It is still rainy season here, so not 'summery' hot yet, but hot enough that turning on the stove for more than a minute can push morning apartment temps to uncomfortable heights. Experimenting with ways to cook more quickly led me to the blowtorch; it works for my sous vide steaks, gives the local bacon a bit of a crisp, and makes short work of eggs, as seen here:
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
Beauty of the Early Morning
Starting yesterday, I am now working days rather than evenings. While at first I had been a bit disappointed at the idea, as I had really been enjoying the evening shift and found that I was, overall, much more energetic and productive in my personal life, already, only on day two, I am happy with the day shift, happy being back to normal.
What is normal? Well, for one thing, I am up today, with no alarm, at 5:20 a.m. And one thing Montreal and my Japan city have in common is that they are both ethereally quiet at this time of the morning. There is a kind of peace over the land that makes this time of day special for me.
Other normalities that have already returned include being active in the evenings rather than the day time.
Yesterday after work, I sat in the yard and read my book, I went roller-blading for an hour, ate a good dinner and prepared a good lunch. This evening I've got plans to see friends and be social. So - maybe the day shift is a good shift!
What is normal? Well, for one thing, I am up today, with no alarm, at 5:20 a.m. And one thing Montreal and my Japan city have in common is that they are both ethereally quiet at this time of the morning. There is a kind of peace over the land that makes this time of day special for me.
Other normalities that have already returned include being active in the evenings rather than the day time.
Yesterday after work, I sat in the yard and read my book, I went roller-blading for an hour, ate a good dinner and prepared a good lunch. This evening I've got plans to see friends and be social. So - maybe the day shift is a good shift!
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Beauty of the Early Morning
Starting yesterday, I am now working days rather than evenings. While at first I had been a bit disappointed at the idea, as I had really been enjoying the evening shift and found that I was, overall, much more energetic and productive in my personal life, already, only on day two, I am happy with the day shift, happy being back to normal.
What is normal? Well, for one thing, I am up today, with no alarm, at 5:20 a.m. And one thing Montreal and my Japan city have in common is that they are both ethereally quiet at this time of the morning. There is a kind of peace over the land that makes this time of day special for me.
Other normalities that have already returned include being active in the evenings rather than the day time. Yesterday after work, I sat in the yard and read my book, I went roller-blading for an hour, ate a good dinner and prepared a good lunch. This evening I've got plans to see friends and be social. So - maybe the day shift is a good shift!
What is normal? Well, for one thing, I am up today, with no alarm, at 5:20 a.m. And one thing Montreal and my Japan city have in common is that they are both ethereally quiet at this time of the morning. There is a kind of peace over the land that makes this time of day special for me.
Other normalities that have already returned include being active in the evenings rather than the day time. Yesterday after work, I sat in the yard and read my book, I went roller-blading for an hour, ate a good dinner and prepared a good lunch. This evening I've got plans to see friends and be social. So - maybe the day shift is a good shift!
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
Where Are the Vending Machines??
Some things you start to take for granted once you settle in somewhere. For example, I had begun to take car ownership for granted since I'd had a car for most of my Japan years. Moving back to Montreal, I had been car-free for several months, and finally gave into the need for wheels.
The car is something that was in my power to remedy. Other things are out of my hands, however. Other things, such as the dire lack of vending machines. Yes - I who may once have thought the ubiquitous "jidou-hanbaiki" (vending machine) a blight in nature, found even at the peak of Mt. Fuji, had certainly grown dependent on and appreciative of their presence. And now, with summer and humidity finally here in Montreal, I rue the loss of the "ji-han-ki" (short for jidouhanbaiki, aka vending machine).
As I walked to a workshop downtown this morning, I quickly became parched, having forgotten to bring my bottle of water. I found myself casting hopeful -even expectant - glances around street corners, having to remind myself several times that, no, I would not find any vending machines here. I would have to wait until I hit the city centre, and then I would have to join the hordes of trendy city-ites in long lines at Tim Horton's...
Perhaps this is not out of my hands...perhaps I can start a petition. Would anyone consider signing a plea to have vending machines places every few hundred feet across the country??
Next post - Lack of any 24 hour convenience stores. This may be a Canadian or a Quebec phenomena, but there are no 7-11's, no Circle Ks, no Family Marts... A person could starve or die of dehydration right here in the middle of so-called civilization, just for the want of vending machines and convenience stores!
The car is something that was in my power to remedy. Other things are out of my hands, however. Other things, such as the dire lack of vending machines. Yes - I who may once have thought the ubiquitous "jidou-hanbaiki" (vending machine) a blight in nature, found even at the peak of Mt. Fuji, had certainly grown dependent on and appreciative of their presence. And now, with summer and humidity finally here in Montreal, I rue the loss of the "ji-han-ki" (short for jidouhanbaiki, aka vending machine).
As I walked to a workshop downtown this morning, I quickly became parched, having forgotten to bring my bottle of water. I found myself casting hopeful -even expectant - glances around street corners, having to remind myself several times that, no, I would not find any vending machines here. I would have to wait until I hit the city centre, and then I would have to join the hordes of trendy city-ites in long lines at Tim Horton's...
Perhaps this is not out of my hands...perhaps I can start a petition. Would anyone consider signing a plea to have vending machines places every few hundred feet across the country??
Next post - Lack of any 24 hour convenience stores. This may be a Canadian or a Quebec phenomena, but there are no 7-11's, no Circle Ks, no Family Marts... A person could starve or die of dehydration right here in the middle of so-called civilization, just for the want of vending machines and convenience stores!
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Another Year of Britannica!
Once again, we are very fortunate here at Japanrider.com, because, as web authors, we have qualified for another year of free access to Britannica Encyclopedia online. Our free subscription includes the ability to share full articles with our readers. So, for today's perusal, you can check out Britannica's information on the earth quake and tsunami of 2011...
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1761942/Japan-earthquake-and-tsunami-of-2011
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1761942/Japan-earthquake-and-tsunami-of-2011
Friday, May 13, 2011
Rolling Thunder?
As a fun project, I decided to try to fine-tune my bike's power curve while keeping an ear out for change or improvement in the tone and timber.
With less than $2 in hardware, I put together an adjustable lollipop baffle, and now have a wide range of tunability:
For tight mountain rides, a 45 degree angle is ideal as the torque noticeably increases allowing fewer shifts with stout pull under steep but relatively short sections.
Turning the baffle to 180 degrees still creates some back pressure and improved torque, while allowing the engine to spool up quickly in longer sections of road and straightaways.
The sound is improved, a little lower tone over the rpm range and a little quieter, too. Still wakes the neighbors tho!
With less than $2 in hardware, I put together an adjustable lollipop baffle, and now have a wide range of tunability:
For tight mountain rides, a 45 degree angle is ideal as the torque noticeably increases allowing fewer shifts with stout pull under steep but relatively short sections.
Turning the baffle to 180 degrees still creates some back pressure and improved torque, while allowing the engine to spool up quickly in longer sections of road and straightaways.
The sound is improved, a little lower tone over the rpm range and a little quieter, too. Still wakes the neighbors tho!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
What I Did Today
Because I often feel that I'm doing nothing, I have decided to write a bit about things that I HAVE accomplished.
Wrote two emails
Attended a workshop at La Passerelle about harnessing the power of Linked In for a job search
Walked my dog
Cleaned the yard
Did groceries
Set up my D90 for the first time in ages and did some self portraits for my Linked In profile
Ok-not much, but not bad either!
Wrote two emails
Attended a workshop at La Passerelle about harnessing the power of Linked In for a job search
Walked my dog
Cleaned the yard
Did groceries
Set up my D90 for the first time in ages and did some self portraits for my Linked In profile
Ok-not much, but not bad either!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Time
I just cruised here to post, and saw that I haven't posted in two weeks. Where does the time go? Why is it that when I should have so much more free time, I seem to have less?
This weekend, at least, went by in a blur. I played in a dart playoff tournament, and then enjoyed the post-game party. I spent Sunday morning recovering, then spent some time with my mother on Mother's Day. Then dinner with a friend. Then time to crash early so I could wake up early to go paint doors and baseboards...
Now home again, and posting here in order to kick-start my creative juices again!
I will be quite busy all this week with painting, and then maybe get out of the city for the weekend...
And so it goes.
This weekend, at least, went by in a blur. I played in a dart playoff tournament, and then enjoyed the post-game party. I spent Sunday morning recovering, then spent some time with my mother on Mother's Day. Then dinner with a friend. Then time to crash early so I could wake up early to go paint doors and baseboards...
Now home again, and posting here in order to kick-start my creative juices again!
I will be quite busy all this week with painting, and then maybe get out of the city for the weekend...
And so it goes.
Sunday, May 08, 2011
Planting Season
Although I've sworn off rice and other seed-based foods, there is no doubt that Japanese society has necessarily relied on wet paddy agriculture to sustain its population on an otherwise mountainous island, lacking non-seafood game.
The resulting planting traditions continue today, and in my area it is now time to plant the most common rice varieties. While this can be mechanized, many farmers rely on family and friends' manpower to plant.
I caught this scene behind my apartment yesterday morning, including the flooded paddies, hardworking planters, and even an egret. (The egrets and ducks flock to the newly flooded fields for the frogs, fish, leeches and bugs that suddenly abound when warm and wet!)
The resulting planting traditions continue today, and in my area it is now time to plant the most common rice varieties. While this can be mechanized, many farmers rely on family and friends' manpower to plant.
I caught this scene behind my apartment yesterday morning, including the flooded paddies, hardworking planters, and even an egret. (The egrets and ducks flock to the newly flooded fields for the frogs, fish, leeches and bugs that suddenly abound when warm and wet!)
Thursday, May 05, 2011
Tiger Beetle (ハンミョウ 斑猫)
It is possible to take great photographs with any camera, but it's definitely easier with better equipment! I haven't been carrying my DSLR around like I used to, especially since switching to a motorbike (no windows to roll up if it rains, etc.). While the iPhone camera isn't primitive, it puts the challenge back into snapping even acceptable images, and I have yet to capture anything 'great' with it.
On a recent outing, I stopped for a quick dip at a mountain stream 'swimming hole', and found a tiger beetle that must live nearby. It would sit still long enough for me to consider taking a picture, but would run away if I got too close for too long, and then return as soon as I looked away. It also wouldn't let me look it in the face, always turning away... I really wanted to see its sabre teeth!
I finally got one picture that was acceptably focused and exposed:
I found out later that these can live for three years, eat ants and other insects, and 'can bite if mishandled'. The full Latin name is Cicindela chinensis japonica.
On a recent outing, I stopped for a quick dip at a mountain stream 'swimming hole', and found a tiger beetle that must live nearby. It would sit still long enough for me to consider taking a picture, but would run away if I got too close for too long, and then return as soon as I looked away. It also wouldn't let me look it in the face, always turning away... I really wanted to see its sabre teeth!
I finally got one picture that was acceptably focused and exposed:
I found out later that these can live for three years, eat ants and other insects, and 'can bite if mishandled'. The full Latin name is Cicindela chinensis japonica.
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