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First sighting of Xmas
First sighting of Xmas decorations in my neighborhood. Sprout Planning Co (a realty office) has a small wreath with blinking lights propped up on a bench outside thier front door. Takashimaya Times Square in Shinjuku lit their elaborate holiday sculptures last week, but I haven’t seen them yet. Apparently most of the big department stores…
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“You have the nose
“You have the nose of a tyrant.” I’m not exactly sure what that means, but Tod swears it’s a compliment.
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The leaves are turning
The leaves are turning red and gold in the hills west of Tokyo. Waking up this morning, I took a walk up a mountain road damp with recent rain. Yellow and brown leaves speckled the pavement like confetti. It was idyllic. Pine and wet bark scented the air–a refreshing change for my smog-filled lungs. Only…
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Little rituals that mark
Little rituals that mark the passage of time make life richer for me. This week, I bought us new house slippers. During the winter, the floors are too cold to walk on with bare feet or even in socks. We don’t wear shoes in they house (they stay in genkan) so we, along with everyone…
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One stop away on
One stop away on the Oedo line there are two neighborhoods–Iidabashi & Kagurazaka–that I need to explore. A lively crowd passes through the area: well-heeled young women, grungy college students, and the ever-present salaryman with a few foreigners thrown in for spice. Enticing shops (one with a fantasic array of Japanese dishes) line the streets.…
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My office looks as
My office looks as though someone rifled it. My G4 computer is gone, along with its monitor and a CD burner. My backpack spills its contents in the corner; cables and cords tumble from open drawers. A carpet of papers, CDs and office supplies covers the floor. Was I burgled? No. I made this mess…
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Tokyo Transportation Series City
Tokyo Transportation Series City bus (with advertisements) 4:14 pm
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Nothing strikes fear into
Nothing strikes fear into my heart like having to transport my computers around town. This fear is compounded when they are going by delivery service. It’s further intensified when I’ve just conducted the transaction to ship them in Japanese. I believe that someone from Pelican will arrive at my doorstep on Thursday afternoon to pick…
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There’s an entire field
There’s an entire field of study for human-computer interactions. I wonder if they study the odd ESP that lets computers know when I’m too busy to fix them. I swear my computers choose to break down when they can cause me the most headaches. I am leading a two day digital video retreat this coming…
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Utility monopolies [insert rude
Utility monopolies [insert rude scatalogical verb here]. I have one in mind in particular. Pittsburgh’s water and sewer authority has screwed up again. Instead of maling bills regularly, they wait for a year then visit the house to paste a termination notice on the door. When this happened in July 1999, I thought it was…
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