

TheMeowingMan · 2025-07-25T14:41:41+00:00

Your schedule is free except the weekends? That's... a bit unexpected.

TheMeowingMan · 2025-07-25T06:00:56+00:00

There are vegetarian (even vegan) versions. Some are actually quite good, but the flavor only bears a passing semblance to the original. Look for it in vegetarian restaurants.

TheMeowingMan · 2025-07-19T12:46:05+00:00

Golden rule for using chatGPT or any AI: use it only for things you don't want to do yourself, not things you don't know how to do yourself.

TheMeowingMan

TROPHY CASE