A happy new year.

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.

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

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.

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-

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

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.

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

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.

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Google Chrome (update)

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

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