My server is back.

I was down for the better part of the week due to a bit of stupidity on my part. Much thanks to Peak Hosting for extracting me from my mistakes!

View full post »

今回は二年毎の宮島旅行の写真。

Last week I caught a cold that absolutely lay waste to me... I think it was the worst cold I've ever gotten. I'm mostly recovered now. Somewhere along the line I heard a friend was headed to Miyajima, and that reminded me that I've got plenty of photos I've not yet posted, so while I recover, here are a few photos from a trip to Miyajima two years ago...

I've posted photos of the famous gate many times, including in:

Main Gate of the Itsukushima Shrine, at Night Why I Shoot Raw: Recovering From Disasters Miyajima at Low Tide [...]
View full post »

Going through some closets in our childhood home, my sister came across some software she bought fresh out of college. It's a blast from the 22-years-ago past, when software came with massive manuals.

In this case, the box weighs 30 pounds (14kg), and the manuals are 9" (23cm) wide.

This was back when "Windows™" was just "Windows™" (it was a year or two before "Windows 95™"). She paid about $500 for it, in 1994 dollars no less.

View full post »

I've been feeding the birds at my folks' house while in town, and so would like to post a few more photos beyond what I included in earlier posts (here and here).

A lot of birds come by, but these photos are mostly bluebirds.

View full post »

Ordering something online from a US retailer last Friday, for domestic delivery. I was given the option to pay $20 for "Next Day Air". When I selected that option, the expected delivery date was updated to.... Tuesday, four days hence.

Folks in America know nothing other than this shady date math... an order placed on Friday doesn't get processed or shipped until Monday, so "next day" isn't until Tuesday, but it drives me crazy. In Japan, when you order something for the next day, it arrives The Next Day.

For example, in Japan, "Amazon Prime" is "free next-day delivery". If [...]
View full post »