Tralfaz

Blog

  • Netflix Addiction – NCIS

    Netflix Addiction – NCIS

    I guess that my binging on detective and drama series makes me an easy mark, so a few weeks ago, after finishing the 3 seasons of “Death in Paradise“, Netflix offered up NCIS.

    Why not.

    Broadcast TV, so there is some, ah, tameness that I usually don’t see, and that adds to the charm. I got hooked.

    The show is timed for an hour, so 42-ish minutes, so there is not much time to dawdle int he story. Setup, search, conclusion moves pretty quick.

    The stories are just engaging enough, but what really brings the charm to the show is the cast. The lead, Mark Harmon, probably in the best role I have seen him in, does a great job of shepherding the “cats” of his cast.

    The “special agents” exhibit a lively interplay, mixing sarcasm, and innuendo, and inappropriate comments, it keeps the show fun. Now into the third season, Matthew Weatherly (plays agent Anthony DiNozzo) is the constant, and they have added a few agents, one nerdy guy (computer geek – played by Sean Murray), and one “hot” woman (two so far, played by Sasha Alexander and now Cote de Pablo). The interplay between the “woman” and the chauvinist DiNozzo is entertaining.

    However, two of the other characters are the reasons that I keep watching. The Medical Examiner, an english doctor named “Ducky”, who is a pontificating, lecture prone, story teller.

    The other, is my favorite, the character of Abby Sciuto, played by Pauley Perette. The forensics scientist, she is a bad ass, goth dressing, tattooed, caffeine hooked, great music listening bombshell. Yeah, I have a little crush on her. Partly, I see an early version of myself. I started my career as an analytical chemist, working with all sorts of killer instruments (that is how I started my life, and I miss playing with the instruments).

    I am not sure I will make it through all 12 seasons, but for now it is good fun to watch.

  • Travel Log – Stardate 21.378 – Jet Lag

    Travel Log – Stardate 21.378 – Jet Lag

    Having been on an international travel hiatus, I had almost forgotten about the joys of Jet Lag. Boy, what a laugh riot.

    Crossing many timezones wreaks havoc on the circadian clock. On both ends. There is the initial adjustment when you start the trip, and then the hammer falling when you return. Couple that with the amount of time in the new timezone, and you can add several days of misery to a trip.

    When I was younger, I used to try to tough it out. Shorter trips (like 3 days in the timezone) can pretty much be ignored. Effectively don’t change your sleeping habits, and while it will still be a little screwed up, you can bounce back quickly.

    However, as I try to make the most of each trip, I will often fly the weekend before, spend a whole 5 working days in region, and then fly back the following Saturday. That is about worst case, as unless you are ironman, you will need to shift your sleeping schedule, lest you fall asleep during a meeting ;-).

    Still, an uncomfortable day or two when you return home and you are close to being back to normal.

    Where you are totally screwed? When you spend two full weeks on the road. That is impossible to gut out, and not fully adjust to the local time. You will need 3-4 days to recover at the return.

    How to combat?

    Advice from hundreds of trips, not always effective, I will still share:

    • Sleep aids – Melatonin is often recommended. I use it, and it does help start a sleep cycle, but unlike many claims, it isn’t a miracle drug for jet lag. I also use Benadryl. The combination of those two helps initiate a sleep cycle when you aren’t ready to sleep (useful on the return). I personally avoid prescription strength sleep aids, but it might help you.
    • Sleep on the return flight – If at all possible, try to get some quality sleep on the flight. I know it isn’t easy, and as a guy who never gets to fly business class, it can be difficult, but even a few hours of sleep in the cabin can help.
    • Get back on the “end time” your your sleep first – It is difficult to fall asleep when your lagged, so you will find yourself staying up long past your normal sleep start time. Unavoidable. However, you should set your alarm, and get up at the regular time immediately. As difficult as this sounds (and oh boy, it is difficult), you need train your body to get back into a rhythm.
    • Avoid alcohol – When I whinge about jetlag, someone always recommends a couple of adult beverages. While it may work for some people, I find that the dehydrating factor of alcohol makes it difficult for me to get a sound sleep. It is also why I don’t drink on airplanes either.
    • Exercise – do your normal penance. Bike, run, walk, gym, whatever. Go out and burn some calories. Not sure what the physiological effects are, but I do know it helps. Of course when you come back to 3 days chocked full of meetings, well I feel for you.

    This last trip, the lag was awful. First night, I stayed up until almost 9:00PM, then BAM, woke up at 12:45AM and never went back to sleep. Second night, could NOT get to sleep at all. Was up well past 1:00AM before dozing, and up again at 5:30AM.

    The third night was better, but still not right.

  • Japan Strikes Back – Hirohito’s Revenge

    Yesterday I flew back from a 10 day business trip to Japan. It was a huge success, with great results. However the end of the trip was brutal.

    After two long days of training at our distributor, their senior manager took us out for dinner. A small sushi place, walking distance from their office, and Tokyo station.

    The food was excellent, fresh, and delightful. As a long time traveler to Japan, I have always enjoyed the sushi and sashimi there.

    As a westerner, I even enjoy the “odder” items, much to the delight of my hosts. This place started with an appetizer of tuna cheeks (with the eyeball).  Not a shock to me, I dove in and ate it.

    We also had uni (sea urchin roe). This is probably where I got into trouble. I had 4 pieces of it. It tasted OK, but one of the pieces was a little “off“. But hey, when in Rome (or Tokyo)…

    Bad idea.

    Starting about midnight, the vomiting began. I hit the bottom, drank water, lost it, a few times.

    About 9:00AM I tried to head out to eat some breakfast.

    Bad idea. Had to run back to my room for another round.

    Finally around noon, just before the shuttle bus to the airport came, I began to feel human again. I even ate a light meal on the plane ride home.

    I am feeling like dogshit today. Back in the office though.

  • Coming to an end – a week in Tokyo

    As a long week(plus) of travel comes to a close, it is often a time of reflection for me. Apart from counting down the number of nights remaining, planning the trek to the airport, and hoping I have enough clean clothes, I take a few moments to make sure that I write down my learnings.

    Depending on the trip, and its purpose, the definition of success can be different. As I rarely travel for Trade show attendance anymore, and this was split between a NPI and supporting an important partner at a big conference, my goals were varied.

    This week was a success. First, the introduction to Japan of the new product was outstanding. Lots of interest and traffic, a great start. Three long, tiring, days standing in the booth, coupled with a 75 minute slog via JR takes a toll on the body. My shoes are about dead, and my problematic feet were agonizing. Still, worth it.

    The weekend was fun, and a good balance between hectic and relaxing. Having a Japan virgin (colleague who hadn’t been to Japan before) made it interesting. Saw enough sites, and ate enough good food to be worth it.

    Observations:

    • Trains running late. This is new to me, but apparently it is now common. Last night, the Chuo rapid line was running almost 30 minutes late. (in the old days, only something like a bad accident, or a suicide would delay trains…)
    • Smoking seems to be down. There are signs on the street saying no smoking, not 100% adhered to, but clearly there is less smoking out and about. Most restaurants we went to were either no smoking, or they had segregated the smoking areas. This is hugely welcome.
    • Good public wifi everywhere. Yes, it is pay to play, but for about 7 bucks, you can get WiFi for 24 hours that covers most public places in Tokyo. There are even a couple of competing services. Convenient.(in 2008, my last trip here, many hotels didn’t even have WiFi, just wired connections)
    • Google Maps – while I didn’t have data roaming, so I was a bit blind, google maps makes it trivial to navigate by train/bus/walking. Next time, I will pay the man and turn on data roaming.
    • Apple iPhones are the big winner here. Looking on trains and stations, it is about 8-1 iPhones to android or other phones. Not even close. I am sure this is a biased sampling, but Apple seems to be kicking google’s (and Samsung’s) ass here.

    One more full day, and then off to the airport. Flying ANA direct into San Jose, a Dreamliner, not a bad way to fly.

    Update: a night of drinking and sushi has laid me low.  I didn’t think I could vomit so much for so long. No breakfast or lunch today, me thinks.

  • A Lazy Sunday in Tokyo (Shibuya)

    Since Saturday night was really late (for this old dog) Sunday started late. Spent the morning lounging, getting some work done, and diving into a really good H Beam Piper novel.

    About 1:30, my partner in crime and I headed out. His goals were:

    • Chiyoda Park – where this group of Japanese “Greasers” (as in the movie Grease) dance and perform.
    • See Hachiko – a statue tribute to a loyal dog
    • Buy some Japan only albums
    • And, if possible visit a Cat Cafe

    I wanted to eat good Soba.

    The weather was a bit dicey, heavy clouds, and threatening rain when we left, but it held off for the walk to Shinjuku station. After recharging my Suica card, we headed out to Harajuku station, where we first walked the grounds at the Meija Temple.

    The Meija temple grounds were reserved in 1920 by Emperor Meija, and the grounds are beautiful. Next to a busy shopping district, you can get lost in reflection, and forget about the hurley burley of the day.

    Some adjectives that explain this: peaceful, restive, relaxing, well you get the drift.

    One thing we noticed is that right off Harajuku station is a street that was absolutely packed to the gills with people. As the goal was to get to Chiyoda park, we snapped a few pictures, and went off. We believed that there was a reason for all these people, and it appears that there was/is a concert or show at Shibuya National Stadium. (Not really a stretch, you could easily hear the noise).

    After the stroll around the temple, we ventured into the neighboring park. Water fountains, rose gardens, street musicians, even some people practicing their martial arts were all seen.

    Gil was disappointed that the”Greasers” appeared to be not dancing.

    However, as we were walking out, trying to decide whether to go to see Hachi, the dancers started up. I will admit that I thought the idea of Japanese men in black jeans, leather jackets, and with coiffed, greased hair dancing was ridiculous, it was indeed an impressive sight. The troop is well rehearsed, and clearly they enjoy their craft.

    Apparently they are out every Sunday unless the weather is awful (it was borderline, as the showers were increasing to steady rain).

    After Chiyoda park we walked the main shopping street across from Harajuku station. We were outnumbered greatly. Westerners, yes, there were a few other, but apparently this is a district that caters to the whims of teenaged Japanese schoolgirls. We were outnumbered by at least 20-1. Naturally, none of the shops piqued our curiosity, but it was interesting to see the gamut from Pokemon to goth.

    The rain was getting quite serious so we ducked into a Starbucks for some caffeinated rejuvenation and respite from the steady rain that was falling.

    After that slight repast, we made our way back to the station and headed to Shibuya.

    Shibuya is a big shopping district, and this is evident the moment you walk out of the station. Since our goal was to see the statue dedicated to Hachiko, that was our first stop.

    HachikoThe story behind this statue is humbling. From Wikipedia:

    In 1924, Hidesaburō Ueno, a professor in the agriculture department at the University of Tokyo, took Hachikō, a golden brown Akita, as a pet. During his owner’s life, Hachikō greeted him at the end of each day at the nearby Shibuya Station. The pair continued their daily routine until May 1925, when Professor Ueno did not return. The professor had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died, never returning to the train station where Hachikō was waiting. Each day for the next nine years, nine months and fifteen days, Hachikō awaited Ueno’s return, appearing precisely when the train was due at the station.

    Hachikō attracted the attention of other commuters. Many of the people who frequented the Shibuya train station had seen Hachikō and Professor Ueno together each day. Initial reactions from the people, especially from those working at the station, were not necessarily friendly. However, after the first appearance of the article about him on October 4, 1932 in Asahi Shimbun, people started to bring Hachikō treats and food to nourish him during his wait.

    I will openly admit that the tears flowed freely when I saw the statue. Interestingly, the Futurama episode that has a similar effect on me, “Jurassic Bark” is a tribute to this tale. (Some of my friends will understand the reference)

    From there, spying a Tower Records that had 8 floors of music, we figured we would kill two birds with one stone. My colleague could buy his Japan only CD, and we wouldn’t have to mill around Shinjuku.

    Fortunately, I escaped with only a single purchase. For being a larger store, I was unimpressed with there selection of what I was interested in. Of course there were some music concert DVD’s that were interesting but they are coded for the wrong region. So I saved a bunch of $$$

    As it was getting rather late, and breakfast was a long time earlier, we just ate in Shibuya. Yelp recommended the Ichiran Ramen shop.

    Interesting, as the restaurant is a set of stalls. You stand in line, and use a vending machine to make your selections (with or without egg, how firm the noodles, how much of their special spice, add green onions/garlic/seaweed/extra pork, beer or tea?) and then they tell you where to sit when a stall opens up. The stalls are interesting. Walled off, it is you, a water dispenser, with partitions on either side, and a small window for the food to be passed through.

    You never actually see who serves your food, you just eat, drink, and then leave. Very efficient, and very popular. We waited about 15 minutes after ordering before stalls opened up, but when we left, the line to get in was snaking out on to the main drag. Popular indeed!

    As the day was long, and the weather becoming shittier, we grabbed a train back to Shinjuku, and walked to the Hotel. A couple of drinks to decompress, and it was off to bed. The cat cafe would have to wait for another time.

    The end of a weekend well spent in Tokyo.

  • Night out – Shinjuku

    Night out – Shinjuku

    While I forgot to carry my phone last night (and with it, a camera) you will have to live with a text only post today. Perhaps my partner in crime will send me the snaps he took. If so, I will augment.

    Having had a brutally busy week at JASIS, Saturday started a bit stressful. I put my head down in the morning knowing that I had to get caught up with email, and to prepare my training for our rep this week.

    About 11:30 I felt “done” and did a little foray as documented yesterday that lead to some incredible baked goods, and music to take home. My colleague took a different path and left early to take in the Tsukiji fish market (the largest in the world), and to buy some Japanese knives, so he was well covered.

    After a bit of resting in the afternoon, we connected to have a drink in the Executive Lounge before heading out. Our destination tonight was to get good Shabu-Shabu, and then to check out the rabbit warren like district near the Shinjuku station.

    Mission 1 – Shabu-Shabu

    A little google searching of the region near the train station turned up a fabulous place with plenty of rave reviews on Trip Advisor. Kisoji Shinjuku The one caveat was that it was not well marked, and on the 5th floor of this very narrow building.

    Fortunately, many reviewers had put in helpful landmarks to get your bearings, which greatly improved our chances of finding it.

    We found the place, and took the lift to the 5th floor. Immediately we knew we found the right place. We got there about 7:30 on a Saturday evening, so it was still “early” for Tokyo, but the wait was only about 10 minutes.

    English menus were proffered, and greatly appreciated. We ordered 2 orders of the mid range beef. (more on this later) and all the goodies that go with it. Beers as well.

    In just a few minutes, the server (dressed in an impeccable kimono and polite to a fault) brought the appetizer and the “pot”. Shabu Shabu is cooked at the table, in a pot, there are vegetables and tofu to add to the pot, including enoki mushrooms, cabbage, spring onions, seaweed (two types), and lotus. The beef? Well, it was well marbled, sliced very thin, and absolutely scrumptious.

    Two dipping sauces, a sesame sauce that I preferred, while my partner in crime opted for the Ponzu sauce. Naturally there were add-ins for this to enhance the flavors.

    We did order a single “extra” plate of the top shelf beef. A little better marbling, a little less excess fat, but not worth the extra 20% in price.

    Verdict: – Fabulous dinner, and not over the guidelines for expenses by the company. Bonus points.

    Mission 2 – Golden Goi District

    My colleague had done his homework well, and wanted to go to this little area near Shinjuku station that has probably 200 bars. Some are themed, some have karaoke, those with signs in english usually had some skills. Not exactly an expat hangout, but it is friendly.

    These bars are tiny. Often 4 or 6 seats, no tables, so you do a little walking around to find one with room. We found one that had some good karaoke, and it had room so in we went.

    Our host was Sachi, a very pleasant young lady (amazing how often I use that term now that I am officially an old fart). Beer for my colleague and bourbon and cola for me.

    Very informal place, we made friends with the two other patrons as well as with Sachi. Some badly done karaoke (I truly can’t carry a tune), and several drinks later we exited at 1:00 AM, and walked back to the Hotel.

    During the conversations with Sachi (who is a budding actress when she isn’t serving inebriates) it was learned that most of these places don’t open until 8:00PM, and often are open until 5:00AM.

    Verdict: – a fun evening, an experience, and something to keep in the pocket for future visits.

  • Tokyo Files – Tower Records

    As a day of rest, I took the hotel shuttle to Shinjuku station, and did some wandering, you know, so I wouldn’t miss the human interaction. Shinjuku station is the busiest train station in the world, handling about 4 million people a day during the week.

    It started well, as the shuttle bus makes quick work of the short distance. I walked around, grabbing some water, and seeing some used music stores, I checked out some fine guitars hanging on the wall. Good stuff, then I turned the corner and found Tower Records. 4 floors of awesomeness.

    Since I am not into K-Pop or J-Pop, I bypassed that and went straight for the pop and rock floor (which also houses the blues and country collections.)

    sidebar: As a connoisseur of heavy rock, and heavy metal, I know well that this is a very popular genre in Japan, so I gravitated to the “good stuff” Dangerous territory indeed for those with no willpower.

    Things were going well until I found the Paul Gilbert section. Shit, some great things that I don’t have. Picked up the official bootleg from the project with Freddie Nelson in Nagoya (there is another one that was from the same concert, but recorded in Tokyo).

    A 2 CD set with the typical killer guitar riffs of Mr. Gilbert, and the solid vocals of Freddie Nelson. Just blissful.

    I could have spend a couple hundred dollars on just Paul Gilbert, so I forced myself to walk away. Then I stumbled upon the other Paul Gilbert band, Racer X.

     

    This time the damage is a set of 6 CD’s from the end of the Racer X dynasty. I have a couple of the CD’s already, but I bought this to get the two live recordings from the Snowball of Doom shows.

    Arguably, this is some of the best of Paul Gilbert, where the music, the sound, and the rest of the band was just on.

     

     

    Before I got myself into real trouble, I was walking to the cashier counter, and then I saw a unicorn. That mythical thing that I knew existed, but had never seen before, a Gary Moore album I don’t have in my collection. Fortunately this was in their “deal” section, so it was only about $10 to own this gem.

    Gary Moore was one of my earliest influences when I began learning to play guitar, and there are a few of his songs that I still enjoy playing. An Irish rocker whose styles range from hard rock, to pop, to jazz, and a metric buttload of blues, Gary Moore has left a wide footprint both in my foundations, as well as in my music collection.

    It is probably a good thing I haven’t been to Japan in a long time. The credit card takes a beating here.

    (At least I avoided the early 1960’s vintage Les Paul that was about $13K)

  • The Tokyo Files

    “With a purposeful grimace, and a terrible sound; He pulls the spitting high tension wires down…”

    Been a while since I wrote, but it is Saturday morning here in Tokyo, 23rd floor of the Hilton Tokyo, and I am reflecting on a week of work travel.

    I am here for a trade show (JASIS), and to train our Japanese distributors on our new product. A busy week, with a weekend to punctuate the insanity.

    First the show. It was remarkably good. The system behaved well, and the interest was high. Lots of people spent time talking to our reps about the product, and my partner in crime, Gil Min, did a fantastic job of keeping it all working well. But as with all trade shows, three days of standing on your feet definitely grates on you. Add to that the complete lack of padding under the thin carpet, and my dogs were barking.

    The show was in Makuhari, about an hour train ride from were we are at in Shinjuku, so add 2+ hours of commuting to the daily load. Then a quick dinner, and drop into bed exhausted.

    One thing that has changed in the 7 years since my last visit to the land of the rising sun, in the wake of the Fukushima reactor disaster, and the idling of all the nuclear power plants in Japan, the dress code became mroe casual. Instead of it being mandatory to wear a jacket and tie every day, you see a vast majority of men wearing short sleeved shirts.  Air conditioning in this steamy season is much less than it used to be, and there are allowances made in dress codes.

    Cool.

    Second – the food.  The first night, we connected with the local office manager and our new Business Development person (his first day on the job too) for dinner. A little yakitori, some tempura, some sashimi, and way too much alcohol.

    Another benefit seems to be that the overwhelming majority of people smoking in restaurants is waning. Most of the places I have been were non-smoking establishments.

    The second night we went to a Katsu house, and last night, being totally exhausted after the week, we just went to the hotel’s “pub” for pub food and drinks. That hit the spot.  My colleague wanted to go walk the club district, but I thought better of it, and sacked out at 11:00PM.

    Saturday is here, and I am preparing for my training on Monday, and catching up on my inbox.

    I fly back on Wednesday, looking forward to being home, but I know I will have chaos at the office when I return.

    C’est la vie.

  • Back to Japan

    Back to Japan

    Monday I head to Japan for work. First a conference where our new product is being highlighted, and then some sales training.

    It will be my first trip to Japan since 2008, the longest I have gone since the mid 1990s without visiting (for reference, I once traveled there 3 times in one month). Will be based in Tokyo, with a few days in Chiba prefecture, and then back to the office near Tokyo station.

    Since I don’t have a work sponsored cell phone, I will not have data access while there, so no goofing around. Sigh.

    Reflecting back, I have been to Japan at least 40 times, and been north, south, east and west. This trip I will have an applications engineer with me who has never been in country, so I will be the gracious host. We do have a weekend on our own, so will probably do the Imperial Palace, the Ginza district, visit a Buddhist temple, take a scenic train tour, or maybe just drink in a beer garden.

    I am looking forward to good Soba noodles, yakitori, maybe a ton katsu, and some sushi.

    Being the end of summer, the temperatures will be coming down, but it will still be South Florida humid. I will remember to bring my brollie.

    We are staying near Shinjuku station, a good transit hub, and I know that there is a good Ex-Pat bar nearby that serves a good draught Guinness. Yummy.

    I am flying ANA out of San Jose airport direct. My first time on a 787 Dreamliner. Should be cool

  • Feeling Human Again – Finally

    Last Sunday, I set out on what was supposed to be a modest hike. Almost 3.5 hours later, and a ton of climbing and descending, I was back at home. Tired, sore, miserable and with crippling blisters rising on my feet. Ugh, I had gotten out of shape.

    After rehydrating, and a fitful sleep (you know, where you are too tired to actually rest and sleep), the lactic acid monster set in. AKA Delayed onset muscle soreness. Bad. Really really bad. Climbing the stairs at work was about 5 minutes of agony. Getting in and out of my car was an ordeal. My blisters on my little toes made putting shoes on agonizing.

    Even 3 ibuprofen, 4x a day barely took the edge off.

    Today, Thursday, I finally feel human again. The blisters are less tender. The muscles have some residual soreness, but it is tolerable, and I did the first walk around the campus at lunch (2.4 miles, two loops).

    Just in time to bicycle this coming weekend. Woo hoo!