Month: August 2002

Dam Issues

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Campaign poster for Nagano Governor Yasuo TanakaA special election is scheduled for Sept. 1 in Nagano Prefecture (Nagano city is the seat of the regional government). Voters will elect a governor, and the likely winner will be the man who resigned just last month. The election is drawing interest from all over Japan, and is seen as a harbinger of the battle between reformers and the entrenched political establishment in this country.

The picture here is of Yasuo Tanaka, the reform governor who resigned last month after a no-confidence vote by the prefectural assembly. One of the main points of conflict between the governor and the assembly was whether a new dam should be built near Nagano city. The dam seems to have been one of the many pork-barrel construction projects for which Japan is infamous, and Tanaka angered many entrenched interests by blocking construction of the dam.

Tanaka was a famous writer in Japan before entering politics, and is something of a maverick. He is expected to be re-elected next week, thus gaining more leverage against his opponents in the assembly.

As the campaign draws to a close, the candidates and their supporters rely on bullhorns to help get their messages out. I’m woken up each morning by political speeches which sound like they’re coming from a loudspeaker right outside my window. In the evenings, during the after-work rush, I often have to speak louder in my classes to be heard above the noise.

Update (Sept. 04) — Tanaka won the election by a large margin.

Cooling Off

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pool
I’ve been getting exercise recently at a nice, 50-meter outdoor pool. It’s about a 15-minute bicycle ride from my apartment, and is rarely busy in the late mornings when I go. It’s usually a collection of young and old men. The old guys swim a couple laps, then get out to smoke a cigarette or two before jumping back in.

Nagano Weather

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I’ve added a weather link on the side, with Yahoo Weather information for Nagano (sorry for the annoying pop-up ad). The latest weather info on Nagano seems to be at 4pm each day so it’s not updated very often. I’m still looking for a better source of local weather.

It continues to be hot and sunny every day. Whenever I look at the weather info on Yahoo, it seems cooler than it actually feels here. I arrive at work every day drenched in sweat.

Having to wear the dress shirt and tie doesn’t help matters. I stopped wearing a suit jacket a long time ago. Considering the summer weather, it’s strange to think we’ll have lots of snow during the winter.

Going Live

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Right. It’s time to go ahead and turn this thing on. I’ve decided to switch this blog over to my mikegerhardt.com domain in order to keep the mikemedia.com domain more focused on business.

The Photos & Flicks section is still not complete, but I’ll be continuing to work on that this week.

One note on compatibility: this site is best viewed with modern browsers. I haven’t done extensive testing yet, so if you’re using older browsers you may come across some problems. If you see something funky and want to take the time to let me know about it, a note would be appreciated. Be sure to send info on what operating system and browser you are using.

Enjoy…

Where Do All Those Old Computers Go?

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BBC has a photo essay on Chinese workshops that recycle old computer parts from the west. Long hours and low pay are involved, of course, but there is also the problem of toxins. We rarely think of our computers as anything other than high-tech wonders. But lead, cadmium, chromium and mercury are all poisonous metals commonly found in computers, and these toxic metals — and more — are causing health problems among those who handle them.

For more information: Report criticizes IT industry on hardware recycling

Quick Trip to the Big City

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I took a work-related trip to Tokyo yesterday, just for the day. Travel time from Nagano is about an hour-and-a-half by Shinkansen (bullet train). Once in Tokyo, I took a local train to Shinjuku, and promptly lost my bearings upon exiting the station. I pride myself on having a good natural sense of direction, but Shinjuku is one of those places that doesn’t make any sense until you’ve experienced it repeatedly. I wished I’d had the compass I bought recently for hiking, just to figure out which way was north.

In Japan, maps posted in public aren’t oriented with the top facing north. They reflect whichever direction the viewer is facing while looking at the map. At first, this can be a bit confusing when you’re used to another standard. But when you don’t know which direction is which, it’s a big help. After some wandering and staring at maps, I found the way to my destination.

Heading home, I missed my scheduled Shinkansen, and my reserved seat. So I had to take the next train (only half-an-hour later), but without a reserved seat. This involved standing in a long line waiting to board, and relief at just barely getting a seat. Then came the horror of a hundred flicking lighters and billowing clouds of cigarette smoke. I’ve never seen visibility disappear so quickly. I grabbed my bag and fled the smoking car, barely able to see the door at the end of the car. So I was stuck standing in the reasonably clear air in the compartment between cars for half the trip home.

I arrived back in Nagano at 7:30, in time to teach one more class.

I’ll be returning to Tokyo tomorrow — work on Saturday and then some fun for the rest of the weekend.

Better Late Than Never

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I hate to admit how often I have to fall back on the “better late than never” sentiment when it comes to many of the things I do. But once again, here it is…

Presenting — three months after arriving in Japan — my blog, and associated info about my life. The main inspiration for doing this has been to share my adventures in Japan with family and friends back home. But I’ve also been wanting to give my website an overhaul (providing a more personal focus) and am also hoping for an outlet to stimulate some regular bouts of writing.

At the time of this post, I’m far from finished building and tweaking the site. I’m still muddling my way through learning how to work with Movable Type code and other elements of the redesigned site. Bear with me if you run across any rough edges. Please send me e-mail if you have any comments or are experiencing any compatibility issues.