tai chi

I'm looking forward to visiting a tai chi class in a local gym. I hope the teaching style suits me. I will also be making a long overdue visit to the dentist.

Word of the day: 食通（しょくつう shokutsuu）:gourmet

If you're ever in Shimokitazawa, I recommend Pistol Pinoko as a friendly little bar/cafe.

I understood!

An entire song in Japanese. I was listening to the Kiroro CD I've had for probably 7 years now, and just realized that for the first time I could understand the lyrics! No straining either; I literally knew all the vocabulary. Exciting!

SCJP Exam for J2SE 5 prelim review

I'm studying for the Sun Java exam for Java 5.0, and using the book SCJP Exam for J2se 5 by Paul Sanghera. So far the writing is quite clear, but quite a few typos are showing up that are bothering me.

I think they could have put a little more effort into proofreading the book, considering it's not an inexpensive book.

So far:
* Some errors in the value ranges for primitive classes - the text is correct but the diagram is wrong.

* A few errors in the solutions for the chapter review questions

* Discrepancy between the text and the figure for the discusson on non-static nested classes (aka inner classes) and static nested classes. The discussion was a bit confusing so I looked up more detailed information (more here). I'll need to run the example figures and see if the code as specified in the book actually works.

I'm only halfway through chapter 3, so I'm wondering how good this book will be. On the plus side, it's a positive aspect that I'm able to actually catch these errors; it's a good way to get a more thorough understanding of Java 5.0.

Tamiyo Kusakari of Shall We Dance?

I just read a very interesting interview with Tamiyo Kusakari, who played the dance instructor in 1996's popular Japanese movie Shall We Dance?

I didn't realize that she was an actual ballerina; I had assumed that all the lead characters were played by actors.

ooh look, my website is down

I have this feeling that my free host, Fateback, has been quietly taken over. Since August, when using Internet Explorer, the domain name takes me to a Japanese host (NIC issues?). Oddly enough, this no longer happens with Firefox. The responses on the support bbs are few, far between, and a little sketchy. Do support people usually ask you to send them your login and password? Shouldn't they be able to help without needing user passwords?

Anyway, in an attempt to update my index page, the file got wiped from the server. While I have the ability to create folders and delete files, I don't have permission to upload files. So eclair.fateback.com is currently out of commission. I think I'll look around for a more reliable host. Before the secret takeover, Fateback was very reliable for a free host.

Santana, KISS, and... The Pussycat Dolls?

The Udo Music Festival 2006 has Santana and KISS as headliners. The Pussycat Dolls will also be performing, which I find to be rather incongruous. But whatever.

Chicken broth

Lately it's been difficult to find chicken broth at my local grocery stores. They used to carry Campbell's chicken broth, but it seems to have disappeared. I wonder if it didn't sell very well. There is a light chicken broth powder available, but the flavor is much thinner (and less fatty and salty) than the chicken broth that I am used to. Without chicken broth my risotto just doesn't come out very well. Ironically it's much easier to find risotto rice now, as the local Kaldi (specialty international foods shop) has started stocking it. I need to check out the larger grocery stores and food specialty shops; they probably have chicken broth. Can't find chicken noodle soup (canned) lately either, but perhaps that's because of the season. Much less call for that sort of thing in the summer I expect.