This post is a mini review of a couple of bluetooth (wireless connection) speakers I've been using recently, one small "brick" speaker for the home, and a pair of earbuds for the gym.

Above we have the Braven 710. I lifted the (almost-certainly CGI) image from their web site; if I would have not been lazy and instead taken a photo myself, I would have put something there for context so that you can see that it's small... it's about the size of a sort-of-squished hotdog bun.

We like it. It's got great sound from such a small package. I've [...]

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Dipping my pen again into the very deep well that was November's visit to the Seifuso Villa (清風荘) in Kyoto, today's post has a bit more from early on in the visit first seen in "Entrance Foyer to the Seifuso Villa in Kyoto".

I vacillate on whether the photo above is of interest. I've deleted it (and then undeleted it) several times.

I showed the garden's formal tea house in "Approaching the Tea House at Kyoto’s Seifuso Villa". Near it are a few small buildings loosely connected with shared outside passageways.... one building being a prep room for the staff, [...]

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As about half guessed correctly, last week's A Textured, Layered “What am I?” Quiz is a "paper" wall from a wasp's nest.

This was prior to the "arctic vortex" descending on Ohio, so it was prior to the pretty frost patterns, but it was still plenty chilly.

The "paper" is from the wall surrounding the whole thing. Inside were the combs...

Not too exciting, photography wise, but for me at least a little interesting.

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I'm finally back in Kyoto.

My blog posts about my transpacific trips are normally simple affairs, such as (for example) this Kyoto-to-Ohio post from 2007, but the return trip from my trip to Ohio this year has been quite the ordeal, covered so far with:

Doh! Got to the Airport a Day Early to Find my Flight Delayed Four Days Finally Got My Return Flight Rescheduled Continuing Saga of My Return to Japan: Flight Canceled Again To No One’s Surprise, United Blames My Non-Weather Cancellations on Weather Halfway Home: Overnighting in San Francisco

The first four posts were of dread [...]

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My week of trying to return home to Kyoto, most recently covered in "To No One’s Surprise, United Blames My Non-Weather Cancellations on Weather", is finally going well. I took a smooth, on-time flight on United from Cleveland to San Francisco last night, and overnighted at The Dylan at SFO...

(The photo above is just a snap with WhatsApp on my cell phone that I sent to Fumie to let her know that I'd arrived this far safely.)

I can highly recommend The Dylan with one caveat. It's close to the airport, clean, nicely appointed for its ~$100 price, across [...]

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