I'm in Long Island, NY. Thank heavens for GPS devices; I got lost three times trying to navigate JFK Airport's maze of permiter roads last night. Dunno how I would have found my way to the hotel without one. New York drivers are insane; they're always in a hurry and they're always in the wrong lane. But at least the bagels really *are* better ( Read more... )

Ye Gawds, it feels like forever since the last one ( Read more... )

Is anyone interested in making a few bucks puppy-sitting for a few hours on Saturday night? It's an opera night for Angyl and myself, but our usual puppah-sitter is out of town.

Last night I undertook the Tsubomi Seishin Kan Iaido Kai nikkyu test, along with fellow student John Morrow. Happily, we both passed ( Read more... )

...this one's for you: Scott Pilgrim gets a writeup in the New York Times

Now I just need to find a time to get down to the U-District to pick up a copy of Volume 5...

Days 5-7 fell during the dark days of January, which is invariably the most emotionally difficult time of year for me. I've got reams of notes about those sessions, and a handful of nearly-complete journal writeups that will never get posted. Doesn't really matter; the techniques will be the same a month or a year from now as they are today. ( Read more... )

1400 co-workers got laid off today. No-one I work with now, but possibly including some folks I worked with in the past. There were various and sundry other disasters at work, of a technical nature. And somehow I ended up having a really good workday, got a lot done, helped a bunch of people, had some surprising insights about the next year's ( Read more... )

Vampire Weekend makes Png hyper. I think it's the kickdrum that sets him on edge. Whatever the cause, it's pretty good "chase puppah around the haus" music.

Now, he's growling at his own reflection in the bedroom window.

Weirdo.

One of the dojo's occasional aiki-ken days. Basic basic footwork, posture, and principles about holding the center lines. Some exercises that strike me as the bokken-vs-bokken equivalents of some basic western fencing drills I remember from college. Some other partner drills that are cousins to some of the Kendo Kata ( Read more... )

Private lesson, covering the first three kata with lots of specific technical pointers.

( Tonight's notes )