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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Today was an exciting day. I bought some laps in a Winston Cup car at Atlanta Motor Speedway. That was a real hoot. Now that I have had a few hours to think about things I know I could have picked my line better and really optimized. You definitely get going fast, especially since it is only a 1.5 mile tri-oval. You are almost always in a curve.The banks are 25%. They are so steep you can certainly fall down them if you are walking. I understand that I got it up to at least 140 MPH. The car had a lot more to give. When I watch the video I feel like a cat watching a bird out the window. I am grabbing the desk and my breathing changes... what a hoot! It was a great experience. I might do it again.

The guy with the Gen 3 T-shirt is Randy Baker. http://www.speedtech500.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=136&Itemid=118

After my racing thing I went and toured Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Little White House" in Central Georgia. That was great too. You see where he died in 1945 and the painting that is unfinished because he had his fatal brain hemorrhage during the sitting. A lot of huge decisions were made by that man. You definitely get the sense he made at least some of those those decisions there. FDR was a Yankee in Central Georgia. On the property is Dowdell's Knob. Basically it was a picnic spot for the President. It was also quite nice. The name is not very common, except to me.


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Honshu and Okinawa

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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. 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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