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I got my BS in mathematics from the University of Arizona, in the beautiful city of Tucson. I didn’t always think education was important, in fact when I grew up, I joined the military instead of going directly to school. I thought that a degree was just a piece of paper. Then [...]

With the conclusion of a long year of classes and work, my girlfriend and I decided to go celebrate amid the dazzling lights and sounds of Las Vegas. Our plane took off the very Friday afternoon of finals week, and we were in for a week of fun and excitement. We booked four hotels in [...]

I just took a nine-day trip to Las Vegas with my girlfriend, and I ended up learning a lot more than I thought I would. Here are some of the things I did in the City That Never Sleeps.
Checked in at the Stratosphere.
Played slot machines for the first time ever.
Got seven “quick hits” simultaneously in [...]

Hashigo is the Japanese art of barhopping. While every country has its share of barhopping, leave it to the overworked Japanese salaryman to take the art to its extreme. My girlfriend taught me this exotic eastern art and the bars in Columbus will never forget our hashigo adventures.
The word “hashigo” is written in katakana (ハシゴ [...]

I just got back from five days in Florida with my girlfriend. That’s why there’s been silence from Glowing Face Man for the past few days. We took off from Columbus on a Thursday (I had another teacher cover for me at my calculus class) and made a connecting flight in Atlanta, Georgia. Actually, we [...]

When was the last time you broke into a building? When was the last time you went somewhere you weren’t supposed to go? Was it when you were a kid? Not if you’re an Urban Explorer. Urban Exploration is the art of going where you’re not allowed to go. Rooftops. Tunnels. Construction sites. Abandonments. Restricted [...]

Early in my Japan trip, I experienced something almost no tourists experience, in part because I speak a ton more Japanese than most tourists, but more importantly because I got lucky as hell.
I was on a train somewhere around the Ōmiya area, and I started a conversation with an older Japanese woman. Of course, those [...]

Going to Japan, I noticed a stark difference between how the Asian Idols presented themselves, versus how it’s done in the West. At the same time, at a deeper level, they both do the same thing. Of course I’ll say in advance, there are exceptions to both rules, I’m speaking in broad generalities, etc. etc. [...]

During my recent Japan trip, I became aware of what I call the “Language Tradeoff”, or “Language Compromise”. One of my goals in Japan was to improve my own spoken Japanese, which I’ve been studying for a couple years now. “Awesome,” I thought, “I’ll go to some bars and clubs and everyone will talk to [...]

The sun is setting on the Japan trip, kindling in us the acute pangs of parting. Let’s bid farewell to the World’s Last Empire with a final bash of photos. These photos are mostly from Tokyo.
By clicking any picture, you’ll get a large, high-resolution copy of it. In fact, it’s so high resolution it’s ILLEGAL [...]