Category Archives: Personal

Updating and Swearing and Pondering

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I spent more of today going “what the hell is going on” than I’d expected, although I had expected to spend some time saying that.

For various complicated reasons, I have three laptop computers that as of right now are not being used much. I used to use the oldest at the school where I work until they suddenly cancelled all access to the network by computers that weren’t owned by the school. The second I got on a whim because it was cheap. The third is a netbook that was given to me by a friend when he no longer needed it (as he’d joined the Cult of Mac). All it cost me was a curry lunch.

I’ve used the oldest to test out various Linux distros. I mostly keep it because it has a great keyboard (at least it down NOW after I fixed it). The second and third as work computers when I have classes in Tokyo.

However, for the past few months all the computers have done little more than sit on the floor collecting mold and dust. As today was the middle of the Golden Week holiday, I decided I’d better turn to them on to see if they still work and, as necessary, update them.

I also needed to charge their slowly dying batteries.

I had no problems with the newer computers, but when I got to the older one, I had some troubles. I couldn’t update the Linux distro (which led to minor swearing) so I downloaded a couple others. I used to use Linux as my main operating system on this computer  (because English and FREE) until the school where I work changed printer models and I couldn’t get proper drivers. (Everything works well in Linux until it doesn’t and then you need a degree in computer programming to make it work.)

Eventually, after a couple ruined discs filled with distros that didn’t work, I got the old laptop working and then pondered getting rid of it. The newer computers have nice keyboards, too, and there’s no reason to keep the older one around.

Well, there is one reason, the DVD/RW drive on my desktop isn’t working so the old Linux machine is the only one I have that’s capable of burning CDs or DVDS which I occasionally need to do as part of my job. The trouble is, I now need to find a place to store all of these that’s not the floor.  But that may involve making other decisions. (More on that in another post.)

Frozen IPad and the High Tech Lessons

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Something’s going on in my house and as near as I can tell it involves education and nearly frozen iPads.

As I’ve mentioned before that, despite her relative average scores in math, our oldest earned entrance into a high school with a science focus. (Note: She may have been recruited to play flute in the brass band club; more on that in a future post.) Because of this, we’ve entered her into a correspondence math course that involves doing assignments on an iPad that’s been sent by the education company. This apparently makes it easier for us and the company to enforce a level of immediate accountability.

However, when the iPad arrived, it was surprisingly cold, as if the courier was also delivering frozen pizzas and couldn’t be bothered to carry a separate box or bag for the iPad.

That’s one explanation, anyway.

I’ve always maintained that one of the Tokyo region’s dirty little tricks is that it always get’s cold one more time. However, even I didn’t expect it to drop into the 50’s (15 Celsius) at the end of April. I also don’t understand why the iPad was cold enough to get condensation and/or preserve raw meat.

Of course, once the iPad was extracted, wiped down and warmed, it fell upon me, apparently because I own an iPod touch and that makes me, by default, an Apple “Genius Bar” worker, to deal with all technical issues.

The problem with that is that Apple tends to deny that problems exist. This means that you are often on your own when dealing with an issue, which also means my main solution to all problems is “turn off then turn back on”.

This time, though, the problem was with the Apps store. My only solution in that case is “do something else for a while”. Sure enough, after a suitable delay, the app store started working again and our oldest was able to download the software and start studying.

One that began I was unable to help as her math level is already higher than mine. (She’s still doing math with numbers, but there’s a lot letters involved.)

I just hope she doesn’t need any help with that. If she does, I’ll just refer her to the iPad.

Deservedly Mindless Distraction Day

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In the past, on days like today, I’ve pretended to care. Today I couldn’t be bothered. Today I put my butt in a chair and started playing.

Well, I did something resembling work, sort of. But I did it in a way that allows me to deal with it at another time.

Using the excuse of resting my injured foot, I decided to play a game for a good portion of the day, especially as it was the game’s Asian anniversary weekend and that meant there were lots of special rewards.

That, however, turned into a much longer gaming session than I’d planned, even though I was’t playing particularly well.

At some point, however, I managed to inventory all the ink I have in stock (exact amount: a lot) and then put off doing things that will get it off the floor in the variety room.

This, of course, was the real reason for all the gaming: avoid making decisions. However, I didn’t just play games to do that, also cleaned a pen, which took longer than I though as it had collected gunk from the past and from the ink I was cleaning out. In my defense, it’s one of the pens I plan to sell and I want it in the best shape possible.

At some point during the day I made lunch for myself and our youngest and then told the youngest to do dishes. (I consider this work as it’s my job to teach “self-reliance” and “responsibility” and lots of other polysyllabic words like those.)

Oh, and in keeping with my tradition of watching final episodes of television series, I watched the final episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. That seemed to be an important thing to do today.

Culling and Cleaning and Second Thoughts

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I never change except in my final decisions, especially when they involve getting rid of stuff.

After limping back home after work, I spent some time cleaning pens as I prepare them to be sold. (Or more accurately: before I attempt to sell them.) The decision to sell these particular pens was reached after several fits of mind-changing.

Both of the pens are reasonably new, but neither of them is that interesting to me anymore. I have other pens I like better and have no particular use for these anymore. They’d already been removed from the every day carry rotation and mostly resided at the office while I used up the ink in them. That said, I still like writing with one of the pens, but I’m getting tired of maintaining it. Also, it’s not the kind of pen you can just toss in a bag and expect it will come out well when you get where you’re going.

The main hindrance to the cleaning is my lack of knowledge of how to properly take them apart and tune them. I’ll wash them, flush them and soak them in pen cleaning solution but I’m not confident enough to yank out the nibs and clean the feeds. Oddly, a higher level of maintenance skill is one rabbit hole I’ve chosen to avoid. I can do basic stuff, and want to learn a few other things, but mostly I’m happy doing the basics.

Now the pens will go into short term storage whilst I clean and ready a few more to be sold. Now that they are desk pens I find I don’t miss carrying them around. That’s a good sign. However, the act of cleaning brings back a lot of memories and gets me worried about sunk costs and if I’ve got my money’s worth out of them and if I’ll get what I think they’re worth.

The problem is, what they are worth changes depending on the memories that get brought back.

What Toe On Yonder Desk Breaks

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I didn’t leave the doctor many options so all he did was apply some tape.

Yesterday I mentioned my most recent moments of left foot destruction  and although it was sore and an impressive shade of purple, I had little trouble walking to work (well, I was limping, but it was more annoying than anything else.

On the way home from work, though, I knew something was wrong. The sore toe suddenly developed stabbing pains in places one would not expect stabbing pains (because one totally expects stabbing pains in other places) and I did a short zig zag on the street before finally deciding I’d better go the hospital and get an x-ray even if it meant paperwork and a long wait.

Somehow, and with a little help from a translation app, I managed to fill out all the required forms and then was escorted to the back of the hospital where I turned in a form and waited.

Eventually my name was called and I found myself in front of a young doctor who had me take off my shoe and sock so he could assess the damage. His first reaction was “Damn, that’s nasty.” (Although he said it in a more Japanese “Hmmmm. Yeah. I see.”)

He then poked around on my foot to establish where it was and was not sore and then sent me for an x-ray. After that there was more waiting before he called me in and showed me the inside of left foot. Even my untrained eyes could spot the break which, for the record, doesn’t look as impressive as the break I got a couple decades ago. The break on the “Little Piggie Who Had None” had an obvious angle off the normal toe line. (I was pleased to see, though, how well that had healed.)

Note: the current break is near the inner joint on my left fifth middle phalanx, as if I know what that is.

This led to the next problem. The doctor said there wasn’t much he could do except tape the two little piggies together. A cast was right out and I turned down the flexible metal splint that would probably keep me from wearing shoes. He applied the tape and sent me on my way (although I have to go back for another x-ray one week from today).

I limped home and haven’t done much since I got home. (Yes, I’m exploiting an excuse to be lazy.)

The Pain That Lessened the Pain

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I had my first ink order cancellation today and that meant I had to refund some money. This was disappointing but it probably saved me a lot of pain.

The order started out larger, then got smaller. I’d even agreed to sell a bottle of hard to find ink I’ve been hoarding (note to self: don’t get “high” on own supply). I’ll probably still sell the bottle, but maybe in a different way than I’d planned.

Then, today after part of the order arrived from the store, I packed the box and made ready to go to the post office. However, sometime during the packing process, as I was moving around the house, I engaged in my periodic tradition of smacking the crap out of the Little Piggy Who Went Whee Whee Whee All The Way Home on the corner of a rolling set of desk drawers. This left me with a cut and an impressive bruise (although a couple ice packs helped remove most of the swelling).

Rather than head to the post office, I decided to have lunch (chili, which is the same thing I had for breakfast; long story) and walk to the post office later.

Unfortunately, and luckily, while I was putting off making the painful walk to the post office, I got an email from my customer requesting a refund because an acquaintance of the client’s will be in Japan soon.. As I hadn’t yet mailed the box, I was able to give the refund and make myself look gracious and save myself some pain in the process.

After that I had to brain storm ideas about the best way to get rid of the growing inventory in order to get some extra cash to rebuild the inventory (oddly, that makes sense to me) and add a couple features/bugs to the business. I also want to move a bunch of it before EMS rates go up at the beginning of June.

However, the important part of that brainstorming was that none of the ideas involve putting on shoes and walking anywhere.

Pardon the Random Horror Interruptions

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I had several things on the to do list today, some of which involved actual time wasting, but somehow a horror movie got involved. Well, part of it anyway.

Things actually started out well. I followed my morning routine and even deferred the time wasting until a later time while I worked on a different project. I researched information about import/export rules and how to start a company in Japan whilst still having enough money to actually operate the company. I also managed, at some point, to sell some ink.

I also managed to send out a couple emails and do a little reading but, at some point, and for the life of me I don’t remember why, a topic came up (and I don’t even remember the topic) that started one of those stream-of-consciousness random connections fits and that topic, whatever it was, led to Miniskirt Police, the Miniskirt Police website, a quick search to remember the name of Luna Nagai, who at one point was a member of the Miniskirt Police, and then a search for her, which led to the name of a horror movie that I managed to find online, in Japanese, with Spanish subtitles.

The movie is called Tomie: Another Face and is a made-for-tv adaption of a manga about a high school girl whose hobby is getting herself murdered so that she can resurrect and haunt and taunt her killer (or killers). Because I had a lot to do, I only watched bits of the movie to get the general gist. The movie is actually three episodes about Tomie tricking people into killing her. The second segment, when she enters the life of a creepy photographer, is the best and shows off Nagai’s ability to go from innocent, to sexy to creepy, to creepy cute all in a few seconds. (Also keep in mind that Nagai was only 17 when she made that movie making it all a bit more creepy.)

However, that gave way to the official time-wasting of the day and then a longer project to make swatches of different inks to aid in their sales. That took an hour and, hopefully, will payoff some day.

It wasn’t a normal day, but, in its own way, it was a normal Sunday.

 

The Unintentional Mandatory Sabbath

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I unplugged for a little while today, although that wasn’t my plan.

I’ve always maintained that the biggest weakness with all portable electronic devices is their batteries. Turns out the problems with mine might be me.

The first problem was discovered in the evening yesterday when I reached for my phone so that I could check the temperature and enter it in my daily log. When it wasn’t where I expected it to be a long search ended with the realization that it was probably still on my desk at the school where I work. Or traveling on  train some where. (The latter was possible but unlikely.)

After using my tablet as my alarm clock (epic fail as it turns out stone doesn’t have a built in alarm app; something like that) I decided I’d better head to the office, especially as my regular alarm was set for 5:00 a.m.

Of course, before that, I played a couple hours of World of Tanks with an old friend.

After tanks and a small lunch I finally mustered the energy to head to the school where I work. Despite my occasional aversion to the voices in my ears, I brought along my iPod touch to provide a sound track for my walk/daydreams.

About 100 meters from my house the battery  in my iPod touch ran out of juice as I hadn’t bothered to charge it for a few days. I walked the rest of the way to the station enjoying the sounds of nature and the city, which normally would be interesting but today was boring because I’d been in the mood for some music. (It’s kind of like having your taste buds ready for pizza but getting sandwiches instead; even the best sandwich won’t taste right when you’re ready for pizza.)

At the station I pulled out my Kobo eReader to continue Ava Jae‘s novel Beyond the Red (which has a fast paced opening that’s grabbed me quicker than most Sci Fi novels) but as soon as I pulled the eReader out of my bag, its screen instructed me to charge it. The battery was dead and I wouldn’t be able to read anything other than that instruction until I could get home and charge it.

This meant I was officially unplugged. In the past I’ve thought about implementing an “electronic Sabbath” where I turn off all my electronics and do things like “read” and “spend time with family” and/or “expand ink reselling business”.  However, having it imposed on me by my own inattention to my electronic devises wasn’t what I had in mind, especially as I was i the mood for music and a sci fi novel.

Instead of reading or listening to music, I spent the fifteen minutes on the train staring at the people across from me and wondering why they seemed uncomfortable. (They must be kind of weird in the head, I suspect.)

After I rescued the phone, I came home and started charging everything. I still am considering an electronics Sabbath, but I think I’d rather plan it in advance.

Fifteen Minutes and Out

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I don’t know how I looked, so I’ll assume I looked marvelous. I don’t know how I sounded, so I’ll assume I sounded awesome.

On Monday I ventured to Asakusa to meet some old friends and their shockingly cute children. While I was waiting near Kaminarimon, the main gate of Senso-ji, I was approached by a camera crew and a guy from St. Louis who asked me if I’d like to do them a favor and be on television.

I was hesitant at first because, as I’ve written before, my one experience on television seemed to go well but I ended up looking awful. (I now appreciate how celebrities prefer to be seen only from certain angles and/or from their “good” sides.) Since that interview, and the public viewing of it that ended in snickers and a couple snide comments from the people I was working with, I’ve done my best to avoid television crews, video cameras and security cameras (although the latter is for different reasons than you might think).

The Nippon TV camera crew and the guy from St. Louis asked me if I’d vote on which of the four possible Tokyo Olympics logos I liked best. This involved placing a sticker under my favorite design (Design B, the ring: Before you die, er, win gold, you see the ring) and explaining myself whilst the guy from St. Louis translated.

Unfortunately, when I said that I liked the Paralympic logo a lot and that the ring reminded me of a kamon (note, so did Design A but Design A is ugly and seems to move by itself if you stare at it too long) the reporter began to ask me if Americans would wear anything like that and I said, yeah, maybe, sure, as a lapel pen. He then asked what kind of family would wear such a pin and I said a rich and powerful one and he asked if that mean Japan was rich and powerful and I said of course.

That was the general outline, at least, but there was a lot more than that and at some point I used some Japanese to show my ranking (B, D, C, A). In fact, the interview went on long enough that I’m sure I eventually did and said something foolish.

When it was all over I was told when it would air (the next day) and what time the show started.

When that time rolled around I made a token effort to see if I made the cut. I decided I’d check a couple times and if the segment was on I’d watch it but I wasn’t going to sit and wait for it. I also “forgot” to record it (isn’t that convenient?) as I’d much rather imagine I did better than my first television experience than actually witness what happened.

When I got to the school where I work, the first teacher I saw mentioned he’d seen me on television. A few others did the same. When I got to class a few students had seen me.

They haven’t made any jokes/memes out of me yet, so that means I probably did pretty well. At least that’s what I’ll keep thinking.

A Slow Finish to a Good Day

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For a while I was going to have to do things by myself, but then the entire family arrived and things slowed down considerably.

The started well though whenI led another pen tour. The twist this time was the wife was a pen addict and the husband wasn’t interested at all. (Although he was helpful in acquiring rare ink by helping bypass the only one bottle of each color for one person rule.) In the end I plied him with beer, which seemed to help. (He even seemed to notice a couple pens and express how nice they looked meaning there may be hope from bringing him to the dark side.)

Unfortunately, I had to send them on their way and return home to help a teenager acquire a smartphone.

When I asked She Who Must Be Obeyed where I should go (home or to the phone shop) I was informed that our oldest had already been told where to go, so to speak, and that she’d be arriving by herself and I was to handle the purchase. This, of course, confused me more because 1) She Who Must Be Obeyed doesn’t trust me to make financial decisions about things involving money; and 2) She Who Must Be Obeyed needs a new phone as hers has, among other things, by passe the life of its internal calendar. (It stopped counting days at the beginning of this year.)

I was even more confused when all my girls arrived and we got in line to buy a phone. Our oldest, of course, insisted on an iPhone 6S (which is why SWMBO told her where to go earlier), although our oldest was also intrigued by the “new” old style form iPhone SE as it actually fit her hands comfortably. In the end she opted for the larger 6S.

This led to a two hour wait as this particular store spends a lot of time attempting to upsell things. (One of which we got.) After all that, time, though, they still managed to get our family name wrong on the license agreement.

I hope that means I don’t have to pay. But I’m pretty sure our oldest has already used up all her bandwidth for the month.