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. 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 ...
Post a Comment
-

I think the opening lines in "A Tale of Two Cities" has never been more true than today and what has beholden us with the pandemic. Georgia has been "open" earlier than any other state, now 2 weeks. Most restaurants are closed still, but take out is more brisk than it was a month ago. I am not seeing any changes to the reported state-by-state "body count." I am sure I am missing something unlike the folks who are sure they are not missing something.

I guess that I am trying to cope with the fact that the equivalent of a small city has died in the US from the virus (80,000). But I am also given numbers that I can't confirm. China is reporting very low numbers of deaths (5000), Russia (2000), etc. ---A source---. I don't have videos to look at like I can with the Tsunamis of 2004 (220,000) or 2011 (16,000). I didn't see a meteorite fall from the sky and explode. It is very hard to reconcile our current crisis.

Pictures:

  • The center of Terminal "A" Totally Empty at about 9:00PM on May 3rd in the World's busiest airport. Amazing!!
  • A full U-Haul after the cross country trip to Duluth. I am glad I didn't have to drive it.
  • The lawn it its rejuvenation phase now that it is getting regular doses of nutrient-rich lake water thanks to the new irrigation system.
  • The Honda back in its perch after its ride cross country and the new bathtub staged for installation.
  • I had some e-track powder-coated and I installed in the back of the truck. After having driven a truck for 30 years, I finally have some good hold downs and lashing points-- none to soon. I learned some about aerodynamics with stuff in the back of my truck over the years.
  • The invaders


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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. 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 ...
Read more

Priorities

-
Image
One of the strangest processes I go through is setting priorities of what I need to work on. I can't say I finish one project and start on another. I often take a project to "a stable place" and then start on another "comprehensive" project that ends up as many smaller projects with their own lifecycle. The good news (and what allows me to be proud) is that I finish projects. Finishing is a big deal to me. I enjoy that part. A lot of folks get joy out of starting projects, but then get beaten down by setbacks and reality. Real progress (and growth) comes in steps. The stair rise is seeing and knowing progress. The stair step is when you dont see progress. You have to have faith you will get to the next rise. It will happen. In my latest "comprehensive" project "zoom room improvements" includes deep cleaning (inside and out), new electric, ethernet, and flooring. In addition, some foundation repairs. The original posts were set poorly and th...
Read more
-
Veterinary Report Vol. 24 No. 3: Features - Some Clients Opt for Acupuncture Fawna is not up. She shows signs of improvement but she just plain does not have fine motor control of those back legs. She has reflexes back there. She has plenty of strength when I exercise the legs. We are looking around for a vet that does acupuncture. It is unquestionable a neuro disorder. Today we added a spinal massage to her regimen. There is one spot down near her back legs that she had a reaction to the deep massage. We are hoping that the stimulation of extra blood flow in that area may help regenerate some nerves. There are only a few choices. 1.) Cornell Vet clinic.. Get her there and spend thousands. 2.) Put her down... Don't know how we would do that.. The body? 3.) Keep trying weird stuff and exercise. My arms ache today... Bad. I feel like I have been working with stone.
Read more
-
Image
I had a flying lesson tonight. I felt like I did better on some stuff, but there is something always to add. Pile it on. It takes time and effort. Reading really helps maximize a lesson. One of the fundementals I really have to work on is a good checklist mentality. I am the first to recognize that a pure checklist mentality may not be optimal for finding new things, but there is considerable merit in checklists. In fact, I have a list everyday, every week, and throughout the year for work. Staying on the list is a required discipline. I need to be able to be in checklist mode and, when I need to, be out of checklist mode. When I came in for a landing tonight there were some folks watching. I went up to them after we landed and they asked "Was that a student landing?", "Why yes it was", was the reply. "It looked really smooth" he said and he showed me the camcorder in which he had it recorded. "It didn't feel very smooth to me.", I replied....
Read more