Kokochi

my morning

Transcription by Anonymous:
I have meetings in Half Moon Bay today. Yesterday, I got completely lost and was late :(

So today I left super early - now I've got half an hour to listen to waves, seagulls, and a fog horn. Not bad, eh? [drawing of seagulls, ocean and boat]

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このマーク :(　ではなくて、これ
m(_ _)m 　でしょう？

ジョージ
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My 2nd dorkbot

	Quicktime 6.5 Movie (.3gp) Download free player.
Quicktime 6.5 Movie (.3gp) Download free player.

Transcription by da*xiang:
I'll provide the link to give more details about dorkbot, but we're hearing about the growth of independent CG animation creators = putting thought into action for many people (democratization), got to see how a CG character is made (1 week just for the head), time-lapse collage of graffiti showing SF's work and how they create it (see grafarc.org; 19th Street is amazing), clothing with lights embedded so the jacket flashes with changing images (!) (very cool) that also respond to sound levels (see video).

Sorry if my writing is unclear - I'm writing while listening. I'll update later. :)

a new kind of dinner

Having udon tonight to warm the belly. But Dav is also in the middle of setting up IChat with my parents in Tokyo. For now, we got the cam up staring at us. In anticipation of connecting with Tokyo, Dav got out a livecam shot of Mt. Fuji. So here we are at the dinner table with the laptop videoing us and showing us beautiful Mt. Fuji.

Battle of the Bands

Quicktime 6.5 Movie (.3gp) Download free player.	Quicktime 6.5 Movie (.3gp) Download free player.

At Pound SF with Dav and his cousin Magen. Her friend is the manager of one of the bands called American Tradition. Magen is a film producer and is filming them.

Update:

Dav and I stayed until the end when they judged the 6 bands according to how much applause each got. We screamed our heads off and even jumped up and down inspite our sore legs. And you know what? American Tradition won! Yeah!

A moment that I observed

I was just emailing my parents, forwarding a link to an interesting NYT article that my friend Sean pointed out to me. It's about blogging and teenage culture, a very different blogging experience/culture from mine. But still, anything about blogging that can help my parents understand what I do and why I keep yapping about it, I send to them.

Then I noticed something and also wrote the following:

"Actually, Dav and I just got home. And right now, we're both logged onto our respective laptops; he's on the sofa, I'm at the dining table. He's fiddling with his new Mac (we'll get to you soon about the isight) and coding new stuff, while I've been online with email, reading articles, and checking blogs. The living room is silent except for music coming from Dav's laptop and clickings from each of our furious typing...and an occasional meow from Wakame. Yet this is so normal and I don't feel weird about this. What do you think?"

And then I noticed that I wouldn't have really observed that 'moment' without the act of typing to my parents. I had that NYT article on how the internet is becoming so intertwined with our 'real' lives fresh in my mind, and it was the thought process of composing to my parents (vs. calling or sitting around the table chatting) that brought the observation to me. So although I miss my parents dearly, it's also nice to share thoughts electronically. Dav and I certainly did that for a long long time and although it was hard, we shared so much that we may not have otherwise. Plus it's all recorded.

And anyway, this beats just sitting around watching the tele because I know that after I post this, and Dav finishes what he's doing, then we'll cuddle up and share what's going on in our minds : )

Hackers and dim sum

Transcription by Anonymous:
Dav goes to a hacker's Dim Sum to meet up with fellow programmers to share, uh, whatever they share. I'm here to, uh, chow down some good food. I don't understand much, but am excited (?) about a "cyber plant" that someone passed around. It's supposed to grow better on a computer... Hmmm. I hope I'll learn enough to someday be able to say something. Cool ideas being passed around though. [Drawing of plant]

Dilemma

Last night Dav and I headed out to a friend's party. As usual, considering SF's difficult parking situation, we took the motorcycle. Dav is an excellent driver...I've seen him avoid the mistakes of inattentive drivers and he knows how to handle the bike. I love riding with him. Well, not even a block from where we live, we collided with a car. It's this dangerous hill that we go up and can't see the other side. In what can't be described other than immaculate timing, just as we came over the hill, a car from the other side was turning into a parking spot and was in the middle of our lane. That's why Dav didn't see any headlights as a warning as we were coming over the hill. Luckily, we were going slow, but not slow enough to miss the car.

All I remember was seeing headlights at a strange place, thinking 'hmm, that's not right,' then that slow-motion memory of falling off the bike. I don't know exactly what happened, but the inside of my right leg got bruised. Dav's legs are bruised too. We pretty quickly realized nothing was broken. For me, it was more the shock of the whole thing.

Dav, if you wanna add your perspective, feel free to since I was in the back and missed seeing much.

To brighten things up though, the guy in the car was actually on his way to visit our housemate! Our housemate had been packing his car and heard the noise, came running up, and was like, 'hey, I know you!' After the police took reports and we gathered our stuff, we shook hands with the driver and all headed home. I guess that's one memorable way to meet someone.

OK, so here is my dilemma. I obviously wanna post about this. It's not everyday that I get to show off scratches and a broken motorbike. But then I'm thinking of my parents all the way over in Tokyo and no way to come over and be reassured that I'm OK. You know what I mean? I know they will see this post...So I wrote them their very own note.

Transcription by Shaun:
Dear Mom and Dad,

Dav and I are fine so don't worry. Dav is a really good motorcycle rider, and he is always careful. This time was just Bad Timing. :-( So, don't worry, OK? I know it's hard when I'm so far away but rest assured we're not being foolish. Now I sort of know how mom felt with a sore leg.

Shaun, excellent transation. Arigato!

And another dot connects

: )

Sorry to have kept you hanging. It's the third morning of work. I guess I really needed to let it sink in, eh? So, I'm working at Six Apart, the amazing company that brings us Movable Type! Funny thing is, I had actually met Ben and Mena Trott, the creators, back in Tokyo when I first started Tokyo Tidbits. It's cool that I can link back to that moment when I wrote, "Totally new world for me..."

Little did I know how many great people I'd meet through blogging, how I'd begin documenting my what I'm doing for the first time (it's sure handy when memory gets foggy), how I'd discover that I rather like putting a window to my life online, how I found a nice home for a lost kitten now named Tutu, how I blurted my feelings for Dav to the whole wide world by mistake, and most importantly, experienced firsthand how cool the internet and emerging technology is. I want to continue learning and I found a great place to do that in.

So I'm off to work - ittekimasu!

scenes from work

We just went to lunch...

I'm up early today.

I'm up early today. Having a nice big hot cup of tea (with milk and honey) in my favorite mug that I got in Okinawa. The cats are up too...Wakame sitting on the table, Katsuo by the floor close by. I feel like a kid on the first day of school. I've been able to sleep in ever since I moved to SF and it sure feels good to get an earlier start with the day. Cuz you know what? I'm going to work! : )

As promised earlier, I will give details. I think I need to wait until I actually sit at a desk and start working. This opportunity is so cool that I still can't believe it. You'll see why soon; it makes so much sense since I've already been kind of involved from way back in Tokyo.