Another milestone in my life is reached today as I can now officially say that I’ve spent a year of my life in Japan. Although this total is the sum of three visits, and it’s not really that long, it’s important to me as it proves that I really can stay here for the [...]
05.30.08 | Living in Japan | Jason
Summer is just around the corner, and the staggering heat of the Japanese sun will soon bake us into exhaustion with its ceaseless presence. Last year the mercury reached 43.2 Celcius in some parts of Gifu prefecture, and this past April we were treated to termeratures in the low 30’s. Aside from a [...]
05.29.08 | Internet, Technology, Windows Mobile | Jason
It’s a question likely as old as the written word, and one we might not give consideration to while hammering out our ideas online. Is our content too long? Will length make an impact on the number of RSS subscribers? It’s certainly a valid concern and, after discussing it with some fellow [...]
Long distance relationships can be incredibly difficult and, just like local relations, come with a host of hurdles to overcome. Just as one expects from any serious relationship, being so far from a loved one requires such pious virtues as honest, love, respect, communication and, above all, trust. Many long distance attempts often end with [...]
The Phoenix lander completed it’s 711-million kilometer journey to the Martian north pole this past weekend with a successful soft-landing and some beautifully clear pictures. Over the next 90 days, this stationary laboratory will continue our quest to find evidence for life on our closest semi-habitable planet. With this landing, JPL’s tradition of [...]
05.26.08 | Home, Politics, Technology | Jason
Almost five weeks have passed since I declared my intention to take the #1 spot on all the major search engines for searches on my name and, in that time, quite a few things have stood in the way of my victory. That said, I have managed to make some inroads on Google and Yahoo!, [...]
Blogging is hardly a new thing, as humans have engaged in this hobby since the dawn of record keeping. For thousands of years, well-educated people would take a few moments each day to put pen to paper in order to write a diary or some other journal of the day’s events. This simple act, carried [...]
For five years I had been using Windows Mobile 2002 on an incredibly failure-resistant HP iPaq 2210, and had become accustomed to the speed each program would operate. All in all, most of the software I had installed was snappy, with the only exception belonging to the last few versions of AvantGo. Now [...]
05.22.08 | Technology, Windows Mobile | Jason
As a foreigner living in Japan, having the ability to display multiple languages on my computer is something of a necessity. However, when it comes to updating or otherwise modifying a Windows Mobile device to handle East Asian languages, it can be quite the challenge. Luckily, though, there are some options available to [...]
05.21.08 | Technology, Windows Mobile | Jason
How important is your daily coffee? Can you go without? Do you develop headaches, become irritable, or are you just downright unable to function in the slightest capacity? For many of us, coffee is an integral part of our day and, because of this, we often develop very exacting standards for this [...]
Okay, I’ll admit it. Regardless of how much time I spend on the internet, I just don’t understand the nature of spammers. I currently have half-a-dozen email addresses that are used for various purposes. Aside from the addresses I’ve set aside exclusively for use with my employer and PDA, every account is harassed with 40+ [...]
A few days ago, while telling me how stupid I was for saying that I wanted a notebook computer to last at least 15 years...
The countdown is almost up on this year's winter Japanese Language Proficiency Test, and thousands of people residing bo...
Do you ever wonder about your neighbours? I wrote a few months ago about how one of my neighbours has the same camouflag...
Believe it or not, I had a terrible habit back in Canada. It wasn't one with drugs, alcohol, women, or even excessive ...
Over the last decade or so I've been battling a bunch of minor problems such as insomnia, headaches, chest pain, and blo...