Shutterglut

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

2011-09-02T10:59:00.000+09:00

My first bash at baking this. Followed the recipe from here.

Article: San Francisco Garlic Fries: Quick Recipes Recipe : bonappetit.com

2011-08-28T21:42:00.001+09:00

San Francisco Garlic Fries: Quick Recipes Recipe : bonappetit.com
http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/quick-recipes/2011/08/san-francisco-garlic-fries

(Sent from Flipboard)

Minami Woody Town Sakura

2011-04-16T22:40:00.000+09:00

Sakura at Osaka Castle Park

2011-04-15T21:19:00.002+09:00

New Orleans 2011

2011-04-03T21:53:00.000+09:00

Fraught With Peril

2011-03-13T12:52:00.000+09:00

Ets and I wondered if it were perhaps a sign from up high that maybe we just weren't meant to go to the Big Easy. I mean, a catastrophic event that cancelled almost all flights less than 24 hours before you're supposed to fly is not what I would call 'subtle'. Even when we made it to Narita Airport and the flight to Dallas was delayed by over 2 hours, we still got on the plane surrounded by hundreds of people who had been there since the day before. Add to that some of the worst turbulence I've ever experienced and you start to seriously doubt if your well-laid plans were indeed well-laid. But things started to look up. We had completely and irrevocably missed our connecting flight to New Orleans but the nice American Airlines people had put us on the next flight an hour later and even upgraded us to First Class (which sounds nice but wasn't given the plane was only a tiny one). Suffice to say, we arrived safe and sound (even if our taxi driver was a speed freak Haitian) and are looking forward to starting our French Quarter explorings.

Where Everyone Hangs Loose

2011-01-08T11:31:00.002+09:00

Ets and I rang in the new year in paradise. She was there for a holiday and I was there to present at a conference (and a bit of the former).

We arrived early in the morning and had most of the day ahead of us. But tired as we were from the long flight, we only had the energy to listlessly wander around Ala Moana shopping centre. Still, that gave us the chance to get the lay of the land and plan our big shopping trip.

Ets already knew where she wanted to have breakfast the next day. We both read in
various books and travel sites about Eggs 'n' Things which should be an institution unto itself. Famous for pancakes, the restaurant is almost always packed. In fact, we were there at 8am and we didn't get seated until after 9am. The pancakes, for me at least, were okay but what they came with (spicy fried mahi mahi) was what sold me. Meals in general are huge, just like the people, and we found that we were usually fine until dinner time.

Blueberry Macadamia (left) and Strawberry Macadamia (right) pancakes

Suitably stuffed, we went for a much needed walk around the main Waikiki drag and further into central Honolulu to the Nordstrom Rack for me to buy shoes. We came across a delivery truck for a meat supplier in town and had to take a picture. The sign should be a shirt for the entire Wong Clan. Dinner time rolled around son enough and we went to the Side Street Inn located in what appeared to be a sketchy part of town. Apparently, this is a local favourite being substantially off the beaten track, I think we were the only tourists there. I'd read good things about the food (you will see this as a recurring theme) and felt that it was worth the effort. We went with the waitreses' recommendation of the Aku Poke (marinated raw tuna in chilli pepper water, spring onions, and sesame oil), and the famous pan-fried pork chops. Both very, very good although the pork chops were a little on the dry side (they were saved by the crispy, well-seasoned crust).

The Aku Poke (left) and the Pan-fried Pork Chops (right)

Day 3 saw us on our way to the Polynesian Cultural Centre for our history lesson on the islands culminating in a luau and a show. The tour was fairly interesting and felt a little like how I would imagine a Hawaii-themed Disney Land would look like complete with kid-friendly activities and overpriced concessions. The main draw for me was the luau, specifically the kalua pig (it's all about the babi) and that certainly didn't disappoint. The show, Ha: The Breath of Life, was good too but the storyline reminded me too much of the Lion King .

The Kalua Pig fresh from the underground oven.
Oh, you magnificent beast.

The after-dinner show

One of the restaurants on Ets' list was the Cheesecake Factory. She had first heard of it from The Big Bang Theory and coupled with her love of all things cheesecake, she absolutely had to go and it didn't let us down. I'd read about the Ultimate Red Velvet Cheesecake (by now, I had become the F&B Coordinator of the trip) and it was a huge slice of creamy heaven.

The Yard House located in the Beach Walk area of downtown Waikiki was home of the world's largest selection of draft beers. A title that remains unchallenged although I suspect that Popeye's in Ryogoku might come close with its 77 beers on tap. I had the Coconut Porter and Ets turned out to be a fan of the raspberry lambic. Can you believe I got carded there? Seeing as their main money-spinner was the bar, all the food naturally goes with beer. The Happy Hour Poke Stack and Grilled Korean BBQ Beef were reasonably good as were the cheeseburger sliders.

Since we were celebrating the end of 2010 and the start of 2011 in paradise, we had to catch at least one fireworks show, right? The Hilton Hawaiian Village down the road had one at 8:45 and we found ourselves a nice vantage point out by Fort Derussy Park.

Up till this point, it was shopping, eating, and general wanderings. But what trip to Hawaii would be complete without a trip to a beach? We took the bus to Hanauma Bay to take in a spot of snorkeling. The weather was picture-perfect and it wasn't too crowded. The water was nice and clear and we got to use our new water-proof camera that I had gotten us for Christmas.

The next day, we planned to go to the KCC Farmers Market, then hike up the Diamond Head Crater, and finish off with dinner at Irifune's. However, we didn't count on the fact that a lot of things would be shut down for New Year's and the only thing we could do was the hike. Although it was a little disappointing that my epicurean dreams of sampling local food at the Farmers Market and the garlic ahi at Irifune were dashed, the hike was well worth the effort.

We were off to Maui on Sunday where we checked in to the Sheraton in Ka'anapali. Much to my surprise and her delight, we were upgraded from the Garden View to the Ocean Front Room. Score!

Everyone we spoke to back in Honolulu mentioned how the snorkeling at Black Rock (right outside the Sheraton) was the place to go for snorkeling. The weather was amazing and we saw rainbows every day we were there. I could see why the conference organizers chose this particular spot.

Sengari Camp 2010 Photos

2010-09-16T13:08:00.000+09:00

Sengari Camp 2010

2010-09-12T15:17:00.000+09:00

This year's Intensive English Summer Camp for the 3rd year students at my uni has begun. After a month-long break, the kids are ready to start back up and get to work on a big presentation culminating in a panel discussion.

My kids have done a reasonable job with their homework and researching their topics. Now it's up to them to put a presentation together and deliver it.

It's not all work though. We had a BBQ last night, and later today we'll have a scavenger hunt with winning teams getting the most points towards the ultimate goal of winning the prestigious Sengari Cup.

Compared to last year, it's definitely going a lot better now. Most likely it's due to the fact that last year, I was new to the whole thing and I didn't know any of the kids. This time round, I know several of them as I taught them last year.

We're still barely halfway through the whole camp but it's looking good so far.

Gion Matsuri 2010

2010-07-17T20:07:00.000+09:00

Ets and I have always wanted to see the Gion Matsuri in Kyoto even though we knew that, being one of the most popular festivals in Japan, it would be crowded beyond belief. Truth be told, several things were in play that made it fairly difficult to leave the comfort of home and make the journey to Kyoto.

I've already mentioned how crowded it would be. A second deterrent was that it would be 33 degrees (which would feel much higher in the blistering sun). The last was that we would have to be there by 9 which meant that we would have to catch the 7.36 train.

Well, we pulled out all the stops and made it on time to secure a reasonably good spot. True enough, the heat was ridiculous (Mum, remember Kyoto in summer?) and we reached our limit after seeing 3 large mikoshi (portable wooden shrines), went for lunch, and then started our way back home at the embarrassingly early hour of 1.30p.m.

Nevertheless, that's another thing we can cross off our list.

Rosbif

2010-06-25T19:49:00.000+09:00

After the sudden onset of camping madness coupled with my friend's skill in the bbq culinary arts, I've been scouring the web in search of recipes to try for my next grilling expedition.

The wonders of stumbleupon also presented to me a fine example of preparing beef (particularly tough cuts) for roasting or grilling. This involved salting the heck out of the meat for up to an hour. The reasons behind this are threefold. First, the salt breaks down the proteins thus making even tough cuts more tender. Two, the salt draws water out of the meat to the surface, mixes with the salt and then, through osmosis, goes back down to flavour the meat. Three, well, there is no three. Before roasting, the meat is washed off and, in my case, flavoured further with a spice rub.

I also used the drippings to make a gravy to go along with the roast beef and mashed potatoes. The ends were quite crusty but the center was nice and pink. Not over-cooked and still quite moist.

All in all, quite a successful first try at making a roast dinner. It passed the wife test and I shall be making this at again home as well as during future camping trips perhaps with different rubs.

Tonight's dinner brought to you by this and this.

By Divine Design

2010-06-15T14:39:00.000+09:00

My sophomore students have to write an essay about two general problems that university students will encounter after they graduate. One is about finding a job, keeping a job, and finding a new job. The other is finding a good spouse, avoiding divorce, and raising a good family.

This one particular student chose a particularly interesting source to use in his essay.

How do you choose a good/right spouse?

Look for the characteristics that ALLAH lays out for the human being - then choose a woman whose character most closely comes to that which ALLAH desires in a human being and you will be happy.
The Muslim Observer (2009)

Asleep?! In MY Class?!

2010-06-10T16:16:00.002+09:00

As any teacher in Japan will tell you, students sleeping in class is commonplace. How they are dealt with depends on the individual teacher and the student could be given a smack upside the head or be simply left alone to his dreamtime musings.

Near the end of my communication class today, one student (who is usually reasonably attentive) fell into a very deep slumber. So deep that I could take a photo, with flash, about a foot from his face, put it in a PowerPoint file and then tell everyone quite loudly what the homework for the week was, and still remain completely dead to the world.

Next, I told everyone that they could leave and to do so quietly. My student remained firmly entrenched in his slumber well after the next class arrived and awoke to find himself surrounded by unfamiliar students and a new teacher.

Am I evil?

You can see him sleeping in corner after his classmates left, and his picture in my homework PowerPoint (which he unfortunately missed)

2010-05-22T20:15:00.001+09:00

Second stop is a meat-on-sticks joint that served up miso-dipped deep-fried pork and a beer.

2010-05-22T19:22:00.001+09:00

Ets and I are out tonight for some kind of eating festival thing. About 80 restaurants, cafes, and bars are participating. The idea is you buy tickets that can be redeemed at these establishments and they have predetermined menu items that they will serve.

First stop is the Red Leaf Cafe with their roast beef and sangria sampler.

King of the Hill ... and his wife

2010-05-09T22:17:00.000+09:00

Our second round of camping in as many weeks was a result of much deliberation (that is, not much at all) by the womenfolk of the concerned parties.

Our friends Satoshi and Yuko (along with baby Shin-chan in tow) are big camping nuts. Name any essential, and many non-essential, pieces of camping and they've probably got it. Granted, our definitions of "essential" may differ somewhat but they do know how to camp and do it in style. In fact, it was this particular couple who got us turned on to the whole camping thing in the first place.

The campsite they led us to was literally on top of a hill with a small observatory nearby. It's run by the municipal government and whilst it was lacking some of the refinements of other paid campsites, there was still a very new, clean toilet and a perfectly serviceable washing up area. And it was free too! The night was just as cold as last week but I was better prepared with my new sleeping bag and this campsite also afforded us a great view of the city in the distance. Saw the Dipper again too thanks to the wonderfully clear skies.

It was actually hard to believe that such a nice place, and one that felt really in the middle of nowhere, was so near to our apartment. A mere 40-minute drive was all it took to get us feeling like civilization was much further away than it actually was.

Man of the Jungle! ... and his wife

2010-05-08T10:10:00.001+09:00

This past Golden Week (April 29 - May 1), ets and I went off to the mountains for a spell of communing with nature (with all the creature comforts that we could feasibly bring with us). However, the days leading up to GW saw ets in ever-increasing fervor which led to a quick trip to the local Sports Depo to ogle camping gear and comparison shop.

A few days and a not-insubstantial sum of money later, we were in the possession of a very nice tent, tarp, cooler box, ice packs, air mattress, dutch oven, and all the other necessary camping accoutrements.

Ets, in all her grace and glory, managed to secure us a car-camping site which turned out to be quite near and actually very nice. The Japanese name translates into something like Jungle of Nature and that quite accurately describes it. Fortunately, the first night we camped out, there was only one other family there and we were far enough from each other that we couldn't see the lights of each others' lanterns. This meant a lovely dark campsite where we could see the cosmos in its infinite wonder.

The nights were butt-clenchingly cold and my cheap 7-year-old sleeping bag wasn't quite rated down to those temperatures. Fortunately, wearing almost everything I had was just about enough to help me make it through the night. (New bag acquired, rated to -12C).

As far as our first camping trip went, it couldn't have gone better. We're about to head off again this weekend with some friends (real hardcore campers) to a place in the same vicinity.

Beware, all ye who enter here!

2010-05-07T10:28:00.002+09:00

When I eventually have children, I have always hoped that I would have at least one daughter. I say this whilst simultaneously nipping any pregnant rumours in the bud. I stumbled across this earlier today. This is infinitely better than, and a worthy addendum to, the "one shotgun per daughter" approach to raising children.

A Birthday Hanami

2010-04-04T22:02:00.000+09:00

Due to a marvelous stroke of coincidence, Ets' birthday fell exactly on the exact day when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. You really couldn't time this any better if you tried.

An even greater coincidence saw some friends invite us for a hanami cum BBQ party so that's how we celebrated my lovely wife's birthday.

The bunch of us drove to Koshienhama Seaside Park to enjoy the spectacularly great day but it turns out plenty of people had the same idea and the car park was completely full so we had to resort to parking the car outside on the sidewalk. With that done, we got to setting up our BBQ area with the grill, chairs, table, and shade before firing up the coals and prepping the food.

I prepared my favourite Jamaican Jerk marinaded beef and Satoshi brought a dutch oven with the intention of putting a whole chicken in it at some point.

All in all, a great day out with some good food coupled with some fellow BBQ aficionados. If today was any indication, the bunch of us will probably end up going camping in the coming months. Definitely looking forward to it.

The Start Of Something Blur

2010-03-27T20:51:00.001+09:00

A few weeks ago, I stumbled across the Bokeh Masters Kit. Since seeing examples of it a while ago, it's been something I've always wanted to try it out. I've also seen several do-it-yourself tutorials but the prospect of ending up with something less than durable put me off making any myself. The Bokeh Masters Kit seemed to solve that particular problem as it's made of plastic and should be more substantial than any card cutouts I make myself. My kit arrived this morning and I only just took my first shot a few minutes ago. My frantic search of appropriate light sources in the house turned up nothing but then I discovered that the street lights in the distance were fine.

My thoughts about the kit. The laser-cut plastic is more than adequate and will last indefinitely if treated right. However, the cut edges have a slight discoloration which makes it look a bit cheap (so does the generic rubber band you have to use to affix the whole thing to your lens). That said, the price is right and you get more attachments than you probably need. Will I recommend it to a friend? I already have.

Long-distance Goodbyes

2010-03-22T22:47:00.001+09:00

Understandably, the arrival of a 3-day weekend sees many taking the opportunity to take a short trip further afield than they normally would during a weekend of the usual 2-day variety.

For us at work, we had a farewell party up at school for the 4 who are leaving which was pleasant enough as the company was good and, perhaps more importantly, the food was good and plentiful.

A new kind of suffering came after the party ended. The kind which involves a lot of swearing, some wailing, and maybe even some gnashing of teeth. What was normally a 40-minute drive door-to-door ended up being 2 hours and 10 minutes. I was keeping my eye on highway conditions throughout the day by constantly refreshing the highway page and seeing that my entire journey on the highway would be jammed up the wazoo, I decided to take the back roads thinking that it would be smoother. Big mistake. The problems were three-fold. One: a two-lane road became one early on and only opened up again near my place. Two: between those two points, there must have been, and I kid you not, two-hundred and fifty-three gazillion and forty-six stop lights. Three: this being the last day of a 3-day weekend, all the travelers were coming back home.

Plainly, the next time a farewell party falls on any part of a 3-day weekend, I'm going to stay at home and say my goodbyes over the phone.

2010-03-21T19:41:00.000+09:00

Wandering Around Kyoto

2010-03-20T23:05:00.003+09:00

Making the most of my off-duty days before the new school year begins, Ets and I went to Kyoto to take explore parts of the old capital. We started in Nishiki Ichiba where a long, narrow, covered shopping arcade housed several shops selling small nicknacks and plenty more selling all kinds of food. In all of them, we saw proprietors beckoning to passers-by and master craftsmen practicing their art.

We saw one young man drawing short lines of batter on a squarish metal pan before liberally covering the entire surface with peanuts. He then closed the lid, sandwiching the mixture, and placed it on top of a gas burner where it joined a long line of several other identical pans. The end result is a savoury and crunchy biscuit which conjured a strong desire for a cup of matcha.

Another shop we passed by sold kitchen knives of all shapes and sizes, all forged by the master in the back. Each blade bore his carefully engraved name on the blade just above the tang and a unique hamon. At the time of our visit, the master was busily sharpening several of his knives.

After walking up and down the length of the street, we proceeded to the Kyoto Botanical Gardens. Ets had seen in the news a few days ago that the plum trees were in full bloom. Even though it was a Friday, Kyoto was surprisingly crowded and the garden was filled with flowers and old people alike. We saw some artists either painting of sketching the more picturesque locations and while most of them were seated by the lake, we saw one young lass in the process of completing a huge poster-sized sketch of a water wheel.

The main purpose of coming all the way to Kyoto was the annual lighting up of the region's temples which only lasts for a couple of weeks. But since it was still about 5, we walked around in the general direction of Kodaiji Temple keeping our eyes open for interesting places for dinner. What finally won our patronage was a small izakaya that was unremarkable for the most part except for the smallish window through which you could see skewers of beef tendon slowly simmering in a pot of tantalizing broth. So enticing was this brazen display that we continually saw people glancing, even staring, at the skewers during the course of our dinner.

Kodaiji itself was worth the 600 yen entrance fee and the various buildings in the temple grounds were lit up amazingly. One lake deep within the interior was so still it was like looking at a mirror. The reflection of a smaller shrine above was so clear it was impossible to tell from pictures which was the reflection. I only have one gripe though, and it is that noone was allowed to use tripods within the temple grounds because "there might not be enough space for everyone". Bullhockey.

I Dub Thee "Village Pie"! ... Or "Farmers Pie"!

2010-03-14T19:52:00.001+09:00

But definitely not "Cow Pie".

Following one of my sudden and inexplicable culinary urges, I decided to cook dinner again tonight and had a similarly pressing desire to try my hand at making a Shepherds Pie. I had found a simple recipe a while ago and it had taken a backseat for some reason or other. Is it a sudden 'homesickness' for the time spent in the UK all those years ago? Maybe, but I thought it'd make a nice change as well as a good chance to try cooking something new.

So first of all, I must admit that a combination of unavoidable circumstances led to what eventually emerged from the oven. Namely, the lack of minced lamb, the wife's inability to eat green peas, and a shortage of willpower to venture out to the supermarket. As such, liberties were taken as to the substitution and interpretation of the recipe.

Neither of us felt like going shopping so we used some minced chicken that was left in the freezer. I know, I know ... no lamb, not even beef (which would made it a Cottage Pie). Just some dry, minced chicken. And frozen.

And to further this sacrilegious display, I used instant mashed potato flakes.

But all in all, Ets and I both agreed that it was actually quite tasty and I consoled myself with the fact that it was probably healthier than using lamb or beef.

So here's the recipe (adapted from here).

Ingredients:
2 cups mashed potato (prepared as per instructions on the box)
500g minced chicken
1 onion chopped
1 carrot chopped
4 tbsp butter / margarine
1/2 cup stock
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 1 tbsp water

Procedure:
1) Melt the butter in a pan and saute the onion and carrots until tender (about 10 minutes).

2) Add chicken and saute until almost cooked.

3) Add salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, stock and cook uncovered over low heat for 10 minutes (add more stock as necessary to keep moist).

4) A minute or so before it's done, stir in the cornstarch mixture to thicken the sauce.

5) Place all of this in a baking dish and spread the mashed potatoes on top. Drag a fork lightly over the top to make lines and small peaks that will brown and crisp in the oven.

6) Place in an oven heated to 210 C for 30 minutes. Then switch to grill for around 15 minutes to further brown the top.

This was a smidgen more than the two of us needed for dinner but we managed to eat all of it and two slices of garlic toast anyway.

So ... here's how it turned out.

Pretty good, huh? Quite happy that it wasn't dry at all and not LUMpy in the slightest (Mum: nudge, nudge, wink, wink).

Kyushu & Hiroshima - The Pictures

2010-03-12T20:37:00.002+09:00

Kyushu & Hiroshima - Pt. 4

2010-03-11T09:02:00.001+09:00

A freak snowfall forced ets and me to reschedule our visit to the floating shrine in Miyajima. Surprising as the weather was, the worst of it was during our morning-long train ride from Kyushu to Hiroshima. The scenery that passed us was blanketed by snow and we were relieved that we were spending the next few hours in a warm train and not gallavanting around outside.

Fortunately, by the time we reached Hiroshima, and indeed for the rest of the day, the weather resigned itself to brief sprinklings at random intervals. It was pleasant enough for us to get out and take in Hiroshima castle and the A-bomb museum on foot.

On this our final day, we find ourselves blessed with brilliant sunshine and a much milder and more accommodating clime as a comparably short train and ferry ride takes us to the floating shrine.

Kyushu & Hiroshima - Pt. 3

2010-03-09T10:40:00.001+09:00

We spent night 2 in Beppu where it rained since we got there but the bracing cold made soaking in a hot outdoor bath all the more pleasurable. We had the ocean right in front of us and hardly anyone else was there.

This morning is just as gray and cold but the rain should stop. Hopefully by the time we get to Yufuin.

Kyushu & Hiroshima - Pt. 2

2010-03-08T09:07:00.001+09:00

Ets and I pulled into Yudaonsen Station just before 6 in the evening and, after checking in, proptly went to have a hot bath.

Night One was spent in Matsumasa Hotel and our stay at this surprisingly large hotel was interspersed with public nudity.

We're now on our way to Beppu after an early start and will visit the 8 Hells ... after having lunch.

Kyushu & Hiroshima - Pt. 1

2010-03-07T09:59:00.001+09:00

My travel agent sniffed out the same cheap train tickets that took us to Hokkaido two summers ago. This time, our eyes fell to the Southern-but-not-as-Southern-as-Okinawa isle of Kyushu.

After scouring the web for hotels, should-see spots, and must-eat delicacies, an itinerary was drawn up and we are currently en route to our first port of call; Okayama. We shall take a break from sitting down and enquire what the good town might have in the way of lunch.

2010-02-25T23:33:00.001+09:00

What Fresh Hell Is This?!

2010-02-24T18:11:00.001+09:00

In my ongoing culinary tour of Japan, I frequently encounter new flavours and am usually pleasantly surprised. Not 10 minutes earlier, I was in the discount shop across the road and since I'm always on the lookout for new things, I saw a new soft drink sitting on the shelf bearing the label "Chocolate Sparkling".

Intrigued, and most likely against all better judgment, I decided to try it. I fully expected a new taste sensation and admit that I imagined it to be "interesting" at best and terrible beyond words at worst.

Unfortunately, this was one of those rare occurrences where I discover that my sense of adventure has led me astray. There is definitely a chocolate-like aroma and flavour but then you stop and wonder how they managed to get it to smell and taste like it does. There is also a very odd sensation once you drink it. You know that slightly oily, dare I say creamy, sensation in your mouth after you eat some chocolate? Why is it also in a soft drink that contains absolutely no chocolate?

No, sir. I will not be buying this bottled elixir of devil piss again. Suntory does make some most excellent beverages and their Malts beer is a personal perennial favourite but this gustatory affront deserves nothing more than a withering glance.

Kobe Ijinkan & Nagata

2010-02-12T22:31:00.001+09:00

Spurred on by the promise of good food, Ets and I went out to meet Patrick and Nobuko in Nagata where I am told sobameshi (fried noodles and rice) is a local specialty. Nagata is also where Tetsujin 28 resides.

Tokyo had their Gundam (which I believe is now dismantled) but Kobe and its 18-meter tall Tetsujin lives on striking an unmistakeably heroic pose.

Before that though, Ets and I went to Sannomiya to wander around Chinatown and to seek out a particular Starbucks. What made this one special is that it is housed in what used to be one of the foreign residences dating back to the late Taisho and early Meiji eras.

The whole two-storey house is one fancy Starbucks. There are even some old furniture and the rest of the interior is probably as accurate as it can be after being Bucksified.

The remaining houses in the area, which is on top of a hill, remain a tourist attraction and still retain a certain charm despite some over-ambitious claims (one cafe nearby advertised an ocean-view. Not entirely false but you had to peer over a hundred rooftops to catch the tiniest glimpse of the ocean).

Faster than a speeding ADSL

2010-02-12T21:40:00.000+09:00

Haven't done one of these in a while and since I've revamped the blog, thought I'd see how fast my new fiber connection is.