Runner's high

Transformation

2011-09-13T18:31:00.001-07:00

There is a morning when you realize you are transformed. Last Saturday morning, I realized that I am transformed. First I came back on a strict vegan diet again. I start running seriously. Finally, I resume this blog. These are good changes happen to me. I am glad that I am back on the right track.

Kindle vs iPad

2011-09-10T12:28:00.001-07:00

I bought an Amazon Kindle last week. So far I like this device very much. I use both apple iPad and Kindle to read books, however, the biggest difference between these two devices is its weight. iPad is, at least for me, too heavy to keep holding during long read. On the other hand, kindle is light enough to hold for long time. Indeed, I like Kindle's electric ink. It is much easier to read than iPad display, especially in the outside.

Back to blogging again

2011-09-10T12:12:00.002-07:00

Here I come back to this blog. There were so many things happen in my life in last two years. Some of them were good and others were not. No matter what, life goes on. Life is always tough for me, but I will keep up with it. I decided to resume this blog again.

Alphabet chart

2010-11-07T12:16:00.000-08:00

A as in apple
B as in boy
C as in car
D as in dog
E as in ear
F as in flag
G as in great
H as in house
I as in insect
J as in joy
K as in kind
L as in light
M as in magic
N as in night
O as in orchestra
P as in people
Q as in question
R as in red
S as in sure
T as in truck
U as in unique
V as in video
W as in wow
X as in xerox
y as in yes
Z as in zebra

New year resolutions

2010-01-18T20:00:00.002-08:00

It is incredible that the year 2010 has already started. 2009 was very tough and difficult year for me, and probably for many of you. I hope this year will be a better one for me.

Here are my new year resolutions, I would like to achieve in 2010.

1. Stay away from sugar.
2. Giving up alcohol and caffeine.
3. Run two half marathons and one full marathon.
4. Stretch every day.
5. Don't get depressed.

Motivation

2010-01-05T17:25:00.003-08:00

Daniel Pink explains surprising facts of motivation. Check it out.

Picture of the day

2009-11-19T22:47:00.004-08:00

I like this object.

Planet eBook

2009-11-18T22:34:00.000-08:00

I found that you can download entire books from this web site. I am training myself to read everything on display to save papers. Once you get used to reading everything on display, it will be easy. Check it out.

http://www.planetebook.com/free-ebooks.asp

Picture of the day

2009-11-15T18:08:00.001-08:00

The face I saw today.

I don't like this editor.

2009-10-30T01:51:00.002-07:00

Blogger updated it's editor to compose blogs. I don't like this update at all. I cannot even figure out the way to make an image as a link. If you know how to do so, please let me know.

5-inch Japanese Burger

2009-10-29T01:45:00.001-07:00

A friend of mine send me a link to this hilarious picture. Japanese Burger King offers a 5-inch whopper to celebrate the release of Windows 7.

Follow me on Twitter!

2009-10-28T01:19:00.001-07:00

I am a big fan of Twitter. If you also have a twitter account, please follow me on Twitter.

http://twitter.com/TakuyaSakaguchi

Efficient stretch for runners

2009-10-26T01:02:00.002-07:00

To build competent muscles for running, stretching exercises are important. I found this video is very informative to learn how to stretch efficiently. Check it out.

Blogging again

2009-10-25T00:50:00.007-07:00

Time is the most important resource you ever have. Thus, I have to be very careful not to waste my precious time. I have been thinking wether it is worth for me to invest my time in writing this blog. I don't have the answer for that question but I decide to start write this blog again.

Japanese Melancholy

2009-09-09T23:06:00.007-07:00

Ryu Murakami, my favorite Japanese writer, wrote an article on New York Times about recent Japanese election.

Japan Comes of Age (NY Times):

Deep down, we all know this. That’s why the gloomy expressions on the faces of Japanese on the street haven’t changed. But this does not mean we are on the verge of decline or decay. We’re merely experiencing the melancholythat any child goes through as adulthood approaches.

When Barack Obama won, I was very excited. I was enthusiastic that something very new will begin and things will get better. When the Japanese Democratic Party won last week, I was depressed, even though I voted for the party. This article explains clearly why I felt sad, which I couldn't explain well.

Vegan - 21 months -

2009-08-04T00:26:00.004-07:00

I have been a vegan for almost 2 years. I am now very comfortable with eating vegan food every single day. Only difficulty still remains is how to manage social situation (Sometimes, I cannot hang out with others to explore new restaurants). Veganism definitely made my social life more difficult.

I visited Japan last spring, and it was also very difficult experience. You can have super few vegan option in Japan. And non-vegan Japanese cuisine is so yummy, seducing you. I felt bit miserable there because it was very hard to survive in my home country.... It was like loosing my home. You will lose many things as you live, home will be one of those.

I will definitely remain to be vegan at any expense, since my body knows it is the right decision. You cannot get everything, so you anyway have to make a choice. Veganism is the choice I made.

Stress and weight

2009-05-28T21:47:00.000-07:00

When I am under strong stress, my body weight appears to surge. I found tight correlation between my stress level and body weight. When I am stressed out, I cannot run well. This is the major reason why the stress level affects my weight. I need to learn stress management more, because the skill seems to be important to survive. I know things will be much tougher if I continue this job.

1Q84

2009-04-27T22:19:00.006-07:00

Haruki Murakami is going to publish his new novel, called "1Q84", on May 29th. I am very lucky that I can read Japanese, so that I will be able to read the 1Q84 much earlier than most of you. The title "1Q84" comes after George Orwell's "1984", I believe. Pronunciation of "Q" is similar to that of "9" in Japanese.

You can find the latest information at Shinchosha web site.

Traveling

2009-04-25T22:40:00.003-07:00

I have been traveling a lot these days. I actually do not remember how many cities I visited last month (Detroit, Chicago, New York, Tokyo, Fargo, LA, and more). I now really do not have time to write this blog. But my traveling days will be over in two months, I hope. Once I settle down, I will write this blog again more frequently.

Always on the side of the egg

2009-02-18T22:45:00.005-08:00

Haruki Murakami was awarded the Jerusalem Prize. I found the manuscript of his speech for the award. This speech was very sound and courageous. You can read the entire manuscript at this link. I really admire him that he spoke this sensitive issue about the Gaza district in front of Israeli. He was by himself and unarmed there.

haaretz.com: (by Haruki Murakami)

"Between a high, solid wall and an egg that breaks against it, I will always stand on the side of the egg."

Yes, no matter how right the wall may be and how wrong the egg, I will stand with the egg. Someone else will have to decide what is right and what is wrong; perhaps time or history will decide. If there were a novelist who, for whatever reason, wrote works standing with the wall, of what value would such works be?

This is not all, though. It carries a deeper meaning. Think of it this way. Each of us is, more or less, an egg. Each of us is a unique, irreplaceable soul enclosed in a fragile shell. This is true of me, and it is true of each of you. And each of us, to a greater or lesser degree, is confronting a high, solid wall. The wall has a name: It is The System. The System is supposed to protect us, but sometimes it takes on a life of its own, and then it begins to kill us and cause us to kill others - coldly, efficiently, systematically.

I start running again.

2009-01-25T22:07:00.005-08:00

I start running again. I really surprised that I cannot run at all after one month of break. I cannot even finish 3 miles. My body changes quite rapidly adapting to an easy environment. Muscle is hard to acquire, but easy to loose. Tough world, it is.

This year, I want to run two full marathons. One in San Francisco in July, and the other one is in New York in November. This is my training plan for these two marathons. The running has become a very important part of my life.

February 70 miles
March 100 miles
April 120 miles
May 150 miles
June 100 miles
July 70 miles plus one full marathon
August 120 miles
September 150 miles
October 100 miles
November 70 miles plus one full marathon

A happy new year.

2009-01-01T00:04:00.004-08:00

A happy new year, everyone. I have been extremely busy last year, so I did not have a chance to meet many of you. But please remember that I am wishing all of you to have a good year.

-Takuya

No more car for us.

2008-12-30T23:13:00.015-08:00

I do not like cars. I do not like driving a car, neither. Although, I do have a car which I drive everyday (I've never had any car accident, so I am a good driver, though), and I am counting on it so heavily to live in this city.

As all of us know, driving a car consumes a lot of oil, which will eventually damage our environment. Amount of oil exist is limited, and I do not know it is fair that one or two generations consume all the oil on this planet. However, in the States, it is almost impossible to live without cars. I getting tired of this situation.

In Tokyo or New York city, you don't need a car to live at all. I like those environments. At least, we should develop a better public transportation system in big cities. Indeed, we should reform our road to bicycle friendly way (It is too dangerous yet to bike in the states).

Tips for Honolulu marathon runners

2008-12-29T23:24:00.010-08:00

This year, Honolulu marathon stated in a tropical storm. Heavy rain continued for 2 hours after the start time, and after sunrise, it became really hot and humid. Here are 3 tips I learned: What I should have done to prepare better for the Honolulu marathon.

1) Wear a disposable poncho when it rains.
When your body is completely wet while waiting for start, it will reduce your running ability. Try not to be completely wet if it is raining before start.

2) Bring an extra pair of running socks.
When you start running in the tropical storm, your shoes and socks will be mess. Carry on an extra pair of running socks with you. Look at my shoe after the run. So messy.

3) Carry on something to eat.
There will be bunch of water stations waiting for you. You don't have to worry about water. However, there is no place you can get something to eat. It is a long run, it is wise to carry on something to eat.

I need to revenge.

2008-12-20T00:03:00.010-08:00

My right arm became numb after 20 miles. Then the left arm followed the same fate. It was very weird feeling that keep running without any feeling of the arms. Next target to become numb was the neck. Soon after, I lost control of my eye balls. My eye balls turned up against my will, so that I was not able see front. I could not see the road to run.

That was what happened to me after 20 miles during my first marathon. I did finished 26.1 miles (by walking after 20 miles), although all I got is the feeling that I need to revenge this. I need to fight back against this resentment. I need to repeat this, and next time I must do it better. That was all I was thinking when I was hardly walking after 20 miles (I could not even walk....).

I decide to run a full marathon again in coming July in San Francisco. Next time, I will really finish my first marathon.

Vegan -1 year-

2008-11-10T23:10:00.005-08:00

I noticed that I have been a vegan for a year. I cannot believe that I did not eat any meat or fish for one year. To be honest, I do not miss meat at all, but do miss sushi bit. I sometimes make avocado rolls when I really want to eat sushi.

I think I cooked a lot during this one year. After being a vegan, I hardly had a choice to eat fast food outside, therefore, I always come back home and cook every single meal. I think this way of living is healthier but consumes much more time. In my opinion, it is not a too bad idea to invest my time for better health. Good health is number one issue, more important than money or success.

Quite a moment

2008-11-04T23:57:00.004-08:00

The change has come. Obama's last night speech was the most impressive and the most moving speech I have ever heard in my life. I did not know what to say. Obama is good at touching people's deep heart. This is a moment of history, and I am happy to witness it here.

iPhone the linker.

2008-09-10T22:58:00.004-07:00

Super cool iPhone software is being developed in Japan. The software, called sekaicamera, will link outer world (where we live) to the Internet seamlessly. With this software, the real world will be like a part of the Internet, and the iPhone will be the linker between two different worlds.

Special characters

2008-09-08T21:24:00.004-07:00

I was looking for special characters today. I need these characters to write scientific protocols. I listed up some of them which I need to use. Complete information about the special characters can be found here.

« » £ ¥ € ¬ ¶ @ § (R) (c) ™ ° × π ± √ ‰ Ω ∞ ≈ ¹ ² ³ ½¼ ¾ - – — ⁄ \ { } † ‡ … • ● ↩ ⇧ ¿ ⁂ ☞ ∴ ∵ ‽ ◊ ※ ← → ↑ ↓ ✔ ♯ Å å

Google Chrome (update)

2008-09-04T23:16:00.014-07:00

I am writing this post with Google Chrome. I just find that I am having a problem in adjusting image size and position with this browser. Of course, this browser is a beta version that must contain a lot of bugs. I should not complain.

Since I do not use Internet Explorer at all, I do not appreciate this browser as much as other people do. FireFox or Safari are already fast enough in my environment.

The Winning the web blog boldry predicted like this.

Winning the web blog:

By 2010, Google Chrome will be the LEADING web browser, ahead of IE and Firefox.
However, I don't think so. In the bottom line, I think Google Chrome is very fast. But even after excellent FireFox had released, majority of people stuck to the Internet Explorer, because they didn't know how to shift to it. People who do not have IT literacy, will stick to the Exploerer forever.

Picture of the day

2008-09-03T23:36:00.004-07:00

I took this picture last month at Antelope Canyon. It was amazingly beautiful.

San Francisco Half Marathon

2008-09-03T00:09:00.010-07:00

I run the San Francisco half marathon in August.

That was not a race for me but just a part of my training. However, it was a really nice and memorable run. As I planed, I spent 2 hours and 30 minutes to run 13 miles. Therefore, it was a kind of slow and easy run (Although it was a very long run for me). I crossed the golden gate bridge, which was bit covered with fog, along with many other runners. It was very beautiful and looked different from the one I usually see from a car.

It was good that I actually did not walk at least and completed 13 miles. It was an accomplishment for me. I decide to run the full San Francisco marathon next year.

Google Chrome

2008-09-01T23:40:00.005-07:00

I was traveling a lot in August. I went to Philadelphia, Aspen, Boston and Phoenix. Therefore, I did not have time to write this blog last month, but now I am back.

Google is going to release their first web browser, Google Chrome, tomorrow (15 min later). I will download their web browser as soon as possible.

Picture of the day

2008-07-22T20:14:00.000-07:00

I like the movie star wars very much.

Shazam, new way to dicover music.

2008-07-21T23:47:00.004-07:00

I finally upgrade my iPhone to ver 2.0. and I am loving this upgrade. As you know, iPhone2.0 can download many software which run on iPhone. I fond that one of the free software for iPhone2.0, called Shazam, is awsome.

Shazam will identify music for you. For instance, when you like a song played on a radio, you let iPhone record the the song for 10 seconds then the Shazam will automatically identify the music (titile, artist and an album record the song). The beauty of this software is that once you identify the music, you can directly buy the song through iTune by pushing one button.

A year ago, identifying a song played on a radio was difficut task. However, it is now a very easy task with a great help from iPhone and Shazam.

Vegan cheese alternative

2008-07-15T22:57:00.007-07:00

Today, I was looking for an vegan alternative of cheese. I have eaten vegan pizza which had melted cheese alternative on top. It tasted like more or less cheese.

After google search, I found that a product called vegan gourmet cheese alternative might be the one I ate. I will find this alternative in the city, because I want to eat a piece of toast with melted cheese on.

Picture of the day

2008-07-09T23:41:00.001-07:00

How to keep stamina during weight loss phase.

2008-07-08T22:54:00.007-07:00

At the beginning of this year, I planed to loose 30 lbs before a full marathon on December. Thus I supposed to loose 3 lbs per month. However, since I am running very seriously these days, I lost almost 9 lbs last month.

This is not good at all. If you loose weight too fast, your body will loose its stamina. In fact, this month, I am having trouble in running long distance without walking breaks. My stamina was significantly reduced last month. Indeed, I think I experienced weak depression due to too rapid body weight loss.

Of course, when it comes to running, the lighter body weight the better. However, I cannot loose stamina or endurance to prepare for a marathon. It becomes my current important task to figure out how to reduce my body weight without reducing the stamina. At least, I decide not to loose more than 4 lbs per month from now on.

Blogging again

2008-07-06T22:59:00.000-07:00

I was very busy last month, and also I was not in a good mood. But it is the time to change my mood, so I start blogging again. I will write as frequently as possible from now on.

3G iPhone

2008-06-09T23:41:00.004-07:00

Steve Jobs announced a new iPhone, called 3G iPhone, in his key note speech. This new iPhone has faster network connection, build in GPS, and better synchronizing functions with PC or Mac. I like this new iPhone because it is cheap, $199. I will buy this new iPhone as soon as they release it.

However, pity feeling is that our current iPhones are still young, one or two years old, and we have to send them to graves.... Since the technology develops very fast, we have to sacrifice many things to catch up with it.

Picture of the day

2008-06-06T01:48:00.002-07:00

Sunset on the Mars. The sun looks much smaller on the Mars.

The picture is from NASA

KORG DS-10 synthesizer

2008-05-29T00:28:00.007-07:00

The classic synthesizer is now being transplanted into Nintendo DS in Japan. I think this idea is terrific and the KORG DS-10 looks so cool. This synthesizer software will be available only in Japan on July. I do not have Nintendo DS yet because I do not play video games. However since I really want to get the KORG DS-10, I decide to buy it when I visit Japan next time.

Physical pain.

2008-05-26T23:40:00.006-07:00

When living under a lot of stress, you feel physical pain. The pain is not conceptual but acute concrete damage on the body.

When I feel stress, I try to run more. On the day I felt more pain, I try to run a longer distance. I think this is a healthy way to struggle with the pain and stress. Somebody says that "Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional". I cannot avoid this pain, but I do not want to suffer myself anymore. Someday, I wish I could be strong enough to walk the lonely way alone.

I have been busy

2008-05-21T23:04:00.004-07:00

I have been very busy this month and had no time to write this blog. I will be back as soon as possible. This craziness will end soon.

MacBook Pro

2008-05-06T00:00:00.007-07:00

I have been thinking but I finally decided not to buy a MacBook Air (the Air is for a second machine but not for a primary machine). Instead, I got a MacBook Pro the day before yesterday. Now I am loving Mac OS X much more than Vista. I should have changed to Mac years ago. Mac OS X is the best OS for this moment I believe.

Picture of the day

2008-04-29T23:29:00.000-07:00

This picture is from flickr.

Full marathon challenge.

2008-04-26T11:33:00.011-07:00

This year, I will challenge my first full marathon. This year is a one in a million chance to complete it for me. Since I was very busy last year and did not run well, I have to spend one entire year for this challenge. Here is the plan I will run each month. Fortunately, I will be able to complete 60 miles in April, and I will try hard to complete the following plan.

April 60 miles
May 60 miles
June 70 miles
July 80 miles
August 100 miles plus a half marathon (slow)
September 150 miles
October 100 miles
November 80 miles
December 60 miles plus a full marathon (race)

Favorite minor webpage. Time Machiner

2008-04-18T22:51:00.004-07:00

Time machiner is an unique service in which you can send e-mail to the future. This service got a simple but excellent idea. The e-mail you wrote on the time machiner will be sent on the day you set, and you can set the date up to 2030. You can write e-mail to yourself in 2030!

time machiner
http://www.timemachiner.com/

Millions of excuses.

2008-04-17T23:25:00.008-07:00

There are millions of excuses why you don't run today. You are always busy at your work and everything. You always face family emergencies, or your health emergencies. Your condition is not always as good as when you are very young. There are millions of excuses why you just stay home today. Instead, there is only one reason why you do run today. You run because you decided to run.
Otherwise, you will never have any chance to run in this crazy world.

For me, running everyday is the training to survive my life. There are millions of incidents that will make me unhappy, however there are only few chances that can make me happy. I have to be very patient to tolerate unhappiness and be very careful not to miss the chance to success.

Laurence Lessing supports Obama

2008-04-12T00:45:00.003-07:00

I really respect Lawrence Lessing. He is the opinion leader who influences me very much. In this video, Lawrence is supporting Obama for Pennsylvania democratic primary on April 22nd. This primary is very important for Obama, because if he wins, he will be the democratic nominee of the presidential candidate.

video is from Lessing blog.

Vitasoy update

2008-04-10T22:00:00.004-07:00

A friend of mine read the entry about my search for vitasoy original, and kindly bought a half dozen of the vitasoy original for me today. I am very happy to have vitasoy again. Thank you very much Kayo, you are so generous!

Vegan -7 months-

2008-04-09T23:06:00.008-07:00

I have been a vegan for 7 months now. The strong happiness I felt at the beginning has already gone. Indeed, I lost desire to eat meat completely. Being a vegan is now so natural for me, and I do not want to eat American fast food again (No more MacDonald's in my life).

However, as I became a natural vegan, the true problem of being a vegan has emerged its face. Social life. Most of friends of mine are not vegan. When I am invited to a party, dinner or any social situation, I usually have really few things I can actually eat. Then I face a really difficult question. What should I do? Not eating food served for me or not ordering food at restaurant are extremely rude, and I do not want to do so. However, I do not want to eat non-vegan food neither.

I have no answer yet for this difficult question. I usually eat non-vegan food except for meats when people serve it to me (For my sense, denying to eat meal that someone cooked for me is too rude). I order fish at restaurant because only eating salad will bemuse other people. I do not want to loose social connections to people I care, therefore, I will have to find a good solution for this problem.

Tax cut

2008-04-07T22:41:00.015-07:00

I cut my thumb today (just a scratch). I was enclosing tax documents into a brand new envelope, and accidentally cut the thumb by a sharp edge of the envelope. Cutting the finger by a paper was painful, but I called it "tax cut".

This year, my tax filing was very easy because the tax treatment between the U.S. and Japan is no more applied to me. I pay a lot more tax than that of last year, but the filing process itself was much easier (Last year's filing was a real nightmare). It will be complicated again in next year, because my grant kicks in this year (Boy, I do not want to think about it until next March.....).

Vitasoy emergency.

2008-04-04T01:02:00.003-07:00

I wrote that I love Vitasoy soy milk original very much. However, recently, the vitasoy original is sold out in all shops I visited in San Francisco! Some shops are no more selling the original (but many other derivatives that I do not like). This is an emergency situation for me, because my current body is on this drink. If anyone see the vitasoy original in the city, please let me know.

Language is your brain's OS. -Part 2

2008-04-03T23:12:00.014-07:00

I wrote that a language is brain's OS. I still believe this is true. In my middle 20s, I tried to shut down my first language, Japanese, and rely only on second language, English. Here I write what was physically happen to me at the time.

The primary principle I learned is that you will be greatly depressed when you shut down your mother tongue. I experienced many different symptoms of the depression when I shut down Japanese; eating disorder, anxiety, loss of willingness and sleeping disorder.

The brain uses the language for its functional processes. Even when you are not talking with others, your brain uses the language. When you think of an idea, any idea (choose food to eat, stand up from a chair or pick up an apple on a tabe), the idea is quickly embodied by the language in your brain. This step is important for decision of successional actions. Since most of us do these steps without recognition, it is difficult to imagine how hard it is when your brain stalks in the middle of these processes. I recognized these processes because I change the language after being an adult, and my brain became very dull and less functioning when it stalked during the processes.

These unconscious conversations in your brain are also very important to keep your brain healthy. If the brain cannot undertake the inside conversations, it will burn out. It will burn out the brain region which is very close to the region regulating your essential body functions, such as sleeping, eating or heart pumping functions. I think this is why I experienced the symptoms of depression. I could not eat well, waked up middle of the night (you need your language to even dream during night), I slept during middle of the day and felt so unhappy.

I am very proud that I survive these difficult days. My English still has a lot of problems but I feel much comfortable with it now. I feel I became stronger by changing the language, however, I will not recommend anyone to do this. I now realized that it was a really dangerous and life threating challenge, and the outcome could be much worse than that of now.

Picture of the day.

2008-03-26T22:42:00.002-07:00

Is paper better than plastic?

2008-03-25T20:34:00.016-07:00

Compare to people in western Europe, people in the United States or Asia pay less attention to the environment, I think. However, eventually, all people on this planet will have to pay more attention and efforts to preserve our environment, which is now rapidly changing.

Recently, I noticed that all grocery stores in San Francisco quite using plastic bags. Three years ago, most of shops uses the plastic bags, but nowadays they all use paper bags instead. I think this is a part of the environmentalism movement, which is hitting the city.

However, I got a fundamental question about this change. Are paper bags better for the environment than plastic bags?

Quote from Stranger in a Strange Land:

MSNBC provides an educational piece about the debate of whether paper or plastic bags are better for the environment with their Battle Of the Bags website.

Paper bags are good because they are compostable, recyclable and made from sustainable resource, trees. However, it is also true that we need more energy to make paper bags than to make plastic bags. These energies are generated by burning oils, which destroys our environment. And cutting trees to make paper bags will increase greenhouse effects. Therefore, I personally do not have the conclusion which one is better, and do not totally support San Francisco's movement toward paper bags.

In the bottom line, bringing own reusable bags to grocery stores is the best way. Although, it is not convenient, I will load many reusable bags in my car trunk not to forget to bring.

A perfect day for LSD.

2008-03-23T16:34:00.007-07:00

Today is really a beautiful day. I love California because I sometime have a day like today. Clear sky, comfortable spring air and peaceful mind. Everything is so calm today.

Today was a perfect day for LSD (long slow distance running). I run around the city very slowly today. It was about 6 miles or little more. I love running in such a beautiful day.

It has been rough.

2008-03-21T23:33:00.002-07:00

I have been pretty busy these days and have no time to write entries. But I have a couple of ideas for new entries, so I will find time during this weekend to write.

Picture of the day.

2008-03-13T22:52:00.005-07:00

This picture is also from flickr.

Comment again.

2008-03-11T21:12:00.005-07:00

Ivette send me a message that she thinks I should open comment of this blog again. Ok, Ivette, although my blog traffic is still less than 100 unique access per day, I open comment again for a while and see what will happen.

How to forefoot run.

2008-03-11T02:36:00.008-07:00

I found this video is very informative. I was recently told that I am a heel runner who touches his heel first. The heel run form is not suitable for a marathon, I want to change my running form to a forefoot run form. This video explains the difference between forefoot and heel run forms.

Radiohead and Tom Petty are coming to SF.

2008-03-10T22:51:00.005-07:00

Radiohead and Tom Petty are coming to San Francisco. I kind of like both of them, so I will definitely go to the Ouside Lands at Golden Gate Park this summer.

For more information, check this site:
http://www.sfoutsidelands.com/

Best of Runner's high. [weekly link post]

2008-03-07T23:15:00.000-08:00

I like the suggestion described in Revellian Dot Com about how to be a good blogger.

Revellian Dot Com:

Create a list of your most valuable posts and put it in your side bar (I’m working on that). You may have already written your best posts. Let people know what they are and you’ll increase your chances of being read or linked to.

Therefore, I tried to create a list of the most valuable posts of this blog. This list should be keep changing, however at this point, these are my most favorite posts. Check them out.

Vegan stories

Blogging stories

My life stories

Favorite minor web pages

Cover of the Cranberries

Watch oil price to predict U.S. recession.

2008-03-07T22:44:00.012-08:00

As I predicted, the U.S. economy steped down to a severe recession from the beginning of 2008. The U.S. lost 63,000 jobs in February (See this article).

It has been suggested that there is a tight correlation between crude oil price and U.S. economy trend. I think this point of view is useful to predict U.S. economy in the near future.

As this graph showing, U.S. economy usually experiences recessions soon after the oil price jumped. All of recent recessions (in 1981-1983, 1990-1991 and 2001-2002) were coincided with sudden rises of the oil price. Indeed, the longer the oil price stayed high, the longer U.S. economy continued recessions.

As you know, the oil price in the U.S. is now actually jumping up. Therefore, the important question is how long the oil price stay very high. If we carefully observe the crude oil price, we will be able to predict when U.S. economy will recover. Since the stock market will decline sharply in this and next quarters (I think), if we can see the bottom of the economic wave, we can make more money out from the stock market.

Picture of the day.

2008-03-05T22:49:00.002-08:00

This picture is from flickr.

Favorite Web2.0 services. [weekly link post]

2008-02-29T22:23:00.013-08:00

According to Wikipedia, web 2.0 is a trend in web technology which aim to facilitate creativity, collaboration and sharing among users. Blog itself is a part of web 2.0 movements.

I like the web 2.0 workplace entry on UADDit (They visited web 2.0 companies and show pictures of companies' insides). I heavily use most of the web 2.0 companies' services they visited. These services are very famous, but in case you have not used them, I put links to the web 2.0 services (I am personally using following services) . Check them out.

Twitter:
http://twitter.com/

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/

digg:
http://digg.com/

craigslist:
http://www.craigslist.org/

flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/

LinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/

netvibes:
http://www.netvibes.com/

pandora:
http://www.pandora.com/

How to increase your blog traffic?

2008-02-27T23:50:00.006-08:00

I wrote that I will open comments again when the blog traffic becomes more than 100 accesses per a day.

However, I found that getting 100 unique accesses per a day is very difficult. At this point, I usually get around 30 accesses per a day. The map is showing from where people accessed this blog yesterday (actually last 50 accesses).

I am thinking how I can increase the traffic. I do not have the answer yet but I will come back to the principle of this blog (Write things that no one else knows as everyone else can easily understand) and think more.

Security issues on the net.

2008-02-27T22:26:00.012-08:00

I wrote that keep changing passwords does not increase network securities. The real security issue we must face at this point is that private companies such as Facebook, Apple or Google accumulated too much of our private information.

For instance, Gmail becomes my main mail-server. However as you already know, Gmail scans all messages I send or receive and adds most suitable advertisement on the side of each message. This means that Google knows almost all of my private life, including with who I am hanging out, with whom I am conflicting, where I will go next week and so on (I also believe that Google knows my bank accounts, my credit card numbers and my social security number).

Indeed, I use google documents to compose my professional scientific papers. I believe that my unpublished data deposited there are safe but who knows? In the near future, my competitors would scope our work from the unpublished google documents. They will pay a lot of money for these kinds of information.....

The point of this story is that we have to trust private companies too much at this point. The primary purpose of the private companies is to make more profit and we are not paying to most of them (Are you paying to Google or Facebook?). Therefore, they might find out the way to sell our privacies to make more money out of it. I think we need new laws and morals to face an upcoming network era.

Picture of the day.

2008-02-27T00:28:00.005-08:00

Yellowstone National Park.

Changing passwords for security is a myth.

2008-02-26T23:09:00.013-08:00

Today, my mail account at work was suspended because my password was expired. This is very ridiculous and not making sense that the system administrator of my work demands us to change the password every 6 months.

Look at the new password rules they defined.
Passwords

*Must contain at least 7 characters.

*Must contain characters from at least three of the following four categories:
English uppercase characters (A through Z);
English lowercase characters (a through z);
Base 10 digits (0 through 9);
Symbol characters (!, $, #, %).

*Changes will be required every 180 days.
You must wait for 8 password cycles to pass before re-using a password.

Do you think we can remember the password with these different characters? It will be changed every 6 months! This is the way too much. According to the Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS) website, it has been demonstrated that

"Forcing periodic password changes given today's resources is unlikely to significantly reduce the overall threat - unless the password is immediately changed after each use."

The system administrator at my work is inhibiting our work with no good reasons. Of course, network security is a very important issue, however changing login passwords every 6 months does not increase the security at all. They should do better work on this.

Favorite minor web page. 43 Things.

2008-02-25T21:17:00.010-08:00

43 Things has been famous among particular people, but I did not know about this service until last month. I am now using this service for a month, and I really like it.

In the 43 Things, you will share your personal 43 goals (See my goals if you are interested). You will share all process toward the goals in the site with others. Then people will inspire you to encourage achieving the goals.

I like this service because the community is so kind and supportive. As 43 Things is getting more popular, the community could change in the near future (growth can attract evil people too). However, at this moment, most of people in the 43 Things are very heartwarming. You can try this service by yourself.

43 Things;
http://www.43things.com/

Vegan -Vitasoy Original-

2008-02-19T22:36:00.011-08:00

Recently, I got a lot of accesses to vegan entries of this blog. Therefore, I will talk about my vegan life little bit more.

I would not have become a vegan if I had not known this Vitasoy original soy milk. This is the best soy milk I have ever drunk, and I am drinking Vitasoy original at least one pack a day. This drink is a dominant protein source of my current body. You can buy this soy milk in many shops in San Francisco, including Safeway and Whole Foods, so try this out (and make sure it is "original", other derivatives are not as good as original, I think).

New media, new artists.

2008-02-17T07:57:00.006-08:00

YouTube is a relatively new media with which you can easily broadcast your own video clips.

As Larry Lessing discussed, new technology always brings new legal conflictions that people have never thought of. We should keep discussing about the copyright issues. How to share profits that one creator generated with others is always a political issue in our history.

More interesting thing about this new technology is that we can appreciate how flexible human beings are. Some people have already adjusted themselves to this new media, YouTube, and started to broadcast amazing homemade video clips. Since these videos are created by individuals, they are not like TV shows, however I usually enjoy these clips more than boring current TV shows.

My favorite video creators on YouTube:
Kev Jumba
http://www.youtube.com/user/kevjumba

Happy Slip (Christine)
http://www.youtube.com/user/HappySlip

Magi (Magibon)
http://www.youtube.com/user/MRirian

Become a powerful public speaker.

2008-02-14T23:40:00.006-08:00

I am a member of the Toastmaster International. This club is helping people practice the public speaking, communicating and leader ship skills. For me, public speaking in English is a big challenge, and attending the club has been a good practice.

I know my English still has a lot of problems. However, I believe that if I could recognize these problems properly, I would be able to fix it soon. The toastmaster club is, at this point, helping me to recognize my English imperfection.

If you are in the Bay Area and want to practice the public speaking skill, you can visit our club on Wednesday.

The San Francisco Renaissance Toastmaster Club
When: Every Wednesday, 6:15-7:30 pm
Where: The Embarcadero YMCA Board Room
(169 Steuart St., between Mission and Howard)
Guests are always welcomed.

Picture of the day.

2008-02-12T23:20:00.003-08:00

Photoshop is amazing, isn't it.
The picture is from Vertus Fluid mask.

Favorite minor web page. Name the U.S. States (game).

2008-02-11T23:14:00.000-08:00

I found this game is very useful to remember names of the U.S. states. I missed Arkansas, Delaware and Nebraska. Try this out by yourself!

http://www.sporcle.com/games/states.php

Larry Lessig's excellent talk.

2008-02-10T15:58:00.001-08:00

Larry Lessing is talking about current legal issues related to copyright and internet technology. I am very impressed by this talk and it has changed my understanding of the current copyright problems that we are facing on the Internet.

Fasterfox

2008-02-09T23:33:00.001-08:00

I wrote that I was having a problem with Firefox to download pdf files.

Several readers of this blog kindly send me some advices (Thank you very much for your support). From these advices, I learned that there is a software called Fasterfox that accelerate the operating speed of the Firefox.

I actually tried this software today. Then I found that this software improved the pdf download problems. Downloading pdf files by the Firefox with Fasterfox upgrade completed much faster than by original Firefox. If you also have any problem with Firefox to deal with pdf files, I recommend you to try the Fasterfox.

Fasterfox;
http://fasterfox.mozdev.org/

Chinese New Year

2008-02-07T21:53:00.000-08:00

Today is Chinese New Year. Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Taiwanese people celebrated new year last night. Most of my Asian colleagues were also celebrating new year at work today.

But Japanese people do not celebrate Chinese new year.

I personally have never cerebrated Chinese new year, but I know we (Japanese) used to celebrate this day. Until the 1950's, Japanese people used to celebrate new year twice, on January first and on Chinese new year day. However, during the 1960s, Japanese economy advanced very rapidly and people noticed that they could not afford to celebrate new year twice (They were getting too busy at work). People then decided to focus on January first and forget about Chinese calender.

I was born in the middle of 1970's. Therefore, I do not know anything about the Chinese calender. Today, Asian friends blamed me that we (Japanese people) are forgetting important traditions. But friends, it is totally not my fault because I was not born yet when Japanese people changed it.

Chelsea Clinton is a natural bone leader?

2008-02-05T01:57:00.003-08:00

Yesterday, I listened to Chelsea Clinton's speech to support her mother's campaign. I was very impressed that she was very good at it. During this campaign, she tried to keep silent therefore I did not know that she is a good speaker until yesterday. I am getting to like her now.

Chelsea has both Bill Clinton's charm and Hillary Clinton's strength. I think she will be a natural bone leader of this country.

Google responds to Yahoo! bid.

2008-02-03T22:29:00.000-08:00

Microsoft proposed $44.6 billion to takeover Yahoo!

Today Google responds to the proposal (See the entire entry).

Could Microsoft now attempt to exert the same sort of inappropriate and illegal influence over the Internet that it did with the PC? While the Internet rewards competitive innovation, Microsoft has frequently sought to establish proprietary monopolies -- and then leverage its dominance into new, adjacent markets.

We all agree that Microsoft was evil and used the illegal influence to make profit. But I think that now Microsoft is trying to buy Yahoo! due to Google. Google becomes too strong for them to compete and they need help from Yahoo! Therefore, I do not know whether it is fair for Google to complain about this proposal. Google itself is the source of high pressure for these two companies to work together.

Vegan -day 121-

2008-01-22T20:06:00.002-08:00

"Why did you become a vegan?"
This is the most frequently asked question after I decided to be a vegan.

I have two versions of answers for the question, shorter and longer versions. The shorter version is simple: "One morning, when I wake up, I noticed that I am a vegan." People sometime laugh when I say so, but it is exactly what happened to me. No more, no less.

Although I usually do not tell, I have the longer version of the answer. Some people believe that all creature experience the same pain and suffering as we humans do (that is why to be a vegan). But I personally do not know about it (they may or they may not). I am a scientist, so if you say "the same pain", I would wonder how can you quantify the pain? I do not want to give an unnecessary pain to any creature, but I do not mind hunting animals to eat (That is a part of nature). The true longer version of my answer is that I became a vegan because I have to survive in a foreign country as a stranger. Living in a foreign country for a long period (such as 10 years) is a really tough challenge. It is totally different from visiting the foreign country for sightseeing. Nothing happens as you expected in a foreign countries, you have to be extraordinary careful all the time. All the time.

I just noticed that I need very strong physical and mental intensity to survive here. Being a vegan and running a marathon are part of my training to obtain them.

Here comes another Bubble.

2008-01-19T04:38:00.000-08:00

I like this video very much. "Yes, I will blog about this song."

Macbook Air

2008-01-15T10:36:00.000-08:00

Steve Jobs announced the Macbook Air at his keynote speech this morning.

According to him, Apple's new slim Macbook, which is now called Macbook Air, is 13.3-inch widescreen display and provided with full size keyboards. However, it is still very slim and can fit to an envelope.

I like this Macbook Air very much, but only problem for me is that its hard disk size is too small. Steve says that the Macbook Air will be shipped with 80GB drive, option of 64GB SSD. These sizes are not big enough to be my main computer, but I will buy the Macbook Air as soon as possible. Good job Steve!

Macworld

2008-01-14T22:47:00.000-08:00

Macworld will start from tomorrow in the San Francisco Moscone Center. I am expecting that Steve Jobs will present about new slim macbook pro tomorrow at his keynote speech.

I will have to work tomorrow but I may visit the Moscone Center to attend the keynote presentation.

Picture of the day.

2008-01-10T23:03:00.000-08:00

This is my mother's painting. I did not know that she can paint this well. Her love to her daughter and grand-son is definitely helping her painting here. Love is strong.

Obama Triumphs in Iowa.

2008-01-03T21:29:00.000-08:00

Barack Obama just send me an e-mail that he won in Iowa. Wow, I was not totally expecting this. Last night TV said that Clinton was leading in Iowa by 5% margin.

Takuya -

We just won Iowa, and I'm about to head down to talk to everyone.

Democrats turned out in record numbers tonight, and independents and even some Republicans joined our party to stand together for change.

Thank you for everything you've done to make this possible.

- Barack

I am happy that Barack Obama is making a history.

Facebook vs LinkedIn

2007-12-19T21:30:00.001-08:00

Facebook and LinkedIn are popular social network services (SNS) in the United States. Facebook is getting more and more popular recently. Early adapters or people who love new stuff would like Facebook since it is intensively changing and introducing new services. But since it is developing, Facebook usually contains a lot of bugs which annoy you.

Interesting thing is that I usually find friends elder than me on Linkedin and ones younger than me on Facebook. Since LinkedIn is for established and professional people, it is convincing. But these facts indicate that my age is just between young and established people. I do not know if I want to stay young or to get established soon.

These are links to my facebook and LinkedIn pages.

Firefox

2007-12-18T23:42:00.001-08:00

Like majority of my blog readers, I use the Firefox as a web browser. I like this browser because it is easier to customize than others. However, only one problem I am facing is that this browser takes forever to download pdf files. I do not know what is wrong with my setting, but I always have to lunch the Internet Explorer for pdf download. Since I have to download a lot of pdf files for my work, it is actually frustrating. If anyone knows a good way to resolve this problem, please let me know.

Picture of the day.

2007-12-17T23:05:00.000-08:00

A cool picture from photoshop contest 07.

U.S. economy is heading to a recession.

2007-12-17T22:12:00.001-08:00

It has been suggested that the U.S. economy is now heading toward a great recession (See this article). Primary problem is subprime lending, which lead the U.S. economy into hosing bubble.

The subprime loan is the high risk lending for people without good credit histories. You can easily see the problem of this system: “Why are the most risky loan products sold to the least sophisticated borrowers?”

Similar hosing bubble actually happened in Japan in the end of 1980s. I was a high school student, therefore I did not actually experienced the bubble phase of Japanese economy. I just watched elder people getting enthusiastic and crazy. They bought unnecessary and expensive brand goods and spent money like water. They just got too much money because their hosing prices were raising too high. And one morning the prices suddenly dropped. They lost everything in one day.

After the blast of the bubble economy, Japan experienced the most severe recession. It took 15 years to fully recover from it.

I just hope that the U.S. economy does not contain such a huge problem. Although this report says U.S. economy is still strong now, I think the U.S. economy will experience the recession soon. I hope the recession will be short and minor.

2008 Presidential Election.

2007-12-14T22:53:00.000-08:00

Among candidates for the 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama is my most favorite one. His political vision is very similar to that of mine. Although I do not think that he will get strong enough support to be the Democratic presidential nominee in 2008, I still support him and donated some money for him (Go Obama!).

I personally do not like Hillary Clinton as much as Bill Clinton. I liked Bill Clinton very much but I am bit doubtful that Hillary will be a good president. Although she would be much better president than George W. Bush, I bet.

I usually like the Democratic party more than the Republican party, but I like Rudy Giuliani. I respect the way he acted after the 9/11 incident. He is likely to be the Republican nominee, which is good news for me.

Endless scream.

2007-12-13T21:48:00.002-08:00

What a day is it today. Very important good and bad news come together today. My life is like a roller coaster. Endless scream. I cannot write about what is happening to me right now, because I am very confused. The big good news should make me very happy, and the big bad news should make me very sad. But since these two big news come at the same time, I do not know what to feel about them anymore. Not anymore. I really cannot recognize my emotion. It is like an endless scream. I am very confused, and I think I am getting exhausted.

Coffee, strong caffeine-rich drink.

2007-12-12T22:45:00.001-08:00

I drink a lot of coffee. It is true that drinking a cup of coffee helps me to concentrate.

However, I think my body is on caffeine too much. In the near future, I will have to decaffeinate my body. I do not want to be like this poor spider who is caffeniated too much.

The picture is from wikipedia.

I swear.

2007-12-11T23:55:00.000-08:00

Last couple of weeks, I was very busy at work. I did not have enough sleep or fun. Under such a stressful condition, my mind seeks Japanese contents. I read Japanese manga and watched Japanese anime DVDs, although I promised myself not to use Japanese for a while.

I swear that I wake up now and concentrate on English again.

Favorite minor web page. Xeno Tactic (game).

2007-12-11T23:45:00.001-08:00

I do not play video or online games very much, because I think those are waste of time. For me, time is more important than money, and I do not want to waste it.

But this game, Xeno Tactic, is very interesting. I do play this when I am very tired to refresh my mind. Try this out.

http://www.smashingames.com/games/xenotactic_game.html

What to write in your blog. V. Keep motivated.

2007-12-11T23:26:00.001-08:00

How to keep the motivation in writing a blog. This is the question I am thinking right now.

When you start writing a blog, you are exploring a new world. It is very exciting and you will experience new interesting things that make you easily satisfied. However, eventually, you will find the traffic of your blog does not increase whatever you write, and people leave many offensive comments on your blog. You will be very discouraged in keep writing the blog.

I think this is the turning point. You have to find the bottom line of the entire picture. Very simple truth is that you are writing your blog for you. Keep writing a blog will cultivate your ability. Even if you do not feel the difference, you are getting better and wiser by writing your blog. It just takes time to see the improvements, as you need a lot of trainings to complete a marathon.

From now on, to train myself, I decided to keep writing at least one entry a day as far as possible.

I will be back.

2007-12-09T23:20:00.001-08:00

I was very busy last week. It was too busy to do anything else but work. I feel sad about this situation, but I promise that I will be back here as soon as possible.

Picture of the day

2007-12-02T13:17:00.002-08:00

How cute they are... Hope everyone can live life in peace.