Boujin

The Silver Lining On My Silver Week

2011-09-19T23:42:00.002+09:00

Silver week in Japan is in full swing. Hisako and I celebrated the extended weekend by dividing our days into three distinct themes.

Day 1: Apartment hunting
Day 2: Sight Seeing
Day 3: Shopping

Silver week varies from year to year, but the Japanese government has done its best to bunch together a number of Japanese holidays near the weekends to give workers an extended period of time off. The combination of Respect for the Aged Day and the Autumnal Equinox give the worker with 3 well placed paid leave days a full week off from work. And a guaranteed ticket to sky-high travel prices and crowds to make Shibuya crossing look tame.

Day 1 of our silver week was spent right in Tokyo itself and not far from home at all. Still trying to build up enough reserves to make the move to our own place, we spent the majority of the day looking at apartments in nearby neighborhoods. So far a couple of candidates have surfaced, but, alas, finding a good balance between greenery (is there any in Tokyo?), moderate rent, and commute times less than 10% of your waking hours, is not an easy task. I'd be lying if I thought it was going to be.

Day 2 was a chance for Hisako and I to dust off those travel ? and head south to Kamakura. Kamakura was one of the first capitals of Japan and is home to the oldest Zen temples in the country. While I've been down there to the famous big buddha and a few of the temples, I never had the the chance to vist the area called Kita Kamakura or northern Kamakura. Hisako had an itch to get down there and we scratched it.

We snagged the train straight into Kita Kamakura, missing the swarms of tourists ogling over Kamakura's equivalent of the strip in Vegas where soba noodle joints stand shoulder to shoulder instead of casinos. Alighting from the train in Kita Kamakura we were greeted with a tiny station that lacks any gate and relies heavily on the good nature of travelers. A lone ticket collector stood guard near the Suica machine and collected a few tickets from from the 1% of travelers that haven't upgraded to the convenient track-me-wherever-I-go RFID cards that we all carry now.

Best of all, however, was the greenery that greeted us on all sides as soon as we stepped off the the platform and looked around. Trees, bushes, and small rolling hills surrounded us and we quickly made our way towards the shade provided by aforementioned shrubbery as the sun was being relentless.

Kita Kamakura is the sleepier, yet regal family member of the two Kamakuras and home to three of five important zazen budest temples in eastern Japan. Kamakura became the seat of power in the late 12th century, for which Hisako taught me a mnemonic that all elementary school children know in Japan. i-i-ku-ni (いいくに), which translated means "good country." The mnemonic correlates the hiragana with the numerals. "i" becomes 1, "ku" becomes 9, and "ni" becomes 2. Written in kanji it would be 良い国. And I'm curious as to why the Kamakura period was thought of so fondly. Now you too can remember the start of the Kamakura period in Japan.

In Kita Kamakura we visited one temple, although there are plenty more to see. We heard that a good garden was to be found at Kencho-ji, which is named after the period in which is was created. Not after that fact, as I thought, about it being a very elongated structure. The grounds of Kencho-ji are sprawling and there is a lot to see from bell that are a dime a dozen in zazen temples to a small bamboo forest in the back.

I was most impressed with the ancient Chinese juniper trees on the walkway leading up to the main temple complex. The trunks were several meters wide, although the trees themselves are only 5 meters tall. The seedlings are said to have been brought over from China many years ago, potentially dating the trees to the 1300's. I also liked the bamboo forest that we found behind the zazen garden. The wind was coming in small gusts at the time and the stalks were busy bumping into one another and creating a lovely symphony of claves-esque sounds. The zazen garden, which many list as a must see didn't do much for me and if seeing a zazen garden is your main objective, like it was mine, you may be let down. It was probably the simplicity of the thing that got to me, but maybe that's the whole point anyway.

From Kencho-ji, we began ambling towards Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, which is the main temple on a hill at the end of dankazura (the Vegas strip street). By the time we reached this temple on the hill we were getting hungry, but Hisako insisted that there were better, cheaper places to eat than on dankazura. So we headed downhill and headed to the streets running parallel to the main street. While there were plenty of options there and it was a bit cheaper than the main drag, lunches seemed to start from around 1000 yen. Not cheap in my books! Fortunately, at the place we found you got what you paid for. We both ordered ten-don (tempura on rice) and out came a big bowl of rice with a generous portion of tempura pilled on top. The tempura was excellent and the accompanying soup, pickles, and dessert were mmm, mmm, good. Although I really shouldn't compare this to KFC. The setting itself was also a bit unusual as we shared a table with several others.

Back outside, we began a hike that was the highlight of my day. First we headed east from dankazura and quickly started to see the crowds thinning out. Thanks to my sister-in-laws advice, we were aiming for a small trail that skirts between a couple of temples, a graveyard, and through the woods. Back, away from the crowds, you could feel the stillness surround you and the humidity, with no means of escaping the woods, clung to us for dear life. In no time, we were sweating as we climbed over a trail where at times you could only fit one foot on to the trail as we scampered through a narrow crevice. The humidity wasn't the only thing that followed us, as mosquitoes began to hover around us. So we quickened our pace and eventually made it to the top of the hill was a deliciously refreshingly breezy and mosquito free overlook awaited us.

From there we headed back downhill a bit and to the temple where you can wash your money - Zeniarai Benten. I neglected to participate in this little ceremony, but that didn't stop me from going and seeing the happy hundreds who washed everything from a few yen to 10,000 yen notes in wicker baskets in the cool mountain water. It is said that washing the money there will bring you back double. Ah, those monks and their crafty ways.

To finish off the day we meandered back towards the station, grabbing a coffee at a Starbucks that included a pool you can't swim in, and a failed attempt at doing a little bit of geocaching. No surprise here, but we were both absolutely knackered and promptly our best overworked salary person routine on the train and passed out.

If you've managed to read this far, I hate to disappoint, but let's not forget day 3, shopping!

Shopping mainly consisted of heading back to my old haunt, Kichijoij. A mixture of necessities and clothes shopping, it didn't have all the ancient cultural lessons of the day before, but it was a great trip nevertheless. I learned that I've probably graduated from Samrat, a chain of Indian restaurants in Tokyo, actually had a great time picking out some clothes for Hisako, and always enjoy seeing a bustling metropolitan hub where you can observe history in the making instead of trying to imagine days gone by.

All in all, the start of Silver Week was a lovely mixture of new, old, consumerism, tranquility, reflection, and looking into the future.

Here's to looking forward to the remainder of the week!

Curse of #1 Rankings

2011-09-13T13:43:00.000+09:00

As a long term addict to suffering, i.e. a Cleveland Indians (Cleveland sports in general) fan, I can't help but feel a little superstitious about the fact that the turning point in Cleveland's season this year just so happened to correspond with the exact week they got a #1 ranking on ESPN's power rankings...

After an amazing start to the season and blowing everyone's socks off (except the White Sox's), they get ranked #1 in the league. It took them 7 weeks to get there and then 7 weeks later after that #1 ranking to reverse the trend completely.

First 7 weeks: 29 and 15 (Power ranking #1)
Next 7 weeks: 15 and 23 (Power ranking #8 and dropping like the Demon Drop)

How I love being a Cleveland sports fan.

Cleveland Indian Fallin Power Rankings
http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/rankings/_/name/cle/cleveland-indians

Sweaty GPS?

2011-09-13T11:12:00.000+09:00

Very strange data from my run today. Somehow my phone was out of sync with the satellites and gave me bogus data for the run. The sun was pretty intense and I was sweating a lot, so thought maybe the water was messing with the device in some way it shouldn't be.

When I finished and looked down at the display, it showed some staggering results. I was thinking, "Awesome! A day or two off from running, come back and look what I can do!" In reality, I didn't just run nearly 8k's or average a blistering 12km / hr. The top speed stat, which is always funky to begin with, gave me the biggest chuckle.

Top speed: 140km / hr.

Fast enough to hydroplane on water like these guys.

Oh, and today's run.

View 2011-09-13 09:27 in a larger map

The Sengawa Trail (仙川遊歩道)

2011-09-09T11:39:00.000+09:00

By far my most meandering run to date, but found some hidden gems along the way.

Found a great little path called 仙川遊歩道 (Sengawa Trail) that starts just down the road from where we live. This trail appears to be part of a much larger network of trails that follows the Sengawa river. Would love to explore this a bit more to see how far I could get. Maybe take the train back if I get to far?

View To The Highway - Kyorin - Sengawa : 4.9 km, 9.4 km / hr, 00:31:09 in a larger map

Here's a preview of the entire trail running along the Sengawa river.

View Sengawa Jogging Trail in a larger map

Close to Pukey Time

2011-09-06T12:36:00.002+09:00

Maybe it was the hard push that I did at the end of the run or my higher pace overall today, but I was awfully close to what Bode Miller so elegantly phrased Pukey Time.

Enjoy.

And of course the run that did it.

View Kyorin - Sengawa : 5.4 km, 10.3 km / hr, 00:31:39 in a larger map

South Side Run

2011-09-03T09:58:00.000+09:00

Today's run :
4.7 km, 9.3 km / hr, 00:30:15

A typhoon is approaching today, so some strong head / tail winds during the run. The route today hit too many stop lights / railroad crossings. Often found myself jogging in place or standing around. Need to figure out a better route if going to the south side.

View South Side : 4.7 km, 9.3 km / hr, 00:30:15 in a larger map

Currency Online versus PayPal

2011-09-01T17:15:00.000+09:00

Following up on an earlier post on international money transfers to Japan, I've now decided on the best method to get money to Japan from the US.

For transfers for more than 40,000 JPY, use Currency Online.
If the amount is less than 40,000 JPY, you're better off using PayPal.

Currency Online would win out in all cases, except that they use an intermediate bank to get the funds from the Bank of New Zealand to any bank account in Japan. I asked COL if they had any accounts in Japan and they told me no. They said their Japanese customers always eat this fee. So no matter which bank you have an account with in Japan, you'll be looking at receiving roughly a 2,500 yen charge.

Doing some quick math and assuming the 2,500 charge, this gave me a tipping point of 40,000 yen.

Hope that's helpful to others out there who are trying to weight the options. If you've done a transfer with COL to a Japanese bank account and didn't get charged, do let me know!

General Gripes and Praises for Lion

2011-09-01T16:19:00.001+09:00

I'm working hard to get Lion to work for me. Seeing as this is supposed to be the "most advanced operating system in the world" I'm a bit surprised that the workflow doesn't come more intuitively. Maybe I'm just becoming an old dog...

Window Swapping

Is it too much to ask to be able to swap easily between windows?

Here's what my environment looks like at a random moment during the day...

Supposedly the dashboard has solved the ability to quickly navigate between applications, but I'm not convinced. As long as you have multiple windows open within the same application you're left with an ugly stack of windows (see the Chrome collection in the image above) that's even more difficult to navigate than it was with Expose.

Seeing as the personal computer is moving away from applications on the machine to applications in the cloud (i.e. run in browsers), I think Apple needs to seriously look at at least handling the multiple tabs / windows that browsers require and providing easy access to them.

Full Screen Apps / Workspaces

On the other hand, I'm a fan of the full screen mode for applications. I've been using multiple desktops for some time now and the ability for a single app to take up the entire screen is a welcome addition. Seeing as I do a lot of web development and surfing the web, it's nice to have the browser full screen and in its own workspace at all times.

I'm feeling a bit outdated, however, with my 2007 MBP because it doesn't support all of the multi-touch gestures that Lion is built around. The biggest one is the ability to swipe between desktops. I still use the control-arrow key combination. The linear nature of the workspaces, however, is a bit of a drawback.

I used to place my most used application in the center of a grid and supplemental applications in workspaces around that. Made it easy to swap between the main app and helper apps. For example, browser in the center and programming app above and terminal to the right.

I get roughly the same thing with the new dashboard, but have gone back to using apple-tab to swap between applications again.

Finder Windows and Save Dialog Boxes

Yeah! Looks at all those recent files.

Easy to get to what I'm working on.

I love the new "All my files" view option within the finder. Makes it extremely easy to get to the files I'm working on quickly. Same as the "recently modified" search that was in the finder sidebar in Leopard, but more intuitive.

But why can't this window be standardized throughout the operating system? Seems like I get a different way of displaying my directories with each application I own...

In an Apple application I see the standard side bar and can quickly navigate to where I want to go. Love the "Date last opened" view.

Open Adobe products, however, and I'm left with Adobe's take on how save dialog boxes should look like. I just can't understand why this area of the operating system isn't more standardized. Makes my head spin around in circles each time when I have to come up with different ways to navigate to my files.

Conclusion

Swapping between windows within OS X Lion still leaves a lot to be desired. I'd go as far as saying that the way it was handled in Leopard / Snow Leopard was better.

But if you're looking to learn a few new tricks, you'll be able to make the most of the full screen apps feature to reduce the clutter of your working environment.

Off And Running Again

2011-09-01T11:52:00.000+09:00

2nd run since surgery.

Trying to get back into the swing of things with running. Was doing a fair bit before having surgery on my leg and then took a break for about a month and a half. Since that surgery, I've found some freelance work and picked up an Android phone.

That means GPS! Aside from being really excited about doing Geocaching in the near future, it's a great tool for tracking my runs. I downloaded the the "My Tracks" app and gave it a go today. The result? The map listed below. I actually like the elevation data it also gives you, but no easy was to share that. So for now, a Google map. Since I'm sure you've been dying to see yet another person sharing data about where they've been, what they've eaten or how many babies they've had recently.

Speaking of Geocaching, I looked today and found that there is a cache located right next to the Jindaji Elementary School school on the map. Going to have to check that out next time I run by.

View 2011-09-01 Run - Jindaiji in a larger map

Intergrate Twillio and the Yii Framework

2011-08-09T21:00:00.003+09:00

For anyone that wants to integrate the Twillio api with the Yii Framework, here's a rough guide.

Overview:

Download the Twilio php api
Place the Services folder into your components folder
Update your controller

Those should be all the steps you need, although I'm looking for a solution to get the code out of the controller and create a Twilio object I can use when I want throughout the application. Comments on how to do that appreciated.

Download the Twilio Php API

Grab the latest Twilio helper libraries from here:

http://www.twilio.com/docs/libraries/

Place the Service folder into your components folder

Go /protected/components and place the unpacked Services folder there. You'll find Twilio.php and the Twilio folder within the Services folder.

Update the controller

Last step involves updating your action within the controller to make use of the Twilio libraries.

First you'll want to create a REST related action in your controller. For example, "actionTwilioRest".

public function actionTwilioRest()

You'll then want to set your AccountSid and AuthToken, which you can find within your Twilio account. Review the tutorials and helps files at Twilio for more about this.

$AccountSid = "your account sid here";

$AuthToken = "your authtoken here";

Due to the fact that Yii has an autoloader as does the Twilio library, you'll need to unload Yii's while you load up Twilio. Here's how you do that.

spl_autoload_unregister(array('YiiBase','autoload'));

require('Services/Twilio.php');

You're now ready to create your Twilio client object like so:

$client = new Services_Twilio($AccountSid, $AuthToken);

At this point, you can perform whatever Twilio functions you need to, such as looping through a list of phone numbers, etc.

When you've finished up your Twilio related operations, you're ready to load back in the YiiBase. Do so with another spl_autoload_register call.

spl_autoload_register(array('YiiBase','autoload'));

And with that, you should have a working Twilio library right within your Yii application.

Below is the full action declaration that I used.

public function actionTwilioRest()

{

$this->layout = "xmlLayout";

// set our AccountSid and AuthToken

$AccountSid = "your account sid here";

$AuthToken = "your authtoken here";

spl_autoload_unregister(array('YiiBase','autoload'));

require('Services/Twilio.php');

// instantiate a new Twilio Rest Client

$client = new Services_Twilio($AccountSid, $AuthToken);

// make an associative array of people we know, indexed by phone number

$people = array(

"+155555555"=>"Joe",

"+1155555444"=>"Boujin",

);

// iterate over all our friends

foreach ($people as $number => $name) {

// Send a new outgoinging SMS by POSTing to the SMS resource

try {

$sms = $client->account->sms_messages->create(

$number,

"YYY-YYY-YYYY",

"Hey $name, testing the web app. You can ignore."

);

echo "Sent message to $name";

} catch (Exception $e) {

echo 'Error: ' . $e->getMessage();

}

spl_autoload_register(array('YiiBase','autoload'));

}

Image search with images

2011-08-09T20:04:00.002+09:00

So this blew me away today. Google's image search now supports searches... with images.

Give it a try with some of their demo images or try uploading your own. I found it working with images that are fairly recognizable. Ahh, more food for the Google-is-only-going-to–make-us-dumber fodder.

Give these pictures a go:

Success:

Fail:

Power consumption in Tokyo since the quake

2011-08-07T11:10:00.001+09:00

Since the quake, the people of Tokyo and across Japan have been working hard to reduce power consumption because of the crippled nuclear power situation. The work has been paying off.

Comparing to last year's statistics, Tokyo is being far more efficient with it's energy. Even on the hotter days, Tokyo has been using less energy than before. Here's a little graph showing recent data, but if you'd like to see the whole year then head over to the statistics page.

You can really see the difference just after the earthquake and now that it's getting into the hotter months.

To make the graph, I used the power consumption stats from Tepco and the high temperature for Tokyo. Changed the temperature to Kelvin to make the numbers a little prettier and make sure there were no negative numbers.

PHP: Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_VARIABLE in...

2011-08-02T10:47:00.000+09:00

Yikes, round kick me in the face because I didn't realize the cause of following error:
Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_VARIABLE in....

If you've gotten a similar error be sure to look for one thing first.
Your semicolons (;)

I was missing a semicolon at the end of the line, one line above the one which PHP was reporting the error for.

Hope this helps those who run across this error. If there are other causes for getting the unexpected T_VARIABLE error, please let me know!

XML Output with the Yii Framework

2011-08-01T20:20:00.000+09:00

My quick solution for getting the Yii Framework to display XML data.

I'm just going to give the code from a project that I'm working, so substitute in your own names where necessary.

Overview
Files to create:

protected/views/[your_class]/[your_action].php
protected/views/layouts/[your_xml_layout].php

Files to modify:

protected/controllers/[your_controller].php

In general, the approach is as follows. Create a layout that wraps our XML and outputs the XML header.

Step 1: Create The View Files
For the layout file, make sure you have at least the bolded text below included:

File: protected/views/layouts/[your_xml_layout].php

<?php header("Content-type: text/xml"); ?>
<?php echo '<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>'?>
<Response>         
        <Tag><?php echo $content; ?></Tag>
</Response>

I'll leave it up to you to figure out how you want to wrap your data with xml tags.

Next, create the view file for the action. This can be as complex as you want it to be. Here's an extremely simple example showing the output of just one variable.

File: protected/views/[your_class]/[your_action].php

<?php echo CHtml::encode($model->getAttributeLabel('name')); ?>: 
<?php echo CHtml::encode($model->name); ?>

Step 2: Edit the Controller
Now you want to tell your controller which files to use. Create a new action in your controller and make sure you assign both the layout file you created and the action view.

For example:

public function action[your_action]($id)
{
  $this->layout = "[your_layout]";
  $this->render('[your_action]',array('model'=>$this->loadModel($id)));
}

Lastly, make sure that you have allowed access to your new action if that's a necessity.

If others have a better means of doing this, do let me know in the comments and I'll update this howto.

Further Reading

I found the following pages for reference when investigating the issue to begin with.
http://www.kirupa.com/web/mysql_xml_php.htm
http://www.yiiframework.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4664-xml-output/

Rebuilding Picasa Folders on OS X

2011-07-30T10:57:00.003+09:00

This fix will only work for those who've copied files from a Windows machine and are having trouble getting then to appear in Picasa.

Pictures Not Appearing In Picasa After Copy

I just imported 40,000 pictures from a Windows box to my MacBook. These were pictures that were taken on my round the world trip in 2010 / 2011. After letting Picasa do it's magic, I noticed that about 1/3 of the folders weren't appearing in the folder list on the left hand side.

I did a check by going to File > Add Folder to Picasa..., but was dismayed to see that the folders missing were listed there with the "Scan Always" icon. Confused, I closed Picasa and opened it again with no apparent effect.

I thought the solution would be to rebuild the database. But 2/3's of the images were showing up correctly in Picasa so I wondered if there was another way and if something fishy was going on.

For those that don't mind a bit of command line magic, there is and there was.

Pesky ".picasa.ini" Files

The issue lay in the invisible ".picasa.ini" files located in each of the directories that I copied. On the Mac, these files aren't used. I tried removing one of these files and saw Picasa start rebuilding thumbnails. Bingo!

So how do you do this en masse? Use the find and xargs command on the command line.

Deleting Multiple ".picasa.ini" Files At Once

Here are the commands as I did them:


cd /Volumes/Files/boujin/Pictures
find . -name "*.picasa.ini" -path "*2010-10*" | xargs rm

Being a little wary of giving Picasa too much work too quickly, I decided against doing "2010*", which would have removed ".picasa.ini" files from all folders in 2010. Instead, I went month by month running the command. After executing the find command, I would wait for Picasa to index all of the photos and then move on to the next month.

Finishing Up

Images dating from 2010/10 to 2011/04 were missing, so I only had to do these folders / subfolders. After I had rebuilt the thumbnails for all these folders, I did one last check for ".picasa.ini" files in 2010 and 2011 and removed the remaining ones.

Finally, all my images were appearing as they should.

P.S.

I didn't use the "-print0" and "-0" flags for the find and xargs commands respectively, because doing so caused find to output all of the directories it was searching through. I didn't want to risk deleting some folder or file I wasn't targeting. However, there is an issue with this. If you're folders have spaces in them then the command I have listed won't work. If someone has an alternative version of the command above that would escape spaces correctly, please let me know.

Should I sign up for an unlimited data plan for Japanese cell phones?

2011-07-29T15:41:00.000+09:00

If you're like me then you want to know if it's worth signing up for the unlimited data plans offered by Japanese keitai companies.

I use KDDI and conveniently lost my old phone somewhere between South Africa and Hong Kong, so upgraded to a smartphone when I got back to Japan. I spent awhile digging around the KDDI web site trying to figure out if it was worth signing up for their unlimited data usage plan.

In short :

Double Teigaku Plan : 4.8MB - Unlimited : 2,100 to 5,900 yen

IS Flat Plan : Unlimited : 5,400 yen

Cost Breakdown

As I'm currently strapped for cash, I was wondering whether or not I could get away with having a smartphone and not pay the 5,000 yen/month unlimited usage plan. Given the way the representatives talk at the AU store or elsewhere, I thought there wasn't any option but to sign up for the unlimited data usage plan. However, in AU's case, they give you the option of signing up for the unlimited plan or the double teigaku plan.

For the double teigaku plan you pay a base cost of about 2,100 yen / month up to 5,900 yen / month.

For the IS Flat plan you pay 5,400 yen / month.

Bandwidth Usage

So how much bandwidth can you use with your 2,100 yen? About 4.8MB or 40,000 packets. A packet with AU is 128 bytes. Now 4.8MB is not going to get you very far once you step out your door and stop using the WiFi in your house. Just a quick look at my inbox and I'm probably averaging 8KB to 16KB per email message. A few of them have attachments, so one download of my inbox could easily put me up to 2MB. 50% of my monthly allowance in just one email check (caching aside).

What about surfing the internet? Just visiting this page used around 70KB and I have little in terms of images or fancy graphics. ESPN's top page? Anywhere from 250KB to 2MB. Two visits to ESPN and you're done surfing for the month.

Of course, you could keep surfing and the beauty of the Double Teigaku plan is that you can't use more than 5,900 yen / month, but that's higher than the IS Flat plan to begin with. If you planned on using just a little bit more, then you're looking at about 500 yen / 1MB of data usage.

Conclusion

Those who want a smartphone so they can carry their schedule, todo lists, contact lists, etc around with them and not pay the hefty data usage plans, signing up for the Double Teigaku plan is worth it.

If you plan on using Google Maps, navigator, facebook, and other online interfacing apps, then just go for the unlimited plan.

What's your experience? Softbank or Docomo users out there must have similar plans. Would be interested in hearing about those.

Costs for transfering money to Japan from the US with PayPal

2011-07-20T01:22:00.002+09:00

For those of you who are interested in transferring money from the United States to Japan with PayPal...

I would recommend against it because of super high fees

Details of my transfer (July 2011):

Amount to receive:     88,000 JPY

Amount sent:           91,432 JPY (1,186 USD)

Market exchange rate:  79.18

PayPal exchange rate:  77.04

Transaction Charge:
When using PayPal across borders you will be charged 3.9% on transfers with a standard account. If you pump up the amount you send or do business with on a monthly basis you might be able to get a rate of 3.5% or so. Either way you're going to be losing a LOT of money.

You can check out PayPal's FAQ page on transaction charges for more details.

Exchange Rate:
Hard to find such an atrocious rate anywhere else on the market. With the market trading at 79.18 and PayPal buying at 77.04, I'm losing over 2 yen per dollar traded. Many of the other money transfer systems I saw out there were aiming to get within 1% of the market rate.

The worst part of the deal is that you cannot receive USD if you plan on transferring those dollars to a Japanese bank account. When withdrawing money from PayPal to a Japanese bank, you have to do it in Japanese Yen. This means either you or the sender need to use PayPal's exchange rates rather than the better ones offered by your bank.

How Much You Lose:

Theoretical      : 1,112 USD = 88,000 JPY

PayPal : 1,186 USD = 88,000 JPY
Transaction Cost : 74 USD

A $74 USD transaction charge (6.7%!) on $1,100 USD has got to be higher than a majority of other money transfer options you'll find out there.

Transferring To A Japanese Bank

At time of writing, I was still in the process of sending the money from my PayPal account to my Japanese bank account. PayPal has told me it will take 3 to 6 business days for the transaction to occur. I've got my fingers crossed that the transfer will come through without any issues. Otherwise I'm looking at a 300 JPY charge if the transfer fails for some reason.

I Hope That Something Better Comes Along

I'm currently in the process of giving currencyonline.com a try to see if I can get a better deal. I also did some research on HiFX, but they seem to cater to the UK audience. CO appears to be affiliate of HiFX in the US / Canada anyway. Will write a follow up article when trading with CO when my next transfer comes through.

If you've had better experience using money transfer services that allow for a $1,000+ transfers, please do leave comments.

Baby Syndrom

2009-06-28T23:44:00.002+09:00

I find it odd how every stage of life throws a different set of social pressures at you. There is no avoiding them and the most recent one to come my way is the pressure of having a child. Within the past 6 months friends around me have given birth to four children and the joy with which the talk about the children makes me want one too!

Yet, if we have a child, then we are immediately cemented to our location and many of the pleasures that I take part in on a daily basis will go out the window. Not to mention that the pressure of providing for the family will take my rather calm attitude and test its mettle. I certainly don't feel ready to be a father from an intellectual point of view. I'm sure that all fathers say that and by the time my daughter or son is looking to me for advice that is beyond the elementary I'll have another 10 years of experience under my belt to truly give them the worldly advice they desire... still it seems like I haven't accomplished enough yet to warrant being the adviser of something so malleable.

With the advent of social media I'm also witnessing first hand things that only parents themselves would have witnessed before or I would have only heard of months or years after it had occurred. This added insight makes me even more curious and more hesitant. As long as I don't hesitate for too long, no harm, no foul, but time is ticking the pressure is on.

Built a New Computer

2009-06-11T01:27:00.004+09:00

Last weekend I went to Akihabara to purchase a computer. Most places you can go and pick up a computer that is prebuilt and preconfigured, but Akihabara lets you customize and outfit your computer in any way you want. For example, buy computer parts and get a free English lesson as one sign touted.

This was the first time that I've pieced a computer together from scratch. Something to be proud of? There was a lot of giga-this and that, bus speeds, slot sizes and a thousand other odds and ends to trip up along the way, but I had my trusty advisor and coworker along with me to navigate the murky, silicon waters. Thanks to his expert guidance picking out all of the parts basically came down to finding as many of last year's pieces as we could and seeing if they worked together or not. Picking up the goods from last year easily saved me half on what I would have payed for either a prebuilt system or one that had the latest specs.

The only piece of advice that I would relay on to people building their own computer, because all the other steps are intuitive, is that when you go to install the processor and the processor's fan on to the motherboard, to do it before you place it into the case. This saves you a lot of headaches, like if the fan doesn't snap into place right away and you want to inspect the other side of the motherboard for issues. Aside from this tip, I would say throwing in the ram, hard drives, etc is all as you would imagine it.

Needless to say, but I am very happy with the purchase and the system is buzzing along and working like a charm.

Happy for 'Bron

2009-06-04T00:26:00.003+09:00

It's about time LeBron made for some kind of controversy. I read in the ESPN forums about how LeBron should grow up and be more mature and shake hands at the end of the game. I think it was exactly that, immature and selfish, not to congratulate the other team on a great performance on their end. It's natural to be frustrated and not to want to look your opponent in the eye or give them a pat on the back just after they whopped your ass, but that's something you grown into.

LeBron should be judged heavily for this and maybe a chip or two can be laid on his shoulder. The guy has been so unbelievably mature from the moment that he entered the NBA that this kind of slip up is necessary for him to know or at least for us to know that his is human. I think that you need to let your guard down and give people the opportunity to poke and question you to bring them closer to you. If LeBron learns (and he's been a very adept learner to date) from this it will, as they say, only make him stronger.

Stuck in the Web

2009-06-02T23:32:00.005+09:00

I read about a mother finding her lost child on Facebook after 20 odd years of separation and reminded me of friends that I had been out of touch with since high school or earlier. Conveniently and, admittedly, frighteningly I was able to traverse the deep roots that run deep into the society of America and the world. I was equally fascinated and disturbed that information can be this easily accessed from anywhere in the world.

What we put up online will now be forever immortalized in the digital kingdom. Even if I was to remove my account from Facebook, the bots and spiders from Google, the Way Back Machine and numerous other sites will have cached and indexed every last image and word to make going backwards impossible. This is not a web that that can be unraveled. The web, while it started off as a metaphor for interconnectivity can be extended to the true nature of a web, which is to catch the fly passing by.

While I didn't mean to go off the deep end and wax pessimistic, I ended up there. In the end, though, I'm grateful for all the freedoms the web allows for information it unfurls to the curious.

Just check out the search feature of Twitter to overload your senses in no time.

Bing!

http://search.twitter.com/search?q=Bing

Top 10?

2009-05-28T00:42:00.001+09:00

In honor of the Cavs historic collapse so far in the playoffs I thought I would try and counteract the negative forces in the universe by helping my bowling team look a little less lowly by winning 4 of 4 tonight. A strong performance in the first and third games pushed us over the edge and we narrowly edged out the 11th place team to grab all four. We were still so far behind the 11th place team in terms of total wins that we are stuck firmly in the cellar, but it was nice to see our win total leap over the 10 win mark.

On a personal level I have my fingers crossed that I'll land within the top 10 within the league this season, which would be an all time high for me. Bought time that I moved up in the ranks versus all these old guys anyway. Sure, some of them have been bowling since the league started back in '62 or when the war ended... but what have THOSE guys got!

As always the Golden League was great fun again tonight and a 42% increase in wins for the season doesn't hurt either.

Tron

2009-05-26T23:54:00.002+09:00

Watched Tron for the first time today (in its entirety). 1982 release date and computer graphics above and beyond anything else that came out in the late 70's or early 80's. The dialog sucked, although the infusion of numerous geeky phrases and puns made up for it a bit.

Come on, you scuzzy data, be in there. Come on.

Never having seen Tron as a child leaves me feeling joyous and empty. On the one hand, it's one point missing from the geek column, but on the other hand, it suggests I had other things to occupy my childhood aside from movies. I do remember the video game, which apparently the movie studio made more money off of than the original movie. So from that perspective I just followed the masses and was never a member of the cult following that originally supported the movie.

This is the key to a new order. This code disk means freedom.

Interestingly we watched the movie with sub titles and at least 10% of the lines said in the movie were not reflected in the subtitling. Not sure if this is an original flaw with the release of the movie or just the DVD production somewhere down the line. I can understand it when going from one language to another, but was surprised to see so many words dropped. Is this common practice for subtitling?

20 years ago I would have given this movie two thumbs up (for blowing my mind with computer graphics). Things are always relative, so hard to say this, but would give it one thumb up as of today. Thoroughly enjoyed watching the movie though and will always make a prime candidate for the now defunct program Mystery Science Theater 3000.

End of line.

May is the best month for sports

2009-05-25T22:36:00.003+09:00

The Cavaliers lost today to the Orlando Magic, second loss in three games now and they have yet to dominate a game like they did all regular season. James continues to put up impressive numbers, but I get this sinking feeling that he's trying to put the whole team on his back. One man can make a difference, but I don't buy the rhetoric that one man can carry a whole series.

The French open has also started. My own foray with tennis succumbed to a rain delay on Sunday. Good since my forearms were pretty tired from climbing in the morning, but bad because I was looking forward to playing against my two coworkers. I'm going to pick Nadal to win it all again at Rolland Garros. Would be fantastic to seem him pull off yet another win on clay. Equally thrilling would be to see Roger Federer come back and stick it to Nadal to revenge the Australian Open loss earlier this year and upteen other loses at the French Open. It will be another thrilling fortnight for sports!

Oh, and go Penguins.

Climbing at B Pump

2009-05-24T23:27:00.003+09:00

B Pump is a climbing gym two stops from Koenji. Located in Ogikubo it is a bouldering mecca for the Tokyo elite climbers. Not including your truly.

For the third time in 1 week, I went to the gym. This marks my official return to rock climbing. Between games of tennis and going to the climbing gym, I'm finding a little bit of my old self. Both activities are ones I did extensively when I was younger and hope to revitalize. Like bowling it gives me something to look forward to in the evenings and helps energize me for the days ahead.

The B Pump climbing gym:
http://www.pump-climbing.com/html/gym/bpump.html

When you're feeling blue and want to be bluer

2009-04-04T12:06:00.005+09:00

Two songs that bring tears to my eyes, but I love em.

Johnny Cash - Hurt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmVAWKfJ4Go

Harry Chapin - Cat's in the Cradle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH46SmVv8SU

Where should I live in Tokyo?

2009-04-02T22:04:00.006+09:00

So you are moving to Tokyo? You want a cool place to live or at least a low down on what your options might be?

First let's start off with the geography of Tokyo. The #1 distinguishing "landmark" is the Yamanote (山手線 - drop the の) line. Either you live inside the Yamanote line or outside of it. The area is oval shaped about 6km wide and 10km tall - roughly Wall Street to the Upper West Side and 1st Avenue to Union City.

Living inside the Yamanote line will immediately increase your rent, but you'll have full access to the Tokyo metro system as well as the Yamanote line itself. If you go on business frequently either out of the country or within Japan, then being close to Tokyo or Shinagawa station will make your life easier because both are terminals for the Shinkansen (bullet train).

Tokyo's upper and east sides tend to be know as Shitamachi 下町 (sounds a lot better in Japanese then it may look in English) and are an older, poorer district of town. One of Tokyo's few remaining street cars can still be found there and you'll find the pace of life is slower. The prices for apartments and houses will also be cheaper, but older. Shitamachi definitely gets major props in the nostalgia category.

Moving to the west side of Tokyo you'll find Ikebukuro up to the north, Shinjuku in the center and Shibuya / Ebisu down towards the south. Ikebukuro heavily services much of the traffic coming in Saitama, a neighboring prefecture to Tokyo. Ikebukuro is a place that I visit for ramen on occasion, but otherwise don't find myself frequenting it's streets, for whatever that's worth. Shinjuku is the goverment headquarters for Japan and contains one of the largest shopping districts right next to one of the largest red light districts - Kabukicho. Shinjuku is generally a place to shop and work. Down the tracks a bit is Shibuya which is a Silicon valley of Japan with many up and coming tech companies and living there you'll never be far away from a club, shopping, or, potentially, your work place. For those looking to be in the heart of throbbing Tokyo, Shibuya is an expensive and recommended locale.

To me, much of the center of the Yamanote line is a bit of mystery. Certainly plenty of people live within the Yamanote line itself rather than on the fringes, especially around the Roppongi area, but areas such as Waseda and Bunkyo-ku are filled with universities, although you'll find them relatively enclosed communities so you won't feel like you are living in a college town if you live close to them. The area near Roppongi and the imperial palace is filled with embassies, expats, and Mori buildings. Many financial companies and foreign companies reside in this area to create a impenetrable foreign bubble.

On the south side of the circle you'll find Shinagawa and it's neighbors such as Gotanada and Meguro. Once again, the areas are filled with big shinny buildings and Shinagawa is particularly bright and shinny. The Tokyo government continues to reclaim land and placing new towering condominiums on the land made out of trash. The streets are wider here (relatively speaking) and you'll find a nice organized city spreading out before you.

If you are ready to venture beyond the safety of the cities hugging the Yamanote line, then you'll discover many of the charms that the surrounding suburbs have to offer. To the east of Ueno you will find the true heart of Shitamachi. Further east of this area and to the south a bit you'll come to a newly developed area in and around Kameido. The streets here are parallel and broad. Relatively cheap housing with good access to downtown Tokyo. Additionally, if you feel like moseying on down to Disney Land for the day or checking out what's going on in Odaiba it's a short commute. Friend's coming in from Narita may also find it a relief not to have to head all the way into Shinjuku to see you.

To the west of Shibuya you'll find a rapidly expanding area of Tokyo as the Keio and Toyoko lines attempt to service the ever expanding cities of Shimokitazawa, Meidaimae and Daikanyama. Shimokitazawa is a young, vibrant community with plenty of musicians and eateries. The commute into Shinjuku from these areas in the mornings is usually extremely crowded and will test your patience. The cheaper pricing in these areas and many other cultural benefits has driven hundreds of thousands to the area.

Similarily to the north one finds the Chuo line which services the Nakano and Kichijoji area. Nakano, located close to the Yamanote line is at times the city that time forgot, with it's hipper neighbors, but has certainly made a name for itself within the manga crowds. 20 minutes from Shinjuku is Kichijoji which is another young and upcoming town. Despite the distance from the Yamanote line, property here is in hot demand and rent prices have soared, but you'll find all the conveniences of the big city without as many high rises and more trendy cafes / restaurants. The Chuo line continues to be extremely crowded in the mornings as it reaches far out into the western suburbs of Tokyo bringing commuters in from 1 to 1.5 hours out. Within these suburbs you'll find much more afforable housing and even a bit of green on occasion.

I was hoping that when I began writing this post that it would be helpful to those looking to get a glimpse of the housing seen in Tokyo, but I'm afraid I may have just confused things even more. In general:

North and North East: older, cheaper, and rich in culture
West and South West: newer, reclaimed land, but somewhat sterile feel
South Central: expat and expensive
East: business and shopping
South East: young, fast paced and loud
East Suburbs: moderately priced, music scene, and small community feel
Far East Suburbs: cheaper, open spaces and long commutes

When do you say you're sorry?

2009-03-30T23:30:00.003+09:00

Saying sorry to someone is a fine line. First, you want to be wrong. Second, you want the other person to be right. Then, I believe, you can feel like you are in a position to say that you are sorry. If you are just guessing that the other person is right then that, of course, no longer makes the fact that you are wrong seem so factual any more. Then there is the case of not admitting you are wrong for fear of not setting a precedent. This is the worst kind of situation to be in when it comes time to resolve an argument. I have always felt that saying sorry to someone early on helps to ease the tension and pave the way towards a resolution and start up discussion. However, I'm discovering that standing up for yourself and blindly standing by what you've done or said even when inside you don't feel like it was the best thing to happen is the only way to resolve a situation. Everyone is bounding through life attempting to fulfill their own ambitions. Either you stick up for yours or everyone else is going to pile on top.

So is it better to say you are sorry all of the time or should you pick and choose your moments carefully? Observing those around me, I've seen all shades of the apology gradient. Those that constantly apologize garner no respect although they are seen as "nice" and those that never apologize are seen as stubborn, but at least they are always getting what they want! In business, at home and with friends, it's becoming more about setting your position amongst your peers. With the right blend of arrogance and humility you can push people when you need to and lavish them with praise when they are down. If you've played your arrogant cards right then when the time comes to delivery an apology or a bit of praise, the affect is all the more magnified. In the "Naked and the Dead" that I'm reading now it describes the general's philosophy is ensure that everyone knows their spot by encouraging the officers to flaunt their superiority. The affect is to garner respect from the foot soldiers and turn their fear / anger towards the enemy. The author describes this as the means towards an effective army. Seeing the relationship between two friends develop over the years I see the same strategy being put into use before my very eyes.

So in these situations where one person is more dominant than the other the alpha rarely apologies and almost never needs to because that would mean they are wrong and weaken their position, so instead they continue to defend their position. That said, you need to have a good head on your shoulders to be able to argue the merits or make up merits in the event that there are none for what you have done. I've seen and been the source of many a failed flank or counterattack. You had better be able to back up what your are arguing if you are going down the road of most resistance. That road can be the most rewarding if you play your cards right as you are sure to enhance your status and position.

The time to say sorry, I believe, comes at a time when you are looking right the scales that you feel are tilting too much in your direction or when you are clearly in the wrong. Saying you are sorry for the sake of pushing beyond an awkward moment, however, does not do anyone any good in the long run, so choose your words carefully.

Tennis Time

2009-02-22T21:47:00.002+09:00

Tennis with my coworker today out in Chofu. The weather is starting to warm and although I thought it was going to be chilly out there, a few minutes of running around proved that the temperature was just right. My serve was very rusty, but the ground strokes came back to me quite quickly.

Playing tennis is my form of zen. When I'm out on the court I think about nothing but the game in front of me. That kind of clarity and reduction of distractions is something hard to come by and I hope that I can get back out on the court again soon. Looking back on the several hours on the court, I only have positive thoughts. In Oberlin I equated time on a court as a given as there were never any lines or fees. Whether it was the high school's courts or the college's, when you wanted to play tennis -- and it was iced over -- you could. Fortunately my coworker lives outside of downtown Tokyo which means that the prices come down a bit. 35 minutes by train and I can be somewhere where you only pay 2,000 yen for 2 hours of court time. Even if you play singles that works out to 1,000 a person which is a helluvalot better than the 4,000 or so that you have to pay for the courts closer to where I live.

The surface is an interesting mixture of sand and astro turf and they call it an omni court here in Japan. A quick search also reveals that this surface is one found in the States too. Since it the surface is sprinkled with sand it makes for a clay-like experience, although I've never played on clay, with the ability to slip and slide as you dash across the court.

I'm gratefull to my coworker for getting me out and onto the court and will be looking to getting out there again soon.

2009-02-04T23:00:00.002+09:00

Today was the quarterly party for the bowling league. The night was spent drinking and eating nabe amongst the wisps of tobacco fumes while we gossiped and slung stories of bowling and life back and forth. I had the pleasure of sitting next to one of my old team mates. I had either forgotten to ask previously or plum forgot, but he works for JR (Japan Rails) and has been doing so for over 30 years.

Mr. X, surprisingly, has been heavily involved in a project going near to my home and work place. JR is in the process of elevating one of the train lines over about a 10km stretch of track that will alleviate serious congestion found throughout the suburbs of Tokyo. Turns out that my ex-bowling partner is one of the senior members of the office that is taking care of this and other projects. Here is a little of the type of engineering feats that he is up against.

Seeing as he went straight from a craft school into JR (then JNR - Japan National Railway) it seemed fitting to ask a bit about JR culture. Hard to tell if he's enjoyed his time overall and he would love to quit and moved back to the country if he could, but being involved in these kind of projects looks like fun. He said, however, that, unlike most of Japan, there is a serious lack of senior management in JR and so many young people that his salary keeps going up as they try to keep him around. Quite the opposite of many of the other institutions and companies that I've heard about recently. Very interesting talk.

Removed JSON Blog Feed

2009-01-26T21:58:00.003+09:00

It was fun while it lasted, but having a blog feed on your page that is dynamically inserted with jQuery doesn't do squat for SEO, so I removed it. I've now gone over to using the SimplePie library to parse the XML feed in PHP and that's working wonderfully. A bit surprised that the download was 400KB right out of the box, but it all worked the first time with no errors, so let's hear it for SimplePie!

Ridiculous Collection of Junk - 4 Things I Can Live Without

2009-01-26T21:08:00.007+09:00

An ad for the Hammacher Schlemmer web site was haunting the banner space of a site I recently visited and they are, for sure, the source of all that useless gadgetry and nick knacks that you find in airplane magazines. Just a few of the gems on the site include:

An upside-down tomato garden thingy....

A voice command operated R2-D2 that beeps and blurps out the annoying cantina song in addition to shivering at the mention of Darth Vadar. Woooo. The guy bopping his head to the catina music was priceless though.

And just in case you have a few extra cubic meters of space laying around... "The Stainless Steel Ofuro". I can't believe they added Japanese to lighten in up.

And the ultimate thing I can live without. "The Keep Your Distance Bug Vacuum". Ugh.

Post Revolution, Pre Civil War

2009-01-10T23:19:00.004+09:00

I picked up "Walden", "Into the Wild" and "Slaughter House 5" at the book store today. On the train I began Walden. Something about nearing 30 and trying to decide what to do with my life, I was obviously drawn to a group of books that were tackling similar issues. Only this time, I left Murakami on the shelf.

Complaining about the foreign book selection in Japan is equivalent to whining about the lack of good salt water fish in Iowa, but one tends to get spoiled when English is your mother tongue. I stood in front of the single shelf of foreign books at Book First within the bowels of the newly designed Cocoon Tower going back and forth between column A and B. Column A had many suited men professing the numerous ways of how to get rich or find the meaning of life whereas column B offered the alternative approach of finding yourself while dodging and taking punches in a book like Fight Club. In the end I put Fight Club back on the shelf for another day and pulled off Slaughter House 5 instead. The cylindrical column behind me then caught my eye and I noticed it was filled with "classic" novels, although a few of those should have an asterisk denoting "instant".

This is where Walden found me.

Just before checking out I looked around once more and "Into the Wild" caught my eye. I bounced between the 4 different versions they had on display looking at the prices and then the designs and heft of each novel. In the end a Japanese translation won out for it's 50% discount over the English originals. I figured if I was going to be doing a little self discovery with these books, why not let my motivation to devour the lessons learned by these great poets and authors push me to pick up some Japanese along the way.

The train ride back from a night out at a small bistro afforded me with the opportunity to read the introduction to Walden and I was struck by the author's comment that the American Romantic Period in which Thoreau lived was a time in which the US was just coming off of the Revolutionary War and headed smack into its own Civil War. It was a time in which America was trying to discover itself and Thoreau was an example of that struggle. I have yet to even start into the book, but already I can feel it speaking to me.

A man living in a cabin in the woods 150 years ago, whose words still reverberate across the decades to guide me, is truly miraculous.

JSON Feed for Blogger

2009-01-06T00:40:00.004+09:00

Here is how I created my blog feed on boujin.net.

1) Loaded in jQuery
2) Used the built in .getJSON function

First, I ran into problems getting jQuery working correctly with the feed. I was confused over which function I should use, "load", "getJSON", etc. I finally decided on getJSON as I learned that you cannot do cross domain fetches using a typical XML feed. If you try to do this, you'll get the "access to restricted uri denied jquery" error message when looking at the Javascript errors.

Okay, so I finally got the right function selected, but now I needed to figure out how to get the correct feed from blogger. Well, after going through Feedburner and a lot of other useless methods I came across the blogger blog by Google detailing how to utilize the API to get a JSON feed. I then ended up with the following URL to get the JSON feed from my blog:

http://boujin.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=json-in-script&callback=?

Where the "?" gets replaced automatically by jQuery.

As a brief aside, I tried getting the JSON feed from Feedburner at first and followed the rough API they had on their hack page but I could only get a JSON feed that was of no use to me or a blank JSONP feed. Anyone have input on how to get the JSONP feed to work?

Finally I had the JSON feed coming in correctly and now there was just the javascript code to write that would actually parse it and write the HTML to the page. Here is the function that I wrote to do just that:


$(document).ready(function() {
$.getJSON("http://boujin.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=json-in-script&callback=?",
        function(data){
          var html = '';
          $.each(data.feed.entry, function(id, item){
            var title = item.title.$t;
            var summary = item.summary.$t;
            var link = item.link[4].href;
            html += "<h3><a href='"+link+"'>"+title+"</a></h3><p>"+summary;
            html += "<br/><a href='"+link+"'>continued...</a></p>";
            if ( id == 2 ) {
              $("#blogFeed").html(html);
              return false;
            }
          });
        });
});

Bootup

2009-01-04T23:25:00.002+09:00

Must be that time of year again when I feel inspired to write in the blog.

My new year's resolution is to be more environmentally friendly and report on the types of environmental activities that are going on in Tokyo. For those interested in environmental issues within Japan I hope I can provide bridge between organizations between the Japan and the US. I just finished Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbra Kingsolver. I think I could begin helping with my new fund environmental desire by helping them redesign their web site, a few tweaks here and there wouldn't hurt.

Speaking with my Dad this evening we discussed the role that culture plays in shaping a nation's conscious towards environmental issues. For the uninitiated, Japan has two primary religions Buddhism and Shintoism. In Shintoism, gods inherit all living and inanimate things on this earth. Ironically, I find very few Japanese around me who are deeply involved in religion, but I think that this underlying foundation could have had ripple affects towards Japan's relatively progressive stance on environmental issues. I hope to investigate this further in the coming posts. Maybe there is no connection at all and maybe Japan isn't as environmentally friendly as I'm making them out to be, so a more thorough investigation is needed.

Getting my bearings

2008-03-14T00:34:00.002+09:00

Longitude is a great topic for a book and, better yet, the title for a book. While the book "Longitude" certainly tackles the issue of finding out who first (John Harrison) could measure longitude correctly with great enthusiasm, it lets itself become too biased to what amounts to the hero of the story.

It seems that John Harrison, shamefully the first time I've heard of him, got the short end of the stick in his lifetime (late 1600's to late 1700's) in terms of recognition, having belongings stolen from him and worse yet having to remake those very items he lost. The man certainly had an admirable amount of dedication to his trade of making clocks and gobs of talent. The first clocks he made were almost entirely from wood for goodness sake!

While I do enjoy a good hero and anti-hero story, it doesn't seem quite appropriate to cast this story in such a light. The author's perspective, while possibly true, appears very narrow to me, with almost nothing but praise going to Harrison and scathing prose for all those who apposed him. The book is still full of great facts and figures that have made me go "hmmm". Little did I know that before the chronometer found throughout the world now, there was a battle ragging between the sextant and H-4 users of the world. The astronomers versus the horologers. Now I can look down at my wrist and see the time, whereas it used to take 4 hours of methodical observations of the sun, moon and stars to get what time it might be in London and, simultaneously, the Bahamas. Just another one of those things that makes you gasp at how far we've come.

Experiment

2008-03-02T22:14:00.002+09:00

Vacations are good for refreshing your mind and altering your perspectives. This is now my second weekend back from my trip to Tanzania and I have yet to get back into the habit of drinking coffee.

Coffee, while it smells great and I've acquired a taste for it, still feels wrong to me; I decided to significantly cut back on my coffee rations. I was at about 2 cups a day and I may go back to that once the stress of work and life gets back into my blood stream. For now, I am content to see how far I can take my little experiment.

I've also shifted my focus from coffee to a more healthy alternative (ref?), green tea. I've read a very small amount on the subject so far, but from what I've learned, green tea has about 10 to 30 mg of caffeine compared to the 100 or so in a typical cup of coffee. Interestingly, green tea in its dry form has more caffeine per ounce than coffee does, but once you make a cup of both the amount of caffeine per ounce drops significantly for the tea. (Because it takes fewer grams of tea to make a cup perhaps?) So a cup of green tea should give me a small jolt of caffeine as well as numerous other health benefits. Fighting cancer is just of the many pluses that About.com listed up.

Pointless?

2008-02-29T00:57:00.005+09:00

I hate fucking posting because no one ever comments.

So here's a question for you. With so many Bushism out there, it's hard to keep an objective perspective on what the President has to say. I mean, he's said so many dumb things. "is our children learning"... "there's no doubt in my mind, that we will fail"... "fool me once..."

But let's turn the situation on its head a bit. What if the president was to come out with a crazy, stupid sounding phrase like... "the only thing we have to fear, is fear itself". Given how badly he's screwed up his image, would this revered phrase be just written off as another Bushism or go on to be quoted relentlessly for generations to come? I think the precedent that he's set would all but guarantee that the phrase would go down as crazy talk.

The freaky dilemma in America

2008-02-27T00:36:00.002+09:00

Reading list thanks to Cameron:

End of America - Naomi Watts

- Enjoyed thoroughly

- Plenty of facts to back up her opinions

- Plenty of controversial points to make lunch time fun

The Omnivore's Dilemma - Michael Pollan

- Enjoyed immensely and will have a life long affect on how I live my life

- Seriously considering becoming a farmer. Should probably try out life on the farm first though.

Freakonomics - Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner

- Enjoying (still reading), but writing style and degree of professional journalism doesn't seem to match the calibar of the first two. Don't know why.

- Makes for great trivial pursuit material

Also stumbled upon Sicko (Michael Moore) on the flight to Tanzania. Cried when watching it and then cried again when thinking back on the state of the health care system in the United States and all those suffering with it. Going to Cuba to get examined by a doctor?! Nothing against Cuba, just everything against the US for us letting this happen.

And now I get caught up in watching Bushism for the past couple of days. It will be a miracle if my view of America is still anything positive by the end of February. Mark February 2008 as the month where I learned what it really means to be an American.

Welcome to 2008

2008-01-02T15:58:00.000+09:00

Osechi, sipping spiced Japanese sake and the marathon sessions of watching TV made for a typical New Year holiday here in Kichijoji.

Favorite shows during the holiday seasons include the first time shopping program in which parents send out there 4 or 5 year old children to brave the the meat stores and vegetables stands on their own for the first time. Amidst much bawling and confusion the children always manage to make their way to the designated store to purchase their wares.

Another favorite is the world strongest athlete show where they pit professional athletes from a variety of sports against one another to see who can maneuver best through numerous challenges ranging from brute force to quick wits. I was also surprised that this year they got Ronaldino (from Brazilian soccer fame) to participate in the activities. Interestingly enough he has enough clout that a trip to Japan wasn't necessary unlike a few of the lesser know American athletes that also participated. Instead the Japanese program built a replica of their studio here in Japan in Brazil and simulcast (?) both to pit one of the world's best soccer players against Japanese and American sportsman. To top things off, I didn't get to see the end result of Ronaldino's efforts, although it's hard to imagine he could top the times of the athletes in Japan, some of who have been through these trials 2 or 3 times before.

During the remainder of the days I spent a good deal of time finishing up Atonement by Ian McEwan and preparing for the coming year. Atonement is an engrossing novel that grips your imagination with its calculated and detailed descriptions, providing insight into what it takes to be a writer as well as pre and postwar England. I was nearly sick during some of the scenes in which the hospital scenes were described. McEwan's masterful means of describing Briony's complex emotions got me inside the head of another, although I wouldn't say it was a 13 year old's mind I had the privilege of being witness to. Recommended that you pick this book up.

To my vast swath of readers, welcome to 2008.

Bowling end of year party and such

2007-12-07T00:30:00.000+09:00

This week marked the official end of league for this year. I'm sad that we won't be bowling again until the 9th or, it's amazing how addicted I'm becoming to this game. Now, if only I had the scores to reflect my passion.

The end of year party was, just like last year, awesome. This time around the event was held at a hotel in Tsukiji on the 32F of the New Hankyu Hotel. One of the members of the league happens to be a part time chef at one of the restaurants there and cut us a great deal. Not only was the food good, but we had an awesome view overlooking sections of downtown Tokyo and the waterfront. As nearly everyone one of us commented, it was a little out of our league (no pun intended there, seriously).

Poor disbanded 12-X is no more, however. We parted ways at the party, got our group pictures and participated in our final event as a team. Come next season we'll be scattered like so many bowing balls in the wind, with Peter and I landing with Miyoshi-san and Louis joining forces with Okada-san and another. It will be another "rebuilding" year for my team I'm afraid, but Miyoshi-san and I hope to bring Peter up to speed a bit on using a curving ball and nailing down some consistency. My major goal for the next season is very, very simple. Just have fun. Within the last couple of weeks a combination of my studying as well as learning that the world is not going to end if I bowl poorly has significantly increased my scores. I'll see if I can keep like smiles when my average takes a dive again. I hope to also learn a lot more from Miyoshi-san this time around. Last time I was on his team, he really didn't have much to tell me, but it was probably due to my approachability. I think my primary goal should help this as well.

Funny little story happened on the way home. Just as I was boarding the train in Shinjuku, I get this call from none other than Peter. I immediately thought something was wrong with the servers so I picked up quickly. Turned out Peter was instead distressed over getting just a tad bit tipsy and then proceeding to leave his for a night at the hotel. He needed help tracking it down, so he asked me to give Miyoshi-san a call, which I did. But her phone (this is the older sister Miyoshi now), just continued to ring so I left a stumbling, semi-coherent message in Japanese for her. Strike one, so I went to plan B, call my bowling parter and see if she was still at the hotel. Upon calling her, she picked and I began explaining the situation to her. Much to my surprise, just after I finished telling her about the missing bag, she thanked me profusely for worrying about her. She thought I was talking about her bag! (possibly) Then she said she had to get on a train so we said our goodbyes. Strike two. Finally, it hit me that I could give the hotel a call instead. When I reached the front desk, they sent me through to the restaurant where we had the party and as soon as I got on the line, they assured me the bag was safe. I relayed the message to a much relieved Peter.

But the story continues! After getting out of the shower, I happened to see that Miyoshi-san had tried to call me back, but left no message. However, my bowling partner had also called AND left a message. I listened to her on the recording once again thanking me for my kindness and worrying about her. I have no idea what she heard in my call to her, but certainly cracked me up later.

All in all a great night out with some very compassionate and wonderful people. I'm very proud and happy to be a member of this league. Even if it does mean accidentally receiving undeserved praise.

When and how long to sleep

2007-12-05T01:02:00.000+09:00

Talking with my coworker today we go on to the subject of sleep. The topic is one that has been perplexing me more and more recently due to a couple of factors. First, when I sleep to long I wake up with a rather sore back. This could be due to the bed that we purchased a few months back or maybe a lack of stretching and exercising daily or my bad posture as I'm writing this blog entry. Ok, that's better. Nevertheless, it got me to thinking that too much sleep may be too much of a good thing. Looking around the Internet seems to justify this assumption.

Taking those who had not made any change in their sleeping habits between 1985-8 and 1992-3 as their baseline (7 hours per night being the figure normally recommended as an appropriate period of sleep for an adult) they were able to see what difference having reduced the amount of sleep over time made to mortality rates by 2004.

Those who had cut their sleeping from 7hours to 5 hours or less faced a 1.7 fold increased risk in mortality from all causes, and twice the increased risk of death from a cardiovascular problem in particular.

Warwick - 2007.09.24

While another CNN Health article had this to say about sleeping for long periods of time

Eight hours of nightly sleep is not the health panacea you were brought up to believe, according to a study released Thursday suggesting a link between too much slumber and a shorter life span.

CNN Health - 2002.02.15

Of course these claims did not go without objection from none other than the National Sleep Foundation

The National Sleep Foundation, which recommends eight hours of sleep per night for optimal health, immediately attacked the study's findings and said they can do nothing but cause the public unnecessary confusion and concern.

CNN Health - 2002.02.15

My coworker says that he always aims for 6.5 to 7 hours per night as that fits the natural sleeping patterns of most adults, which, by the sounds of it, seems to be right on. I took a look at this as well and found out, or rather, refreshed myself on the cycles of sleep. The primary components are REM and NREM (I'm just going to be paraphrasing from wikipedia for a good remainder of this... so check out the sleep article instead for better explanations.) If I was to break up the cycle into a 6 hour night, this is probably what it would look like...

@ 90 min sleep cycles
1:00 to 1:22 REM
1:22 to 2:30 NREM
2:30 to 2:52 REM
2:52 to 4:00 NREM
4:00 to 4:22 REM
4:22 to 5:30 NREM
5:30 to 5:52 REM
5:52 to 7:00 NREM
7:00 to 7:22 REM
7:22 to 8:30 NREM

go to bed at 1:00 am -- optimal wake up time is around 7:20 am. Going to 7:30 will probably start to see you slipping back into NREM.

@120 min sleep cycles
1:00 to 1:30 REM
1:30 to 3:00 NREM
3:00 to 3:30 REM
3:30 to 5:00 NREM
5:00 to 5:30 REM
5:30 to 7:00 NREM
7:00 to 7:30 REM
7:30 to 9:00 NREM

I guess as long as you aren't slipping into deep NREM then your still safe from the groggy affects of a poorly timed sleep, but by just using the numbers from these two charts, 6.5 hours of sleep looks to be rather optimal.

And speaking sleep, it's about time I got some.

night.

I've got a pet

2007-12-04T01:15:00.000+09:00

A pet pig on the right. It's supposed to grow or do something based on what I type in this blog... but it is yet to be determined if it understands English. This is something that I highly doubt. So although this post has nothing to do with bowling or usual life, it does have everything to do with my new special little friend named ぬー (nu) on the right. Welcome to my blog ぬー and I hope we can be friends.

Bowling Event

2007-12-02T23:59:00.000+09:00

Today, I can say for the first time, that I have won a bowling event. It was by complete luck that it worked out the way that it did and I was extremely fortunate to have a wide range of talent, mostly towards the lower end of the bell curve there to take me on.

I was asked to join the event by a coworker of mine. Turns out he and a bunch of his drinking / college buddies were putting something together. I didn't blink an eye given the chance to go bowling so I took him up on the offer. As it turned out it was really an informal affair and I would guess only 1 in 3 participants had even touched a bowling ball within the last three months. The odds were pretty well stacked in my favor.

I bowled with 4 other guys and we alternated turns bowling down the lanes that were soaked in enough oil that I think you could have deep fried some chicken on them. The right side of the lane was covered with oil and every time the ball return spit back the ball a solid ring of oil could be seen glistening on the ball. There was little chance that I was going to get much hook, if any this night. As it turned out, I didn't.

Despite the oily conditions, I got a measly 133ish and 146 for an average of somewhere around 140. This, apparently, was enough to take first prize in the competition with more than 30 participants. Wee! The best part of the whole ordeal, however, was the amazing prize. I didn't open it until later, but kind of wish I had opened it at the alley so I could give them the waterproof, made for the shower, cd player. Instead, I'm now stuck with something that I hope I can sell on eBay real soon. Nevertheless, the novelty of winning at least some kind of bowling event made for a fun Sunday afternoon.

Best part of the whole event had to be some fun we had towards the end of the two hour limit. Between the legs, slow ball, windmill and reverse curve shots were a blast.

Learning to Bowl

2007-12-01T21:32:00.000+09:00

I will no begin on a multi-part post on improving your bowling game. I have only visions of what this multi-part post may look like. Recently, I have found numerous strategies and points to help me in my bowling game. For any serious bowler these will be basic tips, but for a beginner, essential advice.

Tip #1 - Shorten your approach

If you suffer from a lack of control or consistency on your throw, then a primary flaw could be the length of your approach. With a length approach you have a lot more room for error. More steps equals more time to think about what you are doing (a bad thing), more points to time throughout your swing, and most likely an increase in the total velocity. For an inexperienced player these are all things that can throw a wrench into the gearbox.

1) Fewer steps

Giving yourself more time to think and make on-the-fly calculations and bowling do no really mix. Considering that bowling is all about doing the same thing every time, limiting the distractions that you have around you is key. Taking your approach down to a 4 step approach and starting from the second line is a good first step towards consistency. It may feel strange standing further up in the lane out in front of everyone, but bowling was never really a sport based on style... just look at the shoes!

2) Timing

A simple one, two, three, four approach allows you to map out your arm swing to your leg movement easily. Whereas a six or seven step approach can get you lots of speed and seem a little less awkward, what you need to go for is something that you can control first. I have found that by going to a four step approach it is much easier to do the same thing every time.

3) Speed

With a four step approach you should also see the velocity on your throw drop. In my case, I was having real troubles getting the ball to dig in and hook and the end of the lane. Dropping my velocity obviously gives the ball more time to spin and come harder into the pocket. I won't win any awards for looking like the pro bowlers on the score monitors before league, but I'll trade that for a nice angle into the pocket. A drop in speed can also keep you from tiring out and keep you bowling consistently throughout all three games rather than fading as the night wears on.

In conclusion, the first step towards being a better bowler is to shorten your approach. Less complicated mechanics, slower speeds and greater staying power are all positive results of this simple but useful tip.

Southern Gusts of Wind

2007-08-04T01:19:00.000+09:00

The wind blows strong from the south. The train hitches a ride upon the gusts and makes a stop at our apartment window. Scents of the south Pacific waft our way and with it comes the humidity and heat. Summer has arrived. The rainy season has ended.

We will see relief when August and September have run their course. Then all will be cool again, with red maple leaves and wedding bells.

Ssshh. Hear comes the wind again. I think I hear Nebraska.

Photo Diary

2007-07-31T00:28:00.000+09:00

Today a few pictures from the weekend. Went sign shooting around town. Came up with a few interesting shots. Also found a temple, thanks to my picture taking friend and tour guide.

I thought that usually went with watching TV.

This building was apparently that of a Buddhist sect. A rather far-right one.

The temple.

Fresh Veggies

2007-07-22T23:40:00.000+09:00

Found out a farmers market is held once a month in Harajuku called the Earth Day Market. Was expecting there to be hordes or produce, piles of zucchinis and fresh bake d bread, but instead found fresh gathered(?) honey, a variety of beans and rhubarb. The rhubarb is already queued up for a rhubarb pie that we'll make either tomorrow or the day after.

The walk to the farmer's market took us past a ton of street performers that I didn't know existed. Meanwhile the bridge where all the goth people used to hang out is quietly being taken over people looking for free hugs. I think they are inspired by the video on YouTube, but it just doesn't look like it's flying here in Japan yet.

After the farmer's market and playing around in Yoyogi-koen for an hour or so (frisbee / hackysack), went to the Mexican place in Nishi-ogikubo. Always awesome, always tasty. Go there. El Quixico.

White Gold Rings and Krispie Kremes

2007-07-22T01:03:00.000+09:00

These are a few of my favorite things.

Bought our wedding bands and krispie kreme doughnuts for the first time today. Wedding bands are more exciting, but they don't arrive for another month so my instant gratification craving was instead filled with the hot, sugary goodness of krispie kreme doughnuts instead.

They give out free doughnuts in the line in Shinjuku. Best to wait in line for the free doughnuts and then skip the remainder of the line to buy the 12 assorted or 12 plain glazed boxes... unless you're the type that likes waiting 30 to 60 minutes to pick out exactly which of the sugar bombs you'd like to consume.

Favorite Song

2007-07-20T00:34:00.001+09:00

This song is just genius and should be listend to over and over again. A big thanks to my friend who introduced me to this song.

Bright Eyes - From I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning

Road to Joy
The sun came up with no conclusions
Flowers sleeping in their beds
The city cemetery's humming
I'm wide awake, its morning

I have my drugs, I have my woman
They keep away my loneliness
My parents, they have their religion
But sleep in separate houses

I read the body count out of the paper
And now it's written all over my face
No one ever plans to sleep out in the gutter
Sometimes that's just the most comfortable place

So I'm drinking, breathing, writing, singing
Every day I'm on the clock
My mind races with all my longings
But can't keep up with what I've got

And so I hope I dont sound too ungrateful
For what history gave modern man
A telephone to talk to strangers
Machine guns and a camera lens

So when you're asked to fight a war that's over nothing
It's best to join the side that's gonna win
No one's sure how all of this got started
But we're gonna make 'em God damn certain how it's gonna end
Oh yeah we will, oh yeah we will

Well I could have been a famous singer
If I had some one else's voice
But failure's always sounded better
Let's fuck it up boys, make some noise

The sun came up with no conclusions
Flowers sleeping in their beds
The city cemetery's humming
I'm wide awake, it's morning

101 Quickies by NYT

2007-07-19T14:13:00.000+09:00

Nice. If I'm looking for quick recipes, once again the NYT comes to the rescue.

Same old story

2007-07-19T00:39:00.000+09:00

Lost at bowling once again. We took the first game by storm. Two of us starting out with doubles and all of us getting strikes in the first frame. But the fortunes of the first game left as quickly as they came. Down to the crucial 8,9, and 10th frames of the final game we lined up a number of marks, but the cleanup bowler on the opposing team got strike, after strike, after strike with a turkey going into the 10th. It doomed us and instead of squeaking out a split (first game and total pins) we dropped 3 or 4. Sigh. Our team is now masterfully worked ourselves into a tie for last place with the deciding games to be played next week. Number 11 plays number 12. A clash of the titans. Call the advanced ticket master for details or order now on pay-per-view!

Random notes

2007-07-17T00:19:00.000+09:00

While talking with my friend today the earthquake hit Nigatta. It ranked a strong 6 on the Japanese scale and resulted in the deaths of 7 (at time of writing) and occured just a day after a large tropical storm passed through Japan. Hang in there everyone from Nigatta!

Driving in Tokyo is not recommended. The more I drive in Tokyo the less I like it, although it isn't nearly as bad as Chicago, Florence. At least no one honks their horns at you and they generally let you in. It's the tolls and constant congestion that make driving difficult.

Learned today that while 7-Eleven was founded in the States, it is now owned by Ito-Yokado with nearly half of it's 28,000 stores in Japan. They also own Denny's. More details on the Wikipedia site...

Wanting to Help

2007-07-16T23:52:00.000+09:00

Spoke with a friend today who has chronic back problems. He's the nicest, sincerest and most energetic guy I know and my heart goes out to him in the hope that he can find a cure to his problems. Our conversation on the phone naturally drifted to his back issues and while I didn't want to dwell on the topic long, because I'm sure he is tired of talking about the topic, I couldn't help but ask about his condition and how a search for the cure was coming along. Of course, most of the news was disheartening and difficult for him to say. Is it better to try and change the subject? Is it better to explore the problem in detail? I just have no idea how to talk to someone about something that is wrong, but beyond their control.

If a friend is having trouble with a relationship or a bad habit, it's possible to give advice and direction. Discussing the topic with them can lead to revelations and help them on their way. But when it comes to a disease, disability or health issue, what can you say? I can't say, I know you'll feel better soon. I don't think they want to feel like you are afraid to talk to them about the issue, but an outpouring of sympathy is not always favourably looked upon either. For those who have been through a situation is helping someone along with the incurable what advice do you have?

My heart really does go out to him. Saying "I hope you get better soon" sounds so shallow and hopeless. I don't want just something better to say to him, but a better way to react and support.

Taking Advantage of the Bad Weather

2007-07-15T18:42:00.000+09:00

Typhoon number 4 just passed through Tokyo and the rest of Japan. More damage and raining occurred in Kyushyu. It definitely weakened by the time it reached Tokyo. Today we saw some light rains and moderate winds, but only early in the morning and late yesterday.

Yesterday went to see the large waves generated by the storm down in Chigasaki. Amidst the pelting rain the waves were an awesome site to look at. Certainly bigger than what you would normally see down there. A few barrels even formed on the larger waves. A small group of surfers were braving the elements and catching a wave here and there.

Today took the rent-a-car out for another spin to the other side of Tokyo this time. A lot less driving involved, which was fine by me. Spent a couple of hours reading the biography of Grant on the concrete beach at Kasairinkai-koen. Clouds were abundant and drizzle came down once in awhile, but the direction of the wind was consistent and we stayed huddled under our umbrellas without getting wet.

Wireless Fix

2007-07-12T20:51:00.000+09:00

Testing things out on the Nabe-network. Looks like everything is up and running once again. Fix included unplugging and plugging back in the wireless router. The AOSS light was off as well sa the lamp below the words Wireless so it looks to me like it froze up in some way. All's better now and stocks can be traded and email checked once again. Oh happy day.

Up

2007-07-09T23:02:00.001+09:00

Pictures from my first attempt paragliding. Up in the mountains of Saitama, the greenery and cool weather were a perfect backdrop for soaring. A practice session was first held in the big grassy area you can see in the second picture where we learned to "rise up". With that basic steps under our belts, we were ready to take off the 16m hill. On this glide I made it to the grate or about a 50m glide. There was little wind, for better or worse, so I think the flights were steady but short.

Dreams of paragliding as a hobby will have to wait until I live closer to the mountains, have enough money to burn on buying 600,000 yen worth of equipment, and enough time to travel to the practice area for three straight months every week.

For 10 glorious seconds I felt the thrill of falling in style.

Also...

Today I joined Facebook. I hope it lets me find people so I can call them on the phone.
Only three more months until the wedding and still so much to plan... rings!
Can I provide for a family if my wife quits her job? I need stronger Japanese skills and more business knowledge. Stop being lazy.
My bike chain is getting rusty.

Smell the alley and do it again and again

2007-07-05T20:05:00.000+09:00

Smells are the invisible trails on which our thoughts like to meander. Work smells like coffee and cigarettes. The smell will stay with me for the rest of my life. It's a smell particular to my boss' American Spirits and the office coffee.

The bowling alley smells like wood polish and dirtiness. You can smell it when you get close. The ventilation pumps the fumes into the air from morning until the last pin falls.

Rammstein blasting through my headphones, I prepare to do battle on the hardwood once again. The violent beats focuses my thoughts narrowly and viciously. I do not like it, but I love it. What about this music makes a person feel evil? It's like alcohol or drugs, best used in small doses.

But bowling isn't about the other team. It isn't about your team. It's about you, the ball and the hardwood. If you are good, you can perform exactly the same way every night. Slick lanes, slow lanes, fast lanes, they are the only factors. Consistency is god. Inventiveness features as only a side kick.

I can't concentrate, but I can pick my nose

2007-07-03T23:55:00.000+09:00

I can't concentrate when the music is on. If I try to write when music is playing... especially one where some is singing, it's all over for me. Even worse are radio announcements. This condition occurs whenever I'm trying to write, probably when I'm programming as well. Am I always trying to pick out just the right words? Why can't I concentrate when the music is on?

I also pick my nose way too much. It's a shame and I'm terribly embarrassed by it, but every time I start to concentrate my finger makes its way to way nose, regardless of my conscious efforts to break the habit. I was also told that I'm not really concentrating when I pick my nose, just kind of distracting my mind. I took a look at myself and saw that it's true. If it's not picking my nose, then I'm touching my face in some other way. Maybe it's the touch that stimulates by brain into activity, but I'm convinced it's just a terrible habit.

I'm a very hands-on person though. I love doing art, making things. Maybe I do thinking with my hands and that's why they need to move all of the time, especially when I deep in thought -- which doesn't happen much.

And this isn't what I was planning on writing about at all today. I remember I was going to write about some object that I saw in passing someone today. Now I can't remember where or what it was that I saw, other than it was exactly the same as something I own.

This is by far the most interesting (worst) post so far. All kinds of spilling of guts and random comments.

Gozen - 御前山

2007-07-01T23:06:00.000+09:00

Climbed Gozen in Tokyo-to today.

I feel lucky that the greenery and beauty of the mountains can be so close to this concrete mess to provide some reprieve from the madness.

Gozen was not a terribly hard hike, but it left my knees a little week and a slight case of altitude sickness. I couldn't enjoy the Spanish restaurant that we went to on our way back home until about an hour after we sat down. My head was pounding. Need to find a way to prevent that from happening. More water maybe?

The pain parted very much like the clouds during one overlook about halfway up the mountain. Being in the middle of the rainy season, I didn't expect much in terms of a view -- and we didn't get much -- but there was one moment at about 1000 meters where the clouds thinned out enough for us to see the neighboring mountains.

The route started from a bus stop about 10 minutes from Okutama and climbed about 600 vertical meters to the summit. Gozen-san sits at 1405 meters, which I guess qualifies it to be a member of the 1000 mountains-you-should-climb-in-Japan club.

Definitely a nice warm up for the hiking season, I hope that we'll get out a couple more times before the summer and fall are through. As I've read from others who have explored the Okutama region, the more you go, the more you want to go.

I'll be going back.

Home Econmics in Japan

2007-06-27T01:39:00.000+09:00

A home economics teacher who I have relationship to, except that she now teaches at the high school I went to visited me today.

Went to Shinjuku for dinner at an izakaya. Also took a stroll around the red-light district of Shinjuku much to the amusement of the visitors. Live just doesn't get more entertaining than seeing underage ladies of the night and hosts with their half-buttoned colors and their slimy auras.

I couldn't get over the way the visitor pronounced Aomori all night. Please, pronounce it ah-oh-more-ee. Although Italian and Japanese have been known to have their similarities in sound, Aomori should by no means be said as a-MORE-eh. All syllables get equal stress in Japanese (expect in rare instances). It was so bad, I thought she was describing a prefecture I've never heard of.

Another random thought... the interface to blogger is in Japanese right now. I can click the "spell check" button to do the obvious... or is it? There is no spell check in Japanese, it is nearly impossible. The probability of any two kanji making a valid word is too high to make any spell checker worth its shit. Only a spell checker that could check based off of the context of the sentence could actually work. But please keep it there, because it's helping me out tremendously right now.

Baker now lined up to cook for the wedding. Hard part now comes telling her how many people I need it for and what kind of frosting, etc I need.

Today's Observations

2007-06-25T23:23:00.000+09:00

To follow up on yesterday's post about the Golden Eggs. You should watch all of the Mori-mori Cooking videos they have on YouTube. I'm going to by the DVD so that we can experience the full broadcast. Having seen a number of shows at this point, I know realize that they all tie together in numerous ways. I had to have the pun about 雷が落ちてる explained to me though. Poor Paul.

Set a goal today of saving X amount of money by the end of the year. 30% from every pay check isn't too much to ask right?

Have you every tried to compile what you've done over the past year without looking (pictures, blogs, notebooks, etc)? How about the past five? How far could you get, how many memories could you recall? Isn't it funny what sticks and what doesn't?

Example:
1) Girlfriend and I supposedly study together for one of our college classes. I have no recollection of this.
2) I'm standing with my back to the door in a train and a guy tells me to turn around. The train is headed out into the mountains where I'm about to go hiking. I remember this clearly.

Why?

Another random thought. They're should be a place to put random thoughts while you are writing so you can tuck them away in a corner for good writing material later on. "Get a sheet of paper you lazy bitch" I'm sure you're saying now.

Sushi & Yonchomei

2007-06-24T22:49:00.000+09:00

Dinner with friends tonight at a local sushi restaurant and then coffee / desert at the Yonchomei cafe. Spent most of the day in and around the house doing nothing in particular, but wasting time.

Highlights of the day came from watching a hilarous Japanese cartoon called The World of Golden Eggs and hanging out with friends for dinner. It would fit it quite nicely on the cartoon network's Adult Swim lineup I think. This particular clip about a coach and the football team [YouTube] was great.

Also started reading a biography of Ulysses S. Grant. We'll see if I can finish all 700 pages or not. The first 30 are inticing.