William Shatner Reveals the Power of the Spoken Word

What's up with my knee?

In preparation for a forthcoming bike ride across Tasmania (I'm heading to Australia May 10-20), this Saturday I tried to ride my mountain bike from Mutsu to Rokkaso, which I estimate to be around 40-50 kilometers. After going only 25 kilometers, I had to stop due to an increasing level of pain in my knees. It wasn't that my muscles were tired but that it was simple painful to bend my knees. I could have gone on a bit more, but I didn't want to do any permament damage.

Now, I have a history of pushing myself too hard without adequate preparation and hurting my knees.

-Once in NC I went on a four day hiking trip that we squeezed into three days by having a 12-hour marathon on the third day (it was really cold and we wanted to go home). I could hardly stand by the end of that.

-Last year at almost this time I wanted to do a 2 day bike ride to Hirosaki. I was able to ride for a day and a half before my knees went bad, which at the time I blamed on the fact that I had fallen on my knee once during ski season.

And that brings me to now, and I can't really explain why my knees went bad after only two hours of riding. Granted, it was very slow, difficult riding due to ridiculous winds, but still...

So I don't know nuthin about knee health. Do I just have "bad knees"? If I cycle small amounts more often, will my knees strengthen (this is what I'll try for...)? I also might try to run, but I've done some distance running before that never hurt my knees...

That's what's been on my mind.... Any health experts out there? The good news is that two days later, me knees feel fine (I think I stopped early enough to prevent really hurting myself)

Local News

This plant is just a 45 minute drive away.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4902282.stm

it makes you think...

Mission Accomplished

Well, the dreaded Foreign Service Written Examination is over, and now I have but to wait til the end of July to hear the results. I think I did well, but I have yet to see if "well" is good enough. I've heard about 10% of takers pass the test. I'll break down the experience as best I can without violating the NDA I had to sign.

There were 4 sections:

-Job Knowledge, which was further divided into a general section and a section for the career path you choose (I selected "political"). These were multiple choice questions about history, geography, government, computers, and all sorts of stuff. It was the hardest part. I few questions stuck in my mind, and on looking them up later I learned I missed them, but I already know there is no good in me worrying about that now.

-English Expression. This was also entirely multiple choice. It seemed easy to me, and I had done well on the practice tests I had tried beforehand.

-Essay. Just like any timed essay really. I think I did well here.

-Biographical Information. Lots of strange broad questions where you have to answer a multiple choice question and then write in examples from life experience. It was hard to think of things in time, and this was atually the most difficult section to finish on time, and I even left a couple answers blank on accident.

At least it's over. I won't know the result until July, and I'd like to forget about the whole thing until then.

And now, some photos of Sapporo, including the coolest urinal on Earth:

Another Nerd Update

It's been a while since I've updated you all about my nerdy adventures online. Here's Westwater now, level 58, riding a demon horse and wearing a voodooish mask. I have nearly reached the coveted maximum level 60. Once one reaches 60 they no longer try to build experience to get levels. Instead they hunt far and wide for the rarest, most powerful pieces of magical equipment, anything to give them an edge in the extremely difficult high-level dungeons and in high level player-vs-player battles.

I almost thought I wouldn't make it to this point. Over Christmas vacation I didn't play, and when I returned to Japan found my addiction had vanished and it was hard to find time to log on. Slowly I've regained steam, especially during Spring Break when I was able to leave work early each day, and could actually play at the same time as my friends back home.

The question now is will I remain as active once I hit 60? For serious players, 60 is just the beginning. For me it's been the ultimate goal of playing since last summer. Once I reach my goal, will I still have an interest in playing? Stay tuned.

In other news, the Foreign Service Written Exam is this weekend. Wish me luck! If I fail, I guess we'll know what was to blame...

Mate Heaven

In my last post I mentioned my failed search through Tokyo for yerba mate. Last weekend Satoko went to Tokyo for a business trip, and this morning she suprised me with a whole new mate set, including the mate itself (the cup, traditionally a hollowed out gourd, but in this case, as I prefer, made of wood), the bombilla (a metal straw with a strainer at the bottom), and the yerba, the chopped up yerba mate leaves.



It works like this. The server puts the bombilla in the mate, then fills the mate with the yerba and if he or she likes, sugar and additional flavors. Then the server fills the mate with hot water, and gives it to the first person to drink and that person drinks the entire contents, passes it back to the server who starts again. It's a communal activity and the mate goes in a circle from person to person. In Argentina we drank mate even during out university classes, passing it to professor so he could take a few sips while giving his lecture.



I look forward to bringing it to work and weirding out my colleagues. I highly recommend the drink. Unsweetened, it has a strong bitter taste, and many people don't like it on their first try. Give it a chance, and it will grow on you. In America, it's not too hard to find, as many big towns have latino stores that often carry mate, and if not, it is easy to order on the web. It's a bit more difficult in Japan, but we can help you out if you wish, or of course, just come visit me in Mutsu and I'll give you a taste.

and in conclusion, Satoko rocks! Thanks!