Traveling light

Off to pick up Anna shortly.

Last evening I was out and about and I realized that it was much clearer than it had yet been since I was here. I did not have my camera, but I was able to see mountains in the distance that I had not noticed before. So I got a cold beverage from a nearby vending machine and watched the sun go down. Later in the evening, there was two thunderstorms: one directly over us and the other over the mountains. I was able to see them both very well from my window. It definitely seems that the weather has changed and Yama-san announced to me that the the rainy season has officially ended. Now much like MT, we are due for afternoon thunderstorms.

As I mentioned, I am off to pick up Anna in a couple hours. Then a couple days in Tokyo, Sumo in Nagoya and a couple days in Kyoto. We will then either come to Nagaoka or directly to Shinjo before 4-5 days here in Nagaoka before she returns home. From then I have only 2 more weeks before this adventure is over. I am not ready for it to be over yet!

Lost count....Umi no hi today

So today is a holiday to honor the ocean. Schools have just let out for the summer and town seems quiet today. Had a good weekend and looking very much to AJD arriving tomorrow.

Here are some pictures of my apt. Outside:


















Strange locking mechanism:


















The entry way/kitchen:
























Half of the living area:


















The other half of the living area:


















It might be almost a week before I update again. In the meantime, here are some other pictures:

Days 27-29: Warming up

It's hot today. I mean hot. And humid. Have I mentioned that it is humid here before? That is one of the things I do not miss living in the Intermountain West. But it is here and I will gladly endure it for a few more weeks.

Over the next days I will try to post pictures of the mundane portion of this adventure; my apt, neighborhood, etc. Getting started:

I am living in this building you can see at the end of the street. Just in front of it is the old guy who is out stretching every morning, at least the mornings I happen to go out for coffee at 630.


















This is the main street nearby. I still cannot get used to looking the "right" way when crossing. Good thing I am now paranoid about getting hit and I check like 5 times anyway:























Lots of nice gardens nearby:


















Here is where I do most of my marketing:


















The streets are narrow and the power lines just look like a mess:

Day 26: Crazy rides

So I went exploring on the bicycle yesterday afternoon. I regret that I did not bring my bicycle as there is tons of good riding around here. Too late now. Anna arrives in a week and we will tour around and then only two weeks of nose-to-grindstone to get "something" to consider an accomplishment while I am here. Anyway, back to the bike. I rode up the road past the institute which then goes into a slot canyon. They are building a tunnel or have a tunnel planned in the future to get through. However for now it is a nice cruise up and a pretty ripping downhill. Then I ventured to the north a bit before turning up another road. I suspected that this road would do much the same thing and end. However, this road climbed up and up, much like Little Cottonwood Canyon. I kept telling myself I would go just a little further. Between the fact I was on a cruiser bike and wearing flip-flops, it was difficult. And I left the battery at home...

Unfortunately, I also left the camera at home...

So this morning, I hopped on the bike to ride to the institute and this passed me:


















How crazy is that?

Day 24 & 25: Developments

Since my last post, I went out for a few drinks with the guys. It was really fun and they fed me some different foods than I have ever had, some of which I am not in a hurry to try again namely sakura and natto. We also had a fair amount of shochu which was all good until I awoke not feeling so hot on Friday. Luckily, Yama-san was also not feeling so hot.

So now with experiments running, we take pictures daily and analyze them to determine size, area and circularity. Here are some crystals initially:























And here we are after several days:
















As you can see there is a significant difference. Now that we are up and running, I am going to have to process several hundred images like this that are generated every day. Good times at the computer...

Day 23: I found Dennis

As in Hopper, Dennis Hopper. Get it? I am positive that there is a gene for bad humor and I have it. Tho, I do not consider it bad humor!

Anyway, I found him. These guys are everywhere!


















OK back to the cold room. BTW, I am sure that the swings from +27C to -20C are not healthy.

Days 18-22: The Jack Handy edition

So we are back up and running. I have been trying to do so with my head down in order to get as much done as possible before AJD gets here (less than 2 weeks!). I spent a good chunk of the weekend getting good sleep at night which is more challenging than I anticipated. Initially, I was really tired in the evening, but would wake up at sunrise--430AM here. Now I sleep right through until my alarm goes off. Then in evenings I usually get some exercise, eat dinner and Skype with AJD before crashing hard. Not very exciting...

I was dying for a good cup of coffee and so I set out this AM to try to find a coffee shop. I settled with a Starbucks at the station which was next to the McDonald's with a KFC on the other side and down the corridor from the Body Shop. I got lost on my way home...

My desk is by the window on the 2nd floor. Usually in the morning I open the window because it is a billion degrees in the office when I get here. A frog--of which there are millions right now--climbed up and jumped into the window after looking at me through the glass for a while. As I moved toward him, he jumped out the window and flew out of sight to the ground a good 20' below. I went and looked for remains, but did not find any so I must assume he hopped away. I have decided to name him Dennis...

Now I am off to get the proper garbage bags. Sorting garbage is a full-time occupation here.

I don't have any new pictures because I haven't downloaded them in a while, but here is one from yesterday. Or is it today? Regardless, hopefully they will keep it up.

Days 16 &17: Happy 4th

A quick message to wish everyone State-side a happy 4th. It is usually one of my favorite holidays because it usually involves spending the day outside doing something fun, followed by a BBQ or good food, then fireworks in the evening. Not this year...

Don't feel bad for me tho, because Nagaoka is home to the fireworks festival which has three nights of fireworks displays among the biggest in the world. Plus, AJD will be here to see it with me. I am counting the days until she arrives and trying to keep busy with the research.

During the slow times this week, I have been able to find quite a few articles to learn more about my area of research at home. Plus, several have been authored by scientists here, so I am able to discuss the findings with them firsthand--always cool!

Anyway, I am off to the market to celebrate my 4th. Enjoy the weekend and the start of this year's Tour de Farce; we know that Bill will be watching it daily at the Rockford files...

Day 14 & 15: Research...Anniversary

So it is not officially our anniversary in the proper timezone in the US. Happy 2 years to us!

The past few days have been routine:
Get up
Exercise
Breakfast
Ride electric bike to Institute
Research stuff for my these b/c the library is kick-ass and the cryostat still isn't working
Eat lunch
Go for a walk
Continue research
Get tired between 4 and 5pm probably b/c it is 1 to 2am at home
Play on the internet
Go home
Go for a walk/ride to explore for at least 1 hr
Eat dinner
Read and sleep

Pretty exciting! Actually yesterday was pretty cool. The institute was opened to 40 students--about 5th or 6th graders. They all took turns at different stations where there were short presentations and demonstrations. All of which were very interesting. I was not able to understand what was said, but since science is universal I was able to follow what was happening.

Kamiisi-san explaining climate change:














Nakia-san taking a group into the cold lab to freeze soap bubbles:














Hirasima-san and Iwamoto-san walking with me in a nearby park after lunch:














And a picture of the locally used equipment for my father-outlaw: