James Hart in Japan: April 2006

Beer

Ballmer and Butt-Head

I've always argued the best way to keep your teenager off drugs is buy him a Pentium Pro, give him NT and Microsoft Office and a printer, and tell him you get $500 if you can print something out of PowerPoint on that printer. That will take him six months of drug-free activity. I think that's probably the best thing you could possibly do for your teenager.

People say, 'Tape is kind of boring.' Well, I say go in and tell your customer that you have lost their back-up tapes and you'll see excitement pretty quickly.

The only thing I'd rather own than Windows is English, because then I could charge you $249 for the right to speak it, and I could charge you an upgrade fee when I add new letters."

Ballmer and Butt-Head." (Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Gates)

We should "shut down some of the bullshit the government is spending money on and use it to buy all the Microsoft stock. Then put all their intellectual property in the public domain. Free Windows for everyone! Then we could just bronze Gates, turn him into a statue, and stick him in front of the Commerce Department.

Scott McNealy, who stepped down as CEO of Sun Microsystems this week.

Near our flat in Ariake, Tokyo, there is a huge pedestrian bridge that is always deserted. It offers great views at sunset and Kai enjoys the wide open space and the paintings like this one on the stone.
More photos from the bridge

Kai at Tennis

Kai seemed to enjoy on tennis on Sunday. As Miyako has a new racquet, Kai got to play with her old one.....and as many balls as he could carry.
All the photos

Kai loves Police Cars

Kai is fascinated by emergency vehicles: ambulances, fire engines, police cars, anything with flashing lights or sirens. He sings the siren sound loudly whenever he sees a vehicle with a flashing light, a picture of one, or just remembers that he likes them.
So, when a police car stops near us on the street, it is a very exciting experience for the little one.
And, yes, he is holding a toy police car in his hand....

Google Calendar

I've started using the new service from Google, Google Calendar.
You can import your calendar from Outlook or similar programs for viewing online and sharing with friends, colleagues, etc. It's got some cool features, such as "Quick Add": type, for example, trip to Los Angeles April 30 to May 5, and Google Calendar understands this and enters it into your calendar correctly.
You can also add other people's calendars and general calendars, such as public holidays, for viewing in conjunction with your own.
Overall it's a pretty good tool.
The XML feed is here (Open with a feed reader). It's public for now, but I'll restrict it later on.

Rory

(MSDN Events) has posted his Resume online. It's pretty comprehensive...

Balloons

Last week, Miyako took Kai to a play area in Aquacity (a shopping centre in Odaiba, near where we live). They enjoyed the balloon room, where lots of balloons are blown around by a big fan

See more of the photos

I'm out of bed

I'm out of bed and dressed. What more do you want?!

From Banksy

Is graffiti art or vandalism?
That word has a lot of negative connotations and it alienates people, so no, I don't like to use the word 'art' at all.

Yoko & Friends

Last week Yoko (Miyako's cousin), Sawaki and Koji came to stay. It was great to see you again. Come back soon!
Photos from their visit

Birthday Hanami

As a part of my birthday celebrations last week, we had a party under the Cherry Blossom Trees near where we live.

Check out the rest of the photos, or see them as a slideshow

Abryl's Birthday Party

On April 1st, Kai's friend Abryl (from Venezuela) celebrated her 1st Birthday. They organised a fun party and Kai had a great time.
See all the photos from the party

Playing in the Park

With Spring here and making use of our new bicycles, we have been enjoying the parks near where we live (Ariake). This one is within the complex called "Big Sight", a conference and exhibition centre.
More photos from that day

Don't live with your girl

Says the BBC

Kai really loves Thomas

Paddling

Like his uncle Richard at this age, Kai is fascinated by water and has no fear of it. I let him paddle in water twice recently, once at the beach in Odaiba and once in a water feature in Ariake (both areas of Tokyo near our flat) and he loved it. However, both times, Kai managed to free himself from my grasp and walk straight out into the water and fall over. No problem, as the water is very shallow and not too cold; it's just surprising how eager he is to get wet...
See the other photos

Windows Live Local

This is cool: Drive the streets of Seattle and SF with the arrow keys on your keyboard. Link

Kai in Chidorigafuchi

Last week, we took Kai to see the Cherry Blossom at Chidorigafuchi, one of the best spots for "Sakura" in Tokyo.

Check out the other photos from that day, here, or
as a slideshow
See also my photos of Chidorigafuchi from last year

Happy Birthday!

to me.

Even I'm a day late this year....

Unlucky Kieran

My classmate from school, Kieran West (centre), was on the losing team in the Boat Race yesterday. Hopefully his Gold medals from the Sydney Olympics and the World Championships soften the blow...

Cycling with Kai

We bought bikes recently and have been enjoying the freedom that they afford us. The area we live is mostly reclaimed land and as a result very flat and great for cycling. Last weekend the new road and bridge outside our apartment building finally opened. It gives us an easy route by bicycle to our nearest shops and also a route straight to Ginza (posh area near the centre of Tokyo).
More photos of us cycling together

James Hart in Japan

April 27, 2006

Beer

April 26, 2006

April 24, 2006

April 20, 2006

April 19, 2006

Kai loves Police Cars

April 14, 2006

April 13, 2006

April 11, 2006

April 10, 2006

April 07, 2006

April 06, 2006

April 05, 2006

April 04, 2006

April 03, 2006

Happy Birthday!

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