Suspicion

I've always been a bit suspicious that some of the airport security practices currently in place in the States are designed to make passengers feel like much is being done to protect their safety, while in reality the practices do little to protect passenger safety.  This suspicion grew stronger while in Japan.  

We flew on two domestic flights while in Japan.  The first time I don't think I even emptied my pockets.  There were restrictions against carrying plastic drink bottles, but that's about it.  Before putting my carry-on through the x-ray machine, the security official asked if I had any plastic drink bottles or dangerous items in my possession.  I responded that I did not and he directed me through the metal detector...with my shoes, belt, and jacket on.  Not even so much as a peep from the metal detector. 

I figured the lax security must be because these were domestic flights (maybe more of a focus on making sure questionable individuals don't get into the country to start with).  However, when we departed Japan to come back to the States, the experience was the same.  

Is Japan more relaxed on their airport security?  Maybe so, but I honestly find that a bit hard to believe.  Having lived in Japan I have a great respect for the country's culture and its people.  They may do things differently than we do in the States but often with similar, or better, results (quickly ask yourself what brand of car you drive, TV you watch, stereo you listen, etc.).  I have a feeling that my safety is being protected just as well at airports in Japan as in the States, but through other means.

I don't want to scare anybody, but a few weeks ago I read the article here.  It's about a reporter who has managed to get through airport security using fake boarding passes as well as carrying various restricted items (pocketknife, box cutter, 24 oz. of beer, and the list goes on).  He goes on to quote "security guru" Bruce Schneier: "Counter terrorism in the airport is a show designed to make people feel better.  Only two things have made flying safer: the reinforcement of cockpit doors, and the fact that passengers know now to resist hijackers."

I won't claim to be an expert on the matter, but found Goldberg's article and Schneier's opinion very interesting.  Is airport security truly protecting us against the next terrorist attack or is Schneier correct in saying "the whole system is designed to catch stupid terrorists" and we're potentially letting the smart ones through? 

Life's Good

I found our two week trip to Japan very refreshing. Of the times I've been to Japan, I have to say I definitely had the most fun this time around. Maybe it had to do with getting away from work for a prolonged period of time, but the trip reminded me that life truly is good. I had started to forget that after 6+ months of 50-60 hour weeks at work.

I thought I was mature when I got married, but over the last year and a half I've learned a lot from my wife (and her family) and discovered that in some ways I'm not as mature as I thought I was. I'm learning not to sweat the small stuff so much. And I'm learning that the very nature of "work" in today's world means that there will always be more to do than you possibly can get done. One of my goals this year is for a standard work week to be 40-45 hours, with maybe a 50 hour week here and there as needed. My personal life and health are far more important than killing myself to keep the bosses happy. As I heard one of my co-workers say once, my employer will not be at my funeral.

So, I've been trying to remind myself that life is good. Given the current economic situation I'm grateful to have a good paying job, and as far as I can tell, job security. When things go to crap at work or I'm feeling overwhelmed, I recite my mantras: "I love my job" and "Life is good". And I'm making more of an effort to leave the stress and worries of work at work.

But ask me midway through tomorrow and you might get a different response....

Deep breath..."I love my job"..."Life is good"...

Hayai!

During our travels in Japan we rode the "bullet train" (shinkansen) a few times.  One of the shinkansen we rode was "Hayate" to get us to Tokyo on our journey home.  According to Wikipedia, Hayate has a top speed of 275 km/h...that's 172 mph!

While standing on the platform one day while waiting for our train, there were several other shinkansen that passed through the station without stopping.  I doubt they're going the full 172 mph when they go through a station, but they're moving along pretty well.  It's enough to give you a rush (and enough for my wife to tell me to step further back on the platform, despite the boyish grin on my face).  A video doesn't quite do it justice, but check out this video to get a feel for it: Video of Hayate Passing Through Fukushima Station.

(By the way, hayai! = fast!)

There's a Tear in My Sake

Every New Year's Eve in Japan they have the "Kouhaku Uta Gassen" (Red/White Song Battle).  Musicians of Japan who were popular that year are split into two teams (red team = female artists, white team = male artists) and perform their songs.  At the end of the night a winning team is chosen based on votes from the studio audience as well as text messages from those watching by tv.  While watching "Kouhaku" this past New Year's Eve I realized that the Enka singers tend to be much more talented than the J-pop singers.

Enka is a Japanese form of music.  It's often said to be similar to American country music.  However, the only similarity is really lyrical themes.  I'd say that enka is probably closer to lounge singing in terms of musical style.

New Year's Eve we also watched part of an enka flashback show.  I was very impressed by the voice of one singer in particular: Misora Hibari.  I bought a two CD set of her best hits before we came home.  You can hear one of her songs here.

Incidentally, a black American has recently become a very popular enka musician in Japan.  He goes by "Jero".  He sang on "Kouhaku" this past New Year's Eve.  You can hear the song he sang on "Kouhaku" here.

 

Bicycle

In my previous post I mentioned that I was nervous about speaking Japanese during my trip to Japan.  I found that it came back fairly easily.  This just reaffirmed what I already knew - the best way to study/learn a language is to travel to the country where that language is spoken and immerse yourself in it.

I also found it interesting that despite the fact that I haven't done any serious Japanese language study in over three years that my listening comprehension has improved significantly.  I could better understand tv shows and even the scratchy announcements by the conductor over train PA systems than when I was last in Japan three years ago.  A few people even mentioned that they thought my Japanese is better than it was three years ago.

I suppose some of the credit needs to go to my wife since her influence allows me more exposure to Japanese than I would have otherwise.

Why English Sucks

We're getting ready to leave for a trip to Japan in a couple weeks and I admit I'm nervous.  I hear or use Japanese daily with my wife, but that's much different than interacting in more formal situations with people I barely know.  Japanese is a tough language, but I'm often grateful I didn't have to learn English as a second language.  Try reading the poem below out loud.  If you're like me, you'll mispronounce at least one word.  The excerpt below was shared as part of the adult literacy tutor training I just completed.

An Excerpt from "The English Lesson" by Richard Krogh

(I found the full poem here: The English Lesson)

I take it you already know

Of tough and bough and cough and dough?

Others may stumble, but not you,

On hiccough, thorough, slough and through?

Well done! And now you wish, perhaps,

To learn of less familiar traps?

Beware of heard, a dreadful word

That looks like beard and sounds like bird,

And dead: it's said like bed, not bead - 

For goodness sake don't call it deed!

Watch out for meat and great and threat

(They rhyme with suite and straight and debt).

A moth is not a moth in mother,

Nor both in bother, broth in brother,

And here is not a match for there

Nor dear and fear for bear and pear,

And then there's dose and rose and lose -

Just look them up - and goose and choose, 

And cork and work and card and ward,

And font and front and word and sword,

And do and go and thwart and cart - 

Come, come, I've hardly made a start!

A dreadful language? Man alive!

I'd mastered it when I was five!

And yet to write it, the more I tried.

I hadn't learned it at fifty five.

Legal

My wife's Green Card arrived in the mail early this week.  It's very nice to have that out of our way.  Now we just have to remember to have the conditions removed one year and nine months from now.

We're looking forward to the fact that both of us will be able to go through the short line when coming through Immigration after our trip to Japan.  Now if we could just find a way to get me in the short line when entering Japan...

I'm Giving Up

Every few days I'll try to read a news article or two in Japanese.  Today was one of those days.  I could easily tell by the headline that the article was about the DOW (in the United States) falling yet again.  I click on the headline - the entire article is only a few sentences.  Excellent.

My wife happened to come in the room and complimented me on reading an article in Japanese.  She challenged me to read it out loud.  I started to read, and was highly confident because I knew the following word: "市場".  I learned this word, and how to read it, over eight years ago in one of the first cities I lived in while in Japan.  So, when I come to that word I say "ichiba".  Simple.  It means market.  My wife corrects me.  

Wife: "No, it's 'shijou'."  

Me: "But isn't it 'ichiba'?"

Wife: "Yes.  When it's a fruit or vegetable market, it is 'ichiba'.  When it is the stock market, or the housing market it is 'shijou'."

Why do I even try?

pwn

My wife got her driver's license last year, so we bought a new Honda Fit for her to drive. We paid a significant down payment, and put the rest on a two year loan (the salesman from the Honda dealer called me when processing the sale to confirm we really wanted the two year, since most people go for the five year).

I detest paying interest.

We've been paying as much as we reasonably can each month, and got the loan paid off at the end of October. The title came in the mail the other day, and it feels good to know that it is now actually "our" car. It makes my blood boil to think about the fact that over the last year and two months we've paid roughly $500 in interest.

The next goal is to keep my car running long enough so that we can save and pay for our next car in cash.

I detest paying interest.

Depressing

Engineers do funny things, like calculate their effective hourly wage based on monthly salary and work hours. Then they realize with the long hours they've been working lately that on an hourly basis they're making less money than they were three years ago when they first started working for their current employer.

Aren't engineers dumb?

Reclosable Bag

My wife has forced me to throw away all of my undershirts that had even the smallest hole in the armpit. Luckily, she was also nice enough to buy me some new undershirts. It always amazes me when I buy new undershirts or underwear because they come in reclosable bags. Fruit of the Loom even proudly prints on the side of the bag "Reclosable Bag" with arrows pointing to the end of the bag that is....you got it, reclosable.

Maybe it's just me, but when I get new undershirts I tend to remove them from the bag they come in, wash them, and store them in my dresser. Am I missing something about the convenience of reclosable undershirt bags?

I Smoke Pot!?

I had a bit more eventful drive home today than usual. About a mile from work, there was a "crash! clatter, clatter, clatter..." and suddenly the sound from my car's exhaust became quite a bit louder. Apparently it had something to do with this:

I'd already lost the muffler a few years ago, but now that I've lost more of the exhaust pipe, the exhaust comes out right under the passenger area of the car. It's unbearable. 2000 rpm = headache. I have to get this fixed.

Speaking of not having a muffler, it reminds me of a fun story.


One day I was driving home from work, minding my own business, and obeying all traffic laws....I saw a sheriff's cruiser in my rearview mirror. He didn't have his lights or sirens on, but I just had this feeling he was following me and was going to pull me over. The stoplight turns red and I stop. The sheriff's deputy flashes his lights. Just as I suspected. I turn on to the side road.

(While I have paraphrased below, I promise that I don't make any exaggerations.)


Deputy: Do you know why I pulled you over?


Joe: No, I honestly don't.


Deputy: You hear that? (points to rear of car)


Joe: Oh, my muffler? Or lack thereof?


Deputy: Yup. License and proof of insurance, please. Where do you work?


Joe: [INSERT NAME OF EMPLOYER HERE].


Deputy: Then don't you think you could afford a new muffler?


Joe: Yes, I suppose I could.


Deputy: Wait a minute while I check your records.


Several minutes pass and deputy returns...


Deputy: Okay, I'm going to just give you a warning. You can do with it what you want. I don't care. I can't force you to get your muffler fixed. But Officer XXXX has warned you - you should know that driving a Honda that sounds like that will draw unwanted attention. Police will think you're some 18 year old kid who thinks he's in the "Fast and the Furious", and they all smoke pot, right?


Joe: I have no idea if they smoke pot.


Deputy: Well, you know what I'm saying. I'm not saying I age-profile, or racial-profile, but you don't want to put out the wrong image - it will draw attention to you.


Joe: Okay. Thanks. I appreciate it, officer.

Joe: (thinking to self as driving home) Was he trying to imply that I smoke pot?

Cousins

Cousins. I have a lot. On my mother's side of the family, there's a total of 24 of us (if I counted right). When we were younger we all spent a lot of time playing together at Sunday family dinners and on holidays at my granparents' house (which are some of my fondest childhood memories). After this weekend, one more of my cousins is married. It's hard to believe we're all getting old enough to be adults, get married, and have children.

I'm glad some of us are still able to get together on special occasions to celebrate together and get caught up.

Pin...Fire...

I can just imagine the "conversation"...

Chinese translator: Pin [makes action of removing pin from object]...fire...

Native English speaker: Hand grenade?

Chinese translator, incredibly happy with himself/herself, records translation as "hand grenade".

And just in case anyone thinks I'm discriminating, we native English speakers do it too. Take a look - poor Kimberly. Unfortunately, she got her name tattooed on her back in upside down Japanese characters.

How Much Will...

Note: I'm making every attempt to avoid a tacky pun in this post - the italicized text below indicates where I made these attempts.

Last night my wife and I got home from vacation in Minnesota with my family. We had a good time, and also impressed ourselves with the luggage capacity of the Fit. The Fit is suitable for carrying a surprising amount of stuff. I mean, who would think that such a small car would be adapted to carrying so much luggage, or the right size or shape to haul small furniture? (Thank you Random House Thesaurus!)

As you can see below, once we had loaded the car up for vacation, we discovered its accouterments to be more than adequate for hauling one week worth of luggage for two people.

How much more will fi... er... can we put in?

However, since we returned home via Ikea, Mitsuwa, and Trader Joe's in Chicago, the additional capacity went to good use.

About that much, and then some...

Oh, and did I mention we had a great time at the lake with my family?

Yes, I'm on vacation. Now leave me alone.

Bless This Mess

This weekend my wife officially moved in with me - we finished unloading the truck around 9:00 last night. The apartment's a mess, but I don't care. She's sitting at her desk right next to mine, at her own computer.

I keep catching myself smiling like a little kid.

Disappointment

I had waited so long, and when the opportunity finally came once again...disappointment.

I've been meaning to try a fried Snickers bar for several years now, but always forget to at fair time. I remembered tonight. Unfortunately, the fried Snickers ended up tasting like a melted Snickers (yuck) in batter.

Oh well, at the least the truck pulls were good and I had good company.

You Might Be A Redneck If...

Though we never farmed, nor ever owned any tractor larger than something big enough to mow the lawn, my dad used to take me and my brother to the tractor pull at the county fair. Fond childhood memories...now that I'm grown and work in diesel engine development, I find truck and tractor pulls just as enjoyable as when I was a kid.

Last year I took my wife to the demolition derby, too. Too bad she won't be here on Friday night...

Go ahead, call me a redneck. I don't care.

...black smoke from a tractor gets you excited...

The Important Questions

So, on the Fourth of July I was doing the patriotic thing - cooking bratwurst. I've always wondered why they come in packs of five. Looks like I'm not the only one, but this guy actually took the time to write Johnsonville: Why Brats Come in Packs of Five


Now I know - 19.76 ounces.

The Last Drive

Last weekend I made what I think was my last full roundtrip journey between Illinois and Michigan to visit my wife. I'll do the trip oneway in a few weeks in a Uhaul truck when we move her to Illinois.

Before I left on Sunday, we had brunch with some of my wife's friends. One of her friends asked if I would miss making the drive - I quickly responded that no, I would not. Since I've, on average, probably made the 12 hour roundtrip drive two times a month for the last three years, I've, well, gotten quite bored with it. To further emphasize my point, here are the highlights from my drive home last week:

1. Last year I bought my wife a Honda Fit. You know how it is once you buy a certain car - you start noticing many more of them when you're out driving. On the six hour drive home a saw five blue and one silver Honda Fit Sports. I'm a fan of the blue...and apparently everyone else is too.
2. Several fireflies had the pleasure of getting up close and personal with my windshield after dark. The blobs of their remains continued to glow for a brief period after their demise. It looked kind of cool.
3. I was cruising along at 75 mph and got passed by a Corvette convertible probably doing ~100 mph. I was hoping to see the Corvette pulled over by a Michigan State Trooper several miles later, but I never got the satisfaction.