Honshu and Okinawa

-
Image
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. At the end of WW2 the inhabitants were encouraged to commit suicide rather than surrender to the Americans and get tortured and eaten. They jumped off the cliffs at the souther end of the main island. If you have seen theoriginal color footage taken at the time. I am sure you were moved with mothers holding their babies jumping to th...
Post a Comment
-

I had a interesting experience last night (like most nights). I volunteered to scrap out a fairly large camper trailer to help out my friend Roger. He is moving and he needed to get it off the property. So I told him I would take it, tear it apart and sell the aluminum (maybe 200 bucks). Of course, there is quite a bit of nuisance involved and the "fluff" left over from a camper is no fun at all. Most junk yards won't take them because of the amount of fluff. So I hooked up the truck, no safety chains, no lights, and a tire that is leaking air. Wouldn't you know that moving the trailer caused the leak to get bigger. And after filling it with air a couple of times, the tire disintegrated. "OK, I can deal with this." I am about three miles from home and there is a fresh layer of new asphalt down on the road up ahead. The new asphalt is so rare in my neighborhood; I really couldn't bear the thought of having the bare rim chew it all up. I did drive a few miles on the rim, but the new road was too much. I decided to stop at one of the local hillbilly houses that looks more like a junk yard than a home. All I had to say was, "you want it?" There was a great deal of excitement, "Just back r right in here, w'll strip r tonight!" The liliputians were all over that thing like piranas. It was a great end to a problematic situation and I got the chance to mingle with some native "Bershirians". The next day I had a macabre need to drive by to see what the bones looked like.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Did any of'm follow you home??

GM
11:04 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Maine Coastal Islands

-
Image
As part of my recent Maine trip we decided to explore a little out on Vinalhaven (Vinyl Haven) Island. There is a ferry that runs out there. I was pleasantly surprised that it isn't totally about tourism out there. I daydreamed about buying a waterfront property and doing fishing and lobstering. The properties I found were somewhat affordable and essentially turn-key fishing bases. I also had to stop and take a couple fan-boy pics of some antique rolling stock. They must get snow up in Maine. I didn't see any in September.
Read more
-
I am still connected getting the lunch menu from the ice. It is tough to decide. mactown food versus home. Hmmm... Mactown menu Thursday - February 1 | LUNCH 11am-1pm Roast Pork Loin w/Gravy Beef Chili Vegetable Ragout DINNER 5pm - 7:30pm Thai Beef Stir Fry Teriyaki Grilled Chicken w/Pineapple Vegetarian Buddha's Delite
Read more

Mostly in Georgia

-
Image
Gracie decided to give us a presentation regarding current world shipping issues. She thinks she is so smart. But she is wrong about port congestion. If we allow anyone to drive commercial trucks there will be no backup of containers moving inland. Gracie, a tip for public speaking, Never turn your back to the audience. We had "Demo Days" at work again this past week. I was busy on most of the days, but I went up to the demo site after the event was over on Friday and took a look at machines we have on site.
Read more

California, Berkshire NY, Baltimore Maryland and Washington DC

-
Image
I am back from a speaking engagement at a familiar conference (CIDM) in San Jose California. Afterwards, I met Angie at the ATL airport and headed to the farm and to see my cousins, Aunt and Sister (and my newest relative) in Baltimore and Washington DC. It was a densely scheduled trip, but nothing compared to our typical overseas vacation trips. I have been having educational fun with my recent birthday gift. It is a Radiacode 103. It is a very sensitive scintillation radiation detector. Loads of fun. The 1k µS/hr spike shown is what the carry on baggage x-ray machine doses out. I am glad I wasn't inside the x-ray equipment. Stopping at some antique stores along the way, I found a number of uranium glass pieces. Yes, they are radioactive. Yes, the dose is comparable to that you get from riding in a commercial airplane. I took a couple of pics of property in Upstate NY. Unbelievable. It will beat out images of the best trailer trash anywhere. And yes, the vehicles are systemica...
Read more
-
Image
hamvention I am back from Dayton. It was 9 hours driving each way. The fuel mileage was a lot worse with the camper on the truck too. We have to expect that. I purchased a radiation detector, nicads, button cells, monitor, a generator for the exercise bike, connectors, tape, IC sockets, and an A/B box. I probably got a few other things too. All of which are part of existing projects! I started no new projects. The place is quite a draw. It is very large indeed. It is approximately 3 times the size of the Rochester hamfest. We met up with hams from around the country.
Read more