TFiJ12: 1st time skiing 2008
Hey all, long time no post. I’m back with another video podcast episode, this one focusing on our first time skiing this season. Our little adventure took place during the annual new year holidays, which lasts for three full days. New Years is the biggest holiday of the year around these parts, the time of year when everyone gets together to watch TV, go shopping, and if the weather is good, head out to the mountains for some skiing. 
This clip sees our family head out to a sports shop to get Luke some new skis, as he has already outgrown the stuff we got for him two years ago. After that we headed home and tried out his new gear with our Wii Fit, this amazing balance board gizmo that allows for some amazing balance-related gaming. Finally, on January 3rd, we managed to head out to Ushidake, a small family ski area only 25 minutes drive from our house. It was Shinobu’s first time out in two years, since last year she couldn’t go due to her pregnancy. It was a cloudy day, and the snow wasn’t great, but we had a blast. Luke took a while to get the hang of it, but soon he was zooming down the mountain. How cool is it to fly down a mountain with your children? Totally way awesome cool.
As usual, I to see a high quality QuickTime version of this clip, click here.
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TFiJ11: Max takes a bath
Winter break is winding down, and since both Luke and Max have colds, we’re just basically hanging out at home these days. This gives me a chance to catch up on some video editing. Here’s a short one, of Max taking a bath. Here in Japan, people usually take baths in the evenings, before going to bed. We have a nice system down pat: Shinobu gives Max a bath (in a cute little plastic tub), then when she’s finished, pushes a special buzzer button on a control panel that sends a loud beep-beep-beep signal sounding. I come running with towel in hand, take Max, and then dry her off and get her dressed into her pajamas. Luke then usually takes his turn (in a larger tub). Anyway, Max is cute, so check her out!
As always, if you’d like to see a higher quality QuickTime version of this video clip, please click here.
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Happy new year!
Here is our annual new year’s greeting card. Sending these out to everyone you know is a tradition here, as this article describes. The small photos on the card tell the story of our year, starting with Max’s birth in March. Hope you all have a great 2008!
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TFiJ#10: Moments of gratitude 2007
Hey family and friends,
It’s Christmas day. From our family to yours, we wish you a very merry holiday season and a happy and healthy 2008. Christmas is a good time to look back with gratitude for all the blessings in our lives during the past year. Here are a few such moments from this year. As you watch this clip, I hope it helps you think about all the good things in your life. What do you have to be thankful for? I’d love it if you left a comment below and let me know.
If you’d like a higher quality QuickTime version of this video, please click here.
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Papa’s presentation on Slideshare.net
Hey, a quick note to say that I finally finished putting an audio version of my Web 2.0 presentation up on Slideshare.net, a big “YouTube-style” social networking site focused on presentations. People can upload their PowerPoint or Keynote presentations and watch those of others. It’s really an interesting place to hang out- I’ve really learned a lot. Each day they feature a few presentations they believe stand out. Guess who is being featured today?
It’s doing wonders for my page view statistics. So far nearly 800 people have watched it! I’ve gotten some very kind comments, such as these:
Thank you for this very valuable presentation!
thanks, this is a VERY well crafted slidecast…
Wow, I can tell this must have taken hours and hours of time to put together. It is very well organized and helps to present the concepts and ideas related to Web 2.0 in a way that’s easy for anyone to understand.
I wonder if a tool like Camtasia Studio would make the process of creating a slidecast easier for you? I purchased it a few months back and have used it to create a few technical screencasts. I’ve found the learning curve to be small. Of course, I haven’t experimented with adding wonderful background sounds as you did.
A big thanks for your efforts making this slidecast. Again, very well done.
This is an amazing presentation. I just discovered you in a slideshare group-I am thrilled that I did! Great work. I am excited to learn more!
Wow. This is turning into a very fine experience!
Here is the slidecast, in case you haven’t seen it yet:
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Back to “normal?”
Hey! It’s me again. Hard to believe a week and two days have already gone by since the JALT conference, which you can read all about here at this little website I set up to preserve that experience. Here’s a bit on how it was like:
It was such an intense experience! From throwing up the day before, to having to redo many slides due to lack of Internet access (only to finally figure out how to connect a few hours before, thus having to frantically redo slides again at the last moment), to there being WAY more people attending than I had expected (and thus not having enough handouts), to the presence of experts whom I had featured in various slides… wow, it was all too much.
You’d think I’d be back into my normal routine again, right? Well, things are busier than ever! These conferences, I’ve realized, are all about generating new career opportunities. You mingle, go out for beers, chat during presentations, “do lunch”, and all of that creates these little openings and possibilities. It’s like an intensive weekend of gardening- you’re planting seeds all over the place. But after you do so, you have to water and cultivate those plants if you want anything good to come from them. That’s where I’m at now- working hard on following up various things. For example, I have the opportunity to get three publications out of the two presentations I did- but the catch is that the deadline for two of them is December 15th!!!! I’m also in the process of creating a video version of my Web 2.0 presentation, one that I’ll be posting shortly (I’m almost done).
All in all it’s a very busy, but very exciting time.
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1st snow of the season
It’s midnight, and I’m off to Tokyo in 7 hours!!! I’m so busy and nervous now, but I can’t sleep. I’ve just finished packing and will be off to be soon. If I get a chance, I’ll be posing some photos from the event. My first ever presentation is on Saturday evening, 6pm Tokyo time (that’s 5 am EST). My slides aren’t even done, but I’m not too worried about that. I’ll have time tomorrow to finish it up.
Before I go to bed, we had some good news today: it snowed for the 1st time this season! This is the earliest I can ever remember is snowing here. We NEVER get a dump in November. Way cool! I hope this year makes up for last year, snow-wise.
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TFiJ09: Max eats a banana
Hey, I know I said that I didn’t have time to do any more new videos due to my need to study, but what do you know- I managed to find a spare 20 minutes to put this one together for you. Max has been eating “hard” food for the past 6 weeks or so, but most of that is processed heavily for babies. We’re trying to introduce “real” food bit by bit, as this clip shows. Here we feed Max a banana, but we’ve also been giving her ground up apples or other fruit. Anyway, no big deal; I just want to show you all Max’s progress. She’s doing real well overall, apart from some chronic sniffles and runny nose that seem to come and go daily.
As always, I would love for you to see a higher quality version of this clip. To do so, just click here.
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Max gets a new jumper
In keeping with my new “short and often” approach to blogging, here’s a cute photo of Max wearing a new jumper given to her by Granda Mase (Shinobu’s dad). Yeah, it’s a bit too small, but it still looks good on her!
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Getting caught up in a busy time
Hey! Long time no post! How’s it going, dear reader? Busy? Well, join the club. This blogging thing is quite interesting. It can be challenging at times to put something up here. I have a lot of ideas, but life keeps getting in the way. So, instead of waiting around till I have time and energy for big or long entries, I’m going to try to write smaller posts with more frequency. Here goes…
First of all, thanks for the feedback on my previous post (Vi!). The message was, “too much information.” Yes, I agree. Sorry about that. If I have new features to announce, I’ll endeavor from now on to mention them one at a time and keep the focus on the family life.
Like I said, life is busy now. We just had our school festival at work (on a Saturday, no less), and then the next morning I had to help judge a big local speech contest. It went fine, but I haven’t had a day off in a week and a half! Fortunately tomorrow (Thursday, November 1st) I don’t have to go in. I’m planning on spending the entire day studying and preparing for my JALT Conference presentations. I’m doing some very interesting reading these days, mostly about the nature of the Internet and the development of learning theory in this digital age. Quite fascinating stuff! I will need to start pulling together a narrative of what I want to say soon, and then begin putting together some slides. My aim is to create a video podcast and post it up somewhere. This process will help me get my act together. I’ll let you know when it’s ready.
Luke and Max have been struggling with colds recently, but they are okay today. Shinobu has been studying very hard for yet another test, this one to get this special work-related licence (I’m not really sure what it’s all about!!). She did very well, and afterwards she was so happy. She went on this big shopping binge and had a great time buying clothes for her little dolls! Me? I used the money I got from my judging gig and got myself a very very very cool and slight portable digital voice recorder!! It’s the Zoom H2, and I’m really going to enjoy using this puppy. I’ll now be able to do some good audio podcasts- sounds from our lives, sound-seeing tours, interviews, etc. Can’t wait!
So, that’s about it for now. I won’t have much (if any) time for posting new video podcasts, but I will try to put up some past projects.
Take care, everyone!
Sox win!!! Woooo hooooo!
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More new features: Column resizing, improved photos page, and “share this”
I’ve just added some more cool features to this site, so I’ll take this post to tell you about them. I’ve updated the “Mandigo” theme this site is based on, and with that comes a few things:
New background image
First of all, do you notice the new background image? It’s now dark, with a very subtle paisley print pattern. Nice!
Resizing icons
Next, if you look at the upper right corner of each post, you’ll notice two tiny icons. Click on these and see what happens! Cool, eh? I thought so, too. Use this feature if you’d like a less distracting reading experience.
Updated “Photos” page
Finally, if you’ve got a moment, take a look at the Photos page. You’ll notice I’ve added a LOT of new pictures. Each group of them actually reside over at our Google Picasa page, so you can view them there as well. To view the photos, just click on a photo, then on one of the thumbnail images in the group. The pictures will appear “above” the page with a cool “Lightbox” effect. Click the “Next” button in the upper right corner to advance to the next one. I hope you like this new set-up. You’ll be able to see more family photos more easily, and I won’t have to post pictures in two places, saving me some valuable time and energy.
Click on this photo to be taken to the new Photos page
“Share This”
Finally, in case you’d like to tell other family or friends about this site, I’ve included a “Share This” link at the bottom of every blog entry. Clicking on this will bring up a dialog box that contains links to all the top social networking sites out there. If this means nothing to you, never mind! Clicking on the “Tell a Friend” tab will allow you to send a blog entry to someone via email. Thanks in advance for spreading the word about our site! I’m very keen on sharing our lives with anyone interested. This sort of contact and interaction helps make my world smaller and cozier.
Finally, let me know what you think of these new features by leaving a comment below. I’m very interested in your reaction, or if you have any special requests for other features.
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A fall 2007 family news update
Hey everyone. It’s October 11th as I type this, and the weather outside in Toyama has FINALLY cooled down. The evenings, in fact, are downright cool. The other day I actually had to put on a long sleeve shirt at home in the evening- I hadn’t done that in a long while. Shinobu, of course, has been wearing winter-like clothes for weeks. She and I are really funny that way- our body sensitivities to heat and cold are TOTALLY different. In short, she’s way more sensitive to cold than I am, and while I can’t deal with heat at all, it’s no problem for her. Interesting!
Anyway, enough about the weather. I’ve been putting out some video clips and stuff recently, but for this post I just wanted to update you all on some family news. Nothing earth-shattering, mind-you- just some regular everyday kind of things that are filling our lives at the moment.
My Work
Work’s been going well overall. I just got through an insanely busy stretch, but I only have myself to blame for it. Here at TCFL I’ve been put in charge of making and maintaining our school’s promotional video (Click here to see a short version of it). This video is shown at events such as open houses and such. We had such an event recently, where a few dozen prospective students came by to check out our school and take some demonstration classes. I had all summer long to get the promo video updated with new footage, but of course I waited until the last minute to get it together. My bad! It was a weekend of work, then two consecutive “all-nighters” to get it done. Doh! It all went off well, but I won’t ever do that again!
In other work matters, we have just begun our second term at TCFL. Students are busy getting ready for our annual school festival at the end of the month. I’m helping out with the food committee this time. Classes are going smoothly, and I looking forward to a good 2nd half of the school year.
Other Career Stuff
In late November I’ll be traveling to Tokyo to attend the annual JALT 
Conference. JALT (Japan Association of Language Teachers) is the largest organization of English teachers in this country, and this event is a big one- anyone who’s anyone in the field of language teacher goes there. I’ve been going for years, often at my own expense, because it is really professionally stimulating and fun to be around other teachers who are serious about their craft and profession. This year, for the first time, I’ll be giving not one, but TWO presentations. The first will be on a topic near and dear to my heart- “Web 2.0 in the classroom: An introduction”. Here is the abstract:
Blogging, podcasting, social networking, YouTube, and Second Life: examples of new “Web 2.0” resources that language teachers are currently exploring. However, many teachers remain on the outside looking in- wanting to know more, but overwhelmed at the often confusing rapid pace of change. This workshop challenges assumptions that only those already in-the-know can keep up with educational technology, and seeks to provide clarity and direction for instructors new to the Web 2.0 revolution.
As you can gather, my goal here is to help make all these recent advances in Internet communications technology more accessible to fellow teachers, many of whom lack computer-skills confidence in this information age we’re in. In reality, however, I’m just trying to gain confidence in this area myself! I figure a great way to learn something is to teach it, so that’s what I’m planning to do.
My other presentation will be conducted with some fellow alumni from Aston University, the school where I got my MSc in TESOL via distance learning. A group of four of us will be giving short 25 minute talks on our Masters dissertations. This will give me a chance to revisit that project and help me gear up for its continuation at the PhD level. In case anyone’s interested, you can download a pdf version of that paper here. The topic involves an examination of a website created to archive academically-oriented discussions that took place on our program’s email discussion list.
All in all, I’ve got my work cut out for me over the next six weeks. I’m excitedly nervous, but in a good way. I’m convinced that many good things will come from attending this conference, and I’m looking forward to advancing my skills, knowledge, and career options.
Shinobu’s Work
Shinobu has really settled in nicely at her new job at the Yatsuo-machi B&G Pool. She still works for the same company (Yatsuo Service), one that acts as a sub-contractor for the town government, but once she finished her maternity leave in September, she was transferred to this pool. In a way, due to Shinobu’s heart condition (more on this in a bit), working at a pool could be considered cruel and unusual punishment. She is not allowed to go in the water at all. This must be rough for a former western Japan freestyle champion and former coach. Basically she sits in the main office doing this and that, mostly dealing with accounting tasks. Still, she often talks about how much better this job is to her previous post at the Yatsuo Sports Arena, where she had the chance to do training and teach aerobics. The big difference is business- Shinobu LOVES to be busy! She is a very extroverted person, so long stretched of down-time are killer for her. She needs to be around people, and at the B&G pool she certainly gets that. All sorts of folks are constantly coming and going, so there is always someone to talk with or help. In addition, due to her vast experience, Shinobu has been quickly given a lot of responsibility around the office. Her boss seems to like her, and that is a good sign.
Career-wise, Shinobu is aiming to get another credential soon. Next month she’ll be taking a test to get certified as a swim coach. She won’t be able to enter the water, but she’ll be allowed to do what she loves most- coaching kids (especially Luke and in a few years, Max). Before when she coached, she didn’t have a license to do so, but now she will. She’s currently studying hard for this exam, which won’t be an easy thing. She has to know all about the history of swimming and all that… It’s been pretty interesting to hear her talk about all the stuff she’s learned recently, such as the history of swimming, and why Japanese people were considered great swimmers at the turn of the 20th century.
Shinobu’s Health
As I mentioned, Shinobu is not allowed in the water at the pool where she works. Still, news from a recent heart check-up tells a brighter story: According to the data pulled from her implanted ICD device (that thing is so wicked cool), her condition seems to be stabilizing because very few instances of arrhythmia’s were recorded (irregular heart beats). Her doctor gave her the go-ahead to go swimming, but only at a slow pace, and only if she is supervised. This was good news. As a result, Shinobu’s been working out lightly these days at another pool at the Toyama Prefectural Health Park. This has allowed her to really ramp up her coaching sessions with Luke, whom she is determined to sculpt into a champion swimmer. So, while she still has to take meds each day and can’t work out unfettered, her progress since hear heart attacks has been very encouraging. We really hope it continues!
The Kids
What’s up with the little ones? Well, Luke is now six and is really growing fast. He’s in his last year at kindergarten. From next April he will move across the street and begin attending elementary school. Last weekend he participated in the annual Sports Day festival. This is a traditional event held at each school around the country, sort of an “on-campus Olympics.” Sports Days, and all the the work that goes into preparing for them, are really a part of the educational landscape of this country. I’ll have to edit together all the footage I took that day and do a podcast about it- it’s quite a spectacle.
Max is also attending day-care at the school. As I’ve mentioned before, she is the youngest in her class, and the youngest child ever this school has ever admitted. She’s doing great. Her calm, friendly manner is really winning over her teachers and classmates, and I only hear good things from them. This fills us with joy and pride. Oh, Max also participated in the recent Sports Day festivities… I’ll get some photos posted soon!
Some recent Luke news is that he has officially joined the Yatsuo Swimming Club. Twice a week, on Wednesday and Sunday evenings, he swims with the “C” team at the B&G pool. This team is made up of elementary school kids, so Luke is the youngest. He just started last week, and so far he’s been really enjoying it. Shinobu and I wondered if he would be able to swim for an hour straight, but so far he’s been enjoying himself. He seems to really like doing things on his own, of demonstrating his capability. It’s very inspiring to see! With mama giving him extra coaching on the side, we hope it won’t be long before he really gets good. I filmed his first practice, so stay tuned for that podcast.
Well, I’ve gone on enough, I think. Thanks for reading this far. I’ll try to put out these longer-style updates each season. The photos and videos I post tell our story in pictures, but it’s nice to get all the latest news in one go as well.
Take care! Don’t forget to leave a comment below! I LOVE reading them.
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Cool new feature: “Answer-Tips”
As you may know, one of the reason’s I’m doing this site (besides wanting to stay in better touch with you all!) is to improve my web-skills. I’m planning on starting my PhD one of these days, and key to my proposed idea is creating and maintaining a blog. So, all the effort I put into this site pays off later on when it comes to my doctorate.
WordPress (the blogging system that powers this site) is an open-source deal, meaning that anyone with an idea and ability to improve the system can do so. There are literally thousands of “plug-ins” that improve a site’s functionality in some way. I’ve grown fond of browsing through the WordPress plug-in directory, looking for cool stuff to make this site better. There are just so many amazing bells and whistles out there! It’s been really fun to experiment with some of them.
This brings me to today’s topic: I’d like to introduce a very cool new feature called “Answer-Tips“. This plug-in adds a virtual dictionary to each and every page on this blog. By clicking on any word, a little pop-up window will appear with a definition, like this:
See what happened when I double-clicked on “Toyama”? A window from the reference site Answers.com popped up with a definition of Toyama. Not only can you read about what a word means, but you can click on the little speaker icon and hear it pronounced. Very cool! I’m geeking out…
So, I hope you enjoy this feature. It’s a cool thing knowing you’ll always be able to know what means what.
Oh, just for fun: Try clicking on my wife’s name- Shinobu. The definition that comes up is a real goof. Bonus points to anyone who has heard of them.
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TFiJ08: Luke practices soccer
Every Monday evening, we take Luke to soccer practice at the Yatsuo Sports Arena (where Shinobu used to work). This video clip chronicles a typical session- the kids do basic ball handling drills, then play a short game. Luke seems to enjoy running around and kicking the ball very much, as you can see. The practices are led by a former pro-soccer player from Toyama, Hasegawa Taiki. He’s a nice guy, and Luke gets on with him very well.
It’s amazing to see my little boy running around! Seems like only a short while ago he was barely able to crawl. When I watch him run and laugh, I get that strong “boy, time sure does fly” kind of feelings. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this little clip. It’s another little slice-of-life story from our daily lives here in Japan.
If you have QuickTime installed and would like to see a higher quality version of this clip, please click here.
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TFiJ07: Max’s 1st time swimming
Two weekends ago we took little six-month old Max swimming for the first time in her life. The only pool where we could get permission to film was the place where Shinobu works, the Yatsuo-machi B&G Pool. We’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time. Here kids need to be at least six months old before they’re allowed in a public pool. We took Luke swimming the day after he turned six months, and now we’ve done the same for Max. We came prepared: Check out that crazy pink bathing suit! It’s made by Body Glove, a famous brand that makes stuff for swimmers and surfers. Besides being shockingly cool :-), the suit sports a built-in floatation device that helps keep our baby afloat. You can see how well this worked in the video clip below. Overall, Max seemed to have a great time. She wasn’t afraid of the water at all. It looked like she enjoyed floating around. We had a great time, too.
Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below. Cheers!
Click here if you would like to see a higher quality QuickTime version of this clip.
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TFiJ06: Max practices sitting & walking
We have another 3-day weekend here in Japan, so I’m trying to get caught up with some video editing. Here’s another video podcast for you: a simple 4 minute clip of Max learning to sit and walk. She’s now six and a half months old, and her neck is getting strong enough where she can (almost) sit on her own. Shinobu also dusted off Luke’s old baby walker, so we gave Max a spin for the first time. She really seemed to have a good time! So did we. It’s fantastic watching her grow day to day.
You can see the clip by clicking on it below. If you’d like to download a higher quality version to your computer, just click on the “Download” link below. As always, I encourage you to leave a comment as well.
As always you can see a higher quality QuickTime version of this clip if you click here.
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Starbucks comes to Toyama City!!!
Well, there’s a lot going on in Japan these days; Let’s see… what do we have here?
The prime minister resigned because his political opponent wouldn’t meet with him…
A new leader is being elected this weekend, and the talking heads on TV news shows are in rare form…
Typhoons are blowing through and around the country on a weekly basis…
Zzzzzzzz… snore… zzzzzzzz…
Politics? Extreme weather? Meh…
You know what big story is really rocking our world here in Toyama?
Da da da da da da DA!
Starbucks coming to Toyama City for the first time!!!!!
Yes, who cares about national elections or extreme weather when I can walk outside of my office at work and in 5 minutes be drinking a Grande Carmel Macchiato?
I know, I know what you must be thinking: “Starbucks: big whoop! They have those every 15 feet where I live!”
Well, here in Japan, Starbucks is THE place to hang out and be seen! The cool of the cool, la creme de la creme. Up til now, we’ve had to drive 40 minutes to get our coffee fix, to a big shopping mall on the other side of the prefecture. Now, set in this brand new shopping mall I CAN SEE FROM MY OFFICE (see slideshow below), we have all the lattes, frappachinos, and sweet sweet snacks we can consume!
Whoo hooo!!
This new shopping center just opened up today, and during my lunch hour I wandered over and took these photos with my cell-phone camera. Check ‘em out!
Probably this weekend I’ll be coming down here with the family. I hope to bring a video camera with me, and I’ll be able to give you the grand tour! I know you can hardly wait!
Oh, to see bigger versions of the photos, click here.
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Google Map test
Can you see a Google Map to our home? I sure hope so. If this works, this could be an exciting feature. There are lots of cool places I can show you. With Google Maps you have the ability to include photos and video clips, so if we go on a trip, for example, I can show you the map and then include links to sights and sounds. Hmmm… sounds cool!
Wow, it works… sort of! Check it out: click on one of the control arrows and see what happens. You can zoom in and out, or drag the map around. Three map views are also accesible- try them out:
Map: Just like a regular street map (all the place names are in Japanese- sorry!)
Sat: (Satellite) This shows you a real satellite image view. Wow!
Hyb: (Hybrid) A mix of these; you can see a satellite image with roads and place names overlaid.
Oh, one cool thing: If you go into satellite view, zoom out a bit, you’ll notice that the clarity of the map really really improves only meters from our home (about 800 to be precise)! Google just recently update the satellite image of Toyama City, but unfortunately we live just outside the clear range. Someday I hope to present you all with a very clear view.
Okay, let me know if you could see this map- just add a comment below. Be aware that the map may take a few moments to load- the time will depend on your Internet connection speed. If this test works out, I’ll be doing this more, for sure!
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iPod Kids
Hey, get a load of this great new photo of Max and Luke. Cool, eh? Shinobu and I have submitted this picture to a local photo contest. We like it a lot- Max is wearing an iPod jumper that we bought online from iPopMyBaby. Luke is kissing her, like he always does. Cute, eh? He he he… or are you gagging with a spoon and rolling your eyes?
Anyway, I thought this photo would bring a smile to your face. I’ll let you all know if it wins anything! (I’m rooting for 3rd prize, a new iPod Shuffle!)
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New site design!
Hey everyone,
My mom is safely back in Florida after her visit here, and I’m now getting back into my normal routine. I’ve had a very excellent past two weeks, and I now trying to get all caught up with it. I have a lot of material for future podcasts and slideshows, but before I get to all that I have decided to change the look and design of this site. While I liked the old one, I felt it was getting too cluttered and was not as user-friendly as I felt it could be.
I hope you like the redesign. I think it’s more simple, clear, and easier to read. It’s very uncluttered, with all the links to the various pages now accessible by clicking on that little double-arrow site-menu icon in the upper right corner. Go ahead- click that icon and see what happens. It’s a very cool effect, and is a great use of space. Now I have more room for content.
Clicking this button (in the upper right corner) will cause a site menu to appear, one that looks like this:
Then you can access the other pages of this site, such as the new “Video Gallery” page. All of the videos I create will be accessible here, in one tidy location. Also new is a revamped “How to navigate this site” page, a place you can go if you get lost. In the works is a Photo Gallery page; give me a few more days to get that set up, as well as some other features as well.
Anyway, I hope you like the simplified design. I think this new look will make things better all around. I’d love your feedback- please post a comment below by clicking the “Comments” link and let me know what you think.
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Papa goes to America
Tomorrow morning I’m off to the States for a week’s visit with my family. It’ll be my first time in like 10 years to be in the States. Amazing! Time has really flown. I’ll be in Moline, Iowa, staying with dad. Dotto and mom are also flying in, and it will be a very very rare family get together. I’m really excited! The trip will be short; after a week, I’ll fly back with mom, who will get a chance to see our life here and see her grandchildren for the first time.
That’s all for now; I’ll be posting pictures and short updates from the road. If I can find some time, I’ll also try to get a new podcast up. iMovie ‘08 just came out, so I’ll try to whip something up with that.
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Friends News: Link to Erb family blog added
I’d like to point out a new link I’ve added to this site’s blogroll: “Tiny Tot Tales“, the family blog of the Erb family. The site chronicles the adventures of David and Alex’s beautiful family, especially their three gorgeous children, Nathaniel, Isabelle, and Gabriel. David and I have been friends every since our days together at The American University. He’s like a brother to me, and I’m really happy to see their happy life through the content on their site. It’s an inspiration to me, for sure!
Oh, and more good news is on the way: Alex is now pregnant with her fourth child! The baby is due in December. I know that from the very cool “baby countdown” widget they have on their site! Congratulations!
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Extended family news: Dotto Completes a Triathlon
In a bit of extended family happenings, my brother Darius (Dotto) just emailed me some great news: On Sunday, August 5th he competed in and finished the 5th annual Cayuga Lake Triathlon in our hometown of Ithaca, NY.
The event was held at beautiful Taughannock Falls State Park. I’ll let him describe his experience:
Congratulations, DT! Keep up your good work! You’re an inspiration to all of us.
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Typhoon 5 hits Japan; We’re okay
Hey all,
A few weeks ago I got all these worried messages from family and friends, asking me if we were okay because an earthquake hit nearby where we live. “What earthquake?” I said. “Oh, didn’t you feel it? It was all over the news!” people said. Well, we didn’t feel a thing even though it took place in a neighboring prefecture. It took people on the other side of the planet to tell me what was happening in my own “backyard”. Surreal, to say the least.
Yesterday a big typhoon blew through Japan (Typhoons are what they call hurricanes here in the Pacific). It hit the southernmost island of Kyushuu pretty hard, then went north up the coast. It was non-stop news for a while there, but again, we hardly were affected. About 6pm on Friday we had some pretty strong gusts of wind, but that was it- there wasn’t even any rain! Apparently it took a wide line way out in the Sea of Japan, as this graphic shows:
Another natural disaster averted! We are all fine.
Oh, one interesting point about “typhoons”: here in Japan they don’t give names to each storm like they do in the States and elsewhere- they just give them numbers. Typhoon season is now here, and we can expect about 20 storms or so to blow through. Most are not that big a deal. Very rarely do they come to Toyama, as we are protected by the mountains. It wasn’t until I found an article about the storm in English did I realize the western media had given the storm a name- Usagi, which means “rabbit.”
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Hello! My name is Gerald Talandis Jr, and I'm the webmaster of this blog. I'm using it as a tool for staying in touch with family in friends around the world. I've been in Japan since 1993 and currently teach English at the 
This is my wife, Shinobu. She's originally from 
Luke was born on July 29th, 2001. He is now an elementary school student and loves sports, like his mama. Each week, Luke swims, plays soccer, and goes to a gymnastics class. He is also studying English and dreams of visiting the USA someday and becoming an Olympic swimmer, like his hero Michael Phelps.
Our daughter Max was born on March 7th, 2007. She is currently attending nursery school and is learning to walk, talk, and eat by herself without making a mess. She is growing by leaps and bounds, and loves Micky Mouse, Hello Kitty, and Anpanman.