Junket's Gym

Battery is good. Location is here!

2008-09-13T00:45:00.001+01:00

I have been putting the iPhone 2.1 through its paces for a few hours now and I can definitely report much better battery usage. The other thing that is fixed (I suspect it was only broken on non-3G iPhones) is the locate me function. This is great news and now I get to use all those location aware apps such as trip advisor. Happy day(a).

Posted with LifeCast

iPhone Firmware 2.1

2008-09-12T16:17:00.001+01:00

After 30 minutes of installation on this version 1 iPhone I am already extremely happy. I am able to type out this blog posting without the recent keystroke stutter and pauses that had turned my previously wonderful machine into a test of my patience. As I have mentioned on a previous post, I suspected that the firmware was responisible for a decrease in battery life, so I am looking forward to getting back to my phone lasting longer than a day. The app store seems a lot more responsive and now apps are updated in a timeframe that doesn't border on glacial.

The original problems with firmware 2 made me think twice about upgrading to a 3G version, but after checking battery life I am hoping to reconsider! Steve, 32Gb would have been the icing. ;-)

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It's the morning test before I start working. Tea - check. Keys - check. Time - oh no!

2008-08-27T07:48:00.001+01:00

Location Services On iPhone 1 Firmware 2.0.1

2008-08-06T23:29:00.001+01:00

Has anyone lost the ability to 'find me' since upgrading to 2.0 of the firmware. This used to work reasonably well even in fairly remote areas and now it is only good for displaying a rotating wait cursor (admittedly, much nicer than most winmob stuff!)
Oh alright Jobs, I will upgrade. 32Gb anyone?!

Posted with LifeCast

Lightroom 2.0 @ 21% VAT!

2008-08-04T20:40:00.001+01:00

I am a big fan of Adobe Lightroom. It does exactly what I need without having to learn too much about masks, layers and all that
Photoshop jazz. So, you can imagine how pleased I was when going to buy my upgrade from the adobe online shop; being in the UK we pay a premium on top of the US dollar rate. Not only do we pay extra for the UK, we also pay VAT at the rate of 21% because we download from Dublin.

Having said all that, the Lightroom upgrade is well worth it... Let's see what Bibble 5.0 does in response.

Posted with LifeCast

Lifecast 1.1 With Multiple Blogger Blogs

2008-07-29T22:52:00.003+01:00

Lifecast is a great blogging tool for the iPhone, but I have a couple or small issues with it since its release. The first release did not support multiple blogs against the same blogger account. This meant that the blog posting would always get sent to the first blog in the blog roll for your account.

After a quick note to the support team I received a very quick and sensible response, in which, reading between the lines, they suggested that the functionality was not supported.

Good news less than a week after the initial release; 1.1 was unleashed into the AppStore. This new release supports posting to a selected blog by selecting the target blog from the settings. Unfortunately, the implementation of this doesn't support a large list of blogs as they do not fit on the screen and the user may not be able to select the required blog.

So, hopefully, after another support call we can look forward to LifeCast 1.2 which will fix the latest issue and may be even support blogging photos into a blogger account!

Posted with LifeCast

Lifecast 1.1 Test

2008-07-29T22:52:00.001+01:00

Testing lifecast version 1.1. Have they fixed the issue regarding posting to a specific blog when you have a single blogger account that have multiple blogs associated with it.

Posted with LifeCast

The worst Indian Restaurant in Rotarua!

2007-12-13T21:00:00.000Z

Don't believe any signs or awards... Louisa really fancied a curry after our tour of the Rotarua area, and so we headed into town to "Indian Star".

Louisa ordered chicken jalfrezi and a side of saag aloo. I had chicken saag. When it arrived, Louisa had to ask the waiter which was the saag aloo and which was the chicken saag. Both had been covered in a puree of spinach that really isn't what we're used to. The waiter took a moment, he couldn't tell just by looking, so he dug a fork into the alleged saag aloo looking for a lump. Once he'd fished a lump out of the swamp sludge, he decided that it was a lump of potato. Bingo - that's saag aloo. Therefore, the other stuff was saag chicken.

Don't bother with this place - even if you are on a budget - go to MacDonalds instead!

Thermal explorations in Rotorua

2007-12-13T00:00:00.001Z

Lake Rotorua and Taco's Tour
We had arranged the obligatory tourist's guide through the thermally active areas of Rotorua and were ready for an 8:30 AM pick up at the front of our pretty dingy Devonwood Manor.

On the dot the vehicle turned up and out bounced "Taco" our guide. A New Zealander with a raggedy moustache (left over from his hippie days I suspect) and an honest smile. Taco is actually an acronym of his first names, the only one of which I managed to catch was Cornelius. Is an acronym of a name a nomacroynm?

Our first stop on the tour round Rotorua was the Waitapu "thermal wonderland", and I can tell you that there are plenty of holes for Alice to chase the rabbit at this place! The area is within a volcanic caldera and susceptible to many shifts in the land. Fumeroles open up to let steam escape all around the scrubland and the plants are well adapted to the heat close by. Gorse bushes and shrubs have evolved (or excrete?) carotene to protect themselves from the heat. It looks like the branches has been sprayed with carrot juice or infested with a copper coloured lichen. As we walked through the park the ground sounds a little hollow. If you stamp your foot it makes a louder thump than you would expect and isn't entirely solid. That's because not far beneath the chalky gravel there are underground caverns of thermal activity. There are craters and holes opening up disgorging boiling mud. Liquid carbon floats on top of the mud slops like the oil slicks on water we all used to create those swirling water-oil paintings in school.

The area is also oil rich, and you see that bubbling up from the cavernous holes around the area (there's even a place called kerosene creek, and you can imagine what that smells like!). Apparently, it would actually be possible, and may be even economical to extract the oil, but I am sure it's not very safe and the area is conserved as it is. To my mind, extracting a flammable fuel from a highly active volcanic area seems a recipe for disaster!

Taco filled us in with facts and figures about the area as we walked around. To me, what was strange was the area, the colour and composition of the soil, the birdlife, the plants were all extremely reminiscent of the gorse and shrubby areas of the New Forest. Reminiscent until you come across another steaming hole and you realise that this is not the same as the solid and ancient ground of back home. But, we were on a schedule (and you'll know why in a moment), so we moved on to the famous "Champagne pools".

Champagne pools
The Champagne pools are named such because of the effervescence. The pools have a constant fizz of small bubbles rising up to the surface. Looking across the pool it looks like a mist is obscuring the view, but this is steam. As a breeze picks up and clears the steam a little you can see a deeper pool that is the source of the mineral rich water being pushed out to the edges of the pond. Imagine a hard boiled egg with the yolk being the deep pool and the white being the shallower parts. The egg analogy only works for the topology and of course, the smell. It was like walking around a chemistry lab after an experiment had gone wrong!

The shallow area of the champagne pool is fringed in a bright orange crust. I am not sure what mineral that causes this, but as you move your gaze away from the rusty edge into the pool there's an incredible contrast. The shallow water of the pool is a deep green colour, with the effevescence giving that "champagne" quality. On the limits of the shallow area there are seagulls nesting. It seems insane with the temperatures and incredibly toxic fumes, but the birds seem well adjusted. They've built their stick nests up out of the pool and incubate their eggs there. The heat is good for incubation, but any further toward the heat and the eggs would become hard boiled!

The champagne pools overflow slowly down a hill, depositing sillica. The beige, shiny silica slowly dries as it gets further away from the pool. This creates shallow steps down the gentle slope of the hill and, in colour and texture reminded me of stalagtites. The flow down the hill is glacial in pace and looks very much like a glacier. This was the same process that created the famous pink steps (which were destroyed by a massive volcanic erruption in 1876).

Devil's pool
Towards the end of our wander around the thermal area we watched pure, crystal clear water flow into a large pool called "Devil's pool". The minerals in this pool turn the colour of the water luminscent yellow. It's as if someone had poured bright die into the pool; it stinks too!

Don't get me wrong, the thermal park isn't the only thermal area in Rotorua district. In fact, at any point you can stop along the road and see steam being forced out through holes in the ground. Disconcernting if one of those fumeroles open up in your house!

Lady Knox Geyser
If you've been to Rotorua, you will have certainly seen Lady Knox geyser. This geyser was the reason for our tight schedule. At 10:15am, every day, the geyser will erupt (is that the correct terminology for geysers?!). Naturally, geyers have a periodicity; obviously, a reservoir of water will fill and be heated up, generating pressure. At some point the pressure needs to be released, and the super hot water gushes up through the hole at the base of the geyser. However, Lady Knox geyser gets a bit of a helping hand by department of conservation (or is it the department of tourism). They put soap flakes down the hole into the geyser. This breaks the surface tension of the water holding the presurised, hot water in place, and the geyser blows! 10:15am we watched the hot water spew 10 metres into the sky. It sounds exactly as you would imagine, hot water spewing through a small hole.

Trip on the Lake ... forgotten the name
---more in here---

Green and Blue lakes
---more in here---

The Landing on lake Tarawera
Our last stop of the day was at the beautiful lake Tarawera. Taco had arranged for lunch at "The Landing" where the food was pretty good and the mussels were the largest I have ever seen (seafood mussels that is). Taco assured me that the mussels were reasonably small, but the shells were almost the size of a hand and the flesh of one mussel looked to be as much as that of three or four measly morsels from back home.

It was during dinner that we learned of Taco's past. His parents were Dutch and journeyed to New Zealand (the father first, later followed by his mother). Taco himself, up until a couple of years ago, was a self-confessed "New Zealand hippie" making jewelery and taking up extras roles in films. When they were looking for a dishevelled skinny guy - Taco was the man. You can see him with David Bowie in "Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence"!

A long, late lunch, a couple of glasses of New Zealand Savvy, and we headed home. Back to the delights of Devonwood Manor!

Bistro1284

2007-12-12T00:00:00.001Z

Bistro 1284

Amongst the rotten egg stench of the Rotarua area there are plenty of eateries. Some of these obviously cater for the mass tourism that Rotarua attracts, but there doesn't seem to be too many really "nice" places.

Luckily, in the New Zealand guide, there was a recommendation for a bistro called "Bistro 1284" - I'll share the details on my travel map when I get home or when I get chance.

If you go to Rotarua for a couple of days, then you should treat yourself to a meal at the bistro. Their menu is pretty simple, and that's good news for those of us who know that complicated can go wrong!

Both Louisa and myself had a the fillet steak with a béarnaise sauce served with chunky chips. The chips were presented in a greaseproof paper cone, which sounds a little strange, but made sense as it meant that the presentation of the beautiful fillet steak wasn't ruined by a scattering of fried spud chunks! The fillet steak was probably the best I have ever had. Medium-rare and it was like butter melting in my mouth. Delicious!

Mount Maunganui - the road to Rotarua

2007-12-12T00:00:00.000Z

It seemed to be too short a stay at Tairua, but as those who have seen our itinerary know, we needed to push down South so that we could spend more time in the less populated South Island. The drive today was down to Rotarua, but Richard suggested that we visit Mount Maunganui (I'll correct the spelling when I get back home! - Corrected!)

We drove for a couple of hours along the Pacific Coast Highway (obviously not the one in the US!). This part of the highway doesn't really provide much view of the coast, but still takes you through wonderful countryside. Green grassland fields that look like a gigantic rumpled rug of beize. Hills made by giant hands pulling the land skyward. The New Zealand hawks patrol along the hills looking for their next target amongst the profusion of cattle. There are deer farms, sheep farms and diary farms all along the route.

As we actually got towards the coast we could see Mount Maunganui looming. I don't know anything about the mountain itself, but because it's on the North Island you can bet your geologist's gear that it an extinct volcano with the top blown off!

Louisa and I climbed to the summit to see fantastic views in all directions. Again, the birdlife is prolific and very tame. Near the summit I spied some playful birds in the bushes. As I approached one of them (with my sad, twitcher's zoom lens!) it pointed it's head towards the ground and fanned open it's long tail. I have later come to know these birds as, surprisingly, Fantails!

Although the weather on the way to Rotarua was cloudy and at times rainy, it cleared up as we walked up the mountain (we chose the moderate route rather than the difficult, rocks falling on your head route!). One thing that we both learned was that although there are clouds around, ultra-violet light can penetrate them and you can get burned very quickly. New Zealand has the highest incidence of skin melanoma in the world, and it's easy to see why. The advice actually is not to go out in the sun between the hours of 11am and 3pm! Whoops...

The descent down the mountain was a lot easier but, hot from our labours we went for a cold drink in one of the many cafes along the seafront. Louisa, generous as always, decided to pay with a $10 note that Phil had given her; (he had some spare change from when he last visited New Zealand. We thought it a little strange when the waitress had to phone someone to see if she could accept the money. Little did we know that Phil last visited New Zealand over twenty years ago and the note was no longer legal tender (and is probably worth more than its face value now)! The waitress came back and said that they couldn't accept it and that she'd never even seen one like it. She said it was older than she was!

Thanks Phil!

Road to Rotarua
We hit the road again for another couple of hours, and I remember very clearly the moment we approached Rotarua. 20kms away from our destination I smelled the famous hydrogen sulphide; rotten eggs! 20kms away... that is some bad egg, I can tell you, and with the requisite number of, "ugh! Was that you?" jokes (that Louisa didn't seem to find funny) we arrived in the town.

We had 2 nights in Rotarua, and from the photos and alleged 4 star rating, we were quite looking forward to a comfortable stay in the Devonwood manor. Needless to say, we were very disappointed at the accommodation (don't worry, there are plenty of brilliant, good value places to stay in NZ - but this isn't one of them!). The 4 stars seems to indicate the number of facilities available. Our room, on the face of it sounded nice. Spa bath, tea and coffee making facilities, electric blanket (electric blankets seem to be common in New Zealand!). So, tired, and sunburned we decided to find somewhere decent to eat... and that we did...

Tairua

2007-12-11T00:00:00.000Z

Drive to Tairua

Our first "proper" holiday day after the exhausting flights!

I was very keen to leave Aukland, and after taking the obligitory snaps of the Skyline tower and watching a couple of kids get thrown a couple of hundred feet into the air by large elastic bands, we hit the road.

The first drive was on the M25! As I mentioned the motorways are a lot less populated than back in the UK, but they are very well maintained. Our first drive was for a couple of hours across to the Coromandel peninsula and over to the east coast. We drove through arable farmland, and I was being my usual, "look at that bird!", "look at that squashed possum". Minah birds are pretty common. They are brown and black but with yellow spectacles.

As we approached the town of Tairua we could see the sea. I would have to look at the map to explain the topology, but it was the first taste of the landscape shaped by volcanic activity. Tairua itself is a beautiful coastal town with natural bays full of wading birds.

We stayed at the Pacific Harbour Lodge which is an array of small bungalows situated next to the esturary and to the other side there are views of an extinct volcano. The driveways are paved with crushed pink and white scallop shells and gives a great atmosphere. The whole town is relaxed at this time of year, although I suspect that it's a favourite holiday spot for the Christmas period.

In hot-water at the hot water beach!
One of the attractions in the area is the "hot water" beach. It's a 20 minute drive over the hills to the beach from Tairua and worth going to see for the beautiful vistas alone. However, the attraction itself is on the beach where volcanic springs seep heated water into the sea. When the tide is low you can walk to where the springs are and dig in the sand to feel the hot water on your feet. We were told that low tide was between 3 and 4pm, which was just the right time for us to go there.

As you all know, I am pretty clumsy and common sense doesn't apply to me. I can't help it! There we were, walking to the springs not really looking at the waves. Every so often large waves were crashing against the rocks. Louisa and I rushed around the rocks quite quickly, but I remember Louisa, wide-eyed, looking out at the oncoming wave which I had my back to. "It's all right" I said as the wave crashed around me and my waterproof camera bag. Suffice to say, that water wasn't hot and I was soaked above my knees!

I did manage to feel hot water rushing through my toes on the way round the yellowed sulphurous rocks. It's the first time I have been that close to volcanic activity, and as we travel down through the North Island, definitely not the last!

Extinct volcanos, tame tui and curious quails

--- More to do in here ---

The Cyprus Tree
At the base of the volcano there's a lovely restaurant called the Cyprus Tree. I thoroughly enjoyed this modern New Zealand dinner (an Italian twist), and my first taste of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand was every bit what I had hoped. I thoroughly recommend the Saint Clair 2007 Sauvignon Blanc if you can get it. Louisa was surprised at how fruity it smelt. "It smells like Um Bongo" she said, which is totally true because you are hit with a wonderful perfume of passion fruit just as it says on the label!

---more to come----

Longest Day, Shortest Day

2007-12-10T00:00:00.000Z

Never-ending flights
After a year of waiting the trip to New Zealand was a reality. Because it was Louisa's "special" birthday, I booked a slot in the airport lounge (just in case Louisa's ploy of wearing her "30 Today" birthday badge didn't warrant an upgrade on the flight. Louisa's badge didn't warrant an upgrade on the flight, so we headed off to the lounge. For anyone having a 3 hour check-in time and not wanting to wander through the madding crowd, I would recommend spending the twenty pounds it costs to get a spot in the lounge. It's functional and decorated by a colourblind person from the 80's rave generation. Orange and turquoise vinyl chairs overlooked the gates where the 747's wait. Drinks are available and nibbles too, but it's not a patch on the proper British Airways lounge.

The flight was called and suddenly we were off to the gate. Little did we know the sheer marathon that the 30 hour journey was going to be; a short journey across the planet via Bangkok, Sydney and finally arriving in Aukland 2 days later.

Qantus flights are reliable and functional. The cabin crew very much the same with an air of "professional friendliness"). The first hop - the phrase "hop" actually comes from the original Qantus London to Sydney flight that started 50 years ago this year took 55 hours of flying and 5 stop-overs . I think "hop" may be a reference to kangaroos but I have never seen one that can fly! Hop 1: 3 films, no sleep.

After stretching our legs in Bangkok for just over an hour we were all too soon back on the flight heading over Indonesia and across Australia to Sydney. We landed at 6:30 in the morning and I had watched another 3 films and had 30 minutes sleep. Louisa, who's not great with flying actually managed to grab more than 40 winks; I am sure that it was due to her having a fleece, a blanket, ear-plugs and a blindfold!

In Sydney we had a 4 hour wait watching the rest of the world arrive or transit through to other destinations. The Air Singapore A380 recently started flying from Sydney and we saw a couple of those take off against all common sense. It's amazing that something that big can get off the ground and be much quieter than a 747.

Finally, we were ready to fly to Aukland. I won't bore you with the details of the two and a half hour flight, but suffice it to say it was a smaller plane and a little bumpy.

As we approached New Zealand the cloud thickened up considerably it was like descending through thick cotton wool, so we knew that the UK weather had followed us! The approach to Aukland is from over the sea and as we left the cloud higher and higher above us we could see the lush green of the land and kelp floating in the sea.

It was raining!

Welcome to New Zealand
The long queue through immigration was processed quickly and efficiently by friendly officials. It was my first experience of the soft-spoken polite "kiwis". I am used to immigration officials being unsmiling, mechanical and functional. Not in New Zealand! The officer processing us asked about our trip as expected and addressed me by my first name; it's quite disconcerting! It's also nice to hear people say "please" and "thank you". It seems that New Zealand is twenty years behind the UK in many respects, and better for it too.

Bio-security
The country in the clouds has a unique ecology which needs protecting. The New Zealanders say that when New Zealand separated from the Australian land-mass, all of the dangerous, poisonous creatures stayed in Australia and all the good stuff stayed on New Zealand. Obviously, with the arrival of humans on several occasions, the New Zealans flora and fauna has been squeezed into smaller and smaller spaces as well as being put under threat by non-native species such as the possum (the possum is protected in Australia, but in New Zealand, the only good possum is a dead one). It's with all of that in mind that you can understand why the bio-security section of entering the country is so strict. At the baggage collection a young, keen sniffer dog was checking all the bags. You can imagine I was a little perturbed whilst waiting for our bags to feel the tap of a couple of paws on my backside. I am assuming that, after 30 hours of travelling, the bigger shock was for the sensitive nose of the sniffer dog. I am sure he won't be working in that business for much longer!

After the sniffer dog, we were coralled through the next bio-security section where questions were asked about whether we'd been out in the countrside, whether we had brought walking shoes and whether we were bringing food into the country. Obviously, I omitted to tell them that we came from a foot-and-mouth area of the UK.

Driving in Aukland

more to come in here... I lost it due to the poor Internet connection...

Best Western, Worst Southern
Don't stay in the New President hotel unless you have no choice. The New President hotel is part of the Best Western chain, and is very grey. The building seems to be a 60's or 70's concrete tower block with the smell of 30 years of deep fat frying food infusued into brick work. The staff were had that "professional friendliness" and it wasn't long before we got into the room.

It's a well known fact that the olfactory memory is the strongest. This fact was proven to me as we opened the door to our room. I was instantly transported back to Butlins Bognor Regis 25 years ago. The smell was the same!

--- there's a bit to go in here about the "restaurant" --- oh my goodness... that wasn't a restaurant!

The room was 30 past a refit and the windows pretty thin opening on to the main road next to the Skyline tower and the "reverse bungee". Just as well that the bed was comfortable and we hadn't slept for 2 days!

The bathroom has a shower that in a fixed position for Hobbits. As we travel around New Zealand, this is a common feature.

I couldn't wait for the next day to come and for us to leave Aukland. A wise decision to spend a single night there...

Badgers join James' trip to New Zealand

2007-04-05T09:46:00.000+01:00

I woke up this morning to see that my local badgers have decided to come to New Zealand with me. They are clever beasts; they realised that they wouldn't get through the airport security checks without significant camouflage, so they will be bypassing that by digging their way to the antipodes. They have also realised that it's going to take a year, so they got started last night...

Djibouti Whale Shark

2007-03-28T13:16:00.000+01:00

Vista is delayed until 2007

2006-03-21T23:41:00.000Z

According to the Microsoft press release...

Not a large surprise, but I think this is a good thing; personally knowing the pain caused by having to release things before they are ready! ;-)

MS Origami

2006-03-01T13:25:00.000Z

Here's a link to the Microsoft Origami Project advert that the Digital Kitchen accidentally (or may be purposefully) released...MS Origami. By all speculation, the OrigamiProject device that Microsoft may be announcing at CEBit on 15th March (Origami Project link) looks to be a type of tablet pc. The video clearly shows the pen driven interface but an optional plug-in keyboard. Interestingly though, if you are quick on the pause button, the video also shows someone accessing their Media Centre (which appears to be running an old build of Longhorn - now Vista) from the device. They access it using a Media Centre like interface; is the Origami Project device a media centre extender too? It appears to be wireless capable. In another section of the video the device is being used to play a 3D game. It's unclear whether this is a PC game or not.

Is this an overgrown PocketPC?

Last lunch in Tokyo

2006-02-10T04:38:00.000Z

Last lunch in Tokyo

Today is my last day in Tokyo.  I am very sad about it.  I have met some wonderful people who are polite, extremely thoughtful and care about each other as well as what they do.

Yanagi-san and I went for a sushi lunch.  Those who know me well know that fish is not my favourite thing.  In fact, only over the last year or so, I have started eating fish and the odd prawn.  If I hadn’t, I would have lost some weight whilst diving in the Maldives!  So, sushi is a very difficult thing for me… but I was determined to, especially seeing as Yanagi-san has taken great care for a month to take me for lunch at places where I can eat something other than fish.

So, lunch today…

We entered the restaurant, at the door there is an ornamental bucket filled with small, live crabs.  On going through you can see the Sushi chefs preparing the fish.  It’s very skilled job and takes many years to accomplish.  Yanagi-san informs me that many kinds of rice and preparations are used, the way the fish is cut, the salt, sugar used in the rice.

Lunch consisted of, raw squid leg, raw octopus leg, a prawn, several different cuts of raw tuna, raw salmon, raw yellow-fin and a seaweed basket of some sort of raw tuna mash.  I tried my best and ate most of it ;-)

I’ll post a photo of the crabs when Yanagi-san sends it to me.

Web suicide pacts surge in Japan

2006-02-09T13:23:00.000Z

Web suicide pacts surge in Japan

I can understand this. Japan, so I am informed, has a word for "dying through hard work".

There is not much surprise at people throwing themselves in front of trains or jumping from high buildings (of which there are many in Tokyo).

Monday is the worst day for suicides and in a place where the train company apologises for a 2 minute delay you can see how pressure builds.

An apology

2006-02-07T09:57:00.000Z

An apology
I am sorry that I haven’t written much in the last week. I have been extraordinarily busy with work and I prefer to use the 5 hours of my time to sleep.

That said, I thought I would share a list of the things that I have got used to whilst in Tokyo for a month. Please don’t take offence…

Things I have got used to in Tokyo

Working 14 hours a day 6 days a week.

Heated toilet seats… it’s going to be a wake-up call on my return to the chilly British bowls!

Seaweed-based snacks.

Being considered quite tall.

Cans of hot coffee.

Eating with chopsticks – I actually prefer it to a knife and fork. Especially with noodles.

Lunch in a café that takes 10 people max.

Living on the 22nd floor.

Forming an orderly queue at a pedestrian crossing or waiting for a train.

Musical fanfares at train stations when the train arrives.

Things I haven’t got used to in Tokyo

Being barged out of the way when the train arrives by a person who was helping form the orderly queue 2 seconds prior to the train’s arrival.

Heated toilet seats starting up some kind of motorised de-odouriser as soon as you take a pew.

Cost of eating dinner is four or five times more than eating lunch… may be the difference is the pint of Kirin at dinner?

Everything is wrapped up perfectly three times; including my underwear returned from the laundry.

Face masks juxtaposed with coughing up phlegm.

Tremors. I have got to the point where I think we are actually standing on something that is in constant flux… it’s making me dizzy (however, that may be related to point 1 in the first list or point 3 in the second list.

The general perception that sea urchin is a delicacy.

Old people listening to their iPods… and by old I mean well over 60.

Wet handshakes.

Missing my friends and family.

The coconut temple courier service

2006-02-05T04:07:00.000Z

BBC NEWS | South Asia | The coconut temple courier service

This is fascinating. I know it's not Tokyou related but interesting none-the-less.

Japan tries to save giant radish

2006-02-03T12:57:00.000Z

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Japan tries to save giant radish

It's all happening whilst I am here!

Quake 4 Shifting sands

2006-02-03T06:49:00.000Z

Quake 4: Shifting sands….

Another happened. Now I am getting a bit worried – and it doesn’t seem to have registered on the web-site. The previous one had 5.9 on the Richter scale at the epicentre. The epicentre was a considerable distance off-shore.

Quake 3: Building Shuffle

2006-02-03T05:03:00.000Z

Just after lunch I felt like I was moving from side-to-side in a slow and rhythmic manner. I asked Yanagi-san whether it was an earthquake again. He said that it was and we could see the TV aerials outside wobbling. I think we were moving 10 cm (4 inches) in either direction. It is very disconcerting… very. Yanagi-san said that they get a tremor once a month but sometimes more frequently (i.e. this week!) He also said that it’s not a good sign if they happen frequently. All I can say is, check out the Japan quake monitoring site and have a look.

I have had my tremor experiences now.

I don’t want any more!

Quake 2 Tokyo Tremor

2006-02-02T00:11:00.000Z

Quake 2: Tokyo Tremor

It’s my third week in Tokyo and I was wondering when I might feel the Earth move. Well, in the office last night (twelfth floor) it happened. This is the second tremor I have experienced in my life; the first one was in Los Angeles and it shook me awake. The Tokyo tremor was quite different. It was a slow movement – I perceived it as a lump moving up through the floor for about a second. The whole building rose up a bit and then shook from side to side. The whole experience lasted no more than 4 seconds.

The IT infrastructure (discounting the banks) in Japan seems to be excellent. As soon as the quake had occurred, my colleague showed me the live data on a quake web-site. It’s in Japanese, but there was a map of the country and a colour coding scheme for the size of the tremor – green through to red. We hit a yellow (level 3 – not Richter scale). A level 4 means that a building is likely to fall down and things fall off!

Another first for me.