As soon as I envision that there's nothing new, something normally pops into my head, strange as that can be sometimes. I've talked about the culture, such as I have known it, which is not intimately, but in a more studied sense, I suppose. And although it takes some digging to find, Koreans are indeed a fairly creative lot, at least once you get past the creativity they have to put into their very existence at times, which can be considerable. None the less, I must admit, as much as I have bitched, there are things in Korea I wish I had discovered, or might discover, in the west. As well as manners in which they are entirely original. Chief among things I wish we did have in America is floor heating, which in the typical Korean home takes the place of a normal furnace, which would take up valuable space. It's controlled by a wall unit kind of like a thermostat, but which also controls the temperature of the water heater, because that's how the floor heat operates. You simply have NO idea how nice it is to put your feet on a warm floor on a February day. Mandoo, a cheese, meat or veggie dumpling you fry or boil, and which is actually borrowed from the Chinese as I understand, is another winner, and has become one of my Korean food staples. (which I'm sure my wife and family will be thrilled to hear.) I also like their small trucks, if for no other reason than they're real TRUCKS, and make the Dodge Ram and Ford F-150 look positively sissy. A Hyundai Porter or Kia Bongo has a real BOX, with sides that fold down on all three sides, and not just styled space where the cab ends. The Daewoo Matiz, a car only slightly longer than my 6-foot-some arm span, is so utterly Korean in design and execution I have to mention it. I haven't driven it myself, but as I understand from reports in the British automotive press, it's the biggest fun-to-drive small car since Sir Alec Issignonis' original Mini Cooper. And given the state of the Asian environment, and it's effect on things worldwide, I suppose something really serious will have to be done soon with regard to diesel particulate emissions, although as I've stated before too, the vast majority of the taxi cabs, which are a predominant portion of the motor fleet in Korea, usually run on CNG. Oh, and I almost failed to mention a real winner from the dad perspective, ice cream packaged in a plastic squeeze tube; no mess, and it usually costs about 25 cents. (250 Won) Now THAT'S a winner!The nature of their art is highly imitative, but it's there. And, as I've probably blathered on endlessly about at this point, they still have their issues in terms of "thinking outside the box," but that, based on at least a few of the things I've seen, is changing, too. Here in 2006, they also seem to be very much a transitory culture, hoping to be on the way to something better. I hope for them. I do my part. But in the end, of course, I still want to go home at the end of all this. If nothing else, I like having a real shower stall. Speaking of shower stalls, after I was done bathing the other day, a Silverfish scurried across the floor, meeting it's maker against the toilet paper I held in my hand. I HATE those little things, and now I check under the sink when I'm in the bathroom, just to make sure another one doesn't pop out. I'm sure it probably will, but I've been wierd kinda paranoid about seeing them now. Yeah, I know. Sue me, okay?