• The Week #260

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    • 🎮 We went to a trial lesson? demo? of an "eSports" after-school program that's based around Minecraft. Basically for an hour each week kids gather and (along with the teacher) plan what they're going to build, present it, build it and so on. There's also opportunity for group work where they have a vision of what to build and figure out how to divide the work and build. I can see it teaching a lot of useful skills. We're not going to join, but the idea itself was pretty neat.
    • ☀️ It's allegedly the middle of the rainy season in Kanto. And yet, last week it was bright blue skies and 35 degrees out. Each year I remember how miserable summer is because you can't go out and do anything. I need to find more hobbies around the house that aren't sitting in front of a screen....
    • ⛰️ I started on a new branch on Tanzawa over the weekend. For what? Comments. I'd like to have experiment with having comments directly on my blog, rather than relying on replies from social media or webmentions. No idea when it will be ready, but hopefully not too long as I'm using a django package that does commenting. Watch this space.

  • The Week #259

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    • 💔 Air India Flight 171 crashed shortly after take off. Usually when these accidents happen they happen far away with people I do not know. They're always tragic, but they're "just" the news. This time was different. Maybe you guessed that when I posted at 1:30am. This time I lost a dear colleague  and fellow Commrade (what we call members of the Comms team at work), Heer Baxi.

      Heer was my co-captain at work, my counter part on the product side. She was smart and kind and a diligent worker. We talked most everyday. She'd get on early calls with the team and clients in APAC. Even in the most difficult situations she remained calm and positive. Her influence at Kraken went well beyond the Comms team and she was loved by clients and partners alike.

      After her trip to India we were planning on a trip to Tokyo so we could plan out our strategy for the next ~year of work. Where did the team and products need to be and how are we going to get there. 30 minute calls at the opposite end of the work day make those kinds of discussions difficult. They call for zero-lag conversations and enough time and space so that all of the dopey ideas can come out. The next few years are going to exciting and I was so looking forward to leading the group together.

      It hurts. But the support I received from my co-workers helps it hurt less. All of the hugs. Walk and talks. To steal a quote, bad things shouldn't happen to good people, and Heer is the best of people.
    • 🎳 I thought this week's post would be just the single point above. It felt so all encompassing. But then I remembered some advice from another co-worker about handling grief and how being present in the moment and finding something you enjoy can help.

      Sunday was Father's Day. Yumi and Leo got me this sweet elastic band for my bento box which has tako-san wiener on it. It goes really well with the dark wood of my bento box.

      We went bowling first thing in the morning. Leo has gotten strong enough that he no longer needs the little slide to get the ball down the lane. He also managed to get two strikes and his pure joy and excitement when he did is something I don't want to ever forget. After bowling we went for lunch as a family at Pepita Lion (so soon again!) and I thought going a bit early would mean we don't need to wait. But turns out it's father's day and all of the other families with kids also had the same idea, so we had to wait (but only for 10 minutes).
    • 🌏 I think I've switched to Vivaldi. I'm not (yet) using it any differently than Firefox, but that day will come soon. Why? Mozilla seems to be shoving AI and random things into Firefox and it seems like they're just not focusing on making a better browser. I kinda hate that using Vivaldi gives Chrome more rendering engine dominance, but alas.

  • The Week #258

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    • 🏀 Leo has been asking for a basketball for weeks. He didn't have enough to buy one, but I told him I'd help him. We went to the sports shop and looked at the basketballs. At first I went straight for the basketball I had (orange Spalding), but it was ¥3300 – just over 3x what Leo had. We were about to get it and then I saw they had some black no-name basketballs for ¥1500. I showed them to Leo and told him this was closer to his budget and...to my surprise (as it's not orange) he agreed. 

      We went to the cash register to pay and, turns out, they take points and I had just enough points to get the price down to where he could afford it! So Leo bought his basketball by himself entirely with his own money! He's proud and telling everyone 😀.
    • 🌳 With basketball in hand, the next day we went to the closest basketball hoop we know of Shonandai park. It's too high for Leo to be shoot and make a basket, but we had fun anyways. In typical Japanese park fashion, the hoop doesn't have a proper court, just hard dirt, but I look forward to the day when we can play some HORSE. Leo is determined to get big and strong and tall so he can get that ball into the basket.
    • 🏫 We started exploring the possibility of sending Leo to an international school rather than local public schools. The catalyst for this is we don't feel like the system is providing the kind of education and thinking we want to encourage. There are some good parts of the system as well, school lunch, responsibility for the classroom spring to mind first.

      Japanese schools are always teaching for the next test. Junior high entrance exams, high school entrance exams, college entrance exams and those exams often encourage/require kids to attend cram-schools. For international schools he'd attend the same school for all 3-levels so that entire system just doesn't apply.

      However, the thing I'm most skeptical about is the commute to the school. We bought this house with the idea being he'd be a nice easy 3 minute walk away. The potential schools are all in Naka-ward in Yokohama so they'll require 30 minutes to an hour to get to. Which I think I can handle in the mornings. But how about the evening pickup? The logistics make me question the long-term viability of living where we do. Families move to be closer to schools all the time (at least in the US), but also it's not an immediate concern. We haven't even applied (and hence got a spot).

  • The Week #257

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    • 🪐 Leo had a field trip to the Shonandai Culture Center, which he's been going to since he was one. Sometimes it's nice when field trips take you some place new, but this time it was an old favorite. Though it was his first time going with his friends, so I suppose that's new.

      He had such a good time that he came back and said "Dad, I want to go to the culture center with you on the weekend!". And so we did. We also saw a show at the planetarium, always fun (and a good place to almost catch a nap 😉).
    • 🍝 After the culture center and an hour at the park, Leo and I had a guys night out and ate dinner at Pepita Lion.  I had fresh pasta with nama-ham and greens. Leo had the tomato omelette rice and we split an order of fries. The food was excellent as always. Although it was too late for coffee, their coffee is really good as well. They were roasting coffee out front as they usually do, which is not something you usually see and equally excited both Leo and myself.

      How nice is it to go to a favorite place again instead of the usual chain family restaurants? So so nice. And it's supporting a local business that's been in the neighborhood for longer than I've been alive. If you're in the neighborhood, I highly recommend a visit. Much easier to just drop in now that they take credit cards/touch payment.
    • 💪 I switched from a short program to a medium program in alpha progression (weight training app) and it (predictably) is making a difference. Seeing the number of reps and or weight go up each week is motivating. I'm not sure how accurate my scale is in terms of body fat / muscle mass (as there's nothing to hold on to to get electric impedance testing from my upper body), but clothes are fitting different so that's all the matters.

  • The Week #256

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    • 🏮 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 and  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.  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 – 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 – 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.
    • 🍻 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.

  • The Week #255

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    • 🚲 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
    • 🏃 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.
    • 🏍️ 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.

  • The Week #254

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    • 🌷 This week had Mother's Day. This was the first time I was able to get Leo into it a bit and we went out on a secret mission to the local Ito Yokado to get a card, chocolates, and a sweet Magewappa Bento Box (traditional wood bento). When we got some, Leo could not wait so he wrote his message and gave it to Yumi a day early. I facetimed with my mom for the fist time in far too long as well. A successful day celebrating all the moms in our lives.
    • 🚲 I rode my bike to the office for the first time in a long time. Rather than getting on/off the train at Shinbashi, I rode from one station further back on the Tokaido line, Shinagawa. The extra ride time was great. This convinced me it was finally time to retire my regular backpack of 12 - 13 years and got a messenger bag that I can attach to the front of my Brompton. This will make it so my bike is doing the carrying of things and my back won't end up as sweaty. I took it for  a spin over the weekend and it's everything I thought it would be. I look forward to commuting to the office again this week.
    • 🎥 I watched this excellent chat with Jony Ive. It reminded me how much I like thinking about not just the implementation details of software, but design and UX as well. There were some very interesting practices he and the design team at Apple used to build empathy between the team: someone on the team would be responsible for making breakfast for the entire team on Fridays and every so often they all go work and design at someone's house. I don't think I'll try these with my team (we're spread across the globe), but it's an interesting thought experiment nonetheless.
    • 📚 I finished In The Weeds: Around the World  and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain. If you're a fan of Bourdain and his shows, I recommend it. You get a real sense for just how difficult that show was to make and that it still turned into such good work is a testament to the entire team. Needing another non-business book to read, I started on Things Become Other Things by Craig Mod. I enjoy his newsletters and blog posts and this book does not disappoint.

  • The Week #253

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    • 🏆 It's golden week and I've enjoyed a 4-day holiday. The weather has been 75% great. 3 sunny days around 25c and 1 rainy day. Luckily the last day was the rainy day, so it creates an opportunity to rest by forcing you to stay in.
    • 🐓 We broke out the barbecue and invited the whole family over for lunch. We grilled all the colors of bell peppers, chorizo, chicken, shrimp,  yaki-niku beef, and some ahijo. It was a lot of fun, though the heat and lack of shade exhausted me by the end of it.
    • 🚲 I went Tokyo Pottering. This post has a lot of photos and reminds me of my blog 20 years ago when I was a student, especially as all photos were taken with my Canon Powershot. Navigating around with my cellphone worked great, though it chews through battery.
    • ⌚️ In my efforts to live a less distracted life I've been thinking about the role of watches and phones in my life. 

      On one hand, I find my Apple Watch very useful. I like tracking my movement and sleep with it. It's also very useful for when I ride trains and because I wear it on my right wrist (left handed 🙌🏻), going through the train gates requires zero cross reaching or digging for a passes. With the battery on its last legs, upgrading to a cellular version is tempting because then I could leave my phone at home.

      On the other hand, putting my classic G-Shock back in service to tell me the time sounds great. But am I going to become a double-watch wearer? That feels awkward. But also using a physical card for transport (no battery to run out) and phone in your pocket/bag feels consistent with my trying to use my actual camera for photos again. No conclusion on this one, except I think I may try double watches for a period.
    • 🎥 This film by Beau Miles, A moment 29 years ago changed everything, has me thinking about my own life, forks in the road to get where I am today, and community.

  • The Week #252

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    • 🥾 I went for a big walk around the Yamanote line with a few co-workers. We started at Ueno at 9am. Unfortunately, I was only able to join for part of the walk and had to bail after lunch at Takedanobaba.

      In front of Sugamo station

      I brought my point and shoot camera with me and I'm glad I did. It opened my eyes to all of the cool and interesting things that are all around us. I wanted my workflow to be as calm as possible. That is, I wanted to blog it like the old days – photos stuck on my camera until I get home and download them, socials not really live, so that I could be present with the people around me. I will try to make a dedicated post about the Yamathon, as I think it deserves as much, in the spirit of things.
    • ⛏️ The Minecraft movie came out in Japan and we went out to see it. It was a good fun. The crowds are not getting out of control like they are in the US/UK. As both the voice of Bowser in the Mario movie and Steve in Minecraft, Jack Black is really embedding himself as a central character in Leo's childhood.
    • 🇬🇧 We booked tickets and hotels for a family trip to London this summer. We'll stay about 10 days. I thought I'd have enough points to cover at least half of the hotel, but that was not quite the case. I guess the good news is that I'll definitely have enough points by the time this is all done for the next trip somewhere. While this will be my 4th trip to London, it will be my first time to just explore the city and enjoy the museums. We're all really looking forward to it.

  • The Week #251

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    • 🌎 Happy Earth Day! 18 years ago when I was an exchange student is when my interest in the environment really started to take hold. I was literally out seeing the world, watching movies like Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth and reading books like Lester Brown:s Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization.  ( This book is readily available in PDF from

      It all made sense to me. I tried (and failed) to gather a group of us to visit Earth Day Tokyo that was being held in Yoyogi. So I went by myself. I had a good time visiting the booths and being around people that cared about similar things. I wasn't alone. But I still had no idea how I could get involved professionally and "help the cause".
      Then and...

      This year I finally went back (with the fam)! I wouldn't have guessed that 18 years ago I'd be building the tech that is central to combating climate change and powering one of the main sponsors of the festival: Octopus Energy. Somehow I managed to find a way to help the cause.

      Back to this week – the Octopus Energy booth was really great. There was a bicycle you could pedal to generate electricity. I think it does a really good job at conveying just how much energy is required just to light a single bulb. Leo gave it a go but the bike was a little too big for him.
      Now

      Next year I hope to go again and maybe spend a more time at the booths, getting better connected to local environmental activities and to reinvigorate my granola-eating, Birkenstock wearing self.
    • ☀️ Fossil fuels fell below 50% of  US electricity for the first month on record (source). Further evidence that renewable grids will only accelerate. It's not only the morally right thing to do, but it's also the economical thing. Happy days when the moral and economic choice is the same.
    • 📞 With Skype shutting down in a few weeks, I ported my inbound number to a US carrier and an eSim on my phone. Slightly sad that I'll have a monthly $5 dollar charge instead of a yearly $23 fee, but alas. However, as the number is now connected to an actual cell carrier, I wonder if this will enable me to receive SMS and such like from banking applications now?
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