• The Week #256

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    • ๐Ÿฎ We went to the annual international festival at my alma matter in Totsuka. And like I (probably) blogged last year, this year it hit all of the nostalgia. The campus is full of forest and has a bridge with an excellent view of Fuji, you could really see yourself doing some quality thinking out there. The thing I think I was the most nostalgic for was the amount of headspace I had back in uni to study and think about the problems facing the world.

      This year Watanabe Youichi, famous war photojournalist andย  alumni came to speak. We attended his event, but had to leave 10 minutes in because Leo was bored, but Leo was paying attention. As soon as we got outside he asked why the children had guns, did they just find them? Shouldn't the adults keep them from them? We explained that not everywhere is as peaceful as it is in Japan and that we're fortunate to live in such a place where we do not need to worry about such things.

      The informatics majors setup a room to teach kids programming with Scratch, which drew Leo in. They had 4 laptops setup with a half-finished game, then they'd help walk you through how to finish it off. Leo built the last part of an air hockey game. I think having the app in Japanese probably helped, though it was full of kanji he doesn't know.ย  I feel like I'm going to have to get a computer sooner or later so we can do Scratch properly...

      Kanachu, the local bus company, brought one of their EV busses for people to see โ€“ and it was pretty great. It felt like it was a bit larger inside than their usual busses and there's usb-a sockets at every seat so you can charge your devices as you travel. We got to sit in the driver's seat where they told us there are 11 mirrors that the driver uses to check all of the angles. The battery is also large enough that they can drive it all day on a single charge. But the most surprising thing was that the bus was made by BYD โ€“ not one of the Japanese bigs. Though the fact that it's an EV should make that obvious it's not Japanese as they're currently lagging Apparently these usually run along/around Kamakura because there's more/better infrastructure for charging overnight. Maybe I'll make a mission to ride one of these.
    • ๐Ÿป I went out for dinner and beers with a friend near Tokyo. We messaged at the start of the year that we should hang out, then 5 months passed. Just as I was thinking "man, we said we should hang, we should hang" and he messaged me. I'm glad he did.

  • Checkin to Meiji Gakuin University (ๆ˜Žๆฒปๅญฆ้™ขๅคงๅญฆ ๆจชๆตœใ‚ญใƒฃใƒณใƒ‘ใ‚น)

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    in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
    Visiting my old stomping grounds for their yearly festival.

  • ๐Ÿ”— The Way You Build Muscle Is the Way You Build a Life

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    My fatherโ€™s father died of a heart attack at 64. After that, my fatherโ€™s fitness discipline was suddenly clarified as a daily grounding, in a way that was not future-oriented but present-oriented. In observing him, I learned the importance of exercise as a practice โ€” not of becoming but of being.
    It's not until relatively recently that the importance of exercise as a matter of being, rather than something you do for a goal has clicked. That shift to the present makes all the difference.
    1. Tagged with
    2. health
    3. exercise

  • ๐Ÿ”— The $10 Billion AI Startup That Thinks It Is an Energy Company

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    This week, Kraken announced that it was partnering with National Grid in New York and Massachusetts to act as the AI customer service and billing platform for 6 million U.S. customers.
    Beyond excited that we're expanding into the US with National Grid!
    1. Tagged with
    2. climate change
    3. energy
    4. kraken

  • The Week #255

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    • ๐Ÿšฒ I rode my Brompton into work twice last week and it was great. Having my bag on my bike let me carry things I wouldn't otherwise (my lock, extra shirt) and made the commute much more comfortable. Cycling there had me feeling more focused and on the way back I was able to turn off work-mode. I still need to get the timing of my fold and bag/de-bag and unfold to be a bit quicker, but I 'know I'll get there with a bit more practice.

      Going by bike has also enabled me to get coffees at places I wouldn't usually visit / be anywhere near, which is an added bonus.
      Cafe Latte at Verve in Roppongi
    • ๐Ÿƒ My running has been limited to about once a week as of late. But I think cycling to and from the office is maintaining my cardio, especially the the big hills in Tokyo on the way in, and in Yokohama on the way home. This week's run, thanks to those hills, was easier (and faster) than it had been the past few weeks. Gives me hope I can find a balance between running, cycling, and lifting which doesn't cause me stress trying to do all the physical things.
    • ๐Ÿ๏ธ It's been about 5 years(!) since I first watched Long Way Up. Last week (or the week before last) the newest edition of the duo's motorcycle adventures Long Way Home (youtube) started on AppleTV+ and it's great.
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