SPAM Musubi

Here's an interesting one: I found SPAM musubi at the neighborhood convenience store. Now, I don't know where the first SPAM musubi was created, but I doubt it was here in Japan. I was having them in Hawaii before I was in high school. Yeah, haha. All you haoles are laughin... and I ain't gotta defend SPAM to the likes of you! But to put SPAM into historical perspective, the soon-to-be Americans living in what you call paradise back in the 40's had to make do during the war in ways the rest of the country didn't. Lots of stuff had to get shipped to Hawaii and not at the top of the list was beef and poultry. So Hawaiians had to make do with the rations they had: SPAM and Vienna sausage. Those products became apart of the diet and might be regarded as a hotdog is at Fenway. So yeah, I eat SPAM and I'm proud of it. I might not eat it often, or even occasionally... you could call it a "once-in-a-blue-moon" treat that reminds me of a home in Hawaii. Until recently we had to make all of our own SPAM musubi, but looks like things have changed... a little for the better.

Aquarium R/C

Hyunjoo and I found this cool little submersible that's perfect for our fish tank. It has a 6-channel radio controller that smartly moves the little critter we've begun to call "Piranah" along all three axis. The submarine charges off the controller and will zip around the tank for about 5-10 minutes before it needs recharging. Our fish don't mind, they just think Piranah is another fish in their tank. I'm quickly discovering that our 15 gal. tank is too small now!

KIT BBQ

Hyunjoo's office had a welcome party for Casey and Chieko, KIT's two newest teachers. We had yakiniku out on the patio with a full spread of beef, veggies, squid, salad and even a bundle of yakisoba. I was stuffed to the gills!

Miki Cote

It's a late announcement, but my friends Travis and Ericka are very happy to introduce the newest member of the Cote family: Miki! She was born back in February and I'm sorry not to get these pix up earlier. Please click on the album to see a full-sized slideshow!

First Videoblog!

Springdoo.com rocks! I've been using their services for a couple of months now and I love it. Katya recommended me to them and I just found out that they offer video services too, so I've been happily sending off video emails now. So, here's and adaptation of their service to my blog. Check it out!

Show me da money!

I didn't pick the best day to send cash home, but we're looking at an OK time to send money to the states. I botched the withdrawl form and asked for an equivalent of $115,000. I didn't figure that one out until the teller pointed to my bank book. Of couse I didn't have that much in yen, but how could I tell? There are so many freakin' zeros! It's like Mexico 20 years ago... "4,000,000 pesos - sure! here's your burrito!" Japan should just lop off two zeros from their currency and get with the program! Oh well, I sure did feel rich while I had the cash.

Biking through the bamboo forest

Please click to listen to the audio slideshow
It was a perfect day to go for a bike ride. I went up to the local bamboo forest (JPN010) to get some exercise. There's some pretty steep terrain and I vowed to get to the top of the foothills on my rickety 3-speed without stopping. I just barely made it in the horrible shape I'm in. Once on top I took in the view and enjoyed some quiet time before dashing at breakneck speeds to the trailhead.

Soccer-man: Cole

Cole-dude playing soccer. Hey Cole, what position are you playing? Check out those beautiful Uinta Mountains in the background too!

New photos from Carter

Click to play or click on the album to see the large slideshow.

Happy Birthday Hyunjoo!

We had a really nice dinner at Chungju House (Korean) not far from our home. Hyunjoo lucked out with some really nice gifts from everyone! These are only a couple of pix I was able to snap off of some fireworks and a piece of artwork that she got as presents. Thanks to everyone for coming out to celebrate Hyunjoo's birthday with us!

Happy Birthday Cole!

Hi Cole!
Happy Birthday from Uncle Kent. I'm sorry my present was late. I hope you got it and like what I sent. I look forward to seeing you this summer! Have a great spring and keep sending me pictures!
Love, Uncle Kent

Kite Park

HJ and I went with Phil and Jessica to a new park JPN009 - Kite Park not too far from home. It being built off the new road behind our house. The park is perfect for kite flying as the hills catch winds coming off the city headed into the mountains. We flew a number of kites with various success. The big experiement was lauching his kite-camera to take pictures of the city. I attached my altimeter to the camera and found that it reached a height of 177 feet at its apex. Hopefully we'll get some good pix from the camera. We lost a bunch of exposures due to technical difficulties, but I'm confident we got at least one good shot.

Golden Week - Day 2

Another fantastic day. Two in a row and I am counting! We wasted no time getting out. Downtown, we bumped into Casey and Chieko in the Montbel store in Rifare. Then, minutes later Hyunjoo saw Ernesto and Emilene going up to the upper floors of Libro bookstore. Small town. We were all pretty hungry so we headed off to "Garlic, Garlic" for some dinner. That place puts out some good dishes. I've never had anything there I wasn't happy with.

I got my "sizing ring" in the mail today from Grannis Gallery. Unfortunately, I'll need a small size. The Japanese 18/US 9 ring is a bit too big. I think I'll have to order a JPN16 size to fit properly. I also got the sketches of the ring and I'm pretty happy with the custom design of the ring as well. It'll feature Mt. Mansfield, Camel's Hump, and Mt. Fuji set in an evening sky with a full and crescent moon.

Google'n with my Garmin

Where have I been you ask? (or may be not)... but in case your interested anyhow check out this link:
SAKURA - Picnic and Campsite
This is a local picnic ground up in the bamboo forest. We've gathered here a few times during good weather and I took these coordinates a couple of days ago when I went up there with Casey, Chieko, and Hyunjoo for some frisbee throwing.

I've combined Google's neat online mapping function with my basic GPS from Garmin to create a database of places around the world where I've been. Click on this link to check out more locations.

Spring finally feels like it's here

It's been too cold and rainy until recently to call the beginning of spring. This weekend broke that unfortunate streak and we celebrated. I went to Kanazawa Castle on Saturday to throw the frisbee around with Casey and Chieko. On Sunday, Casey and I biked about 12 km to the waterfront surrounding the terminus of the Sai River. With a bit of climbing we were able to make our way out on the massive concrete pier to check out the old breakwater. We even saw someone catch a "fugu" or blowfish.

Sakura by the river

This was just about the last sakura we could find in our neighborhood. Even though the season was later than expected, it was as spectacular as always.