kenjisan

Blogging Consolidation?

Thanks to Davextreme, I now have a standard, blog-compable Vox account. So with Kenjisan.com, allplainstapped on Live Journal, and now kenjisan.vox.com, that's three potential portals for internet expression and outlet, interestingly covering the spectrum of what Six Apart offers (all I need is a TypePad account and I'd be a true fanboy).

Each have their obvious strengths. If you're reading this, you are either bored already or know what they are, but really quickly: LJ offers a long standing, established blogger community (via Friends list), kenjisan.com offers a huge amount of customization with very little of the community aspect, and Vox is something of a happy medium that's just now starting up.

As far as having an internet voice, though, varying yet overlapping forms of communication don't seem to make a whole lot of sense. Sure, I could make the same posts on all three journals, but the assumption there is that I'm posting simply for everyone to read what I have to say, rather than spur discussion. If it's discussion that I'm after, then posting three places that don't share comments doesn't make much sense either. Another solution would be to use each for different types of posts. Another would be to abandon the old for the new.

Ah well, if this is my biggest problem, then life sure is sweet. For now, I guess I'll just have to make due (yes, I am that good ;) ).

Su-do-ku

Ever wish crossword puzzles involved more logic and less random trivia? Okay, so maybe I'm the only one, but at least for me, there's finally an answer. Sudoku. The puzzle game made its debut in the Washington Post today, as well as the Express (much to my excitement).

So what is it? It's a logic puzzle involving a 9 x 9 grid, divided into 9 3 x 3 boxes. You must fill in each row, column, and box with the number 1 through 9 without repeating any.

Where did it come from? Based on the name, you may assume it originated in Japan. In fact, Sudoku is a variation on an 18th century Swiss game called "Latin Squares," which in turn may be based on a Chinese game called "Magic Squares." In any case, Sudoku burst forth from Japan to the pages of Britain's Times (and many other publications) where its popularity has been compared to the Rubik's Cube.

I'm actually really excited about this one, particularly the fact that it'll be featured in the Express. Time to pack a pencil for those long Metro commutes.

Links:
www.sudoku.com
The Times

Bodo's Opens!

Bodo's Bagels finally opens on Corner (The Cavalier Daily)

Bobo's Bagel was "coming soon" when I first came to UVA to take a look at it. The idea of it opening is something akin to hell freezing over and pigs flying. While I'm happy for the kiddies who can easily walk down to the Corner and pick up a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel sandwich, I fear for the Apocalypse.

Still, before the fire and brimstone strike the earth, I should head on down to C-ville and see this "open Bodo's" for myself.

Edit: Also, I think it's funny that while this just happened, I've already heard about it from three separate sources.

Truce

Yeah, I'm growing a little tired of this polar bear/penguin debate, too.

Poker Tournament

Not mine. It's for charity (Youth Group Workcamp Fundraiser) but there are prizes (trip to AC and an iPod shuffle).

Details
Who: That charity above
What: No Limit Texas Hold'em Tournament, $25 buy-in
Where: Bailey's Pub & Grill (the one in the Ballston Mall)
When: May 21st (this Saturday), registration between 12:00 and 1:00, tournament begins at 1:30.
Why: Why NOT?

Register here

Story of a Phone

Kyocera SE47 Slider, you are a tank. A real tank. Here's a quick story:

Last week, either on the way from my car to the hockey rink or from the hockey rink to my car, my beloved phone fell from my gym bag to the merciless asphalt surface of Barcroft's parking lot. Later that evening (or maybe the next day), I went to look for it and couldn't find it. Thinking that I'd merely misplaced it somewhere in my house (as I'm known to do), I didn't worry too much about it. A quick trip back to the sports complex revealed that someone had turned it into lost & found. The lady handed it to me with a quiet smirk on her face. "Someone found it in the parking lot. Please sign here."

Apparently, while it lay in the parking lot, it had been run over by a car (see visual aid below).

The screen was smashed to bits. The back looked like it had been chewed by a wild animal. Broken, right? The phone's glory days had come and gone, right? I thought so, too. And then it rang.

Suddenly, the year is 1999 and I can't check to see who's calling before I answer (we didn't have Caller ID until I moved out of the house). Each call is a surprise. And if I miss a call, you know what? I won't know. That's right, primitive, huh?

Now I'm not saying that I don't have a problem that (probably) needs a quick fix, but my situation isn't as dire as I'd thought. The real question is how long can I wait before I break down and by a phone with a serviceable screen. Can I wait until this comes out? Suddenly I have a valid excuse to start shopping for a cool new gadget. In the meantime, thanks Kyocera for making a product that can be ground into the pavement by the wheel of a car and still remain functional.

Fans of the O.C.

If you've been sucked into the world of Newport Beach and Orange County, invested days of television/DVD/TiVo viewing just to get the self-referential jokes that run rampent through the show, and want an extra treat when it's all over, head over to Red Fuzzy Jesus and read Gabe's reviews. They are teh funny.

Oh, there's also some political crap on there as well.

Castaways

Every year, I get to design a stitched patch for one of our annual meetings (not one I get to go to, however). Pretty cool, huh? Not really. Stitched designs=simple. Simple=boring. The following are two designs that I did but could not use due to their complexity (the patch is only about 1 1/2 inches wide).

Clever, huh? I designed this one from scratch, so I'm pretty happy with it. Stitching, however, can't handle things on a tilt. I should have remembered this before investing all that time into it.

This one's okay and I'll probably use a varient on it. The A's and the wavy lines in the background would basically turn to mush under the stitching needle, though.

tsunami

this thing was really bothering me today and yesterday. the immensity of the loss that humanity has suffered is just now becoming clear.

when i went to kobe, i stayed with one of my mom's friends in kobe, who's the wife of the american consulate there (she's japanese, he's american). it's a family of four: the wife, husband, and two kids (college age and younger). they were on vacation in indonesia during the tsunami and survived by what was either freakish luck or a miracle. they were sight-seeing on a set of islands and were taking a ferry boat from one island to the other when it struck. had they taken the ferry that departed a half-hour earlier, they would have made it just in time to be swept away. had they missed the one they got and had to wait a half-hour for the next, they would have been swept away. as it was, they took the only ferry that survived and were stranded in the ocean, unsure of where to go until a coast guard boat picked them up.

they were delivered to a buddhist temple-turned refugee camp where food and shelter were being given to the survivors. just outside the temple, bodies were being brought and piled to be burned (i believe) due to disease.

there was only one phone booth and each person could line up to make a one minute long domestic phone call. they lined up once to call a friend in the country, asking the friend to relay back to japan that they were alive. they lined up a second time to make a phone call to the embassy, which then called the consulate in japan.

the family heard a rumor that their hotel had survived, somehow, and that their possessions may still be intact. so on the way to the airport, the tour bus (they were in a tour group) swung by the hotel. they couldn't get very close to it due to the devastation, so they were forced to walk part of the way. debris was everywhere, most of the buildings smashed down, including the hotel that stood right next to theirs. their hotel had lost part of the bottom floors, but the upper floors where the rooms were remained and they were able to make their way in and retrieve their stuff. the area had lost electricity, of course, so the interior of the hotel was pitchblack, the first floor knee deep in black water. in the water floated not only trash and debris, but bodies they could barely make out in the dark. they pushed their way through it all, retrieved their suitcases, and left.

when i look around me, i find it impossible to imagine such devastation. i watch people go in and out of target. i think about my own petty arguments and disagreements with those i love and those i don't know. i think about how i get frustrated when the metro is crowded. 140,000 people dead. many more to come from disease and famine. my god.

Trains panic after GOP victory

Umm... this isn't supposed to happen in real life, right?

Accident Partially Closes Metro's Red Line (washingtonpost.com)

Truly misc.

Some Friday thoughts I had on the way in:

• Hot coffee is good. Iced coffee is good. Why is everything in between so disgusting?
  
• The Rushmore soundtrack makes me think of Autumn, specifically Autumn in San Francisco. I need to watch that movie again.
  
• Fable is an incredible game. Last night, I got the barmaid drunk, seduced her, and married her. We have had sex three times.
  
• While getting run over by an SUV would be bad, I think it would be worse to get run over by a normal sedan.
  
• In an amazingly "Jon" moment, I'm suddenly completely overwhelmed with things I want to do and I know that I can't do them all. I need to start sacrificing things, like eating and sleeping.
  
• I'm starting to become a folk music fan. Wow.
  

Job opening at NCARB

Katie, the co-worker who used to sit right next to me, recently had a baby and decided that family was more important than career (a wise choice), which leaves an opening here at NCARB. Here's a description:

Manager, Web Communications

National association located in downtown DC seeks an experienced professional to implement and maintain the organization’s web site. Bachelor’s degree in information management, technology or in communications, four years of work experience and proficiency in HTML, JavaScripting/VBScripting, Active Server Pages databases are required. Dreamweaver, Microsoft Access, and Adobe Acrobat applications and familiarity with web protocols are preferred. If you are interested please Fax or e-mail your resume and salary requirements (a must) with cover letter to NCARB, Dir, HR 202/783-0290 zsayar@ncarb.org

Basically, you'd be taking care of the NCARB web site from the front end, dealing with day-to-day problems, and eventually overseeing the transition to this new and fancy database. If you really are interested, e-mail me and I can send you more info. If you don't have my e-mail address, leave a comment.

...all up in a cloud of smoke...

For my entire life, I’ve lived in the space between “great and monumental” events. When I was born, I dwelled in that limbo that exists for pre-schooled children. Here, I learned to walk on two legs, to communicate verbally with those around me in a semi-intelligent fashion, and to sit on a toilet and take a crap properly. In school, my time could always be measured between clear beginnings and ends: the individual days, the individual school quarters/semesters, the individual school years. Whatever new beginning I started out on, there was always a clear cut ending in sight. At the end of summer, I had what was then called “Christmas Break.” At the end of that, I had summer.

As time went on, so did this pattern. Elementary school meant middle school on down the road. Middle school was just the step in the progression towards high school, then college. Even college had its terminus in “the real world,” which didn’t necessarily mean a job, but more of an end to education.

And in the wilderness that was the real world, I started imposing my own clearly stated goals in my steady progression to somewhere. First, London, England. In London, England, I knew that eventually, I’d find my way back home, most likely DC, USA. Once back home, I floated aimlessly for a few months or so before a new direction was sighted, that being New Zealand. From then on—two years and counting—I’ve been living in that metaphorical halfway house between One Thing and Another. What happens after Another wasn’t really my concern. It would be different. It would be an adventure. And it would be there. When it was time.

Well, things change. Of course they do. Life is unpredictable, blah, blah. I’ve read it a dozen or so times in a dozen or so different forms, all bundled nicely enough to fit into a fortune cookie.

But now, for the first time in my entire life (and I say this with great solemnity and very little exhilaration), there is no clear end in sight. I’m left with vague impressions, things looming on the other side of the thick cloud of smoke that once was my New Zealand. Good things, for sure, but hazy. Murky. Uncertain. Even scary.

How do you people live like this???

I’m not one for developing any career goals, or five-year plans. I can admire those who do, even envy them, but I don’t think I’m built that way or something. Yet at the same time, I can’t not work towards something—I don’t want to live in the halfway house forever! I have this itch for something new. I wrote about it here, and again, here.

I’m not a go-go-go type of person. Everyone who knows me should know that. Yet they also know that I’m the dreamer, and I hope they know that I wish I were the traveler. Or maybe the experiencer” Definitely not the do-nothing-er.

So here I am, in the vapor that was my “plans,” (quote, unquote). Is this what they call “treading water”? I suppose things could be worse. I still have my friends, my family, my job. Much like the time spent in the earlier years (i.e. learning to take a crap), I suppose there is much to be gleaned from this experience. But for the meantime, if I appear bummed at times, it’s probably because I’m feeling bummed; and if I’m listless, it’s probably because I’m feeling listless.

If my life so far has taught me anything, it's to cope with change. Whether I've learned to do this well is debatable, but I think I've done fairly well. Losing sight of my next change isn't exactly the change I was anticipating, but hey, a life experience is a life experience, and in the end, who am I to complain about that?

Congratulations, Jess and Josh!

We all knew, it was only a matter of time. Congratulations on your engagement!!!

Poker Results: 8/11

Based on a loose poll taken after last night's poker game, it seems that "tournament" style of play (increasing blinds, winner-take-all) is the more popular choice among our friends. At a $5 buy-in, the price wasn't too steep, and since we were playing all-or-nothing, people were much less conservative than they were last week.

Last night, we had eight playing. Here are the results of last night's no-limit Texas Hold'em tournament:

1. Glynn - $25
2. Dre - $10
3. Rebecca - $5

Poker Wednesdays

The poker tournament sponsored by AU's women's hockey team at Dremo's this weekend has once again peaked my interest in starting up a regular game. (Somehow finding myself at the final table was also fun, too.) I've set up a yahoo group for those interested. I don't know what everyone's e-mail addresses are (after the current round of e-mail shuffling), so if you're interested and haven't received an invite, then just e-mail either me, or the group at pokeratsunset@yahoo.com.

The game will be Texas Holdem'. I'm thinking about running the rules like this:

• no-limit
  
• $5 (or $10) buy-in, winner-take-all
  
• increasing blinds every half hour or so
  
• maybe an opportunity to buy back in after an hour... not sure about this one
  

The rules will need to be tweaked, but they'll be generally like that. If you sign up to the yahoo group, there's no obligation to play every week, although I'm going to try to keep one going each week. It should be a good time though, and a fairly cheap evening.

Why I love my iPod

As I got on the Metro in Rosslyn, Howard Hello's "My Friend" came on. I was instantly put in a good mood, listening to the song build as I was hurled through the dark tunnels below the city. Exiting the metro, scaling the escalator with all the rest, "Parasite" hit just as the turn-still clunked open in front of me. With that strange coincidence, I felt like I was cut free, ready to run through the world. Morning light filtered down on me to the chorus of "murdering your mind..."

I couldn't stop smiling.

Driving Lessons

I have a few. Judging from the number of times I've encountered this idiocy this weekend, people need to remember that you do not stop at flashing yellow lights. Stop at flashing reds. Flashing yellows indicate to slow down, be wary of crossing cars, but no stopping.

Also, please note Glynn's discovery here:

It turns out that you can't turn left on red from a one-way street onto another one-way street in DC. CT, ME, MO, NH, NJ, RI and SD are the other states that disallow this logically permissable maneuver.

Finally, I'm sure most of the Virginia-dwellers are aware that Virginia has enacted a number of newer (and harsher) laws regarding DUIs. There was a rumor that drivers with a blood alcohol content of 0.04 would be charged with drunk driving. Thankfully, this proved to be just that, a rumor. The new laws are designed to be harsher for those caught driving with a BAC of 0.15 or higher, and for repeat offenders.

The Belvoir Eagle has a nice summary of the laws here:
And the Washington Post has a longer, more in depth article.

Pen twirling

I think this is cool. Others may think it's ridiculous. Others may roll their eyes. Others may have finally found something to admire. Others may be inspired.

http://www.koreus.com/files/200406/jonglage_stylo_doigt.html

All credit goes to glynnenstein. Thanks for exploring the weird of the internet.

Bureaucracy—YEA!

I once posted here about the triviality of bureacracy. I have come to learn in the past few days that I have done the ever-turning-gears-of-man a gross disservice. While we may bitch about how long it takes for an insurance claim to go through, or to get help with a little computer problem from tech support, or return an order made online, or do ANYTHING at the DMV, ultimately, the system is there to protect you—sorry to presume, it's there at least to protect me.

Without going into the details, I am now a satisfied member of the "gears-of-man" mentioned above. I was having a problem with jobs/tasks/"ideas" coming to me at work from another department. Now, these ideas must be first cleared with the head of the other department, then by the head of my department, before they end up on the desk. Yes, maybe our forms won't get updated quite as fast as before, but at least now it'll save me the headache of making changes that I later find out are not sanctioned. A card-carrying member of the evil machine? Yes. A happy employee? I'm one of those now, too.

Moving... again

It's official. This weekend I'm packing up my things and relocating. The lease has run out in the current location and the lease holders are leaving. That means I am, too. Sometimes, I feel like I'm in one of those old-school, side-scrolling video games, running along a platform that is quickly collapsing behind me. There's no time to think much in situations like these, but I will try.

First, there's that impermanence that moving always reminds me of. That one's obvious. I've found that the closer the date comes for the move, the more anxious and ready I am for it. I think this is just part of my nature. I recognize that something's coming to an end, and this means that there's something else about to begin. And rather than concentrate too much on the ending stuff, I look forward to the beginning stuff. This is optimism at its best, right? Enthusiasm for something new? I want to hold off any naive-notions that it'll be just like/even better than last time. Like when you're dating someone new, it's not fair to compare them to your ex?

Of course, that's not really humanly possible. Or it's really hard, anyway. So for now, I'll let me childish (or is that child-like?) enthusiasm guide me towards a happy, different, and new living situation.

More like "bureaucrazy"

I just had a really strange conversation with a lady from FedEx. As some of you know, they lost Cyndi’s iPod mini about month ago (spoiling what was going to be a wonderful birthday surprise, I might add). Every week or so, I get a call from someone over there at FedEx (always a different person) explaining the “status” of my “inquiry.” Today’s conversation went something like this:

FedEx lady: I’m just calling to tell you that the invoice hasn’t dropped on your claim made on May 18, but when it does, I can start working on it.
Me: What does it mean for an “invoice to drop.”
FedEx lady (slightly annoyed): It means I haven’t received payment [whatever that means].
Me: Okay, and when this happens, what are you going to do?
FedEx lady (now really annoyed): I’m going to start working on your inquiry.
Me: And what does that mean?
FedEx lady (as though I'm an idiot): I’m going to send you a letter telling you that work has begun on your inquiry.
Me: Okay, thank you. Bye!

Yeah, I know…

How many blades did you say?

Returning from Japan, I somehow misplaced my trusty Gillette Mach3 razor that I'd been using for the majority of the whisker-growing portion of my life. Since I'd so recently decided not to be overly sentimental about the materials of life (a conclusion I came to in Japan after acruing, then throwing away, seemingly hundreds of slips of paper: ticket stubs, train passes, receipts, flyers, handkerchief packets), I decided not to worry too much about my lost razor and went out to buy another. Seeing the variety at my disposal, I hesitated grabbing another Gillette, even the brand new Mach3 Power, eyeing the infamous Schick Quatro.

Four blades! I know, right?

I bought the Quatro, seduced not only by that fourth blade, but also by the medicating strip it professed. Yup, the blades were slightly more expensive than the Gillette ones, but if I could achieve a superior shaving experience, then maybe I wouldn't need to shave as often.

Well, shortly thereafter, I found my original Mach3, and this, in turn, prompted an experiment: I'd alternate razor blades and determine, in my own little way, which I thought was, indeed, the best a man could get. After three weeks of experimentation, the results are in. Whether it's a long term bias or the heart-wrenching determination of James M. Kilts, CEO and President of Gillette Company in an article I read (see below), I've found that the Gillette razor really does give me a better shave. Whether four blades is just too much for my face to handle, or Schick just hasn't figured out the ideal configuration, the Quatro was always sub-par.

The Onion produced an article back in February about how Gillette was considering leap-frogging the four-blade trend, heading right for five blades (Fuck Everything, We're Doing Five Blades). He explains, "If two blades is good, and three blades is better, obviously five blades would make us the best fucking razor that ever existed." Well, James M. Kilts, five blades or not, I, at least, will not be switching brands any time soon.

O-namae wa

Okay, so this is a repeat of an LJ post, but I think it's funny enough to repost here. Yes, my "Japanese" name is different from my Japanese name.

My japanese name is ?? Saruwatari (monkey on a crossing bridge) ?? Kaito (big dipper of the ocean).
Take your real japanese name generator! today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Name Generator Generator.

I'd also like you to meet my brother, Pat, or as we like to call him, "healthy and plump."

My japanese name is ?? Saruwatari (monkey on a crossing bridge) ?? Kenta (healthy and plump).
Take your real japanese name generator! today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Name Generator Generator.

iPod Commute

I take a certain gulity pleasure in listening to my iPod during my morning and afternoon commutes. Pleasure, because I enjoy the random soundtrack to something as mundane as a jostled ride through DC's underground. Guilty, because of the further disconnect those headphones give me.

A city's such a strange place. It's cliched to say that it's a place filled with more people than anywhere else, yet with so few real connections. I commute. Others commute. I literally rub against a hundred strangers in a day. And yet there's no sense of community. A lot of times, this bothers me, and it never seems more obvious than when I've got my Eggo headphones on and most of the other shmucks don't. Before, I'd be left alone with my thoughts. Now, I'm left alone with Four Tet. Nothing has changed, yet the division can now be heard.

At times, I feel like I should take off my headphones and open my ears. I should listen to the blaring of horns, to the metro conductor, to the babbling tourists. Those are truly the sounds of the city. Right?

On being content

In the end, each life is irreducible to anything other than itself. Which is as much as to say: lives make no sense.
-Paul Auster, The Locked Room

Being content has always gotten a bad wrap. If you’re content, you’ve settled. Yes, things could be better, but why bother? Right? I’ve always thought this. I’ve always violently denied being content like it was some kind of social responsibility for me to be looking forward. But you know what? I’m pretty content right now. And you know what else? I’m happy.

I’m not sure how to explain this apparent contradiction. Maybe I’m happy that I’m able to be content. Yeah, I could be happier—maybe—if I had more money, or a better job, or a faster car. But if we’re talking relativity, then I could also be worse off, with crappier versions of those things. I don’t put a whole lot of energy into picking apart my life, into thinking about these things. I’m not really an introspective person, contrary to what many of you probably think. I like being quiet, I like observing things around me. Just not myself.

I guess I just don’t see the point. For me, anyway. Like Auster says up there, lives are so freakin’ crazy. You never know what life will bring, or where you’ll end up, or what will happen. And, whether my reasons are justified or not, I am, at my core, happy. No fooling around here. If that means I find myself content, then fuck it, I’ll be content.