SOFTWARE, JAPAN, SELF-ACTUALIZATION AND

Completely random post: The ticket gates at the stations around Tokyo seem to make 2 distinct patterns of beeps. I think the pattern depends on payment method.
I currently have 2 RFID cards that I use for accessing the subway and trains. One is a “Suica” and the other is a “Passmo”
The Suica card I charge […]

Next week Thursday is the last basketball tournament we have scheduled for 2011. Looking forward to it, but I know we need a little more practice to make sure we play our best as a team. In our last practice we went over some pick-and-roll plays and free throws.
Two days after the tournament, Ayako will […]

After losing my cellphone about a month and a half ago, I finally replaced it. Ayako also wanted to get a new phone, since hers was at least an 8 year old model, so we reviewed all the available options and finally decided to go with the iphone 4s - mostly because it’d be simplest […]

Waking up at 5am takes alot of self control and a good alarm clock. For the last few months i’ve been getting up just a few mins before 5 everyday except Saturday and Sunday which would be around 7. This weekend, however, i stayed at the inlaws without an alarm or intention of waking early […]

Busy weekend in Maebashi. We’re visiting the hospital where the baby will be born and meeting the doctor. After that, we’ll take care of some necessary shopping to leave a small stash of supplies at Ayako’s parents’ house for weeks after the hospital. Things are getting exciting and busy
More photos and interesting things […]

Last week I got to try the famous (in Japan) Soka Senbei rice crackers. Soka is a city in Saitama prefecture and famous for being a large supplier of senbei to Edo (now Tokyo). The crackers are crunchy and flavored in various ways. The ones I ate were soy sauce and sesame flavored.
When in Saitama […]

This weekend was quite busy and fun. On Saturday, we went to see the Cirque du Soleil - Zed performance - I bought the tickets a couple weeks ago as a birthday present for Ayako We really enjoyed the experience, and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for something unique to see in this […]

A couple weekends ago, when we were out looking at Roombas in Akihabara’s Yodabashi, we decided to eat at the Gundam Cafe. We stopped by there over a year ago, but never went inside. In fact, I mentioned it twice on here (with photos):
http://www.forthecode.org/2010/05/28/akihabara-yodobashi-and-gundam/
http://www.forthecode.org/2010/08/11/gundam-cafe-and-pineapple-fanta/
This time we had no long lines to worry about, actually we […]

Just a few Japanese idioms that I’ve been using a lot lately:

一日千秋
いちじつせんしゅう
“one day a thousand autumns”

That means the speaker is looking forward to something eagerly.

日常茶飯
にちじょうさはん
“everyday tea and rice”

Something is an everyday occurrence - dime a dozen. I often use this in the negative (saying something is not a dime a dozen). When using it in […]

I went to Tokyo Dome today to watch my first Japanese Major League baseball game. I knew it’d be a fun match when I learned the game was between Tokyo Giants (the home team) versus the Hanshin Tigers (from Osaka). The fans from Osaka are famous for being loud and energetic, and they didn’t fall […]