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Showing posts from March 4, 2007

Honshu and Okinawa

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I am back. I spent 10 days in Japan, 5 days for work on the main island of Honshu and 5 days of solo adventure in Okinawa. Travel is so invigorating dispite the uncomfortableness. Jetlag, anxiety, crowds, and other discomforts aside, it is mind-expanding and rewarding. Work went well. I flew a new airline (Skymark) from Tokyo to Naha. I am always wary of strange discount airlines and all the traps they set. However, I had a great expereince with "Sky". I was actually shocked. Super easy checkin at the airport, no extra fees even with extra luggage. The primary mission in Okinawa was to visit the Peace Park and the suicide cliffs of Okinawa. From what I understand, at the end of WW2 the inhabitants were encouraged to commit suicide rather than surrender to the Americans and get tortured and eaten. Besides other types of suicide, they jumped off the cliffs at the Southern end of the main island. If you have seen the original color footage taken at the time, I am sure you ...
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I am fixing this and that around the house this weekend. I wish I could talk about my regular job there is always so much stuff going on. We finally got a break in the cold weather and today it is above 40 and raining a little. The llamas appreciate the warmer weather but they don't mind too much getting locked in the barn when it gets cold. I am going to a conference in Rochester on March 23rd. Then I am headed to Canada for work on the 4th. After that I am headed to Idaho at the end of April for work. Bonnie is going to meet me out there for a couple of days of vacation. The first picture shows safety in action in Antarctica manifested as a sticker on the shop truck. The second image links to a movie of a typical pickup at a field camp. In this case it was us getting picked up at New Harbor camp on a really nice day. Nick in the left seat and Mike at the pilot position on the right of the Bell 212. I never have figured out why the seats are backwards compared to a fixed ...