Machines for all

Yup. It's a hanko vending machine. What's a hanko? A hanko is a stamp used as a signature here in Japan. Once a fine, artful thing, kept in families through generations, now available for a few bucks from a machine next to the checkout at a discount store. Ah well. Progress. Part of me thinks it's pretty nifty. Yup. Nifty.

From Heaven to Earth

Well he may not be an angel but Felix Baumgartner will fall to Earth from roughly that height or higher. In an attempt to break records and not himself, he will jump out of a low-orbit craft and free fall literally from the edge of space. Who, you ask would ever sponsor such an insane, such an "extreme" idea? Red Bull, of course.

You can check the live video feed from the crazy daredevil himself at www.redbullstratos.com

Good luck, Felix!

Happy Canucksgiving, everyone!

Sayonara, Tokyo.

Back to Osaka for me! Day 2 of training was very interesting. All about cultural dialogue and style switching, among lots of other interesting stuff. It's going to take a lot of practice before i'm comfortable debriefing clients on their cultural preferences at work. Fortunately, this is right in my wheel house as an habitual navel-gazer. =)

I am very much looking forward to seeing my wife and son, and sleeping in my own bed again.

Training Day 1

By the way, I'm in Tokyo to do my certification for COA (Cultural Orientations Approach).  This employs the COM (Culture Orientations Model).  See graphic below.

By this approach, culture is characterized by 10 dimensions and each dimension has two (or three) orientations along a continuum within that dimension. For example within the dimension of Structure there is a continuum between the two orientations of Order and Flexibility.  There are actually 17 continua by this system.  They aren't listed here and I wouldn't want to give away all our trade secrets anyway. 

The goal of this model and its application is to raise awareness within people and organizations about their preferences for work.  It is not a personality test and it is not a guide of how to do business.  It is a comprehensive and non-judgemental model of culture that can be used to better understand the differences between individuals and groups and lead to better cultural dialogue and more successful collaboration. The training has been fascinating and I look forward to leading workshops using these models and skills. 

Two nights in Tokyo

Off to Tokyo to do some training and visit HQ. i will hate being away from Ulala and Shinryu. I will, however, love sleeping the whole night through, provided my neck and shoulder pain let me. Actually, that's been feeling a bit better lately. Knock on wood.

Nanko at night

Had to head out to Nanko to deliver a session. Hadn't been there in a few weeks and wasn't much looking forward to it. It's far and it's a Monday session. My days off are usually Sunday and Monday. Meh. The session was fine, i got to sit and catch up on some stuff at Mister Donuts and, on the way back to the station, i got to see this:

Morning constitutional

Even grey skies can be beautiful. Especially when they signify a break in the fever of summer and an opportunity to take a cool, refreshing dip in the morning city.

I love Japan. This massive fountain is underground in Osaka. One day, future, post-apocalyptic archeologists will discover this and draw all the wrong conclusions.

Surprise cake!

I came home to a nice surprise cake last night. Actually, my wife had bought it to share with a friend but had mixed up the day she would meet her friend. As beneficiary of her calendrical error, i shall not complain. Oh no, i shall FEAST! ...and then have a tummy ache later. =)

Lunch. Yum.

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

Been a long time...

Shouldn't o' left you,
without some li'l nieces and nephews...

(I do love my classic hip-hop!)

But, yeah, been awhile.  New job, new baby, busy busy.  And all well worth it!  But I miss writing (not that I really did that much...) and I miss feeling like I've shared (ah, the Facebook age, indeed!).

Tonight I set new goals, make new schedules and estimates, and make new master plans. I also drink wine and watch TV, so who really knows how far this will go...

You see, Ulala is out (girls' night) and the baby is asleep (a rare feat) and I have a craft beer festival to attend on the morrow(i.e. no work).  In other words, I'm booooooored.  Meh.

So, to accompany my wine and abate my loneliness, I watch Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (Season 1).  Buck originally came into the world in 1979, the same year as yours truly.  Too bad I didn't get his looks...

If you're wondering, I got turned back onto good ol' Buck by the honorable Tom Merritt and Scott Johnson, podcasters supreme, with their fantastic podcast Autopilot.  It's a podcast where they watch old pilots (usually available on NetFlix) and then talk about hem from a personal and historical point of view. Awesome stuff for a TV and movie nerd like myself.
For more, check out: http://frogpants.com/autopilot/    They've finished their first 12-episode first season but, being a podcast, you can listen anytime for free and enjoy what they share.

As for Buck, here are some screen shots to get your nostalgia flowing:

  Oh, Princess Ardala!  Hottest villain ever!

And who could ever forget Twiki!  "bidibidibidi!"

For more on Buck and his colleagues, please check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_Rogers_in_the_25th_Century_(TV_series)

Next up is SeaQuest DSV!  

Cheers!

Symian.

Rice

And a lot of it.

Sunday - Audition and Namba Parks

Shinryu went for a baby-modelling audition today.  About time he starts earning his keep...  j/k   No idea how it went.  It was just a screen test and there were a LOT of babies there from 3 month sot 3 years old, all very cute and adorable.

Then we headed out to Namba Parks for some wandering and a massive Hawaiian burger lunch.  Yum!