Notes to Myself

Kobe 2008

Here are some of the photos I took a few weeks back on my first visit to Kobe.

Early in the morning I 'scaled' Rokkousan, the mountains overlooking Kobe. Where the cable car stopped, buses waited to take sight-seers right to the top of the mountain. The weather at the top, however, was absolutely atrocious and you could bearly see 30 metres in front of you with the mist and cold swirling winds, nevermind a beautiful view. A real shame.

Back in Kobe city I visited 'Merikan Park', named can you believe after America - what kind of spelling is that? A memorial serves to show the destruction caused by the huge earthquake that hit Kobe. You can see concrete ripped apart and lamp posts at uncomfortable angles.

In the end I didn't go to the famous 'foreigners town' or China Town but instead headed to Osaka for a friendly tennis match with a friend. I got a real lesson losing 6-2, 2-2. After that, I arrived in Kyoto after midnight. Quite a hectic day.

> Kobe Photo Gallery
> Photo Gallery Index

Lovers' Tricks

Are you ready to be rich again?

Himeji Sakura

Here's the first set of pictures from my spring trip to Japan, Himeji castle grounds covered with sakura. Even though the weather was poor, it was still a beautiful place to visit, particularly with the sakura in full bloom.

> Himeji Castle & Sakura
> Photo Gallery Index

Out of Space

This week I've been busy settling back into work and at home I've been playing the excellent Mario Kart Wii. It's already Thursday and I'd planned on so many blogs!

I was going to upload photos from the trip but I brought back over 10GB's worth of photos! This is mainly due to the fact that I was shooting in RAW+JPEG for much of the time. I've now run out of hard drive space on my external drive so I'm having a bit of a drive reshuffle. I hope to start processing and uploading some images soon.

Back Home

Yesterday I arrived home safely, though at times I wondered if I'd ever arrive. This time the problems started before boarding the BA's 747.

A technical problem was announced. Just as on the journey to Japan there were announcements every half an hour promising we'd be boarding soon. They said there was a technical issue and that they had to find a spare part, replace the old one and perform tests.

Delays are hard enough to swallow but when you see the next BA flight take off before you when it was supposed to take off 3 after, you really get frustrated. That's two times in a row the earlier plane was the worse option.

A few hours later and the plane which was scheduled to use our departure gate arrived. In a stroke of genius, BA moved their plane out to another area of the airport. We had to walk to another gate, wait another half an hour and then get on buses to take us to the plane.

On arrival at Heathrow the pilot praised his staff and as if to seek thanks said that they were under no obligation to have been on our flight and had they not swapped with the crew from another flight our service may have been cancelled. I can't believe he even mentioned it.

That was one of the worst holidays in terms of pure bad luck. Here's hoping the next one will be better.

Kansai 2008

As tonight is my last night in Japan this time around it's time for a quick recap of the last couple of weeks. Well, let's start with the first week.

I arrived in Tokyo bagless thanks to BA and the fiasco at Heathrow's new Terminal 5 and had to rush around buying clothes and even tennis shoes before setting off for Kansai the following morning.

The shikansen took about four hours to arrive in Himeji. Apparently there isn't much to see except for the castle but that's the reason I went and despite the poor weather I wasn't disappointed. Although the castle itself is amazing - one of the best original castles left in Japan - I was more impressed by the castle grounds and the sakura which was in full bloom.

That night I met up with a friend in Kobe and we went to an izakaya. Man, I love izakaya! It was my first time to visit Kobe and I spent the following day seeing the sights. Taking a cable car to the top of the nearest chain of mountains, Rokkousan, proved a let down as the weather at the peak meant that you could barely see 30 metres in front of you, nevermind beautiful views over Kobe and Osaka.

At the sea-front there is an area preserved from the Kobe earthquake. You can see concrete which has been torn apart and lamp-posts at strange angles and it gives some impression as to the size and power of the earthquake.

On the way to Kyoto I stopped off to meet a tennis acquaintance in Osaka. I had to borrow his racket for a quick match as mine was still in my suitcase which was god knows where at the time. I have no excuses though as the racket he lent me was the same model as my own (technially I could moan about the strings but I played pretty well so I won't!) I lost pretty badly but as this guy has won the Osaka singles tournament before (I'm not sure at which level or age group) I didn't mind quite so much.

Though that night I stayed in Kyoto I went to Yoshino in Nara the next day, an area very famous for sakura. Although it was still a little early for the full bloom higher up the mountain, the lower areas were almost in full bloom. If you are in Japan around April time I suggest you pay Yoshino a visit. You get to see beautiful scenery on the train ride there alone, including mini bamboo forests that line the tracks.

On the last day I stayed in Kyoto and browsed a market near Shijyou which full of all sorts of weird and wonderful seafood. In the afternoon I went to Fushimi Inari, somewhere I have always wanted to visit. There are hundreds upon hundreds of red torii - the red gateways you find at shrines - lined up like dominos. The weather was awful but it still didn't spoil the experience. I didn't have time to see all the torii but next time!

I'll save the second week of my trip for next time.

Mario Kart Wii

It so happened that soon after my arrival in Japan Mario Kart Wii was released last Thursday. I was surprised to find that it was released just one day later in the UK - and from what I can see it doesn't seem to be sold out. The US IGN website says there are still 10 days to go until the game is released - what's going on there, then?

The game here is readily available but the steering wheel, or 'handle' as the Japanese call it, is sold out. I wonder how good the game will be with these controls. Also, I can't help but wonder if it's going to be too similar to previous games.

I've watched the intro video a hundred times in Yodobashi but it's hard to tell how good a game is without actually having a go for yourself. Have any of you bought it yet? Any impressions concerning the controls or the games in general?

Hokaben

Ueto Aya is just as lovely as ever (the wiki image is a terrible picture) and plays a lawyer in a new Japanese drama, Hokaben, which started this week. Yesterday she was on morning TV with the other stars from the show promoting the series. In the end I missed the first episode which aired last night.

I never really got into Japanese dramas but for Aya I could make an exception. A few years back when I was living in Japan I remember watching her in Ace o nerae, a tennis drama with awful cgi.

Shrine Shock

After buying my lens at the strange little shop (last post), I took a walk through Ochanomizu. It's a relatively quiet area which provides a nice change of pace. As you walk up and down the hilly roads you are presented with an array of love hotels, shrines and old buildings. 'How Japanese is that?' I thought, as I took a photo of a love hotel which faced a small shrine.

I came to what I think was Yushima Shrine. Apparently students flock there to make prayers about passing their exams. You write your wishes on a small wooden board and hang it up with the others. I've never seen so many of them before - the stack of small messages was easily a metre in depth and they were many hanging boards (I don't know the correct term).

In front of the shrine itself, people threw a few coins into the money box and said their prayers. A scruffy looking man peered into the huge money box and reached in as far as he could - his arm disappeared up to his shoulder. The next thing you know, he is standing there with a wad of Japanese yen! He quickly rifled through it before dashing out of the shrine grounds. Everyone was too shocked to even move.

Someone made the remark that he wouldn't go to heaven or something to that effect. I wonder what circumstances this guy found himself in. I must be a softy as I sympathised with him without even knowing his story.

Rather than the money theft, what really shocked me was the fact that people give Japanese notes to the gods. Starting with the smallest 1000 yen (5 pounds) note, we aren't talking about small amounts of money. The other thing was that the box was pretty deep. For that guy to have grabbed money must mean that the pile of money in that box is huge!

Mansion Shop

The cheapest place I could find to buy a Canon lens on the Internet was a shop in Ochanomizu. A lot of these cheap shops require you order products in advance, then you either have the item delivered to you or go to pick it up. I chose to pick up the lens and pay by cash.

The building was called Oka Mansion which struck me as a little odd as mansions are normally flats. However, inside there was a board listing lots of companies. On the 9th floor it really was a normal mansion, the only difference was that some of the doors had signs on them. It looked like I was in the right place.

When I walked into the 'shop' there were two small rooms (not to mention the sink!) acting as a cross between a small office and a small storage area. A man came out and produced my Canon lens. All I could hink was 'Dodgy!' Apparently there are lots of shops like this but I'd never been to one before so it felt strange handing over a wad of cash in a pokey little flat.

Octopus Golf

On Saturday the poor weather that had plagued my trip to Japan lifted to reveal blue skies and warm sunshine, perfect for golf. My friends keep taunting me about how I've brought the English weather with me, but in that case this was the second time I'd also brought perfect golf weather!

We drove passed Tokyo Disneyland on the way to Tako Golf Course in Chiba, very close to Narita International Airport. Tako can mean octopus in Japanese and although the real meaning in this case was different I guess most of the people who first go there have the same little chuckle about the name.

Golf in Japan is totally different from my experiences in England, so far at least. Everything is about perfect service and it really is a smooth not to mention quick blaze across the perfectly refined course.

We got in our 'electro-magnetic' golf buggy, pressed the start engine button and off we went. The buggy follows a preset course on a little path so all you have to do is hit start and stop. Compared to the other day this round of golf was physically no effort at all!

My only complaint is that you can finish 9 holes in less than 2 hours and you have little choice as there are other people behind you. I wanted to take my time and enjoy the sounds of the birds crying and frogs croaking.

After the first nine holes you have a lunch break whereas in England you play straight through. Very luxurious.

Even though I knew the cost beforehand it still shocked me when I handed over 20,000 yen - 100 pounds for a round of golf and a sandwich!!! I can't get over it.

At Last

My luggage finally arrived today - a whole week late and with half of my holiday already finished. What a joke.

I feel sorry for another lady who was in the same predicament who said that she was going to leave Japan last Friday... I wonder if she`ll ever see her bag again.

I`ve got so much blogging to catch up on, but where to start?

Kansai

Full reports to follow shortly but just a quick note to say that I'm now travelling in Kansai and having a great time, albeit still without my luggage. What are BA playing at?

It didn't occur to me until I set off to Tokyo station to catch the Shinakansen that it was rush hour. You'd think that having a suitcase would give you some stability on the train but you'd be wrong. With the number of people who forced their way on your legs slide bit by bit across the floor almost like you're on ice.

In Osaka this evening I boarded a train bound for Kyoto. It was 11:30 at night and yet there wasn't a single spare seat down. More than half the poeple were men in suits - I can only guess if they were on their way home from being out drinking or from work - the rest were girls in their 20s. It seemed like a strange combination with few exceptions.

Hmm, I wasn't going to write this much but there you go. I'll answer everyone's comments to my previous posts ASAP, just not tonight.

BA Blunders

When I heard that a full service was going to resume at Heathrow's Terminal 5 yesterday, the day of my flight to Japan, I had a feeling things wouldn't run smoothly.

Arriving at the new terminal by car it certainly didn't look like anything special. When you get inside, though, it's much more impressive. It's most unlike most people's image of Heathrow in that it's clean and well presented.

Checking in was painless and boarding went smoothly as well. It was only once everyone was on the plane that we were told that something wasn't right - all of the luggage onboard had to be 'security checked' one by one which would take around 45 minutes. We were kept content by a drink and customs declaration forms for our arrival in Japan. After 45 minutes we were then told that it would take another half an hour. Not surprisingly, that time elapsed and that plane still hadn't budged.

Two and a half hours after our scheduled departure we were allowed to take off. The flight was the usual long and gruelling test. The most interesting point of the flight for me was that the man sitting next to the window near me didn't get up to go to the loo the entire time. That's 12 hours and believe me, he was drinking quite a lot! I'm sure he must have been about to explode but just didn't want to ask if he could get passed.

At Narita a list of 40 passengers was pinned to a board near the conveyer belts for British Airways flight BA005. It said that each of the listed passenger's bags was not on the plane. Guess who's name was on it?

I queued up and was told that my suitcase had been forwarded on to the next British Airways flight, which was due to arrive within an hour (because it hadn't been delayed before take off it effectively caught up with us). Some of the other people weren't so lucky as they were simply told that their suitcases would be forwarded to their hotels when they arrived in Japan - just not today.

One British guy said to his Japanese wife, 'It's at times like this that it makes you proud to be British.' His wife simply answered 'Kawaisou.' which means something like 'I feel sorry for you.'

The next flight arrived and the conveyer built piled up with bags but my suitcase didn't appear. So it turned out I was in the same position as the people who'd left without their bags but was delayed by an extra hour! In all, I reckon I was delayed by a total of five hours and ended up leaving Narita without my suitcase.

All my clothes and toiletries are in my case, not to mention tennis gear including my racket.

Charged Up

When preparing to travel I often think how packing clothes takes little time compared to getting all of my electronics in order and charged up.

This is definitely overkill - time to leave a few bits behind.

Mobile Phones

I came across some old phones the other day and had to take a photo of them before throwing them out (left in the picture). The old Nokia 3210 weighed a ton!

In order to compare the size of them I took a picture with two relatively 'modern' handsets (to the right!). On the far right is a Nokia phone from work. The menus are pretty sluggish and the reception is poor - not recommended.

The Sony Ericsson w850i is my current phone, though I'd really love an upgrade. Now that I have a dedicated mp3 player I no longer need a Walkman Sony Ericsson phone. I'm waiting to see what the next Cybershot phone is like. You could say that I have a camera so don't need a Cybershot phone either but I don't always have a camera on me.

Terminal 5

Have you heard of the madness happening at Heathrow's brand new Terminal 5? They had better sort out the problems soon - I'm supposed to be flying with BA from Terminal 5 in a week's time. Why didn't I choose another airline? Oh yes, because there were possible strikes on the cards at the time... Grumble, grumble.

Hot Water

The Easter weekend has brought strange weather to London. Yesterday we had hail in the morning but I decided to go to tennis anyway. The sky was blue by the time I arrived but after an hour we were playing tennis in the falling snow!

Needless to say, it's been a cold couple of days, just when you don't need your boiler to break down... My house was without hot water for two and a half days. Say goodbye to hot baths and warm radiators.

On Friday I filled a small bucket with boiling water from the kettle and washed myself with a cloth whilst sitting in the bath. People must have done this in times gone by, only without the electric kettle, I thought.

My mum grew up in the country in Ireland and I still can't believe it when she tells me that they had no running water! How we take things for granted.

Toblerone

Take a look at the size of this Toblerone! 100 years? Is that really true? What a great chocolate. In case you are wondering, I included the tennis ball for a sense of scale.

Play.com Live!

Here are a few photos from the Play.com Live games exhibition that was held at Wembley over the weekend. It was the first time I'd visited Wembley Stadium so it was good just to go to see it! A freezing wind and drizzle didn't make for ideal conditions so it was straight inside to see what games were on show.

On arrival there weren't that many people but the place soon filled up. It was held over three main floors, though the third was pretty hard to find and contained the 'over 18 area'.

It was a shame that most of the games there are already available in the shops. A few previews were on display, though. A Sega tennis game was playable on both the 360 and the Wii. Though the controls on the Wii might end up making for a better game the 360's high resolution graphics made the Wii version pale in comparison. Other than the tennis game, there was very little on show for the Wii - predictable but disappointing. The show was dominated by the XBox 360 and Playstation 3.

There was also a playable version of the Soul Calibre 4 and the new Gran Turismo game. Apparently Ron from Harry Potter was lurking near one of the games machines being pestered by children.

Capcom's showing was sorely lacking: just a video being played back on a large TV. The video itself however was stunning, showcasing the upcoming Street Fighter IV and Resident Evil 5. It was the first time I'd seen SFIV in motion and to some extent I wasn't that impressed. While it looked great I wasn't convinced by the interaction of the characters. Resident Evil looked absolutely incredible and the footage has apparently yet to be released online.

Upstairs next to a sci-fi shop a 'race queen' posed on a Ducatti motorbike. Around the corner was the 'over 18s' area. It turned out to be a little more than a load of already on release shooters, mostly for the 360. There was actually one red ring of death (XBox 360 in meltdown)!

A massive queue had formed for some kind of Farscape 2 exhibition but we didn't bother waiting.

I came away from the event thinking one thing - I need to get a high-res TV and then something to plug into it...

Air Courier

Have you heard of air couriers? That is, people who carry documentation/packages for companies on airplanes in return for discounted ticket prices? It sounds like a dodgy idea, but I've heard a number of people talk about it.

Somebody I know was talking about flying to Japan and it turned out that he is paying half the price that I am! When I asked how that was possible he said it was via an air courier service. As there is only one person per flight who can qualify his partner is flying out on the second flight of the day. Now that is money saving!

Is this practice legal? Would you risk carrying something for somebody? I'm not sure I would.

London Sakura

It's not just Japan which has cherry blossoms. I guess this must be a different variety from those in Japan but here's a road lined with cherry trees which have just started to blossom near my house in London.

I am looking forward to the 'real' cherry blossom experience in Japan though.

Wireless Photos

Do your photos stay on your digital camera or computer without you having time to upload them all to share with your friends and family? I certainly have that problem. Is the following the answer?

Blog Photos Directly From Your Digital Camera with Eye-Fi

An intriguing piece of kit! I wonder how well it would work in practice?

Although I wanted to keep all of my photos on my website itself, I am now considering moving my day-to-day photos to a service such as Flickr or Picasa. I've used Flickr in the past but not Picasa. Which would you recommend? Or are there other services I should consider?

Fibre Optic?

Have any of those of you in London/UK noticed Virgin's new fibre optic broadband service? Have fibre optic broadband connections finally become a reality? I would be about time, but all is not what it seems.

Thinkbroadband has an article on the subject entitled ASA rules on Virgin 'fibre optic' broadband claims

Apparently the service isn't fibre optic all the way to your computer which is a little misleading when you read the adverts. A 100% fibre optic service is called fibre to the home (FTTH).

In any case, I should be changing my current ISP as its 8Mbps connection provides quite poor performance during peak hours. I've just been too lazy to get around to it. Also, I do worry that if the transfer didn't go smoothly it would disrupt my night shifts and any possible over time.

Many of my friends all moved to Be a while back - I wonder if they still recommend it?

Powerballs

Powerballs are quite popular at work and apparently we've got one of the UK's top record holders! I've recently joined in the fun by ordering my own Neon Powerball.

Basically, Powerballs are powerful gyroscopes which once started you accelerate using just your wrist. The interesting part is that the faster it spins the more force it exerts on your arm.

Supposedly, Powerballs can be used at low speeds to reduce the risk of RSI and I can see my powerball help to strengthen my forearm for tennis. To be honest though, most guys (including myself) are purely interested in hitting the highest speeds possible. Personally, I've only managed 10,700 RPM. As a point of reference the world record is 16,553 RPM!

JPLT Results (UK)

For some reason it didn't occur to me that the results might arrive on a Saturday, but there was the envelope waiting to be opened. My heart raced as I opened it and peered in.

I can't tell you the relief and joy of seeing not just the marks sheet but also an A4 certificate inside. A certificate for the Level 1 Japanese Language Proficiency Test with my name on it! Yes, a pass!

It may not have been the greatest passing mark in the world but it was well worth the effort I spent raising my grade by the 5% or so that it did since last year.

I was secretly hoping for a pass but even so, it's just unreal. It's still sinking in.

Thank you to all of you who have helped me towards this achievement, I really appreciate it.

Nosey Parker

At the coffee shop I stood up and surveyed all the tables. Where was my language exchange partner? Had he arrived late but sat down elsewhere?

Momentarily I was distracted by the man at the table next to me. He shut his laptop in haste as if to say, 'Don't be reading anything on my screen!' and he left his table. Was he being paranoid? Evidentally so as he didn't leave. He moved to another table right the corner of the coffee shop!

Personally, I understand how he feels but maybe he shouldn't have his laptop out if he is looking at confidential information. I wasn't even looking but because he moved I can't help but wonder what he was doing.

Fingerprints

When I was booking my flight to Japan the travel agent warned me that upon entry to Japan foreigners must now have their fingerprints and photographs taken. Is this following in America's footsteps?

I can only imagine how much longer immigration is going to take, not to mention feeling like a terrorist despite having done nothing wrong.

Have you experienced this yet? How was it?

Working Hard

When I came across this article I was quite surprised. Do managers in London really work that much overtime? I wonder how many people were involved in this survey and in which sectors they work.

Then I thought of my 'poor' Japanese friends who work at least two hours overtime for no extra pay every day. I'm sure they think that English people are slackers. In terms of giving good service to customers I can see why Japanese people sometimes think that English people lack professionalism.

What I'd like to know is the productivity of the average Japanese worker. Surely it cannot be possible to work close to maximum efficiency for 12-14 hours a day. Is being at work more important than doing work?

Mishi Mishi

The last couple of times I've called home on the phone my dad has answered, 'Hello, mishi mishi.' He has taken quite an interest in Japan lately and must be getting a little eccentric in his old age. I don't have the heart to tell him that he should be saying, 'Moshi moshi...' which is how Japanese people answer the phone.

Where on earth did he learn that, anyway? Should I correct him or continue to pretend that I haven't noticed? I'm hoping he isn't answering the phone like that all the time!

Presentation

For the first time in quite a while I gave a presentation at work today. Well, I say presentation but it was more of a quick demo of the software enhancements I've been working on.

When I thought about it last night I wasn't all that concerned but I woke up a few times throughout the night so I guess it was actually playing on my mind.

Still, it was a good opportunity to practice talking to an audience and I had to remind myself that demoing some software to about ten people is far less daunting than leading a class of 150 Japanese primary school kids (that was acutally a whole 'year' rather than one class).

The presentation was a success in that everything worked as it was supposed to. On the downside, it prompted a discussion about certain points and it turned out that everything I've done will to be changed. Oh well, these things happen.

Freaky Trains

Owing to severe delays on the District Line this morning I found myself on the train at a much later time than normal.

I was standing up and quickly became aware of strange noises me. The guy sitting behind me was making odd sounds, at times was breathing heavily and at others muttering to himself, most of the time wearing a twisted looking smile, half hidden under his untidy moustache. His oddness was enhanced when he pulled out an old style tape Walkman!

Just before he got off he stood up and reached forward and was groping for something near a lady's pair of legs. For a moment I thought he was going to get a good slap in the face but he stood up holding a newspaper which was on the floor. Weird.

Watch out for this guy on the District Line - this wasn't the first time I've seen (heard) him. He gets off at Embankment but I can't help but think he is going to an imaginary job. Could he really be employed?

Lost Property

I jumped off the train and patted my right pocket. I was expecting to feel my Sony mp3 player next to my phone but it wasn't there. My heart sunk. It had taken me just two weeks to loose my latest gadget.

The train pulled off and all I could do was try to peer through the window at where I'd been sitting. A man seemed to turn around and see me - had he noticed what I'd left behind? I searching my bag pointlessly until I gave in to the truth: it was gone.

At that point a friend called me. After speaking for five minutes I made my way down to the ticket office. The member of staff on duty started making numerous phone calls once I'd explained my plight. It turned out that he was actually calling each and every station along the line and needless to say I was surprised by such an efficient and helpful service.

Shockingly, he paused while on the phone and leant forward, 'What does it look like?' It's been handed in? I couldn't believe it. No, hold on, contain your relief until you actually get it back! I described my mp3 player in an eloquent sentence, 'Small, thin, black, Sony.' To which he replied, 'It's been handed in at Chiswick Park Station.' Maximum relief! (Too much Crysis?)

When I eventually arrived at Chiswick Park the guy behind the window at the ticket office started playing games with me. Even after I'd explained what the mp3 player looked like he smiled and asked, 'Name some of the music on it.' I started blabbering on about Japanese music but eventually he said, 'It begins with 'e'?' 'Oh... Evanescence.' Ah, the greatest gym music on the planet, perhaps bar Rocky.

I'm eternally grateful to the kind soul who handed my mp3 player in. You could have kept it for yourself or even sold it, but you've made me believe there are still kind people in this world. Thank you!

Sony NWZ-A818

Though I've been content with my Sony Ericsson W850i Walkman phone as my mp3 player for some time I've fallen in love with another device, the Sony NWZ-A818 Media Player. Look how small and slender this piece of kit is!

Last year my heart wavered slightly and I considered buying the ever-popular iPod or iTouch but there was one thing which bothered me about them - the fact that you can't control them easily without taking them out of your pocket. Call me fussy, but being able to skip tracks and control the volume through my pocket is one of my main requirements for an mp3 player.

Things were great back in the days of MD players which had those neat remote controls which you plug your earphones into, but for some reason that's gone out of fashion.

Though you can check out the specifications of the Sony NWZ-A818 on the Sony website some of the key features are:

-Transfer media via Windows Media Player or drag & drop
-2.0" QVGA (320x240) screen
-30 fps video playback + JPEG viewer
-8GB capactity
-Plays MP3, AAC, WMP and WMA
-Plays MPEG4 & AVC (H.264) Baseline video
-Battery life of approx. 33hrs music!

The player can play your music from folders on the device - unlike the w850i and I suspect iPods, too. This is great as you have the best of both worlds. If you've got your mp3 tags sorted then you'll have access to your music by artist, genre, year etc., while if you don't you can still simply drag and drop your music onto the player and play it with no problems without all the tracks being listed solely under 'Untitled'.

In short this is a fantastic media player!

Perfect Form

For a while now I've been in a quandary regarding tennis, though the subject concerns all sports. Should your goal be winning or trying to achieve perfect form?

Being a bit of a perfectionist, I do strive to play elegant tennis and I admire players with beautiful strokes. I also have to admit that I don't like losing to players with less than attractives strokes. I follow the school of thought that if you improve your strokes your game will also improve. It's not that simple, of course, as learning tactics and executing them etc. obviously contribute to development at being 'good'.

Is winning the be all and end all? I was speaking to a very good tennis player today and he thinks that winning is the ultimate goal. As he says, 'You can see somebody play and think that person is a great player. But are players with beautiful strokes and perfect form remembered or really recognised by their peers if they don't win any competitions.' A good point.

According to this new tennis aquantance being a skilled player and being a good player (my best translation at least) are two separate things. I asked whether he thought there were good players who weren't so skilled, or at least didn't have an 'attractive game'. Of course, I knew the answer but still don't like the answer!

Japan Results

I was reading a message board earlier today and found out that the JLPT results have been released in Japan. That's about a day or so earlier than last year.

I guess this means that those of us in the UK will have to wait until the end of the month until we find out our results just like last year. Fingers crossed the system will be faster this year - I don't want to wait any longer!

Spring Blossoms

Apparently today was to be the day that most people would call in to work sick. It's certainly a season when it's easy to feel low. It's cold and miserable, there's a lull after all the Christmas parties and everybody seems to be sick.

We all need something to look forward to and keep us driving forward. For me, that shining light on the horizon is Japan again. My saviour! I plan to visit in early April and hope to catch some of the cherry blossom season. I can't wait!

www.jlpt.mobi

The perfect domain for a mobile Japanese Language Proficiency Test site:

www.jlpt.mobi

This domain is now open for bidding.

Tennis Sketch

www.gaijin.mobi

When the mobi domains became available I registered a few domains. I've decided to try GoDaddy's Domain Name Aftermarket to auction off the first of these domains:

www.gaijin.mobi

It's a great domain to have but I don't have the time to devote to developing a new site at the moment. I'm sure most of my readers will know that this commonly used term means 'foreigner' in Japanese. I was thinking a parody site might be good fun.

Any potential buyers? Place your bids!

Mario Galaxy

I bought Super Mario Galaxy on a friend's recommendation and so far it hasn't disappointed.

The controls feel natural after a few minutes of play. You've got all the usual Mario moves plus an additional spin attack activated by a brief shake of the controller. The ability to point at the screen adds to the game, too.

On top of the controls, it's the quirky 'hyper 3D' graphic worlds and and great Nintendo presentation that really impacts your experience. Jumping around on tiny planets and flying between them constantly changes the flow of game, even if you are chasing stars within the same galaxy.

The only downside I can find in the game so far is that it's easy. Mind you, I've only just started playing so perhaps the difficulty gradually increases. Also, I think that Mario Sunshine suffered from being too fiddly and time consuming. Maybe gamers these days really do require quick satisfaction or do I just have a decreasing attention span?!

Though the game is only just unfolding I can still already say one thing of Mario Galaxy - creative genius!

ShopTo

A special note must go to www.ShopTo.net who held up to their promise of 'Shop late - play tomorrow'. I ordered at 5:20pm and Mario Galaxy arrived the next morning - with free registered delivery!

Kit Kat Little

Thanks to a friend's kind gesture, I've received a parcel containing a few goodies from Japan. Amongst them we have my favourite Hi-Chew sweets - in yoghurt flavours - and something I've never seen before, Kit Kat Little!

Kit Kat Little (or Little Kit Kat?) come in white and pink as shown on the packet. It looks like they represent sakura - are they limited edition? On the bottom of the packet it says 'lucky little'. So what's so lucky about them? On the back of the packet it says that you can check your luckiness rating by counting the number of white and pink little kit kats you have and then visiting www.breaktown.com

If you go to the Kit Kat shop you can see just how many different Kit Kat products you can buy in Japan. Check out the golf club bag!

Here's one of my old posts - Banana Kit Kat

Aussie Accent

I had a surprising conversation with a travel agent of which a small snippet is as follows:

'Will you be travelling with an Austalian passport?'
'...No. Do I sound Australian?' I replied, surprised.
'Yes, a little.'

What? How can I possibly sound Australian? Either my accent or changing or that travel agent has hearing issues.

Marathon Money

As I swivelled on my chair I was puzzled trying to work out who the guy standing beside my desk was. I'd seen him around but had never met or spoken to him before. He seemed to catch my puzzled look and held out a sheet of paper, announcing his intention to run the marathon.

The penny dropped - so he was after sponsorship. Talk about being put on the spot. Half the time I'm sure people sign away their money just out of courtesy. After all, it's hard to just say 'no' without feeling like a stingy uncharitable miser.

While I felt obliged to sign I have to say that I felt a bit irritated that somebody who didn't even know me was asking me for money. Isn't that a bit cheeky? Or is it normal to go around the whole office and ask for money from people you don't even know? Was I just being stingy?

I asked him to come back as I was just leaving for the gym. Hmm, what to say if he returns? 'No.'

Note to myself: If I ever get a place to run the marathon for charity I must remember not to put people I don't even know on the spot like that.

Head Hunter

'Darren, there's a call for you,' called my colleague. 'Strange, on my old number?' I thought, as I picked up the phone.

'Hi, is that Darren Cheng?'

This is where alarm bells started ringing. A while back the exact same thing happened - it wasn't somebody from work.

'Who's speaking?' I asked.
'Is that Darren.'
'Who's speaking.' I stubbornly repeated.

The guy on the other end of the line told me his name and company. He went on to explain that he was a head hunter and that he'd been told I was good at my job and wanted to talk to me.

I told him that I wasn't interested but he was predictably persistent and wouldn't give up. He asked for my number and e-mail but I said that if I'd never sent a CV to his company in the past that I wasn't willing to give out such information.

'How did you get this number?' I enquired.
'By a referral.'
'And you can't tell me who this person is?
'No, like I say, it's a referral.'

Other people would have just said, 'Sorry, I'm not interested. Thank you.' and hung up the phone, but I make a point of not doing that kind of thing. But this guy didn't know how to take a hint. I kept talking even if my patience was wearing very thin.

'Even if you are not interested now, you might be in a few months,' he protested.
'No, I don't think so.'
'So you want to work at your current company forever?'

For the last time I started to tell him I wasn't interested but mid-way through my sentence he hung up! He hung up on me! The cheek.

How do these people get your number? Doesn't it freak you out?

160 Megapixels

Now this is a camera!

http://uk.gizmodo.com/2008/01/19/the_160mp_digital_camera_its_a.html#more

The Seitz 6x17 is supposedly capable of capturing images at up to 160MP! That means one full resolution wouldbe 900MB in size. Is this a hoax?

40D PC Control

Instead of using my USB card reader like I usually do, I decided to try plugging my Canon EOS 40D into my PC via the USB cable.

The file manager software I use failed to pick up the camera, probably because it wasn't designed for XP. In Windows Explorer the camera appeared under 'Cameras and Scanners' instead of a removable drive. That wouldn't bother me except that you can't see any of the folders on the camera. This is useless if you want to manually drag and drop files, though the Canon EOS utility included with the camera allows you to view each of the folders.

Although I wasn't impressed with all of this I did uncover some other camera functionality. While plugged into the PC you can control almost all aspects of the camera. You can scroll through white balance settings, shutter speeds, apertures, ISO ratings, well you name it! As you change the settings you can see the display on the camera update in sync.

Why might all of this be useful? You can also take pictures via your PC using the camera's Live View functionality! Using this you can save photos straight to your PC as well as the camera.This is probably of use to professionals in studio environments but realistically of limited use to amateurs like me.

While fiddling with this software I once again felt that the manual focus in Live View (manually controlled via the software) lets the camera down slightly. Then again, if you were doing studio work I imagine you'd normally have time to use manual focus.

In summary, some cool features that I'll probably never use. In fact, I may go back to using my card reader for ease of use in copying photos.

Microgel Prestige

Head's Migrogel technology line of rackets has been out for some time now. As is always the case the Prestige version is always released after the other product lines. However, the time of the Microgel Prestige has come!

I'm a Prestige fan owning several models including the Prestige Classic 600, Prestige Tour 600, i.Prestige and LiquidMetal Prestige. A thin 19mm constant beam and classic look, particularly the Classic/Tour 600s, make for attractive rackets, probably beyond my game.

You have to take these new technologies with a pinch of salt, especially when you hear of how many pros are really playing with their old rackets painted to look like the newly released rackets. Also you have to wonder when one technology completely phases another one out.

Lots of skilled players are constantly looking for rackets which feels like old classic such as the Prestige Classic 600 or Pro Staff 6.0. If those old rackets are so great then will a newer racket material really make a better racket? Maybe.

Here's the sales pitch for Microgel:

Rock-solid feel and touch: With the lowest density of any material, HEAD MicroGel™ is a revolutionary new silicone-based material. HEAD has combined MicroGel ™ with stiff and strong carbon composite fibers to create a racquet with incredible responsive qualities. On ball impact, MicroGel™ uniformly distributes the impact load around the frame to provide the most rock-solid feel and superior touch ever achieved in the game.

Having voiced my doubts about new technologies, I am still eager to try out the new Microgel Prestige to see how it plays. They are already up for sale on eBay...

Dirty Minded

Do you think there is really much difference in the rate at which people's hair grows? Mine certainly seems to grow at an ultra-fast pace!

The Japanese say that people whose hair grows quickly are dirty minded. What do you make of that?

New Colleague

What would you do if you entered the office to find a new colleague in your seat?