Science museum
Originally uploaded by renfield
T+3
A collection of various latest things:
Both the French and German embassies have officially recommended (via postings on their embassy websites) that non-critical citizens leave Japan.
American Embassy homepage recommends following local Japanese government recommendations.
For once, the American advice is sensible.
The Fukushima nuclear reactor situation continues to suck. Water level in the #2 reactor dropped significantly, exposing the fuel rods and possibly causing a partial meltdown. However sea water is again being pumped in, and the water level has risen once again.
It is utterly FUBAR, but again the worry of Japan turning into an irradiated lump of char off the coast of Japan is grossly over-stated.
Tremors and earthquakes continue. Anything smaller than 6.0 is now a complete non-event; "Oh looky, building is swinging again...what, call it a 5.5? Nah, 5.3...sushi for lunch?"
Kids' school is closed Monday and Tuesday, just so they can make sure the building is safe. Also huge numbers of foreigners are simply leaving, so some international schools are just closing for weeks at a time, with no students. Will find out tomorrow if our school will open on Wednesday or not. Either way, kids are going to the other day care we always send them too when school is closed, so no crisis.
Scheduled blackouts continue to roll through the greater Tokyo area. Central Tokyo's 23 wards (with the exception of Arakawa Ward! Who did THEY piss off?) are unaffected. But trains are planning to shut down, etc. so I suspect work will be another ghost town all week.
Market sold off heavily as expected, nice fat 5.3 earthquake in the middle of the AM session didn't help, either. Probability of various trades and deals getting down goes down and down. Everyone believes in the eventual recovery of Japan, but not so many investors interested in buying in right now.
Mighty Mo has no idea what's up and continues to scream "I GOT it!" and wants to do everything himself. He also likes singing, especially the Totoro theme, Itsy-Bitsy Spider, and the alphabet song, sort of.
Tonchan definitely knows something is strange; she is incredibly clingy, wants me to carry her all the time, and needs to sit in my lap whenever I am home. At least I am coming home early enough now to have dinner with the family, put everyone in the bath, and get everyone to sleep. My buddy says his daughter (in the same class as Ton) is the same way. Kids know!
Both the French and German embassies have officially recommended (via postings on their embassy websites) that non-critical citizens leave Japan.
American Embassy homepage recommends following local Japanese government recommendations.
For once, the American advice is sensible.
The Fukushima nuclear reactor situation continues to suck. Water level in the #2 reactor dropped significantly, exposing the fuel rods and possibly causing a partial meltdown. However sea water is again being pumped in, and the water level has risen once again.
It is utterly FUBAR, but again the worry of Japan turning into an irradiated lump of char off the coast of Japan is grossly over-stated.
Tremors and earthquakes continue. Anything smaller than 6.0 is now a complete non-event; "Oh looky, building is swinging again...what, call it a 5.5? Nah, 5.3...sushi for lunch?"
Kids' school is closed Monday and Tuesday, just so they can make sure the building is safe. Also huge numbers of foreigners are simply leaving, so some international schools are just closing for weeks at a time, with no students. Will find out tomorrow if our school will open on Wednesday or not. Either way, kids are going to the other day care we always send them too when school is closed, so no crisis.
Scheduled blackouts continue to roll through the greater Tokyo area. Central Tokyo's 23 wards (with the exception of Arakawa Ward! Who did THEY piss off?) are unaffected. But trains are planning to shut down, etc. so I suspect work will be another ghost town all week.
Market sold off heavily as expected, nice fat 5.3 earthquake in the middle of the AM session didn't help, either. Probability of various trades and deals getting down goes down and down. Everyone believes in the eventual recovery of Japan, but not so many investors interested in buying in right now.
Mighty Mo has no idea what's up and continues to scream "I GOT it!" and wants to do everything himself. He also likes singing, especially the Totoro theme, Itsy-Bitsy Spider, and the alphabet song, sort of.
Tonchan definitely knows something is strange; she is incredibly clingy, wants me to carry her all the time, and needs to sit in my lap whenever I am home. At least I am coming home early enough now to have dinner with the family, put everyone in the bath, and get everyone to sleep. My buddy says his daughter (in the same class as Ton) is the same way. Kids know!
twit
I needed to sign up for twitter in order to follow some interesting developments.
I am @renfieldk
Don't expect much.
I am @renfieldk
Don't expect much.
another Japan update
(Some facts around the general situation in Japan. Feel free to forward, as much of the international news is confused or often wrong.)
* Earthquake and Tsunami
The earthquake that hit 2:46pm JST on Friday March 11 has been reclassified from 8.8 to 9.0, making it one of the top 5 most powerful earthquakes in recorded history.
Japan has experienced several hundred earthquakes and aftershocks since the 9.0 hit on Friday afternoon Japan time.
Most recently a relatively small 4.9 has struck in the middle of Ibaraki Prefecture, north-east of Tokyo.
Tremblors are expected to continue at least for the week.
The islands of Japan has moved approximately 2.4 meters due to tectonic plate shifting.
After the tsunami on Friday that did most of the damage, tsunami warnings and alerts have been downgraded significantly and at this point there is no immediate concern.
Relief efforts are in full swing, with 50,000 Self Defense Forces rallied together with US military and international rescue teams.
So far an estimated 10,000 people have been saved (including a man found two days after the tsunami, floating on debris 15 kilometers off the coast in the ocean.)
Unfortunately, the official toll of those confirmed dead is 1598, unaccounted for is 1720. The final death toll is expected to top 10,000.
2837 houses or buildings are confirmed utterly destroyed, 2103 partially damaged.
The central 23 wards of Tokyo are generally unaffected, with only 6 casualties reported for all of Tokyo. However transportation and supply lines are significantly impacted, making the movement of goods and people more complicated as time goes by.
Electricity production is also an issue (details below.)
Phone connectivity (both cell and landline) remains sketchy at times; those circuits that are working are generally overloaded. All the phone and cell carriers have delayed billing for at least a week and are providing free messaging and calling services as well as missing persons databases.
Google person finder is also collating information on missing persons: http://japan.person-finder.appspot.com
* Scheduled Blackouts
Approximately 1/3 of Japan's electricity is generated by nuclear power, and the nation's generating capacity has been severely limited. Electricty conservation is a priority at this time.
The greater Tokyo area (EXCLUDING the central 23 wards of Tokyo, where the office is located) and surrounding prefectures will undergo scheduled blackouts in 3-hour blocks starting Monday, in an effort to reduce overall electricity usage.
Market opened on Monday morning as normal (though obviously selling off hard as expected), and now Market Disruption Event has as yet been declared by ISDA, nor is it expected unless the markets close or are disrupted.
* Fukushima Nuclear Power plant
The situation at the Fukushima nuclear power plants is dire but not nearly as catastrophic as is portrayed in the news.
For accurate and timely updates, a good resource is the World Nuclear News Organization homepage:
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/
or their twitter feed:
http://twitter.com/W_Nuclear_News
Reactors 1, 2 and 3 were in operation at Tokyo Electric Power Company's (Tepco's) east coast Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant when the magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck. Three other reactors were already shut for inspection but all three operating units underwent automatic shutdown as expected. Because plant power and grid power were unavailable during the earthquake, diesel generators started automatically to supply power for decay heat removal.
This situation continued for one hour until the plant was hit by the tsunami wave, which stopped the generators and left the plant in black-out conditions.
The tsunami wave that hit the plant measured at least 7 metres in height, compared to the maximum 6.5 metre case the plant was designed to cope with.
The loss of power meant inevitable rises in temperature within the reactor system as well increases in pressure. Engineers fought for many hours to install mobile power units to replace the diesels and managed to stabilise conditions at units 2 and 3.
However, there was not enough power to provide sufficient coolant to unit 1, which came under greater and greater strain from falling water levels and steady pressure rises. Tepco found it necessary yesterday to vent steam from the reactor containment. Next, the world saw a sharp hydrogen explosion destroy a portion of the reactor building roof. The government ordered the situation brought under control by the injection of seawater to the reactor vessel.
Unit 1
Seawater injection continues and it is thought the reactor core is now sufficiently cool. Safety regulators consider reactor pressure of 353 kPa an indication of a stable condition.
Unit 2
TEPCO say restoration work in Fukushima Daini Unit 2 reactor cooling function that was conducted to achieve reactor cold shutdown has been completed and cooling of the reactor has been commenced at 7:13 am, Mar 14th. Fuel rods are covered by about 3.8 metres of water.
Unit 3
Injection of fresh water mixed with boron to inhibit nuclear reactions was started as soon as venting had been completed. However, water levels continued to fall and Tepco began an operation to inject seawater into the reactor vessel.
Operations to relieve pressure in the containment of Fukushima Daiichi 3 have taken place after the failure of a core coolant system. Seawater is being injected to make certain of core cooling. Malfunctions have hampered efforts but there are strong indications of stability.
Measurements around the unit had not detected increased radiation levels. A twenty kilometer evacuation order is in effect and some 200,000 people have been moved from their homes so far. Potential contamination of the public is being studied by Japanese authorities as over 170,000 residents are evacuated from within 20 kilometres of Fukushima Daini and Daiichi nuclear power plants. Nine people's results have shown some degree of contamination.
To protect the public from potential health effects of radioactive isotopes of iodine that could potentially be released, authorities have made preparations to distribute tablets of non-radioactive potassium-iodide. This is quickly taken up by the body and its presence prevents the take-up of iodine-131 should people be exposed to it.
Radiation levels have been monitored across the Fukushima Daiichi and Daini sites. As of 10.00pm Sunday, Tepco said that radiation levels were lower and stable. The maximum level detected on the 12 March was at 3.29pm when levels reached 1015 microsieverts per hour.
At Fukushima Daiini unit 3 one worker received a radiation dose of 106 mSv. This is a notable dose, but comparable to levels deemed acceptable in emergency situations by some national nuclear safety regulators.
A seriously injured worker was trapped within Fukushima Daiichi unit 1 in the crane operating console of the exhaust stack and is now confirmed to have died. Four workers were injured by the explosion at the same reactor and have been taken to hospital. A contractor was found unconscious and taken to hospital. Two Tepco workers "felt bad," the company said, during operations in the central control rooms of units 1 and 2 while wearing full masks.
Two workers of a 'cooperative firm' were injured, said Tepco; one with a broken bone. A Tepco employee who was unable to stand and grasping his left chest was taken to hospital.
The whereabout of two Tepco workers remains unknown.
* Earthquake and Tsunami
The earthquake that hit 2:46pm JST on Friday March 11 has been reclassified from 8.8 to 9.0, making it one of the top 5 most powerful earthquakes in recorded history.
Japan has experienced several hundred earthquakes and aftershocks since the 9.0 hit on Friday afternoon Japan time.
Most recently a relatively small 4.9 has struck in the middle of Ibaraki Prefecture, north-east of Tokyo.
Tremblors are expected to continue at least for the week.
The islands of Japan has moved approximately 2.4 meters due to tectonic plate shifting.
After the tsunami on Friday that did most of the damage, tsunami warnings and alerts have been downgraded significantly and at this point there is no immediate concern.
Relief efforts are in full swing, with 50,000 Self Defense Forces rallied together with US military and international rescue teams.
So far an estimated 10,000 people have been saved (including a man found two days after the tsunami, floating on debris 15 kilometers off the coast in the ocean.)
Unfortunately, the official toll of those confirmed dead is 1598, unaccounted for is 1720. The final death toll is expected to top 10,000.
2837 houses or buildings are confirmed utterly destroyed, 2103 partially damaged.
The central 23 wards of Tokyo are generally unaffected, with only 6 casualties reported for all of Tokyo. However transportation and supply lines are significantly impacted, making the movement of goods and people more complicated as time goes by.
Electricity production is also an issue (details below.)
Phone connectivity (both cell and landline) remains sketchy at times; those circuits that are working are generally overloaded. All the phone and cell carriers have delayed billing for at least a week and are providing free messaging and calling services as well as missing persons databases.
Google person finder is also collating information on missing persons: http://japan.person-finder.appspot.com
* Scheduled Blackouts
Approximately 1/3 of Japan's electricity is generated by nuclear power, and the nation's generating capacity has been severely limited. Electricty conservation is a priority at this time.
The greater Tokyo area (EXCLUDING the central 23 wards of Tokyo, where the office is located) and surrounding prefectures will undergo scheduled blackouts in 3-hour blocks starting Monday, in an effort to reduce overall electricity usage.
Market opened on Monday morning as normal (though obviously selling off hard as expected), and now Market Disruption Event has as yet been declared by ISDA, nor is it expected unless the markets close or are disrupted.
* Fukushima Nuclear Power plant
The situation at the Fukushima nuclear power plants is dire but not nearly as catastrophic as is portrayed in the news.
For accurate and timely updates, a good resource is the World Nuclear News Organization homepage:
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/
or their twitter feed:
http://twitter.com/W_Nuclear_News
Reactors 1, 2 and 3 were in operation at Tokyo Electric Power Company's (Tepco's) east coast Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant when the magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck. Three other reactors were already shut for inspection but all three operating units underwent automatic shutdown as expected. Because plant power and grid power were unavailable during the earthquake, diesel generators started automatically to supply power for decay heat removal.
This situation continued for one hour until the plant was hit by the tsunami wave, which stopped the generators and left the plant in black-out conditions.
The tsunami wave that hit the plant measured at least 7 metres in height, compared to the maximum 6.5 metre case the plant was designed to cope with.
The loss of power meant inevitable rises in temperature within the reactor system as well increases in pressure. Engineers fought for many hours to install mobile power units to replace the diesels and managed to stabilise conditions at units 2 and 3.
However, there was not enough power to provide sufficient coolant to unit 1, which came under greater and greater strain from falling water levels and steady pressure rises. Tepco found it necessary yesterday to vent steam from the reactor containment. Next, the world saw a sharp hydrogen explosion destroy a portion of the reactor building roof. The government ordered the situation brought under control by the injection of seawater to the reactor vessel.
Unit 1
Seawater injection continues and it is thought the reactor core is now sufficiently cool. Safety regulators consider reactor pressure of 353 kPa an indication of a stable condition.
Unit 2
TEPCO say restoration work in Fukushima Daini Unit 2 reactor cooling function that was conducted to achieve reactor cold shutdown has been completed and cooling of the reactor has been commenced at 7:13 am, Mar 14th. Fuel rods are covered by about 3.8 metres of water.
Unit 3
Injection of fresh water mixed with boron to inhibit nuclear reactions was started as soon as venting had been completed. However, water levels continued to fall and Tepco began an operation to inject seawater into the reactor vessel.
Operations to relieve pressure in the containment of Fukushima Daiichi 3 have taken place after the failure of a core coolant system. Seawater is being injected to make certain of core cooling. Malfunctions have hampered efforts but there are strong indications of stability.
Measurements around the unit had not detected increased radiation levels. A twenty kilometer evacuation order is in effect and some 200,000 people have been moved from their homes so far. Potential contamination of the public is being studied by Japanese authorities as over 170,000 residents are evacuated from within 20 kilometres of Fukushima Daini and Daiichi nuclear power plants. Nine people's results have shown some degree of contamination.
To protect the public from potential health effects of radioactive isotopes of iodine that could potentially be released, authorities have made preparations to distribute tablets of non-radioactive potassium-iodide. This is quickly taken up by the body and its presence prevents the take-up of iodine-131 should people be exposed to it.
Radiation levels have been monitored across the Fukushima Daiichi and Daini sites. As of 10.00pm Sunday, Tepco said that radiation levels were lower and stable. The maximum level detected on the 12 March was at 3.29pm when levels reached 1015 microsieverts per hour.
At Fukushima Daiini unit 3 one worker received a radiation dose of 106 mSv. This is a notable dose, but comparable to levels deemed acceptable in emergency situations by some national nuclear safety regulators.
A seriously injured worker was trapped within Fukushima Daiichi unit 1 in the crane operating console of the exhaust stack and is now confirmed to have died. Four workers were injured by the explosion at the same reactor and have been taken to hospital. A contractor was found unconscious and taken to hospital. Two Tepco workers "felt bad," the company said, during operations in the central control rooms of units 1 and 2 while wearing full masks.
Two workers of a 'cooperative firm' were injured, said Tepco; one with a broken bone. A Tepco employee who was unable to stand and grasping his left chest was taken to hospital.
The whereabout of two Tepco workers remains unknown.
reality check
Yes, we continue to be fine.
For the record, Tokyo is over three hundred kilometers away from Sendai. The earthquake in Tokyo was big and bad, but thanks to some of the most stringent building codes in the world, anything built in the last 20 years in Tokyo is utterly safe.
But enough about me, let's talk about YOU, and what YOU need to do; two very important things:
For the record, Tokyo is over three hundred kilometers away from Sendai. The earthquake in Tokyo was big and bad, but thanks to some of the most stringent building codes in the world, anything built in the last 20 years in Tokyo is utterly safe.
But enough about me, let's talk about YOU, and what YOU need to do; two very important things:
- Stop wasting precious communication resources. Electricity is lacking and phone service is still quite sketchy. I know that sounds terribly harsh, but no more harsh than a 9.0 earthquake and 10 meter-high tsunami.
There are thousands of people whose location and status are unknown. THEY need the cell connection more than you. There are literally millions of people with little or no electricity (and no water because the pumps are electric, no gas because the meters are electric, etc.) so stop wasting it.
If you need to find someone, check the google person finder. - Instead of sending "thoughts" or "prayers" or anything else that makes you feel good, send money. As much as possible, directly to the Red Cross or any other similar agency that turns that money directly and efficiently into saved lives. Again, harsh? My family and I are fine, tens of thousands more are not. Your thoughts don't help, sorry. Send money. Now. As much as you can.
And finally, stop worrying about the imminent nuclear meltdown. It simply won't happen. I am a huge seller of nuclear power, but really it isn't and won't be that bad.
Though it may in fact give birth to Godzilla, the nuclear reactor tragedy will not irradiate Japan. Read this, then read it again. Then filter all the crap on the news through a thick lens of fact, reality, and physics.
Then go donate more money; you have plenty of it, and several thousand families now have nothing but mud and broken dreams.
earthquake
I figured this was the biggest earthquake I have ever experienced in my 16 years in Japan. Actually it was the biggest earthquake in Japan's recorded history.
Really though it's the resultant tsunami that are doing all the damage; 10 meter high (that a 3 story building; picture it) walls of water tossing multi-ton fishing boats like they are so much flotsam and plowing over acres of farm land, roads, airports, and buildings.
This is really and seriously not good.
Hate to say it, but REALLY glad it hit in a sparsely populated area like the northeast. 100 kilometers south and there would be millions dead in the greater Tokyo area.
So far it's just been massively inconvenient for all those people who cannot get home. Lots of make-shift shelters opening up; universities and temples and community centers, vending machines dispensing food and drink for free, electronics stores offering free cell-phone recharging, etc.
Tokyo was surprising calm and well run, but then again it didn't actually get bad, power and water and gas still working, only a few isolated fires.
Also good that it was a friday afternoon; gives the country the weekend to get things cleaned up and sorted and I'm sure by Monday we'll be back to some semblance of normal, at least in Tokyo. The north-eastern lands will take some time to recover from the massive tsunami damage.
Really though it's the resultant tsunami that are doing all the damage; 10 meter high (that a 3 story building; picture it) walls of water tossing multi-ton fishing boats like they are so much flotsam and plowing over acres of farm land, roads, airports, and buildings.
This is really and seriously not good.
Hate to say it, but REALLY glad it hit in a sparsely populated area like the northeast. 100 kilometers south and there would be millions dead in the greater Tokyo area.
So far it's just been massively inconvenient for all those people who cannot get home. Lots of make-shift shelters opening up; universities and temples and community centers, vending machines dispensing food and drink for free, electronics stores offering free cell-phone recharging, etc.
Tokyo was surprising calm and well run, but then again it didn't actually get bad, power and water and gas still working, only a few isolated fires.
Also good that it was a friday afternoon; gives the country the weekend to get things cleaned up and sorted and I'm sure by Monday we'll be back to some semblance of normal, at least in Tokyo. The north-eastern lands will take some time to recover from the massive tsunami damage.
Burning nipple
Burning nipple
Originally uploaded by renfield
Salty heals me some incense.
Of course, when covering one's head, it is improper technique to expose one's body. Fight club rule is apparently that if you are wearing 16oz boxing gloves, you can basically hit someone in the body nice and hard.
The left side ribs have completely healed, and then I took a good shot on the right side. And to top it all off, I managed (well he let me) to take down one of the bigger guys, but I ended up underneath him. 100 kilos of muscle and bone body-slammed by already bruised ribs. And then I flailed around trying to get him off of me.
By the last round I was so gassed (out of oxygen, tired) that I could barely lift my own legs.
The worse I suck, the harder I work. So the joke is if I ever get better it becomes less of a good workout! Then again it would be nice and fun to not get hit, pinned, and choked quite so much.
Today's lesson: keep guard up
Today's lesson: keep guard up
Originally uploaded by renfield
Trader at work is also an aspiring drummer. Besides having arms made out of tree trunks, he is fast and not afraid to teach me to diligently keep my guard up. And no sissy blocking; elbow in, fist tight, head tucked.
game on!
P will soon once again be kicking my ass.
But I will soon be a player once again...[sinister snicker]
But I will soon be a player once again...[sinister snicker]
i got it!
Ton had a fever for a day, came home early from school yesterday but was fine this morning.
Warm spring day today, but expected to get really winter-cold tomorrow.
I can feel my hay fever trying to figure out if it's time to come play or not; crazy weather messing with everyone.
Except Mo. My son is apparently made of iron. Including, I sometimes think, his brain.
Recently he enjoys walking and refuses to ride in the stroller. He'll put on shoes (often his mother's or his sisters, my Little Gay Boy), and stand in front of the door mumbling, "fas-fas...fas FAS!"
He demonstrates how fast he is by running full speed into the opening elevator doors, and bouncing his head off of the back wall of the elevator. Acceleration he has mastered; braking, needs work.
This morning he walked the entire way to school. Every time I tried to take his hand, say when crossing the street, he would pull away and shout "I got it!"
Every time a car comes near I announce "CAR!" and both of them immediately hustle to the side of the rode and wait for the car to pass. This generally involves jumping off of whatever curb/step/planter box is nearest at hand. And of course Mo follows and copies his big sister, just with half the coordination but twice the stubbornness. If I try to help, I get a resounding "I got it!"
Then he runs off down the street, looking in every direction except that in which he is headed, with that weird, wobbling, tottering, barely balanced stride that only a toddler - whose brain can't keep up with his legs - can do. I sometimes wonder if he has knees for any purpose other than to fall on and scrape all the skin off of.
And occasionally he shouts, for no apparent reason, and generally in the direction of a fence or wall: "YAKI-IMO!"*
* baked sweet potato, an item sold off of the back of a truck that drives around the neighborhood in cold weather, blasting that word from speakers mounted on the rood, and baking them in a scrap-wood burning, smoke-belching furnace on the back of the truck.
Warm spring day today, but expected to get really winter-cold tomorrow.
I can feel my hay fever trying to figure out if it's time to come play or not; crazy weather messing with everyone.
Except Mo. My son is apparently made of iron. Including, I sometimes think, his brain.
Recently he enjoys walking and refuses to ride in the stroller. He'll put on shoes (often his mother's or his sisters, my Little Gay Boy), and stand in front of the door mumbling, "fas-fas...fas FAS!"
He demonstrates how fast he is by running full speed into the opening elevator doors, and bouncing his head off of the back wall of the elevator. Acceleration he has mastered; braking, needs work.
This morning he walked the entire way to school. Every time I tried to take his hand, say when crossing the street, he would pull away and shout "I got it!"
Every time a car comes near I announce "CAR!" and both of them immediately hustle to the side of the rode and wait for the car to pass. This generally involves jumping off of whatever curb/step/planter box is nearest at hand. And of course Mo follows and copies his big sister, just with half the coordination but twice the stubbornness. If I try to help, I get a resounding "I got it!"
Then he runs off down the street, looking in every direction except that in which he is headed, with that weird, wobbling, tottering, barely balanced stride that only a toddler - whose brain can't keep up with his legs - can do. I sometimes wonder if he has knees for any purpose other than to fall on and scrape all the skin off of.
And occasionally he shouts, for no apparent reason, and generally in the direction of a fence or wall: "YAKI-IMO!"*
* baked sweet potato, an item sold off of the back of a truck that drives around the neighborhood in cold weather, blasting that word from speakers mounted on the rood, and baking them in a scrap-wood burning, smoke-belching furnace on the back of the truck.
new dojo
There were many reasons to open our own dojo; Salty and I have always agreed on why we train and how we train, and we got sick of dealing with politics and other peoples' rules about what/where/when/how to do things.
After a decade of doing it everyone else's way, we decided it was time to do it OUR way. For some silly reason, a few folks seemed to think our way was a good alternative to all the other ways already out there, so our plan for a little hide-away space for the two of us has balooned into a 70 square-meter basement with 3 meter high ceilings in the posh neighborhood of Aoyama.
Today I trained on my own. We still haven't put up the sword racks, or even decided which wall is the front yet, and most of the stuff is sort of piled into corners until it gets sorted...but the space is big, empty, and quiet.
I changed out, claimed one of the lockers, grabbed a brand new zafu, picked a wall, and sat. I enjoyed very much the fresh white paint on the walls, the new carpet on the floor, the firm cushion, the random building noises from the pipes and ducts. After about 20 minutes I hefted a brand new oar-style heavy bokuto (not that heavy, only about 3 kilos) and did 100 warm-up squats: bring the arms all the way back so the sword touches the butt, then keeping the spine straight, sink straight down into a squat as the arms (hand, elbow, shoulder) extend out into cutting position, letting gravity do the work, keeping the arms light and just sinking into a slow, heavy cut. 25 straight, 50 left and right kesa, then a quick last 25 with just arms, working the back and really stretching out the neck and shoulder muscles.
Given the bruised state of my ribs, it felt good to stretch everything out slowly and methodically.
Then I strapped on the sword, with new old saya. Elvis did a wicked good bamboo wrap and re-lacquer, and I just had to adjust the shim a bit to get the sword to fit nice and snug.
Ran through all 28 kata, calm and careful each one. Started with goyo, then go-o, goka, hashirigakari, and finally naiden and okuden.
By then the locksmith had arrived to change out the bathroom door lock. Earlier Salty had closed the door with the inner lock button locked, so he couldn't open it, and no one seemed to have the key. The maintenance company dude managed to open it, and called the locksmith to replace. He swapped out the old doorknobs for new ones that can be opened from the outside with a screwdriver or even a coin; a much smarter lock for the toilet than before!
I also called to get a fiber optic line pulled so that we can get some internets, but apparently the building isn't even wired up. I specifically asked the owner but I think he was confused; probably doesn't know the difference between DSL and fiber, so we are checking with the maintenance company if they can even pull fiber to the building. If not, we'll go old school DSL, or as P calls it: "Piiiiii biddy biddy biddy" (that being the sound of an 800 baud modem doing a handshake to get some intertubes.)
Finally I ran through some basic jo strikes, at least what I could remember, and then called it a night.
Next week practice starts officially, though we still need to figure out a million things, like which wall is front, where the sword racks go and how to mount them, target soaking, targets, cutting stands, book shelf...
After a decade of doing it everyone else's way, we decided it was time to do it OUR way. For some silly reason, a few folks seemed to think our way was a good alternative to all the other ways already out there, so our plan for a little hide-away space for the two of us has balooned into a 70 square-meter basement with 3 meter high ceilings in the posh neighborhood of Aoyama.
Today I trained on my own. We still haven't put up the sword racks, or even decided which wall is the front yet, and most of the stuff is sort of piled into corners until it gets sorted...but the space is big, empty, and quiet.
I changed out, claimed one of the lockers, grabbed a brand new zafu, picked a wall, and sat. I enjoyed very much the fresh white paint on the walls, the new carpet on the floor, the firm cushion, the random building noises from the pipes and ducts. After about 20 minutes I hefted a brand new oar-style heavy bokuto (not that heavy, only about 3 kilos) and did 100 warm-up squats: bring the arms all the way back so the sword touches the butt, then keeping the spine straight, sink straight down into a squat as the arms (hand, elbow, shoulder) extend out into cutting position, letting gravity do the work, keeping the arms light and just sinking into a slow, heavy cut. 25 straight, 50 left and right kesa, then a quick last 25 with just arms, working the back and really stretching out the neck and shoulder muscles.
Given the bruised state of my ribs, it felt good to stretch everything out slowly and methodically.
Then I strapped on the sword, with new old saya. Elvis did a wicked good bamboo wrap and re-lacquer, and I just had to adjust the shim a bit to get the sword to fit nice and snug.
Ran through all 28 kata, calm and careful each one. Started with goyo, then go-o, goka, hashirigakari, and finally naiden and okuden.
By then the locksmith had arrived to change out the bathroom door lock. Earlier Salty had closed the door with the inner lock button locked, so he couldn't open it, and no one seemed to have the key. The maintenance company dude managed to open it, and called the locksmith to replace. He swapped out the old doorknobs for new ones that can be opened from the outside with a screwdriver or even a coin; a much smarter lock for the toilet than before!
I also called to get a fiber optic line pulled so that we can get some internets, but apparently the building isn't even wired up. I specifically asked the owner but I think he was confused; probably doesn't know the difference between DSL and fiber, so we are checking with the maintenance company if they can even pull fiber to the building. If not, we'll go old school DSL, or as P calls it: "Piiiiii biddy biddy biddy" (that being the sound of an 800 baud modem doing a handshake to get some intertubes.)
Finally I ran through some basic jo strikes, at least what I could remember, and then called it a night.
Next week practice starts officially, though we still need to figure out a million things, like which wall is front, where the sword racks go and how to mount them, target soaking, targets, cutting stands, book shelf...
Uoshin tendon
Uoshin tendon
Originally uploaded by renfield
Seriously excellent tempura lunch with P today at a random little place in the back streets of Nishi-Azabu.
Sleeping on the couch
Sleeping on the couch
Originally uploaded by renfield
Her brother is noisy this week as he is being weaned from nursing, so ton
decided to sleep on the couch.
i still love you
My gay hat
Originally uploaded by renfield
Dear Son, you like to wear your sister's flower hat.
And push her baby stroller.
And go shopping with her red handbag.
And play tea party with her tea set.
And wear her hand-me-down pink pajamas.
And I still love you very much, my little gay man.
(And it certainly helps that you would rather go to sleep with your toy cement mixer truck than the baby or the stuffed bunny.)
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