Events

Two of them, the first in Kyoto: The other in Tokyo:

Tokyo has maps in all the metro and train stations showing where you are and where everything else is. However, throughout the city I found exactly one map where north was on top. Otherwise, they were all oriented in different directions. Here are two maps near Ueno-Koen within sight of each other that illustrate the problem. Exhibit A, with north towards the bottom left: Exhibit B, with north in exactly the opposite direction: Exhibit C, near my hotel, shows two maps next to each other with completely...

Republican party big-wigs want Romney to win the nomination, for the simple reason that he's the only one with a chance of winning next November: "Bigfoot dressed as a circus clown would have a better chance of beating President Obama than Newt Gingrich...." quipped a Republican. "Newt can't take the scrutiny," agreed a Democrat, "and he has the personality of an angry badger." Only 340 days remain until President Obama's re-election.

Just now, going into hour 32 of the (technically) longest day of my life, I noticed that the blog's comment view feature isn't working. This is Case #2869 in FogBugz, and will be fixed as soon as possible. Not tonight, though. Just like Saturday, my goal is only to make it to 9pm. If I can do that, I will defeat jet lag in one stroke. I must not fail. Sleep deprivation leads to pointless blog entries, and we can't have that, can we?

I recognize it may signal mild mental illness, but I don't mind 12-hour flights. I built up to this, of course, starting with 4-hour flights from Chicago to L.A. when I was a kid and growing into almost daily flights during a particularly annoying part of my career as a consultant. These days, Chicago to London (7 hours) isn't too long for a weekend; and Chicago to Tokyo (12 hours) only requires dumping a few frequent-flyer miles to ensure that I do the overnight flight in a premium class. That helps...

My last meal in Tokyo came off a conveyor belt: For ¥600 I got this: ...plus a salmon roll, a pair of shrimp nigiri, and a pair of grilled salmon nigiri. And it was yum. If you're ever southwest of the Shinjuku train station, look for this place: And in a little over an hour, the long voyage home begins...

While most people back home have yet to down their second coffees of the day, I'm about to go to bed. Tomorrow—December 1st—starts for me in 10 minutes and ends 39 hours later thanks to the miracle of air travel. I go to bed happy that I've had a great little vacation, and that the FCC told AT&T where to take its merger with T-Mobile: Although the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday granted AT&T’s request to pull its merger application from review, giving AT&T time to retool the plan in...

Tokyo at night, with a 6-second exposure: (Here's the daytime view.)

I had planned to visit the Tokyo National Museum today, and possibly one of the other museums at Ueno Park, but then this happened: Yes, a sunny autumn day with the temperature passing 21°C simply did not allow me to go inside. I spent a few hours just walking around Ueno-Koen, encountering the local fauna: More fauna: Oh, and hey, my camera shoots video: (Apologies for the jerkiness; I was hand-holding a 250mm lens.)

Yesterday (er, earlier today in the U.S.), American Airlines filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11, hoping to reorganize itself into profitability. A few hours after the news, the head of the frequent-flyer program sent out a reassurance to us members: We want to assure you that your AAdvantage® miles are secure. The AAdvantage miles that you've earned are yours and will stay yours, subject to usual policies, until you choose to redeem them for a great award with us. Likewise, your elite qualifying...