http://flic.kr/p/ed41u4
volunteering
Amazing how these things work. Last week went with a friend to the SF Japanese School to pick up his kids. At the park where all the kids were playing, his wife introduced me to some other moms.
Within a week, I (and my friend) ended up volunteered to man the curry booth at this weekend's Cherry Blossom Festival in Japan Town.
We woke Saturday morning the unholy hour of well before 6am, got on an empty train and a nearly empty bus, and in record time found ourselves standing on the street where the curry booth was soon to be.
Within a couple of hours we had the tent up, the curry bubbling, the rice cooked...and then the fire department came and educated us:
* Need commercial grade 350 psi-rated hoses with machined fittings for the propane
* Have to elevate the propane burners at least 15 inches off the ground (was melting the asphalt)
* Butane burners must use exactly the same make of butane canisters as the burner itself
Then the health inspector reminded us that:
* All food prep must be done under the tent covering
* Hot food must be kept above 135ºF
So we decided to give up entirely on cooking the curry at the booth, and used the rented kitchen up the street. We then emptied out one of the large rice cooker/warmers and used it to keep the curry warm.
So net result: no gas at all (happy fire department), and no unheated food (happy health inspector).
Just glad there was no Electrician's Union on hand to give us grief about our extension cords or something!
Worked the booth until about 3, then wandered the festival to get some food. Grabbed a spam-musubi two booths down, marvelled at the ginormous line to get takoyaki, was impressed the sheer number of people eating and drinking, tried to ignore the off-key warblings of the wanna-be J-Pop glam rock band, and finally walked back down to Church station to grab the train home.
Within a week, I (and my friend) ended up volunteered to man the curry booth at this weekend's Cherry Blossom Festival in Japan Town.
We woke Saturday morning the unholy hour of well before 6am, got on an empty train and a nearly empty bus, and in record time found ourselves standing on the street where the curry booth was soon to be.
Within a couple of hours we had the tent up, the curry bubbling, the rice cooked...and then the fire department came and educated us:
* Need commercial grade 350 psi-rated hoses with machined fittings for the propane
* Have to elevate the propane burners at least 15 inches off the ground (was melting the asphalt)
* Butane burners must use exactly the same make of butane canisters as the burner itself
Then the health inspector reminded us that:
* All food prep must be done under the tent covering
* Hot food must be kept above 135ºF
So we decided to give up entirely on cooking the curry at the booth, and used the rented kitchen up the street. We then emptied out one of the large rice cooker/warmers and used it to keep the curry warm.
So net result: no gas at all (happy fire department), and no unheated food (happy health inspector).
Just glad there was no Electrician's Union on hand to give us grief about our extension cords or something!
Worked the booth until about 3, then wandered the festival to get some food. Grabbed a spam-musubi two booths down, marvelled at the ginormous line to get takoyaki, was impressed the sheer number of people eating and drinking, tried to ignore the off-key warblings of the wanna-be J-Pop glam rock band, and finally walked back down to Church station to grab the train home.
"tetsuya"
In Japanese, testsuya is composed to two characters: tetsu means to go through or pierce, and ya means night, so tetsuya is to pull an all-nighter.
Have a late-night call w/Japan & Singapore, and I've spent all day identifying a bug that I thought was caused by our custom fonts, but it seems like it is in fact a bug in the pre-processor / compiler.
So I have submitted a bug report and hope the anxious kid in Finland or whomever is maintaining the bug list and code base gets it sorted quickly.
Luckily I am gorging myself on the best cookies evar and staying appropriately hydrated, so it's all good.
The startup mantra: we'll get plenty of sleep AFTER we're funded!
Have a late-night call w/Japan & Singapore, and I've spent all day identifying a bug that I thought was caused by our custom fonts, but it seems like it is in fact a bug in the pre-processor / compiler.
So I have submitted a bug report and hope the anxious kid in Finland or whomever is maintaining the bug list and code base gets it sorted quickly.
Luckily I am gorging myself on the best cookies evar and staying appropriately hydrated, so it's all good.
The startup mantra: we'll get plenty of sleep AFTER we're funded!
house of nanking
Had The Best Time at House of Nanking last night; crazy good Chinese food with He Who Knows All About Getting It Done: Agent L.
wifi wtf
So I bought my MacBook Pro in Japan, and here in 'Merica it wasn't connecting to 802.11n 5Ghz networks.
Turns out that "countries apply their own regulations to allowable channels", and typical USA wireless routers for 5Ghz will default to a 3-digit channel, above 149.
All of which are not supported in Japan.
Convinced the network admin to use a different channel and now I can connect, but the bigger question is: can I upgrade my wireless drivers (firmware upgrade?) to see more/all channels...?
#mendokusai
Turns out that "countries apply their own regulations to allowable channels", and typical USA wireless routers for 5Ghz will default to a 3-digit channel, above 149.
All of which are not supported in Japan.
Convinced the network admin to use a different channel and now I can connect, but the bigger question is: can I upgrade my wireless drivers (firmware upgrade?) to see more/all channels...?
#mendokusai
mekajiki
Having settled into The Facility, I have now established a Forward Base of Operations, thanks to the assistance of the Alpha Team. Operation Mekajiki is therefore in full effect, with transportation routes established and supply chains confirmed.
Minor troubles, as one expects, have been unavoidable, but for the most part operations proceed smoothly.
Now, we commence Phase 2 with the implementation of Operation Sunshine Arrival. StatRep to follow...
Minor troubles, as one expects, have been unavoidable, but for the most part operations proceed smoothly.
Now, we commence Phase 2 with the implementation of Operation Sunshine Arrival. StatRep to follow...
yeah tsa
Sea-Tac airport, Seattle, WA.
HUGE line to get through security. Helpful TSA agents tell us to go to the other security gates as it is less crowded. Like lemmings, we obey and trudge to the other end of the terminal.
Huge lines, like Disneyland, minus the fun ride and friendly service at the end.
Partly through the snaking back-and-forth, a TSA agent hands us each a piece of paper stamped with the current time. "This is to help us measure how much time you spend in line."
Wow, this might actually be helpful; the TSA acknowledging that we spend way too much time lined up (the fact that it is to participate in ludicrous security theatre is a separate issue altogether.)
First security check: boarding pass and photo id. Agent scribbles something on the piece of paper and tell us that it will be collected at the end.
More lines, shoes off, jackets off, pockets emptied, laptop out, bins on conveyor belt, metal detector, collect stuff, refill pockets, repack backpack, shoes on, finally clear customs...still have my piece of paper.
Three (3!) agents standing around chatting, so asked one of them what we are supposed to do with our pieces of paper. "Oh, they were supposed to collect those at the podium." Collects paper, now completely useless because the whole point is to gauge the amount of time spent going through the security check, which requires measuring the difference between a known start time and a known end time.
Well played TSA. My faith in your ability continues to run blindly into the fog of night and plunge off cliffs of hopeless despair.
#tsa #fail
HUGE line to get through security. Helpful TSA agents tell us to go to the other security gates as it is less crowded. Like lemmings, we obey and trudge to the other end of the terminal.
Huge lines, like Disneyland, minus the fun ride and friendly service at the end.
Partly through the snaking back-and-forth, a TSA agent hands us each a piece of paper stamped with the current time. "This is to help us measure how much time you spend in line."
Wow, this might actually be helpful; the TSA acknowledging that we spend way too much time lined up (the fact that it is to participate in ludicrous security theatre is a separate issue altogether.)
First security check: boarding pass and photo id. Agent scribbles something on the piece of paper and tell us that it will be collected at the end.
More lines, shoes off, jackets off, pockets emptied, laptop out, bins on conveyor belt, metal detector, collect stuff, refill pockets, repack backpack, shoes on, finally clear customs...still have my piece of paper.
Three (3!) agents standing around chatting, so asked one of them what we are supposed to do with our pieces of paper. "Oh, they were supposed to collect those at the podium." Collects paper, now completely useless because the whole point is to gauge the amount of time spent going through the security check, which requires measuring the difference between a known start time and a known end time.
Well played TSA. My faith in your ability continues to run blindly into the fog of night and plunge off cliffs of hopeless despair.
#tsa #fail
The True Cost of Health Care
This is really key: the problem with the US healthcare system is simply that the costs are purposely inflated because that is how the system is designed.
The solution is to design a better system patient-centered, not insurance company-centered.
The likelihood is minimal, at least until most people understand the truth:
http://truecostofhealthcare.org/
The solution is to design a better system patient-centered, not insurance company-centered.
The likelihood is minimal, at least until most people understand the truth:
http://truecostofhealthcare.org/
better than homeless
better than homeless
Originally uploaded by renfield Actually it's way better; got my own bathroom with hand-held shower head, my own private entrance, easy access to the laundry facilities...and master says that if I am a good boy, he will let me up from the basement and allow me to boil some water in the kitchen, but only on weekends, when the children aren't about. (One can never be too careful.)
show me your papers!
Despite the fact that the Immigration Office is way out on a peninsula of reclaimed land in the bay, conveniently located a bus-ride from Shinagawa Station past the fancy new trash and recycling center, getting my new Foreign Residence Card wasn't nearly as painful as I thought it would be.
Got off the bus, asked at the Info desk, was given one piece of paper and directed to the photo booth.
Took my photos, went to the counter to borrow the available scissors (to cut off the bottom row of photos), square puncher (to cut out a single photo in just the right size), and glue (to affix said photo to said form), then with form, old card, and passport in hand, I proceeded up to the second floor.
...And was greeted with a scene out of a CNN special on refugee camps of war-torn central Africa or something.
Huge lines of people, babies crying, people screaming, talking on cell phones, sitting around randomly and zoned out; complete human chaos.
Luckily that was the "applying for a visa" zone, and I had to go around the corner to the "get my new residence card" zone, which was much more subdued.
Confirmed I was in the right place, grabbed my number, sat down and pulled out my laptop to be productive. Number was called in about 20 minutes, so I handed over my stuff and was given my number back.
Ate two cookies, pulled out the laptop again, and about 40 minutes later had my new card in hand!
I was so excited I decided to press my luck, and went to apply for registration to use the automatic immigration gates at the airport.
Another window, another single piece of paper form, another number, another 20 minute wait.
Handed over my stuff, scanned my finger prints, facial photo taken, and 10 minutes later I was registered. Only issue is the registration only lasts until my passport expires, which is in less than a year, but still, small wins!
Three cheers for efficient Japanese bureaucracy.
Got off the bus, asked at the Info desk, was given one piece of paper and directed to the photo booth.
Took my photos, went to the counter to borrow the available scissors (to cut off the bottom row of photos), square puncher (to cut out a single photo in just the right size), and glue (to affix said photo to said form), then with form, old card, and passport in hand, I proceeded up to the second floor.
...And was greeted with a scene out of a CNN special on refugee camps of war-torn central Africa or something.
Huge lines of people, babies crying, people screaming, talking on cell phones, sitting around randomly and zoned out; complete human chaos.
Luckily that was the "applying for a visa" zone, and I had to go around the corner to the "get my new residence card" zone, which was much more subdued.
Confirmed I was in the right place, grabbed my number, sat down and pulled out my laptop to be productive. Number was called in about 20 minutes, so I handed over my stuff and was given my number back.
Ate two cookies, pulled out the laptop again, and about 40 minutes later had my new card in hand!
I was so excited I decided to press my luck, and went to apply for registration to use the automatic immigration gates at the airport.
Another window, another single piece of paper form, another number, another 20 minute wait.
Handed over my stuff, scanned my finger prints, facial photo taken, and 10 minutes later I was registered. Only issue is the registration only lasts until my passport expires, which is in less than a year, but still, small wins!
Three cheers for efficient Japanese bureaucracy.
El Sereno
New apartment: fiber optic intertubes... Will be hooked up Monday. For now: almost no cell reception in the building! Needless to say, sketchy imtertubes at best for next couple days. Which is good, because hundreds of boxes need to be unpacked.
Big girl and big boy
House is full of boxes, and tonchan didn't have any pencils with which to do her homework, so she got on her kick scooter and went to her old preschool.
I came back from buying a microwave oven in akihabara and then went to preschool to pick up tonchan and mokun. She hadn't finished her homework yet, and mokun was getting hungry. He saw the yakiimo truck parked outside, and wanted to go buy some.
So, I gave him 1000 yen.
He went out the door, down the elevator, out the building, down the sidewalk, across the street, and bought two giant baked sweet potatoes. We watched from the window.
When he came back up to school he was so proud.
Not bad for a three year old!
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