Before traveling, I like to go to used book sales such as the Phoenix VNSA to get books about the places where I will travel. In the case of guide books, they are frequently updated yearly with only small changes. Basically, any book in the smart phone era will still serve its purpose years later. …
I started this at 108 days until my trip to Japan and have not missed a day, through holidays, busy work days, and travel. Looking back, it was an interesting exercise that gave me a chance to play with the blogging capabilities of ChatGPT and go further into a little Japanese history. The short posts …
When preparing to travel to a place it is easy to overlook the basics such as what to do when at a restaurant. I had Chat GPT construct a dialogue that might help give an example of how one might study and prepare for basic interactions abroad (we could obviously coach this into a much …
How man pictures do you take when you travel? How frequently do you look at them after you return home? After five years? After ten years? After more? Here is a picture I took yesterday of a Gila Woodpecker eating a cactus fruit:
Just like the old World Book encyclopedias, I could spend hours looking at old maps on wikipedia. There is so much information about Japan, the Dutch, and cross cultural interactions in the above map from 1890. How will people view the maps we have today in 2190?
Some words from Thich Nhat Hanh: Every morning when we wake up, we should be able to be aware that a new day is offered to us, to live. A twenty-four brand-new hour’s day is being offered to us, to live. It would be a pity if we were not capable of receiving the gift …
Now that the half-marathon is over, it is a clear path to the journey to Japan. I am going to celebrate by starting two workouts per day. A morning run and weights or something else in the evening. Put in the hard work now and enjoy the vacation later!
At 1:37:22, the Lost Dutchman Half wasn’t nearly my fastest half marathon. Actually, it is probably one of my slower races. With that said, it is a result I am really proud of coming off of a tough marathon one month ago and little more than a month to recover. The race had a beautiful …
On for free right now, if your country does not have a subscription service is the J-League. They will stream four games every week for free. It seems like a smart decision to get overseas fans. The J-League, or the Japan Professional Football League, is the top professional soccer league in Japan. It was founded …
The art of Japanese gardening has a long and fascinating history, with its roots dating back to the Asuka period (592-710) when Japan was heavily influenced by Chinese culture. It was during this period that the practice of Buddhism was introduced to Japan, which heavily influenced the design of Japanese gardens. The use of gardens …