The visibility from Medford to San Francisco was excellent on this morning. I got some nice aerial shots of my town of Ashland that I’ll post at sometime in the future on my other blog.

The first picture today is of Mt. Shasta. Whether going to California from Ashland by car or by plane, seeing one of the many faces of Mt. Shasta is always a highlight.

I believe the above photograph is of Clair Eagle Lake. I couldn’t get over the views we were being treated with. No one else on the plane seemed to even care or to bother to look out their window. I’m like a small kid when I fly and the visibility is good. These scenes aren’t to be wasted with a nap, book, or other distractions.

I have some other decent aerial shots of Angel Island, Alcatraz, Candlestick Park, and some of the San Francisco Bay’s bridges, but I think this is one of the better ones of the city itself. I used to give city tours (in Japanese in the early 90s), including night tours that featured a stop on Treasure Island, the land mass to the immediate left of the island in the middle of the Bay Bridge in this picture.

South of San Francisco (we practically flew to San Jose before turning around to land at SFO) are these land masses filled with fun designs. I’m not sure what exactly the ground is here. Landfill? Marshes? Something else? In any event, the colors and patterns were even more amazing with the naked eye.

Posted on August 16th, 2009 under Other. Tags: aerial photography, clouds, Travel. Comments Off on MFR to SFO

Since last posting about magicJack I’ve actually had the chance to use the magicJack USB device on a daily basis. Initially I was really excited. Then there were some problems, but now my hopes have been bolstered, somewhat, again.

The problems:
– Sometimes incoming calls wouldn’t connect. I had this happen three times on the second day I was using it full time. One time I was the caller. The incoming calls were coming from different places so it wasn’t a problem on the other end. This hasn’t happened since.
– Initially there was lots of static on my calls. Once I removed the cable connecting the magicJack to the USB port (the USB extension cord pictured here), the static disappeared.
– An echo or lag sometimes happens. This is heard more by the person on the other end than the caller on the magicJack end.

The possible solutions:
– I think the first problem was solved by a reboot of the computer.
– Don’t use the cable to connect your magicJack to your USB port. Connect the magicJack directly into the USB port.
– I believe the echos and lags occur because of an upload speed that is too slow. Something I have done that has made this better, if not made for perfectly clear calls in most cases, is the following.

1. Go to an internet speed test site like this one: http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/ Test your speed and write down your results.
2. Download TCPOptimizer.exe from here: http://www.speedguide.net/downloads.php and run the program. Move the Connection Speed slider bar to the far right. Click on “Optimal settings” and then hit “Apply changes.” Reboot.
3. Run the internet speed test again and see if your results aren’t better. My test results weren’t much better, but my phone calls using magicJack seem clearer with less echo and lag on the other person’s end.

Is my magicJack connection crystal clear and perfect in the US yet? No. I’m hoping with a better connection in Japan it will work better. I’ll let you know soon. Until then, I’ve got my fingers crossed.

Posted on August 12th, 2009 under Other. Tags: magic jack, travel related goods. Comments: 3

Any John Denver fans out there? I’m not really one either, but this line from “Leaving On A Jet Plane” popped into my head when I was trying to think of a title for today’s post. You see, I’ll be heading to the airport for my move to Japan one week from today! Everything is lining up nicely. We are about 80-90% packed, the visas arrived quicker than anticipated, and yesterday we finally found a renter for our home while we are gone.

Getting a visa for Japan went smoother than predicted. Originally they said it would take eight weeks to get a “Certificate of Eligibility” (COE) from the powers that be in Tokyo. That was eight weeks before we were originally supposed to leave (today). So we moved our departure date back a week to August 13. The COE was actually completed in about four weeks according to the date on it. Unfortunately it sat on someone’s desk (either in the administration or at Waseda University where it was sent to) for more than two weeks before I was told it could be sent to me. In any event, I received it on July 27, two weeks and three days before departure. I then had to send the COEs with visa applications, more passport photos, our passports, and a self-addressed, stamped, priority-mail envelope to the Consulate General of Japan in Portland, Oregon (since I live 5+ hours away from Portland–most people probably drive it there). They said it would take a week to process plus postal time so I figured Priority Mail would be fine. They lied. It didn’t take a week. They processed the visas in a single day and mailed them back to me. The passports with visas in them arrived the same week I sent them on August 1. Sometimes it doesn’t pay to pay for overnight delivery. Overnight delivery of the COEs took four days, priority mail on the visas–both ways–only took a day or two.

Finding a tenant for our home wasn’t as smooth a process, but I think we found a really good one in the end. Better late than never.

Posted on August 6th, 2009 under Other. Tags: Travel. Comments: 2

Today we’ll wrap up this brief diversion into some old pictures I found while packing for Japan. I don’t remember even having a camera back in 1989, or taking these pictures, but I do remember this evening well.

Sepultura was virtually unknown at the time. This was their first time in the USA, and they had begun their Beneath the Remains Tour in Philadelphia less than a month before.

This show took place at the Omni in Oakland, California on November 30, 1989. The members of Sepultura couldn’t speak much English at this point. Members of Metallica were in attendance, although that wasn’t unusual at Bay Area shows in the 80s. I also met Metallica at a Megadeth show in San Francisco at The Stone on Broadway in May of 1987.

Metallica had already done their best work by 1989. Everything from this point on for Metallica is basically crap in my opinion. Not so with Sepultura. While Beneath the Remains is still my favorite, Sepultura’s next two albums (Arise and Chaos A.D.) are far better than anything Metallica ever did without Cliff Burton.

Andreas Kisser is still with the band, 20 years later.

Max Cavalera split from Sepultura in 1997 and formed Soulfly. I haven’t been much of a fan of Soulfly or Sepultura since.

This last picture is a particularly classic and vintage one. When is the last time someone could smoke at an indoor concert venue? Not only that but the smoker is a mulleted security personnel! Personally I enjoy coming home from concerts these days not smelling like an ashtray.

Posted on July 28th, 2009 under Other. Tags: concert photography, metal, sepultura. Comments: 2

Once again, I must interrupt my Hakone pictures with something discovered upon packing for our move to Japan. I found a box with photos from the 80s and early 90s that I had taken on a crappy little camera. The picture above is of Fates Warning, a band I loved in the 80s. Once John Arch was replaced with Ray Alder (guy on the right) I lost my enthusiasm. However, I had enough interest in the other band playing on this bill to go see them in Salt Lake City back in 1990.

Jim Matheos, second from the left, was the brilliance behind the band. I could never really appreciate Alder’s voice though.

The band I really went to see was the opening act, Sanctuary. Their two CDs were my constant companions in the late 80s and early 90s. I still listen to them once a year or so for some good memories.

The above guitarist is Lenny Rutledge. When Sanctuary turned into Nevermore he didn’t come along (like the bassist Jim Sheppard).

Warrel Dane, on the other hand, is still going strong on his own and in Nevermore. I like Nevermore and his solo stuff, but the early Sanctuary stuff is still my favorite. He has some of the best pipes in the business.

Dave Budbill is back there on drums somewhere. The club was very small and Fates Warning had all their stuff on the tiny stage too.

Tomorrow I’ll show you another gig from the same time frame.

Posted on July 27th, 2009 under Other. Tags: concert photography, metal, sanctuary band. Comments: 3