Trip: Day 5 -> Great Buddha

Sorry for not updating yesterday but I thought since I was going back to work today and that I would not have much too report, I would keep my Sunday trip for today.

It started out as a beautiful day, a lot nicer then the day before. We wanted to go see the Great Buddha, located in Kamakura. When we arrived there, we were approached by two Japanese girls, Waka and Akiko. They give free tours to English speaking tourist to help them develop their English. We agreed and our tour started.



They explained to us that the Gate was the entrance to the Temple and it kept the evil away. There were two dogs in front of the gate, the right one with his mouth open which would make the "Aww" sound and the left with his mouth closed would make the "Hmm" sound. In Japanese culture, this signifies harmony.

The road beyond the gate is only 600m long but looks a lot longer, this is because the road becomes smaller as you travel it. Mainly as a choke point against enemies.

They also explained to us the procedure before entering sacred grounds, you need to wash your hands and mouth with water before entering. You first wash you left hand, then your right, pour water in the left hand and wash you mouth, wash the left hand again and then let the rest of the water wash the stick.



The girls told us that at this place, there would be traditional Japanese dances performed and during these days, is used for marriages.

The tree holds importance since the enemy hid behind it to kill the samurai.

After visiting the temple, we went to get some food. Good thing the girls were with us since there was not any english in the menu at the restaurant.

After diner, we went to see the Great Buddha, a 127 tonnes bronze statue which stands at 13.35 meters tall. There is an even bigger one in Nara. It is quite impressive.



After seeing the great buddha, we said our goodbyes to the girls and left to see the biggest Chinatown in Japan. It took a while to find it, but trust me, you could not miss it. It's like Broadway in New York, lights everywhere and jam packed with people. Sadly, most of my pictures did not turn out good in Chinatown...



That was our Sunday, quite an enjoyable day. If you ever found yourself visiting during the weekend, try to find girls or boys with a sign "free english tour" or something like that. It's a lot more interesting and informative to have somebody explain customs like how to wash yourself before entering sacred town, how to make a wish at temples ( witch is, throw a 5 cents, bow twice, clap twice, make your wish and bow again) and even the fortune paper that you tie on a string.

Trip: Day 4 -> Tokyo City

Well we went to Tokyo city today. It's a lot more English friendly there compared to Shin-Yokohama. We started by going to Akihabara, the gadget district. Crazy, there is so much stuff there. The only problem was that a lot of stores were still closed when we got there...


This photo was taken right after getting off the train. You can see Laox, it's a big electronics stores, I think there were 7 or 8 floors.

We then went to Ueno, there is a big park there with zoo and temples.


Me in front of brass lanterns.

More pictures of temples and the sort.






We then finished the day at Ginza district, which is a shopping district. We were looking at Kimonos, they start at 800$ and can go to 2000$+

We then went to the Sony Building. Now that's my kind of place! You should see the TV's they have. They also have some really nice cameras, small, so small. I was looking at the PSP, they are cheaper here, you could save 70$.

At the end of the day, we were dead tired. Well time for me to go to bed.

Trip: Day 4 -> Tokyo

So the weekend is upon us and we are going to visit Tokyo today. We are leaving in an hour or so. I should have pictures tonight on the blog.

Stay tuned!

Trip: Day 3 -> Sick

Well, sorry for not updating yesterday but we worked late plus I am really sick, I did not feel good at all yesterday. The other guy from work arrived yesterday and we went out to a café for piece of pie, except it was not pie, even if it looked a lot like it but was a quiche.
With work, there is no time to visit a bit but we should have some time this weekend.

Trip: Day 2 -> Body All Screwed Up

Well, after a full day, my body is still not understanding why we are eating at these god awful hours. Normal hours here but body still thinks it's -14 hours. The whole day I was not hungry, me, not hungry! I still had lunch, a lunch box with rice, Japanese hamburger meat and some vegies, it also came with some kind of soup and tea. The lunch was good but I have to admit, I miss having something cold to drink.

Anyways, I was pretty good during the day but when I got back to the hotel, I really felt the fatigue. I managed to go walk a bit and somehow, I forgot to bring the camera! It's really weird not being able to read anything.

Man, I'm watching TV while writing this, it's amazing the amount of, I don't even know how to say it, of added effects they add to the show. Like text, drawings, flashing stuff. But it's like in every show I've watched now.

Trip: Day 2 -> Breakfast

So I was told that Japanese breakfast is quite different from North American. Well they were right but by no means is it bad. I quite enjoyed it. Who does not like deep fried chicken in the morning. : )

While eating breakfast, I was looking outside and it's quite weird to see so many people with masks on. I know that it's the flu season but wow. I've seen it on TV but I never taught there was so many.

So my experience with the bathroom, well, I have to say that heated seats is quite fun in the morning. : )

Now I'm waiting to go to work.

Trip: Day 1 -> The Hotel

Ya well, it took a while to find a taxi to get to the hotel. Let me tell ya, it's my first experience with all this "Drive on left side" and let me tell you, it's fucking scary at first. On the first turn the driver took, I was sure I was going to die. I'm not driving here, never! Now I know why so many use bikes. While we are on the subject of bikes, when I got out of the train at Shin-Yokohama, I saw this field of bicycles and scooters. I mean, there is no way you can imagine the number of bicycle, you just can't! In Montreal, you'll be lucky to find 5 bicycles park at a metro station, here there were more than a 100 bicycles! No joke. I'll try to get a picture.

So back to the hotel, after passing over the English problem, I finally get to my room. I will try to show you as I saw it.



Ok so not that bad, it took forever to find the switch but when I found it, it was then that I realized how small this place is.



That's it! Wait, you haven't seen the bathroom yet...



For the people who has seen my place, I estimate that my hotel room is a bit, tiny bit bigger then my bathroom in my apartment.

Well, tomorrow I go to work... I can't wait to see what Japan has in store for me.

Trip: Day 1 The Arrival

Ouch, I have to say that arriving to Narita Airport is daunting at first. You barely see English, all you hear is Japanese, it's just weird. I had to take the train from Narita to Tokyo Station... The guy selling tickets did not understand much English. I got the ticket no problem, but it was for a train at a specific time and after just coming out of the plane, I had no clue the time it was. I was trying to ask for the time, but he had no idea what I was asking because he was just saying all the numbers on my ticket, first it was the time of the train, then the train wagon itself. At that point I knew it was pointless and that I just had to go to the train.

From Narita, it's quite easy to find the train. Now I got to where I think I was supposed to be, but looking at the ticket, it was quite hard to figure out where exactly, there was a lot of numbers and all the text was in Japanese. finally, a women sat beside me and I noticed she was reading an english book! I ask her if I was at the right train, she said that I was but I had to move down since my wagon was #2.

While waiting for the train, I met this American who was going to Tokyo for a couple of days. By pure luck, his seat was right beside mine, so we talked about Japan and trips in general during the hour trip to the Tokyo Station.

Ok now, I had said that Narita was easy to figure out, well Tokyo Station is the complete opposite. It was hell, pure hell! I've never felt so lost in my life. I somehow managed to take the right train but I had to ask a couple of persons on the way. The ticket this time was worst then my first because it was a "No Reserve" ticket, which means, there is no seat associated with the ticket, which implies that you can take any train going your direction. Think of the worst subway station you've been too, add 10X the number of trains coming and going from that station and add the complexity of the language barrier which is worst then a French - English barrier, trust me!

On the train to Shin-Yokohama, there was this guy, we will call him the train police. He wanders from wagon to wagon, I would guest making sure all is good. Anyways, the thing, when entering a wagon, he bows and also when leaving. These Japanese are so very curteous.

The thing that was most fascinating, was that everything is so clean, I mean I could eat on the ground it's so clean. The trains so clean and shiny, you would feel bad entering with wet shows. I hear the subway is as clean!

Trip: Off And Away 2

Ok so the movies just suck on this flight. I mean, I watched Midnight Run, an old movie in the 80's. So I was seated beside this cute Japanese girl but she was super shy and slept most of the way. The trip in the plane was ok but man it was long, I'm glad it's over.

Trip: Day 1 -> Off And Away

So it's been about half an hour since we have taken off from Vancouver for Japan. It's been an interesting day so far. It started this morning with most seats for the flight to Vancouver being all screwed up. I got to the airport a bit later than expected and had no time to get some breakfast. Anyways, I think we took off like 45 minutes late. The trip to Vancouver was ok, the plane was full.

We got to Vancouver at around 11:30 AM and my flight was leaving for 12:10 so again no time to eat. I am currently writing this and I can feel my belly grumble by the lack of food. I had asked to get a seat with a plug for the laptop but it did not happen, so it looks like I'll be watching Battlestar Galactica late.

I see that Cinderala Man is starting... Hmm don't feel like watching it. I hope they will be serving food soon.

Trip: Day 1 -> Departure

Well, I'll be leaving soon for the Airport. It's funny, I don't think it has sink in yet that I'm going to Japan. It feels like any ordinary trip I take to the US.

Trip: Day Before I Leave

So I'm leaving tomorrow for Japan. This being a business trip, I'm dependant on some information provided by my company. As of right now, I still do not know if I have hotel reservations. : )

Now it's just to get ready for tomorrow.

Later

Personal: Going To Japan!

Weee! So finally, after 7 years at work, I've finally landed on a project that has clients in Japan and they are sending me there soon. Technically, I'll be leaving this weekend but the date could change.

When I'll be there, I'll blog my experience. It should be interesting. I'll have nice pictures and all. :)

Movie: Hard Candy

Just saw the preview for the movie Hard Candy. Looks creepy. It's about a guy who invites a 14-year-old girl he meet on the internet. The actress who plays the girl is Ellen Page, she played in Regenesis.

[ Links ]
Preview - iFilm
Source - The Movie Blog

Science: Hyperdrive Coming Soon?

It might, my dreams of owning a ship of my own and doing the Kessel run might be coming true!

According to the paper, this hyperdrive motor would propel a craft through another dimension at enormous speeds. It could leave Earth at lunchtime and get to the moon in time for dinner. There's just one catch: the idea relies on an obscure and largely unrecognised kind of physics. Can they possibly be serious?

[ Links ]
Article - New Scientist Space

Cool: Amazing Drift Video

[ Links ]
Drift Video

Movie: Interactive Films

WOW! This is amazing! Beyond cool. This idea is going to change the way I see entertainment forever! You build the movie by placing icons on a grid. Depending on where and which icons you have used, you get different parts of the movie. It's like a murder mystery movie. Really freaking cool!

[ Links ]
AnyFilms - Interactive Film

Cool: Images From A Sony Commercial

[ Links ]
Sony Commercial (Video at the end of the page)

Blog: Enjoy Every Sandwich

Ok, I was surfing the web and fell on this blog. It's about Canadian Politics and women... Go figure. Anyways, this guy is twisted.

Here is a little preview to one of his blog:
(WARNING: this text contains adult situations and language.)
[-/+]

If you need to know any one single thing about women, it should be this. If you find one in a goofy religion that she wasn't raised in, that means she has mommy and daddy issues. Once you recognize this, all one need do is become daddy and you can turn her against her silly little God in about 20 minutes. Then she will happily fufill all of your unholiest carnal needs for as long as you wish to keep her around. Christ, I'm the single ugliest man I know and even I know that.

[ Links ]
Enjoy Every Sandwich

Gadget: Opitmus Keyboard Coming Soon

Yes, the ultimate keyboard is almost upon us. It is supposed to be available in February!



The keyboard that had OLED screens for keys can change the image on each key depending in which application you are currently working in.


Quake configuration

[ Links ]
Optimus homepage

Gaming: Power Grid

So we had another Game Night yesterday and we tried Power Grid.

The object of the game is to supply the most cities with power when someone's network gains a predetermined size. In this new edition, players mark pre-existing routes between cities for connection, and then vie against other players to purchase the power plants that you use to supply the power. However, as plants are purchased, newer more efficient plants become available so you're effectively allowing others to access to superior equipment merely by purchasing at all. Additionally, players must acquire the raw materials, like coal, oil, garbage, or uranium, to power said plants (except for the highly valuable 'renewable energy' wind/solar plants), making it a constant struggle to upgrade your plants for maximum efficiency while still retaining enough wealth to quickly expand your network to get the cheapest routes.

It might look like it's an easy game or that it's cheesy but let me tell you this game is hard and there are a lot of strategy into playing this game.

At every turn, the sequence the players will play changes depending on the position (strong or poor) the player is. Each step in a turn will start with the best current player or the worst, hence, sometimes it's in you best interest to be the worst player.

We played two games, the first was ok but only at the end did we start catching the gist of it. The second game was more interesting since we had comprehended more about the game and strategies were being played more.



Since you have to buy the resources needed to power your plant, it is interesting to stock up on them if you can get them cheap as the other players will have to buy them at a higher price. And let me tell you, missing only one dollar can make a difference. Often during our second game, people got screwed because of higher resource prices and were missing only one dollar to expand to another city. Of course by the end of the round, somebody would have already bought the city you wanted to get, hence screwing up your expansion plans because of only one dollar.

My strategy when I played the second game was to stay as one of the worst, getting good energy plants but not expanding much. I could afford to take my time to expand since I was not being cut of by the other players at that time. Since I had good plants but not a lot of cities to power, I could afford to horde on some precious resources hence jacking up the prices on them. Since I was not using them, even when the resources where being restocked, they could not be fully restocked as there is a limit number of each resource and I had a lot at my plant, doing nothing. By staying one of the worst player in the game, I could control the resources better, and when it was time, I jumped to first position with no problems.



Sadly I did not win, but it was close. If we would have gone another round, I think I could've won. As you can see, there are many strategies to playing this game and even if you are in the worst position, it is possible to win this game.

I really liked this it and I do recommend it to anyone.

Please note that this is a german game and the rules in English is kinda weird sometimes. It is best if somebody has already played this game and shows it to a new group.

[ Links ]
Power Grid - Board Game Geek

Funny: Caught

[ Source ]
Source - Lost Nomad

Gaming: Shadows Over Camelot

Wow, this game is amazing! Really, it's just a very good idea. The basics is that you play a knight of the round table and do quest and try to finish them before evil does. But this game is a collaboration game, if you win, all of the players win, if you lose, all of you lose... Unless there is a traitor in your midst.

So how can you lose? Well every time it's your turn to play, you need to play evil. So you can pick up an evil card which can count for a quest or just about anything that can hurt you. Or you could play a Siege Weapon (catapult), if you have twelve on the board you lose. Or if you can, take a hit (reduce your health by one) so that evil does not play this turn. Using this system, the game actually scales up depending on the number of players. Very nice.

The way of winning this game is to finish quests which gives you white swords to put on the round table. But the game can win quests too and add black swords to the table, so it's a race between the game and you to finish quests.



At the start you must chose a knight by random, each knight has a special ability. We debated on it yesterday and we believe that every knight has a good ability, there is no "Aw crap, I got Sir Tristan, he sucks bad". You then pick a Loyalty card. Loyalty cards adds another dimension to the game, you don't need to use them and at first I recommend not using them since it's a bit harder. Using them adds the chance of one player becoming a traitor, his job is to make you lose the game. The thing is, these cards are kept secret, so nobody knows who's the traitor. You can denounce a player as the traitor, if you are right, you move that much closer to winning but then the traitor can really start making trouble as each turn he can randomly choose a white card from a player and discard it. If you denounce a loyal player, then depending on how the quest are doing, it can do minimal damage (you lose a turn by your false acquisition) or bad (one white sword is turned black).

Trust me, adding the possibility of a traitor really changes the dynamics of the game. When we added them, there was a lot more mistrust between the players. It was great.

I would recommend this game to anyone who loves strategic games. You would not think that this game would have a lot of strategy, but if you don't go with a plan, you'll get screwed real fast!

[ Links ]
Shadows Over Camelot

Gaming: GEWar

What is GEWar? It's actually a really intelligent war game. It's based on Google Earth. That's right, you use Google Earth to find jewels, pump oil, mine diamonds and kick some ass!

It uses dynamic Placemarks to update information on the Google Earth viewer. You can view bases, cities to invade, troop movement and so fort.

Why is this an intelligent war game? Well it actually uses earth as the board game. Armies actually take time to arrive at their destination, no insta invades. Which is cool because you can have many people trying to get the same city as you but that will arrive at different times. Very nice.

I have just started but already I think it's a great idea and will continue and see how it goes.

[ Links ]
GEWar
Google Earth

Cool: Freaky 3D Sound

Make sure to listen to it with headphones.

[ Links ]
3D Sound

WoW: Patch 1.9

I have to admit, in all the patches I have gone thru, this one is the worse. Lately, it's been hard to log onto WoW. Maybe because of the Christmas vacation or what not, but it's been hell. And now with the new patch, it's worse. It seems like nothing is working correctly. The game crashes, a lot of addons are not working properly, things that have always worked are now bugged.

Sorry, I just needed to vent out some frustration while waiting to re-log into WoW because I was disconnected. : )

Gadget: COS (Computer-On-a-Stick)

Would you like to have an OS on a Thumb Drive? Well you can! Fingergear makes Thumb Drives with Linux running on them. You check your email, read documents, surf the web. You boot the computer with one plug in and it will bypass Windows and boot up Linux. Very cool.


Picture of the OS.

[ Links ]
Source - Gizmodo
Fingergear

Review: BenQ x805 Wireless Desktop Companion

So my gift to myself for Christmas was this BenQ Wireless keyboard and mouse. This is not the pro version, only the standard.

Keyboard
The keyboard is very slick. It is clam shape, silver with black keys. It uses BenQ's X-Structure Key Technology which is a patented technology that provides a more solid feel when typing. It gives a satisfying click when typing. I really like the design the only thing is that there are no indicator light if the Caps Lock is on. This is probably due to operating on batteries and wanting them to last long.

Mouse
The mouse has an 800 DPI precision. It works well except that it had problems tracking on my desk surface. My other mouse (Microsoft) did not have this problem. I've had no problem using it normally except when playing World of Warcraft. I don't know why, but it keeps bugging while playing. Everything is fine until it just stops sending information. When I play, I now use my old mouse but keep the wireless keyboard as it does not have any problems.

Range
The range is not superb, about 3 feet. It's ok if you only want to get rid of the wires (like me) but if you intend on using it at longer range, I believe the pro version will run at a range of 7 feet.

Verdict
It's a good product, it works as intended. The mouse is a bit touchy but normally works well. The range can be a problem for some of you, but for me, it's really ok.

[ Links ]
BenQ x805 Pro - FutureShop (It looks the same as the none pro version)

Game: Falling Sand Game

This little game is amazing. It's just falling sand, water, salt and oil. That's it, but you can add walls, wax, burn stuff, grow plants, etc. There are a lot of stuff to do and you can lose hours playing this game. I've been playing with it for an hour now. : )

[ Links ]
Falling Sand Game

Science: Mass Dodo Grave Found

This is interesting:

Scientists have discovered the "beautifully preserved" bones of about 20 dodos at a dig site in Mauritius.

So who put those Dodo's there?

[ Links ]
Source - BBC

Image: If It's A Real Image... Holy Shit!

Cool: Afterglow

Afterglow is a laser pointer presentation assist system. Basically it detects the position of the pointer to do stuff like drawing or opening menus.

[ Links ]
Afterglow

TV: Battlestar Galactica Is TIME's Best TV Show Of 2005

That's right, Battlestar has been chosen as the best TV show of 2005 by TIME themselves. This is wonderful for the fans of the show as it just proves that you can make an intelligent Sci-Fi series that can appeal to more then geeks.

[ Links ]
TIME: Best TV Show

Happy New Year

I want to wish everybody a Happy New Year! I hope this year brings you all riches and happiness.