It was ten years ago yesterday that my wife and I first met. We owe that chance meeting to the fact that my ex-roommate’s birthday happens to fall on Valentine’s Day, which in college is more than enough reason to have a party…The rest is family history.
Wow, Apple’s new iPhone looks like it is going to seriously diminish whatever appetite the market may have had for Microsoft’s Zune. Too bad it won’t be available here for a while, but I guess that gives me time to scrap together the hundred thousand or so yen it’s probably going to cost when it arrives in Japan. As usual, the estimable Luis has all the details.
Recently a colleague turned me on to BookCrossing.com, which is a site that helps people set free their unused books. Because we have a lot of those, I have been slowly registering the ones we need to find new homes for before we can fit any new books on our overcrowded bookshelves. I’ve registered about 70 books so far, and plan to add more as time permits. If you would be interested in reading some of these, please feel free to let me know. If you live in Japan, I would be happy to mail them to you. If you have books of your own that are just taking up space in your home, please consider setting them free. Like people, books love to travel.
My politics are more pragmatic than partisan, which is why I found this news from my home state encouraging:
In Final Weeks, G.O.P. Focuses on Best Bets
WASHINGTON, Oct. 15 — Senior Republican leaders have concluded that Senator Mike DeWine of Ohio, a pivotal state in this year’s fierce midterm election battles, is likely to be heading for defeat and are moving to reduce financial support for his race and divert party money to other embattled Republican senators, party officials said.
Although I do not have anything in particular against Mike DeWine, the current Republican-dominated government has not handled its responsibilities well; so it is time for a change. Although I have my doubts about whether Ohio will actually elect a Democrat to national office (I think John Glenn was the last nationally known Democrat from Ohio), I would be glad to see that change come about. The fact that Ted Strickland seems to be enjoying a significant lead over J. Kenneth Blackwell in the governor’s race also seems to bode well.
Perhaps there is still time to shower a bit of money on DeWine’s opponent, Sherrod Brown.
At long last, today marks my first day as a Mac owner. I picked up my new MacBook last night and let it charge overnight; I’m booting it up for the first time even as I type this message.
So far, so good! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to learn how to use this thing.
This is the weblog of an American expat in Japan, a father of two, a loving husband, an armchair political wonk, an inveterate geek, and an all-around garden-variety fool.
