commit 34c72fbcbbe434eb8967755cfaa602699d49264d parent 650dc4c6babb1f25277c8e2b15efc3198310c228 Author: Chris Bracken <chris@bracken.jp> Date: Sun, 12 Mar 2023 16:42:50 -0700 Publish site Diffstat:
58 files changed, 10327 insertions(+), 258 deletions(-)
diff --git a/2001/08/chelem-yucatan-mexico/index.html b/2001/08/chelem-yucatan-mexico/index.html @@ -54,7 +54,8 @@ condition. In the end we sat on a grass embankment close to the ocean, observing what appeared to be the remains of a house that had been bulldozed across the beach and into the ocean; there still were big chunks of concrete wall strewn all over the place. It was sort of post-apocalyptic looking. On the -bright side, there was a nice cool breeze.</p></article> +bright side, there was a nice cool breeze.</p> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2001/08/izamal-yucatan-mexico/index.html b/2001/08/izamal-yucatan-mexico/index.html @@ -81,7 +81,8 @@ pictures, but it was well worth the trip.</p> <li><em>Poc-Chuc:</em> A Yucatecan dish made with pork marinaded in orange juice.</li> <li><em>Rellenos Negros:</em> A spicy, black Yucatecan soup made from beans, with pieces of chicken and a hard boiled egg bathing in it.</li> -</ol></article> +</ol> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2001/08/merida-yucatan-mexico/index.html b/2001/08/merida-yucatan-mexico/index.html @@ -86,7 +86,8 @@ streets.</p> as many people as the laws of physics will allow. For example the last one we used had 16 people stuffed into it.</li> <li><em>Plaza Principal:</em> the main square found in almost every Mexican town.</li> -</ol></article> +</ol> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2001/08/progreso-yucatan-mexico/index.html b/2001/08/progreso-yucatan-mexico/index.html @@ -56,7 +56,8 @@ we put beaches like that in beer commercials. I guess when Cancún is only a few hours drive away, you can afford to be picky. The only downside is that most of the palm trees are tiny. The previous ones were all ripped out during Hurricane Gilberto a few years ago. As a result there’s very little shade, so your only -option is to hide under a palapa.</p></article> +option is to hide under a palapa.</p> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2001/08/quest-for-a-hammock/index.html b/2001/08/quest-for-a-hammock/index.html @@ -86,7 +86,8 @@ which you get it has very, very sharp, needle-like barbs. You get the point.</p> <h3 id="glossary">Glossary</h3> <ol> <li><em>Tlapalería:</em> A sort of little roadside hardware store.</li> -</ol></article> +</ol> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2001/09/dzibilchaltun-yucatan-mexico/index.html b/2001/09/dzibilchaltun-yucatan-mexico/index.html @@ -89,7 +89,8 @@ waiting for a colectivo to drive by and pick us up. For 30 minutes we sat around, the air totally still and boiling hot, with only the sound of the mosquitos and the cow in the field next to us. I’m not entirely sure what was wrong with it, but the way it hollered made it sound demented and insane. I -honestly hope I never drink any milk from that one; no way that’s safe.</p></article> +honestly hope I never drink any milk from that one; no way that’s safe.</p> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2001/09/isla-mujeres-quintana-roo-mexico/index.html b/2001/09/isla-mujeres-quintana-roo-mexico/index.html @@ -160,7 +160,8 @@ it is, I have to admit is actually sort of mezmerising.</p> <p>All in all, it was a great vacation before everything gets crazy here. We hope we’ll have time to go back at some point for another visit. The place to stay is definitely the Hotel El Marcianito; the guy who runs it is totally friendly, -and gave us a ton of advice on places to see.</p></article> +and gave us a ton of advice on places to see.</p> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2001/12/chichen-itza-yucatan-mexico/index.html b/2001/12/chichen-itza-yucatan-mexico/index.html @@ -112,7 +112,8 @@ about 100 years later, and then attacked by the Toltecs, a tribe known for its brutality at war. Structures from the period between 1000 and 1300 AD show marked Toltec influences, including numeral reliefs of Toltec gods, including Quetzalcoatl, the plumed serpent. The city was abandonned once again around -1300, this time permanently.</p></article> +1300, this time permanently.</p> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2001/12/palenque-chiapas-mexico/index.html b/2001/12/palenque-chiapas-mexico/index.html @@ -54,7 +54,8 @@ jade death mask of Pakal, former ruler of the city. Unfortunately, it’s no longer possible to visit the inside of the Temple of the Inscriptions without a research permit. In theory, that involves applications via your university and submissions of your research to the government; in practice it involves 150 -pesos to the right people.</p></article> +pesos to the right people.</p> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2001/12/san-cristobal-de-las-casas-chiapas-mexico/index.html b/2001/12/san-cristobal-de-las-casas-chiapas-mexico/index.html @@ -91,7 +91,8 @@ able to live in conditions similar to the rest of the population. Most people in the villages still lack food, clothing and (non-dirt) floors in their houses, let alone running water and electricity. And although Chiapas produces more electricity than any other state, less than half the population has -electricity in its home.</p></article> +electricity in its home.</p> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2001/12/valladolid-yucatan-mexico/index.html b/2001/12/valladolid-yucatan-mexico/index.html @@ -38,11 +38,10 @@ Montejo) descended on the ceremonial centre of the Zací (Hawk) Maya, waging war on the <em>Cupules</em>, a group of Maya that hadn’t taken kindly to the Spanish conquistadors. When the battle was done and the town had been razed, he renamed -it Valladolid in honour of the Spanish city of the same name.</p> -<p>Today, -Valladolid is one of the most beautiful colonial cities in the Yucatán, with a -mix of Spanish and Maya influences. Maya from local pueblas and from the city -sell traditional <em>huipiles</em> near the plaza downtown. The city is still roughly +it Valladolid in honour of the Spanish city of the same name. Today, Valladolid +is one of the most beautiful colonial cities in the Yucatán, with a mix of +Spanish and Maya influences. Maya from local pueblas and from the city sell +traditional <em>huipiles</em> near the plaza downtown. The city is still roughly centered on the <em>Cenote Zací</em> that was the ceremonial centre of the original Mayan settlement.</p> <figure><img src="/post/2001-12-27-cenote.jpg" @@ -143,7 +142,8 @@ so until the Revolution began that November.</p> death. In the courtyard of the Shrine of San Roque, Kantún, Albertos, and Bonilla faced the firing squad. That November, Francisco Madero launched the Mexican Revolution, and by the following April, 17000 people had taken up arms -against Porfirio Diaz and his government. The rest is <a href="http://history.acusd.edu/gen/projects/border/page01.html">history</a>.</p></article> +against Porfirio Diaz and his government. The rest is <a href="http://history.acusd.edu/gen/projects/border/page01.html">history</a>.</p> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2002/01/feliz-navidad/index.html b/2002/01/feliz-navidad/index.html @@ -35,14 +35,14 @@ <h2 class="post-title"><a href="https://chris.bracken.jp/2002/01/feliz-navidad/">¡Feliz Navidad!</a></h2> 01 January 2002 <p>Took a two week trip through southern México for Christmas. Starting in Mérida, -southwest into Campeche, Tabasco, Veracruz and then Chiapas.</p> -<p>Stopped -to visit the Mayan ruins at Palenque, followed by some of the villages around -San Cristóbal de las Casas. From there, it was northeast back onto the Yucatán -peninsula, to Tulúm, then onwards north again to spend Christmas swimming in -the Caribbean on Isla Mujeres in 30 degree weather. After a few days, it was +southwest into Campeche, Tabasco, Veracruz and then Chiapas. Stopped to visit +the Mayan ruins at Palenque, followed by some of the villages around San +Cristóbal de las Casas. From there, it was northeast back onto the Yucatán +peninsula, to Tulúm, then onwards north again to spend Christmas swimming in the +Caribbean on Isla Mujeres in 30 degree weather. After a few days, it was westward again to Chichen Itzá and Valladolid before finally returning home to -Mérida.</p></article> +Mérida.</p> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2002/03/la-habana/index.html b/2002/03/la-habana/index.html @@ -217,7 +217,8 @@ capitalism in Cuba.</li> <li><em>Jinetero:</em> Literally a ‘jockey.’ Jineteros will approach you and offer to show you a restaurant or store. In exchange, the restaurant charges you extra for your meal and the jinetero gets to keep the surcharge.</li> -</ol></article> +</ol> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2002/03/trinidad-sancti-spiritus-cuba/index.html b/2002/03/trinidad-sancti-spiritus-cuba/index.html @@ -93,7 +93,8 @@ guitars and trumpets. People had pulled up some old wooden benches and were serving mojitos made (I swear) straight rum, some sugar, and crushed mint. A woman named Blanquita invited us in, offered us some mojitos and yanked us up off the bench to teach us some salsa while chickens scuttled around our feet. -It was probably my most vivid memory of Cuba.</p></article> +It was probably my most vivid memory of Cuba.</p> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2002/04/chetumal-quintana-roo-mexico/index.html b/2002/04/chetumal-quintana-roo-mexico/index.html @@ -121,7 +121,8 @@ midnight I woke up and, in a final farewell to the bugs I had picked up in Cuba, I threw up (in order) the dinner tamale, followed by the entire plate of celebratory Poc Chuc I had eaten that afternoon. I felt surprisingly better, and fell sound asleep excited about the next day’s 12 hour trip down a narrow -dirt track road through the jungles of Belize and into northern Guatemala.</p></article> +dirt track road through the jungles of Belize and into northern Guatemala.</p> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2003/08/biking-japan-2003/index.html b/2003/08/biking-japan-2003/index.html @@ -188,7 +188,8 @@ early- to mid-August, near Obon, the Day of the Dead.</li> <li><em>Yukata:</em> traditional light cotton kimonos that come in a variety of colours and patterns.</li> <li><em>Uchiwa:</em> Large, flat traditional Japanese fan.</li> -</ol></article> +</ol> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2004/08/summer-2004-in-japan/index.html b/2004/08/summer-2004-in-japan/index.html @@ -197,7 +197,8 @@ wait to be back.</p> <li><em>Onigiri:</em> Rice balls, often stuffed with pickled plum or fish.</li> <li><em>kaki-kori:</em> Shaved ice covered in flavoured syrup such as strawberry, blueberry, or green tea.</li> -</ol></article> +</ol> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2004/11/apartment-hunting/index.html b/2004/11/apartment-hunting/index.html @@ -43,7 +43,9 @@ incredibly central location in Tokyo with a ton of great restaurants; the downside is that tea costs 735 yen at the coffee shop across the way.</p> <figure><img src="/post/2004-11-04-balcony.jpg" alt="Tokyo Tower viewed from Ebisu Garden Place"/> -</figure></article> +</figure> + +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2004/12/fresh-snow/index.html b/2004/12/fresh-snow/index.html @@ -43,7 +43,8 @@ all crowded around the windows to check out the view.</p> <p>With the recent cold snap, the views this morning are incredibly clear. A little less so when passed through the tiny lens of my cell-phone camera. To see it in person, it really does dominate the horizon; and at over 100km away, -that’s a pretty big feat.</p></article> +that’s a pretty big feat.</p> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2004/12/samui/index.html b/2004/12/samui/index.html @@ -41,7 +41,8 @@ full-out blizzard, and it’s still coming down like crazy as I write this.</p> <p>In unrelated news, I’m off to Kyoto for Oshogatsu from the 31st to the 3rd. This time, I swear I’ll post pictures!</p> -<p>Hope everyone had a happy Christmas. See you in 2005!</p></article> +<p>Hope everyone had a happy Christmas. See you in 2005!</p> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2005/01/akemashite-omedetou/index.html b/2005/01/akemashite-omedetou/index.html @@ -48,7 +48,8 @@ morning in the midst of the blizzard.</p> <p>Spent the next few days shopping in Kyoto, visiting more friends, and re-visiting shrines and temples before heading back to Tokyo on the 3rd—though on the return trip, I had to stand from Nagoya onwards since the trains were -booked to 120%.</p></article> +booked to 120%.</p> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2005/03/huh/index.html b/2005/03/huh/index.html @@ -45,7 +45,8 @@ and wearing a giant fish on his head, wailing away on a guitar.</p> alt="Man with fish on head playing guitar"/> </figure> -<p><em>Update (2011-04-27):</em> Found a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DbvxgmEAtE">YouTube video</a>.</p></article> +<p><em>Update (2011-04-27):</em> Found a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DbvxgmEAtE">YouTube video</a>.</p> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2005/04/sakura-fubuki/index.html b/2005/04/sakura-fubuki/index.html @@ -47,7 +47,8 @@ so it’s been packed with everyone in the neighbourhood until almost midnight every night this week. With the cherry blossoms falling like snow since this morning, the whole thing will be over with by early next week, so Yasuko and I plan to get in one last hana-mi event tomorrow evening before heading back to -work on Monday.</p></article> +work on Monday.</p> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2005/07/kekkon-shite-kuremasu-ka/index.html b/2005/07/kekkon-shite-kuremasu-ka/index.html @@ -53,7 +53,8 @@ we were lucky to reserve when we did, back in April. Even then, some restaurants we talked to were already booked solid until mid-December.</p> <p>In any case, with the shrine and restaurant out of the way, all we have left to figure out is wedding rings, kimonos, invitations, flowers, food, gifts, -speeches, photos, …</p></article> +speeches, photos, …</p> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2005/08/look-at-all-the-pretty-pictures/index.html b/2005/08/look-at-all-the-pretty-pictures/index.html @@ -36,12 +36,11 @@ 05 August 2005 <p>So I moved my webpage and was all of a sudden faced with a deluge of emails from people who I never even knew read the thing. Among those emails was a -request from my amigo Chaffee requesting more pictures.</p> -<p>Seeing as -I’d always wanted to play with the <a href="https://flickr.com/services/">Flickr API</a>, I requested an API -Key and started hacking away at some <a href="https://php.net">PHP</a>. The end result is that on the -left side of this page, you now get to see whatever happens to be the latest -picture I’ve taken on my mobile phone.</p> +request from my amigo Chaffee requesting more pictures. Seeing as I’d always +wanted to play with the <a href="https://flickr.com/services/">Flickr API</a>, I requested an API Key and +started hacking away at some <a href="https://php.net">PHP</a>. The end result is that on the left side +of this page, you now get to see whatever happens to be the latest picture I’ve +taken on my mobile phone.</p> <p>The moment I take a picture with my cellphone, it gets emailed to the magical servers at <a href="https://flickr.com">Flickr</a> and tagged with a title, some keywords, and a description. The next time someone loads this page, a small PHP script in the @@ -55,7 +54,8 @@ minutes and reading the cached XML if it’s available.</p> feed</a> to my pictures in the HTML headers on this site.</p> <p>My goal—and this is entirely for you, Chaffee—is to take at least one picture a day, which is far more ambitious a schedule than my posting to this -page. We’ll see how that works out.</p></article> +page. We’ll see how that works out.</p> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2005/10/masui-onegai-shimasu/index.html b/2005/10/masui-onegai-shimasu/index.html @@ -108,7 +108,8 @@ death grip on the armrests of the dental chair.</p> <p>I walked out of the office that day with a shiny new hole in my tooth and a temporary filling while they create the permanent one. I managed to do this without once raising my hand, but Dr Nakasawa’s lucky his chair has still got -its bloody armrests attached.</p></article> +its bloody armrests attached.</p> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2006/07/happy-139th-birthday/index.html b/2006/07/happy-139th-birthday/index.html @@ -41,7 +41,8 @@ hot dogs, yakitori, a massive Canadian Flag cake, and imported Canadian beer. By 6pm things, as started to wind down at the park, people started the long trek back to Shibuya and into the Maple Leaf, where it was standing room only.</p> -<p>Some <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbracken/sets/72157594183420453/">pictures of the event</a>.</p></article> +<p>Some <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbracken/sets/72157594183420453/">pictures of the event</a>.</p> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2006/09/mystery-solved/index.html b/2006/09/mystery-solved/index.html @@ -43,7 +43,8 @@ me to believe that like me, the other 12 million people out for a walk this afternoon, will be carrying their litter around in their backpacks and shopping bags.</p> <p>But it turns out this is not the case: an article in <a href="http://www.metropolis.co.jp/">Metropolis</a> -unveils the answer to <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190222191348/http://archive.metropolis.co.jp/tokyorantsravesarchive349/315/tokyorantsravesinc.htm">The Big Tokyo Trash Mystery</a>.</p></article> +unveils the answer to <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190222191348/http://archive.metropolis.co.jp/tokyorantsravesarchive349/315/tokyorantsravesinc.htm">The Big Tokyo Trash Mystery</a>.</p> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2007/01/apple-reinvents-the-iphone/index.html b/2007/01/apple-reinvents-the-iphone/index.html @@ -74,7 +74,8 @@ nearby) and location-aware mapping, shopping/restaurant listings.</li> tuner), you’ll need to pay more than one yen, but the price range is normally below ¥20,000 ($200 Canadian). In its current state, the iPhone won’t sell in Japan even if it’s free; Apple is going to have to do some major work if it -wants to compete with even the bare-bones models on the market in Japan.</p></article> +wants to compete with even the bare-bones models on the market in Japan.</p> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2007/05/google-reader/index.html b/2007/05/google-reader/index.html @@ -59,7 +59,8 @@ being.</p> 7:30am and 9pm to 11pm, with a strange local maximum straggling out around 12:30am. I’d be curious to compare this to <em>before</em> I had a baby that woke me up around that time.</p> -<p><em>Update (2007-06-06):</em> NetNewsWire 3.0 is now out.</p></article> +<p><em>Update (2007-06-06):</em> NetNewsWire 3.0 is now out.</p> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2007/06/pr6/index.html b/2007/06/pr6/index.html @@ -55,7 +55,9 @@ your nearest <a href="https://www.scullinsteel.com/apple2/#dos33master">emulator sake.</p> <figure><img src="/post/2007-06-06-happy_birthday.png" alt="AppleSoft BASIC program"/> -</figure></article> +</figure> + +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2008/08/monkey-madness/index.html b/2008/08/monkey-madness/index.html @@ -46,7 +46,8 @@ a posse of net-wielding cops showed up, before finally deciding to <a href="https://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=AKFh-Wc7KSE">make a break for it</a>. Police never did catch the cheeky monkey, and its current whereabouts are unknown.</p> <p>Apparently this is the third incident of a monkey getting into a train station -in Tokyo in the last few weeks.</p></article> +in Tokyo in the last few weeks.</p> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2008/10/ride-to-okutamako/index.html b/2008/10/ride-to-okutamako/index.html @@ -91,7 +91,8 @@ to the flat cycle path along the Tamagawa.</p> While the trip included a nice hill-climb, it wasn’t severe, and didn’t last more than 15 km. I’ve included the GPS map—there are a couple errors where I’d accidentally switched it off for 3 km near Okutama, and for about 5 km near -Hamura on the way back.</p></article> +Hamura on the way back.</p> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2011/04/installing-mozc-on-ubuntu/index.html b/2011/04/installing-mozc-on-ubuntu/index.html @@ -127,7 +127,8 @@ the sub-menu.</li> </ol> <p>Log out, and back in. You should see an input method menu in the menu bar at the top of the screen.</p> -<p>That’s it, Mozcを楽しんでください！</p></article> +<p>That’s it, Mozcを楽しんでください！</p> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2011/04/winter-sounds-in-japan/index.html b/2011/04/winter-sounds-in-japan/index.html @@ -63,7 +63,8 @@ heaters, people walk through town late at night, carrying lanterns and clacking wooden blocks together, calling out “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFqRIKoVckA#t=20s">hi no yōjin</a>”: be careful with fire. The sound of the blocks typically carries for many blocks, and you often hear their calls echoing through town, coming and going for up to half an -hour as you lay in bed.</p></article> +hour as you lay in bed.</p> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2011/05/job-search-search-job/index.html b/2011/05/job-search-search-job/index.html @@ -35,19 +35,19 @@ <h2 class="post-title"><a href="https://chris.bracken.jp/2011/05/job-search-search-job/">Job Search, Search Job</a></h2> 06 May 2011 <p>After close to seven years with <a href="https://www.morganstanley.com">Morgan Stanley</a>, I’ve turned in my badge -and exited the world of finance.</p> -<p>I first joined Morgan Stanley in -Tokyo in 2004 working in the Equities Technology group focusing on scalability -in the trade processing plant. Throughout my career at Morgan, I’ve had the -pleasure of working alongside a lot of incredibly bright people on some very -interesting and challenging problems, mainly focusing on scalability, -parallelism and system architecture.</p> +and exited the world of finance. I first joined Morgan Stanley in Tokyo in 2004 +working in the Equities Technology group focusing on scalability in the trade +processing plant. Throughout my career at Morgan, I’ve had the pleasure of +working alongside a lot of incredibly bright people on some very interesting and +challenging problems, mainly focusing on scalability, parallelism and system +architecture.</p> <p>After being made the offer one sunny Kyoto morning, and giving it some serious contemplation, I’ve accepted a position with <a href="https://google.com">Google</a> in <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/gxWf">Mountain View, California</a>. While there’s no question I’ll miss working with all the people who made my time at Morgan Stanley such an awesome experience, I’m excited about joining Google, and looking forward to working on some tough and -interesting problems in a very unique environment.</p></article> +interesting problems in a very unique environment.</p> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/2011/05/moving-to-us-letter-of-compliance/index.html b/2011/05/moving-to-us-letter-of-compliance/index.html @@ -134,7 +134,8 @@ it’s incorrect, try again.</li> </ol> <p>You now have everything you need to import your Nissan to the States. Good luck my friends, I don’t envy you, but know that I am with you and that victory -will someday be yours too.</p></article> +will someday be yours too.</p> +</article> </main> <footer id="footer"> diff --git a/index.xml b/index.xml @@ -13,7 +13,77 @@ <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2020 14:55:23 -0700</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2020/05/thoughts-on-licences/</guid> - <description>Software licences are probably the single most boring aspect of software development, but it&rsquo;s important to carefully consider the terms under which the stuff I hack on is shared to ensure they&rsquo;re consistent with my values. Despite my general dislike for all things legalistic, the most unambiguous way to state those terms is through a licence. So a couple days ago, I tossed LICENSE files into any of my public repos that didn&rsquo;t already have one.</description> + <description><p>Software licences are probably the single most boring aspect of software +development, but it&rsquo;s important to carefully consider the terms under which the +stuff I hack on is shared to ensure they&rsquo;re consistent with my values. Despite +my general dislike for all things legalistic, the most unambiguous way to state +those terms is through a licence. So a couple days ago, I tossed LICENSE files +into any of my public <a href="https://chris.bracken.jp/code">repos</a> that didn&rsquo;t already have one.</p> +<p>So how did I settle on which licences to apply? Jump on into the DeLorean and +let&rsquo;s set the dial back to the late 1980s.</p> +<p>It&rsquo;s 1986 and I&rsquo;ve got a 1200 baud modem wired up to a beat-up 286 with a steel +case that would easily allow it to double as a boat anchor if needed. Armed +with a dot-matrix printout of local BBSes with names like Camelot, Tommy&rsquo;s +Holiday Camp, and Forbidden Night Castle, I fire up PC-Talk. A series of +<a href="https://www.windytan.com/2012/11/the-sound-of-dialup-pictured.html">high-pitched squeals and tones</a> fill the air, then text +flashes across the screen. I&rsquo;m online.</p> +<p>BBSes were a treasure trove of information, filled to the brim with zip archives +full of downloadable programs, source code, patches for existing programs, and +all manner of text files with names like <a href="https://insecure.org/stf/smashstack.html">Smashing The Stack For Fun And +Profit</a>. You could find everything from how to crack copy-protected +software, to details on phone phreaking, to how to make nitroglycerine from +commonly-available household items. It was through BBSes that I first downloaded +an I&rsquo;m sure <em>totally legitimate</em> copy of Borland Turbo C++ and took my first +baby steps writing <em>real</em> programs. No more BASIC for me.</p> +<p>This culture of open sharing in the online world has had a huge impact on me. +From those early experiences with BBSes to my first forays onto the Internet a +few years later, seeing people openly sharing code and patches and helping each +other solve problems over Usenet seemed almost revolutionary to me at the time. +In some ways, it still does. I feel lucky to have been a part of it from such an +early age.</p> +<p>The end result is that I try to publicly share all the work I do. So when it +came time to chuck licences on stuff, I sat down to work out a personals ad for +my ideal licence. Aside from enjoying long walks on the beach, it should:</p> +<ol> +<li>Allow free use, modification, and distribution both of the original +work and any derived works.</li> +<li>Require that people distributing the work or any derived work to +give appropriate credit.</li> +<li>Disallow suggesting that I in any way endorse any derived products +or whoever produces them.</li> +<li>Gently encourage a culture of open exchange and sharing of +information and techniques.</li> +<li>Be short, clear, and easy to understand.</li> +</ol> +<p>On the software side, there were lots of options, but the best matches in my +mind are the <a href="https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT">MIT</a> or <a href="https://opensource.org/licenses/BSD-3-Clause">BSD</a> licences. The 3-clause +&rsquo;new&rsquo; BSD licence has an advantage in that it required written permission from +the author to use their name in any endorsement/promotion of a derived work. +That happens to be what we already use for <a href="https://github.com/flutter/flutter">work</a>.</p> +<p>On the content side, I&rsquo;ve always posted my web site&rsquo;s content under a <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">Creative +Commons Attribution-ShareAlike</a> licence. But I don&rsquo;t believe that&rsquo;s +actually the ideal match based on my priorities. Why is it that I&rsquo;ve elected to +use a licence that requires that derived works also be licensed under the same +terms rather than under whatever terms someone feels like, so long as credit is +given? In the end I settled on the more permissive <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons +Attribution</a> licence.</p> +<p>This feels to me a bit like the difference between <a href="https://opensource.org/licenses/BSD-3-Clause">BSD</a> and +<a href="https://opensource.org/licenses/GPL-3.0">GPL</a> terms, where the latter requires that derived works also be +GPL-licensed. This &ldquo;viral&rdquo; nature has always rubbed me the wrong way: rather +than gently promoting a culture of sharing by example, it legally <em>requires</em> +sharing under the same terms whether or not you want to.</p> +<p>Personally, I&rsquo;d like for people to do the right thing and share their work for +everyone&rsquo;s benefit not because they <em>have</em> to, but because they <em>want</em> to. If +they don&rsquo;t want to, why should my reaction be to disallow their use of my work? +Isn&rsquo;t that contrary to my stated goals of sharing as much and as broadly as +possible?</p> +<p>While I <em>hope</em> that more people share more of their work, it doesn&rsquo;t bother me +if you don&rsquo;t. If anything I&rsquo;ve written is somehow useful to you, I&rsquo;m glad. Use +your knowledge to help others and make the world a better place, and if you can +find time to do so, share a bit with the rest of us.</p> +<p>Got thoughts and opinions on licences? Fire an email my way at +<a href="mailto:chris@bracken.jp">chris@bracken.jp</a>.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -22,8 +92,730 @@ <pubDate>Wed, 31 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2018/10/decoding-an-elf-binary/</guid> - <description>While recovering from some dentistry the other day I figured I&rsquo;d have a go at better understanding the ELF binary format. What better way to do that than to compile a small program and hand-decode the resulting binary with a hex editor and whatever ELF format spec I could find. -Overview Below, we&rsquo;ll use nasm to build a small assembly Hello World program to a 64-bit ELF object file, then link that into an ELF executable with GNU ld.</description> + <description><p>While recovering from some dentistry the other day I figured I&rsquo;d have a go at +better understanding the ELF binary format. What better way to do that than to +compile a small program and hand-decode the resulting binary with a hex editor +and whatever ELF format spec I could find.</p> +<h2 id="overview">Overview</h2> +<p>Below, we&rsquo;ll use <code>nasm</code> to build a small assembly Hello World program to a +64-bit ELF object file, then link that into an ELF executable with GNU <code>ld</code>. +Finally, we&rsquo;ll run the resulting object file and binary image through <code>xxd</code> and +hand-decode the resulting hex.</p> +<p>The code and instructions below work on FreeBSD 11 on x86_64 hardware. For +other operating systems, hardware, and toolchains, you&rsquo;re on your own! I&rsquo;d +imagine this should all work just fine on Linux. If I get bored one day, I may +redo this for Mach-O binaries on macOS.</p> +<h2 id="helloasm">hello.asm</h2> +<p>First we&rsquo;ll bang up a minimal Hello World program in assembly. In the <code>.data</code> +section, we add a null-terminated string, <code>hello</code>, and its length <code>hbytes</code>. In +the program text, we set up and execute the <code>write(stdout, hello, hbytes)</code> +syscall, then set up and execute an <code>exit(0)</code> syscall.</p> +<p>Note that 64-bit FreeBSD, macOS, and Linux all use the SysV AMD64 calling +convention. For calls against the kernel interface, the syscall number is +stored in <code>rax</code> and up to six parameters are passed, in order, in <code>rdi</code>, <code>rsi</code>, +<code>rdx</code>, <code>r10</code>, <code>r8</code>, <code>r9</code>. For user calls, replace <code>r10</code> with <code>rcx</code> in this +list, and pass further arguments on the stack. In all cases, the return value +is passed through <code>rax</code>. More details can be found in section A.2.1 of the +<a href="https://software.intel.com/sites/default/files/article/402129/mpx-linux64-abi.pdf">System V AMD64 ABI Reference</a>.</p> +<pre><code>; hello.asm + +%define stdin 0 +%define stdout 1 +%define stderr 2 +%define SYS_exit 1 +%define SYS_write 4 + +%macro system 1 + mov rax, %1 + syscall +%endmacro + +%macro sys.exit 0 + system SYS_exit +%endmacro + +%macro sys.write 0 + system SYS_write +%endmacro + +section .data + hello db 'Hello, World!', 0Ah + hbytes equ $-hello + +section .text +global _start +_start: + mov rdi, stdout + mov rsi, hello + mov rdx, hbytes + sys.write + + xor rdi,rdi + sys.exit +</code></pre> +<h2 id="compile-to-object-code">Compile to object code</h2> +<p>Next, we&rsquo;ll compile <code>hello.asm</code> to a 64-bit ELF object file using <code>nasm</code>:</p> +<pre><code>% nasm -f elf64 hello.asm +</code></pre> +<p>This emits <code>hello.o</code>, an 880-byte ELF-64 object file. Since we haven&rsquo;t yet run +this through the linker, addresses of global symbols (in this case, <code>hello</code>) +are not yet known and thus left with address 0x0 placeholders. We can see this +in the <code>movabs</code> instruction at offset 0x15 of the <code>.text</code> section below.</p> +<p>The relocation section (Section 6: <code>.rela.text</code>) contains an entry for each +symbolic reference that needs to be filled in by the linker. In this case +there&rsquo;s just a single entry for the symbol <code>hello</code> (which points to our hello +world string). The relocation table entry&rsquo;s <code>r_offset</code> indicates the address to +replace is at an offset of 0x7 into the section of the associated symbol table +entry. Its <code>r_info</code> (0x0000000200000001) encodes a relocation type in its lower +4 bytes (0x1: <code>R_AMD64_64</code>) and the associated symbol table entry in its upper +4 bytes (0x2, which, if we look it up in the symbol table is the <code>.text</code> +section). The <code>r_addend</code> field (0x0) specifies an additional adjustment to the +substituted symbol to be applied at link time; specifically, for the +<code>R_AMD64_64</code>, the final address is computed as S + A, where S is the +substituted symbol value (in our case, the address of <code>hello</code>) and A is the +addend (in our case, 0x0).</p> +<p>Without further ado, let&rsquo;s dump the object file:</p> +<pre><code>% xxd hello.o +</code></pre> +<p>With whatever ELF64 <a href="https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E19120-01/open.solaris/819-0690/index.html">linker &amp; loader guide</a> we can find at hand, +let&rsquo;s get decoding this thing:</p> +<h3 id="elf-header">ELF Header</h3> +<pre><code>|00000000: 7f45 4c46 0201 0100 0000 0000 0000 0000| .ELF............ +|00000010: 0100 3e00 0100 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ..&gt;............. +|00000020: 0000 0000 0000 0000 4000 0000 0000 0000| ........@....... +|00000030: 0000 0000 4000 0000 0000 4000 0700 0300| ....@.....@..... + +e_ident[EI_MAG0..EI_MAG3] 0x7f + ELF Magic +e_ident[EI_CLASS] 0x02 64-bit +e_ident[EI_DATA] 0x01 Little-endian +e_ident[EI_VERSION] 0x01 ELF v1 +e_ident[EI_OSABI] 0x00 System V +e_ident[EI_ABIVERSION] 0x00 Unused +e_ident[EI_PAD] 0x00000000000000 7 bytes unused padding +e_type 0x0001 ET_REL +e_machine 0x003e x86_64 +e_version 0x00000001 Version 1 +e_entry 0x0000000000000000 Entrypoint address (none) +e_phoff 0x0000000000000000 Program header table offset in image +e_shoff 0x0000000000000040 Section header table offset in image +e_flags 0x00000000 Architecture-dependent interpretation +e_ehsize 0x0040 Size of this ELF header (64B) +e_phentsize 0x0000 Size of program header table entry +e_phnum 0x0000 Number of program header table entries +e_shentsize 0x0040 Size of section header table entry (64B) +e_shnum 0x0007 Number of section header table entries +e_shstrndx 0x0003 Index of section header for .shstrtab +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-0-null">Section header table: Entry 0 (null)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000040: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000050: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000060: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000070: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x00000000 Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000000 SHT_NULL +sh_flags 0x0000000000000000 Section attributes +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x0000000000000000 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000000 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000000 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000000 Alignment +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-1-data">Section header table: Entry 1 (.data)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000080: 0100 0000 0100 0000 0300 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000090: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0002 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000000a0: 0e00 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000000b0: 0400 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x00000001 Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000001 SHT_PROGBITS +sh_flags 0x0000000000000003 SHF_WRITE | SHF_ALLOC +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x0000000000000200 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x000000000000000e Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000000 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000000 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000004 Alignment +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-2-text">Section header table: Entry 2 (.text)</h3> +<pre><code>|000000c0: 0700 0000 0100 0000 0600 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000000d0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 1002 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000000e0: 2500 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| %............... +|000000f0: 1000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x00000007 Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000001 SHT_PROGBITS +sh_flags 0x0000000000000006 SHF_ALLOC | SHF_EXECINSTR +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x0000000000000210 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x0000000000000025 Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000000 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000000 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000001 Alignment +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-3-shstrtab">Section header table: Entry 3 (.shstrtab)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000100: 0d00 0000 0300 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000110: 0000 0000 0000 0000 4002 0000 0000 0000| ........@....... +|00000120: 3200 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| 2............... +|00000130: 0100 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x0000000d Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000003 SHT_STRTAB +sh_flags 0x0000000000000000 Section attributes +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x0000000000000240 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x0000000000000032 Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000000 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000000 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000001 Alignment +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-4-symtab">Section header table: Entry 4 (.symtab)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000140: 1700 0000 0200 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000150: 0000 0000 0000 0000 8002 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000160: a800 0000 0000 0000 0500 0000 0600 0000| ................ +|00000170: 0800 0000 0000 0000 1800 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x00000017 Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000002 SHT_SYMTAB +sh_flags 0x0000000000000000 Section attributes +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x0000000000000280 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x00000000000000a8 Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000005 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000006 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000008 Alignment +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000018 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-5-strtab">Section header table: Entry 5 (.strtab)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000180: 1f00 0000 0300 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000190: 0000 0000 0000 0000 3003 0000 0000 0000| ........0....... +|000001a0: 1f00 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000001b0: 0100 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x0000001f Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000003 SHT_STRTAB +sh_flags 0x0000000000000000 Section attributes +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x0000000000000330 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x000000000000001f Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000000 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000000 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000001 Alignment +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-6-relatext">Section header table: Entry 6 (.rela.text)</h3> +<pre><code>|000001c0: 2700 0000 0400 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| '............... +|000001d0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 5003 0000 0000 0000| ........P....... +|000001e0: 1800 0000 0000 0000 0400 0000 0200 0000| ................ +|000001f0: 0800 0000 0000 0000 1800 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x00000027 Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000004 SHT_RELA +sh_flags 0x0000000000000000 Section attributes +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x0000000000000350 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x0000000000000018 Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000004 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000002 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000008 Alignment +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000018 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-1-data-sht_progbits-shf_write--shf_alloc">Section 1: .data (SHT_PROGBITS; SHF_WRITE | SHF_ALLOC)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000200: 4865 6c6c 6f2c 2057 6f72 6c64 210a 0000| Hello, World!... + +0x000000 'Hello, World!\n' +Zero-padding (2 bytes starting at 0x20e) +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-2-text-sht_progbits-shf_alloc--shf_execinstr">Section 2: .text (SHT_PROGBITS; SHF_ALLOC | SHF_EXECINSTR)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000210: bf01 0000 0048 be00 0000 0000 0000 00ba| .....H.......... +|00000220: 0e00 0000 b804 0000 000f 0548 31ff b801| ...........H1... +|00000230: 0000 000f 0500 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +0x00000010 mov edi, 0x1 +0x00000015 movabs rsi, 0x000000 (placeholder for db hello) +0x0000001f mov edx, 0xe +0x00000024 mov eax, 0x4 +0x00400029 syscall +0x0040002b xor rdi, rdi +0x0040002e mov eax, 0x1 +0x00400033 syscall +Zero-padding (11 bytes starting at 0x235) +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-3-shstrtab-sht_strtab">Section 3: .shstrtab (SHT_STRTAB;)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000240: 002e 6461 7461 002e 7465 7874 002e 7368| ..data..text..sh +|00000250: 7374 7274 6162 002e 7379 6d74 6162 002e| strtab..symtab.. +|00000260: 7374 7274 6162 002e 7265 6c61 2e74 6578| strtab..rela.tex +|00000270: 7400 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| t............... + +0x00000000: '' +0x00000001: '.data' +0x00000007: '.text' +0x0000000d: '.shstrtab' +0x00000017: '.symtab' +0x0000001f: '.strtab' +0x00000027: '.rela.text' +Zero-padding (14 bytes starting at 0x272) +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-4-symtab-sht_symtab">Section 4: .symtab&rsquo; (SHT_SYMTAB;)</h3> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-0">Symbol table entry 0</h4> +<pre><code>|00000280: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000290: 0000 0000 0000 0000 | ........ + +st_name 0x00000000 +st_info 0x00 +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0x0000 (SHN_UNDEF) +st_value 0x0000000000000000 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-1-helloasm">Symbol table entry 1 (hello.asm)</h4> +<pre><code>|00000298: 0100 0000 0400 f1ff| ........ +|000002a0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +st_name 0x00000001 +st_info 0x04 (STT_FILE) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0xfff1 (SHN_ABS) +st_value 0x0000000000000000 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-2">Symbol table entry 2</h4> +<pre><code>|000002b0: 0000 0000 0300 0100 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000002c0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 | ........ + +st_name 0x00000000 +st_info 0x03 (STT_OBJECT | STT_FUNC) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0x0001 (Section 1: .data) +st_value 0x0000000000000000 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-3">Symbol table entry 3</h4> +<pre><code>|000002c8: 0000 0000 0300 0200| ........ +|000002d0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +st_name 0x00000000 +st_info 0x03 (STT_OBJECT | STT_FUNC) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0x0002 (Section 2: .text) +st_value 0x0000000000000000 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-4-hello">Symbol table entry 4 (hello)</h4> +<pre><code>|000002e0: 0b00 0000 0000 0100 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000002f0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 | ........ + +st_name 0x0000000b +st_info 0x00 +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0x0001 (Section 1: .data) +st_value 0x0000000000000000 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h3 id="symbol-table-entry-5-hbytes">Symbol table entry 5 (hbytes)</h3> +<pre><code>|000002f8: 1100 0000 0000 f1ff| ........ +|00000300: 0e00 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +st_name 0x00000011 +st_info 0x00 +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0xfff1 (SHN_ABS) +st_value 0x000000000000000e +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-6-_start">Symbol table entry 6 (_start)</h4> +<pre><code>|00000310: 1800 0000 1000 0200 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000320: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +st_name 0x00000018 +st_info 0x01 (STT_OBJECT) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0x0002 (Section 2: .text) +st_value 0x0000000000000000 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +Zero-padding (8 bytes starting at 0x328) +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-5-strtab-sht_strtab">Section 5: .strtab (SHT_STRTAB;)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000330: 0068 656c 6c6f 2e61 736d 0068 656c 6c6f| .hello.asm.hello +|00000340: 0068 6279 7465 7300 5f73 7461 7274 0000| .hbytes._start.. + +0x00000000: '' +0x00000001: 'hello.asm' +0x0000000b: 'hello' +0x00000011: 'hbytes' +0x00000018: '_start' +Zero-padding (1 byte starting at 0x34f) +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-6-relatext-sht_rela">Section 6: .rela.text (SHT_RELA;)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000350: 0700 0000 0000 0000 0100 0000 0200 0000| ................ +|00000360: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +r_offset 0x0000000000000007 +r_info 0x0000000200000001 (Symbol table entry 2, type R_AMD64_64) +r_addend 0x0000000000000000 +Zero-padding (8 bytes starting at 0x368) +</code></pre> +<h2 id="link-to-executable-image">Link to executable image</h2> +<p>Next, let&rsquo;s link <code>hello.o</code> into a 64-bit ELF executable:</p> +<pre><code>% ld -o hello hello.o +</code></pre> +<p>This emits <code>hello</code>, a 951-byte ELF-64 executable image.</p> +<p>Since the linker has decided which segment each section maps into (if any) and +what the segment addresses are, addresses are now known for all (statically +linked) symbols, and address 0x0 placeholders have been replaced with actual +addresses. We can see this in the <code>mov</code> instruction at address 0x4000b5, which +now specifies an address of 0x6000d8.</p> +<p>Running the linked executable image through <code>xxd</code> as above and picking our +trusty linker &amp; loader guide back up, here we go again:</p> +<h3 id="elf-header-1">ELF Header</h3> +<pre><code>|00000000: 7f45 4c46 0201 0109 0000 0000 0000 0000| .ELF............ +|00000010: 0200 3e00 0100 0000 b000 4000 0000 0000| ..&gt;.......@..... +|00000020: 4000 0000 0000 0000 1001 0000 0000 0000| @............... +|00000030: 0000 0000 4000 3800 0200 4000 0600 0300| ....@.8...@..... + +e_ident[EI_MAG0..EI_MAG3] 0x7f + ELF Magic +e_ident[EI_CLASS] 0x02 64-bit +e_ident[EI_DATA] 0x01 Little-endian +e_ident[EI_VERSION] 0x01 ELF v1 +e_ident[EI_OSABI] 0x09 FreeBSD +e_ident[EI_ABIVERSION] 0x00 Unused +e_ident[EI_PAD] 0x0000000000 7 bytes unused padding +e_type 0x0002 ET_EXEC +e_machine 0x003e x86_64 +e_version 0x00000001 Version 1 +e_entry 0x00000000004000b0 Entrypoint addr +e_phoff 0x0000000000000040 Program header table offset in image +e_shoff 0x0000000000000110 Section header table offset in image +e_flags 0x00000000 Architecture-dependent interpretation +e_ehsize 0x0040 Size of this ELF header +e_phentsize 0x0038 Size of program header table entry +e_phnum 0x0002 Number of program header table entries +e_shentsize 0x0040 Size of section header table entry +e_shnum 0x0006 Number of section header table entries +e_shstrndx 0x0003 Index of section header for .shstrtab +</code></pre> +<h3 id="program-header-table-entry-0-pf_x--pf_r">Program header table: Entry 0 (PF_X | PF_R)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000040: 0100 0000 0500 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000050: 0000 4000 0000 0000 0000 4000 0000 0000| ..@.......@..... +|00000060: d500 0000 0000 0000 d500 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000070: 0000 2000 0000 0000 | .. ............. + +p_type 0x00000001 PT_LOAD +p_flags 0x00000005 PF_X | PF_R +p_offset 0x00000000 Offset of segment in file image +p_vaddr 0x0000000000400000 Virtual address of segment in memory +p_paddr 0x0000000000400000 Physical address of segment +p_filesz 0x00000000000000d5 Size in bytes of segment in file image +p_memsz 0x00000000000000d5 Size in bytes of segment in memory +p_align 0x0000000000200000 Alignment (2MB) +</code></pre> +<h3 id="program-header-table-entry-1-pf_w--pf_r">Program header table: Entry 1 (PF_W | PF_R)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000078: 0100 0000 0600 0000| ........ +|00000080: d800 0000 0000 0000 d800 6000 0000 0000| ..........`..... +|00000090: d800 6000 0000 0000 0e00 0000 0000 0000| ..`............. +|000000a0: 0e00 0000 0000 0000 0000 2000 0000 0000| .......... ..... + +p_type 0x00000001 PT_LOAD +p_flags 0x00000006 PF_W | PF_R +p_offset 0x00000000000000d8 Offset of segment in file image +p_vaddr 0x00000000006000d8 Virtual address of segment in memory +p_paddr 0x00000000006000d8 Physical address of segment +p_filesz 0x000000000000000e Size in bytes of segment in file image +p_memsz 0x000000000000000e Size in bytes of segment in memory +p_align 0x0000000000200000 Alignment (2MB) +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-1-text-sht_progbits-shf_alloc--shf_execinstr">Section 1: .text (SHT_PROGBITS; SHF_ALLOC | SHF_EXECINSTR)</h3> +<pre><code>|000000b0: bf01 0000 0048 bed8 0060 0000 0000 00ba| .....H...`...... +|000000c0: 0e00 0000 b804 0000 000f 0548 31ff b801| ...........H1... +|000000d0: 0000 000f 05 | ..... + +0x4000b0 mov edi, 0x1 +0x4000b5 movabs rsi, 0x6000d8 +0x4000bf mov edx, 0xe +0x4000c4 mov eax, 0x4 +0x4000c9 syscall +0x4000cb xor rdi, rdi +0x4000ce mov eax, 0x1 +0x4000d3 syscall +Zero-padding (5 bytes starting at 0x000000d5) +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-2-data-sht_progbits-shf_write--shf_alloc">Section 2: .data (SHT_PROGBITS; SHF_WRITE | SHF_ALLOC)</h3> +<pre><code>|000000d8: 4865 6c6c 6f2c 2057| Hello, W +|000000e0: 6f72 6c64 210a | orld!. + +0x6000d8 'Hello, World!\n' +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-3-shstrtab-sht_strtab-1">Section 3: .shstrtab (SHT_STRTAB;)</h3> +<pre><code>|000000e6: 002e 7379 6d74 6162 002e| ..symtab.. +|000000f0: 7374 7274 6162 002e 7368 7374 7274 6162| strtab..shstrtab +|00000100: 002e 7465 7874 002e 6461 7461 0000 0000| ..text..data. + +0x00000000: '' +0x00000001: '.symtab' +0x00000009: '.strtab' +0x00000011: '.shstrtab' +0x0000001b: '.text' +0x00000021: '.data' +Zero-padding (3 bytes starting at 0x0000010d) +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-0-null-1">Section header table: Entry 0 (null)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000110: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000120: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000130: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000140: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x00000000 Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000000 SHT_NULL +sh_flags 0x0000000000000000 Section attributes +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x0000000000000000 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000000 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000000 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000000 Alignment +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-1-text">Section header table: Entry 1 (.text)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000150: 1b00 0000 0100 0000 0600 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000160: b000 4000 0000 0000 b000 0000 0000 0000| ..@............. +|00000170: 2500 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| %............... +|00000180: 1000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x0000001b Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000001 SHT_PROGBITS +sh_flags 0x00000006 SHF_ALLOC | SHF_EXECINSTR +sh_addr 0x00000000004000b0 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x00000000000000b0 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x0000000000000025 Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000000 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000000 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000010 Alignment (2B) +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-2-data">Section header table: Entry 2 (.data)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000190: 2100 0000 0100 0000 0300 0000 0000 0000| !............... +|000001a0: d800 6000 0000 0000 d800 0000 0000 0000| ..`............. +|000001b0: 0e00 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000001c0: 0400 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x00000021 Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000001 SHT_PROGBITS +sh_flags 0x0000000000000003 SHF_WRITE | SHF_ALLOC +sh_addr 0x00000000006000d8 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x00000000000000d8 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x000000000000000e Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000000 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000000 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000004 Alignment (4B) +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-3-shstrtab-1">Section header table: Entry 3 (.shstrtab)</h3> +<pre><code>|000001d0: 1100 0000 0300 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000001e0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 e600 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000001f0: 2700 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| '............... +|00000200: 0100 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x00000011 Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000003 SHT_STRTAB +sh_flags 0x00000000 No flags +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x00000000000000e6 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x0000000000000027 Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000000 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000000 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000001 Alignment (1B) +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-4-symtab-1">Section header table: Entry 4 (.symtab)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000210: 0100 0000 0200 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000220: 0000 0000 0000 0000 9002 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000230: f000 0000 0000 0000 0500 0000 0600 0000| ................ +|00000240: 0800 0000 0000 0000 1800 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x00000001 Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000002 SHT_SYMTAB +sh_flags 0x00000000 No flags +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x0000000000000290 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x00000000000000f0 Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000005 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000006 Flags +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000008 Alignment (8B) +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000018 Size in bytes of each entry (24B) +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-5-strtab-1">Section header table: Entry 5 (.strtab)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000250: 0900 0000 0300 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000260: 0000 0000 0000 0000 8003 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000270: 3700 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| 7............... +|00000280: 0100 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x00000009 Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000003 SHT_STRTAB +sh_flags 0x0000000000000000 No flags +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x0000000000000380 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x0000000000000037 Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000000 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000000 Extrac info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000001 Alignment (1B) +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-4-symtab-sht_symtab-1">Section 4: .symtab (SHT_SYMTAB;)</h3> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-0-1">Symbol table entry 0</h4> +<pre><code>|00000290: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000002a0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 | ........ + +st_name 0x00000000 +st_info 0x00 +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0x0000 (SHN_UNDEF) +st_value 0x0000000000000000 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-1">Symbol table entry 1</h4> +<pre><code>|000002a8: 0000 0000 0300 0100| ........ +|000002b0: b000 4000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ..@............. + +st_name 0x00000000 +st_info 0x03 (STT_OBJECT | STT_FUNC) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0x0001 (Section 1: .text) +st_value 0x00000000004000b0 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-2-1">Symbol table entry 2</h4> +<pre><code>|000002c0: 0000 0000 0300 0200 d800 6000 0000 0000| ..........`..... +|000002d0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 | ........ + +st_name 0x00000000 +st_info 0x03 (STT_OBJECT | STT_FUNC) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0x0002 (Section 2: .data) +st_value 0x00000000006000d8 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-3-helloasm">Symbol table entry 3 (hello.asm)</h4> +<pre><code>|000002d0: 0100 0000 0400 f1ff| ........ +|000002e0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +st_name 0x00000001 +st_info 0x04 (STT_FILE) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0xfff1 (SHN_ABS) +st_value 0x0000000000000000 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-4-hello-1">Symbol table entry 4 (hello)</h4> +<pre><code>|000002f0: 0b00 0000 0000 0200 d800 6000 0000 0000| ..........`..... +|00000300: 0000 0000 0000 0000 | ................ + +st_name 0x0000000b +st_info 0x00 +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0x0002 (Section 2: .data) +st_value 0x00000000006000d8 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-5-hbytes-1">Symbol table entry 5 (hbytes)</h4> +<pre><code>|00000300: 1100 0000 0000 f1ff| ........ +|00000310: 0e00 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +st_name 0x00000011 +st_info 0x00 +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0xfff1 (SHN_ABS) +st_value 0x000000000000000e +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-6-_start-1">Symbol table entry 6 (_start)</h4> +<pre><code>|00000320: 1800 0000 1000 0100 b000 4000 0000 0000| ..........@..... +|00000330: 0000 0000 0000 0000 | ........ + +st_name 0x00000018 +st_info 0x10 (STB_GLOBAL) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0x0001 (Section 1: .text) +st_value 0x00000000004000b0 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-7-__bss_start">Symbol table entry 7 (__bss_start)</h4> +<pre><code>|00000330: 1f00 0000 1000 f1ff| ........ +|00000340: e600 6000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ..`............. + +st_name 0x0000001f +st_info 0x10 (STB_GLOBAL) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0xfff1 (SHN_ABS) +st_value 0x00000000006000e6 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-8-_edata">Symbol table entry 8 (_edata)</h4> +<pre><code>|00000350: 2b00 0000 1000 f1ff e600 6000 0000 0000| +.........`..... +|00000360: 0000 0000 0000 0000 | ........ + +st_name 0x0000002b +st_info 0x10 (STB_GLOBAL) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0xfff1 (SHN_ABS) +st_value 0x00000000006000e6 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-9-_end">Symbol table entry 9 (_end)</h4> +<pre><code>|00000360: 3200 0000 1000 f1ff| 2....... +|00000370: e800 6000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ..`............. + +st_name 0x00000032 +st_info 0x10 (STB_GLOBAL) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0xfff1 (SHN_ABS) +st_value 0x00000000006000e8 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-6-strtab-sht_strtab">Section 6: .strtab (SHT_STRTAB;)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000380: 0068 656c 6c6f 2e61 736d 0068 656c 6c6f| .hello.asm.hello +|00000390: 0068 6279 7465 7300 5f73 7461 7274 005f| .hbytes._start._ +|000003a0: 5f62 7373 5f73 7461 7274 005f 6564 6174| _bss_start._edat +|000003b0: 6100 5f65 6e64 00 | a._end. + +0x00000000: '' +0x00000001: 'hello.asm' +0x0000000b: 'hello' +0x00000011: 'hbytes' +0x00000018: '_start' +0x0000001f: '__bss_start' +0x0000002b: '_edata' +0x00000032: '_end' +</code></pre> +<h2 id="effect-of-stripping">Effect of stripping</h2> +<p>Running <code>strip</code> on the binary has the effect of dropping the <code>.symtab</code> and +<code>.strtab</code> sections along with their section headers and 16 bytes of data (the +section names <code>.symtab</code> and <code>.strtab</code>) from the <code>.shstrtab</code> section, reducing the +total binary size to 512 bytes.</p> +<h2 id="in-memory-process-image">In-memory process image</h2> +<p>FreeBSD uses a memory superpage size of 2MB (page size of 4kB) on x86_64. Since +attributes are set at the page level, read+execute program <code>.text</code> and +read+write <code>.data</code> are loaded into two separate segments on separate pages, as +laid-out by the linker.</p> +<p>On launch, the kernel maps the binary image into memory as specified in the +program header table:</p> +<ul> +<li>PHT Entry 0: The ELF header, program header table, and Section 1 (<code>.text</code>) +are mapped from offset 0x00 of the binary image (with length 0xd6 bytes) +into Segment 1 (readable, executable) at address 0x400000.</li> +<li>PHT Entry 1: Section 2 (<code>.data</code>) at offset 0xd8 of the binary image is +mapped into Segment 2 (readable, writeable) at address 0x6000d8 from offset +0xd8 with length 0x0e bytes.</li> +</ul> +<p>The program entrypoint is specified to be 0x4000b0, the start of the <code>.text</code> +section.</p> +<p>And that&rsquo;s it! Any corrections or comments are always welcome. Shoot me an +email at <a href="mailto:chris@bracken.jp">chris@bracken.jp</a>.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -37,7 +829,103 @@ this time, I&rsquo;ve got a lot more stuff. One of those things is a Nissan that&rsquo;s been quietly living its life in Canada. Faced with the prospect of selling the car and buying a new one, I chose instead to import the one I know and love. Here is my story. But be forewarned, it is not for the faint of -heart.</p></description> +heart.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2011-05-10-futile.jpg" + alt="Scrawny kid vs sumo wrestler"/> +</figure> + +<p>To import a vehicle to the US from Canada, you need to undertake a series of +quests. These are detailed on the <a href="http://stnw.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/">NHTSA website</a> under the heading +<em>Vehicle Importation Guidelines (Canadian)</em>. As of May 2011, you need the +following items in increasing order of difficulty:</p> +<p><strong>[easy]</strong> The following information about your car:</p> +<ol> +<li>VIN</li> +<li>Make/Model/Year</li> +<li>Month/Year of manufacture</li> +<li>Registration &amp; ownership information</li> +</ol> +<p><strong>[easy]</strong> <a href="http://www.epa.gov/oms/imports/">EPA Form 3520-1</a>. You will likely be importing your +vehicle under <em>code EE: identical in all material respects to a US certified +version</em>.</p> +<p><strong>[easy]</strong> <a href="http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/">NHTSA Form HS-7</a>. You will most likely be importing your +vehicle under box 2B, for vehicles that complied with Canadian CMVSA +regulations at their time of manufacture and where the manufacturer attests +that, with a few exceptions, it meets US regulations; see final item.</p> +<p><strong>[medium]</strong> A letter on the manufacturer&rsquo;s letterhead from the Canadian +distributor, stating that there are no open recalls or service campaigns on the +vehicle. I&rsquo;m not sure if this is required, but Nissan Canada thought it would +be.</p> +<p><strong>[hard]</strong> A letter from the vehicle’s original manufacturer, on +the manufacturer’s letterhead identifying the vehicle by vehicle identification +number (VIN) and stating that the vehicle conforms to all applicable FMVSS +&ldquo;except for the labeling requirements of Standards Nos. 101 <em>Controls and +Displays</em> and 110 <em>Tire Selection and Rims</em> or 120 <em>Tire Selection and Rims for +Motor Vehicles other than Passenger Cars</em>, and/or the specifications of +Standard No. 108 <em>Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment</em>, +relating to daytime running lamps.&rdquo;</p> +<p>Items 1-3 are left as an exercise to the reader. I will focus here on items 4 +and 5 to save you the 14 hours of accumulated hold time and multiple phone +calls. Prepare yourself friend, for here begins a journey of hurt and +frustration, but you will prevail.</p> +<p>Let&rsquo;s start with item 4. I gave <a href="http://www.nissan.ca/common/footer/en/contact.html">Nissan Canada</a> a ring at +1-800-387-0122 and managed to make it through the phone navigation system to a +human operator. I told them I was importing a Canadian Nissan into the States +and needed a <em>Letter of Compliance</em>. After a bit of digging, they stated that +such letters are only provided by <em>Nissan North America,</em> but they would +instead mail out two other letters on Nissan letterhead:</p> +<ol> +<li>A letter stating the VIN and that the vehicle has no pending recalls or +service campaigns on it.</li> +<li>In place of a <em>Certificate of Origin</em> (which Nissan Canada does not +provide), a letter stating the VIN and that the vehicle was manufactured for +sale in the Canadian market and complied with all safety and emission +regulations at the time of manufacture.</li> +</ol> +<p>We&rsquo;re almost there, but your next and final mission is also the most +challenging: the <em>Letter of Compliance</em>. Call <a href="http://www.nissanusa.com/apps/contactus">Nissan North +America</a> Consumer Affairs Department at 1-800-647-7261. Navigate +through the phone system to an operator - get their name and extension. They +may ask for your VIN only to find it&rsquo;s not in their system. Canadian VINs are +not in their system. Some operators thought they were, others were sure they +weren&rsquo;t. They&rsquo;re not. Many operators tried and failed to find it. Ask them to +open a file, give them the vehicle information and your info and get the file +number. Use this number whenever you call.</p> +<p>Here are the five steps to success:</p> +<ol> +<li>Tell the operator that you&rsquo;re importing a Canadian Nissan vehicle to the US +and that you need a <em>Letter of Compliance</em> stating the VIN and that the +vehicle was built to conform to Canadian and United States EPA emissions +standards and all US Federal motor vehicle standards except for daytime +running light brightness. There is a very good chance they&rsquo;ve never heard of +this. Get them to talk to their supervisor, and their supervisor. Anyone. +Someone will know.</li> +<li>They will tell you that the vehicle needs to have its daytime running lights +disabled before they will issue the letter of compliance. All the government +rules seem to specifically exclude the daytime running lights, and the +letter they issue even states that the vehicle doesn&rsquo;t meet that standard, +but for whatever reason they want a copy of a work statement showing the +work was done. Remember to get the operator&rsquo;s name and extension and the +fax number for the work statement before you hang up.</li> +<li>Get the daytime running lights disabled. It&rsquo;s a setting change in the +on-board computer; your local dealer will do this in under 30 mins for $50 +or so. </li> +<li>Fax your the work statement and put your name, return fax number and a +request for the <em>Letter of Compliance</em> on the cover sheet. Phone Nissan +North America Consumer Affairs back. The phone navigation system will give +you hope that you can input an extension directly, only to find it only +accepts 5-digit extensions but your rep has a 6-digit extension. You&rsquo;ll end +up back in the queue. Ask whoever you get to put you through to your +previous rep, by extension. When you get through, say that you sent the fax +and request the letter. Ask them to phone you back when they&rsquo;ve faxed it.</li> +<li>You&rsquo;ll get the fax eventually - <em>check the information!</em> On my letter, the +year, model and VIN were all incorrect, though they got my name right. If +it&rsquo;s incorrect, try again.</li> +</ol> +<p>You now have everything you need to import your Nissan to the States. Good +luck my friends, I don&rsquo;t envy you, but know that I am with you and that victory +will someday be yours too.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -47,7 +935,19 @@ heart.</p></description> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2011/05/job-search-search-job/</guid> <description><p>After close to seven years with <a href="https://www.morganstanley.com">Morgan Stanley</a>, I&rsquo;ve turned in my badge -and exited the world of finance.</p></description> +and exited the world of finance. I first joined Morgan Stanley in Tokyo in 2004 +working in the Equities Technology group focusing on scalability in the trade +processing plant. Throughout my career at Morgan, I&rsquo;ve had the pleasure of +working alongside a lot of incredibly bright people on some very interesting and +challenging problems, mainly focusing on scalability, parallelism and system +architecture.</p> +<p>After being made the offer one sunny Kyoto morning, and giving it some serious +contemplation, I&rsquo;ve accepted a position with <a href="https://google.com">Google</a> in <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/gxWf">Mountain View, +California</a>. While there&rsquo;s no question I&rsquo;ll miss working with all the +people who made my time at Morgan Stanley such an awesome experience, I&rsquo;m +excited about joining Google, and looking forward to working on some tough and +interesting problems in a very unique environment.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -58,7 +958,35 @@ and exited the world of finance.</p></description> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2011/04/winter-sounds-in-japan/</guid> <description><p>There are a lot of uniquely Japanese sounds. But the two I&rsquo;m writing about today appear on cold winter nights, and echo eerily through the -dark, empty streets between dinner and bedtime.</p></description> +dark, empty streets between dinner and bedtime.</p> +<p>Japanese winters are cold. They&rsquo;re not -30C cold, but what they do have on +Canadian winters is how drafty Japanese houses tend to be, and the distinct +lack of central heating. All across the country the appearance of convenience +store oden and yaki-imo wagons mark the arrival of winter.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2011-04-25-yakiimo.jpg" + alt="Yaki-imo wagon"/> +</figure> + +<p>Yaki-imo are sweet potatoes roasted over flames in wood fired ovens in small +mobile carts or trucks. They&rsquo;re served up wrapped in newspaper, and are not +only delicious, but keep your hands warm too. But the most distinctive thing +about yaki-imo is that the sellers sing a very distinct <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P9yctE9_hQ">yaki-imo +song</a>. They typically make the rounds until just after dinner time, +and I always found their song a bit eerie drifting though the dark streets.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2011-04-25-hinoyoujin.jpg" + alt="Hi no Yōjin"/> +</figure> + +<p>Central heating is near non-existent in Japan, one result of which is the +<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotatsu">kotatsu</a>, but another is that kerosene and gas heaters are still +commonly used for heating. Every year, housefires result from people +forgetting to shut of their heaters before bed. As a reminder to shut off the +heaters, people walk through town late at night, carrying lanterns and clacking +wooden blocks together, calling out &ldquo;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFqRIKoVckA#t=20s">hi no yōjin</a>&rdquo;: be careful +with fire. The sound of the blocks typically carries for many blocks, and you +often hear their calls echoing through town, coming and going for up to half an +hour as you lay in bed.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -70,7 +998,98 @@ dark, empty streets between dinner and bedtime.</p></description> <description><p>If you&rsquo;re a Japanese speaker, one of the first things you do when you install a fresh Linux distribution is to install a decent <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_IME">Japanese IME</a>. Ubuntu defaults to <a href="https://sourceforge.jp/projects/anthy/news/">Anthy</a>, but I personally prefer <a href="https://code.google.com/p/mozc/">Mozc</a>, and -that&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m going to show you how to install here.</p></description> +that&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m going to show you how to install here.</p> +<p><em>Update (2011-05-01):</em> Found an older <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfgjTCXZ2-s">video tutorial</a> on YouTube +which provides an alternative (and potentially more comprehensive) solution for +Japanese support on 10.10 using ibus instead of uim, which is the better choice +for newer releases.</p> +<p><em>Update (2011-10-25):</em> The software installation part of this process got a +whole lot easier in Ubuntu releases after Natty, and as noted above, I&rsquo;d +recommend sticking with ibus over uim.</p> +<h3 id="japanese-input-basics">Japanese Input Basics</h3> +<p>Before we get going, let&rsquo;s understand a bit about how Japanese input works on +computers. Japanese comprises three main character sets: the two phonetic +character sets, hiragana and katakana at 50 characters each, plus many +thousands of Kanji, each with multiple readings. Clearly a full keyboard is +impractical, so a mapping is required.</p> +<p>Input happens in two steps. First, you input the text phonetically, then you +convert it to a mix of kanji and kana.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2011-04-22-henkan.png" + alt="Japanese IME completion menu"/> +</figure> + +<p>Over the years, two main mechanisms evolved to input kana. The first was common +on old <em>wapuro</em>, and assigns a kana to each key on the keyboard—e.g. where +the <em>A</em> key appears on a QWERTY keyboard, you&rsquo;ll find a ち. This is how our +grandparents hacked out articles for the local <em>shinbun</em>, but I suspect only a +few die-hard traditionalists still do this. The second and more common method +is literal <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wapuro">transliteration of roman characters into kana</a>. You +type <em>fujisan</em> and out comes ふじさん.</p> +<p>Once the phonetic kana have been input, you execute a conversion step wherein +the input is transformed into the appropriate mix of kanji and kana. Given the +large number of homonyms in Japanese, this step often involves disambiguating +your input by selecting the intended kanji. For example, the <em>mita</em> in <em>eiga wo +mita</em> (I watched a movie) is properly rendered as 観た whereas the <em>mita</em> in +<em>kuruma wo mita</em> (I saw a car) should be 見た, and in neither case is it <em>mita</em> +as in the place name <em>Mita-bashi</em> (Mita bridge) which is written 三田.</p> +<h3 id="some-implementation-details">Some Implementation Details</h3> +<p>Let&rsquo;s look at implementation. There are two main components used in inputting +Japanese text:</p> +<p>The GUI system (e.g. ibus, uim) is responsible for:</p> +<ol> +<li>Maintaining and switching the current input mode: +ローマ字、ひらがな、カタカナ、半額カタカナ.</li> +<li>Transliteration of character input into kana: <em>ku</em> into く, +<em>nekko</em> into ねっこ, <em>xtu</em> into っ.</li> +<li>Managing the text under edit (the underlined stuff) and the +drop-down list of transliterations.</li> +<li>Ancillary functions such as supplying a GUI for custom dictionary +management, kanji lookup by radical, etc.</li> +</ol> +<p>The transliteration engine (e.g. Anthy, Mozc) is responsible for transforming a +piece of input text, usually in kana form, into kanji: for example みる into +one of: 見る、観る、診る、視る. This involves:</p> +<ol> +<li>Breaking the input phrase into components.</li> +<li>Transforming each component into the appropriate best guess based on context +and historical input.</li> +<li>Supplying alternative transformations in case the best guess was incorrect.</li> +</ol> +<h3 id="why-mozc">Why Mozc?</h3> +<p>TL;DR: because it&rsquo;s better. Have a look at the conversion list up at the top of +this post. The input is <em>kinou</em>, for which there are two main conversion +candidates: 機能 (feature) and 昨日 (yesterday). Notice however, that it also +supplies several conversions for yesterday&rsquo;s date in various formats, including +「平成23年4月21日」 using <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_era_name">Japanese Era Name</a> rather than the +Western notation 2011. This is just one small improvement among dozens of +clever tricks it performs. If you&rsquo;re thinking this bears an uncanny resemblance +to tricks that <a href="https://www.google.com/intl/ja/ime/">Google&rsquo;s Japanese IME</a> supports, you&rsquo;re right: Mozc +originated from the same codebase.</p> +<h3 id="switching-to-mozc">Switching to Mozc</h3> +<p>So let&rsquo;s assume you&rsquo;re now convinced to abandon Anthy and switch to Mozc. +You&rsquo;ll need to make some changes. Here are the steps:</p> +<p>If you haven&rsquo;t yet done so, install some Japanese fonts from either Software +Centre or Synaptic. I&rsquo;d recommend grabbing the <em>ttf-takao</em> package.</p> +<p>Next up, we&rsquo;ll install and configure Mozc.</p> +<ol> +<li><strong>Install ibus-mozc:</strong> <code>sudo apt-get install ibus-mozc</code></li> +<li><strong>Restart the ibus daemon:</strong> <code>/usr/bin/ibus-daemon --xim -r -d</code></li> +<li><strong>Set your input method to mozc:</strong> +<ol> +<li>Open <em>Keyboard Input Methods</em> settings.</li> +<li>Select the <em>Input Method</em> tab.</li> +<li>From the <em>Select an input method</em> drop-down, select Japanese, then mozc from +the sub-menu.</li> +<li>Select <em>Japanese - Anthy</em> from the list, if it appears there, and click +<em>Remove</em>.</li> +</ol> +</li> +<li><strong>Optionally, remove Anthy from your system:</strong> <code>sudo apt-get autoremove anthy</code></li> +</ol> +<p>Log out, and back in. You should see an input method menu in the menu +bar at the top of the screen.</p> +<p>That&rsquo;s it, Mozcを楽しんでください！</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -85,7 +1104,59 @@ spare time on my hands before baby number two is due, I decided I was going to get back into decent enough shape that I could pull one off. I&rsquo;ve been using mornings and weekends to get back into riding longer distances, and slowly building up toward the goal of 160 km by riding further and further up the Tama -river every weekend.</p></description> +river every weekend.</p> +<p>Five minutes looking at Google maps yesterday morning at 6 am convinced me that +Lake Okutama was exactly the necessary 80 km away, so without a minute to lose +I got dressed, headed out the door and rode north up the Tama river. Here&rsquo;s +the <a href="https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/18311395">activity report</a>.</p> +<p>The ride along the river is gorgeous, one of the few places in Tokyo you can +ride uninterrupted through a green belt that runs from the ocean at Haneda +airport all the way into the mountains in the northwest corner of Tokyo. The +bike path ends at the south Hamura dam, but by then it&rsquo;s pretty <a href="http://www.ehimeajet.com/inaka.php" title="Inaka: rural Japan">inaka</a>, +so you can continue by road from there without much worry about traffic. At +the north Hamura dam, I crossed over to the west side of the river, to pick up +Route 411 through the towns of Oume, Sawai, and Mitake before leaving the city +completely and starting the climb up into the mountains.</p> +<p>The trip on from Mitake is a long, slow ascent along a narrow, winding road +through small towns and villages while criss-crossing the river. Particularly +this time of year with the leaves changing colour, the trip is visually +spectactular, with the mountainsides lit up bright orange and red. Okutama is +the last major town before the final hill-climb up to the lake. At its +westernmost edge is the world-famous Tokyo <a href="http://web-japan.org/nipponia/nipponia19/en/feature/feature05.html" title="Conbini: Let's enjoy convenience store life!">Conbini</a> Shuten—the final +convenience store of Tokyo. Complete with latitude and longitude figures on its +sign out front, it is a site of pilgrimage for cyclists headed up to the lake +and the border of Tokyo and Yamanashi prefectures. Too bad it&rsquo;s a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_Yamazaki">Daily +Yamazaki</a> and not a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FamilyMart">Famima</a>, but either way it&rsquo;s got +<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocari_Sweat">Pocari Sweat</a>!</p> +<p>From the town of Okutama to the lake is a 13 km hill climb up through tunnel +after tunnel to the dam at the edge of the lake. My the one route change I&rsquo;ll +make the next time I do this is to go <em>around</em> the tunnels instead of <em>through</em> +them. I can&rsquo;t possibly imagine why someone felt the need to put (very +expensive) tunnels in on this road given that almost every single one can be +bypassed on the road. I can only assume that this has something to do with the +government trying to buy the powerful rural vote with thousands of unnecessary, +environment-destroying <a href="http://www.iwanami.co.jp/jpworld/text/publicworks01.html" title="The LDP and pork-barrel politics">construction projects</a> per year.</p> +<p>The good news is that once you hit the top, the views are spectacular, the +roads are flat, and you&rsquo;re back in <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68908288@N00/141327403/" title="Jidohanbaiki: Let's vending machine!">jidohanbaiki</a>-land where +Pocari Sweat and Aquarius are available in abundance! I&rsquo;d accidentally left my +cycle computer off for a 3km stretch out of Okutama, so I cycled 3 km down the +road to make up for it and be able to claim a <em>recorded</em> 160 km. I ran into a +German cyclist named Ludwig who&rsquo;d also ridden in from Tokyo; he had a +drool-worthy Canyan carbon-fibre bike, and interestingly, it turns out he&rsquo;s +part of the <a href="http://positivo-espresso.blogspot.com/">Positivo Espresso</a> cycling group whose blog I&rsquo;d +been reading for a couple months.</p> +<p>Ludvig continued on up towards Yamanashi-ken with the plan of packing up his +bike and taking the train back when he got as far as he wanted to go. Good +plan, and something I&rsquo;ll give a try next time. I turned my bike around for the +long trip back home. The best part of that trip was the 30 minute descent back +down out of the hills at car speed, before hitting Mitake, and heading back out +to the flat cycle path along the Tamagawa.</p> +<p>All in all, a pretty awesome day of cycling and a trip I&rsquo;d definitely do again. +While the trip included a nice hill-climb, it wasn&rsquo;t severe, and didn&rsquo;t last +more than 15 km. I&rsquo;ve included the GPS map—there are a couple errors where I&rsquo;d +accidentally switched it off for 3 km near Okutama, and for about 5 km near +Hamura on the way back.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -96,7 +1167,18 @@ river every weekend.</p></description> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2008/08/monkey-madness/</guid> <description><p>How many police does it take to catch a monkey in one of Tokyo&rsquo;s busiest train stations? Apparently a lot more than the <a href="https://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=1LbhEJ2NUxE">40 or so that -tried</a>.</p></description> +tried</a>.</p> +<p>The monkey was first spotted around 9:45am on top of the Tokyu Toyoko Line +schedule display, possibly one of the best choices for people-watching in +Shibuya Station, strategically positions between the exit of the Tokyu +department store and the entrance to one of Tokyo&rsquo;s busiest train lines.</p> +<p>It hung around for close to two hours while commuters, shoppers, news crews and +a posse of net-wielding cops showed up, before finally deciding to +<a href="https://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=AKFh-Wc7KSE">make a break for it</a>. Police never did catch the cheeky +monkey, and its current whereabouts are unknown.</p> +<p>Apparently this is the third incident of a monkey getting into a train station +in Tokyo in the last few weeks.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -110,7 +1192,25 @@ II</a> turns 30. It was in production for 18 of those 30 years, which likely makes it the longest-selling personal computer of all time. It was the computer I wrote my first program on, and spent countless hours banging in and editing code from <em>Compute</em> magazine—including page after page of raw hex -code when a program included graphics.</p></description> +code when a program included graphics.</p> +<p>In tribute, I ran a Google search on PR#6 to see what turned up. For those who +don&rsquo;t know or don&rsquo;t remember, PR#6 was the command that kicked off the +bootloader code for slot 6, the drive controller. The search turned up two +relevant links: an <a href="http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=197&amp;coll=ap">Apple TechTip</a> on a simple copy-protection scheme, +and a fantastic <a href="http://diveintomark.org/archives/2006/08/22/c600g">blog entry</a> that covers a bit about the Apple +][&rsquo;s boot process, which brings back a lot of memories of old Shugart drives, +including the terrifying sound of a track 0 seek – a process wherein the drive +head was moved across the disk very quickly until it physically couldn&rsquo;t go any +further, resulting in a loud alarm-like buzz from the drive when it hit the +limit of its reach.</p> +<p>Anyway, in celebration of the Apple ][&rsquo;s 30th birthday, I recommend grabbing +your nearest <a href="https://www.scullinsteel.com/apple2/#dos33master">emulator</a>, and banging in a <code>call -151</code> for old time&rsquo;s +sake.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2007-06-06-happy_birthday.png" + alt="AppleSoft BASIC program"/> +</figure> + +</description> </item> <item> @@ -125,7 +1225,27 @@ got my money&rsquo;s worth out of it. After partnering with <a href=" started using their online feed-reader on and off, with mixed results. I like that it keeps my feeds in sync between my computers, and that I can browse articles at lunch, but the interface is still not on par -with NetNewsWire itself.</p></description> +with NetNewsWire itself.</p> +<p>While NewsGator&rsquo;s implementation was lacking, I really did like the idea of +dropping the desktop app altogether and going with a fully online solution, so +I started exploring other options. The obvious free alternative is <a href="http://www.google.com/reader/">Google +Reader</a>, and I have to say, I&rsquo;m impressed. While the +presentation isn&rsquo;t as customizable as NetNewsWire, the functionality that I use +is all there, and in fact, it has some extra search features that I miss on the +desktop. It was only when I launched NetNewsWire today and saw 290 unread +items, that it hit me I hadn&rsquo;t used it in almost a month. So while I look +forward to <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hicksdesign/210309912/">NetNewsWire 3</a>, I&rsquo;m sticking to Google Reader for the time +being.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2007-05-30-google-reader.png" + alt="Google reader graph of usage by hour of day"/> +</figure> + +<p>I also discovered that my prime news reading hours are apparently 6:30am to +7:30am and 9pm to 11pm, with a strange local maximum straggling out around +12:30am. I&rsquo;d be curious to compare this to <em>before</em> I had a baby that woke me +up around that time.</p> +<p><em>Update (2007-06-06):</em> NetNewsWire 3.0 is now out.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -141,7 +1261,41 @@ than a nomad. disappointed. While this phone has a slicker GUI than any other phone I&rsquo;ve seen, it&rsquo;s not so much the $499 US price-tag, but the stone-age functionality of the phone compared to what we have here in Japan that makes my jaw -drop.</p></description> +drop.</p> +<p>Here in Japan, 3 years ago in 2004, for 1 yen, I had the following in a +cellphone:</p> +<ul> +<li>3G download speeds of 50 Mb/s.</li> +<li>Two-way video-phone.</li> +<li>Built-in fingerprint scanner (for security checks).</li> +<li>MP3 player and download service.</li> +<li>Edy BitWallet (like Interac, except you swipe your finger on the +phone&rsquo;s scanner to accept the transaction).</li> +<li>Can be used as a <em>Suica</em> train pass.</li> +<li>Can buy movie tickets and scan in at the theatre, bypassing the +lineup.</li> +<li>Can wave it at vending machines for food and drinks.</li> +<li>Will figure out train routes, transfer locations and times, and +ticket prices.</li> +<li>Can scan barcodes which take you to websites – eg. scan at the bus +station to pull up the schedule or scan a magazine to order a +product.</li> +<li>MP3 player and download service.</li> +<li>Decent email (+ attachments), SMS, calendaring, notepad.</li> +<li>Automatic location triangulation (by determining which antennae are +nearby) and location-aware mapping, shopping/restaurant listings.</li> +<li>Interactive mapping of current location with zooming and scrolling.</li> +<li>Integrated graphical web-browser.</li> +<li>1 megapixel Camera, Video camera.</li> +<li>Display/graph your phone usage to the day.</li> +<li>Can write and deploy your own Java/C/C++ applets.</li> +</ul> +<p>If you go for a high-end phone with more than the above (e.g. built-in TV +tuner), you&rsquo;ll need to pay more than one yen, but the price range is normally +below ¥20,000 ($200 Canadian). In its current state, the iPhone won&rsquo;t sell in +Japan even if it&rsquo;s free; Apple is going to have to do some major work if it +wants to compete with even the bare-bones models on the market in Japan.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -151,7 +1305,16 @@ drop.</p></description> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2006/09/mystery-solved/</guid> <description><p>One of my biggest complaints about Japan has always been the complete and utter -lack of garbage bins in this city. There are none to be found.</p></description> +lack of garbage bins in this city. There are none to be found.</p> +<p>If you buy a (most likely seriously overpackaged) snack, you either have to +carry all the wrapping and leftovers around with you until you get home, or +toss it on the street. But the streets are impeccably clean here, which had led +me to believe that like me, the other 12 million people out for a walk this +afternoon, will be carrying their litter around in their backpacks and shopping +bags.</p> +<p>But it turns out this is not the case: an article in <a href="http://www.metropolis.co.jp/">Metropolis</a> +unveils the answer to <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190222191348/http://archive.metropolis.co.jp/tokyorantsravesarchive349/315/tokyorantsravesinc.htm">The Big Tokyo Trash Mystery</a>.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -166,7 +1329,9 @@ Grill</a>, followed by a Canada Day barbeque at Yoyogi Park including hot dogs, yakitori, a massive Canadian Flag cake, and imported Canadian beer. By 6pm things, as started to wind down at the park, people started the long trek back to Shibuya and into the Maple Leaf, where it was standing room -only.</p></description> +only.</p> +<p>Some <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbracken/sets/72157594183420453/">pictures of the event</a>.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -175,7 +1340,12 @@ only.</p></description> <pubDate>Mon, 26 Jun 2006 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2006/06/canadian-medical-research/</guid> - <description>Don&rsquo;t let anyone tell you that Canada never contributed groundbreaking research to the medical field. First, the discovery and isolation of insulin by researchers at the University of Toronto; now this paper published in the British Medical Journal, co-authored by a Grade 8 student from Hamilton, Ontario.</description> + <description><p>Don&rsquo;t let anyone tell you that Canada never contributed groundbreaking research +to the medical field. First, the discovery and isolation of insulin by +researchers at the University of Toronto; now <a href="http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/325/7378/1445" title="Ice cream evoked headaches: randomised trial of accelerated versus cautious ice cream eating regimen">this paper</a> published in the +British Medical Journal, co-authored by a Grade 8 student from Hamilton, +Ontario.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -188,7 +1358,78 @@ only.</p></description> before moving to Mexico, in the summer of 2001. As you might imagine, I was not entirely expecting a clean bill of dental health. The fact that I had once again ignored my dentist&rsquo;s advice to floss daily was not improving my outlook -one bit.</p></description> +one bit.</p> +<p>So it was with some trepidation that I went to see Dr Nakasawa yesterday +afternoon at 3 o&rsquo;clock. I stepped into the office, swapped my shoes for +slippers, filled out some forms, and took a seat in the waiting room, +attempting to pass the time by reading ads in Japanese for Sonicare +toothbrushes.</p> +<p>Eventually, I heard the receptionist call out &lsquo;Bracken-san!&rsquo; The door swung +open, and I was escorted to a chair and told to have a seat and wait for a few +moments with nothing to do except stare at the assortment of torture +instruments laid out on the table in front of me.</p> +<p>Now, in Canada, this is the point where the hygenist comes in, cleans your +teeth, tells you what a poor job you&rsquo;ve done of brushing your teeth over the +last six months, asks you whether you&rsquo;ve actually bothered to floss even once +since the last time you came, then takes off and the dentist comes in and pokes +around. In Japan, it goes only slightly differently. The dentist comes straight +in, cleans your teeth, tells you what a poor job you&rsquo;ve done of brushing your +teeth, asks you whether you&rsquo;ve actually bothered to floss even once since you +last came in, then starts poking around. Normally, that is.</p> +<p><em>Chotto akete kudasai.</em> I opened my mouth. Dr Nakasawa looked around for a +moment, poking at things with his tools, then paused.</p> +<p><em>Kono chiryou wa Nihon de moraimashita?</em></p> +<p>&lsquo;No, didn&rsquo;t get &rsquo;em here. I got all my fillings in Canada.&rsquo;</p> +<p>Another pause. <em>Aah, Canada-jin desu ka? Daigakusei no jidai, Eigo o benkyou +shimashita kedo, mou hotondo wasurete-shimaimashita.</em></p> +<p>&lsquo;That&rsquo;s ok, I&rsquo;ll try my best in Japanese.&rsquo;</p> +<p>Dr Nakasawa takes another glance in my mouth, does a bit more poking and says +to the hygenist &lsquo;Number 14 looks like an A. 18 looks like a B. 31&hellip; is A-ish.&rsquo; +Dr Nakasawa sits back in his chair. Another pause.</p> +<p>&lsquo;These fillings&hellip; the grey ones,&rsquo; he says, &lsquo;how long ago did you get these?&rsquo;</p> +<p>&lsquo;I don&rsquo;t know, maybe when I was in middle-school. A long time ago. I haven&rsquo;t +had a filling in years.&rsquo;</p> +<p>&lsquo;They&rsquo;re really old. This one here looks like it&rsquo;s chipped away on the edge and +the tooth underneath has a little bit of discolouration that may well be a +cavity. We don&rsquo;t really do this style of filling in Japan anymore, but what I&rsquo;d +suggest — it&rsquo;s up to you — is that we remove these, check for cavities +underneath, do any cleanup you need, then replace them with modern fillings.&rsquo;</p> +<p>&lsquo;Sure, the last dentist I talked to mentioned these were getting pretty awful +too, so sure&hellip; sounds good. Let&rsquo;s do it.&rsquo;</p> +<p>&lsquo;Okay, I&rsquo;m particularly worried about this one here, so let&rsquo;s start with this +one.&rsquo;</p> +<p>&lsquo;Sounds good.&rsquo;</p> +<p>&lsquo;Would you like to book a time next week, or if you have time I could do it +today?&rsquo;</p> +<p>&lsquo;I&rsquo;ve got no plans for the rest of the day, let&rsquo;s just get it over with.&rsquo;</p> +<p>&lsquo;Alright. <em>Masui wa dou desu ka? Hitsuyou desu ka?</em>&rsquo;</p> +<p>Now here I want to remind you that although I can get by in day-to-day life and +carry on a conversation in Japanese, one of the unequivocal facts of gaijin +life is that there are some words you simply don&rsquo;t know, and to keep the flow +of conversation going, you skip them and pick up the general idea from context. +So when someone says to you &lsquo;What about <em>masui</em>? Would you like it?&rsquo; in a tone +that suggests that really, you probably wouldn&rsquo;t, your instinct tends to be to +say &rsquo;no, no.&rsquo;</p> +<p>One of the wonderful things about living in another country is that +occasionally you&rsquo;re pleasantly surprised by turn of events that leads to an +experience that you&rsquo;d almost certainly never have stumbled your way into back +home. These experiences often upend long-held, fundamental beliefs that you&rsquo;d +have never even thought to question in your life.</p> +<p>However, I am going to tell you right now that there is no question at all that +getting your teeth drilled with no freezing hurts almost exactly as much as +you&rsquo;d imagine it does.</p> +<p>The full meaning of Dr Nakasawa&rsquo;s question, and of what was about to transpire, +became crystal clear as he picked up the drill, looked me in the eyes and said +&lsquo;Open wide, and put your hand up if at any point you can&rsquo;t handle the pain.&rsquo; I +swear I detected just the slightest hint of a smile on his face as he said this +to me, but I didn&rsquo;t have long to think about it because it was it was at this +point that I began focussing my entire being on keeping my hands clamped in a +death grip on the armrests of the dental chair.</p> +<p>I walked out of the office that day with a shiny new hole in my tooth and a +temporary filling while they create the permanent one. I managed to do this +without once raising my hand, but Dr Nakasawa&rsquo;s lucky his chair has still got +its bloody armrests attached.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -199,7 +1440,26 @@ one bit.</p></description> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2005/08/look-at-all-the-pretty-pictures/</guid> <description><p>So I moved my webpage and was all of a sudden faced with a deluge of emails from people who I never even knew read the thing. Among those emails was a -request from my amigo Chaffee requesting more pictures.</p></description> +request from my amigo Chaffee requesting more pictures. Seeing as I&rsquo;d always +wanted to play with the <a href="https://flickr.com/services/">Flickr API</a>, I requested an API Key and +started hacking away at some <a href="https://php.net">PHP</a>. The end result is that on the left side +of this page, you now get to see whatever happens to be the latest picture I&rsquo;ve +taken on my mobile phone.</p> +<p>The moment I take a picture with my cellphone, it gets emailed to the magical +servers at <a href="https://flickr.com">Flickr</a> and tagged with a title, some keywords, and a +description. The next time someone loads this page, a small PHP script in the +innards of this site makes a <a href="https://www.w3.org/TR/soap/">SOAP</a> request to Flickr&rsquo;s servers and +retrieves an <a href="https://www.w3.org/XML/">XML</a> response. This response is then parsed out and a URI to +the thumbnail image on Flickr&rsquo;s servers is generated which is then inserted +into this page. To improve performance a tiny bit, I avoid the overhead of the +SOAP call every time this page is loaded by caching the response for five +minutes and reading the cached XML if it&rsquo;s available.</p> +<p>For those of you who are into <a href="https://www.xml.com/pub/a/2002/12/18/dive-into-xml.html">RSS</a>, I&rsquo;ve added a <a href="feed://flickr.com/services/feeds/photos_public.gne?id=37996625178@N01&amp;format=atom_03">Flickr +feed</a> to my pictures in the HTML headers on this site.</p> +<p>My goal—and this is entirely for you, Chaffee—is to take at least one +picture a day, which is far more ambitious a schedule than my posting to this +page. We&rsquo;ll see how that works out.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -210,7 +1470,25 @@ request from my amigo Chaffee requesting more pictures.</p></description> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2005/07/kekkon-shite-kuremasu-ka/</guid> <description><p>The big news is that Yasuko and I will be getting married in November at Shimogamo Shrine in Kyoto. For the desperately curious, I &lsquo;officially&rsquo; proposed -in February at <em>Souvenir</em>, a French restaurant down the street.</p></description> +in February at <em>Souvenir</em>, a French restaurant down the street.</p> +<p>In Japan, getting engaged isn&rsquo;t strictly just proposing. You&rsquo;re really not +truly engaged until you&rsquo;ve &lsquo;officially&rsquo; proposed, which means not just deciding +to get married, but getting together with the finacées parents and proposing to +them. A long time ago, one might typically say <em>O-jou-san o boku ni kudasai.</em> +&ldquo;Please give me your [honourable] daughter.&rdquo; I decided I&rsquo;d pass on that line.</p> +<p>In any case, after a few trips back and forth to Kyoto, we settled on a +Japanese ceremony just before noon, followed by a party with friends and family +at a restaurant. The <em>nijikai</em> party in Tokyo will be western-style, but we +haven’t even begun to think about when or where yet.</p> +<p>For those questioning the sanity of a November wedding, keep in mind that in +Japan, this is <em>kōyō</em> season, when all the leaves turn red and Japan is at its +most beautiful. As Fall and Spring are the two most beautiful seasons in Japan, +we were lucky to reserve when we did, back in April. Even then, some +restaurants we talked to were already booked solid until mid-December.</p> +<p>In any case, with the shrine and restaurant out of the way, all we have left to +figure out is wedding rings, kimonos, invitations, flowers, food, gifts, +speeches, photos, &hellip;</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -219,8 +1497,13 @@ in February at <em>Souvenir</em>, a French restaurant down the stree <pubDate>Wed, 11 May 2005 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2005/05/bonjour-bon-vespre/</guid> - <description>Just how far can you travel in a week and a half? It turns out pretty far. Combining planes, trains, ships, and automobiles, Yasuko and I travelled, all told, roughly 22,100 km over the Golden Week holiday. -From Tokyo to Avignon, on to Marseille, then Arles and Nîmes, followed by Carcassonne, Perpignan, and Barcelona, before heading back to Paris and home to Tokyo in 12 days wasn&rsquo;t bad… Especially considering the car was a Fiat.</description> + <description><p>Just how far can you travel in a week and a half? It turns out pretty far. +Combining planes, trains, ships, and automobiles, Yasuko and I travelled, all +told, roughly 22,100 km over the Golden Week holiday.</p> +<p>From Tokyo to Avignon, on to Marseille, then Arles and Nîmes, followed by +Carcassonne, Perpignan, and Barcelona, before heading back to Paris and home to +Tokyo in 12 days wasn&rsquo;t bad… Especially considering the car was a Fiat.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -232,7 +1515,18 @@ From Tokyo to Avignon, on to Marseille, then Arles and Nîmes, followed by Carca <description><p>Last weekend, the temperature shot up to 23 degrees, and in the space of two days, the cherry blossom trees erupted into bloom. The Japanese take this opportunity to throw impromptu picnics, dinners, and random sake-drinking -events under <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_blossom">sakura</a> trees all across the country.</p></description> +events under <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_blossom">sakura</a> trees all across the country.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2005-04-09-sakura.jpg" + alt="Cherry blossoms near Naka-Meguro"/> +</figure> + +<p>The street behind my building is lined with sakura for as far as you can walk, +so it’s been packed with everyone in the neighbourhood until almost midnight +every night this week. With the cherry blossoms falling like snow since this +morning, the whole thing will be over with by early next week, so Yasuko and I +plan to get in one last hana-mi event tomorrow evening before heading back to +work on Monday.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -245,7 +1539,15 @@ events under <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_blossom"&g something caught my eye. As the train flew along its raised track, whizzing past the rooftops of Gakugei-daigaku at 80 km/h, I swear I saw a guy standing on the roof of a building alongside the track, dressed in a red cape -and wearing a giant fish on his head, wailing away on a guitar.</p></description> +and wearing a giant fish on his head, wailing away on a guitar.</p> +<p>He was gone from my view before I was able to catch a second glance, though.</p> +<p><em>Update (2008-03-20):</em> I’m glad he’s <a href="http://jiyugaoka.keizai.biz/headline/171/">not just a figment of my imagination</a>.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2005-03-29-gakugeidai.jpg" + alt="Man with fish on head playing guitar"/> +</figure> + +<p><em>Update (2011-04-27):</em> Found a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DbvxgmEAtE">YouTube video</a>.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -261,7 +1563,15 @@ and wearing a giant fish on his head, wailing away on a guitar.</p></descr <p>今年も宜しくお願いします！Jumped on the Nozomi Shinkansen from Shin-Yokohama station on the 31st to arrive in Kyoto two hours later. It was dumping snow from Nagoya onwards; and by the time we hit Kyoto, about 10 cm had -accumulated.</p></description> +accumulated.</p> +<p>After stopping by friends’ for the traditional osechi-ryouri and soba dinner, +Yasuko and I did hatsumoude at Yasaka shrine from 11 at night until 2 in the +morning in the midst of the blizzard.</p> +<p>Spent the next few days shopping in Kyoto, visiting more friends, and +re-visiting shrines and temples before heading back to Tokyo on the 3rd—though +on the return trip, I had to stand from Nagoya onwards since the trains were +booked to 120%.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -275,7 +1585,12 @@ accumulated.</p></description> </figure> <p>I came into work to a nice surprise this morning. Sipping on hot green tea, we -all crowded around the windows to check out the view.</p></description> +all crowded around the windows to check out the view.</p> +<p>With the recent cold snap, the views this morning are incredibly clear. A +little less so when passed through the tiny lens of my cell-phone camera. To +see it in person, it really does dominate the horizon; and at over 100km away, +that’s a pretty big feat.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -288,7 +1603,11 @@ all crowded around the windows to check out the view.</p></description> from the relative warmth of November and December to plummet sub-zero overnight. What started as a light flurry this morning has progressed to a full-out blizzard, and it’s still coming down like crazy as I write -this.</p></description> +this.</p> +<p>In unrelated news, I’m off to Kyoto for Oshogatsu from the 31st to the 3rd. +This time, I swear I’ll post pictures!</p> +<p>Hope everyone had a happy Christmas. See you in 2005!</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -298,7 +1617,17 @@ this.</p></description> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2004/11/apartment-hunting/</guid> <description><p>Through a stroke of luck, I think I may have actually found a permanent place -to live in Jiyugaoka close to Toritsu Daigaku station.</p></description> +to live in Jiyugaoka close to Toritsu Daigaku station.</p> +<p>I have my current apartment in Ebisu until the 30th, so the plan is to move the +weekend of the 27th. In the meantime, to placate people asking for pictures, +here’s the view from my balcony here in Ebisu. The upside is that Ebisu is an +incredibly central location in Tokyo with a ton of great restaurants; the +downside is that tea costs 735 yen at the coffee shop across the way.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2004-11-04-balcony.jpg" + alt="Tokyo Tower viewed from Ebisu Garden Place"/> +</figure> + +</description> </item> <item> @@ -307,7 +1636,11 @@ to live in Jiyugaoka close to Toritsu Daigaku station.</p></description> <pubDate>Wed, 15 Sep 2004 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2004/09/tokyo-ni-hikkoshi/</guid> - <description>After two years back in Canada and several trips back and forth to Japan, I’ve signed a full-time contract as a software developer with a firm in Tokyo and am permanently re-locating to Japan. I’ll post pictures as soon as I can get around to it.</description> + <description><p>After two years back in Canada and several trips back and forth to Japan, I’ve +signed a full-time contract as a software developer with a firm in Tokyo and am +permanently re-locating to Japan. I’ll post pictures as soon as I can get +around to it.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -316,7 +1649,9 @@ to live in Jiyugaoka close to Toritsu Daigaku station.</p></description> <pubDate>Thu, 09 Sep 2004 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2004/09/new-york-ny-usa/</guid> - <description>Flew out to New York for interviews with Tokyo via videoconference on the 9th and 10th. More details later, but I’ll post pictures now.</description> + <description><p>Flew out to New York for interviews with Tokyo via videoconference on the 9th +and 10th. More details later, but I’ll post pictures now.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -329,7 +1664,167 @@ to live in Jiyugaoka close to Toritsu Daigaku station.</p></description> in an effort to match my summer vacations with those of friends in Japan, ended up shuffling them back to August. Aside from the scorching heat, August is a fantastic time of year to visit. The heat this summer was more than a little -bit scorching though, it was the hottest summer in ten years.</p></description> +bit scorching though, it was the hottest summer in ten years.</p> +<p>It turned out, however, that I would have something more pressing than the +weather to keep my mind busy though. In the middle of the night, somewhere over +the Pacific ocean I woke up from my sleep in a cold sweat. My heart was +pounding. The airplane cabin was surprisingly silent; everyone around me had +dozed off to sleep and all that was left was the low drone of the jet engines +and the gentle hiss of the air vents. Slowly, I reached for the back pocket of +my backpack. My hands trembling, I unzipped it and slowly pulled it open. With +a huge sigh of relief, I pulled out my wallet. I hadn’t forgotten it at home +after all. Dropping it back in, I turned back toward the window and fell back +asleep. It wasn&rsquo;t until the next day in Osaka, as I opened my wallet to pay for +my hotel that I realised I’d forgotten my bank card at home.</p> +<p>This would not have been a problem, except that in a flash of brilliance, I had +decided to forgo the usual traveller’s cheques and use post office bank +machines to withdraw from my accounts back home. This had worked fantastically +last year and would save the hassle of cashing traveller’s cheques at a bank. +Fortunately I had a credit card on me. Unfortunately, Canadian credit cards +can’t be used to withdraw more than 20,000 yen a day, and then only at special +Visa bank machines which tend to be incredibly hard to find. Or, as I would +find out, impossible to find outside of Osaka or Tokyo. Fortunately I was able +to get hold of Mum on the phone relatively quickly, and she FedEx’ed the card +to Yasuko in Tokyo. By my math, I had just enough cash to buy Shinkansen +tickets to Shizuoka, then Tokyo. All I had to do was ensure that I reserved a +hotel in Shizuoka that accepted Canadian credit cards. No problem.</p> +<p>I spent the first night in the Umeda ward of Osaka, mostly because it’s so +close to Osaka station, and I was planning to catch the train first thing next +morning out through Kyoto, then Otsu, to Imazu-cho to meet Annie. Aside from +spending most of the next day in Osaka desperately seeking out Visa ATMs, I +can’t say I had that bad a time. Well, the weather was alright anyway.</p> +<p>Annie put me up for a few days in Imazu-cho, where I had the chance to meet up +with some friends from last year, and do a little exploring of nearby bits of +Shiga-ken. Caught the ferry out to Chikubushima, an island just 30 minutes out +from shore into Lake Biwa. The amazing thing about Chikubushima is the temples +and shrines you find in this remote location. The wood for the buildings did +not come from the island itself, but was ferried out by hand hundreds of years +ago. Chikubushima is one of several locations in Japan where the godess of +artistic inclinations, Benzaiten, is worshipped. Benzaiten, or Benten as she is +more often called, is the only female among the Shichifukujin¹ and is often +depicted as a woman carrying a lute. As she is a river godess, temples and +shrines dedicated to her often appear on lakes or near water.</p> +<p>After a few days in Imazu, I decided to head to Shizuoka. The best way to get +there was to catch local trains to Maibara station, on the other side of the +lake, then take the Shinkansen from there to Shizuoka. As I was running a +little late, I ended up sprinting through Imazu, suitcase in tow, to the train +station. With 100m to go, I saw the train pull into the station, so I threw it +into high gear. I quickly bought the 900 yen ticket from the ticket agent, who +told me to run for track 3, and remember to change trains at Nagahama station. +I sprinted up the stairs, and threw myself headlong through the train doors +seconds before they closed. 20 minutes later, the train driver called Nagahama +station over the crackly radio, and I hopped off. I was the only one. The train +pulled away, and I was left standing on the train platform with nothing but the +scorching heat and humidity, and the chirping of cicadas. It was then that I +read the station name: Nagahara. I’d misheard the name. There would surely be +another train in ten minutes though, so I staggered down the stairs and noticed +the utter lack of automatic ticket gates.</p> +<p>An old woman sat in the station-master’s booth. She looked up at me with a +half-surprised, half-worried expression and asked me for my ticket. I handed it +over. Noticing the apparent discrepancy in train fare she asked, “where are you +headed?” I answered “Maibara.” She said, “that’s on the other side of the lake. +You’re at Nagahara.” I said “I know. I’d meant to change at Nagahama…” at which +point she started laughing. ”The next train’s in three hours.” Three hours. I +asked when the next train to Oumi-Shiotsu station was. It was one station to +the north, at the junction of two train lines, so there’d be a much better +chance of catching an earlier train. She said ”That&rsquo;s the one. The next train +anywhere is three hours from now. There’s a bus in two though. Or I could call +a taxi, if that would help.” Maibara had to be at least 80km from here. No way +I could afford a taxi. But I could probably get a taxi to Oumi-Shiotsu, which I +did. And was laughed at some more over my mistake.</p> +<p>Turned out I wasn’t the only one. When I arrived at Oumi-Shiotsu, I was greeted +by three Japanese backpackers from Kyushu who’d apparently gotten off at +Nagahara the day before, and decided to stay the night at a nearby hotspring +and continue on to Maibara the next day. We sat for an hour, jumped on the +train, and eventually arrived at Nagahama, changed trains, and completed the +journey to Maibara. From there, it was the Kodama Shinkansen to Shizuoka.</p> +<p>I crashed the night in Shizuoka, then spent the next day exploring town. I +visited Sumpu-jou, a small castle in central Shizuoka, and Sumpu-jou Kouen, a +nearby park where I was invited in to try a whole series of green teas. +Shizuoka is famous for green tea, and as I had been the only foreigner that +week, I was treated to a detailed history of tea cultivation in the area, an +explanation of the many varieties and styles of green tea, and a pile of free +desserts! They asked if I had some spare time, as they’d love to take me on a +guided tour of the rest of the teahouse, and show me the private gardens in the +back. It was pretty spectacular.</p> +<p>After Sumpu-jou Kouen, I tried to find a bank machine that would allow me to do +a cash advance on my credit card, but finally gave up while I still had my +sanity. I bought a Shinkansen ticket for Tokyo with the plan to meet Setsuko at +Tennodai station at 9pm.</p> +<p>On the train, I met a professor with the Shimizu Univeristy Naval Engineering +school, and we ended up chatting the entire way to Tokyo. He was originally +from Kyoto, but had lived in Holland for years, and half-way through the +conversation, I discovered that he also spoke flawless English. He was +incredibly polite and put up with my fairly dodgy Japanese the entire way. It +was pretty good practice for me, though we did switch to English as the +conversation got into ship-building and a few other topics I knew nothing about +in Japanese.</p> +<p>In the end, I got to Ueno station a little bit early, stuffed my suitcase in a +locker, and ended up exploring the park for a few hours. I ended up doing a +huge survey on what I thought of Ueno Park, which was also great Japanese +practice, and I got a free pen out of the deal, to boot. I also discovered a +big festival going on at the far end of the park, near a temple that Yasuko and +I had visited last year. I wandered past the booths selling onigiri² and +kaki-kori³, listened to the music, took some pictures, and stopped by the +temple for a bit. It sits in the middle of a large pond full of blossoming +lotus flowers, and combined with the smell of incense wafting over the pond, it +makes for a very peaceful experience.</p> +<p>Eventually, I grabbed some onigiri and headed back to the train station to +catch the next train for Tennodai, in Chiba. Got there just in time, sat down +and waited on the platform for Setsuko, who arrived 5 minutes later. It was +crazy to see her again on the other side of the world. We headed off to the +supermarket, grabbed some food for dinner, and headed back to her apartment to +eat.</p> +<p>The next day, we did some shopping around Kashiwa station in Chiba, and I ended +up ordering a hand-made traditional futon. They measured me, we selected +fabrics and they said to come back in ten days to pick it up. Grabbed some +chinese food for lunch and some snacks, and did a bit more shopping. Eventually +we headed back, and I went to sleep. I remember being woken by an earthquake at +about 2am, but falling back asleep before it was even over. I can’t stay awake +for long on futons; they’re incredibly comfortable.</p> +<p>Yasuko and I arranged to meet at Shinagawa station early the next morning under +the big clock by the central ticket gates. It was great to see her again, and +we immediately bolted off to drop my gear at the apartment in Shinagawa she’d +rented and head out for lunch at an Italian place nearby. The rest of the week +was spent eating some of the most amazing sushi, soba, French, and Italian food +you can imagine, and checking out two huge fireworks festivals. Aside from all +the eating, we also visited art galleries in Ueno park, and did a bit of +shopping in Jiyuugaoka and Ginza. I got to visit Apple’s flagship Ginza store +which is a noble goal for any true Mac fanatic. Well, technically I also needed +a new AC adapter, since I’d accidentally destroyed mine earlier in the day.</p> +<p>After a week in Tokyo, it was off on a business trip to Oita, on Kyushu. I’d +never been to southern Japan before, and I was looking forward to meeting some +of my Japanese counterparts for work after many email conversations. Not only +did I get to visit a Japanese shipyard and see firsthand the incredible +precision with which they manufacture their vessels, but I also got to visit a +rural Japanese town, and meet Matsumoto-san and Kato-san, who treated me to +some of the most memorable karaoke of my life. After the business trip to +Nagasaki, we headed out for one last night together, with an amazing +traditional Kyushu-style sashimi and sushi dinner, and karaoke until two in the +morning.</p> +<p>For my final day in Japan, I was scheduled to fly out of Oita airport, arriving +at Tokyo Haneda airport at 12:15. At 5pm, my return flight to Canada departed +Tokyo Narita airport. In the intervening 3 hours, the brilliant plan was to +jump from train to train at breakneck pace and make it to Togoshi-ginza station +to meet Yasuko for lunch, then jump straight back on the train and make it out +to Narita just in time for my flight. I made every single train as the doors +were closing. Literally, with under two seconds to spare every time&hellip; but we +did have a fantastic Italian lunch, and make it to the airport with such +impeccable timing that by the time I arrived at the gate, everyone had boarded +but ten people. You can’t cut it much closer than that.</p> +<p>Once again, one of the most memorable trips of my life. The best part is that +I’ll be permanently moving back to Japan within a couple of months, so I’ll be +even closer to all the places I’ve been looking forward to visiting. Thanks to +everyone who put me up again this year: Annie, Setsuko, and Yasuko! I can’t +wait to be back.</p> +<h3 id="glossary">Glossary</h3> +<ol> +<li><em>Shichifukujin:</em> The seven gods of good luck.</li> +<li><em>Onigiri:</em> Rice balls, often stuffed with pickled plum or fish.</li> +<li><em>kaki-kori:</em> Shaved ice covered in flavoured syrup such as strawberry, +blueberry, or green tea.</li> +</ol> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -338,7 +1833,11 @@ bit scorching though, it was the hottest summer in ten years.</p></descrip <pubDate>Wed, 14 Apr 2004 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2004/04/end-of-season/</guid> - <description>Two last ski trips for the year. The first, at Mt. Washington, saw a beautiful attempt at a forward flip by Kevin, and Pippa ripping it up. For the second, I burned off on the 10 hour trek to Nelson, where Trav skiied until he dropped and I tried out the new Rossignol B2s.</description> + <description><p>Two last ski trips for the year. The first, at Mt. Washington, saw a beautiful +attempt at a forward flip by Kevin, and Pippa ripping it up. For the second, I +burned off on the 10 hour trek to Nelson, where Trav skiied until he dropped +and I tried out the new Rossignol B2s.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -347,7 +1846,10 @@ bit scorching though, it was the hottest summer in ten years.</p></descrip <pubDate>Mon, 08 Mar 2004 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2004/03/mt-washington/</guid> - <description>Put a group of idiots together on skis and boards, and you’ve got a guaranteed recipe for a good time. Tom managed a sweet 360 and Matt successfully pulled off half a backflip.</description> + <description><p>Put a group of idiots together on skis and boards, and you’ve got a guaranteed +recipe for a good time. Tom managed a sweet 360 and Matt successfully pulled +off half a backflip.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -362,7 +1864,156 @@ bit scorching though, it was the hottest summer in ten years.</p></descrip <p>The plan was to travel from Osaka north to the Japan Sea, northeast along the coast to Joetsu, south through the alps to Nagano, then southeast all the way -to Tokyo — a total distance of close to 1200 km, entirely by bicycle.</p></description> +to Tokyo — a total distance of close to 1200 km, entirely by bicycle.</p> +<p>Unfortunately for me, disaster struck just over half-way, in the form of +150km/h winds and torrential downpours. Typhoon Number 10 ploughed straight +through Japan, following a track from the island of Shikoku through Nagano +before it died out, dumping up to 650mm of rain a day, and flooding out every +town and village in its path.</p> +<p>I arrived in Osaka the night of July 28th and promptly hauled my bike, +panniers, and tools through customs and immigration, across the airport, and +into a hotel. I’m not entirely sure how happy they were to have a +grotty-looking guy assembling his bike in his hotel room overnight, but no one +said anything, and I snuck out around 6am anyway.</p> +<p>It’s unbelievable just how slowly you start and stop when your bike is loaded +with 40kg of gear. Sort of the cycling equivalent of driving an 18-wheeler. The +weather was a scorching 36C, with the humidity hovering around 85%. Over the +first 70km from Osaka Itami Airport to downtown Kyoto, I consumed 8 litres of +Dakara, Boku, Miu, and the oh-so-deliciously named Poccari Sweat, crashed +twice, and got lost every 5 minutes. Took a break in Kyoto, stopping by to take +a look at Sanjuusan Gendo, take some pictures, and chat with Taxi drivers, the +police, and anyone else who wanted to know just what the hell I was doing.</p> +<p>Eventually, after a few more Poccari Sweats and some ramen for lunch, I jumped +on my bike and started the trek to Otsu. Half an hour later, winding my way +slowly uphill, along a narrow shoulder on a bridge 30m above a cemetary, I had +the first major close call of the ride. Fortunately, through a combination of +luck and skill, I deftly avoided flying over the railing and plummeting 30m to +my death. Unfortunately, I did so by launching myself headlong into a traffic +barrier, failing to release my toe-clips, breaking the seat right off the post, +and trashing both my leg and pannier on the pavement in the process. Pretty +sure my leg was broken, I lay there for a few minutes contemplating the +resounding success of my bike trip thusfar while the last of the Poccari Sweat +drained out of my water bottles into my shoes.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2003-08-17-fireworks-in-fukui.jpg" + alt="Fireworks in Fukui"/> +</figure> + +<p>Suffice to say that the rest of the day went uphill from there (both literally +and figuratively) and I arrived in Otsu, on the edge of lake Biwa, in one +piece. Annie met me at the JR train station, we ditched the bike in a parking +lot, and rode the train back to Kyoto, where we met up with the entire +complement of Shiga JET Programme teachers at The Hub, an Irish Pub in +Karamachi. After a few beers, some fish &amp; chips and edamame, Annie and Brent +hauled me back to their apartment in Imazu, where they (and I am forever +indebted to them for this) put me up for three days.</p> +<p>Although I didn’t get to go to SummerSonic in Osaka, I did get to pick up my +bike in Otsu, ride 95km back north to Imazu, and spend the evening at Imazu’s +Natsu-matsuri¹ with friends of Annie’s and Brent’s (Josh, Yo, and Hatsumi). +Natsu-matsuris involve many elements, but some of the most important factors +are: fireworks that put ours to shame, music and dancing, traditional Yukata², +and vast quantites of food and alcohol. After the festival, we dragged +ourselves to Bumblebee Twist, a local bar, and had a few more before eventually +hauling ourselves off to bed to recover.</p> +<p>The next day, we were all invited to a barbeque. The one thing that any +foreigner will immediately notice about a Japanese barbeque is that you can’t +just light the barbeque using zip-lights or lighter fluid. No&hellip; the correct +way to light a barbeque in Japan is for one person to heat the coals with a +torch while the rest stand around fanning the flames with uchiwas³ until the +barbeque, in a moment of glory, bursts into flames and the cooking begins. We +had music, more food, beer and Chu-hai (a sort of cider), snacks, and more +fireworks. It was totally great, even though I was beat over and over at some +kind of pirate game by a three-year-old.</p> +<p>The next morning, I said bye to Annie and Brent, then hurled myself off +northwards up the highway towards the north coast. For 30km, the road winds up +through the mountains over a narrow pass toward Tsuruga. In the scariest +downhill of the entire ride, I plummeted down the winding road, drafting behind +semi-trucks at 70km/h, flying in and out of tunnels and around hairpin turns +for the 8km down into Tsuruga.</p> +<p>Tsuruga sits on the ocean at the edge of the Sea of Japan, at the beginning of +the long road leading northeast to Fukui and Kanazawa. Unfortunately, it also +sits at the beginning of a 95km-long leg of straight uphill running along the +edge of a cliff with no shoulder. Fortunately, it’s some of the most beautiful +riding you could possibly hope for. Even more fortunately, midway through the +ride, as I sat at the side of the road huddling in a tiny corner of shade at +the edge of a cliff, two motorcyclists from Osaka pulled up and offered me +something to drink, a look at their road maps, and some encouragement in +Kansai-dialect. This was reinforced over and over throughout my ride by +children hanging out of car windows waving and shouting &ldquo;ganbare!&rdquo; at the top +of their lungs.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2003-08-17-lining-up-for-okonomiyaki.jpg" + alt="Lining up for okonomiyaki"/> +</figure> + +<p>Eventually, I wound my way up through the mountains to Fukui, where I almost +had to spend the night camped on a park-bench by the river. Just when I’d +almost given up hope of finding a hostel, someone walked up to me and in +perfect English, asked if I needed a place to stay for the night. Turns out her +family ran a hotel downtown, and she and her sister had spent several years +living in Australia. Their mom invited me in for tea and snacks after dinner +and we all stayed up late with their little boy, Ryu, yakking about travelling +and good Japanese food.</p> +<p>The next day it was off to Kanazawa, which it turns out has a lot in common +with Kyoto. While it’s much smaller, there were many beautiful old sections of +town. There are temples and shrines everywhere, Kanazawa Castle and Kenrokuen — +probably the most famous Japanese garden in the world. There’s also a crazy guy +dressed in a cape and John Lennon glasses who runs around dragging people to +convenience stores. Too embarassed not to buy an ice cream treat from the +shopkeeper, I grabbed some ice-cream mochi balls, borrowed the phone and set up +reservations for Nagano.</p> +<p>Because of the typhoon, I ended up doing the rest of the trip by train. I found +a bike shop and spent the day yammering away in pseudo-Japanese to the little +old grandma and grandpa who owned the shop. Turns out that he had done almost +the exact same bike trip about 40 years ago! He had also cycled across +Australia and much of the rest of Japan. Pretty amazing! If I hadn’t found +them, my bike would probably be lying in a crumpled heap in a landfill right +now. It took hours, be we did manage to pack everything into an unbelievably +small bag that I could haul onto the train with me.</p> +<p>From Kanazawa, I caught the train to Nagano, taking local lines and limited +express trains the whole way. Nagano was the site of the 1998 Winter Olympic +Games, but has since reverted to its pre-Olympic small-town feel. It was a +beautiful place to visit, hidden away in the Japanese alps, surrounded by +Japanese hot springs and ski hills. I can’t wait to visit in winter. Nagano’s +biggest feature is probably Zenkouji, a Buddhist Temple which houses the first +Buddhist images to come to Japan from the Asian mainland. Underneath the temple +is a pitch-black maze of tunnels that you can wander into, pushed along by wave +after wave of school-children on field trips, people on pilgrimmages, and +curious tourists. It’s almost impossible to tell just how fast you’re moving, +or how far you’ve gone&hellip; just disembodied voices in the dark. Eventually you +arrive at the “key to salvation”, which you can’t see, but you can feel. A few +shakes and rattles, then you’re swept away down the tunnels again.</p> +<p>From Nagano, I caught the Asama Shinkansen into Tokyo. At 280km/h the trip +takes just about two hours. The train tore through the edge of the hurricane at +breakneck speed and we were in Tokyo on schedule to the minute. You can’t help +but love the Japanese train system.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2003-08-17-akasaka.jpg" + alt="Akasaka at night"/> +</figure> + +<p>Met up with Yasuko in Tokyo, and we spent the week bumming around town and +catching all the sights: Akasaka, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Odaiba, the Tsukiji fish +market. Took a side trip to the art gallery a few hours away in Hakone +Prefecture where a mix of European and Japanese art is on display. There were +some absolutely amazing pieces of Japanese pottery in their collection. Back in +Tokyo, we had the chance to see a Kabuki play. I wasn’t entirely sure what to +expect, but it was great. The most striking thing is perhaps the movement. It +was absolutely incredible. I wish I were able to describe it, but the best I +can do is recommend that if you’re even in Tokyo, you go see a Kabuki play!</p> +<p>I returned home on August 17th. Ate breakfast, lunch and dinner in Tokyo, +jumped on the plane at 6pm and had another breakfast and lunch. Arrived back in +Canada 8 hours before I left, and had lunch and dinner again, for a total of +seven meals on the 17th. Not bad! It was a pretty wild and crazy trip, but it +was one of the best trips I’ve ever taken. I can’t wait to go back.</p> +<p>Thanks to everyone who put me up along the way! In particular, Annie &amp; Brent, +and Yasuko! You guys are the best!</p> +<h3 id="glossary">Glossary</h3> +<ol> +<li><em>Natsu-Matsuri:</em> every village’s traditional summer festival, usually in +early- to mid-August, near Obon, the Day of the Dead.</li> +<li><em>Yukata:</em> traditional light cotton kimonos that come in a variety of colours +and patterns.</li> +<li><em>Uchiwa:</em> Large, flat traditional Japanese fan.</li> +</ol> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -371,7 +2022,11 @@ to Tokyo — a total distance of close to 1200 km, entirely by bicycle.</p> <pubDate>Tue, 01 Apr 2003 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2003/04/site-update/</guid> - <description>I finally got around to updating and re-organizing the site. It should render properly in everything from the latest browser to lynx or a text-based browser on a cell phone. All the reports from Mérida are now up, including links to photos at the top of each page. The trip home is still a work in progress.</description> + <description><p>I finally got around to updating and re-organizing the site. It should render +properly in everything from the latest browser to lynx or a text-based browser +on a cell phone. All the reports from Mérida are now up, including links to +photos at the top of each page. The trip home is still a work in progress.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -380,7 +2035,11 @@ to Tokyo — a total distance of close to 1200 km, entirely by bicycle.</p> <pubDate>Fri, 28 Feb 2003 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2003/02/i-am-canadian/</guid> - <description>Since the original I am Canadian ad, Molson has released a slew of others, but until recently, I haven’t been too impressed; however, the I Am Canadian Anthem is a hilarious 90-second snapshot of the cultural history of this country.</description> + <description><p>Since the original <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMxGVfk09lU">I am Canadian</a> ad, Molson has released a slew of +others, but until recently, I haven’t been too impressed; however, the +<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Y7fHQiGkH0">I Am Canadian Anthem</a> is a hilarious 90-second snapshot of the +cultural history of this country.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -389,7 +2048,11 @@ to Tokyo — a total distance of close to 1200 km, entirely by bicycle.</p> <pubDate>Sun, 26 May 2002 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2002/05/back-in-canada/</guid> - <description>Back in Victoria, B.C. after a two month return home to Canada by land beginning in Mérida, Yucatán and continuing through Cuba, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, then all the way back up through Guatemala, México, the U.S. and finally across Western Canada.</description> + <description><p>Back in Victoria, B.C. after a two month return home to Canada by land beginning +in Mérida, Yucatán and continuing through Cuba, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, +then all the way back up through Guatemala, México, the U.S. and finally +across Western Canada.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -404,7 +2067,89 @@ snacking on good Mexican food and the sound of shouting and laughter filled the air. After all the episodes of trouble, dengue fever, and trying to figure out what the hell was actually going on, it was easy to lose sight of just how great a country México is, and after Cuba, coming back to México felt like -coming home.</p></description> +coming home.</p> +<p>After arrival, the first challenge is getting from the airport to the Cancún +bus depot. The shuttle bus drivers&rsquo; union has a strangle-hold on travel from +the airport in Cancun. They charge 75 pesos per person one-way from the airport +via the major hotels along La Zona Hotelera to the station. If you happen to be +living on a wage of 50 pesos an hour, this is practically highway robbery. +However, it turns out that the shuttle bus drivers only have a monopoly on +travel from the airport; travel to the airport remains entirely unrestricted. +Those who take a few minutes to sit and relax out front of the airport for a +few minutes will notice that there is a clever way around this racket.</p> +<p>Following the example of the locals, we hauled our backpacks across the parking +lot, headed out the gates of the airport, and started down the highway in 36 +degree heat. Within moments a taxi skidded to a stop, and the driver, nervously +glancing out the rear window, motioned to us to get in.</p> +<p>We didn&rsquo;t. Instead, we stood at the window asking &ldquo;cuanto cuesta?&rdquo;, to which he +shouted &ldquo;no importa! vamos amigos!&rdquo;.</p> +<p>Still we didn&rsquo;t get in. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll pay 50 pesos&hellip; for the two of us.&rdquo;</p> +<p>Looking insulted, he replied &ldquo;Are you crazy?! I won&rsquo;t do it for less than 70 +pesos each!&rdquo;</p> +<p>Glancing back toward the airport we told him &ldquo;That&rsquo;s ridiculous, the bus is 75 +pesos, and besides we don&rsquo;t have that kind of money. We live in Merida; we&rsquo;re +not rich turistas norteamericanos.&rdquo;</p> +<p>A shuttle bus flew by honking its horn while the driver shook his fist at the +taxista.</p> +<p>&ldquo;Bueno! 110 pesos para los dos! Vamos!&rdquo;</p> +<p>At 110 pesos, we were still overpaying by Mérida standards, but given that we +were a 16km walk in scorching heat from the city, I was pretty sure we weren&rsquo;t +going to get much of a better deal.</p> +<p>At the bus depot, we bought tickets for Chetumal, 5 hours to the south, then +made a dive for the nearest yucatecan restaurant. After weeks of oil-drum +pizzas and roast ham &amp; cheese sandwiches in Cuba, I savoured every last bite of +my poc-chuc. We finished our horchata, then climbed into the bus for the trip +to Chetumal.</p> +<p>Confined by the jungle to the southeast corner of Quintana Roo state, and +squashed between the sea and the Belizean border, Chetumal is the last outpost +of civilisation before crossing into the jungle to the south. Until the end of +the 1970s, like much of pre-Cancun Quintana Roo, it was essentially a free zone +in relatively lawless territory. Trade with British Honduras (now Belize) was +the foundation of the local economy, and earned it the title of the territory +(now state) capital. The historical importance of trade gives the city a +distinct feel from colonial Merida. You can still spot the occasional +wood-frame house, and the city has a relatively modern atmosphere.</p> +<p>Previously named <em>Chactemal</em>, the city had served as a Mayan capital since +pre-Columbian times. The first Spanish missionaries arrived the 16th century, +and the Conquistadors followed soon after. By 1544, the city had fallen to the +Spaniards and the remaining Maya fled into Belize, leaving the city all but +abandoned for the next two centuries.</p> +<p>At the turn of the 20th century in 1898, Porfirio Diaz, then President of +Mexico, ordered the establishment of a port at the mouth of the Rio Hondo in +order to quell the flow of arms across the Belizean border and into the hands +of the Maya. To this end, the city of Payo Obispo was founded by Othon Blanco +with the help of Mexicans from the surrounding areas. The economy developed +quickly and the city grew into the territorial capital by 1915. In 1936, the +city renamed itself to Chetumal, which it remains to this day.</p> +<p>All along the waterfront of Chetumal is a gorgeous walkway. Unlike the +shimmering blue waters of the north-eastern coast of the Yucatan, the water +here was more reminiscent of the murky green ocean back home on Vancouver +Island. The locals are adamant that the water is horrifically ugly, but I +suppose when your bases for comparison are Playa del Carmen, Cozumel and +Cancun, that you can afford to be picky.</p> +<p>After sunset, as we wandered through the town, snacking on fresh tamales, we +were stopped by a couple of old men sitting in chairs on the sidewalk in front +of a saddle shop. They stopped us to ask where we were from and what brought us +to Chetumal. We explained we were taking a trip to see Guatemala and part of +Honduras before returning back to México.</p> +<p>&ldquo;Why do you want to go to Guatemala? It&rsquo;s a dangerous. It&rsquo;s poor. They have +nothing. Pickpockets are everywhere, and the people have no dignity left. Life +is cheap in Guatemala, they&rsquo;ve been surrounded by civil war and death for 30 +years. It&rsquo;s a beautiful country with a terrible history.&rdquo;</p> +<p>That night, we checked into an 80 peso hotel. The employees were huddled around +the television furiously debating México&rsquo;s loss to the USA in fútbol.</p> +<p>&ldquo;The giants defeated us midgets! Look at the size of their players. And the +Americans don&rsquo;t even care about fútbol! Can you believe this?! This is an +insult!&rdquo;</p> +<p>We tried to console them by mentioning that Mexico would be guarateed to put +Canada to shame. It was the best we could manage. It didn&rsquo;t help much.</p> +<p>They shut off the game, and we got to sleep early. Just after the stroke of +midnight I woke up and, in a final farewell to the bugs I had picked up in +Cuba, I threw up (in order) the dinner tamale, followed by the entire plate of +celebratory Poc Chuc I had eaten that afternoon. I felt surprisingly better, +and fell sound asleep excited about the next day&rsquo;s 12 hour trip down a narrow +dirt track road through the jungles of Belize and into northern Guatemala.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -420,7 +2165,60 @@ explorers and trading ships travelling to and from México. During the 17th and 18th centuries, its economy largely depended on trading contraband with pirates. The buildings are in incredibly good shape for their age, most of which are at least two centuries old. It’s not too tough to see why Trinidad is -now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.</p></description> +now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2002-03-21-trinidad-street.jpg" + alt="Street in Trinidad, Cuba"/> +</figure> + +<p>Trinidad is about five hours from Havana by bus, and as with everything in +Cuba, there are two buses: one for Cubans, with a several hour long line-up, +and one for people with dollars, with basically no wait at all. Upon pulling +into Trinidad the bus was swarmed by masses of locals offering a room in a casa +particular. We ended up being shown one house, but it had been freshly painted +that afternoon and the fumes were pretty rough, so we set out wandering down +the streets in the dark. By sheer chance, we ran into an old grandfather +carrying a bucket and pushing his bike up the rickety cobblestone streets and +when we asked him if he knew of any places to stay he said that in fact, we +could stay at his house. This is how our planned two-night stay in Trinidad +ended up turning into a week-long stay in paradise.</p> +<p>Roberto and Elda, their daughter Mercedes, her husband Eddy, and their +11-year-old son Saúl made our stay in Trinidad one of the most relaxing visits +we had to anywhere in our travels. We would have breakfast every morning in a +little courtyard off to the side of the house, spend the mornings wandering the +cobblestone streets in search of pizza, and the evenings falling asleep to the +sound of Cuban salsas, merengues, and cha cha chas drifting through the window +from La Casa de la Trova across the street.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2002-03-21-horse-cart.jpg" + alt="Horse-drawn cart driven by man and boy in Trinidad street"/> +</figure> + +<p>While most of the old town is centered around the main plaza, cathedral, and +clock tower, most of the action seemed to center around the plaza in the newer +part of town down the hill. Old men sitting on park benches sharing a bottle of +rum, school children eating peso ice cream, and the occasional black market +cigar salesman trying to pass off some cigars smuggled out of the local factory +all milled about the plaza in the hot, sticky heat. A bunch of us sat on our +park bench watching the old men on the bench across from us get progressively +more drunk from their homebrew, before eventually falling asleep. One thing +that anyone visiting Cuba can be assured of is eventually being offered a taste +of homemade rum. My guess is that neither the recipe nor the distilling of this +rum has changed much over the past few centuries, so you can be assured that +your experience will be as blindingly nerve-wracking as that of the colonial +sailors plying the waters of the Caribbean in the 1600s. Following the initial +jolt of fermented cane sugar hitting your stomach like a rock is the slow +nauseating feeling of vertigo creeping over your body; after that, a strange +queasiness, and finally recovery and swearing it off for life&hellip; or at least +the next day.</p> +<p>A few days into our stay in Trinidad, as we walked down a dark street off the +plaza, we heard music pouring out through a half-open gate. Peering inside we +were greeted with the sight of thirty or so people packed into a small dirt +courtyard, and a small band of grizzled 80-year-old men playing salsas on their +guitars and trumpets. People had pulled up some old wooden benches and were +serving mojitos made (I swear) straight rum, some sugar, and crushed mint. A +woman named Blanquita invited us in, offered us some mojitos and yanked us up +off the bench to teach us some salsa while chickens scuttled around our feet. +It was probably my most vivid memory of Cuba.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -432,7 +2230,188 @@ now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.</p></description> <description><p>Havana is a city of contradictions. It’s simultaneously one of the most beautiful and most run down cities in the world. It’s hard to imagine how things could be any worse, or any better given the Cuba’s political past and -present.</p></description> +present.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2002-03-19-old-havana-street.jpg" + alt="Run-down street in Old Havana"/> +</figure> + +<p>Havana, along with the rest of Cuba, is the way it is almost purely because of +politics—some of the most complex politics on the planet. If you like history +or politics, Cuba is for you. Cuba’s troubled history begins long before the +Cuban Missile Crisis, or even before the Revolution of 1959. Ever since +Christopher Columbus set foot on the Isle of Cuba on October 29th, 1492, one +nation or another has been fighting over the country. For over half a +millennium now, politics have affected almost every aspect of life in Cuba. +It’s amazing that despite all this, Cuban culture is felt worldwide through its +music, dance, and artistry.</p> +<h3 id="fast-facts">Fast Facts</h3> +<p>Before we get started, here are a few quick facts to clear up a few common +misconceptions about Cuba:</p> +<ul> +<li>The US embargo was put in place on October 19th, 1960, two years before the +Cuban Missile Crisis. It was the result of the US Eisenhower Administration’s +plan to overthrow Castro. This was the result of Cuba nationalizing a lot of +property sold to the US by Cuba’s former dictator, Fulgencio Batista. In +1963, after the end of the Missile Crisis, the Kennedy Administration imposed +a travel ban on US citizens, preventing them from visiting Cuba. Here’s an +<a href="http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/funfacts/embargo.htm">Economic Embargo Timeline</a>, if you’re interested.</li> +<li>In 1959, a group of Cuban revolutionaries, including Fidel Castro and Che +Guevara, led a popular uprising to overthrow Fulgencio Batista, the +totalitarian dictator who led Cuba from 1934 to 1959. Under Batista, more +than a third of the land in Cuba was sold off to US interests. In several +cases, teachers who worked to alphabetize rural villages were tortured and +killed by Batista’s private police force, for fear that a literate population +of farmers would be more likely to favour local land ownership, and oppose +the dictator. Cuba is now a communist country, and Castro is the elected head +of state. Elections are supervised by international monitors. They work very +differently from other western electoral systems, however, since there is +only one party. Like Canadians, Cubans elect local representatives, who +select a party leader. In practise, Castro has been re-elected President by +party officials in every election since the Revolution. Here’s some more +information on <a href="http://dodgson.ucsd.edu/las/cuba/1990-2001.htm">elections in Cuba</a>.</li> +<li>Today, Cuba’s population is highly educated. The current literacy rate is +approximately 97%—the same as Canada’s. Before the revolution, the overall +literacy rate was 23.6%. Castro’s guerrilla manifesto of 1957 included an +immediate literacy and education campaign, with the slogan &lsquo;Revolution and +Education are the same thing.&rsquo;</li> +<li>It’s illegal to form a party other than the Communist Party, and people live +under fairly strict supervision by the government compared to most western +nations. The movement of Cubans is restricted by the government. The +Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs maintains a <a href="https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/cuba">fact page</a> +on Cuba, as does <a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/cu.html">the CIA</a> in the United States.</li> +<li>Cuba’s media is not entirely restricted, and Cubans can tune in to Miami and +Mexican radio stations. The national newspaper, Granma is published by the +Communist Party and is <a href="http://www.granma.cu/">available online</a> in several languages.</li> +</ul> +<p>I was going to include a quick whirlwind tour of the history of Cuba here. I +started on it, but by the time I got to the late 19th century it was already +ten paragraphs long. Instead, if you want an excellent point-form history, have +a look at <a href="http://www.historyofcuba.com/">A History of Cuba</a>. If you want something more in +depth, specifically focusing on US-Cuban relations, the multi-volume set <em>A +History of Cuba and its relations with The United States</em> by Philip S. Foner is +excellent.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2002-03-19-old-havana-door.jpg" + alt="Crumbling doorway in Old Havana"/> +</figure> + +<h3 id="arrival-in-havana">Arrival in Havana</h3> +<p>The flight to Cuba was probably the craziest flights I’ve ever experienced. We +boarded the ancient, Soviet-built Cubana Yak-42 jet in Cancún and took our +seats. The first thing we noticed as we sat down was that the safety +instruction cards were printed in Russian. The second, and more alarming thing +we noticed was that smoke was slowly filling the cabin. The flight attendants +assured people that it was just steam, and that it was totally normal. By the +time we landed in Cuba, The cabin was filled chest high and we couldn’t see our +knees anymore. We got off the plane as quickly as possible, were packed into a +rickety old East-German bus and carted off to immigration. Once in Havana, we +checked into Hotel Flamingo where we stayed for our first two days while we +explored Havana. Across the street were a bunch of featureless, utilitarian, +crumbling apartment buildings, which are apparently identical to the ones that +were built across the Communist Block countries during the Soviet era. You’re +surrounded on all sides by relics of the Soviet era: East German and Polish +buses, Russian radios and record players, and tons of North Korean equipment. +It’s fascinating to see a country that exists almost entirely apart from the +US. When it comes to the States, it’s as though time stopped in 1959. The only +Chevys and Buicks to be seen are 1950s models. All new cars are Ladas, Yugos, +Polski Fiats, or Chinese and North Korean imports. Supposedly push-by shootings +from Ladas aren’t as big a problem here as they are in Russia.</p> +<p>Old Havana La Habana Vieja is something amazing to see. Walking down the +streets of Old Havana, you’re surrounded by some of the most incredible +architecture you’ve ever witnessed. What’s even more incredible is that it’s +crumbling all around you. Ornate gargoyles and balconies have decayed and +collapsed with age; the paint is peeling, and everything is covered in a thick +layer of dirt and grime. Broken windows are everywhere, and yet people continue +to live in these buildings that elsewhere in the world would have long since +been condemned.</p> +<p>Another thing not to be missed in Havana is sitting in the park in front of the +Museo de la Revolución and eating freshly roasted peanuts out of a rolled up +newspaper. For one peso, you can buy salted peanuts from street vendors, rolled +up in an old copy of a page from <em>Granma</em>, and sit back and watch kids play +baseball in the street.</p> +<p>Baseball is everywhere in Cuba. You can’t turn around without seeing a game +going on. Baseball equipment, on the other hand, is hard to come by. This +doesn’t stop anyone from playing the game, however. A rock wrapped in rubber +bands makes a pretty decent baseball, and we saw a lot of kids who could hit +some amazing runs with a broom handle baseball bat. If you visit Cuba, +something that’ll make any kid’s day is a baseball. Pencils and pens make nice +gifts too.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2002-03-19-vintage-american-cars.jpg" + alt="Vintage American cars"/> +</figure> + +<h3 id="dollars-and-pesos">Dollars and Pesos</h3> +<p>There are two things that everyone who visits Cuba should do. The first is to +experience live Cuban music, which you can read about in the Trinidad section. +The second is to convert some dollars to Cuban Pesos. Cuba has three official +currencies: Cuban Pesos, US Dollars, and Cuban Convertible Pesos. The Cuban +Convertible Peso was introduced to reduce the dependency on actual US dollars, +but are worth exactly one dollar in Cuba, and exactly zero dollars off the +island. Cuban Pesos are a soft currency, and as such, have no practical value +as an exchangeable currency; however, exchanges do happen at wildly fluctuating +rates. We got 26 pesos to the dollar. Cuba has two economies that don’t +overlap even remotely. Hard-currency stores charge US prices in US dollars and +sell high-end items. Bottled water is about $1.00 a bottle, soap is $0.50 a +bar, and meat and cheese are similar in price to what they would be in Canada +or the US. However, Cubans are paid in pesos at a rate of about 200-400 pesos a +month — about 8 to 16 dollars. That makes a bottle of water worth somewhere +around 10% of your monthly paycheque. Try the math with your paycheque. Soft +currency shops sell local goods, such as fruit and vegetables, for pesos.</p> +<p>The reason you should convert some money is that finding a place to spend your +newly acquired pesos will force you to discover a whole part of Cuba you might +otherwise never have seen. Cubans buy things in soft currency at markets or +shops that sell in pesos. The items you can buy for pesos are universally +locally produced items such as locally farmed foods, small pizzas baked on the +street in oil drums converted to wood ovens, and some ice cream. A pizza, which +is basically a piece of bread with a little tomato sauce, some oil, and bit of +salt on it, sells for 3 pesos, which is about 12 cents US. The reason it’s so +cheap is that peso goods are subsidised by the work you do for the state. Basic +food staples such as beans and rice are part of your government supplied +rations, and can be obtained with your ration card at certain shops. When you +can find it, food sold on the street is usually in pesos. Food in paladares¹, +hotels, and touristy places is almost universally in dollars.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2002-03-19-camelo.jpg" + alt="Camelo bus"/> +</figure> + +<h3 id="the-rich-and-the-poor">The Rich and the Poor</h3> +<p>The one thing that struck us immediately was the uniformity of income in Cuba. +In México, there are two extremes: the extremely rich and the extremely poor. +The middle class is tiny compared to Canada, where the middle class is the +norm. In Cuba, almost everyone lives in something that is not exactly poverty, +but at the same time they have basically no buying power. They have what the +government gives them, and little else. The income difference between a street +sweeper and a specialist doctor is about $7 a month vs. $15 a month. No matter +how you cut it, the $8 difference doesn’t buy much. It’s hard to get imported +goods no matter what, and what you can get is often on the black market. +Although under communism employment is universal and housing is provided by the +state, there are still people who turn to begging because it can be far more +lucrative than work in a factory for $8 a month. As a result of the incredibly +tiny incomes in Cuba, jineteros² have become more numerous, and will follow you +wherever you go, trying to drag you to a restaurant or shop where you’ll spend +your money. A lot of people on the street beg for soap or toothpaste when the +police aren’t watching. One man told us he’d do anything, even get down on his +knees and beg if it would make a difference.</p> +<p>Given all this, was the trip to Cuba worth it? Without a doubt. We met some +absolutely wonderful people, and learned a ton about Cuban history and +politics. The government isn’t the oppressive dictatorship many people would +like to believe, and it’s certainly an improvement over Batista’s brutal +dictatorship; however, things could certainly be a lot better than they are, +and Castro isn’t exactly known for his spectacular record on civil liberties. +The Cubans we met were friendly and welcoming, not to mention incredibly good +dancers. When we ran into difficulty getting cash out of our Mexican bank +accounts due to the embargo, one family we stayed with offered to reduce our +room rate, and give us a cheap ride to the airport so we didn’t have to pay the +taxi fare. Falling asleep to live Cuban music every night was worth the trip +alone.</p> +<h3 id="glossary">Glossary</h3> +<ol> +<li><em>Paladar:</em> a small independent restaurant. One of the allowed forms of +capitalism in Cuba.</li> +<li><em>Jinetero:</em> Literally a &lsquo;jockey.&rsquo; Jineteros will approach you and offer to +show you a restaurant or store. In exchange, the restaurant charges you +extra for your meal and the jinetero gets to keep the surcharge.</li> +</ol> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -442,7 +2421,14 @@ present.</p></description> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2002/01/feliz-navidad/</guid> <description><p>Took a two week trip through southern México for Christmas. Starting in Mérida, -southwest into Campeche, Tabasco, Veracruz and then Chiapas.</p></description> +southwest into Campeche, Tabasco, Veracruz and then Chiapas. Stopped to visit +the Mayan ruins at Palenque, followed by some of the villages around San +Cristóbal de las Casas. From there, it was northeast back onto the Yucatán +peninsula, to Tulúm, then onwards north again to spend Christmas swimming in the +Caribbean on Isla Mujeres in 30 degree weather. After a few days, it was +westward again to Chichen Itzá and Valladolid before finally returning home to +Mérida.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -455,7 +2441,112 @@ southwest into Campeche, Tabasco, Veracruz and then Chiapas.</p></descript Montejo) descended on the ceremonial centre of the Zací (Hawk) Maya, waging war on the <em>Cupules</em>, a group of Maya that hadn’t taken kindly to the Spanish conquistadors. When the battle was done and the town had been razed, he renamed -it Valladolid in honour of the Spanish city of the same name.</p></description> +it Valladolid in honour of the Spanish city of the same name. Today, Valladolid +is one of the most beautiful colonial cities in the Yucatán, with a mix of +Spanish and Maya influences. Maya from local pueblas and from the city sell +traditional <em>huipiles</em> near the plaza downtown. The city is still roughly +centered on the <em>Cenote Zací</em> that was the ceremonial centre of the original +Mayan settlement.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-27-cenote.jpg" + alt="View of Cenote Zací. Stalactites and vines hang from above. A few swimmers can be seen near the edge of the pool. A path leads upwards through the trees."/> +</figure> + +<p>The cenote is one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. To get to it, you hike +down a passage into a cavern, then wind your way down the side to get to water +level. The water is a deep turquoise colour, and is absolutely crystal clear. +In the shallow areas, you can easily see fallen stalactites lying 30 metres +below on the bottom. In the deep parts, you won’t see the bottom—it’s more than +100 metres deep. The same little blind fish that are present in the cenote at +Dzibilchaltún will nibble your toes in this cenote as well.</p> +<p>Above the cenote is a little zoo with spider monkeys, who spend most of their +afternoon playing with toys, and getting fed potato chips by laughing groups of +kids. What was more interesting, however, was that they had a raccoon in the +zoo. You don’t see them in México at all, and most people we asked didn’t know +what the Spanish word for it was, until an old man we ran into told us it was +<em>mapache</em>.</p> +<p>The main plaza of the city is gorgeous. With ornate lamp posts, hanging baskets +full of flowers, and beautiful hedges, it was the Yucatán’s answer to Victoria. +The streets downtown are kept immaculately clean by a crew of street cleaners +who run through the streets every morning at 5 am. The government of Spain has +apparently deemed Valladolid to be one of the most Spanish cities in the +Americas, and donates money to help in its preservation.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-27-cenote-top.jpg" + alt="View from above, looking down into Cenote Zací. Vines hang down to the water from above. A stone staircase leads up from the dark blue-green waters. A few scattered fallen leaves litter the surface of the water."/> +</figure> + +<p>Probably the most exciting thing that happened while we were there was the +rain. We had gone off in search of what is supposed to be an absolutely amazing +cathedral and graveyard somewhere in the southwestern part of the city. In +typical Mexican fashion, everyone we talked to was able to tell us in +approximately what direction it was, so we were able to slowly make our way +there stumbling randomly from one Vallisoletana to the next. We never did find +it, but not for any lack of determination, but because it started to rain. Now, +when I say rain, I don’t mean the rain we get in Victoria. I don’t even mean +Vancouver rain. To fully appreciate a Yucatecan rain storm, you really need to +experience one. Imagine the streets filling with water, then overflowing onto +the sidewalks until the whole city is two feet deep in rainwater. We did the +only thing we could do: jump into a corner store. The guys in the store reacted +the same way any other Mexicans all over the country would react: toss over a +couple chairs and invite us in to watch some TV. We bought some cookies and +juice and sat for 45 minutes or so, watching the water level in the street +outside rise closer and closer to the edge of the door before we finally +decided that we were going to make a break for it, only stopping once for a +slice of cheesecake in a bakery along the way back to the hotel.</p> +<p>Valladolid is also famous for the cenote at Dzitnup, about 10 km out of town. +While we never did make it there, we heard some amazing stories about it from +Nick, an Irishman from Cork we met in San Cristóbal de las Casas. What is so +incredible about it is that it’s at the bottom of a dark cavern, with a small +opening in the roof. At the right time of day, the sun shines through this +opening and into the turquoise waters of the cenote, making it apear as though +you’re bathing in light. The actual name of the cenote is <em>Kiken</em> which is +Yucatec Maya for &lsquo;pig,&rsquo; because the cenote was originally discovered by a farmer +whose his pig had fallen in through the hole in the roof.</p> +<p>Valladolid is also famous for its uprisings. What transpired in Valladolid in +June of 1910 helped to spark the Mexican Revolution that erupted in the rest of +the country that November when Francisco Madero flew across the border into +Piedras Negras, Coahuila. The revolution wasn’t over until 1920; but as they +say, the opening chapters were written in blood, here in Valladolid.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-27-truck.jpg" + alt="The rusted carcass of a truck parked on the side of the street. Painted across the front: Duele mas andar a pie (it hurts more to walk). On the bent and twisted remains of the bumper: Asi como me vez te veras (one day, you&#39;ll look like this too)."/><figcaption> + <h4>&#39;It hurts more to walk&#39;</h4> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Unhappy with Spanish control of a land they considered their own, a small band +of revolutionaries had worked together for months, planning the overthrow of +governor Moñoz Aristegui. On the night of June 3rd, 1910, all those committed +to the plan met in the Plaza de la Santa Lucia at midnight. Under the command +of Ruz Ponce and José Kantún, one group stormed the police quarter, killing the +guard outside and taking everyone else prisoner. Another group, led by Claudio +Alconcer and Atilano Albertos took the office of the Mexican Guard, killing the +Sergeant of the Guard, Facundo Gil. The governor, Felipe de Regil, asleep in +bed at the time, woke up to the sound of gunfire outside in the streets. He +immediately jumped out of bed and, a gun in each hand, ran into the street +firing on the revolutionaries. He fought bravely until the end, when he was +finally killed and left lying in the street.</p> +<p>At this point, there was no turning back for the insurgents. They now had the +support of nearly the entire city, and within three days had amassed an army of +no less than 1500 men, armed with guns and machetes. Most had no military +training. Local landowners provided weapons, ammunition and food.</p> +<p>In Mérida, this uprising had not gone unnoticed. While the locals were +preparing in Valladolid, the government had sent a column of 65 men eastward +with 300 guns, recruiting villagers along the way. Under the command of Colonel +Ignacio Lara, they marched easward to Tinum, 12 km outside of Valladolid, where +they waited for reinforcements to arrive. The cannons of Morelos arrived in +Valladolid on the 7th. On the 8th, Lara led his men to the outskirts of the +city, where, at dawn on the 9th of June, they began the assault on Valladolid. +A batallion of 600 federal troops arrived on the 10th. Poorly equiped, +untrained, and out of ammunition, the rebels fell under the three ferocious +onslaughts. The death tolls were high on both sides: more than 100 +revolutionaries and over 30 government soldiers had been killed. This was the +highest balance of deaths of any battle ever fought in México, and would remain +so until the Revolution began that November.</p> +<p>The leaders of the revolt were eventually rounded up, tried and sentenced to +death. In the courtyard of the Shrine of San Roque, Kantún, Albertos, and +Bonilla faced the firing squad. That November, Francisco Madero launched the +Mexican Revolution, and by the following April, 17000 people had taken up arms +against Porfirio Diaz and his government. The rest is <a href="http://history.acusd.edu/gen/projects/border/page01.html">history</a>.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -469,7 +2560,81 @@ ruins at this site cover over 15 square kilometres, with <em>El Castillo&l taking up 0.4 hectares. At 83 metres in length, the Ball Court is the largest in Meso-America. The close proximity of the ruins to Cancún and the size of some of the structures have made these the most famous Mayan ruins in the -country.</p></description> +country.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-26-el-castillo.jpg" + alt="A view from the ground below the El Castillo pyramid at Chichen Itzá. Visitors climb the steep staircase leading up the centre of the face of the pyramid. A few people stand silhouetted at the top, looking down on the surrouding jungle."/> +</figure> + +<p>The image that most people associate with Chichen Itzá is <em>El Castillo</em>. The +pyramid rises more than 23 metres above the ground, with steep staircases up +all four sides, leading to a small building at the top. What’s so spectacular +about it is the fact that this pyramid is actually a huge Mayan calendar built +of stone. The four staircases leading to the top have 91 steps each, which +when added to the platform at the top, make 365. On the sides are 52 panels +representing the 52 years of the traditional Mayan calendar round. The pyramid +is composed of nine terraced platforms on either side of the two primary +staircases, for a total of 18, the number of months in the Mayan calendar. If +you’re still not convinced of the Mayans’ astronomical prowess, you can easily +convince yourself by visiting on either the spring or the fall equinox when, as +the sun rises over the jungle, the form of a giant serpent is projected onto +the sides of the two primary staircases, each of which has a giant stone +serpent head at its base. This illusion is created by the precise alignment of +the terraces in relation to position of the sun.</p> +<p>In a corner in the shade of one of the giant staircases leading up the side of +El Castillo is a door. Once or twice a day, the door is opened, and groups of +20 or so are allowed inside. A narrow passage leads to a steep staircase that +runs up the side of another pyramid inside El Castillo. It’s narrow, cramped, +hot and humid, not to mention dark, but the climb is worth it. Eventually, at +the top of the staircase, if you’re lucky or pushy enough, you can catch a +glimpse of a jewel-encrusted jaguar altar, used by the Maya for sacrifices.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-26-ball-court.jpg" + alt="The ball court at Chichen Itzá. Large, perfectly flat stone walls rise above the grass. Two stone hoops protrude, one from each wall, facing sideways. A crowd of people stands at the far end of the court."/> +</figure> + +<p>The Ball Court is another feat of engineering. The walls are each approximately +8 metres high, with structures at the top for viewing the game. At either end +of the court is an elaborate stone temple. But what is so amazing about the +Ball Court is its acoustics. A whisper at one end can be clearly heard at the +other end, 135 metres away. In fact, the sound reflection at the centre of the +court is so incredible, you can hear at least nine echos if you clap or shout.</p> +<p>The following excerpt, by one of the supervising archaeologists restoring the +ruins, describes the acoustics:</p> +<blockquote> +<p>Chi cheen Itsa’s famous &lsquo;Ball-court&rsquo; or Temple of the Maize cult offers the +visitor besides its mystery and impressive architecture, its marvellous +acoustics If a person standing under either ring claps his hands or yells, the +sound produced will be repeated several times gradually losing its volume, A +single revolver shot seems machine-gun fire. The sound waves travel with equal +force to East or West, day or night. disregarding the wind’s direction. Anyone +speaking in a normal voice from the &lsquo;Forum&rsquo; can be clearly heard in the &lsquo;Sacred +Tribune&rsquo; five hundred feet away or vice-versa. If a short sentence, for +example, &lsquo;Do you hear me?&rsquo; is pronounced it will be repeated word by word&hellip; +Parties from one extreme to the other can hold a conversation without raising +their voices.</p> +<p>This transmission of sound, as yet unexplained, has been discussed by +architects and archaeologists &hellip; Most of them used to consider it as fanciful +due to the ruined conditions of the structure but, on the contrary, we who have +engaged in its reconstruction know well that the sound volume, instead of +disappearing, has become stronger and clearer&hellip; Undoubtedly we must consider +this feat of acoustics as another noteworthy achievement of engineering +realized millenniums ago by the Maya technicians.</p> +<p><em>—Chi Cheen Itza by Manuel Cirerol Sansores, 1947</em></p> +</blockquote> +<p>Aside from the Ball Court and <em>El Castillo</em>, there are dozens of other sites of +interest. There are no less than three cenotes around the site, one of which +was filled with tens of thousands of artifacts, from neclaces and jewelry to +the bones of human and animal sacrifices. The Hall of the Thousand Pillars is +also incredible to walk through, with each pillar featuring unique carvings and +inscriptions; on some, traces of red and blue paint are still visible.</p> +<p>The site was originally populated by the Itzáes around 500 AD, and slowly built +up until 900 AD, at which point it was completely abandonned. No one knows why +the Itzáes left so abruptly, but it appears that the city was re-populated +about 100 years later, and then attacked by the Toltecs, a tribe known for its +brutality at war. Structures from the period between 1000 and 1300 AD show +marked Toltec influences, including numeral reliefs of Toltec gods, including +Quetzalcoatl, the plumed serpent. The city was abandonned once again around +1300, this time permanently.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -478,7 +2643,35 @@ country.</p></description> <pubDate>Mon, 24 Dec 2001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/12/tulum-quintana-roo-mexico/</guid> - <description>Between San Cristóbal and Tulúm is a long, empty road. The overnight bus works beautifully for this trip, winding its way through the mountains, jungle and the vast plains of the Yucatán. The only major stop along the way is Escarcega, Campeche. By major, I mean a couple of comida corrida places, a papaya tree, and a dusty bus stop on a long, empty stretch of highway. By six in the morning, we were in Tulúm, a slightly bigger collection of restaurants and bus stops along a long, empty stretch of highway.</description> + <description><p>Between San Cristóbal and Tulúm is a long, empty road. The overnight bus works +beautifully for this trip, winding its way through the mountains, jungle and +the vast plains of the Yucatán. The only major stop along the way is Escarcega, +Campeche. By major, I mean a couple of comida corrida places, a papaya tree, +and a dusty bus stop on a long, empty stretch of highway. By six in the +morning, we were in Tulúm, a slightly bigger collection of restaurants and bus +stops along a long, empty stretch of highway. We grabbed a plate of +<em>huevos motuleños</em> and some coffee, which (I swear that I am not making this +up) was blue. Sort of an off-grey blue. It tasted like milk mixed with +dishwater.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-24-tulum.jpg" + alt="Mayan ruins sit on a bluff of rock covered with low scrub overlooking the Caribbean. Below, waves crash against the rocks."/> +</figure> + +<p>The best time to see the ruins is, without a doubt, sunrise. The ruins at +Tulúm, while not spectacular except for the two-metre rock wall surrounding the +site on three sides, have one of the best views you could possibly hope for. +The structures sit nestled amid the rolling green grass and white sandy +beaches, hovering over the turquoise Caribbean. As the sun rises, the whole +place is bathed in a warm orangey-red glow. Sitting on ruins watching the waves +is pretty relaxing.</p> +<p>Since Tulúm is so close to Playa del Carmen and Cancún, the number of visitors +is absoutely huge compared to a lot of other Mayan ruins, and especially given +the small size of these ruins. Because of that, most of the structures are +off-limits to the public, so you can’t climb up on them as you can at most +other sites. In the end, it’s nice to see that these ruins are being protected, +but Palenque, Uxmal and Chichen Itzá are a lot more fun. That said, if you look +hard enough, you will find a couple structures you can sit down on.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -494,7 +2687,58 @@ winter. It’s cold, damp and cloudy. After months of scorching heat and humidity, I was in heaven. San Cristóbal makes an ideal base from which to do day-trips to the surrounding villages of San Juan Chamula and Zinacantán—indigenous villages comprising the Tzotzil and Tzeltal indigenous -groups respectively.</p></description> +groups respectively.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-21-plaza.jpg" + alt="The bright yellow façade of a catheral faces the main plaza in San Cristóbal de las Casas. Pedestrials mill about the square in groups."/> +</figure> + +<p>In town, we met a law student named Luís who took a group of us to the +villages. In San Juan Chamula, we first visited the shaman’s hut for the +village, where we learned about the mix of Catholicism and traditional beliefs +practised in the village. We then continued on to the village church which was +probably the highlight of the visit. Seeing the mix of beliefs being practised +there was incredible: everything from prayers to the Catholic saints to burning +incense to chicken sacrifices and ceremonial purgings. Photography isn’t +allowed in the church and out of respect to the Chamulans, we won’t describe +everything in detail on the web, but suffice to say that it was an incredibly +worthwhile visit.</p> +<p>Zinacantán is only a few kilometres away, but the villagers speak an entirely +different language, Tzeltal. Here, the church is much more traditional, +although most villagers still maintain strong ties to traditional indigenous +beliefs, such as worshipping the Earth Lord and placing a strong emphasis on +the interpretation of dreams. For a more detailed look at the beliefs and +culture of the people of Zinacantán, we’d suggest <em>Dreams and Stories from the +People of the Bat</em> by Robert Laughlin. This book is a collection of dreams and +their interpretations as told by the villagers of Zinacantán, as well as a +series of short stories passed from generation to generation in the village.</p> +<p>The town also produces many traditional handicrafts typical of Chiapas: +blankets, clothing, dolls, etc. The villagers take these to San Cristóbal to +sell them at the markets and on the street. The textiles are all made from +hand, from the thread, to hand-weaving and embroidering. Typically, a +medium-sized blanket takes two to three weeks to produce.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-21-beans.jpg" + alt="Dozens of varieties of dried beans in many colours arrayed for sale in bins and large sacks for sale at the market"/> +</figure> + +<p>Back in San Cristóbal, we spent a few days visiting the markets and wandering +around town trying out the local food before heading back north for Palenque +again. On our way out of town we noticed a small shanty-town suburb in a gravel +pit. On a big yellow arch, bold black letters declared the name of the colonia: +<em>Sal Si Puedes</em>, &lsquo;Get Out If You Can&rsquo;. Just past this is the massive military +encampment that has been in place since 1994 when the EZLN (Zapatista +Liberation Army) overthrew and occupied the town before being driven out by +reinforcements sent in, causing a bloodbath. There is a lot less tension now +than there was then, but the Zapatistas still have incredibly high support in +the villages just outside of town. The Mexican government under Vincente Fox +has been much more responsive to indigenous peoples than previous governments +have been, although in recent months this seems to be less and less the case. +There’s still a lot of work to do before the indigenous groups in Mexico are +able to live in conditions similar to the rest of the population. Most people +in the villages still lack food, clothing and (non-dirt) floors in their +houses, let alone running water and electricity. And although Chiapas produces +more electricity than any other state, less than half the population has +electricity in its home.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -507,7 +2751,24 @@ groups respectively.</p></description> hour bus ride from Mérida. Although Chiapas has been a somewhat politically unstable state during the past 10 years, it is also home to some of the most incredible scenery, archaeological sites and indigenous culture in the -country.</p></description> +country.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-18-temple-of-inscriptions.jpg" + alt="The Mayan ruins of the Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque towering over a courtyard surrounded by jungle. A large staircase leads up the main face of the pyramid. Rain pours down in torrents."/> +</figure> + +<p>The town of Palenque sits only a few minutes by bike, foot or bus from the +ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Palenque. The ruins themselves extend over a +huge area and are composed of many smaller groups of structures situated around +plazas. The most impressive of these are probably the main plaza—which is +surrounded by the Temple of the Inscriptions and the palace/observatory +tower—and the Sun Temple Plaza.</p> +<p>The Temple of the Inscriptions is well-known for housing the sarcophagus and +jade death mask of Pakal, former ruler of the city. Unfortunately, it&rsquo;s no +longer possible to visit the inside of the Temple of the Inscriptions without a +research permit. In theory, that involves applications via your university and +submissions of your research to the government; in practice it involves 150 +pesos to the right people.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -518,7 +2779,61 @@ country.</p></description> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/09/dzibilchaltun-yucatan-mexico/</guid> <description><p>About halfway between Mérida and Progresso lie the ruins of Dzibilchaltún, an important centre in the ancient world of the Maya. The name means &lsquo;The place -with writing on the stones.&rsquo;</p></description> +with writing on the stones.&rsquo;</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-09-11-munecas-door.jpg" + alt="View framed by the doorway of the of Templo de las Siete Muñecas looking out over the ruins of a stone building and four-sized stone stela on a raised platform. A path leads past the ruins, through the low jungle, and towards the horizon."/> +</figure> + +<p>Dzibilchaltún covers an area of about 16 square kilometres, in which there are +about 8400 structures. The central part of the site covers three square +kilometres, which includes several temples and pyramids, as well as a cenote of +unknown depth, one of the largest in the Yucatán. Many of the structures date +back as far as 500 B.C.</p> +<p>From downtown Mérida, you can catch a colectivo that stops down the road from +the temple. A 10 minute hike from there along a trail through the jungle gets +you to the entrance to the site, where they charge 50 pesos per person ($7.50 +CDN) to get in. The day we arrived, it was a scorching 40-something degrees, +with 100% humidity, so the fact that the small museum on the site was +air-conditionned was worth the price of admission in itself.</p> +<p>The site is divided into two parts, separated by a one kilometre long road. At +one end is the Temple of the Seven Dolls, named after seven ceramic dolls found +there as offerings to the gods. At the other end is a courtyard, a pyramid, a +ball court and the cenote, as well as an open chapel that was constructed +during the Colonial era, in the late 16th and early 17th century.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-09-11-munecas-outside.jpg" + alt="View of the Templo de las Siete Muñecas from the path. In the foreground, a hiker walks toward a large worn stela on a raised platform."/> +</figure> + +<p>The Temple of the Seven Dolls is probably the most interesting part of the +site. At least it was to us. At one time, the temple was adorned with plaster +friezes, molded to the shapes of intertwined serpents, hieroglyphs, and masks, +though these friezes are no longer on the structure itself. The building is +thought to have served as an astronomical observatory, and during the Vernal +and Autumnal Equinoxes, an interesting phenonmenon can be seen at sunrise. +During the Equinoxes, the sun is perfectly aligned such that the morning +sunlight passes directly between two sets of opposing doors on the temple, +casting the light down into the courtyard facing the structure. Many people +pile into Dzibilchaltún between 5:00 and 6:00 in the morning to witness the +sunrise, then run back out and pile into a bus to Chichen Itza to watch the +more spectacular effect of the sun casting light in the shape of a giant +serpent slithering up the side of the temple there in the afternoon. If you +don’t happen to be a teacher who has classes on these days, this is apparently +the thing to do.</p> +<p>The cenote on the other side of the site is open for swimming, if you don’t +mind thousands of little fish chasing you around the whole time. What’s +curious, of course, is that there are any fish at all in the cenotes, since +they’re fed by a series of deep, underwater channels of water that snake +beneath the entire peninsula. There are no rivers or streams connecting them on +the surface, so the fish have to descend to incredible depths (over 100 m) to +move between one cenote and the next. From what people have told us, the fish +that live in the cenotes are blind, which is kind of cool.</p> +<p>We hiked back out to the road after a few hours of wandering around, the sat +waiting for a colectivo to drive by and pick us up. For 30 minutes we sat +around, the air totally still and boiling hot, with only the sound of the +mosquitos and the cow in the field next to us. I’m not entirely sure what was +wrong with it, but the way it hollered made it sound demented and insane. I +honestly hope I never drink any milk from that one; no way that’s safe.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -535,7 +2850,126 @@ with writing on the stones.&rsquo;</p></description> <p>Lo que tu eres, yo fui<br> Lo que yo soy, luego serás<br> <em>—Inscription on the pirate Mundaca’s Tomb</em></p> -</blockquote></description> +</blockquote> +<p>Many, many years ago, a pirate by the name of Fermin Antonio Mundaca de +Marechaja landed on Isla Mujeres and fell in love with a young lady whose name +has been long forgotten. Today, she is known only as <em>La Trigueña</em> (The +Brunette), the name by which he referred to her. In order to win her love, +Mundaca built an elaborate hacienda, erected archways and laid paths throughout +the gardens. He had trees and plants brought from all over the world to plant +in the gardens. Unfortunately, before he finished this masterpiece, she ran off +with another islander and got married. Today, his house lays in ruins in the +middle of what remains of his fortress. And if you look carefully, you can +faintly work out the words <em>La Trigueña</em> carved into the stone archway. Mundaca +eventually died of the plague in Mérida, but his small tomb can still be seen +among the headstones of the small cemetary near the north beach of town. +Adorned with an eerily grinning skull and crossbones, it bears no name, but +carries the inscription: &lsquo;As you are, I was. As I am, you will be.&rsquo;</p> +<p>With a couple weeks before school and work starts, we decided to visit Isla +Mujeres (lit. The Island of Women), a small island that sits about 11 km off +the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, in Quintana Roo. A few hours east of +Mérida, the island is surrounded by the turquoise, bathtub warm, crystal clear +waters of the Caribbean, and is the site of some spectacular snorkeling and +diving.</p> +<p>Isla Mujeres is tiny—about 8 km long and between 300 and 800 metres wide—and +has a population of 7000 residents. The main part of the town sits on the +north-west tip of the island, but there are some smaller <em>colonias</em> in the +central Salinas area, as well as on the south end. Although it was once a +fishing town, the main business today is tourism. Unlike Cancún, however, Isla +Mujeres has a much more relaxed, laid back pace of life, and it hasn’t yet +turned into a party town full of drunken gringos. The locals appear to want to +keep it this way, and the local San Francisco store stops selling alcohol at +8:30 or 9:00 in the evenings.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-09-06-sunset.jpg" + alt="In the distance, the silhouette of a lancha passes through the shimmering reflection of the setting sun&#39;s light on the ocean."/> +</figure> + +<p>From the downtown Cancún bus station, we grabbed the Route 13 bus north along +Avenida Tulum to the Puerto Juarez ferry terminal, then hopped on a boat for +the 30 minute ferry ride to the island. We spent the whole ride locked in a +psychological battle trying not to jump off into the gorgeous blue water; it +was sheer torture. Apparently we weren’t the only ones—as soon as the boat +pulled alongside the Isla Mujeres dock, one 40 year old passenger jumped +overboard and swam to shore.We spent the next few days wandering around the +island on foot. Like a lot of touristy places in Mexico, there are thousands of +people trying to sell you anything and everything on the street. Fortunately, +the city is small enough that all the hawkers seem to be packed into two blocks +along Avenida Hidalgo between Av. Abasolo and Av. Lopez Mateos. Unfortunately, +that’s the easiest way to get to the beach. Fortunately (yet again), it’s +easily bypassed by taking the scenic route.</p> +<p>The best times of day for the beach are sunrise and sunset. The boatloads of +tourists from Cancún aren’t there, and the beach is nearly empty. The water +stays warm 24 hours a day, and the sunsets and sunrises are spectacular. During +the afternoons, the beach is packed with people and the sun is intense enough +that if you don’t fork over the 60 pesos ($10 Canadian) for a beach umbrella, +you’ll fry like bacon, even with the SPF 50 they sell at the super market. +There’s a reason most Mexicans swim in shorts and a t-shirt.</p> +<p>There are a lot of other things to do on the island. One of the most +interesting is the Sea Turtle conservation park. This is the only facility in +Mexico dedicated to preserving endangered sea turtles, such as the Hawk’s Bill +Turtle, which grows to over 100 kg, and lives to around 120 years old. The sea +turtles have been hunted to near extinction because of world-wide demand from +for their meat and shells. At the conservation facility, the turtles are bred, +cared for, then released back into the wild. There are no railings on the +walkways above the huge walled off section of ocean where the largest of the +turtles swim, and according to the guy who showed us around, if you fall in, +&rsquo;te comen!&rsquo;, &rsquo;they eat you!'.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-09-06-skeletons.jpg" + alt="Four small hand-carved wooden skeleton toys playing musical instruments and wearing sombreros sit on the step of a storefront with their feet on the sidewalk. A small wooden armadillo wanders by."/> +</figure> + +<p>The ruins of Mundaca’s fortress are in the central part of the island, and if +you want to be eaten alive by mosquitos (there are Dengue Fever warnings all +over the place on the Yucatán Peninsula, by the way) it’s a great place to go. +No wonder the object of Mundaca’s affections ditched him for another man. Any +sensible pirate would have built his fortress on the beach or at least within +walking distance. Mundaca built his in the marshiest, grottiest, most densely +jungled part of the island. On the bright side there is, however, a sort of +small zoo in his gardens, with alligators, monkeys, a deer, and apparently a +jaguar, though we never got to see it, because the mosquitos drove us out +first. By the twentieth or thirtieth bite, we’d had more than enough of +Mundaca’s place.On the south side of the island, there’s Playa Garrafón, which +is part of a national park, but seems to have been recently turned into an +expensive tourist trap, complete with all-you-can-eat restaurants, zip lines, +&lsquo;underwater adventure&rsquo; and more construction, all for the low, ubeatable price +of $35 US a day! I believe they even translated that price into pesos +underneath in small type. We actually went next door, paid 20 pesos (about $2 +US) and had the whole beach to ourselves. We snorkeled around the wharf and a +small reef, then Pablo and Armando, who ran the place, took us out to a reef 15 +minutes out by boat, where we saw sharks, a sting ray, and a ton of live (and +dead) coral. Unfortunately, it seems like a million and one other people go out +to the same reef, and most don’t know how to swim. This means you’ll end up +spending an hour getting your head kicked in by screaming hoardes of +life-jacket wearing, water spitting drowners. I did get rammed in the legs by a +nurse shark though. It felt like sandpaper and was among the creepier +sensations I have experienced in my life.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-09-06-nativity-scene.jpg" + alt="The gazebo at the centre of the Isla Mujeres plaza decorated in an underwater-themed nativity scene. The virgin mary stands at the centre, her hands in prayer. Fishing nets filled with starfish, tropical fish, and multi-coloured Christmas lights surround the gazebo."/> +</figure> + +<p>There are also some Mayan ruins at the south tip of the island, though there’s +very little left of them. Most of the ruins have been hurled into the ocean by +various hurricanes, but what’s left sits on a small point overlooking the +crystal clear blue water. My favourite part was the hand painted sign that +reads &lsquo;IGUANAS-No los tire piedras-Cuidelas&rsquo;, &lsquo;Please do not throw rocks at +the iguanas-take care of them!&rsquo; Two English ladies who now live in Kentucky +were kind enough to pick us up on their rented golf cart and haul us back into +town, saving us a taxi ride/sunburn.During our stay on the island, we ran into +a small herd of beach cats. They appeared to be completely starving, which I’m +sure is all part of their little ploy to get food from unsuspecting tourists. +In fact, I’m sure that if a study were done, they’d probably find that this is +a behaviour that beach cats have evolved over centuries of tourism, sort of +like pigeons that pretend to be one-legged to get sympathy points from old +grannies in parks. In any case, these poor things ended up rounding up enough +sympathy to get some canned tuna… twice. Most of the time, though, I we watched +it digging holes on the beach, which I don’t really want to think about too +much. We also saw it kill and eat cockroaches, which no matter how disgusting +it is, I have to admit is actually sort of mezmerising.</p> +<p>All in all, it was a great vacation before everything gets crazy here. We hope +we’ll have time to go back at some point for another visit. The place to stay +is definitely the Hotel El Marcianito; the guy who runs it is totally friendly, +and gave us a ton of advice on places to see.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -552,7 +2986,20 @@ a colectivo headed out in that direction. The one we found stopped by a bathing centre and the town of Chelem. Now right now I’m going to come straight out and say it: if someone ever tells you a story about the amazing beaches at Yucalpetén, just back away slowly and do not make any sudden -moves—the person you are talking to has probably escaped from an asylum.</p></description> +moves—the person you are talking to has probably escaped from an asylum.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-08-31-chelem.jpg" + alt="Main street of Chelem"/><figcaption> + <h4>The main street of Chelem?</h4> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>We wandered around for a few hours, but we never did find a beach in decent +condition. In the end we sat on a grass embankment close to the ocean, +observing what appeared to be the remains of a house that had been bulldozed +across the beach and into the ocean; there still were big chunks of concrete +wall strewn all over the place. It was sort of post-apocalyptic looking. On the +bright side, there was a nice cool breeze.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -565,7 +3012,26 @@ moves—the person you are talking to has probably escaped from an asylum.</p gulf side of the peninsula, the water is still a beautiful turquoise-blue; it puts Canadian beaches to shame. On a hot weekend, Progreso makes a fun day trip. The wind keeps you cool, and as long as you keep ordering drinks, the -food comes free at the palapa huts on the beach.</p></description> +food comes free at the palapa huts on the beach.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-08-31-palapa.jpg" + alt="Three beach chairs sit in the shade of a palm-thatched palapa on the beach overlooking the ocean. A small &#39;lancha&#39; boat is pulled up on the beach. On the left, Progreso&#39;s long pier extends over the water towards the horizon."/> +</figure> + +<p>The one thing that is impossible to miss in Progreso is the pier. At its +original length of 6 km, it was the longest in all of México, and with its new +3 km extension for cruise ships, it’s now the longest in the world. The reason +for its size is that the Yucatán Peninsula is in essence a huge, flat limestone +shelf that continues to extend long past the waterfront. At 6 km out, the +water is still only 7 or 8 metres deep. As a result a 3 km extension was added +in 2001 to allow cruise ships to dock safely.</p> +<p>When we asked friends in Mérida about the beach in Progreso, they mostly told +us that it wasn’t that nice. When we got back, I told my class that in Canada +we put beaches like that in beer commercials. I guess when Cancún is only a few +hours drive away, you can afford to be picky. The only downside is that most of +the palm trees are tiny. The previous ones were all ripped out during Hurricane +Gilberto a few years ago. As a result there’s very little shade, so your only +option is to hide under a palapa.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -582,7 +3048,47 @@ as transportation by some of its residents. The two big tourist attractions here are the ruins of Kinich-Kakmó, one of 12 Mayan temples that originally stood at the site of this town, and the Franciscan Monastery, one of the first in the New World, built from the stones of the largest Mayan temple in Izamal -after it was torn down by the Conquistadors.</p></description> +after it was torn down by the Conquistadors.</p> +<p>The Convento de San Antonio de Padua sits on one side of the Plaza Principal, a +block from the city’s bus station. Climbing up the ramp in front brings you to +a large flat terrace and the entrance to the buildings themselves. From there, +you can enter the chapel, visit the arboreum or climb up to the top levels of +the monastery. If you look carefully, some of the stones in the walls and +arches have Mayan designs on them—these were part of the temple that originally +stood at this location. Facing away from the monastery, you can see +Kinich-Kakmó towering over the jungle six or seven blocks away.</p> +<p>Kinich-Kakmó, which is about 200 m x 180 m, was built between 300 and 600 A.D. +and was recently restored. From the top levels, the temple provides a great +view of the city. Following a narrow dirt path around the back affords a +spectacular view of the surrounding jungle and the vast, Saskatchewan-like +flatness of the Yucatán peninsula. All over the place, big, lazy iguanas +sunbathe on the rock walls of the temple. Just beside the entrance, at the base +of the front side of the pyramid, is a great-smelling tortillería.</p> +<p>We ate at the Kinich-Kakmó Restaurant, and it was delicious though a little +pricey. We each had a Montejo beer and lime soup, followed by Poc-Chuc¹ and +Rellenos Negros², along with some fresh handmade tortillas. As with many +restaurants, homemade tortilla chips and salsas are served with the meal. The +total came to about 160 pesos, which is enough to buy you several days worth of +groceries at Wal-Mart or San Francisco in Mérida. The main dining area is +outdoors under a thatched Mayan style roof (and yes, lots of people still live +in traditional Mayan huts—some have corrugated metal roofs these days, but just +as many use the traditional palm fronds). The waiters even offer bug-spray if +you need it. Fortunately, due to some creative engineering by the staff, you +don’t need it. Clear plastic bags of water dangle by threads from the roof and, +in the words of the waiter, &lsquo;when the bug sees his reflection as he gets +closer, he sees himself reflected so big and ugly that it scares him away.&rsquo; It +seems to work—we didn’t see a single fly or mosquito during lunch, and there +were tons outside. Royal Thai in San Rafael, California does the same thing, so +there’s got to be something to it.</p> +<p>Unfortunately, I forgot to bring the memory card for the camera, so no +pictures, but it was well worth the trip.</p> +<h3 id="glossary">Glossary</h3> +<ol> +<li><em>Poc-Chuc:</em> A Yucatecan dish made with pork marinaded in orange juice.</li> +<li><em>Rellenos Negros:</em> A spicy, black Yucatecan soup made from beans, with +pieces of chicken and a hard boiled egg bathing in it.</li> +</ol> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -598,7 +3104,53 @@ after it was torn down by the Conquistadors.</p></description> <p>In Mérida, most people sleep in hammocks. Walk down any residential street and look in the windows and you’ll see hammocks strung all over the room. What I’m getting at is that I finally caved in and bought a hammock. Now sit back and -listen, ’cause here’s my advice…</p></description> +listen, ’cause here’s my advice…</p> +<p>If you’re in Mérida, you’ll be approached every five minutes by someone wanting +to sell you a hammock off the street. Do not buy it! That man is crazy! The +quality of hammock you get from a wandering hammock guy is a mystery until you +try it out. And you’re not going to be trying it out until after you’ve paid +for it. Generally speaking, they’re pretty bad. Locals refer to them as +‘hospital hammocks’ because that’s where you end up if you use them. Go to a +hammock shop with a good reputation. If they can show you a photo album of them +and their grandparents chopping down sisal (henequen cactus), stripping the +fibre, and making hammocks, it’s a pretty safe bet that the hammocks are +good.So Julio Armando pulled out a few hammocks, strung them up, proudly +displays the threading to show there were no flaws, and got me to jump in and +take it for a spin. Hammocks come in lots of sizes: single, double, +matrimonial, and matrimonial especial. The difference is the number of pairs of +end threads. Matrimonial has about 150 pairs of end threads, whereas a single +has about 50 and a double has about 100. Keep in mind that these sizes were +designed for people of Mayan stature, which is a lot smaller than your typical +Canadian, or Mestizo Mexican.</p> +<p>Unfortunately, the walls in the apartment must be the only ones in the whole +city that doesn’t have hammock hooks! Even a lot of hotels in Mérida provide +hooks! I ran across the street to the Tlapalería¹ and using hand signals and +pantomime, bought exactly five metres of nylon rope. Using those engineering +skills I spent so much effort learning at UVic, and some knots I learned in Boy +Scouts, I rigged up a makeshift hammock hookup. Unfortunately, the only +available post to string a rope around was the chunk of wall between the +balcony door and the window, which meant that both the door and the window had +to be open to use it, and I had to pull the mosquito screen out of the window +anytime I wanted to use the hammock.</p> +<p>About Mérida’s weather: Maybe you people back home have looked at the +temperatures in Mérida and thought &lsquo;Wow! They spend the whole summer in the mid +to upper 30s! It’s just like Cancún!&rsquo; True, but it’s also insanely humid, which +means you’re covered in sweat 24 hours a day—imagine waking up sticky and +sweaty every morning; that’s why most people use hammocks. What’s more, unlike +Cancún, there are thunderstorms every afternoon between about four and seven. +You can set your watch by them. During these thunderstorms, it rains. A lot. So +much, in fact, that having the window or door open even a centimetre spells +certain doom. In short, the hammock is no longer up. Back to the drawing board.</p> +<p>A curious side note here. If you wander the streets of Mérida enough, you’ll +notice an inordinate number of people with one or both eyes missing. The reason +for this is quite interesting. Mérida is famous around the world for its +hammocks. And to make hammocks you need henequen fibre. The sisal cactus from +which you get it has very, very sharp, needle-like barbs. You get the point.</p> +<h3 id="glossary">Glossary</h3> +<ol> +<li><em>Tlapalería:</em> A sort of little roadside hardware store.</li> +</ol> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -613,7 +3165,54 @@ twenty minute drive from the long strip of hotels between the lagoon and the ocean that the outside world refers to as Cancún. By the time the colectivo got to the bus station, it was 9 pm, so after checking out the schedule and booking tickets, there was just enough time to grab some dinner and get some sleep -before heading off to Mérida first thing the next morning.</p></description> +before heading off to Mérida first thing the next morning.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-08-17-cathedral.jpg" + alt="Façade of the Mérida cathedral in the evening light. Groups of pedestrians pass along the sidewalk in front as Volkswagen Beetles drive by."/> +</figure> + +<p>Sitting in a Mexican bus station is an activity in itself. Drenched in sweat +and surrounded by hundreds of other sweaty people carrying bags, backpacks, and +cardboard packages held together with twine, in heat and humidity well above +what any sane person would tolerate, you gain an appreciation of just how +patient a people the Mexicans are. Buses come and go as they please; to the +Mexican bus driver, the posted schedule is only a guideline. Buses are +notoriously late, and ours is no exception.</p> +<p>When it does arrive, the bags are loaded, everyone climbs into their seats and, +once the bus driver has got his drinks and snacks ready for the trip, he throws +it into reverse and we´re off. After a four hour ride through the Yucatecan +jungle, we arrived at the Fiesta Américana terminal in the north end of Mérida. +From there, we grabbed a taxi into town and unloaded everything at Hotel Mucuy, +on calle 57 between calle 56 and calle 58, where we stayed while we searched +for jobs and a place to live.</p> +<p>This might be a good time to explain the mysterious numbering system for the +addresses in Mérida. Odd numbered streets run east-west and even numbered +streets run north-south. For streets that run diagonally, the ones that run +from SE to NW are even, the rest are odd—usually. Another challenge is that +street addresses are not often consistent; number 499 might be three or four +blocks from 498. Because of this, addresses are usually given as a street +number and a cross street (for corner addresses) or a street number and the two +cross streets between which the address lies.</p> +<p>Mérida is the capital city of México’s Yucatán state and, centuries ago, was +the capital of the Mayan empire as well. When the Spanish conquistadors arrived +in the city in the mid-16th century, led by Francisco de Montejo, they +discovered the Mayan city of Tihó. Its temples and limestone architecture +reminded them enough of Mérida, Spain that they promptly renamed the city and +began dismantling the Mayan structures. While you won’t find any of the +original Mayan buildings remaining today, the cathedral in the Plaza Principal² +contains blocks from the Mayan temple that once stood in the same location.</p> +<p>In any case, the city today is gorgeous. Its narrow streets and colonial +architecture give it a traditional feel. Every Sunday, all the streets within +several blocks of the main plaza are shut down to vehicle traffic while +musicians play live music near the Plaza Principal, and people dance in the +streets.</p> +<h3 id="glossary">Glossary</h3> +<ol> +<li><em>Colectivo:</em> a communal taxi, usually a VW van, into which the driver packs +as many people as the laws of physics will allow. For example the last one +we used had 16 people stuffed into it.</li> +<li><em>Plaza Principal:</em> the main square found in almost every Mexican town.</li> +</ol> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -622,7 +3221,11 @@ before heading off to Mérida first thing the next morning.</p></descripti <pubDate>Fri, 17 Aug 2001 11:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/08/hola-mexico/</guid> - <description>After a year and a half in San Francisco, California, we’ve moved to Mérida, Yucatán, México. So far so good! The heat is scorching, the humidity is sweltering, and the mosquitos are biting. But Mérida is a beautiful city, and the people are wonderful.</description> + <description><p>After a year and a half in San Francisco, California, we’ve moved to Mérida, +Yucatán, México. So far so good! The heat is scorching, the humidity is +sweltering, and the mosquitos are biting. But Mérida is a beautiful city, and +the people are wonderful.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -631,8 +3234,122 @@ before heading off to Mérida first thing the next morning.</p></descripti <pubDate>Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/about/</guid> - <description>This site is mainly intended as a way to keep in touch with friends and family in Canada and elsewhere while I’m off wandering the world from one country to the next. -I&rsquo;m a software developer who&rsquo;s been fascinated by computers since I was a kid. I wrote my first lines of BASIC and 6502 assembly on a Canadian knock-off Apple II+ clone made by Apco, dutifully copying source listings line-by-line from Compute!</description> + <description><p>This site is mainly intended as a way to keep in touch with friends and +family in Canada and elsewhere while I’m off wandering the world from +one country to the next.</p> +<p>I&rsquo;m a software developer who&rsquo;s been fascinated by computers since I was +a kid. I wrote my first lines of BASIC and 6502 assembly on a Canadian +knock-off Apple II+ clone made by Apco, dutifully copying source +listings line-by-line from <em>Compute!</em> magazine. Working my way up +through a Laser Turbo XT and a 286, I finally landed on a 386 DX +clocking in at a whopping 33 MHz. It was on this machine that I first +installed Linux from a stack of 3.5&quot; floppies and learned to code in +Pascal and C. A couple years later, sometime in the mid-90s, some +classmates convinced me I should check out FreeBSD, and because I&rsquo;m +used to it, but also out of sheer laziness, I&rsquo;ve been using it as my +main home setup pretty much ever since.</p> +<p>I headed off to university sometime in the early 90s. Seven years later, +after wandering aimlessly from faculty to faculty through Chemistry, +Physics &amp; Astronomy, Japanese, and Electrical and Computer engineering +programmes, I decided enough was enough, grabbed my B.Eng., and booted +myself out the door and into the world.</p> +<p>Initially, I moved south of the border to spend a couple years in +California working on AutoCAD at Autodesk. Deciding that this wasn&rsquo;t +south-of-the-border enough, I packed my bags and headed to Mérida, +México, which sits neatly within the borders of the Chicxulub crater +where the asteroid that caused the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction +event landed. I spent the year writing point-of-sale software for a +local art gallery, doing some travelling, and doing some teaching on the +side.</p> +<p>A year later, as my visa neared its end, I started wandering my way back +to Canada via Cuba, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras before remembering +which way was north and zig-zagging my way slowly back home on +third-class buses.</p> +<p>A couple years later, after some more hacking on 3D CAD software, I +picked up my few possessions and moved to Tokyo, Japan, where I met my +wife, learned to speak, read, and write Japanese, got married, and had +kids. I&rsquo;ve spent the time since working on a variety of projects ranging +from equities trading systems, the Dart programming language, the +Flutter app SDK, and the Fuchsia operating system. I currently work at +Google.</p> +<p>You can drop me a line anytime at <a href="mailto:chris@bracken.jp">chris@bracken.jp</a>. (en, fr, ja)</p> +<h2 id="about-this-site">About this site</h2> +<p>This site contains no tracking, no cookies, and no JavaScript. It should +work well with screen-readers and text-mode browsers. My web skills are +near-nonexistent, so if you&rsquo;ve got feedback on how it could be improved, +shoot me an email.</p> +<p>You can find the source and instructions on how to build the site +<a href="https://git.bracken.jp/blog">here</a>.</p> +<h2 id="pgp-public-key">PGP public key</h2> +<p>If you&rsquo;re a fan of crypto, you can find my public key below, or +<a href="https://chris.bracken.jp/cbracken.asc">download it</a>. I&rsquo;ve also posted +<a href="https://chris.bracken.jp/pgp_verify.txt">proof of ownership</a> of this site.</p> +<p>GPG fingerprint: <code>9EF6 957A F673 652E 4AB5 542D BBE4 5868 CBE8 A8FE</code></p> +<pre tabindex="0"><code>-----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- + +mQENBE0G6d4BCADI58H/bjS8sRspoPYPIss1ZRignBaiinaYawvZqptwtaAp7C/c +nYDRXXaIZiPc/zvGVgKuZCfs2AiN1SdsonBu48LjHxW9ORe4AXqNHgeiO5emKeKR +5z0U18uUPs/C3LzNTLts1chlPmBOPL90A4rK+ZaQOYxjDhDJd2vUgCicPhFLljjS +7Wr5BrLEg9OqmOxrbK/tvJY4fiY+S37jL8wrWaElXPZIxGXbF4ddnn4dmwcKyMOc +89FnwiXNqsXNfji7DyLMuXViRRMABP1Tp/HmEz0n8RCLXfVC8kcxkNbZMd4jXoVV +3j6WEPv2AUeVBjAqHRVB7dE+18glGT7I2uZNABEBAAG0IENocmlzIEJyYWNrZW4g +PGNocmlzQGJyYWNrZW4uanA+iQFYBBMBCABCAhsDBgsJCAcDAgYVCAIJCgsEFgID +AQIeAQIXgAIZAQUJFlpuAxYhBJ72lXr2c2UuSrVULbvkWGjL6Kj+BQJhOPyhAAoJ +ELvkWGjL6Kj+yW8IAJZd7CyCdG6dR8fSBVYb8KhF/qKKwE2uW67A/qRCdOh3DQVb +817Liqo43Z6SY2TzFABy8OPNvrtvR5x5s4pYYR4wESShaaJEkhomuwu8bNZwcLMp +mqRnwoFoEfDXTqM254Scrhr3IrmfoZEoDITiR/W+5av7DrHy+D+EAq5HDrmkKjHy +JKOL5OhFtYdOU2RdI9n4x8Infsr3iRq9TFaEquvGaMZQXOsT/7l7nDzo2B3g0aay +bch+OpNRAw69mkaHejBGOFFtkKzBjTijKTiKAe5XBdq1wiQMamjHainWlpZexbPI +fvVLulfqsFouEmXPUo/zR31MYgNwfAuxO+tiEeCJAT4EEwECACgCGwMGCwkIBwMC +BhUIAgkKCwQWAgMBAh4BAheABQJQiik7BQkHRaZTAAoJELvkWGjL6Kj+ab4IAI2K +6LlXCC3IxN1aPAtuU2MR9YpNz2rf4CrR51IDrP1Z/kyhcKoj6KzgN1x+QdfrsQ4n +6rz5JC2hl2jhDdPjpV0GKlsNWD14ShnRTmI54OBPu6eQS55Gx5xMlvaKXpV66OU+ +dXAsed9I6IIlBS6Ekw4qFpckBgf+g2TIEdLw/pjetKPrUvWHSlrHsS8vPo7Hk6gW +VjuRPjjJ/aO9UjTHFLHTAGUZ+XemB40KfvO4EBCa9t9wVCgWPnfAGLDoGP4mXc4L +ObqaCoDvJUgetLNPHtC0ZI6P6c9Ig6o0dYlus9WDyEppBdN2Gmq0qfB20CrIkoDc +LDwwuw81QIsEIPiZTKyJAT4EEwECACgCGwMGCwkIBwMCBhUIAgkKCwQWAgMBAh4B +AheABQJUOtWgBQkJFR7TAAoJELvkWGjL6Kj+h/kH/0hIhoYK8+L4A86WkkObf536 +gPwnDP73WJL7WznNZYvcXXtho/SpCOQqQlK4isTbTJQTertjmxHXyoUWQQzyfX0S +bPQlXF6mR83Xt6HwGWSuJJ+65DUVUrjmd+zLHEUHELAW/R7TaHCtZSSIEytFlXNS +gC/28Xah9BiFQv9SfiQdNT+4tx24+mYJIxh3NnXVb7pVhTaaElhIZajEqGJ4SeoZ +GnoHxjWD/x7w0NrGGyeZRSSavuKROADAp7GvO77ua3uoAUwMlyGQr317FpZ7itKd +jBWwpkfLmHpMJXS8KscP6TYW9bg+0n636diyusgl9PX1AmZJ/hFYtJfJUXgQZN2J +AT4EEwECACgCGwMGCwkIBwMCBhUIAgkKCwQWAgMBAh4BAheABQJWHItqBQkK9tUD +AAoJELvkWGjL6Kj+OXsH/3wzzx04VeKFVEdKkGWch1xFbcZAz8fA+xr5svwUsKeL +AIzz4DQZgAs/iIl3wXp4GA2HYJ+V4mOv4Qlm39AP1Loy7Fets9IdGX3LRG9m8Rs9 +K8JOCjwmBzJiC0MWEgwwmvHkiWJMGZRvvtiEc0aF1EyaSHo0C9O0eIpzsvXZFgBP +JeaoLqBLqOEmH1BLws5gWsmhv1USFNv7p35fH8MCvT321ZQLFdDHg07nCsJ4rx8g +mI0z9g8vO1Ag5YoGCpiWn30tXN/ZSvooyeQmnpSLT0HaSEZDahhgpHJqbddXXZxv +37EStYVQNyc5yQghVsmy/Jvv1Gxaic5F9/TUk0SGaPKJAT4EEwECACgFAk1YMssC +GwMFCQPCZwAGCwkIBwMCBhUIAgkKCwQWAgMBAh4BAheAAAoJELvkWGjL6Kj+1+cI +AK38Xi22uYtsb0KsqR6oLRJ0fgv/Usx/VQ13IIorq8FqZw+zsQfF7dM71K4415sm +9LVLov4p2B1Z7ii4nJeMkmDtTMYLX22zS90CixX9N6FD043lQxTNrgowPIse8RbJ +a8+l6OSHAtNa6CsA3brF1PJWFK+jnyI9P+/vn36sHd8jzkETnJe7+HvgwoXbuuWP +/3qhB2xK7j61g7z2DNmjhXnhnXnEXdoDNi/nQBUuFsnh4cgqPBf0vkeN+D+nLScJ +hY1/6svsYBQlxw7D5xc9PafO87Qia8Qyzwb8FxOd3ayiVCZpuxGho09jlb0m7btI +SK61Kc1mAgCDZUV1SAZk+ymJAUEEEwECACsCGwMGCwkIBwMCBhUIAgkKCwQWAgMB +Ah4BAheABQkHRaZTBQJR25iTAhkBAAoJELvkWGjL6Kj+ZzUH/iRszasOhKiEfgGV +K7wFshF0Mfh+3Y53e++MC1aCxOgGkqhmMB1uIVsGYPheXkq8jkz2+ouPQ1FLNjMv +3RSZnQaUXXhjDZPDMEVwu8QhuwWE3xYSqjM+S3rm3sRok7VqRF62gklXLK2umLAm +Er/zJ3Ag3lkPi49q3u8pG0qtBh7NL8p+RKQNvDkKGWUFLRg7XMkP/mC0JbYiejeB +g9JmJJjmnheX0Y4vvlXKS1qvoBg9gw2ECu9inrJQN83aqpsgx1Ql2kJ0QCVIs1re +5VkTjYqyac86YZ6lKsYQMkCrQUWJGCx/UiJ1PKuOz/EC0fovEWRBsxqfc1CpcXx6 +2B7l5uK5AQ0ETQbp3gEIALytKv1U0g0LSrYLGT8D1b4pp+ZOMjruPw6+3I8uc+b9 +vCN4kLfFlGxH65OIFXErnZPf3IkCjCcCNKtsMhFYtRb0h7lTPy55qnbRX2x/CuFS +sp2tOlp2aoY/i9CsRzGA2uzrqXVD1gdktE3klmroX4vi9DvwLlaXH8erOrAZA20f +QN4Xwr9noEaM1cRqM+J+635/tHtrfJwN/iyFlMvewg7Hw8bTCiVJuhyGzHHjsyTl +vPKUM+OPo7FlL0uNNuSLo4G26arcaarK85fKwRNX1NVZUpoIoNfLAgmCRJKU08rY +sUZBtdtQPYpaqXbO6Xra1nq32geRSy5cvdABfWxe5N0AEQEAAYkBPAQYAQgAJgIb +DBYhBJ72lXr2c2UuSrVULbvkWGjL6Kj+BQJhN6IDBQkWWm4lAAoJELvkWGjL6Kj+ +XXIIAIz5SWsJLNl3hJ1LwFtRTZy8ZIQwWbCpdD2J+Y0qaBp7b5h2iWvxVKkjcQYP +ytZeBSQgUN42uBBvgDNuWvWr0rPCi5uMCnI0N2ob9BTPRVZdjOC9QP4fV/6Wwb2L +/fVAiZUfcfTQlP00aOy3eKwpBbh7t4qigCjjEzP7ThCAlaqRYToEX37ajG2+ZS07 +mKKXcXDxu1JvGUA644WxSQDA7QGx+CJL6QbP7vN2Pj7/1zL65qa5jgF6+SDsGvOy +/PIGQ78KZ10NxSX4QDMogYpDy1bG5ONao4MdN7f2sH+SLM0Wv8oOB3VbYn70Hoks +VLpYCExNVmo1d9fdPaRneRcU0og= +=AjSN +-----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- +</code></pre></description> </item> <item> @@ -641,8 +3358,36 @@ I&rsquo;m a software developer who&rsquo;s been fascinated by computers <pubDate>Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/code/</guid> - <description>You can find most of the public code I contribute to hosted at one of the following sites: -git.bracken.jp: My self-hosted git repos. GitHub: The most popular source code hosting solution and where most of my public contributions lie. GitLab: Better features and UI than GitHub. Significant contributions Flutter: portable, cross-platform app SDK and runtime. Most of my contributions focus on the portable C++ runtime, the platform-specific embedders, and tools. Dart SDK/VM: the Dart programming language is a strongly-typed, object-oriented, garbage-collected language with C-like syntax.</description> + <description><p>You can find most of the public code I contribute to hosted at one of +the following sites:</p> +<ul> +<li><a href="https://git.bracken.jp/">git.bracken.jp</a>: My self-hosted git repos.</li> +<li><a href="https://github.com/cbracken/">GitHub</a>: The most popular source code +hosting solution and where most of my public contributions lie.</li> +<li><a href="https://gitlab.com/cbracken/">GitLab</a>: Better features and UI than +GitHub.</li> +</ul> +<h2 id="significant-contributions">Significant contributions</h2> +<ul> +<li><a href="https://github.com/flutter/flutter/">Flutter</a>: portable, +cross-platform app SDK and runtime. Most of my contributions focus on +the portable C++ <a href="http://github.com/flutter/engine/">runtime</a>, the +platform-specific embedders, and tools.</li> +<li><a href="https://github.com/dart-lang/sdk/">Dart SDK/VM</a>: the Dart programming +language is a strongly-typed, object-oriented, garbage-collected +language with C-like syntax. Compiles to either native code (either +ahead-of-time or JITed in the VM) or JavaScript for the web.</li> +<li><a href="https://github.com/dart-lang/coverage/">Dart Code Coverage</a>: LCOV +support for code executed on the Dart VM.</li> +<li><a href="https://github.com/dart-lang/fixnum/">Fixnum</a>: a fixed-width 32- and +64-bit integer library for Dart. Dart&rsquo;s int semantics vary between +native platforms (64-bit) and the web (IEEE 53-bit mantissa). This +library allows those with hard requirements on 64-bit values (e.g. +database IDs) to write code that is portable to web targets.</li> +<li><a href="https://github.com/google/quiver-dart/">Quiver</a>: a set of utility +libraries for Dart.</li> +</ul> +</description> </item> </channel> diff --git a/post/index.xml b/post/index.xml @@ -13,7 +13,77 @@ <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2020 14:55:23 -0700</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2020/05/thoughts-on-licences/</guid> - <description>Software licences are probably the single most boring aspect of software development, but it&rsquo;s important to carefully consider the terms under which the stuff I hack on is shared to ensure they&rsquo;re consistent with my values. Despite my general dislike for all things legalistic, the most unambiguous way to state those terms is through a licence. So a couple days ago, I tossed LICENSE files into any of my public repos that didn&rsquo;t already have one.</description> + <description><p>Software licences are probably the single most boring aspect of software +development, but it&rsquo;s important to carefully consider the terms under which the +stuff I hack on is shared to ensure they&rsquo;re consistent with my values. Despite +my general dislike for all things legalistic, the most unambiguous way to state +those terms is through a licence. So a couple days ago, I tossed LICENSE files +into any of my public <a href="https://chris.bracken.jp/code">repos</a> that didn&rsquo;t already have one.</p> +<p>So how did I settle on which licences to apply? Jump on into the DeLorean and +let&rsquo;s set the dial back to the late 1980s.</p> +<p>It&rsquo;s 1986 and I&rsquo;ve got a 1200 baud modem wired up to a beat-up 286 with a steel +case that would easily allow it to double as a boat anchor if needed. Armed +with a dot-matrix printout of local BBSes with names like Camelot, Tommy&rsquo;s +Holiday Camp, and Forbidden Night Castle, I fire up PC-Talk. A series of +<a href="https://www.windytan.com/2012/11/the-sound-of-dialup-pictured.html">high-pitched squeals and tones</a> fill the air, then text +flashes across the screen. I&rsquo;m online.</p> +<p>BBSes were a treasure trove of information, filled to the brim with zip archives +full of downloadable programs, source code, patches for existing programs, and +all manner of text files with names like <a href="https://insecure.org/stf/smashstack.html">Smashing The Stack For Fun And +Profit</a>. You could find everything from how to crack copy-protected +software, to details on phone phreaking, to how to make nitroglycerine from +commonly-available household items. It was through BBSes that I first downloaded +an I&rsquo;m sure <em>totally legitimate</em> copy of Borland Turbo C++ and took my first +baby steps writing <em>real</em> programs. No more BASIC for me.</p> +<p>This culture of open sharing in the online world has had a huge impact on me. +From those early experiences with BBSes to my first forays onto the Internet a +few years later, seeing people openly sharing code and patches and helping each +other solve problems over Usenet seemed almost revolutionary to me at the time. +In some ways, it still does. I feel lucky to have been a part of it from such an +early age.</p> +<p>The end result is that I try to publicly share all the work I do. So when it +came time to chuck licences on stuff, I sat down to work out a personals ad for +my ideal licence. Aside from enjoying long walks on the beach, it should:</p> +<ol> +<li>Allow free use, modification, and distribution both of the original +work and any derived works.</li> +<li>Require that people distributing the work or any derived work to +give appropriate credit.</li> +<li>Disallow suggesting that I in any way endorse any derived products +or whoever produces them.</li> +<li>Gently encourage a culture of open exchange and sharing of +information and techniques.</li> +<li>Be short, clear, and easy to understand.</li> +</ol> +<p>On the software side, there were lots of options, but the best matches in my +mind are the <a href="https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT">MIT</a> or <a href="https://opensource.org/licenses/BSD-3-Clause">BSD</a> licences. The 3-clause +&rsquo;new&rsquo; BSD licence has an advantage in that it required written permission from +the author to use their name in any endorsement/promotion of a derived work. +That happens to be what we already use for <a href="https://github.com/flutter/flutter">work</a>.</p> +<p>On the content side, I&rsquo;ve always posted my web site&rsquo;s content under a <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">Creative +Commons Attribution-ShareAlike</a> licence. But I don&rsquo;t believe that&rsquo;s +actually the ideal match based on my priorities. Why is it that I&rsquo;ve elected to +use a licence that requires that derived works also be licensed under the same +terms rather than under whatever terms someone feels like, so long as credit is +given? In the end I settled on the more permissive <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons +Attribution</a> licence.</p> +<p>This feels to me a bit like the difference between <a href="https://opensource.org/licenses/BSD-3-Clause">BSD</a> and +<a href="https://opensource.org/licenses/GPL-3.0">GPL</a> terms, where the latter requires that derived works also be +GPL-licensed. This &ldquo;viral&rdquo; nature has always rubbed me the wrong way: rather +than gently promoting a culture of sharing by example, it legally <em>requires</em> +sharing under the same terms whether or not you want to.</p> +<p>Personally, I&rsquo;d like for people to do the right thing and share their work for +everyone&rsquo;s benefit not because they <em>have</em> to, but because they <em>want</em> to. If +they don&rsquo;t want to, why should my reaction be to disallow their use of my work? +Isn&rsquo;t that contrary to my stated goals of sharing as much and as broadly as +possible?</p> +<p>While I <em>hope</em> that more people share more of their work, it doesn&rsquo;t bother me +if you don&rsquo;t. If anything I&rsquo;ve written is somehow useful to you, I&rsquo;m glad. Use +your knowledge to help others and make the world a better place, and if you can +find time to do so, share a bit with the rest of us.</p> +<p>Got thoughts and opinions on licences? Fire an email my way at +<a href="mailto:chris@bracken.jp">chris@bracken.jp</a>.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -22,8 +92,730 @@ <pubDate>Wed, 31 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2018/10/decoding-an-elf-binary/</guid> - <description>While recovering from some dentistry the other day I figured I&rsquo;d have a go at better understanding the ELF binary format. What better way to do that than to compile a small program and hand-decode the resulting binary with a hex editor and whatever ELF format spec I could find. -Overview Below, we&rsquo;ll use nasm to build a small assembly Hello World program to a 64-bit ELF object file, then link that into an ELF executable with GNU ld.</description> + <description><p>While recovering from some dentistry the other day I figured I&rsquo;d have a go at +better understanding the ELF binary format. What better way to do that than to +compile a small program and hand-decode the resulting binary with a hex editor +and whatever ELF format spec I could find.</p> +<h2 id="overview">Overview</h2> +<p>Below, we&rsquo;ll use <code>nasm</code> to build a small assembly Hello World program to a +64-bit ELF object file, then link that into an ELF executable with GNU <code>ld</code>. +Finally, we&rsquo;ll run the resulting object file and binary image through <code>xxd</code> and +hand-decode the resulting hex.</p> +<p>The code and instructions below work on FreeBSD 11 on x86_64 hardware. For +other operating systems, hardware, and toolchains, you&rsquo;re on your own! I&rsquo;d +imagine this should all work just fine on Linux. If I get bored one day, I may +redo this for Mach-O binaries on macOS.</p> +<h2 id="helloasm">hello.asm</h2> +<p>First we&rsquo;ll bang up a minimal Hello World program in assembly. In the <code>.data</code> +section, we add a null-terminated string, <code>hello</code>, and its length <code>hbytes</code>. In +the program text, we set up and execute the <code>write(stdout, hello, hbytes)</code> +syscall, then set up and execute an <code>exit(0)</code> syscall.</p> +<p>Note that 64-bit FreeBSD, macOS, and Linux all use the SysV AMD64 calling +convention. For calls against the kernel interface, the syscall number is +stored in <code>rax</code> and up to six parameters are passed, in order, in <code>rdi</code>, <code>rsi</code>, +<code>rdx</code>, <code>r10</code>, <code>r8</code>, <code>r9</code>. For user calls, replace <code>r10</code> with <code>rcx</code> in this +list, and pass further arguments on the stack. In all cases, the return value +is passed through <code>rax</code>. More details can be found in section A.2.1 of the +<a href="https://software.intel.com/sites/default/files/article/402129/mpx-linux64-abi.pdf">System V AMD64 ABI Reference</a>.</p> +<pre><code>; hello.asm + +%define stdin 0 +%define stdout 1 +%define stderr 2 +%define SYS_exit 1 +%define SYS_write 4 + +%macro system 1 + mov rax, %1 + syscall +%endmacro + +%macro sys.exit 0 + system SYS_exit +%endmacro + +%macro sys.write 0 + system SYS_write +%endmacro + +section .data + hello db 'Hello, World!', 0Ah + hbytes equ $-hello + +section .text +global _start +_start: + mov rdi, stdout + mov rsi, hello + mov rdx, hbytes + sys.write + + xor rdi,rdi + sys.exit +</code></pre> +<h2 id="compile-to-object-code">Compile to object code</h2> +<p>Next, we&rsquo;ll compile <code>hello.asm</code> to a 64-bit ELF object file using <code>nasm</code>:</p> +<pre><code>% nasm -f elf64 hello.asm +</code></pre> +<p>This emits <code>hello.o</code>, an 880-byte ELF-64 object file. Since we haven&rsquo;t yet run +this through the linker, addresses of global symbols (in this case, <code>hello</code>) +are not yet known and thus left with address 0x0 placeholders. We can see this +in the <code>movabs</code> instruction at offset 0x15 of the <code>.text</code> section below.</p> +<p>The relocation section (Section 6: <code>.rela.text</code>) contains an entry for each +symbolic reference that needs to be filled in by the linker. In this case +there&rsquo;s just a single entry for the symbol <code>hello</code> (which points to our hello +world string). The relocation table entry&rsquo;s <code>r_offset</code> indicates the address to +replace is at an offset of 0x7 into the section of the associated symbol table +entry. Its <code>r_info</code> (0x0000000200000001) encodes a relocation type in its lower +4 bytes (0x1: <code>R_AMD64_64</code>) and the associated symbol table entry in its upper +4 bytes (0x2, which, if we look it up in the symbol table is the <code>.text</code> +section). The <code>r_addend</code> field (0x0) specifies an additional adjustment to the +substituted symbol to be applied at link time; specifically, for the +<code>R_AMD64_64</code>, the final address is computed as S + A, where S is the +substituted symbol value (in our case, the address of <code>hello</code>) and A is the +addend (in our case, 0x0).</p> +<p>Without further ado, let&rsquo;s dump the object file:</p> +<pre><code>% xxd hello.o +</code></pre> +<p>With whatever ELF64 <a href="https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E19120-01/open.solaris/819-0690/index.html">linker &amp; loader guide</a> we can find at hand, +let&rsquo;s get decoding this thing:</p> +<h3 id="elf-header">ELF Header</h3> +<pre><code>|00000000: 7f45 4c46 0201 0100 0000 0000 0000 0000| .ELF............ +|00000010: 0100 3e00 0100 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ..&gt;............. +|00000020: 0000 0000 0000 0000 4000 0000 0000 0000| ........@....... +|00000030: 0000 0000 4000 0000 0000 4000 0700 0300| ....@.....@..... + +e_ident[EI_MAG0..EI_MAG3] 0x7f + ELF Magic +e_ident[EI_CLASS] 0x02 64-bit +e_ident[EI_DATA] 0x01 Little-endian +e_ident[EI_VERSION] 0x01 ELF v1 +e_ident[EI_OSABI] 0x00 System V +e_ident[EI_ABIVERSION] 0x00 Unused +e_ident[EI_PAD] 0x00000000000000 7 bytes unused padding +e_type 0x0001 ET_REL +e_machine 0x003e x86_64 +e_version 0x00000001 Version 1 +e_entry 0x0000000000000000 Entrypoint address (none) +e_phoff 0x0000000000000000 Program header table offset in image +e_shoff 0x0000000000000040 Section header table offset in image +e_flags 0x00000000 Architecture-dependent interpretation +e_ehsize 0x0040 Size of this ELF header (64B) +e_phentsize 0x0000 Size of program header table entry +e_phnum 0x0000 Number of program header table entries +e_shentsize 0x0040 Size of section header table entry (64B) +e_shnum 0x0007 Number of section header table entries +e_shstrndx 0x0003 Index of section header for .shstrtab +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-0-null">Section header table: Entry 0 (null)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000040: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000050: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000060: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000070: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x00000000 Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000000 SHT_NULL +sh_flags 0x0000000000000000 Section attributes +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x0000000000000000 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000000 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000000 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000000 Alignment +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-1-data">Section header table: Entry 1 (.data)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000080: 0100 0000 0100 0000 0300 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000090: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0002 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000000a0: 0e00 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000000b0: 0400 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x00000001 Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000001 SHT_PROGBITS +sh_flags 0x0000000000000003 SHF_WRITE | SHF_ALLOC +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x0000000000000200 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x000000000000000e Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000000 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000000 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000004 Alignment +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-2-text">Section header table: Entry 2 (.text)</h3> +<pre><code>|000000c0: 0700 0000 0100 0000 0600 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000000d0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 1002 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000000e0: 2500 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| %............... +|000000f0: 1000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x00000007 Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000001 SHT_PROGBITS +sh_flags 0x0000000000000006 SHF_ALLOC | SHF_EXECINSTR +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x0000000000000210 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x0000000000000025 Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000000 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000000 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000001 Alignment +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-3-shstrtab">Section header table: Entry 3 (.shstrtab)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000100: 0d00 0000 0300 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000110: 0000 0000 0000 0000 4002 0000 0000 0000| ........@....... +|00000120: 3200 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| 2............... +|00000130: 0100 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x0000000d Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000003 SHT_STRTAB +sh_flags 0x0000000000000000 Section attributes +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x0000000000000240 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x0000000000000032 Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000000 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000000 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000001 Alignment +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-4-symtab">Section header table: Entry 4 (.symtab)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000140: 1700 0000 0200 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000150: 0000 0000 0000 0000 8002 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000160: a800 0000 0000 0000 0500 0000 0600 0000| ................ +|00000170: 0800 0000 0000 0000 1800 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x00000017 Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000002 SHT_SYMTAB +sh_flags 0x0000000000000000 Section attributes +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x0000000000000280 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x00000000000000a8 Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000005 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000006 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000008 Alignment +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000018 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-5-strtab">Section header table: Entry 5 (.strtab)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000180: 1f00 0000 0300 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000190: 0000 0000 0000 0000 3003 0000 0000 0000| ........0....... +|000001a0: 1f00 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000001b0: 0100 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x0000001f Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000003 SHT_STRTAB +sh_flags 0x0000000000000000 Section attributes +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x0000000000000330 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x000000000000001f Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000000 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000000 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000001 Alignment +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-6-relatext">Section header table: Entry 6 (.rela.text)</h3> +<pre><code>|000001c0: 2700 0000 0400 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| '............... +|000001d0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 5003 0000 0000 0000| ........P....... +|000001e0: 1800 0000 0000 0000 0400 0000 0200 0000| ................ +|000001f0: 0800 0000 0000 0000 1800 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x00000027 Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000004 SHT_RELA +sh_flags 0x0000000000000000 Section attributes +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x0000000000000350 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x0000000000000018 Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000004 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000002 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000008 Alignment +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000018 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-1-data-sht_progbits-shf_write--shf_alloc">Section 1: .data (SHT_PROGBITS; SHF_WRITE | SHF_ALLOC)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000200: 4865 6c6c 6f2c 2057 6f72 6c64 210a 0000| Hello, World!... + +0x000000 'Hello, World!\n' +Zero-padding (2 bytes starting at 0x20e) +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-2-text-sht_progbits-shf_alloc--shf_execinstr">Section 2: .text (SHT_PROGBITS; SHF_ALLOC | SHF_EXECINSTR)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000210: bf01 0000 0048 be00 0000 0000 0000 00ba| .....H.......... +|00000220: 0e00 0000 b804 0000 000f 0548 31ff b801| ...........H1... +|00000230: 0000 000f 0500 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +0x00000010 mov edi, 0x1 +0x00000015 movabs rsi, 0x000000 (placeholder for db hello) +0x0000001f mov edx, 0xe +0x00000024 mov eax, 0x4 +0x00400029 syscall +0x0040002b xor rdi, rdi +0x0040002e mov eax, 0x1 +0x00400033 syscall +Zero-padding (11 bytes starting at 0x235) +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-3-shstrtab-sht_strtab">Section 3: .shstrtab (SHT_STRTAB;)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000240: 002e 6461 7461 002e 7465 7874 002e 7368| ..data..text..sh +|00000250: 7374 7274 6162 002e 7379 6d74 6162 002e| strtab..symtab.. +|00000260: 7374 7274 6162 002e 7265 6c61 2e74 6578| strtab..rela.tex +|00000270: 7400 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| t............... + +0x00000000: '' +0x00000001: '.data' +0x00000007: '.text' +0x0000000d: '.shstrtab' +0x00000017: '.symtab' +0x0000001f: '.strtab' +0x00000027: '.rela.text' +Zero-padding (14 bytes starting at 0x272) +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-4-symtab-sht_symtab">Section 4: .symtab&rsquo; (SHT_SYMTAB;)</h3> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-0">Symbol table entry 0</h4> +<pre><code>|00000280: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000290: 0000 0000 0000 0000 | ........ + +st_name 0x00000000 +st_info 0x00 +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0x0000 (SHN_UNDEF) +st_value 0x0000000000000000 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-1-helloasm">Symbol table entry 1 (hello.asm)</h4> +<pre><code>|00000298: 0100 0000 0400 f1ff| ........ +|000002a0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +st_name 0x00000001 +st_info 0x04 (STT_FILE) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0xfff1 (SHN_ABS) +st_value 0x0000000000000000 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-2">Symbol table entry 2</h4> +<pre><code>|000002b0: 0000 0000 0300 0100 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000002c0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 | ........ + +st_name 0x00000000 +st_info 0x03 (STT_OBJECT | STT_FUNC) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0x0001 (Section 1: .data) +st_value 0x0000000000000000 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-3">Symbol table entry 3</h4> +<pre><code>|000002c8: 0000 0000 0300 0200| ........ +|000002d0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +st_name 0x00000000 +st_info 0x03 (STT_OBJECT | STT_FUNC) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0x0002 (Section 2: .text) +st_value 0x0000000000000000 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-4-hello">Symbol table entry 4 (hello)</h4> +<pre><code>|000002e0: 0b00 0000 0000 0100 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000002f0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 | ........ + +st_name 0x0000000b +st_info 0x00 +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0x0001 (Section 1: .data) +st_value 0x0000000000000000 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h3 id="symbol-table-entry-5-hbytes">Symbol table entry 5 (hbytes)</h3> +<pre><code>|000002f8: 1100 0000 0000 f1ff| ........ +|00000300: 0e00 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +st_name 0x00000011 +st_info 0x00 +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0xfff1 (SHN_ABS) +st_value 0x000000000000000e +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-6-_start">Symbol table entry 6 (_start)</h4> +<pre><code>|00000310: 1800 0000 1000 0200 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000320: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +st_name 0x00000018 +st_info 0x01 (STT_OBJECT) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0x0002 (Section 2: .text) +st_value 0x0000000000000000 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +Zero-padding (8 bytes starting at 0x328) +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-5-strtab-sht_strtab">Section 5: .strtab (SHT_STRTAB;)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000330: 0068 656c 6c6f 2e61 736d 0068 656c 6c6f| .hello.asm.hello +|00000340: 0068 6279 7465 7300 5f73 7461 7274 0000| .hbytes._start.. + +0x00000000: '' +0x00000001: 'hello.asm' +0x0000000b: 'hello' +0x00000011: 'hbytes' +0x00000018: '_start' +Zero-padding (1 byte starting at 0x34f) +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-6-relatext-sht_rela">Section 6: .rela.text (SHT_RELA;)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000350: 0700 0000 0000 0000 0100 0000 0200 0000| ................ +|00000360: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +r_offset 0x0000000000000007 +r_info 0x0000000200000001 (Symbol table entry 2, type R_AMD64_64) +r_addend 0x0000000000000000 +Zero-padding (8 bytes starting at 0x368) +</code></pre> +<h2 id="link-to-executable-image">Link to executable image</h2> +<p>Next, let&rsquo;s link <code>hello.o</code> into a 64-bit ELF executable:</p> +<pre><code>% ld -o hello hello.o +</code></pre> +<p>This emits <code>hello</code>, a 951-byte ELF-64 executable image.</p> +<p>Since the linker has decided which segment each section maps into (if any) and +what the segment addresses are, addresses are now known for all (statically +linked) symbols, and address 0x0 placeholders have been replaced with actual +addresses. We can see this in the <code>mov</code> instruction at address 0x4000b5, which +now specifies an address of 0x6000d8.</p> +<p>Running the linked executable image through <code>xxd</code> as above and picking our +trusty linker &amp; loader guide back up, here we go again:</p> +<h3 id="elf-header-1">ELF Header</h3> +<pre><code>|00000000: 7f45 4c46 0201 0109 0000 0000 0000 0000| .ELF............ +|00000010: 0200 3e00 0100 0000 b000 4000 0000 0000| ..&gt;.......@..... +|00000020: 4000 0000 0000 0000 1001 0000 0000 0000| @............... +|00000030: 0000 0000 4000 3800 0200 4000 0600 0300| ....@.8...@..... + +e_ident[EI_MAG0..EI_MAG3] 0x7f + ELF Magic +e_ident[EI_CLASS] 0x02 64-bit +e_ident[EI_DATA] 0x01 Little-endian +e_ident[EI_VERSION] 0x01 ELF v1 +e_ident[EI_OSABI] 0x09 FreeBSD +e_ident[EI_ABIVERSION] 0x00 Unused +e_ident[EI_PAD] 0x0000000000 7 bytes unused padding +e_type 0x0002 ET_EXEC +e_machine 0x003e x86_64 +e_version 0x00000001 Version 1 +e_entry 0x00000000004000b0 Entrypoint addr +e_phoff 0x0000000000000040 Program header table offset in image +e_shoff 0x0000000000000110 Section header table offset in image +e_flags 0x00000000 Architecture-dependent interpretation +e_ehsize 0x0040 Size of this ELF header +e_phentsize 0x0038 Size of program header table entry +e_phnum 0x0002 Number of program header table entries +e_shentsize 0x0040 Size of section header table entry +e_shnum 0x0006 Number of section header table entries +e_shstrndx 0x0003 Index of section header for .shstrtab +</code></pre> +<h3 id="program-header-table-entry-0-pf_x--pf_r">Program header table: Entry 0 (PF_X | PF_R)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000040: 0100 0000 0500 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000050: 0000 4000 0000 0000 0000 4000 0000 0000| ..@.......@..... +|00000060: d500 0000 0000 0000 d500 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000070: 0000 2000 0000 0000 | .. ............. + +p_type 0x00000001 PT_LOAD +p_flags 0x00000005 PF_X | PF_R +p_offset 0x00000000 Offset of segment in file image +p_vaddr 0x0000000000400000 Virtual address of segment in memory +p_paddr 0x0000000000400000 Physical address of segment +p_filesz 0x00000000000000d5 Size in bytes of segment in file image +p_memsz 0x00000000000000d5 Size in bytes of segment in memory +p_align 0x0000000000200000 Alignment (2MB) +</code></pre> +<h3 id="program-header-table-entry-1-pf_w--pf_r">Program header table: Entry 1 (PF_W | PF_R)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000078: 0100 0000 0600 0000| ........ +|00000080: d800 0000 0000 0000 d800 6000 0000 0000| ..........`..... +|00000090: d800 6000 0000 0000 0e00 0000 0000 0000| ..`............. +|000000a0: 0e00 0000 0000 0000 0000 2000 0000 0000| .......... ..... + +p_type 0x00000001 PT_LOAD +p_flags 0x00000006 PF_W | PF_R +p_offset 0x00000000000000d8 Offset of segment in file image +p_vaddr 0x00000000006000d8 Virtual address of segment in memory +p_paddr 0x00000000006000d8 Physical address of segment +p_filesz 0x000000000000000e Size in bytes of segment in file image +p_memsz 0x000000000000000e Size in bytes of segment in memory +p_align 0x0000000000200000 Alignment (2MB) +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-1-text-sht_progbits-shf_alloc--shf_execinstr">Section 1: .text (SHT_PROGBITS; SHF_ALLOC | SHF_EXECINSTR)</h3> +<pre><code>|000000b0: bf01 0000 0048 bed8 0060 0000 0000 00ba| .....H...`...... +|000000c0: 0e00 0000 b804 0000 000f 0548 31ff b801| ...........H1... +|000000d0: 0000 000f 05 | ..... + +0x4000b0 mov edi, 0x1 +0x4000b5 movabs rsi, 0x6000d8 +0x4000bf mov edx, 0xe +0x4000c4 mov eax, 0x4 +0x4000c9 syscall +0x4000cb xor rdi, rdi +0x4000ce mov eax, 0x1 +0x4000d3 syscall +Zero-padding (5 bytes starting at 0x000000d5) +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-2-data-sht_progbits-shf_write--shf_alloc">Section 2: .data (SHT_PROGBITS; SHF_WRITE | SHF_ALLOC)</h3> +<pre><code>|000000d8: 4865 6c6c 6f2c 2057| Hello, W +|000000e0: 6f72 6c64 210a | orld!. + +0x6000d8 'Hello, World!\n' +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-3-shstrtab-sht_strtab-1">Section 3: .shstrtab (SHT_STRTAB;)</h3> +<pre><code>|000000e6: 002e 7379 6d74 6162 002e| ..symtab.. +|000000f0: 7374 7274 6162 002e 7368 7374 7274 6162| strtab..shstrtab +|00000100: 002e 7465 7874 002e 6461 7461 0000 0000| ..text..data. + +0x00000000: '' +0x00000001: '.symtab' +0x00000009: '.strtab' +0x00000011: '.shstrtab' +0x0000001b: '.text' +0x00000021: '.data' +Zero-padding (3 bytes starting at 0x0000010d) +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-0-null-1">Section header table: Entry 0 (null)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000110: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000120: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000130: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000140: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x00000000 Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000000 SHT_NULL +sh_flags 0x0000000000000000 Section attributes +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x0000000000000000 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000000 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000000 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000000 Alignment +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-1-text">Section header table: Entry 1 (.text)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000150: 1b00 0000 0100 0000 0600 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000160: b000 4000 0000 0000 b000 0000 0000 0000| ..@............. +|00000170: 2500 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| %............... +|00000180: 1000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x0000001b Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000001 SHT_PROGBITS +sh_flags 0x00000006 SHF_ALLOC | SHF_EXECINSTR +sh_addr 0x00000000004000b0 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x00000000000000b0 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x0000000000000025 Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000000 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000000 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000010 Alignment (2B) +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-2-data">Section header table: Entry 2 (.data)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000190: 2100 0000 0100 0000 0300 0000 0000 0000| !............... +|000001a0: d800 6000 0000 0000 d800 0000 0000 0000| ..`............. +|000001b0: 0e00 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000001c0: 0400 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x00000021 Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000001 SHT_PROGBITS +sh_flags 0x0000000000000003 SHF_WRITE | SHF_ALLOC +sh_addr 0x00000000006000d8 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x00000000000000d8 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x000000000000000e Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000000 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000000 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000004 Alignment (4B) +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-3-shstrtab-1">Section header table: Entry 3 (.shstrtab)</h3> +<pre><code>|000001d0: 1100 0000 0300 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000001e0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 e600 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000001f0: 2700 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| '............... +|00000200: 0100 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x00000011 Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000003 SHT_STRTAB +sh_flags 0x00000000 No flags +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x00000000000000e6 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x0000000000000027 Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000000 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000000 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000001 Alignment (1B) +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-4-symtab-1">Section header table: Entry 4 (.symtab)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000210: 0100 0000 0200 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000220: 0000 0000 0000 0000 9002 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000230: f000 0000 0000 0000 0500 0000 0600 0000| ................ +|00000240: 0800 0000 0000 0000 1800 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x00000001 Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000002 SHT_SYMTAB +sh_flags 0x00000000 No flags +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x0000000000000290 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x00000000000000f0 Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000005 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000006 Flags +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000008 Alignment (8B) +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000018 Size in bytes of each entry (24B) +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-5-strtab-1">Section header table: Entry 5 (.strtab)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000250: 0900 0000 0300 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000260: 0000 0000 0000 0000 8003 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000270: 3700 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| 7............... +|00000280: 0100 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x00000009 Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000003 SHT_STRTAB +sh_flags 0x0000000000000000 No flags +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x0000000000000380 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x0000000000000037 Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000000 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000000 Extrac info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000001 Alignment (1B) +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-4-symtab-sht_symtab-1">Section 4: .symtab (SHT_SYMTAB;)</h3> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-0-1">Symbol table entry 0</h4> +<pre><code>|00000290: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000002a0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 | ........ + +st_name 0x00000000 +st_info 0x00 +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0x0000 (SHN_UNDEF) +st_value 0x0000000000000000 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-1">Symbol table entry 1</h4> +<pre><code>|000002a8: 0000 0000 0300 0100| ........ +|000002b0: b000 4000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ..@............. + +st_name 0x00000000 +st_info 0x03 (STT_OBJECT | STT_FUNC) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0x0001 (Section 1: .text) +st_value 0x00000000004000b0 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-2-1">Symbol table entry 2</h4> +<pre><code>|000002c0: 0000 0000 0300 0200 d800 6000 0000 0000| ..........`..... +|000002d0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 | ........ + +st_name 0x00000000 +st_info 0x03 (STT_OBJECT | STT_FUNC) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0x0002 (Section 2: .data) +st_value 0x00000000006000d8 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-3-helloasm">Symbol table entry 3 (hello.asm)</h4> +<pre><code>|000002d0: 0100 0000 0400 f1ff| ........ +|000002e0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +st_name 0x00000001 +st_info 0x04 (STT_FILE) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0xfff1 (SHN_ABS) +st_value 0x0000000000000000 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-4-hello-1">Symbol table entry 4 (hello)</h4> +<pre><code>|000002f0: 0b00 0000 0000 0200 d800 6000 0000 0000| ..........`..... +|00000300: 0000 0000 0000 0000 | ................ + +st_name 0x0000000b +st_info 0x00 +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0x0002 (Section 2: .data) +st_value 0x00000000006000d8 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-5-hbytes-1">Symbol table entry 5 (hbytes)</h4> +<pre><code>|00000300: 1100 0000 0000 f1ff| ........ +|00000310: 0e00 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +st_name 0x00000011 +st_info 0x00 +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0xfff1 (SHN_ABS) +st_value 0x000000000000000e +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-6-_start-1">Symbol table entry 6 (_start)</h4> +<pre><code>|00000320: 1800 0000 1000 0100 b000 4000 0000 0000| ..........@..... +|00000330: 0000 0000 0000 0000 | ........ + +st_name 0x00000018 +st_info 0x10 (STB_GLOBAL) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0x0001 (Section 1: .text) +st_value 0x00000000004000b0 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-7-__bss_start">Symbol table entry 7 (__bss_start)</h4> +<pre><code>|00000330: 1f00 0000 1000 f1ff| ........ +|00000340: e600 6000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ..`............. + +st_name 0x0000001f +st_info 0x10 (STB_GLOBAL) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0xfff1 (SHN_ABS) +st_value 0x00000000006000e6 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-8-_edata">Symbol table entry 8 (_edata)</h4> +<pre><code>|00000350: 2b00 0000 1000 f1ff e600 6000 0000 0000| +.........`..... +|00000360: 0000 0000 0000 0000 | ........ + +st_name 0x0000002b +st_info 0x10 (STB_GLOBAL) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0xfff1 (SHN_ABS) +st_value 0x00000000006000e6 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-9-_end">Symbol table entry 9 (_end)</h4> +<pre><code>|00000360: 3200 0000 1000 f1ff| 2....... +|00000370: e800 6000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ..`............. + +st_name 0x00000032 +st_info 0x10 (STB_GLOBAL) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0xfff1 (SHN_ABS) +st_value 0x00000000006000e8 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-6-strtab-sht_strtab">Section 6: .strtab (SHT_STRTAB;)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000380: 0068 656c 6c6f 2e61 736d 0068 656c 6c6f| .hello.asm.hello +|00000390: 0068 6279 7465 7300 5f73 7461 7274 005f| .hbytes._start._ +|000003a0: 5f62 7373 5f73 7461 7274 005f 6564 6174| _bss_start._edat +|000003b0: 6100 5f65 6e64 00 | a._end. + +0x00000000: '' +0x00000001: 'hello.asm' +0x0000000b: 'hello' +0x00000011: 'hbytes' +0x00000018: '_start' +0x0000001f: '__bss_start' +0x0000002b: '_edata' +0x00000032: '_end' +</code></pre> +<h2 id="effect-of-stripping">Effect of stripping</h2> +<p>Running <code>strip</code> on the binary has the effect of dropping the <code>.symtab</code> and +<code>.strtab</code> sections along with their section headers and 16 bytes of data (the +section names <code>.symtab</code> and <code>.strtab</code>) from the <code>.shstrtab</code> section, reducing the +total binary size to 512 bytes.</p> +<h2 id="in-memory-process-image">In-memory process image</h2> +<p>FreeBSD uses a memory superpage size of 2MB (page size of 4kB) on x86_64. Since +attributes are set at the page level, read+execute program <code>.text</code> and +read+write <code>.data</code> are loaded into two separate segments on separate pages, as +laid-out by the linker.</p> +<p>On launch, the kernel maps the binary image into memory as specified in the +program header table:</p> +<ul> +<li>PHT Entry 0: The ELF header, program header table, and Section 1 (<code>.text</code>) +are mapped from offset 0x00 of the binary image (with length 0xd6 bytes) +into Segment 1 (readable, executable) at address 0x400000.</li> +<li>PHT Entry 1: Section 2 (<code>.data</code>) at offset 0xd8 of the binary image is +mapped into Segment 2 (readable, writeable) at address 0x6000d8 from offset +0xd8 with length 0x0e bytes.</li> +</ul> +<p>The program entrypoint is specified to be 0x4000b0, the start of the <code>.text</code> +section.</p> +<p>And that&rsquo;s it! Any corrections or comments are always welcome. Shoot me an +email at <a href="mailto:chris@bracken.jp">chris@bracken.jp</a>.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -37,7 +829,103 @@ this time, I&rsquo;ve got a lot more stuff. One of those things is a Nissan that&rsquo;s been quietly living its life in Canada. Faced with the prospect of selling the car and buying a new one, I chose instead to import the one I know and love. Here is my story. But be forewarned, it is not for the faint of -heart.</p></description> +heart.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2011-05-10-futile.jpg" + alt="Scrawny kid vs sumo wrestler"/> +</figure> + +<p>To import a vehicle to the US from Canada, you need to undertake a series of +quests. These are detailed on the <a href="http://stnw.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/">NHTSA website</a> under the heading +<em>Vehicle Importation Guidelines (Canadian)</em>. As of May 2011, you need the +following items in increasing order of difficulty:</p> +<p><strong>[easy]</strong> The following information about your car:</p> +<ol> +<li>VIN</li> +<li>Make/Model/Year</li> +<li>Month/Year of manufacture</li> +<li>Registration &amp; ownership information</li> +</ol> +<p><strong>[easy]</strong> <a href="http://www.epa.gov/oms/imports/">EPA Form 3520-1</a>. You will likely be importing your +vehicle under <em>code EE: identical in all material respects to a US certified +version</em>.</p> +<p><strong>[easy]</strong> <a href="http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/">NHTSA Form HS-7</a>. You will most likely be importing your +vehicle under box 2B, for vehicles that complied with Canadian CMVSA +regulations at their time of manufacture and where the manufacturer attests +that, with a few exceptions, it meets US regulations; see final item.</p> +<p><strong>[medium]</strong> A letter on the manufacturer&rsquo;s letterhead from the Canadian +distributor, stating that there are no open recalls or service campaigns on the +vehicle. I&rsquo;m not sure if this is required, but Nissan Canada thought it would +be.</p> +<p><strong>[hard]</strong> A letter from the vehicle’s original manufacturer, on +the manufacturer’s letterhead identifying the vehicle by vehicle identification +number (VIN) and stating that the vehicle conforms to all applicable FMVSS +&ldquo;except for the labeling requirements of Standards Nos. 101 <em>Controls and +Displays</em> and 110 <em>Tire Selection and Rims</em> or 120 <em>Tire Selection and Rims for +Motor Vehicles other than Passenger Cars</em>, and/or the specifications of +Standard No. 108 <em>Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment</em>, +relating to daytime running lamps.&rdquo;</p> +<p>Items 1-3 are left as an exercise to the reader. I will focus here on items 4 +and 5 to save you the 14 hours of accumulated hold time and multiple phone +calls. Prepare yourself friend, for here begins a journey of hurt and +frustration, but you will prevail.</p> +<p>Let&rsquo;s start with item 4. I gave <a href="http://www.nissan.ca/common/footer/en/contact.html">Nissan Canada</a> a ring at +1-800-387-0122 and managed to make it through the phone navigation system to a +human operator. I told them I was importing a Canadian Nissan into the States +and needed a <em>Letter of Compliance</em>. After a bit of digging, they stated that +such letters are only provided by <em>Nissan North America,</em> but they would +instead mail out two other letters on Nissan letterhead:</p> +<ol> +<li>A letter stating the VIN and that the vehicle has no pending recalls or +service campaigns on it.</li> +<li>In place of a <em>Certificate of Origin</em> (which Nissan Canada does not +provide), a letter stating the VIN and that the vehicle was manufactured for +sale in the Canadian market and complied with all safety and emission +regulations at the time of manufacture.</li> +</ol> +<p>We&rsquo;re almost there, but your next and final mission is also the most +challenging: the <em>Letter of Compliance</em>. Call <a href="http://www.nissanusa.com/apps/contactus">Nissan North +America</a> Consumer Affairs Department at 1-800-647-7261. Navigate +through the phone system to an operator - get their name and extension. They +may ask for your VIN only to find it&rsquo;s not in their system. Canadian VINs are +not in their system. Some operators thought they were, others were sure they +weren&rsquo;t. They&rsquo;re not. Many operators tried and failed to find it. Ask them to +open a file, give them the vehicle information and your info and get the file +number. Use this number whenever you call.</p> +<p>Here are the five steps to success:</p> +<ol> +<li>Tell the operator that you&rsquo;re importing a Canadian Nissan vehicle to the US +and that you need a <em>Letter of Compliance</em> stating the VIN and that the +vehicle was built to conform to Canadian and United States EPA emissions +standards and all US Federal motor vehicle standards except for daytime +running light brightness. There is a very good chance they&rsquo;ve never heard of +this. Get them to talk to their supervisor, and their supervisor. Anyone. +Someone will know.</li> +<li>They will tell you that the vehicle needs to have its daytime running lights +disabled before they will issue the letter of compliance. All the government +rules seem to specifically exclude the daytime running lights, and the +letter they issue even states that the vehicle doesn&rsquo;t meet that standard, +but for whatever reason they want a copy of a work statement showing the +work was done. Remember to get the operator&rsquo;s name and extension and the +fax number for the work statement before you hang up.</li> +<li>Get the daytime running lights disabled. It&rsquo;s a setting change in the +on-board computer; your local dealer will do this in under 30 mins for $50 +or so. </li> +<li>Fax your the work statement and put your name, return fax number and a +request for the <em>Letter of Compliance</em> on the cover sheet. Phone Nissan +North America Consumer Affairs back. The phone navigation system will give +you hope that you can input an extension directly, only to find it only +accepts 5-digit extensions but your rep has a 6-digit extension. You&rsquo;ll end +up back in the queue. Ask whoever you get to put you through to your +previous rep, by extension. When you get through, say that you sent the fax +and request the letter. Ask them to phone you back when they&rsquo;ve faxed it.</li> +<li>You&rsquo;ll get the fax eventually - <em>check the information!</em> On my letter, the +year, model and VIN were all incorrect, though they got my name right. If +it&rsquo;s incorrect, try again.</li> +</ol> +<p>You now have everything you need to import your Nissan to the States. Good +luck my friends, I don&rsquo;t envy you, but know that I am with you and that victory +will someday be yours too.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -47,7 +935,19 @@ heart.</p></description> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2011/05/job-search-search-job/</guid> <description><p>After close to seven years with <a href="https://www.morganstanley.com">Morgan Stanley</a>, I&rsquo;ve turned in my badge -and exited the world of finance.</p></description> +and exited the world of finance. I first joined Morgan Stanley in Tokyo in 2004 +working in the Equities Technology group focusing on scalability in the trade +processing plant. Throughout my career at Morgan, I&rsquo;ve had the pleasure of +working alongside a lot of incredibly bright people on some very interesting and +challenging problems, mainly focusing on scalability, parallelism and system +architecture.</p> +<p>After being made the offer one sunny Kyoto morning, and giving it some serious +contemplation, I&rsquo;ve accepted a position with <a href="https://google.com">Google</a> in <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/gxWf">Mountain View, +California</a>. While there&rsquo;s no question I&rsquo;ll miss working with all the +people who made my time at Morgan Stanley such an awesome experience, I&rsquo;m +excited about joining Google, and looking forward to working on some tough and +interesting problems in a very unique environment.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -58,7 +958,35 @@ and exited the world of finance.</p></description> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2011/04/winter-sounds-in-japan/</guid> <description><p>There are a lot of uniquely Japanese sounds. But the two I&rsquo;m writing about today appear on cold winter nights, and echo eerily through the -dark, empty streets between dinner and bedtime.</p></description> +dark, empty streets between dinner and bedtime.</p> +<p>Japanese winters are cold. They&rsquo;re not -30C cold, but what they do have on +Canadian winters is how drafty Japanese houses tend to be, and the distinct +lack of central heating. All across the country the appearance of convenience +store oden and yaki-imo wagons mark the arrival of winter.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2011-04-25-yakiimo.jpg" + alt="Yaki-imo wagon"/> +</figure> + +<p>Yaki-imo are sweet potatoes roasted over flames in wood fired ovens in small +mobile carts or trucks. They&rsquo;re served up wrapped in newspaper, and are not +only delicious, but keep your hands warm too. But the most distinctive thing +about yaki-imo is that the sellers sing a very distinct <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P9yctE9_hQ">yaki-imo +song</a>. They typically make the rounds until just after dinner time, +and I always found their song a bit eerie drifting though the dark streets.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2011-04-25-hinoyoujin.jpg" + alt="Hi no Yōjin"/> +</figure> + +<p>Central heating is near non-existent in Japan, one result of which is the +<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotatsu">kotatsu</a>, but another is that kerosene and gas heaters are still +commonly used for heating. Every year, housefires result from people +forgetting to shut of their heaters before bed. As a reminder to shut off the +heaters, people walk through town late at night, carrying lanterns and clacking +wooden blocks together, calling out &ldquo;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFqRIKoVckA#t=20s">hi no yōjin</a>&rdquo;: be careful +with fire. The sound of the blocks typically carries for many blocks, and you +often hear their calls echoing through town, coming and going for up to half an +hour as you lay in bed.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -70,7 +998,98 @@ dark, empty streets between dinner and bedtime.</p></description> <description><p>If you&rsquo;re a Japanese speaker, one of the first things you do when you install a fresh Linux distribution is to install a decent <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_IME">Japanese IME</a>. Ubuntu defaults to <a href="https://sourceforge.jp/projects/anthy/news/">Anthy</a>, but I personally prefer <a href="https://code.google.com/p/mozc/">Mozc</a>, and -that&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m going to show you how to install here.</p></description> +that&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m going to show you how to install here.</p> +<p><em>Update (2011-05-01):</em> Found an older <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfgjTCXZ2-s">video tutorial</a> on YouTube +which provides an alternative (and potentially more comprehensive) solution for +Japanese support on 10.10 using ibus instead of uim, which is the better choice +for newer releases.</p> +<p><em>Update (2011-10-25):</em> The software installation part of this process got a +whole lot easier in Ubuntu releases after Natty, and as noted above, I&rsquo;d +recommend sticking with ibus over uim.</p> +<h3 id="japanese-input-basics">Japanese Input Basics</h3> +<p>Before we get going, let&rsquo;s understand a bit about how Japanese input works on +computers. Japanese comprises three main character sets: the two phonetic +character sets, hiragana and katakana at 50 characters each, plus many +thousands of Kanji, each with multiple readings. Clearly a full keyboard is +impractical, so a mapping is required.</p> +<p>Input happens in two steps. First, you input the text phonetically, then you +convert it to a mix of kanji and kana.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2011-04-22-henkan.png" + alt="Japanese IME completion menu"/> +</figure> + +<p>Over the years, two main mechanisms evolved to input kana. The first was common +on old <em>wapuro</em>, and assigns a kana to each key on the keyboard—e.g. where +the <em>A</em> key appears on a QWERTY keyboard, you&rsquo;ll find a ち. This is how our +grandparents hacked out articles for the local <em>shinbun</em>, but I suspect only a +few die-hard traditionalists still do this. The second and more common method +is literal <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wapuro">transliteration of roman characters into kana</a>. You +type <em>fujisan</em> and out comes ふじさん.</p> +<p>Once the phonetic kana have been input, you execute a conversion step wherein +the input is transformed into the appropriate mix of kanji and kana. Given the +large number of homonyms in Japanese, this step often involves disambiguating +your input by selecting the intended kanji. For example, the <em>mita</em> in <em>eiga wo +mita</em> (I watched a movie) is properly rendered as 観た whereas the <em>mita</em> in +<em>kuruma wo mita</em> (I saw a car) should be 見た, and in neither case is it <em>mita</em> +as in the place name <em>Mita-bashi</em> (Mita bridge) which is written 三田.</p> +<h3 id="some-implementation-details">Some Implementation Details</h3> +<p>Let&rsquo;s look at implementation. There are two main components used in inputting +Japanese text:</p> +<p>The GUI system (e.g. ibus, uim) is responsible for:</p> +<ol> +<li>Maintaining and switching the current input mode: +ローマ字、ひらがな、カタカナ、半額カタカナ.</li> +<li>Transliteration of character input into kana: <em>ku</em> into く, +<em>nekko</em> into ねっこ, <em>xtu</em> into っ.</li> +<li>Managing the text under edit (the underlined stuff) and the +drop-down list of transliterations.</li> +<li>Ancillary functions such as supplying a GUI for custom dictionary +management, kanji lookup by radical, etc.</li> +</ol> +<p>The transliteration engine (e.g. Anthy, Mozc) is responsible for transforming a +piece of input text, usually in kana form, into kanji: for example みる into +one of: 見る、観る、診る、視る. This involves:</p> +<ol> +<li>Breaking the input phrase into components.</li> +<li>Transforming each component into the appropriate best guess based on context +and historical input.</li> +<li>Supplying alternative transformations in case the best guess was incorrect.</li> +</ol> +<h3 id="why-mozc">Why Mozc?</h3> +<p>TL;DR: because it&rsquo;s better. Have a look at the conversion list up at the top of +this post. The input is <em>kinou</em>, for which there are two main conversion +candidates: 機能 (feature) and 昨日 (yesterday). Notice however, that it also +supplies several conversions for yesterday&rsquo;s date in various formats, including +「平成23年4月21日」 using <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_era_name">Japanese Era Name</a> rather than the +Western notation 2011. This is just one small improvement among dozens of +clever tricks it performs. If you&rsquo;re thinking this bears an uncanny resemblance +to tricks that <a href="https://www.google.com/intl/ja/ime/">Google&rsquo;s Japanese IME</a> supports, you&rsquo;re right: Mozc +originated from the same codebase.</p> +<h3 id="switching-to-mozc">Switching to Mozc</h3> +<p>So let&rsquo;s assume you&rsquo;re now convinced to abandon Anthy and switch to Mozc. +You&rsquo;ll need to make some changes. Here are the steps:</p> +<p>If you haven&rsquo;t yet done so, install some Japanese fonts from either Software +Centre or Synaptic. I&rsquo;d recommend grabbing the <em>ttf-takao</em> package.</p> +<p>Next up, we&rsquo;ll install and configure Mozc.</p> +<ol> +<li><strong>Install ibus-mozc:</strong> <code>sudo apt-get install ibus-mozc</code></li> +<li><strong>Restart the ibus daemon:</strong> <code>/usr/bin/ibus-daemon --xim -r -d</code></li> +<li><strong>Set your input method to mozc:</strong> +<ol> +<li>Open <em>Keyboard Input Methods</em> settings.</li> +<li>Select the <em>Input Method</em> tab.</li> +<li>From the <em>Select an input method</em> drop-down, select Japanese, then mozc from +the sub-menu.</li> +<li>Select <em>Japanese - Anthy</em> from the list, if it appears there, and click +<em>Remove</em>.</li> +</ol> +</li> +<li><strong>Optionally, remove Anthy from your system:</strong> <code>sudo apt-get autoremove anthy</code></li> +</ol> +<p>Log out, and back in. You should see an input method menu in the menu +bar at the top of the screen.</p> +<p>That&rsquo;s it, Mozcを楽しんでください！</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -85,7 +1104,59 @@ spare time on my hands before baby number two is due, I decided I was going to get back into decent enough shape that I could pull one off. I&rsquo;ve been using mornings and weekends to get back into riding longer distances, and slowly building up toward the goal of 160 km by riding further and further up the Tama -river every weekend.</p></description> +river every weekend.</p> +<p>Five minutes looking at Google maps yesterday morning at 6 am convinced me that +Lake Okutama was exactly the necessary 80 km away, so without a minute to lose +I got dressed, headed out the door and rode north up the Tama river. Here&rsquo;s +the <a href="https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/18311395">activity report</a>.</p> +<p>The ride along the river is gorgeous, one of the few places in Tokyo you can +ride uninterrupted through a green belt that runs from the ocean at Haneda +airport all the way into the mountains in the northwest corner of Tokyo. The +bike path ends at the south Hamura dam, but by then it&rsquo;s pretty <a href="http://www.ehimeajet.com/inaka.php" title="Inaka: rural Japan">inaka</a>, +so you can continue by road from there without much worry about traffic. At +the north Hamura dam, I crossed over to the west side of the river, to pick up +Route 411 through the towns of Oume, Sawai, and Mitake before leaving the city +completely and starting the climb up into the mountains.</p> +<p>The trip on from Mitake is a long, slow ascent along a narrow, winding road +through small towns and villages while criss-crossing the river. Particularly +this time of year with the leaves changing colour, the trip is visually +spectactular, with the mountainsides lit up bright orange and red. Okutama is +the last major town before the final hill-climb up to the lake. At its +westernmost edge is the world-famous Tokyo <a href="http://web-japan.org/nipponia/nipponia19/en/feature/feature05.html" title="Conbini: Let's enjoy convenience store life!">Conbini</a> Shuten—the final +convenience store of Tokyo. Complete with latitude and longitude figures on its +sign out front, it is a site of pilgrimage for cyclists headed up to the lake +and the border of Tokyo and Yamanashi prefectures. Too bad it&rsquo;s a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_Yamazaki">Daily +Yamazaki</a> and not a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FamilyMart">Famima</a>, but either way it&rsquo;s got +<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocari_Sweat">Pocari Sweat</a>!</p> +<p>From the town of Okutama to the lake is a 13 km hill climb up through tunnel +after tunnel to the dam at the edge of the lake. My the one route change I&rsquo;ll +make the next time I do this is to go <em>around</em> the tunnels instead of <em>through</em> +them. I can&rsquo;t possibly imagine why someone felt the need to put (very +expensive) tunnels in on this road given that almost every single one can be +bypassed on the road. I can only assume that this has something to do with the +government trying to buy the powerful rural vote with thousands of unnecessary, +environment-destroying <a href="http://www.iwanami.co.jp/jpworld/text/publicworks01.html" title="The LDP and pork-barrel politics">construction projects</a> per year.</p> +<p>The good news is that once you hit the top, the views are spectacular, the +roads are flat, and you&rsquo;re back in <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68908288@N00/141327403/" title="Jidohanbaiki: Let's vending machine!">jidohanbaiki</a>-land where +Pocari Sweat and Aquarius are available in abundance! I&rsquo;d accidentally left my +cycle computer off for a 3km stretch out of Okutama, so I cycled 3 km down the +road to make up for it and be able to claim a <em>recorded</em> 160 km. I ran into a +German cyclist named Ludwig who&rsquo;d also ridden in from Tokyo; he had a +drool-worthy Canyan carbon-fibre bike, and interestingly, it turns out he&rsquo;s +part of the <a href="http://positivo-espresso.blogspot.com/">Positivo Espresso</a> cycling group whose blog I&rsquo;d +been reading for a couple months.</p> +<p>Ludvig continued on up towards Yamanashi-ken with the plan of packing up his +bike and taking the train back when he got as far as he wanted to go. Good +plan, and something I&rsquo;ll give a try next time. I turned my bike around for the +long trip back home. The best part of that trip was the 30 minute descent back +down out of the hills at car speed, before hitting Mitake, and heading back out +to the flat cycle path along the Tamagawa.</p> +<p>All in all, a pretty awesome day of cycling and a trip I&rsquo;d definitely do again. +While the trip included a nice hill-climb, it wasn&rsquo;t severe, and didn&rsquo;t last +more than 15 km. I&rsquo;ve included the GPS map—there are a couple errors where I&rsquo;d +accidentally switched it off for 3 km near Okutama, and for about 5 km near +Hamura on the way back.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -96,7 +1167,18 @@ river every weekend.</p></description> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2008/08/monkey-madness/</guid> <description><p>How many police does it take to catch a monkey in one of Tokyo&rsquo;s busiest train stations? Apparently a lot more than the <a href="https://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=1LbhEJ2NUxE">40 or so that -tried</a>.</p></description> +tried</a>.</p> +<p>The monkey was first spotted around 9:45am on top of the Tokyu Toyoko Line +schedule display, possibly one of the best choices for people-watching in +Shibuya Station, strategically positions between the exit of the Tokyu +department store and the entrance to one of Tokyo&rsquo;s busiest train lines.</p> +<p>It hung around for close to two hours while commuters, shoppers, news crews and +a posse of net-wielding cops showed up, before finally deciding to +<a href="https://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=AKFh-Wc7KSE">make a break for it</a>. Police never did catch the cheeky +monkey, and its current whereabouts are unknown.</p> +<p>Apparently this is the third incident of a monkey getting into a train station +in Tokyo in the last few weeks.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -110,7 +1192,25 @@ II</a> turns 30. It was in production for 18 of those 30 years, which likely makes it the longest-selling personal computer of all time. It was the computer I wrote my first program on, and spent countless hours banging in and editing code from <em>Compute</em> magazine—including page after page of raw hex -code when a program included graphics.</p></description> +code when a program included graphics.</p> +<p>In tribute, I ran a Google search on PR#6 to see what turned up. For those who +don&rsquo;t know or don&rsquo;t remember, PR#6 was the command that kicked off the +bootloader code for slot 6, the drive controller. The search turned up two +relevant links: an <a href="http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=197&amp;coll=ap">Apple TechTip</a> on a simple copy-protection scheme, +and a fantastic <a href="http://diveintomark.org/archives/2006/08/22/c600g">blog entry</a> that covers a bit about the Apple +][&rsquo;s boot process, which brings back a lot of memories of old Shugart drives, +including the terrifying sound of a track 0 seek – a process wherein the drive +head was moved across the disk very quickly until it physically couldn&rsquo;t go any +further, resulting in a loud alarm-like buzz from the drive when it hit the +limit of its reach.</p> +<p>Anyway, in celebration of the Apple ][&rsquo;s 30th birthday, I recommend grabbing +your nearest <a href="https://www.scullinsteel.com/apple2/#dos33master">emulator</a>, and banging in a <code>call -151</code> for old time&rsquo;s +sake.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2007-06-06-happy_birthday.png" + alt="AppleSoft BASIC program"/> +</figure> + +</description> </item> <item> @@ -125,7 +1225,27 @@ got my money&rsquo;s worth out of it. After partnering with <a href=" started using their online feed-reader on and off, with mixed results. I like that it keeps my feeds in sync between my computers, and that I can browse articles at lunch, but the interface is still not on par -with NetNewsWire itself.</p></description> +with NetNewsWire itself.</p> +<p>While NewsGator&rsquo;s implementation was lacking, I really did like the idea of +dropping the desktop app altogether and going with a fully online solution, so +I started exploring other options. The obvious free alternative is <a href="http://www.google.com/reader/">Google +Reader</a>, and I have to say, I&rsquo;m impressed. While the +presentation isn&rsquo;t as customizable as NetNewsWire, the functionality that I use +is all there, and in fact, it has some extra search features that I miss on the +desktop. It was only when I launched NetNewsWire today and saw 290 unread +items, that it hit me I hadn&rsquo;t used it in almost a month. So while I look +forward to <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hicksdesign/210309912/">NetNewsWire 3</a>, I&rsquo;m sticking to Google Reader for the time +being.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2007-05-30-google-reader.png" + alt="Google reader graph of usage by hour of day"/> +</figure> + +<p>I also discovered that my prime news reading hours are apparently 6:30am to +7:30am and 9pm to 11pm, with a strange local maximum straggling out around +12:30am. I&rsquo;d be curious to compare this to <em>before</em> I had a baby that woke me +up around that time.</p> +<p><em>Update (2007-06-06):</em> NetNewsWire 3.0 is now out.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -141,7 +1261,41 @@ than a nomad. disappointed. While this phone has a slicker GUI than any other phone I&rsquo;ve seen, it&rsquo;s not so much the $499 US price-tag, but the stone-age functionality of the phone compared to what we have here in Japan that makes my jaw -drop.</p></description> +drop.</p> +<p>Here in Japan, 3 years ago in 2004, for 1 yen, I had the following in a +cellphone:</p> +<ul> +<li>3G download speeds of 50 Mb/s.</li> +<li>Two-way video-phone.</li> +<li>Built-in fingerprint scanner (for security checks).</li> +<li>MP3 player and download service.</li> +<li>Edy BitWallet (like Interac, except you swipe your finger on the +phone&rsquo;s scanner to accept the transaction).</li> +<li>Can be used as a <em>Suica</em> train pass.</li> +<li>Can buy movie tickets and scan in at the theatre, bypassing the +lineup.</li> +<li>Can wave it at vending machines for food and drinks.</li> +<li>Will figure out train routes, transfer locations and times, and +ticket prices.</li> +<li>Can scan barcodes which take you to websites – eg. scan at the bus +station to pull up the schedule or scan a magazine to order a +product.</li> +<li>MP3 player and download service.</li> +<li>Decent email (+ attachments), SMS, calendaring, notepad.</li> +<li>Automatic location triangulation (by determining which antennae are +nearby) and location-aware mapping, shopping/restaurant listings.</li> +<li>Interactive mapping of current location with zooming and scrolling.</li> +<li>Integrated graphical web-browser.</li> +<li>1 megapixel Camera, Video camera.</li> +<li>Display/graph your phone usage to the day.</li> +<li>Can write and deploy your own Java/C/C++ applets.</li> +</ul> +<p>If you go for a high-end phone with more than the above (e.g. built-in TV +tuner), you&rsquo;ll need to pay more than one yen, but the price range is normally +below ¥20,000 ($200 Canadian). In its current state, the iPhone won&rsquo;t sell in +Japan even if it&rsquo;s free; Apple is going to have to do some major work if it +wants to compete with even the bare-bones models on the market in Japan.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -151,7 +1305,16 @@ drop.</p></description> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2006/09/mystery-solved/</guid> <description><p>One of my biggest complaints about Japan has always been the complete and utter -lack of garbage bins in this city. There are none to be found.</p></description> +lack of garbage bins in this city. There are none to be found.</p> +<p>If you buy a (most likely seriously overpackaged) snack, you either have to +carry all the wrapping and leftovers around with you until you get home, or +toss it on the street. But the streets are impeccably clean here, which had led +me to believe that like me, the other 12 million people out for a walk this +afternoon, will be carrying their litter around in their backpacks and shopping +bags.</p> +<p>But it turns out this is not the case: an article in <a href="http://www.metropolis.co.jp/">Metropolis</a> +unveils the answer to <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190222191348/http://archive.metropolis.co.jp/tokyorantsravesarchive349/315/tokyorantsravesinc.htm">The Big Tokyo Trash Mystery</a>.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -166,7 +1329,9 @@ Grill</a>, followed by a Canada Day barbeque at Yoyogi Park including hot dogs, yakitori, a massive Canadian Flag cake, and imported Canadian beer. By 6pm things, as started to wind down at the park, people started the long trek back to Shibuya and into the Maple Leaf, where it was standing room -only.</p></description> +only.</p> +<p>Some <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbracken/sets/72157594183420453/">pictures of the event</a>.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -175,7 +1340,12 @@ only.</p></description> <pubDate>Mon, 26 Jun 2006 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2006/06/canadian-medical-research/</guid> - <description>Don&rsquo;t let anyone tell you that Canada never contributed groundbreaking research to the medical field. First, the discovery and isolation of insulin by researchers at the University of Toronto; now this paper published in the British Medical Journal, co-authored by a Grade 8 student from Hamilton, Ontario.</description> + <description><p>Don&rsquo;t let anyone tell you that Canada never contributed groundbreaking research +to the medical field. First, the discovery and isolation of insulin by +researchers at the University of Toronto; now <a href="http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/325/7378/1445" title="Ice cream evoked headaches: randomised trial of accelerated versus cautious ice cream eating regimen">this paper</a> published in the +British Medical Journal, co-authored by a Grade 8 student from Hamilton, +Ontario.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -188,7 +1358,78 @@ only.</p></description> before moving to Mexico, in the summer of 2001. As you might imagine, I was not entirely expecting a clean bill of dental health. The fact that I had once again ignored my dentist&rsquo;s advice to floss daily was not improving my outlook -one bit.</p></description> +one bit.</p> +<p>So it was with some trepidation that I went to see Dr Nakasawa yesterday +afternoon at 3 o&rsquo;clock. I stepped into the office, swapped my shoes for +slippers, filled out some forms, and took a seat in the waiting room, +attempting to pass the time by reading ads in Japanese for Sonicare +toothbrushes.</p> +<p>Eventually, I heard the receptionist call out &lsquo;Bracken-san!&rsquo; The door swung +open, and I was escorted to a chair and told to have a seat and wait for a few +moments with nothing to do except stare at the assortment of torture +instruments laid out on the table in front of me.</p> +<p>Now, in Canada, this is the point where the hygenist comes in, cleans your +teeth, tells you what a poor job you&rsquo;ve done of brushing your teeth over the +last six months, asks you whether you&rsquo;ve actually bothered to floss even once +since the last time you came, then takes off and the dentist comes in and pokes +around. In Japan, it goes only slightly differently. The dentist comes straight +in, cleans your teeth, tells you what a poor job you&rsquo;ve done of brushing your +teeth, asks you whether you&rsquo;ve actually bothered to floss even once since you +last came in, then starts poking around. Normally, that is.</p> +<p><em>Chotto akete kudasai.</em> I opened my mouth. Dr Nakasawa looked around for a +moment, poking at things with his tools, then paused.</p> +<p><em>Kono chiryou wa Nihon de moraimashita?</em></p> +<p>&lsquo;No, didn&rsquo;t get &rsquo;em here. I got all my fillings in Canada.&rsquo;</p> +<p>Another pause. <em>Aah, Canada-jin desu ka? Daigakusei no jidai, Eigo o benkyou +shimashita kedo, mou hotondo wasurete-shimaimashita.</em></p> +<p>&lsquo;That&rsquo;s ok, I&rsquo;ll try my best in Japanese.&rsquo;</p> +<p>Dr Nakasawa takes another glance in my mouth, does a bit more poking and says +to the hygenist &lsquo;Number 14 looks like an A. 18 looks like a B. 31&hellip; is A-ish.&rsquo; +Dr Nakasawa sits back in his chair. Another pause.</p> +<p>&lsquo;These fillings&hellip; the grey ones,&rsquo; he says, &lsquo;how long ago did you get these?&rsquo;</p> +<p>&lsquo;I don&rsquo;t know, maybe when I was in middle-school. A long time ago. I haven&rsquo;t +had a filling in years.&rsquo;</p> +<p>&lsquo;They&rsquo;re really old. This one here looks like it&rsquo;s chipped away on the edge and +the tooth underneath has a little bit of discolouration that may well be a +cavity. We don&rsquo;t really do this style of filling in Japan anymore, but what I&rsquo;d +suggest — it&rsquo;s up to you — is that we remove these, check for cavities +underneath, do any cleanup you need, then replace them with modern fillings.&rsquo;</p> +<p>&lsquo;Sure, the last dentist I talked to mentioned these were getting pretty awful +too, so sure&hellip; sounds good. Let&rsquo;s do it.&rsquo;</p> +<p>&lsquo;Okay, I&rsquo;m particularly worried about this one here, so let&rsquo;s start with this +one.&rsquo;</p> +<p>&lsquo;Sounds good.&rsquo;</p> +<p>&lsquo;Would you like to book a time next week, or if you have time I could do it +today?&rsquo;</p> +<p>&lsquo;I&rsquo;ve got no plans for the rest of the day, let&rsquo;s just get it over with.&rsquo;</p> +<p>&lsquo;Alright. <em>Masui wa dou desu ka? Hitsuyou desu ka?</em>&rsquo;</p> +<p>Now here I want to remind you that although I can get by in day-to-day life and +carry on a conversation in Japanese, one of the unequivocal facts of gaijin +life is that there are some words you simply don&rsquo;t know, and to keep the flow +of conversation going, you skip them and pick up the general idea from context. +So when someone says to you &lsquo;What about <em>masui</em>? Would you like it?&rsquo; in a tone +that suggests that really, you probably wouldn&rsquo;t, your instinct tends to be to +say &rsquo;no, no.&rsquo;</p> +<p>One of the wonderful things about living in another country is that +occasionally you&rsquo;re pleasantly surprised by turn of events that leads to an +experience that you&rsquo;d almost certainly never have stumbled your way into back +home. These experiences often upend long-held, fundamental beliefs that you&rsquo;d +have never even thought to question in your life.</p> +<p>However, I am going to tell you right now that there is no question at all that +getting your teeth drilled with no freezing hurts almost exactly as much as +you&rsquo;d imagine it does.</p> +<p>The full meaning of Dr Nakasawa&rsquo;s question, and of what was about to transpire, +became crystal clear as he picked up the drill, looked me in the eyes and said +&lsquo;Open wide, and put your hand up if at any point you can&rsquo;t handle the pain.&rsquo; I +swear I detected just the slightest hint of a smile on his face as he said this +to me, but I didn&rsquo;t have long to think about it because it was it was at this +point that I began focussing my entire being on keeping my hands clamped in a +death grip on the armrests of the dental chair.</p> +<p>I walked out of the office that day with a shiny new hole in my tooth and a +temporary filling while they create the permanent one. I managed to do this +without once raising my hand, but Dr Nakasawa&rsquo;s lucky his chair has still got +its bloody armrests attached.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -199,7 +1440,26 @@ one bit.</p></description> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2005/08/look-at-all-the-pretty-pictures/</guid> <description><p>So I moved my webpage and was all of a sudden faced with a deluge of emails from people who I never even knew read the thing. Among those emails was a -request from my amigo Chaffee requesting more pictures.</p></description> +request from my amigo Chaffee requesting more pictures. Seeing as I&rsquo;d always +wanted to play with the <a href="https://flickr.com/services/">Flickr API</a>, I requested an API Key and +started hacking away at some <a href="https://php.net">PHP</a>. The end result is that on the left side +of this page, you now get to see whatever happens to be the latest picture I&rsquo;ve +taken on my mobile phone.</p> +<p>The moment I take a picture with my cellphone, it gets emailed to the magical +servers at <a href="https://flickr.com">Flickr</a> and tagged with a title, some keywords, and a +description. The next time someone loads this page, a small PHP script in the +innards of this site makes a <a href="https://www.w3.org/TR/soap/">SOAP</a> request to Flickr&rsquo;s servers and +retrieves an <a href="https://www.w3.org/XML/">XML</a> response. This response is then parsed out and a URI to +the thumbnail image on Flickr&rsquo;s servers is generated which is then inserted +into this page. To improve performance a tiny bit, I avoid the overhead of the +SOAP call every time this page is loaded by caching the response for five +minutes and reading the cached XML if it&rsquo;s available.</p> +<p>For those of you who are into <a href="https://www.xml.com/pub/a/2002/12/18/dive-into-xml.html">RSS</a>, I&rsquo;ve added a <a href="feed://flickr.com/services/feeds/photos_public.gne?id=37996625178@N01&amp;format=atom_03">Flickr +feed</a> to my pictures in the HTML headers on this site.</p> +<p>My goal—and this is entirely for you, Chaffee—is to take at least one +picture a day, which is far more ambitious a schedule than my posting to this +page. We&rsquo;ll see how that works out.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -210,7 +1470,25 @@ request from my amigo Chaffee requesting more pictures.</p></description> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2005/07/kekkon-shite-kuremasu-ka/</guid> <description><p>The big news is that Yasuko and I will be getting married in November at Shimogamo Shrine in Kyoto. For the desperately curious, I &lsquo;officially&rsquo; proposed -in February at <em>Souvenir</em>, a French restaurant down the street.</p></description> +in February at <em>Souvenir</em>, a French restaurant down the street.</p> +<p>In Japan, getting engaged isn&rsquo;t strictly just proposing. You&rsquo;re really not +truly engaged until you&rsquo;ve &lsquo;officially&rsquo; proposed, which means not just deciding +to get married, but getting together with the finacées parents and proposing to +them. A long time ago, one might typically say <em>O-jou-san o boku ni kudasai.</em> +&ldquo;Please give me your [honourable] daughter.&rdquo; I decided I&rsquo;d pass on that line.</p> +<p>In any case, after a few trips back and forth to Kyoto, we settled on a +Japanese ceremony just before noon, followed by a party with friends and family +at a restaurant. The <em>nijikai</em> party in Tokyo will be western-style, but we +haven’t even begun to think about when or where yet.</p> +<p>For those questioning the sanity of a November wedding, keep in mind that in +Japan, this is <em>kōyō</em> season, when all the leaves turn red and Japan is at its +most beautiful. As Fall and Spring are the two most beautiful seasons in Japan, +we were lucky to reserve when we did, back in April. Even then, some +restaurants we talked to were already booked solid until mid-December.</p> +<p>In any case, with the shrine and restaurant out of the way, all we have left to +figure out is wedding rings, kimonos, invitations, flowers, food, gifts, +speeches, photos, &hellip;</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -219,8 +1497,13 @@ in February at <em>Souvenir</em>, a French restaurant down the stree <pubDate>Wed, 11 May 2005 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2005/05/bonjour-bon-vespre/</guid> - <description>Just how far can you travel in a week and a half? It turns out pretty far. Combining planes, trains, ships, and automobiles, Yasuko and I travelled, all told, roughly 22,100 km over the Golden Week holiday. -From Tokyo to Avignon, on to Marseille, then Arles and Nîmes, followed by Carcassonne, Perpignan, and Barcelona, before heading back to Paris and home to Tokyo in 12 days wasn&rsquo;t bad… Especially considering the car was a Fiat.</description> + <description><p>Just how far can you travel in a week and a half? It turns out pretty far. +Combining planes, trains, ships, and automobiles, Yasuko and I travelled, all +told, roughly 22,100 km over the Golden Week holiday.</p> +<p>From Tokyo to Avignon, on to Marseille, then Arles and Nîmes, followed by +Carcassonne, Perpignan, and Barcelona, before heading back to Paris and home to +Tokyo in 12 days wasn&rsquo;t bad… Especially considering the car was a Fiat.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -232,7 +1515,18 @@ From Tokyo to Avignon, on to Marseille, then Arles and Nîmes, followed by Carca <description><p>Last weekend, the temperature shot up to 23 degrees, and in the space of two days, the cherry blossom trees erupted into bloom. The Japanese take this opportunity to throw impromptu picnics, dinners, and random sake-drinking -events under <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_blossom">sakura</a> trees all across the country.</p></description> +events under <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_blossom">sakura</a> trees all across the country.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2005-04-09-sakura.jpg" + alt="Cherry blossoms near Naka-Meguro"/> +</figure> + +<p>The street behind my building is lined with sakura for as far as you can walk, +so it’s been packed with everyone in the neighbourhood until almost midnight +every night this week. With the cherry blossoms falling like snow since this +morning, the whole thing will be over with by early next week, so Yasuko and I +plan to get in one last hana-mi event tomorrow evening before heading back to +work on Monday.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -245,7 +1539,15 @@ events under <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_blossom"&g something caught my eye. As the train flew along its raised track, whizzing past the rooftops of Gakugei-daigaku at 80 km/h, I swear I saw a guy standing on the roof of a building alongside the track, dressed in a red cape -and wearing a giant fish on his head, wailing away on a guitar.</p></description> +and wearing a giant fish on his head, wailing away on a guitar.</p> +<p>He was gone from my view before I was able to catch a second glance, though.</p> +<p><em>Update (2008-03-20):</em> I’m glad he’s <a href="http://jiyugaoka.keizai.biz/headline/171/">not just a figment of my imagination</a>.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2005-03-29-gakugeidai.jpg" + alt="Man with fish on head playing guitar"/> +</figure> + +<p><em>Update (2011-04-27):</em> Found a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DbvxgmEAtE">YouTube video</a>.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -261,7 +1563,15 @@ and wearing a giant fish on his head, wailing away on a guitar.</p></descr <p>今年も宜しくお願いします！Jumped on the Nozomi Shinkansen from Shin-Yokohama station on the 31st to arrive in Kyoto two hours later. It was dumping snow from Nagoya onwards; and by the time we hit Kyoto, about 10 cm had -accumulated.</p></description> +accumulated.</p> +<p>After stopping by friends’ for the traditional osechi-ryouri and soba dinner, +Yasuko and I did hatsumoude at Yasaka shrine from 11 at night until 2 in the +morning in the midst of the blizzard.</p> +<p>Spent the next few days shopping in Kyoto, visiting more friends, and +re-visiting shrines and temples before heading back to Tokyo on the 3rd—though +on the return trip, I had to stand from Nagoya onwards since the trains were +booked to 120%.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -275,7 +1585,12 @@ accumulated.</p></description> </figure> <p>I came into work to a nice surprise this morning. Sipping on hot green tea, we -all crowded around the windows to check out the view.</p></description> +all crowded around the windows to check out the view.</p> +<p>With the recent cold snap, the views this morning are incredibly clear. A +little less so when passed through the tiny lens of my cell-phone camera. To +see it in person, it really does dominate the horizon; and at over 100km away, +that’s a pretty big feat.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -288,7 +1603,11 @@ all crowded around the windows to check out the view.</p></description> from the relative warmth of November and December to plummet sub-zero overnight. What started as a light flurry this morning has progressed to a full-out blizzard, and it’s still coming down like crazy as I write -this.</p></description> +this.</p> +<p>In unrelated news, I’m off to Kyoto for Oshogatsu from the 31st to the 3rd. +This time, I swear I’ll post pictures!</p> +<p>Hope everyone had a happy Christmas. See you in 2005!</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -298,7 +1617,17 @@ this.</p></description> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2004/11/apartment-hunting/</guid> <description><p>Through a stroke of luck, I think I may have actually found a permanent place -to live in Jiyugaoka close to Toritsu Daigaku station.</p></description> +to live in Jiyugaoka close to Toritsu Daigaku station.</p> +<p>I have my current apartment in Ebisu until the 30th, so the plan is to move the +weekend of the 27th. In the meantime, to placate people asking for pictures, +here’s the view from my balcony here in Ebisu. The upside is that Ebisu is an +incredibly central location in Tokyo with a ton of great restaurants; the +downside is that tea costs 735 yen at the coffee shop across the way.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2004-11-04-balcony.jpg" + alt="Tokyo Tower viewed from Ebisu Garden Place"/> +</figure> + +</description> </item> <item> @@ -307,7 +1636,11 @@ to live in Jiyugaoka close to Toritsu Daigaku station.</p></description> <pubDate>Wed, 15 Sep 2004 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2004/09/tokyo-ni-hikkoshi/</guid> - <description>After two years back in Canada and several trips back and forth to Japan, I’ve signed a full-time contract as a software developer with a firm in Tokyo and am permanently re-locating to Japan. I’ll post pictures as soon as I can get around to it.</description> + <description><p>After two years back in Canada and several trips back and forth to Japan, I’ve +signed a full-time contract as a software developer with a firm in Tokyo and am +permanently re-locating to Japan. I’ll post pictures as soon as I can get +around to it.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -316,7 +1649,9 @@ to live in Jiyugaoka close to Toritsu Daigaku station.</p></description> <pubDate>Thu, 09 Sep 2004 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2004/09/new-york-ny-usa/</guid> - <description>Flew out to New York for interviews with Tokyo via videoconference on the 9th and 10th. More details later, but I’ll post pictures now.</description> + <description><p>Flew out to New York for interviews with Tokyo via videoconference on the 9th +and 10th. More details later, but I’ll post pictures now.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -329,7 +1664,167 @@ to live in Jiyugaoka close to Toritsu Daigaku station.</p></description> in an effort to match my summer vacations with those of friends in Japan, ended up shuffling them back to August. Aside from the scorching heat, August is a fantastic time of year to visit. The heat this summer was more than a little -bit scorching though, it was the hottest summer in ten years.</p></description> +bit scorching though, it was the hottest summer in ten years.</p> +<p>It turned out, however, that I would have something more pressing than the +weather to keep my mind busy though. In the middle of the night, somewhere over +the Pacific ocean I woke up from my sleep in a cold sweat. My heart was +pounding. The airplane cabin was surprisingly silent; everyone around me had +dozed off to sleep and all that was left was the low drone of the jet engines +and the gentle hiss of the air vents. Slowly, I reached for the back pocket of +my backpack. My hands trembling, I unzipped it and slowly pulled it open. With +a huge sigh of relief, I pulled out my wallet. I hadn’t forgotten it at home +after all. Dropping it back in, I turned back toward the window and fell back +asleep. It wasn&rsquo;t until the next day in Osaka, as I opened my wallet to pay for +my hotel that I realised I’d forgotten my bank card at home.</p> +<p>This would not have been a problem, except that in a flash of brilliance, I had +decided to forgo the usual traveller’s cheques and use post office bank +machines to withdraw from my accounts back home. This had worked fantastically +last year and would save the hassle of cashing traveller’s cheques at a bank. +Fortunately I had a credit card on me. Unfortunately, Canadian credit cards +can’t be used to withdraw more than 20,000 yen a day, and then only at special +Visa bank machines which tend to be incredibly hard to find. Or, as I would +find out, impossible to find outside of Osaka or Tokyo. Fortunately I was able +to get hold of Mum on the phone relatively quickly, and she FedEx’ed the card +to Yasuko in Tokyo. By my math, I had just enough cash to buy Shinkansen +tickets to Shizuoka, then Tokyo. All I had to do was ensure that I reserved a +hotel in Shizuoka that accepted Canadian credit cards. No problem.</p> +<p>I spent the first night in the Umeda ward of Osaka, mostly because it’s so +close to Osaka station, and I was planning to catch the train first thing next +morning out through Kyoto, then Otsu, to Imazu-cho to meet Annie. Aside from +spending most of the next day in Osaka desperately seeking out Visa ATMs, I +can’t say I had that bad a time. Well, the weather was alright anyway.</p> +<p>Annie put me up for a few days in Imazu-cho, where I had the chance to meet up +with some friends from last year, and do a little exploring of nearby bits of +Shiga-ken. Caught the ferry out to Chikubushima, an island just 30 minutes out +from shore into Lake Biwa. The amazing thing about Chikubushima is the temples +and shrines you find in this remote location. The wood for the buildings did +not come from the island itself, but was ferried out by hand hundreds of years +ago. Chikubushima is one of several locations in Japan where the godess of +artistic inclinations, Benzaiten, is worshipped. Benzaiten, or Benten as she is +more often called, is the only female among the Shichifukujin¹ and is often +depicted as a woman carrying a lute. As she is a river godess, temples and +shrines dedicated to her often appear on lakes or near water.</p> +<p>After a few days in Imazu, I decided to head to Shizuoka. The best way to get +there was to catch local trains to Maibara station, on the other side of the +lake, then take the Shinkansen from there to Shizuoka. As I was running a +little late, I ended up sprinting through Imazu, suitcase in tow, to the train +station. With 100m to go, I saw the train pull into the station, so I threw it +into high gear. I quickly bought the 900 yen ticket from the ticket agent, who +told me to run for track 3, and remember to change trains at Nagahama station. +I sprinted up the stairs, and threw myself headlong through the train doors +seconds before they closed. 20 minutes later, the train driver called Nagahama +station over the crackly radio, and I hopped off. I was the only one. The train +pulled away, and I was left standing on the train platform with nothing but the +scorching heat and humidity, and the chirping of cicadas. It was then that I +read the station name: Nagahara. I’d misheard the name. There would surely be +another train in ten minutes though, so I staggered down the stairs and noticed +the utter lack of automatic ticket gates.</p> +<p>An old woman sat in the station-master’s booth. She looked up at me with a +half-surprised, half-worried expression and asked me for my ticket. I handed it +over. Noticing the apparent discrepancy in train fare she asked, “where are you +headed?” I answered “Maibara.” She said, “that’s on the other side of the lake. +You’re at Nagahara.” I said “I know. I’d meant to change at Nagahama…” at which +point she started laughing. ”The next train’s in three hours.” Three hours. I +asked when the next train to Oumi-Shiotsu station was. It was one station to +the north, at the junction of two train lines, so there’d be a much better +chance of catching an earlier train. She said ”That&rsquo;s the one. The next train +anywhere is three hours from now. There’s a bus in two though. Or I could call +a taxi, if that would help.” Maibara had to be at least 80km from here. No way +I could afford a taxi. But I could probably get a taxi to Oumi-Shiotsu, which I +did. And was laughed at some more over my mistake.</p> +<p>Turned out I wasn’t the only one. When I arrived at Oumi-Shiotsu, I was greeted +by three Japanese backpackers from Kyushu who’d apparently gotten off at +Nagahara the day before, and decided to stay the night at a nearby hotspring +and continue on to Maibara the next day. We sat for an hour, jumped on the +train, and eventually arrived at Nagahama, changed trains, and completed the +journey to Maibara. From there, it was the Kodama Shinkansen to Shizuoka.</p> +<p>I crashed the night in Shizuoka, then spent the next day exploring town. I +visited Sumpu-jou, a small castle in central Shizuoka, and Sumpu-jou Kouen, a +nearby park where I was invited in to try a whole series of green teas. +Shizuoka is famous for green tea, and as I had been the only foreigner that +week, I was treated to a detailed history of tea cultivation in the area, an +explanation of the many varieties and styles of green tea, and a pile of free +desserts! They asked if I had some spare time, as they’d love to take me on a +guided tour of the rest of the teahouse, and show me the private gardens in the +back. It was pretty spectacular.</p> +<p>After Sumpu-jou Kouen, I tried to find a bank machine that would allow me to do +a cash advance on my credit card, but finally gave up while I still had my +sanity. I bought a Shinkansen ticket for Tokyo with the plan to meet Setsuko at +Tennodai station at 9pm.</p> +<p>On the train, I met a professor with the Shimizu Univeristy Naval Engineering +school, and we ended up chatting the entire way to Tokyo. He was originally +from Kyoto, but had lived in Holland for years, and half-way through the +conversation, I discovered that he also spoke flawless English. He was +incredibly polite and put up with my fairly dodgy Japanese the entire way. It +was pretty good practice for me, though we did switch to English as the +conversation got into ship-building and a few other topics I knew nothing about +in Japanese.</p> +<p>In the end, I got to Ueno station a little bit early, stuffed my suitcase in a +locker, and ended up exploring the park for a few hours. I ended up doing a +huge survey on what I thought of Ueno Park, which was also great Japanese +practice, and I got a free pen out of the deal, to boot. I also discovered a +big festival going on at the far end of the park, near a temple that Yasuko and +I had visited last year. I wandered past the booths selling onigiri² and +kaki-kori³, listened to the music, took some pictures, and stopped by the +temple for a bit. It sits in the middle of a large pond full of blossoming +lotus flowers, and combined with the smell of incense wafting over the pond, it +makes for a very peaceful experience.</p> +<p>Eventually, I grabbed some onigiri and headed back to the train station to +catch the next train for Tennodai, in Chiba. Got there just in time, sat down +and waited on the platform for Setsuko, who arrived 5 minutes later. It was +crazy to see her again on the other side of the world. We headed off to the +supermarket, grabbed some food for dinner, and headed back to her apartment to +eat.</p> +<p>The next day, we did some shopping around Kashiwa station in Chiba, and I ended +up ordering a hand-made traditional futon. They measured me, we selected +fabrics and they said to come back in ten days to pick it up. Grabbed some +chinese food for lunch and some snacks, and did a bit more shopping. Eventually +we headed back, and I went to sleep. I remember being woken by an earthquake at +about 2am, but falling back asleep before it was even over. I can’t stay awake +for long on futons; they’re incredibly comfortable.</p> +<p>Yasuko and I arranged to meet at Shinagawa station early the next morning under +the big clock by the central ticket gates. It was great to see her again, and +we immediately bolted off to drop my gear at the apartment in Shinagawa she’d +rented and head out for lunch at an Italian place nearby. The rest of the week +was spent eating some of the most amazing sushi, soba, French, and Italian food +you can imagine, and checking out two huge fireworks festivals. Aside from all +the eating, we also visited art galleries in Ueno park, and did a bit of +shopping in Jiyuugaoka and Ginza. I got to visit Apple’s flagship Ginza store +which is a noble goal for any true Mac fanatic. Well, technically I also needed +a new AC adapter, since I’d accidentally destroyed mine earlier in the day.</p> +<p>After a week in Tokyo, it was off on a business trip to Oita, on Kyushu. I’d +never been to southern Japan before, and I was looking forward to meeting some +of my Japanese counterparts for work after many email conversations. Not only +did I get to visit a Japanese shipyard and see firsthand the incredible +precision with which they manufacture their vessels, but I also got to visit a +rural Japanese town, and meet Matsumoto-san and Kato-san, who treated me to +some of the most memorable karaoke of my life. After the business trip to +Nagasaki, we headed out for one last night together, with an amazing +traditional Kyushu-style sashimi and sushi dinner, and karaoke until two in the +morning.</p> +<p>For my final day in Japan, I was scheduled to fly out of Oita airport, arriving +at Tokyo Haneda airport at 12:15. At 5pm, my return flight to Canada departed +Tokyo Narita airport. In the intervening 3 hours, the brilliant plan was to +jump from train to train at breakneck pace and make it to Togoshi-ginza station +to meet Yasuko for lunch, then jump straight back on the train and make it out +to Narita just in time for my flight. I made every single train as the doors +were closing. Literally, with under two seconds to spare every time&hellip; but we +did have a fantastic Italian lunch, and make it to the airport with such +impeccable timing that by the time I arrived at the gate, everyone had boarded +but ten people. You can’t cut it much closer than that.</p> +<p>Once again, one of the most memorable trips of my life. The best part is that +I’ll be permanently moving back to Japan within a couple of months, so I’ll be +even closer to all the places I’ve been looking forward to visiting. Thanks to +everyone who put me up again this year: Annie, Setsuko, and Yasuko! I can’t +wait to be back.</p> +<h3 id="glossary">Glossary</h3> +<ol> +<li><em>Shichifukujin:</em> The seven gods of good luck.</li> +<li><em>Onigiri:</em> Rice balls, often stuffed with pickled plum or fish.</li> +<li><em>kaki-kori:</em> Shaved ice covered in flavoured syrup such as strawberry, +blueberry, or green tea.</li> +</ol> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -338,7 +1833,11 @@ bit scorching though, it was the hottest summer in ten years.</p></descrip <pubDate>Wed, 14 Apr 2004 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2004/04/end-of-season/</guid> - <description>Two last ski trips for the year. The first, at Mt. Washington, saw a beautiful attempt at a forward flip by Kevin, and Pippa ripping it up. For the second, I burned off on the 10 hour trek to Nelson, where Trav skiied until he dropped and I tried out the new Rossignol B2s.</description> + <description><p>Two last ski trips for the year. The first, at Mt. Washington, saw a beautiful +attempt at a forward flip by Kevin, and Pippa ripping it up. For the second, I +burned off on the 10 hour trek to Nelson, where Trav skiied until he dropped +and I tried out the new Rossignol B2s.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -347,7 +1846,10 @@ bit scorching though, it was the hottest summer in ten years.</p></descrip <pubDate>Mon, 08 Mar 2004 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2004/03/mt-washington/</guid> - <description>Put a group of idiots together on skis and boards, and you’ve got a guaranteed recipe for a good time. Tom managed a sweet 360 and Matt successfully pulled off half a backflip.</description> + <description><p>Put a group of idiots together on skis and boards, and you’ve got a guaranteed +recipe for a good time. Tom managed a sweet 360 and Matt successfully pulled +off half a backflip.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -362,7 +1864,156 @@ bit scorching though, it was the hottest summer in ten years.</p></descrip <p>The plan was to travel from Osaka north to the Japan Sea, northeast along the coast to Joetsu, south through the alps to Nagano, then southeast all the way -to Tokyo — a total distance of close to 1200 km, entirely by bicycle.</p></description> +to Tokyo — a total distance of close to 1200 km, entirely by bicycle.</p> +<p>Unfortunately for me, disaster struck just over half-way, in the form of +150km/h winds and torrential downpours. Typhoon Number 10 ploughed straight +through Japan, following a track from the island of Shikoku through Nagano +before it died out, dumping up to 650mm of rain a day, and flooding out every +town and village in its path.</p> +<p>I arrived in Osaka the night of July 28th and promptly hauled my bike, +panniers, and tools through customs and immigration, across the airport, and +into a hotel. I’m not entirely sure how happy they were to have a +grotty-looking guy assembling his bike in his hotel room overnight, but no one +said anything, and I snuck out around 6am anyway.</p> +<p>It’s unbelievable just how slowly you start and stop when your bike is loaded +with 40kg of gear. Sort of the cycling equivalent of driving an 18-wheeler. The +weather was a scorching 36C, with the humidity hovering around 85%. Over the +first 70km from Osaka Itami Airport to downtown Kyoto, I consumed 8 litres of +Dakara, Boku, Miu, and the oh-so-deliciously named Poccari Sweat, crashed +twice, and got lost every 5 minutes. Took a break in Kyoto, stopping by to take +a look at Sanjuusan Gendo, take some pictures, and chat with Taxi drivers, the +police, and anyone else who wanted to know just what the hell I was doing.</p> +<p>Eventually, after a few more Poccari Sweats and some ramen for lunch, I jumped +on my bike and started the trek to Otsu. Half an hour later, winding my way +slowly uphill, along a narrow shoulder on a bridge 30m above a cemetary, I had +the first major close call of the ride. Fortunately, through a combination of +luck and skill, I deftly avoided flying over the railing and plummeting 30m to +my death. Unfortunately, I did so by launching myself headlong into a traffic +barrier, failing to release my toe-clips, breaking the seat right off the post, +and trashing both my leg and pannier on the pavement in the process. Pretty +sure my leg was broken, I lay there for a few minutes contemplating the +resounding success of my bike trip thusfar while the last of the Poccari Sweat +drained out of my water bottles into my shoes.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2003-08-17-fireworks-in-fukui.jpg" + alt="Fireworks in Fukui"/> +</figure> + +<p>Suffice to say that the rest of the day went uphill from there (both literally +and figuratively) and I arrived in Otsu, on the edge of lake Biwa, in one +piece. Annie met me at the JR train station, we ditched the bike in a parking +lot, and rode the train back to Kyoto, where we met up with the entire +complement of Shiga JET Programme teachers at The Hub, an Irish Pub in +Karamachi. After a few beers, some fish &amp; chips and edamame, Annie and Brent +hauled me back to their apartment in Imazu, where they (and I am forever +indebted to them for this) put me up for three days.</p> +<p>Although I didn’t get to go to SummerSonic in Osaka, I did get to pick up my +bike in Otsu, ride 95km back north to Imazu, and spend the evening at Imazu’s +Natsu-matsuri¹ with friends of Annie’s and Brent’s (Josh, Yo, and Hatsumi). +Natsu-matsuris involve many elements, but some of the most important factors +are: fireworks that put ours to shame, music and dancing, traditional Yukata², +and vast quantites of food and alcohol. After the festival, we dragged +ourselves to Bumblebee Twist, a local bar, and had a few more before eventually +hauling ourselves off to bed to recover.</p> +<p>The next day, we were all invited to a barbeque. The one thing that any +foreigner will immediately notice about a Japanese barbeque is that you can’t +just light the barbeque using zip-lights or lighter fluid. No&hellip; the correct +way to light a barbeque in Japan is for one person to heat the coals with a +torch while the rest stand around fanning the flames with uchiwas³ until the +barbeque, in a moment of glory, bursts into flames and the cooking begins. We +had music, more food, beer and Chu-hai (a sort of cider), snacks, and more +fireworks. It was totally great, even though I was beat over and over at some +kind of pirate game by a three-year-old.</p> +<p>The next morning, I said bye to Annie and Brent, then hurled myself off +northwards up the highway towards the north coast. For 30km, the road winds up +through the mountains over a narrow pass toward Tsuruga. In the scariest +downhill of the entire ride, I plummeted down the winding road, drafting behind +semi-trucks at 70km/h, flying in and out of tunnels and around hairpin turns +for the 8km down into Tsuruga.</p> +<p>Tsuruga sits on the ocean at the edge of the Sea of Japan, at the beginning of +the long road leading northeast to Fukui and Kanazawa. Unfortunately, it also +sits at the beginning of a 95km-long leg of straight uphill running along the +edge of a cliff with no shoulder. Fortunately, it’s some of the most beautiful +riding you could possibly hope for. Even more fortunately, midway through the +ride, as I sat at the side of the road huddling in a tiny corner of shade at +the edge of a cliff, two motorcyclists from Osaka pulled up and offered me +something to drink, a look at their road maps, and some encouragement in +Kansai-dialect. This was reinforced over and over throughout my ride by +children hanging out of car windows waving and shouting &ldquo;ganbare!&rdquo; at the top +of their lungs.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2003-08-17-lining-up-for-okonomiyaki.jpg" + alt="Lining up for okonomiyaki"/> +</figure> + +<p>Eventually, I wound my way up through the mountains to Fukui, where I almost +had to spend the night camped on a park-bench by the river. Just when I’d +almost given up hope of finding a hostel, someone walked up to me and in +perfect English, asked if I needed a place to stay for the night. Turns out her +family ran a hotel downtown, and she and her sister had spent several years +living in Australia. Their mom invited me in for tea and snacks after dinner +and we all stayed up late with their little boy, Ryu, yakking about travelling +and good Japanese food.</p> +<p>The next day it was off to Kanazawa, which it turns out has a lot in common +with Kyoto. While it’s much smaller, there were many beautiful old sections of +town. There are temples and shrines everywhere, Kanazawa Castle and Kenrokuen — +probably the most famous Japanese garden in the world. There’s also a crazy guy +dressed in a cape and John Lennon glasses who runs around dragging people to +convenience stores. Too embarassed not to buy an ice cream treat from the +shopkeeper, I grabbed some ice-cream mochi balls, borrowed the phone and set up +reservations for Nagano.</p> +<p>Because of the typhoon, I ended up doing the rest of the trip by train. I found +a bike shop and spent the day yammering away in pseudo-Japanese to the little +old grandma and grandpa who owned the shop. Turns out that he had done almost +the exact same bike trip about 40 years ago! He had also cycled across +Australia and much of the rest of Japan. Pretty amazing! If I hadn’t found +them, my bike would probably be lying in a crumpled heap in a landfill right +now. It took hours, be we did manage to pack everything into an unbelievably +small bag that I could haul onto the train with me.</p> +<p>From Kanazawa, I caught the train to Nagano, taking local lines and limited +express trains the whole way. Nagano was the site of the 1998 Winter Olympic +Games, but has since reverted to its pre-Olympic small-town feel. It was a +beautiful place to visit, hidden away in the Japanese alps, surrounded by +Japanese hot springs and ski hills. I can’t wait to visit in winter. Nagano’s +biggest feature is probably Zenkouji, a Buddhist Temple which houses the first +Buddhist images to come to Japan from the Asian mainland. Underneath the temple +is a pitch-black maze of tunnels that you can wander into, pushed along by wave +after wave of school-children on field trips, people on pilgrimmages, and +curious tourists. It’s almost impossible to tell just how fast you’re moving, +or how far you’ve gone&hellip; just disembodied voices in the dark. Eventually you +arrive at the “key to salvation”, which you can’t see, but you can feel. A few +shakes and rattles, then you’re swept away down the tunnels again.</p> +<p>From Nagano, I caught the Asama Shinkansen into Tokyo. At 280km/h the trip +takes just about two hours. The train tore through the edge of the hurricane at +breakneck speed and we were in Tokyo on schedule to the minute. You can’t help +but love the Japanese train system.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2003-08-17-akasaka.jpg" + alt="Akasaka at night"/> +</figure> + +<p>Met up with Yasuko in Tokyo, and we spent the week bumming around town and +catching all the sights: Akasaka, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Odaiba, the Tsukiji fish +market. Took a side trip to the art gallery a few hours away in Hakone +Prefecture where a mix of European and Japanese art is on display. There were +some absolutely amazing pieces of Japanese pottery in their collection. Back in +Tokyo, we had the chance to see a Kabuki play. I wasn’t entirely sure what to +expect, but it was great. The most striking thing is perhaps the movement. It +was absolutely incredible. I wish I were able to describe it, but the best I +can do is recommend that if you’re even in Tokyo, you go see a Kabuki play!</p> +<p>I returned home on August 17th. Ate breakfast, lunch and dinner in Tokyo, +jumped on the plane at 6pm and had another breakfast and lunch. Arrived back in +Canada 8 hours before I left, and had lunch and dinner again, for a total of +seven meals on the 17th. Not bad! It was a pretty wild and crazy trip, but it +was one of the best trips I’ve ever taken. I can’t wait to go back.</p> +<p>Thanks to everyone who put me up along the way! In particular, Annie &amp; Brent, +and Yasuko! You guys are the best!</p> +<h3 id="glossary">Glossary</h3> +<ol> +<li><em>Natsu-Matsuri:</em> every village’s traditional summer festival, usually in +early- to mid-August, near Obon, the Day of the Dead.</li> +<li><em>Yukata:</em> traditional light cotton kimonos that come in a variety of colours +and patterns.</li> +<li><em>Uchiwa:</em> Large, flat traditional Japanese fan.</li> +</ol> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -371,7 +2022,11 @@ to Tokyo — a total distance of close to 1200 km, entirely by bicycle.</p> <pubDate>Tue, 01 Apr 2003 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2003/04/site-update/</guid> - <description>I finally got around to updating and re-organizing the site. It should render properly in everything from the latest browser to lynx or a text-based browser on a cell phone. All the reports from Mérida are now up, including links to photos at the top of each page. The trip home is still a work in progress.</description> + <description><p>I finally got around to updating and re-organizing the site. It should render +properly in everything from the latest browser to lynx or a text-based browser +on a cell phone. All the reports from Mérida are now up, including links to +photos at the top of each page. The trip home is still a work in progress.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -380,7 +2035,11 @@ to Tokyo — a total distance of close to 1200 km, entirely by bicycle.</p> <pubDate>Fri, 28 Feb 2003 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2003/02/i-am-canadian/</guid> - <description>Since the original I am Canadian ad, Molson has released a slew of others, but until recently, I haven’t been too impressed; however, the I Am Canadian Anthem is a hilarious 90-second snapshot of the cultural history of this country.</description> + <description><p>Since the original <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMxGVfk09lU">I am Canadian</a> ad, Molson has released a slew of +others, but until recently, I haven’t been too impressed; however, the +<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Y7fHQiGkH0">I Am Canadian Anthem</a> is a hilarious 90-second snapshot of the +cultural history of this country.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -389,7 +2048,11 @@ to Tokyo — a total distance of close to 1200 km, entirely by bicycle.</p> <pubDate>Sun, 26 May 2002 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2002/05/back-in-canada/</guid> - <description>Back in Victoria, B.C. after a two month return home to Canada by land beginning in Mérida, Yucatán and continuing through Cuba, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, then all the way back up through Guatemala, México, the U.S. and finally across Western Canada.</description> + <description><p>Back in Victoria, B.C. after a two month return home to Canada by land beginning +in Mérida, Yucatán and continuing through Cuba, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, +then all the way back up through Guatemala, México, the U.S. and finally +across Western Canada.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -404,7 +2067,89 @@ snacking on good Mexican food and the sound of shouting and laughter filled the air. After all the episodes of trouble, dengue fever, and trying to figure out what the hell was actually going on, it was easy to lose sight of just how great a country México is, and after Cuba, coming back to México felt like -coming home.</p></description> +coming home.</p> +<p>After arrival, the first challenge is getting from the airport to the Cancún +bus depot. The shuttle bus drivers&rsquo; union has a strangle-hold on travel from +the airport in Cancun. They charge 75 pesos per person one-way from the airport +via the major hotels along La Zona Hotelera to the station. If you happen to be +living on a wage of 50 pesos an hour, this is practically highway robbery. +However, it turns out that the shuttle bus drivers only have a monopoly on +travel from the airport; travel to the airport remains entirely unrestricted. +Those who take a few minutes to sit and relax out front of the airport for a +few minutes will notice that there is a clever way around this racket.</p> +<p>Following the example of the locals, we hauled our backpacks across the parking +lot, headed out the gates of the airport, and started down the highway in 36 +degree heat. Within moments a taxi skidded to a stop, and the driver, nervously +glancing out the rear window, motioned to us to get in.</p> +<p>We didn&rsquo;t. Instead, we stood at the window asking &ldquo;cuanto cuesta?&rdquo;, to which he +shouted &ldquo;no importa! vamos amigos!&rdquo;.</p> +<p>Still we didn&rsquo;t get in. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll pay 50 pesos&hellip; for the two of us.&rdquo;</p> +<p>Looking insulted, he replied &ldquo;Are you crazy?! I won&rsquo;t do it for less than 70 +pesos each!&rdquo;</p> +<p>Glancing back toward the airport we told him &ldquo;That&rsquo;s ridiculous, the bus is 75 +pesos, and besides we don&rsquo;t have that kind of money. We live in Merida; we&rsquo;re +not rich turistas norteamericanos.&rdquo;</p> +<p>A shuttle bus flew by honking its horn while the driver shook his fist at the +taxista.</p> +<p>&ldquo;Bueno! 110 pesos para los dos! Vamos!&rdquo;</p> +<p>At 110 pesos, we were still overpaying by Mérida standards, but given that we +were a 16km walk in scorching heat from the city, I was pretty sure we weren&rsquo;t +going to get much of a better deal.</p> +<p>At the bus depot, we bought tickets for Chetumal, 5 hours to the south, then +made a dive for the nearest yucatecan restaurant. After weeks of oil-drum +pizzas and roast ham &amp; cheese sandwiches in Cuba, I savoured every last bite of +my poc-chuc. We finished our horchata, then climbed into the bus for the trip +to Chetumal.</p> +<p>Confined by the jungle to the southeast corner of Quintana Roo state, and +squashed between the sea and the Belizean border, Chetumal is the last outpost +of civilisation before crossing into the jungle to the south. Until the end of +the 1970s, like much of pre-Cancun Quintana Roo, it was essentially a free zone +in relatively lawless territory. Trade with British Honduras (now Belize) was +the foundation of the local economy, and earned it the title of the territory +(now state) capital. The historical importance of trade gives the city a +distinct feel from colonial Merida. You can still spot the occasional +wood-frame house, and the city has a relatively modern atmosphere.</p> +<p>Previously named <em>Chactemal</em>, the city had served as a Mayan capital since +pre-Columbian times. The first Spanish missionaries arrived the 16th century, +and the Conquistadors followed soon after. By 1544, the city had fallen to the +Spaniards and the remaining Maya fled into Belize, leaving the city all but +abandoned for the next two centuries.</p> +<p>At the turn of the 20th century in 1898, Porfirio Diaz, then President of +Mexico, ordered the establishment of a port at the mouth of the Rio Hondo in +order to quell the flow of arms across the Belizean border and into the hands +of the Maya. To this end, the city of Payo Obispo was founded by Othon Blanco +with the help of Mexicans from the surrounding areas. The economy developed +quickly and the city grew into the territorial capital by 1915. In 1936, the +city renamed itself to Chetumal, which it remains to this day.</p> +<p>All along the waterfront of Chetumal is a gorgeous walkway. Unlike the +shimmering blue waters of the north-eastern coast of the Yucatan, the water +here was more reminiscent of the murky green ocean back home on Vancouver +Island. The locals are adamant that the water is horrifically ugly, but I +suppose when your bases for comparison are Playa del Carmen, Cozumel and +Cancun, that you can afford to be picky.</p> +<p>After sunset, as we wandered through the town, snacking on fresh tamales, we +were stopped by a couple of old men sitting in chairs on the sidewalk in front +of a saddle shop. They stopped us to ask where we were from and what brought us +to Chetumal. We explained we were taking a trip to see Guatemala and part of +Honduras before returning back to México.</p> +<p>&ldquo;Why do you want to go to Guatemala? It&rsquo;s a dangerous. It&rsquo;s poor. They have +nothing. Pickpockets are everywhere, and the people have no dignity left. Life +is cheap in Guatemala, they&rsquo;ve been surrounded by civil war and death for 30 +years. It&rsquo;s a beautiful country with a terrible history.&rdquo;</p> +<p>That night, we checked into an 80 peso hotel. The employees were huddled around +the television furiously debating México&rsquo;s loss to the USA in fútbol.</p> +<p>&ldquo;The giants defeated us midgets! Look at the size of their players. And the +Americans don&rsquo;t even care about fútbol! Can you believe this?! This is an +insult!&rdquo;</p> +<p>We tried to console them by mentioning that Mexico would be guarateed to put +Canada to shame. It was the best we could manage. It didn&rsquo;t help much.</p> +<p>They shut off the game, and we got to sleep early. Just after the stroke of +midnight I woke up and, in a final farewell to the bugs I had picked up in +Cuba, I threw up (in order) the dinner tamale, followed by the entire plate of +celebratory Poc Chuc I had eaten that afternoon. I felt surprisingly better, +and fell sound asleep excited about the next day&rsquo;s 12 hour trip down a narrow +dirt track road through the jungles of Belize and into northern Guatemala.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -420,7 +2165,60 @@ explorers and trading ships travelling to and from México. During the 17th and 18th centuries, its economy largely depended on trading contraband with pirates. The buildings are in incredibly good shape for their age, most of which are at least two centuries old. It’s not too tough to see why Trinidad is -now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.</p></description> +now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2002-03-21-trinidad-street.jpg" + alt="Street in Trinidad, Cuba"/> +</figure> + +<p>Trinidad is about five hours from Havana by bus, and as with everything in +Cuba, there are two buses: one for Cubans, with a several hour long line-up, +and one for people with dollars, with basically no wait at all. Upon pulling +into Trinidad the bus was swarmed by masses of locals offering a room in a casa +particular. We ended up being shown one house, but it had been freshly painted +that afternoon and the fumes were pretty rough, so we set out wandering down +the streets in the dark. By sheer chance, we ran into an old grandfather +carrying a bucket and pushing his bike up the rickety cobblestone streets and +when we asked him if he knew of any places to stay he said that in fact, we +could stay at his house. This is how our planned two-night stay in Trinidad +ended up turning into a week-long stay in paradise.</p> +<p>Roberto and Elda, their daughter Mercedes, her husband Eddy, and their +11-year-old son Saúl made our stay in Trinidad one of the most relaxing visits +we had to anywhere in our travels. We would have breakfast every morning in a +little courtyard off to the side of the house, spend the mornings wandering the +cobblestone streets in search of pizza, and the evenings falling asleep to the +sound of Cuban salsas, merengues, and cha cha chas drifting through the window +from La Casa de la Trova across the street.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2002-03-21-horse-cart.jpg" + alt="Horse-drawn cart driven by man and boy in Trinidad street"/> +</figure> + +<p>While most of the old town is centered around the main plaza, cathedral, and +clock tower, most of the action seemed to center around the plaza in the newer +part of town down the hill. Old men sitting on park benches sharing a bottle of +rum, school children eating peso ice cream, and the occasional black market +cigar salesman trying to pass off some cigars smuggled out of the local factory +all milled about the plaza in the hot, sticky heat. A bunch of us sat on our +park bench watching the old men on the bench across from us get progressively +more drunk from their homebrew, before eventually falling asleep. One thing +that anyone visiting Cuba can be assured of is eventually being offered a taste +of homemade rum. My guess is that neither the recipe nor the distilling of this +rum has changed much over the past few centuries, so you can be assured that +your experience will be as blindingly nerve-wracking as that of the colonial +sailors plying the waters of the Caribbean in the 1600s. Following the initial +jolt of fermented cane sugar hitting your stomach like a rock is the slow +nauseating feeling of vertigo creeping over your body; after that, a strange +queasiness, and finally recovery and swearing it off for life&hellip; or at least +the next day.</p> +<p>A few days into our stay in Trinidad, as we walked down a dark street off the +plaza, we heard music pouring out through a half-open gate. Peering inside we +were greeted with the sight of thirty or so people packed into a small dirt +courtyard, and a small band of grizzled 80-year-old men playing salsas on their +guitars and trumpets. People had pulled up some old wooden benches and were +serving mojitos made (I swear) straight rum, some sugar, and crushed mint. A +woman named Blanquita invited us in, offered us some mojitos and yanked us up +off the bench to teach us some salsa while chickens scuttled around our feet. +It was probably my most vivid memory of Cuba.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -432,7 +2230,188 @@ now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.</p></description> <description><p>Havana is a city of contradictions. It’s simultaneously one of the most beautiful and most run down cities in the world. It’s hard to imagine how things could be any worse, or any better given the Cuba’s political past and -present.</p></description> +present.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2002-03-19-old-havana-street.jpg" + alt="Run-down street in Old Havana"/> +</figure> + +<p>Havana, along with the rest of Cuba, is the way it is almost purely because of +politics—some of the most complex politics on the planet. If you like history +or politics, Cuba is for you. Cuba’s troubled history begins long before the +Cuban Missile Crisis, or even before the Revolution of 1959. Ever since +Christopher Columbus set foot on the Isle of Cuba on October 29th, 1492, one +nation or another has been fighting over the country. For over half a +millennium now, politics have affected almost every aspect of life in Cuba. +It’s amazing that despite all this, Cuban culture is felt worldwide through its +music, dance, and artistry.</p> +<h3 id="fast-facts">Fast Facts</h3> +<p>Before we get started, here are a few quick facts to clear up a few common +misconceptions about Cuba:</p> +<ul> +<li>The US embargo was put in place on October 19th, 1960, two years before the +Cuban Missile Crisis. It was the result of the US Eisenhower Administration’s +plan to overthrow Castro. This was the result of Cuba nationalizing a lot of +property sold to the US by Cuba’s former dictator, Fulgencio Batista. In +1963, after the end of the Missile Crisis, the Kennedy Administration imposed +a travel ban on US citizens, preventing them from visiting Cuba. Here’s an +<a href="http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/funfacts/embargo.htm">Economic Embargo Timeline</a>, if you’re interested.</li> +<li>In 1959, a group of Cuban revolutionaries, including Fidel Castro and Che +Guevara, led a popular uprising to overthrow Fulgencio Batista, the +totalitarian dictator who led Cuba from 1934 to 1959. Under Batista, more +than a third of the land in Cuba was sold off to US interests. In several +cases, teachers who worked to alphabetize rural villages were tortured and +killed by Batista’s private police force, for fear that a literate population +of farmers would be more likely to favour local land ownership, and oppose +the dictator. Cuba is now a communist country, and Castro is the elected head +of state. Elections are supervised by international monitors. They work very +differently from other western electoral systems, however, since there is +only one party. Like Canadians, Cubans elect local representatives, who +select a party leader. In practise, Castro has been re-elected President by +party officials in every election since the Revolution. Here’s some more +information on <a href="http://dodgson.ucsd.edu/las/cuba/1990-2001.htm">elections in Cuba</a>.</li> +<li>Today, Cuba’s population is highly educated. The current literacy rate is +approximately 97%—the same as Canada’s. Before the revolution, the overall +literacy rate was 23.6%. Castro’s guerrilla manifesto of 1957 included an +immediate literacy and education campaign, with the slogan &lsquo;Revolution and +Education are the same thing.&rsquo;</li> +<li>It’s illegal to form a party other than the Communist Party, and people live +under fairly strict supervision by the government compared to most western +nations. The movement of Cubans is restricted by the government. The +Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs maintains a <a href="https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/cuba">fact page</a> +on Cuba, as does <a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/cu.html">the CIA</a> in the United States.</li> +<li>Cuba’s media is not entirely restricted, and Cubans can tune in to Miami and +Mexican radio stations. The national newspaper, Granma is published by the +Communist Party and is <a href="http://www.granma.cu/">available online</a> in several languages.</li> +</ul> +<p>I was going to include a quick whirlwind tour of the history of Cuba here. I +started on it, but by the time I got to the late 19th century it was already +ten paragraphs long. Instead, if you want an excellent point-form history, have +a look at <a href="http://www.historyofcuba.com/">A History of Cuba</a>. If you want something more in +depth, specifically focusing on US-Cuban relations, the multi-volume set <em>A +History of Cuba and its relations with The United States</em> by Philip S. Foner is +excellent.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2002-03-19-old-havana-door.jpg" + alt="Crumbling doorway in Old Havana"/> +</figure> + +<h3 id="arrival-in-havana">Arrival in Havana</h3> +<p>The flight to Cuba was probably the craziest flights I’ve ever experienced. We +boarded the ancient, Soviet-built Cubana Yak-42 jet in Cancún and took our +seats. The first thing we noticed as we sat down was that the safety +instruction cards were printed in Russian. The second, and more alarming thing +we noticed was that smoke was slowly filling the cabin. The flight attendants +assured people that it was just steam, and that it was totally normal. By the +time we landed in Cuba, The cabin was filled chest high and we couldn’t see our +knees anymore. We got off the plane as quickly as possible, were packed into a +rickety old East-German bus and carted off to immigration. Once in Havana, we +checked into Hotel Flamingo where we stayed for our first two days while we +explored Havana. Across the street were a bunch of featureless, utilitarian, +crumbling apartment buildings, which are apparently identical to the ones that +were built across the Communist Block countries during the Soviet era. You’re +surrounded on all sides by relics of the Soviet era: East German and Polish +buses, Russian radios and record players, and tons of North Korean equipment. +It’s fascinating to see a country that exists almost entirely apart from the +US. When it comes to the States, it’s as though time stopped in 1959. The only +Chevys and Buicks to be seen are 1950s models. All new cars are Ladas, Yugos, +Polski Fiats, or Chinese and North Korean imports. Supposedly push-by shootings +from Ladas aren’t as big a problem here as they are in Russia.</p> +<p>Old Havana La Habana Vieja is something amazing to see. Walking down the +streets of Old Havana, you’re surrounded by some of the most incredible +architecture you’ve ever witnessed. What’s even more incredible is that it’s +crumbling all around you. Ornate gargoyles and balconies have decayed and +collapsed with age; the paint is peeling, and everything is covered in a thick +layer of dirt and grime. Broken windows are everywhere, and yet people continue +to live in these buildings that elsewhere in the world would have long since +been condemned.</p> +<p>Another thing not to be missed in Havana is sitting in the park in front of the +Museo de la Revolución and eating freshly roasted peanuts out of a rolled up +newspaper. For one peso, you can buy salted peanuts from street vendors, rolled +up in an old copy of a page from <em>Granma</em>, and sit back and watch kids play +baseball in the street.</p> +<p>Baseball is everywhere in Cuba. You can’t turn around without seeing a game +going on. Baseball equipment, on the other hand, is hard to come by. This +doesn’t stop anyone from playing the game, however. A rock wrapped in rubber +bands makes a pretty decent baseball, and we saw a lot of kids who could hit +some amazing runs with a broom handle baseball bat. If you visit Cuba, +something that’ll make any kid’s day is a baseball. Pencils and pens make nice +gifts too.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2002-03-19-vintage-american-cars.jpg" + alt="Vintage American cars"/> +</figure> + +<h3 id="dollars-and-pesos">Dollars and Pesos</h3> +<p>There are two things that everyone who visits Cuba should do. The first is to +experience live Cuban music, which you can read about in the Trinidad section. +The second is to convert some dollars to Cuban Pesos. Cuba has three official +currencies: Cuban Pesos, US Dollars, and Cuban Convertible Pesos. The Cuban +Convertible Peso was introduced to reduce the dependency on actual US dollars, +but are worth exactly one dollar in Cuba, and exactly zero dollars off the +island. Cuban Pesos are a soft currency, and as such, have no practical value +as an exchangeable currency; however, exchanges do happen at wildly fluctuating +rates. We got 26 pesos to the dollar. Cuba has two economies that don’t +overlap even remotely. Hard-currency stores charge US prices in US dollars and +sell high-end items. Bottled water is about $1.00 a bottle, soap is $0.50 a +bar, and meat and cheese are similar in price to what they would be in Canada +or the US. However, Cubans are paid in pesos at a rate of about 200-400 pesos a +month — about 8 to 16 dollars. That makes a bottle of water worth somewhere +around 10% of your monthly paycheque. Try the math with your paycheque. Soft +currency shops sell local goods, such as fruit and vegetables, for pesos.</p> +<p>The reason you should convert some money is that finding a place to spend your +newly acquired pesos will force you to discover a whole part of Cuba you might +otherwise never have seen. Cubans buy things in soft currency at markets or +shops that sell in pesos. The items you can buy for pesos are universally +locally produced items such as locally farmed foods, small pizzas baked on the +street in oil drums converted to wood ovens, and some ice cream. A pizza, which +is basically a piece of bread with a little tomato sauce, some oil, and bit of +salt on it, sells for 3 pesos, which is about 12 cents US. The reason it’s so +cheap is that peso goods are subsidised by the work you do for the state. Basic +food staples such as beans and rice are part of your government supplied +rations, and can be obtained with your ration card at certain shops. When you +can find it, food sold on the street is usually in pesos. Food in paladares¹, +hotels, and touristy places is almost universally in dollars.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2002-03-19-camelo.jpg" + alt="Camelo bus"/> +</figure> + +<h3 id="the-rich-and-the-poor">The Rich and the Poor</h3> +<p>The one thing that struck us immediately was the uniformity of income in Cuba. +In México, there are two extremes: the extremely rich and the extremely poor. +The middle class is tiny compared to Canada, where the middle class is the +norm. In Cuba, almost everyone lives in something that is not exactly poverty, +but at the same time they have basically no buying power. They have what the +government gives them, and little else. The income difference between a street +sweeper and a specialist doctor is about $7 a month vs. $15 a month. No matter +how you cut it, the $8 difference doesn’t buy much. It’s hard to get imported +goods no matter what, and what you can get is often on the black market. +Although under communism employment is universal and housing is provided by the +state, there are still people who turn to begging because it can be far more +lucrative than work in a factory for $8 a month. As a result of the incredibly +tiny incomes in Cuba, jineteros² have become more numerous, and will follow you +wherever you go, trying to drag you to a restaurant or shop where you’ll spend +your money. A lot of people on the street beg for soap or toothpaste when the +police aren’t watching. One man told us he’d do anything, even get down on his +knees and beg if it would make a difference.</p> +<p>Given all this, was the trip to Cuba worth it? Without a doubt. We met some +absolutely wonderful people, and learned a ton about Cuban history and +politics. The government isn’t the oppressive dictatorship many people would +like to believe, and it’s certainly an improvement over Batista’s brutal +dictatorship; however, things could certainly be a lot better than they are, +and Castro isn’t exactly known for his spectacular record on civil liberties. +The Cubans we met were friendly and welcoming, not to mention incredibly good +dancers. When we ran into difficulty getting cash out of our Mexican bank +accounts due to the embargo, one family we stayed with offered to reduce our +room rate, and give us a cheap ride to the airport so we didn’t have to pay the +taxi fare. Falling asleep to live Cuban music every night was worth the trip +alone.</p> +<h3 id="glossary">Glossary</h3> +<ol> +<li><em>Paladar:</em> a small independent restaurant. One of the allowed forms of +capitalism in Cuba.</li> +<li><em>Jinetero:</em> Literally a &lsquo;jockey.&rsquo; Jineteros will approach you and offer to +show you a restaurant or store. In exchange, the restaurant charges you +extra for your meal and the jinetero gets to keep the surcharge.</li> +</ol> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -442,7 +2421,14 @@ present.</p></description> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2002/01/feliz-navidad/</guid> <description><p>Took a two week trip through southern México for Christmas. Starting in Mérida, -southwest into Campeche, Tabasco, Veracruz and then Chiapas.</p></description> +southwest into Campeche, Tabasco, Veracruz and then Chiapas. Stopped to visit +the Mayan ruins at Palenque, followed by some of the villages around San +Cristóbal de las Casas. From there, it was northeast back onto the Yucatán +peninsula, to Tulúm, then onwards north again to spend Christmas swimming in the +Caribbean on Isla Mujeres in 30 degree weather. After a few days, it was +westward again to Chichen Itzá and Valladolid before finally returning home to +Mérida.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -455,7 +2441,112 @@ southwest into Campeche, Tabasco, Veracruz and then Chiapas.</p></descript Montejo) descended on the ceremonial centre of the Zací (Hawk) Maya, waging war on the <em>Cupules</em>, a group of Maya that hadn’t taken kindly to the Spanish conquistadors. When the battle was done and the town had been razed, he renamed -it Valladolid in honour of the Spanish city of the same name.</p></description> +it Valladolid in honour of the Spanish city of the same name. Today, Valladolid +is one of the most beautiful colonial cities in the Yucatán, with a mix of +Spanish and Maya influences. Maya from local pueblas and from the city sell +traditional <em>huipiles</em> near the plaza downtown. The city is still roughly +centered on the <em>Cenote Zací</em> that was the ceremonial centre of the original +Mayan settlement.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-27-cenote.jpg" + alt="View of Cenote Zací. Stalactites and vines hang from above. A few swimmers can be seen near the edge of the pool. A path leads upwards through the trees."/> +</figure> + +<p>The cenote is one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. To get to it, you hike +down a passage into a cavern, then wind your way down the side to get to water +level. The water is a deep turquoise colour, and is absolutely crystal clear. +In the shallow areas, you can easily see fallen stalactites lying 30 metres +below on the bottom. In the deep parts, you won’t see the bottom—it’s more than +100 metres deep. The same little blind fish that are present in the cenote at +Dzibilchaltún will nibble your toes in this cenote as well.</p> +<p>Above the cenote is a little zoo with spider monkeys, who spend most of their +afternoon playing with toys, and getting fed potato chips by laughing groups of +kids. What was more interesting, however, was that they had a raccoon in the +zoo. You don’t see them in México at all, and most people we asked didn’t know +what the Spanish word for it was, until an old man we ran into told us it was +<em>mapache</em>.</p> +<p>The main plaza of the city is gorgeous. With ornate lamp posts, hanging baskets +full of flowers, and beautiful hedges, it was the Yucatán’s answer to Victoria. +The streets downtown are kept immaculately clean by a crew of street cleaners +who run through the streets every morning at 5 am. The government of Spain has +apparently deemed Valladolid to be one of the most Spanish cities in the +Americas, and donates money to help in its preservation.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-27-cenote-top.jpg" + alt="View from above, looking down into Cenote Zací. Vines hang down to the water from above. A stone staircase leads up from the dark blue-green waters. A few scattered fallen leaves litter the surface of the water."/> +</figure> + +<p>Probably the most exciting thing that happened while we were there was the +rain. We had gone off in search of what is supposed to be an absolutely amazing +cathedral and graveyard somewhere in the southwestern part of the city. In +typical Mexican fashion, everyone we talked to was able to tell us in +approximately what direction it was, so we were able to slowly make our way +there stumbling randomly from one Vallisoletana to the next. We never did find +it, but not for any lack of determination, but because it started to rain. Now, +when I say rain, I don’t mean the rain we get in Victoria. I don’t even mean +Vancouver rain. To fully appreciate a Yucatecan rain storm, you really need to +experience one. Imagine the streets filling with water, then overflowing onto +the sidewalks until the whole city is two feet deep in rainwater. We did the +only thing we could do: jump into a corner store. The guys in the store reacted +the same way any other Mexicans all over the country would react: toss over a +couple chairs and invite us in to watch some TV. We bought some cookies and +juice and sat for 45 minutes or so, watching the water level in the street +outside rise closer and closer to the edge of the door before we finally +decided that we were going to make a break for it, only stopping once for a +slice of cheesecake in a bakery along the way back to the hotel.</p> +<p>Valladolid is also famous for the cenote at Dzitnup, about 10 km out of town. +While we never did make it there, we heard some amazing stories about it from +Nick, an Irishman from Cork we met in San Cristóbal de las Casas. What is so +incredible about it is that it’s at the bottom of a dark cavern, with a small +opening in the roof. At the right time of day, the sun shines through this +opening and into the turquoise waters of the cenote, making it apear as though +you’re bathing in light. The actual name of the cenote is <em>Kiken</em> which is +Yucatec Maya for &lsquo;pig,&rsquo; because the cenote was originally discovered by a farmer +whose his pig had fallen in through the hole in the roof.</p> +<p>Valladolid is also famous for its uprisings. What transpired in Valladolid in +June of 1910 helped to spark the Mexican Revolution that erupted in the rest of +the country that November when Francisco Madero flew across the border into +Piedras Negras, Coahuila. The revolution wasn’t over until 1920; but as they +say, the opening chapters were written in blood, here in Valladolid.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-27-truck.jpg" + alt="The rusted carcass of a truck parked on the side of the street. Painted across the front: Duele mas andar a pie (it hurts more to walk). On the bent and twisted remains of the bumper: Asi como me vez te veras (one day, you&#39;ll look like this too)."/><figcaption> + <h4>&#39;It hurts more to walk&#39;</h4> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Unhappy with Spanish control of a land they considered their own, a small band +of revolutionaries had worked together for months, planning the overthrow of +governor Moñoz Aristegui. On the night of June 3rd, 1910, all those committed +to the plan met in the Plaza de la Santa Lucia at midnight. Under the command +of Ruz Ponce and José Kantún, one group stormed the police quarter, killing the +guard outside and taking everyone else prisoner. Another group, led by Claudio +Alconcer and Atilano Albertos took the office of the Mexican Guard, killing the +Sergeant of the Guard, Facundo Gil. The governor, Felipe de Regil, asleep in +bed at the time, woke up to the sound of gunfire outside in the streets. He +immediately jumped out of bed and, a gun in each hand, ran into the street +firing on the revolutionaries. He fought bravely until the end, when he was +finally killed and left lying in the street.</p> +<p>At this point, there was no turning back for the insurgents. They now had the +support of nearly the entire city, and within three days had amassed an army of +no less than 1500 men, armed with guns and machetes. Most had no military +training. Local landowners provided weapons, ammunition and food.</p> +<p>In Mérida, this uprising had not gone unnoticed. While the locals were +preparing in Valladolid, the government had sent a column of 65 men eastward +with 300 guns, recruiting villagers along the way. Under the command of Colonel +Ignacio Lara, they marched easward to Tinum, 12 km outside of Valladolid, where +they waited for reinforcements to arrive. The cannons of Morelos arrived in +Valladolid on the 7th. On the 8th, Lara led his men to the outskirts of the +city, where, at dawn on the 9th of June, they began the assault on Valladolid. +A batallion of 600 federal troops arrived on the 10th. Poorly equiped, +untrained, and out of ammunition, the rebels fell under the three ferocious +onslaughts. The death tolls were high on both sides: more than 100 +revolutionaries and over 30 government soldiers had been killed. This was the +highest balance of deaths of any battle ever fought in México, and would remain +so until the Revolution began that November.</p> +<p>The leaders of the revolt were eventually rounded up, tried and sentenced to +death. In the courtyard of the Shrine of San Roque, Kantún, Albertos, and +Bonilla faced the firing squad. That November, Francisco Madero launched the +Mexican Revolution, and by the following April, 17000 people had taken up arms +against Porfirio Diaz and his government. The rest is <a href="http://history.acusd.edu/gen/projects/border/page01.html">history</a>.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -469,7 +2560,81 @@ ruins at this site cover over 15 square kilometres, with <em>El Castillo&l taking up 0.4 hectares. At 83 metres in length, the Ball Court is the largest in Meso-America. The close proximity of the ruins to Cancún and the size of some of the structures have made these the most famous Mayan ruins in the -country.</p></description> +country.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-26-el-castillo.jpg" + alt="A view from the ground below the El Castillo pyramid at Chichen Itzá. Visitors climb the steep staircase leading up the centre of the face of the pyramid. A few people stand silhouetted at the top, looking down on the surrouding jungle."/> +</figure> + +<p>The image that most people associate with Chichen Itzá is <em>El Castillo</em>. The +pyramid rises more than 23 metres above the ground, with steep staircases up +all four sides, leading to a small building at the top. What’s so spectacular +about it is the fact that this pyramid is actually a huge Mayan calendar built +of stone. The four staircases leading to the top have 91 steps each, which +when added to the platform at the top, make 365. On the sides are 52 panels +representing the 52 years of the traditional Mayan calendar round. The pyramid +is composed of nine terraced platforms on either side of the two primary +staircases, for a total of 18, the number of months in the Mayan calendar. If +you’re still not convinced of the Mayans’ astronomical prowess, you can easily +convince yourself by visiting on either the spring or the fall equinox when, as +the sun rises over the jungle, the form of a giant serpent is projected onto +the sides of the two primary staircases, each of which has a giant stone +serpent head at its base. This illusion is created by the precise alignment of +the terraces in relation to position of the sun.</p> +<p>In a corner in the shade of one of the giant staircases leading up the side of +El Castillo is a door. Once or twice a day, the door is opened, and groups of +20 or so are allowed inside. A narrow passage leads to a steep staircase that +runs up the side of another pyramid inside El Castillo. It’s narrow, cramped, +hot and humid, not to mention dark, but the climb is worth it. Eventually, at +the top of the staircase, if you’re lucky or pushy enough, you can catch a +glimpse of a jewel-encrusted jaguar altar, used by the Maya for sacrifices.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-26-ball-court.jpg" + alt="The ball court at Chichen Itzá. Large, perfectly flat stone walls rise above the grass. Two stone hoops protrude, one from each wall, facing sideways. A crowd of people stands at the far end of the court."/> +</figure> + +<p>The Ball Court is another feat of engineering. The walls are each approximately +8 metres high, with structures at the top for viewing the game. At either end +of the court is an elaborate stone temple. But what is so amazing about the +Ball Court is its acoustics. A whisper at one end can be clearly heard at the +other end, 135 metres away. In fact, the sound reflection at the centre of the +court is so incredible, you can hear at least nine echos if you clap or shout.</p> +<p>The following excerpt, by one of the supervising archaeologists restoring the +ruins, describes the acoustics:</p> +<blockquote> +<p>Chi cheen Itsa’s famous &lsquo;Ball-court&rsquo; or Temple of the Maize cult offers the +visitor besides its mystery and impressive architecture, its marvellous +acoustics If a person standing under either ring claps his hands or yells, the +sound produced will be repeated several times gradually losing its volume, A +single revolver shot seems machine-gun fire. The sound waves travel with equal +force to East or West, day or night. disregarding the wind’s direction. Anyone +speaking in a normal voice from the &lsquo;Forum&rsquo; can be clearly heard in the &lsquo;Sacred +Tribune&rsquo; five hundred feet away or vice-versa. If a short sentence, for +example, &lsquo;Do you hear me?&rsquo; is pronounced it will be repeated word by word&hellip; +Parties from one extreme to the other can hold a conversation without raising +their voices.</p> +<p>This transmission of sound, as yet unexplained, has been discussed by +architects and archaeologists &hellip; Most of them used to consider it as fanciful +due to the ruined conditions of the structure but, on the contrary, we who have +engaged in its reconstruction know well that the sound volume, instead of +disappearing, has become stronger and clearer&hellip; Undoubtedly we must consider +this feat of acoustics as another noteworthy achievement of engineering +realized millenniums ago by the Maya technicians.</p> +<p><em>—Chi Cheen Itza by Manuel Cirerol Sansores, 1947</em></p> +</blockquote> +<p>Aside from the Ball Court and <em>El Castillo</em>, there are dozens of other sites of +interest. There are no less than three cenotes around the site, one of which +was filled with tens of thousands of artifacts, from neclaces and jewelry to +the bones of human and animal sacrifices. The Hall of the Thousand Pillars is +also incredible to walk through, with each pillar featuring unique carvings and +inscriptions; on some, traces of red and blue paint are still visible.</p> +<p>The site was originally populated by the Itzáes around 500 AD, and slowly built +up until 900 AD, at which point it was completely abandonned. No one knows why +the Itzáes left so abruptly, but it appears that the city was re-populated +about 100 years later, and then attacked by the Toltecs, a tribe known for its +brutality at war. Structures from the period between 1000 and 1300 AD show +marked Toltec influences, including numeral reliefs of Toltec gods, including +Quetzalcoatl, the plumed serpent. The city was abandonned once again around +1300, this time permanently.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -478,7 +2643,35 @@ country.</p></description> <pubDate>Mon, 24 Dec 2001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/12/tulum-quintana-roo-mexico/</guid> - <description>Between San Cristóbal and Tulúm is a long, empty road. The overnight bus works beautifully for this trip, winding its way through the mountains, jungle and the vast plains of the Yucatán. The only major stop along the way is Escarcega, Campeche. By major, I mean a couple of comida corrida places, a papaya tree, and a dusty bus stop on a long, empty stretch of highway. By six in the morning, we were in Tulúm, a slightly bigger collection of restaurants and bus stops along a long, empty stretch of highway.</description> + <description><p>Between San Cristóbal and Tulúm is a long, empty road. The overnight bus works +beautifully for this trip, winding its way through the mountains, jungle and +the vast plains of the Yucatán. The only major stop along the way is Escarcega, +Campeche. By major, I mean a couple of comida corrida places, a papaya tree, +and a dusty bus stop on a long, empty stretch of highway. By six in the +morning, we were in Tulúm, a slightly bigger collection of restaurants and bus +stops along a long, empty stretch of highway. We grabbed a plate of +<em>huevos motuleños</em> and some coffee, which (I swear that I am not making this +up) was blue. Sort of an off-grey blue. It tasted like milk mixed with +dishwater.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-24-tulum.jpg" + alt="Mayan ruins sit on a bluff of rock covered with low scrub overlooking the Caribbean. Below, waves crash against the rocks."/> +</figure> + +<p>The best time to see the ruins is, without a doubt, sunrise. The ruins at +Tulúm, while not spectacular except for the two-metre rock wall surrounding the +site on three sides, have one of the best views you could possibly hope for. +The structures sit nestled amid the rolling green grass and white sandy +beaches, hovering over the turquoise Caribbean. As the sun rises, the whole +place is bathed in a warm orangey-red glow. Sitting on ruins watching the waves +is pretty relaxing.</p> +<p>Since Tulúm is so close to Playa del Carmen and Cancún, the number of visitors +is absoutely huge compared to a lot of other Mayan ruins, and especially given +the small size of these ruins. Because of that, most of the structures are +off-limits to the public, so you can’t climb up on them as you can at most +other sites. In the end, it’s nice to see that these ruins are being protected, +but Palenque, Uxmal and Chichen Itzá are a lot more fun. That said, if you look +hard enough, you will find a couple structures you can sit down on.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -494,7 +2687,58 @@ winter. It’s cold, damp and cloudy. After months of scorching heat and humidity, I was in heaven. San Cristóbal makes an ideal base from which to do day-trips to the surrounding villages of San Juan Chamula and Zinacantán—indigenous villages comprising the Tzotzil and Tzeltal indigenous -groups respectively.</p></description> +groups respectively.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-21-plaza.jpg" + alt="The bright yellow façade of a catheral faces the main plaza in San Cristóbal de las Casas. Pedestrials mill about the square in groups."/> +</figure> + +<p>In town, we met a law student named Luís who took a group of us to the +villages. In San Juan Chamula, we first visited the shaman’s hut for the +village, where we learned about the mix of Catholicism and traditional beliefs +practised in the village. We then continued on to the village church which was +probably the highlight of the visit. Seeing the mix of beliefs being practised +there was incredible: everything from prayers to the Catholic saints to burning +incense to chicken sacrifices and ceremonial purgings. Photography isn’t +allowed in the church and out of respect to the Chamulans, we won’t describe +everything in detail on the web, but suffice to say that it was an incredibly +worthwhile visit.</p> +<p>Zinacantán is only a few kilometres away, but the villagers speak an entirely +different language, Tzeltal. Here, the church is much more traditional, +although most villagers still maintain strong ties to traditional indigenous +beliefs, such as worshipping the Earth Lord and placing a strong emphasis on +the interpretation of dreams. For a more detailed look at the beliefs and +culture of the people of Zinacantán, we’d suggest <em>Dreams and Stories from the +People of the Bat</em> by Robert Laughlin. This book is a collection of dreams and +their interpretations as told by the villagers of Zinacantán, as well as a +series of short stories passed from generation to generation in the village.</p> +<p>The town also produces many traditional handicrafts typical of Chiapas: +blankets, clothing, dolls, etc. The villagers take these to San Cristóbal to +sell them at the markets and on the street. The textiles are all made from +hand, from the thread, to hand-weaving and embroidering. Typically, a +medium-sized blanket takes two to three weeks to produce.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-21-beans.jpg" + alt="Dozens of varieties of dried beans in many colours arrayed for sale in bins and large sacks for sale at the market"/> +</figure> + +<p>Back in San Cristóbal, we spent a few days visiting the markets and wandering +around town trying out the local food before heading back north for Palenque +again. On our way out of town we noticed a small shanty-town suburb in a gravel +pit. On a big yellow arch, bold black letters declared the name of the colonia: +<em>Sal Si Puedes</em>, &lsquo;Get Out If You Can&rsquo;. Just past this is the massive military +encampment that has been in place since 1994 when the EZLN (Zapatista +Liberation Army) overthrew and occupied the town before being driven out by +reinforcements sent in, causing a bloodbath. There is a lot less tension now +than there was then, but the Zapatistas still have incredibly high support in +the villages just outside of town. The Mexican government under Vincente Fox +has been much more responsive to indigenous peoples than previous governments +have been, although in recent months this seems to be less and less the case. +There’s still a lot of work to do before the indigenous groups in Mexico are +able to live in conditions similar to the rest of the population. Most people +in the villages still lack food, clothing and (non-dirt) floors in their +houses, let alone running water and electricity. And although Chiapas produces +more electricity than any other state, less than half the population has +electricity in its home.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -507,7 +2751,24 @@ groups respectively.</p></description> hour bus ride from Mérida. Although Chiapas has been a somewhat politically unstable state during the past 10 years, it is also home to some of the most incredible scenery, archaeological sites and indigenous culture in the -country.</p></description> +country.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-18-temple-of-inscriptions.jpg" + alt="The Mayan ruins of the Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque towering over a courtyard surrounded by jungle. A large staircase leads up the main face of the pyramid. Rain pours down in torrents."/> +</figure> + +<p>The town of Palenque sits only a few minutes by bike, foot or bus from the +ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Palenque. The ruins themselves extend over a +huge area and are composed of many smaller groups of structures situated around +plazas. The most impressive of these are probably the main plaza—which is +surrounded by the Temple of the Inscriptions and the palace/observatory +tower—and the Sun Temple Plaza.</p> +<p>The Temple of the Inscriptions is well-known for housing the sarcophagus and +jade death mask of Pakal, former ruler of the city. Unfortunately, it&rsquo;s no +longer possible to visit the inside of the Temple of the Inscriptions without a +research permit. In theory, that involves applications via your university and +submissions of your research to the government; in practice it involves 150 +pesos to the right people.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -518,7 +2779,61 @@ country.</p></description> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/09/dzibilchaltun-yucatan-mexico/</guid> <description><p>About halfway between Mérida and Progresso lie the ruins of Dzibilchaltún, an important centre in the ancient world of the Maya. The name means &lsquo;The place -with writing on the stones.&rsquo;</p></description> +with writing on the stones.&rsquo;</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-09-11-munecas-door.jpg" + alt="View framed by the doorway of the of Templo de las Siete Muñecas looking out over the ruins of a stone building and four-sized stone stela on a raised platform. A path leads past the ruins, through the low jungle, and towards the horizon."/> +</figure> + +<p>Dzibilchaltún covers an area of about 16 square kilometres, in which there are +about 8400 structures. The central part of the site covers three square +kilometres, which includes several temples and pyramids, as well as a cenote of +unknown depth, one of the largest in the Yucatán. Many of the structures date +back as far as 500 B.C.</p> +<p>From downtown Mérida, you can catch a colectivo that stops down the road from +the temple. A 10 minute hike from there along a trail through the jungle gets +you to the entrance to the site, where they charge 50 pesos per person ($7.50 +CDN) to get in. The day we arrived, it was a scorching 40-something degrees, +with 100% humidity, so the fact that the small museum on the site was +air-conditionned was worth the price of admission in itself.</p> +<p>The site is divided into two parts, separated by a one kilometre long road. At +one end is the Temple of the Seven Dolls, named after seven ceramic dolls found +there as offerings to the gods. At the other end is a courtyard, a pyramid, a +ball court and the cenote, as well as an open chapel that was constructed +during the Colonial era, in the late 16th and early 17th century.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-09-11-munecas-outside.jpg" + alt="View of the Templo de las Siete Muñecas from the path. In the foreground, a hiker walks toward a large worn stela on a raised platform."/> +</figure> + +<p>The Temple of the Seven Dolls is probably the most interesting part of the +site. At least it was to us. At one time, the temple was adorned with plaster +friezes, molded to the shapes of intertwined serpents, hieroglyphs, and masks, +though these friezes are no longer on the structure itself. The building is +thought to have served as an astronomical observatory, and during the Vernal +and Autumnal Equinoxes, an interesting phenonmenon can be seen at sunrise. +During the Equinoxes, the sun is perfectly aligned such that the morning +sunlight passes directly between two sets of opposing doors on the temple, +casting the light down into the courtyard facing the structure. Many people +pile into Dzibilchaltún between 5:00 and 6:00 in the morning to witness the +sunrise, then run back out and pile into a bus to Chichen Itza to watch the +more spectacular effect of the sun casting light in the shape of a giant +serpent slithering up the side of the temple there in the afternoon. If you +don’t happen to be a teacher who has classes on these days, this is apparently +the thing to do.</p> +<p>The cenote on the other side of the site is open for swimming, if you don’t +mind thousands of little fish chasing you around the whole time. What’s +curious, of course, is that there are any fish at all in the cenotes, since +they’re fed by a series of deep, underwater channels of water that snake +beneath the entire peninsula. There are no rivers or streams connecting them on +the surface, so the fish have to descend to incredible depths (over 100 m) to +move between one cenote and the next. From what people have told us, the fish +that live in the cenotes are blind, which is kind of cool.</p> +<p>We hiked back out to the road after a few hours of wandering around, the sat +waiting for a colectivo to drive by and pick us up. For 30 minutes we sat +around, the air totally still and boiling hot, with only the sound of the +mosquitos and the cow in the field next to us. I’m not entirely sure what was +wrong with it, but the way it hollered made it sound demented and insane. I +honestly hope I never drink any milk from that one; no way that’s safe.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -535,7 +2850,126 @@ with writing on the stones.&rsquo;</p></description> <p>Lo que tu eres, yo fui<br> Lo que yo soy, luego serás<br> <em>—Inscription on the pirate Mundaca’s Tomb</em></p> -</blockquote></description> +</blockquote> +<p>Many, many years ago, a pirate by the name of Fermin Antonio Mundaca de +Marechaja landed on Isla Mujeres and fell in love with a young lady whose name +has been long forgotten. Today, she is known only as <em>La Trigueña</em> (The +Brunette), the name by which he referred to her. In order to win her love, +Mundaca built an elaborate hacienda, erected archways and laid paths throughout +the gardens. He had trees and plants brought from all over the world to plant +in the gardens. Unfortunately, before he finished this masterpiece, she ran off +with another islander and got married. Today, his house lays in ruins in the +middle of what remains of his fortress. And if you look carefully, you can +faintly work out the words <em>La Trigueña</em> carved into the stone archway. Mundaca +eventually died of the plague in Mérida, but his small tomb can still be seen +among the headstones of the small cemetary near the north beach of town. +Adorned with an eerily grinning skull and crossbones, it bears no name, but +carries the inscription: &lsquo;As you are, I was. As I am, you will be.&rsquo;</p> +<p>With a couple weeks before school and work starts, we decided to visit Isla +Mujeres (lit. The Island of Women), a small island that sits about 11 km off +the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, in Quintana Roo. A few hours east of +Mérida, the island is surrounded by the turquoise, bathtub warm, crystal clear +waters of the Caribbean, and is the site of some spectacular snorkeling and +diving.</p> +<p>Isla Mujeres is tiny—about 8 km long and between 300 and 800 metres wide—and +has a population of 7000 residents. The main part of the town sits on the +north-west tip of the island, but there are some smaller <em>colonias</em> in the +central Salinas area, as well as on the south end. Although it was once a +fishing town, the main business today is tourism. Unlike Cancún, however, Isla +Mujeres has a much more relaxed, laid back pace of life, and it hasn’t yet +turned into a party town full of drunken gringos. The locals appear to want to +keep it this way, and the local San Francisco store stops selling alcohol at +8:30 or 9:00 in the evenings.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-09-06-sunset.jpg" + alt="In the distance, the silhouette of a lancha passes through the shimmering reflection of the setting sun&#39;s light on the ocean."/> +</figure> + +<p>From the downtown Cancún bus station, we grabbed the Route 13 bus north along +Avenida Tulum to the Puerto Juarez ferry terminal, then hopped on a boat for +the 30 minute ferry ride to the island. We spent the whole ride locked in a +psychological battle trying not to jump off into the gorgeous blue water; it +was sheer torture. Apparently we weren’t the only ones—as soon as the boat +pulled alongside the Isla Mujeres dock, one 40 year old passenger jumped +overboard and swam to shore.We spent the next few days wandering around the +island on foot. Like a lot of touristy places in Mexico, there are thousands of +people trying to sell you anything and everything on the street. Fortunately, +the city is small enough that all the hawkers seem to be packed into two blocks +along Avenida Hidalgo between Av. Abasolo and Av. Lopez Mateos. Unfortunately, +that’s the easiest way to get to the beach. Fortunately (yet again), it’s +easily bypassed by taking the scenic route.</p> +<p>The best times of day for the beach are sunrise and sunset. The boatloads of +tourists from Cancún aren’t there, and the beach is nearly empty. The water +stays warm 24 hours a day, and the sunsets and sunrises are spectacular. During +the afternoons, the beach is packed with people and the sun is intense enough +that if you don’t fork over the 60 pesos ($10 Canadian) for a beach umbrella, +you’ll fry like bacon, even with the SPF 50 they sell at the super market. +There’s a reason most Mexicans swim in shorts and a t-shirt.</p> +<p>There are a lot of other things to do on the island. One of the most +interesting is the Sea Turtle conservation park. This is the only facility in +Mexico dedicated to preserving endangered sea turtles, such as the Hawk’s Bill +Turtle, which grows to over 100 kg, and lives to around 120 years old. The sea +turtles have been hunted to near extinction because of world-wide demand from +for their meat and shells. At the conservation facility, the turtles are bred, +cared for, then released back into the wild. There are no railings on the +walkways above the huge walled off section of ocean where the largest of the +turtles swim, and according to the guy who showed us around, if you fall in, +&rsquo;te comen!&rsquo;, &rsquo;they eat you!'.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-09-06-skeletons.jpg" + alt="Four small hand-carved wooden skeleton toys playing musical instruments and wearing sombreros sit on the step of a storefront with their feet on the sidewalk. A small wooden armadillo wanders by."/> +</figure> + +<p>The ruins of Mundaca’s fortress are in the central part of the island, and if +you want to be eaten alive by mosquitos (there are Dengue Fever warnings all +over the place on the Yucatán Peninsula, by the way) it’s a great place to go. +No wonder the object of Mundaca’s affections ditched him for another man. Any +sensible pirate would have built his fortress on the beach or at least within +walking distance. Mundaca built his in the marshiest, grottiest, most densely +jungled part of the island. On the bright side there is, however, a sort of +small zoo in his gardens, with alligators, monkeys, a deer, and apparently a +jaguar, though we never got to see it, because the mosquitos drove us out +first. By the twentieth or thirtieth bite, we’d had more than enough of +Mundaca’s place.On the south side of the island, there’s Playa Garrafón, which +is part of a national park, but seems to have been recently turned into an +expensive tourist trap, complete with all-you-can-eat restaurants, zip lines, +&lsquo;underwater adventure&rsquo; and more construction, all for the low, ubeatable price +of $35 US a day! I believe they even translated that price into pesos +underneath in small type. We actually went next door, paid 20 pesos (about $2 +US) and had the whole beach to ourselves. We snorkeled around the wharf and a +small reef, then Pablo and Armando, who ran the place, took us out to a reef 15 +minutes out by boat, where we saw sharks, a sting ray, and a ton of live (and +dead) coral. Unfortunately, it seems like a million and one other people go out +to the same reef, and most don’t know how to swim. This means you’ll end up +spending an hour getting your head kicked in by screaming hoardes of +life-jacket wearing, water spitting drowners. I did get rammed in the legs by a +nurse shark though. It felt like sandpaper and was among the creepier +sensations I have experienced in my life.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-09-06-nativity-scene.jpg" + alt="The gazebo at the centre of the Isla Mujeres plaza decorated in an underwater-themed nativity scene. The virgin mary stands at the centre, her hands in prayer. Fishing nets filled with starfish, tropical fish, and multi-coloured Christmas lights surround the gazebo."/> +</figure> + +<p>There are also some Mayan ruins at the south tip of the island, though there’s +very little left of them. Most of the ruins have been hurled into the ocean by +various hurricanes, but what’s left sits on a small point overlooking the +crystal clear blue water. My favourite part was the hand painted sign that +reads &lsquo;IGUANAS-No los tire piedras-Cuidelas&rsquo;, &lsquo;Please do not throw rocks at +the iguanas-take care of them!&rsquo; Two English ladies who now live in Kentucky +were kind enough to pick us up on their rented golf cart and haul us back into +town, saving us a taxi ride/sunburn.During our stay on the island, we ran into +a small herd of beach cats. They appeared to be completely starving, which I’m +sure is all part of their little ploy to get food from unsuspecting tourists. +In fact, I’m sure that if a study were done, they’d probably find that this is +a behaviour that beach cats have evolved over centuries of tourism, sort of +like pigeons that pretend to be one-legged to get sympathy points from old +grannies in parks. In any case, these poor things ended up rounding up enough +sympathy to get some canned tuna… twice. Most of the time, though, I we watched +it digging holes on the beach, which I don’t really want to think about too +much. We also saw it kill and eat cockroaches, which no matter how disgusting +it is, I have to admit is actually sort of mezmerising.</p> +<p>All in all, it was a great vacation before everything gets crazy here. We hope +we’ll have time to go back at some point for another visit. The place to stay +is definitely the Hotel El Marcianito; the guy who runs it is totally friendly, +and gave us a ton of advice on places to see.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -552,7 +2986,20 @@ a colectivo headed out in that direction. The one we found stopped by a bathing centre and the town of Chelem. Now right now I’m going to come straight out and say it: if someone ever tells you a story about the amazing beaches at Yucalpetén, just back away slowly and do not make any sudden -moves—the person you are talking to has probably escaped from an asylum.</p></description> +moves—the person you are talking to has probably escaped from an asylum.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-08-31-chelem.jpg" + alt="Main street of Chelem"/><figcaption> + <h4>The main street of Chelem?</h4> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>We wandered around for a few hours, but we never did find a beach in decent +condition. In the end we sat on a grass embankment close to the ocean, +observing what appeared to be the remains of a house that had been bulldozed +across the beach and into the ocean; there still were big chunks of concrete +wall strewn all over the place. It was sort of post-apocalyptic looking. On the +bright side, there was a nice cool breeze.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -565,7 +3012,26 @@ moves—the person you are talking to has probably escaped from an asylum.</p gulf side of the peninsula, the water is still a beautiful turquoise-blue; it puts Canadian beaches to shame. On a hot weekend, Progreso makes a fun day trip. The wind keeps you cool, and as long as you keep ordering drinks, the -food comes free at the palapa huts on the beach.</p></description> +food comes free at the palapa huts on the beach.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-08-31-palapa.jpg" + alt="Three beach chairs sit in the shade of a palm-thatched palapa on the beach overlooking the ocean. A small &#39;lancha&#39; boat is pulled up on the beach. On the left, Progreso&#39;s long pier extends over the water towards the horizon."/> +</figure> + +<p>The one thing that is impossible to miss in Progreso is the pier. At its +original length of 6 km, it was the longest in all of México, and with its new +3 km extension for cruise ships, it’s now the longest in the world. The reason +for its size is that the Yucatán Peninsula is in essence a huge, flat limestone +shelf that continues to extend long past the waterfront. At 6 km out, the +water is still only 7 or 8 metres deep. As a result a 3 km extension was added +in 2001 to allow cruise ships to dock safely.</p> +<p>When we asked friends in Mérida about the beach in Progreso, they mostly told +us that it wasn’t that nice. When we got back, I told my class that in Canada +we put beaches like that in beer commercials. I guess when Cancún is only a few +hours drive away, you can afford to be picky. The only downside is that most of +the palm trees are tiny. The previous ones were all ripped out during Hurricane +Gilberto a few years ago. As a result there’s very little shade, so your only +option is to hide under a palapa.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -582,7 +3048,47 @@ as transportation by some of its residents. The two big tourist attractions here are the ruins of Kinich-Kakmó, one of 12 Mayan temples that originally stood at the site of this town, and the Franciscan Monastery, one of the first in the New World, built from the stones of the largest Mayan temple in Izamal -after it was torn down by the Conquistadors.</p></description> +after it was torn down by the Conquistadors.</p> +<p>The Convento de San Antonio de Padua sits on one side of the Plaza Principal, a +block from the city’s bus station. Climbing up the ramp in front brings you to +a large flat terrace and the entrance to the buildings themselves. From there, +you can enter the chapel, visit the arboreum or climb up to the top levels of +the monastery. If you look carefully, some of the stones in the walls and +arches have Mayan designs on them—these were part of the temple that originally +stood at this location. Facing away from the monastery, you can see +Kinich-Kakmó towering over the jungle six or seven blocks away.</p> +<p>Kinich-Kakmó, which is about 200 m x 180 m, was built between 300 and 600 A.D. +and was recently restored. From the top levels, the temple provides a great +view of the city. Following a narrow dirt path around the back affords a +spectacular view of the surrounding jungle and the vast, Saskatchewan-like +flatness of the Yucatán peninsula. All over the place, big, lazy iguanas +sunbathe on the rock walls of the temple. Just beside the entrance, at the base +of the front side of the pyramid, is a great-smelling tortillería.</p> +<p>We ate at the Kinich-Kakmó Restaurant, and it was delicious though a little +pricey. We each had a Montejo beer and lime soup, followed by Poc-Chuc¹ and +Rellenos Negros², along with some fresh handmade tortillas. As with many +restaurants, homemade tortilla chips and salsas are served with the meal. The +total came to about 160 pesos, which is enough to buy you several days worth of +groceries at Wal-Mart or San Francisco in Mérida. The main dining area is +outdoors under a thatched Mayan style roof (and yes, lots of people still live +in traditional Mayan huts—some have corrugated metal roofs these days, but just +as many use the traditional palm fronds). The waiters even offer bug-spray if +you need it. Fortunately, due to some creative engineering by the staff, you +don’t need it. Clear plastic bags of water dangle by threads from the roof and, +in the words of the waiter, &lsquo;when the bug sees his reflection as he gets +closer, he sees himself reflected so big and ugly that it scares him away.&rsquo; It +seems to work—we didn’t see a single fly or mosquito during lunch, and there +were tons outside. Royal Thai in San Rafael, California does the same thing, so +there’s got to be something to it.</p> +<p>Unfortunately, I forgot to bring the memory card for the camera, so no +pictures, but it was well worth the trip.</p> +<h3 id="glossary">Glossary</h3> +<ol> +<li><em>Poc-Chuc:</em> A Yucatecan dish made with pork marinaded in orange juice.</li> +<li><em>Rellenos Negros:</em> A spicy, black Yucatecan soup made from beans, with +pieces of chicken and a hard boiled egg bathing in it.</li> +</ol> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -598,7 +3104,53 @@ after it was torn down by the Conquistadors.</p></description> <p>In Mérida, most people sleep in hammocks. Walk down any residential street and look in the windows and you’ll see hammocks strung all over the room. What I’m getting at is that I finally caved in and bought a hammock. Now sit back and -listen, ’cause here’s my advice…</p></description> +listen, ’cause here’s my advice…</p> +<p>If you’re in Mérida, you’ll be approached every five minutes by someone wanting +to sell you a hammock off the street. Do not buy it! That man is crazy! The +quality of hammock you get from a wandering hammock guy is a mystery until you +try it out. And you’re not going to be trying it out until after you’ve paid +for it. Generally speaking, they’re pretty bad. Locals refer to them as +‘hospital hammocks’ because that’s where you end up if you use them. Go to a +hammock shop with a good reputation. If they can show you a photo album of them +and their grandparents chopping down sisal (henequen cactus), stripping the +fibre, and making hammocks, it’s a pretty safe bet that the hammocks are +good.So Julio Armando pulled out a few hammocks, strung them up, proudly +displays the threading to show there were no flaws, and got me to jump in and +take it for a spin. Hammocks come in lots of sizes: single, double, +matrimonial, and matrimonial especial. The difference is the number of pairs of +end threads. Matrimonial has about 150 pairs of end threads, whereas a single +has about 50 and a double has about 100. Keep in mind that these sizes were +designed for people of Mayan stature, which is a lot smaller than your typical +Canadian, or Mestizo Mexican.</p> +<p>Unfortunately, the walls in the apartment must be the only ones in the whole +city that doesn’t have hammock hooks! Even a lot of hotels in Mérida provide +hooks! I ran across the street to the Tlapalería¹ and using hand signals and +pantomime, bought exactly five metres of nylon rope. Using those engineering +skills I spent so much effort learning at UVic, and some knots I learned in Boy +Scouts, I rigged up a makeshift hammock hookup. Unfortunately, the only +available post to string a rope around was the chunk of wall between the +balcony door and the window, which meant that both the door and the window had +to be open to use it, and I had to pull the mosquito screen out of the window +anytime I wanted to use the hammock.</p> +<p>About Mérida’s weather: Maybe you people back home have looked at the +temperatures in Mérida and thought &lsquo;Wow! They spend the whole summer in the mid +to upper 30s! It’s just like Cancún!&rsquo; True, but it’s also insanely humid, which +means you’re covered in sweat 24 hours a day—imagine waking up sticky and +sweaty every morning; that’s why most people use hammocks. What’s more, unlike +Cancún, there are thunderstorms every afternoon between about four and seven. +You can set your watch by them. During these thunderstorms, it rains. A lot. So +much, in fact, that having the window or door open even a centimetre spells +certain doom. In short, the hammock is no longer up. Back to the drawing board.</p> +<p>A curious side note here. If you wander the streets of Mérida enough, you’ll +notice an inordinate number of people with one or both eyes missing. The reason +for this is quite interesting. Mérida is famous around the world for its +hammocks. And to make hammocks you need henequen fibre. The sisal cactus from +which you get it has very, very sharp, needle-like barbs. You get the point.</p> +<h3 id="glossary">Glossary</h3> +<ol> +<li><em>Tlapalería:</em> A sort of little roadside hardware store.</li> +</ol> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -613,7 +3165,54 @@ twenty minute drive from the long strip of hotels between the lagoon and the ocean that the outside world refers to as Cancún. By the time the colectivo got to the bus station, it was 9 pm, so after checking out the schedule and booking tickets, there was just enough time to grab some dinner and get some sleep -before heading off to Mérida first thing the next morning.</p></description> +before heading off to Mérida first thing the next morning.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-08-17-cathedral.jpg" + alt="Façade of the Mérida cathedral in the evening light. Groups of pedestrians pass along the sidewalk in front as Volkswagen Beetles drive by."/> +</figure> + +<p>Sitting in a Mexican bus station is an activity in itself. Drenched in sweat +and surrounded by hundreds of other sweaty people carrying bags, backpacks, and +cardboard packages held together with twine, in heat and humidity well above +what any sane person would tolerate, you gain an appreciation of just how +patient a people the Mexicans are. Buses come and go as they please; to the +Mexican bus driver, the posted schedule is only a guideline. Buses are +notoriously late, and ours is no exception.</p> +<p>When it does arrive, the bags are loaded, everyone climbs into their seats and, +once the bus driver has got his drinks and snacks ready for the trip, he throws +it into reverse and we´re off. After a four hour ride through the Yucatecan +jungle, we arrived at the Fiesta Américana terminal in the north end of Mérida. +From there, we grabbed a taxi into town and unloaded everything at Hotel Mucuy, +on calle 57 between calle 56 and calle 58, where we stayed while we searched +for jobs and a place to live.</p> +<p>This might be a good time to explain the mysterious numbering system for the +addresses in Mérida. Odd numbered streets run east-west and even numbered +streets run north-south. For streets that run diagonally, the ones that run +from SE to NW are even, the rest are odd—usually. Another challenge is that +street addresses are not often consistent; number 499 might be three or four +blocks from 498. Because of this, addresses are usually given as a street +number and a cross street (for corner addresses) or a street number and the two +cross streets between which the address lies.</p> +<p>Mérida is the capital city of México’s Yucatán state and, centuries ago, was +the capital of the Mayan empire as well. When the Spanish conquistadors arrived +in the city in the mid-16th century, led by Francisco de Montejo, they +discovered the Mayan city of Tihó. Its temples and limestone architecture +reminded them enough of Mérida, Spain that they promptly renamed the city and +began dismantling the Mayan structures. While you won’t find any of the +original Mayan buildings remaining today, the cathedral in the Plaza Principal² +contains blocks from the Mayan temple that once stood in the same location.</p> +<p>In any case, the city today is gorgeous. Its narrow streets and colonial +architecture give it a traditional feel. Every Sunday, all the streets within +several blocks of the main plaza are shut down to vehicle traffic while +musicians play live music near the Plaza Principal, and people dance in the +streets.</p> +<h3 id="glossary">Glossary</h3> +<ol> +<li><em>Colectivo:</em> a communal taxi, usually a VW van, into which the driver packs +as many people as the laws of physics will allow. For example the last one +we used had 16 people stuffed into it.</li> +<li><em>Plaza Principal:</em> the main square found in almost every Mexican town.</li> +</ol> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -622,7 +3221,11 @@ before heading off to Mérida first thing the next morning.</p></descripti <pubDate>Fri, 17 Aug 2001 11:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/08/hola-mexico/</guid> - <description>After a year and a half in San Francisco, California, we’ve moved to Mérida, Yucatán, México. So far so good! The heat is scorching, the humidity is sweltering, and the mosquitos are biting. But Mérida is a beautiful city, and the people are wonderful.</description> + <description><p>After a year and a half in San Francisco, California, we’ve moved to Mérida, +Yucatán, México. So far so good! The heat is scorching, the humidity is +sweltering, and the mosquitos are biting. But Mérida is a beautiful city, and +the people are wonderful.</p> +</description> </item> </channel> diff --git a/tags/canada/index.xml b/tags/canada/index.xml @@ -18,7 +18,103 @@ this time, I&rsquo;ve got a lot more stuff. One of those things is a Nissan that&rsquo;s been quietly living its life in Canada. Faced with the prospect of selling the car and buying a new one, I chose instead to import the one I know and love. Here is my story. But be forewarned, it is not for the faint of -heart.</p></description> +heart.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2011-05-10-futile.jpg" + alt="Scrawny kid vs sumo wrestler"/> +</figure> + +<p>To import a vehicle to the US from Canada, you need to undertake a series of +quests. These are detailed on the <a href="http://stnw.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/">NHTSA website</a> under the heading +<em>Vehicle Importation Guidelines (Canadian)</em>. As of May 2011, you need the +following items in increasing order of difficulty:</p> +<p><strong>[easy]</strong> The following information about your car:</p> +<ol> +<li>VIN</li> +<li>Make/Model/Year</li> +<li>Month/Year of manufacture</li> +<li>Registration &amp; ownership information</li> +</ol> +<p><strong>[easy]</strong> <a href="http://www.epa.gov/oms/imports/">EPA Form 3520-1</a>. You will likely be importing your +vehicle under <em>code EE: identical in all material respects to a US certified +version</em>.</p> +<p><strong>[easy]</strong> <a href="http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/">NHTSA Form HS-7</a>. You will most likely be importing your +vehicle under box 2B, for vehicles that complied with Canadian CMVSA +regulations at their time of manufacture and where the manufacturer attests +that, with a few exceptions, it meets US regulations; see final item.</p> +<p><strong>[medium]</strong> A letter on the manufacturer&rsquo;s letterhead from the Canadian +distributor, stating that there are no open recalls or service campaigns on the +vehicle. I&rsquo;m not sure if this is required, but Nissan Canada thought it would +be.</p> +<p><strong>[hard]</strong> A letter from the vehicle’s original manufacturer, on +the manufacturer’s letterhead identifying the vehicle by vehicle identification +number (VIN) and stating that the vehicle conforms to all applicable FMVSS +&ldquo;except for the labeling requirements of Standards Nos. 101 <em>Controls and +Displays</em> and 110 <em>Tire Selection and Rims</em> or 120 <em>Tire Selection and Rims for +Motor Vehicles other than Passenger Cars</em>, and/or the specifications of +Standard No. 108 <em>Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment</em>, +relating to daytime running lamps.&rdquo;</p> +<p>Items 1-3 are left as an exercise to the reader. I will focus here on items 4 +and 5 to save you the 14 hours of accumulated hold time and multiple phone +calls. Prepare yourself friend, for here begins a journey of hurt and +frustration, but you will prevail.</p> +<p>Let&rsquo;s start with item 4. I gave <a href="http://www.nissan.ca/common/footer/en/contact.html">Nissan Canada</a> a ring at +1-800-387-0122 and managed to make it through the phone navigation system to a +human operator. I told them I was importing a Canadian Nissan into the States +and needed a <em>Letter of Compliance</em>. After a bit of digging, they stated that +such letters are only provided by <em>Nissan North America,</em> but they would +instead mail out two other letters on Nissan letterhead:</p> +<ol> +<li>A letter stating the VIN and that the vehicle has no pending recalls or +service campaigns on it.</li> +<li>In place of a <em>Certificate of Origin</em> (which Nissan Canada does not +provide), a letter stating the VIN and that the vehicle was manufactured for +sale in the Canadian market and complied with all safety and emission +regulations at the time of manufacture.</li> +</ol> +<p>We&rsquo;re almost there, but your next and final mission is also the most +challenging: the <em>Letter of Compliance</em>. Call <a href="http://www.nissanusa.com/apps/contactus">Nissan North +America</a> Consumer Affairs Department at 1-800-647-7261. Navigate +through the phone system to an operator - get their name and extension. They +may ask for your VIN only to find it&rsquo;s not in their system. Canadian VINs are +not in their system. Some operators thought they were, others were sure they +weren&rsquo;t. They&rsquo;re not. Many operators tried and failed to find it. Ask them to +open a file, give them the vehicle information and your info and get the file +number. Use this number whenever you call.</p> +<p>Here are the five steps to success:</p> +<ol> +<li>Tell the operator that you&rsquo;re importing a Canadian Nissan vehicle to the US +and that you need a <em>Letter of Compliance</em> stating the VIN and that the +vehicle was built to conform to Canadian and United States EPA emissions +standards and all US Federal motor vehicle standards except for daytime +running light brightness. There is a very good chance they&rsquo;ve never heard of +this. Get them to talk to their supervisor, and their supervisor. Anyone. +Someone will know.</li> +<li>They will tell you that the vehicle needs to have its daytime running lights +disabled before they will issue the letter of compliance. All the government +rules seem to specifically exclude the daytime running lights, and the +letter they issue even states that the vehicle doesn&rsquo;t meet that standard, +but for whatever reason they want a copy of a work statement showing the +work was done. Remember to get the operator&rsquo;s name and extension and the +fax number for the work statement before you hang up.</li> +<li>Get the daytime running lights disabled. It&rsquo;s a setting change in the +on-board computer; your local dealer will do this in under 30 mins for $50 +or so. </li> +<li>Fax your the work statement and put your name, return fax number and a +request for the <em>Letter of Compliance</em> on the cover sheet. Phone Nissan +North America Consumer Affairs back. The phone navigation system will give +you hope that you can input an extension directly, only to find it only +accepts 5-digit extensions but your rep has a 6-digit extension. You&rsquo;ll end +up back in the queue. Ask whoever you get to put you through to your +previous rep, by extension. When you get through, say that you sent the fax +and request the letter. Ask them to phone you back when they&rsquo;ve faxed it.</li> +<li>You&rsquo;ll get the fax eventually - <em>check the information!</em> On my letter, the +year, model and VIN were all incorrect, though they got my name right. If +it&rsquo;s incorrect, try again.</li> +</ol> +<p>You now have everything you need to import your Nissan to the States. Good +luck my friends, I don&rsquo;t envy you, but know that I am with you and that victory +will someday be yours too.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -33,7 +129,9 @@ Grill</a>, followed by a Canada Day barbeque at Yoyogi Park including hot dogs, yakitori, a massive Canadian Flag cake, and imported Canadian beer. By 6pm things, as started to wind down at the park, people started the long trek back to Shibuya and into the Maple Leaf, where it was standing room -only.</p></description> +only.</p> +<p>Some <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbracken/sets/72157594183420453/">pictures of the event</a>.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -42,7 +140,12 @@ only.</p></description> <pubDate>Mon, 26 Jun 2006 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2006/06/canadian-medical-research/</guid> - <description>Don&rsquo;t let anyone tell you that Canada never contributed groundbreaking research to the medical field. First, the discovery and isolation of insulin by researchers at the University of Toronto; now this paper published in the British Medical Journal, co-authored by a Grade 8 student from Hamilton, Ontario.</description> + <description><p>Don&rsquo;t let anyone tell you that Canada never contributed groundbreaking research +to the medical field. First, the discovery and isolation of insulin by +researchers at the University of Toronto; now <a href="http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/325/7378/1445" title="Ice cream evoked headaches: randomised trial of accelerated versus cautious ice cream eating regimen">this paper</a> published in the +British Medical Journal, co-authored by a Grade 8 student from Hamilton, +Ontario.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -51,7 +154,11 @@ only.</p></description> <pubDate>Wed, 14 Apr 2004 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2004/04/end-of-season/</guid> - <description>Two last ski trips for the year. The first, at Mt. Washington, saw a beautiful attempt at a forward flip by Kevin, and Pippa ripping it up. For the second, I burned off on the 10 hour trek to Nelson, where Trav skiied until he dropped and I tried out the new Rossignol B2s.</description> + <description><p>Two last ski trips for the year. The first, at Mt. Washington, saw a beautiful +attempt at a forward flip by Kevin, and Pippa ripping it up. For the second, I +burned off on the 10 hour trek to Nelson, where Trav skiied until he dropped +and I tried out the new Rossignol B2s.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -60,7 +167,10 @@ only.</p></description> <pubDate>Mon, 08 Mar 2004 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2004/03/mt-washington/</guid> - <description>Put a group of idiots together on skis and boards, and you’ve got a guaranteed recipe for a good time. Tom managed a sweet 360 and Matt successfully pulled off half a backflip.</description> + <description><p>Put a group of idiots together on skis and boards, and you’ve got a guaranteed +recipe for a good time. Tom managed a sweet 360 and Matt successfully pulled +off half a backflip.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -69,7 +179,11 @@ only.</p></description> <pubDate>Fri, 28 Feb 2003 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2003/02/i-am-canadian/</guid> - <description>Since the original I am Canadian ad, Molson has released a slew of others, but until recently, I haven’t been too impressed; however, the I Am Canadian Anthem is a hilarious 90-second snapshot of the cultural history of this country.</description> + <description><p>Since the original <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMxGVfk09lU">I am Canadian</a> ad, Molson has released a slew of +others, but until recently, I haven’t been too impressed; however, the +<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Y7fHQiGkH0">I Am Canadian Anthem</a> is a hilarious 90-second snapshot of the +cultural history of this country.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -78,7 +192,11 @@ only.</p></description> <pubDate>Sun, 26 May 2002 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2002/05/back-in-canada/</guid> - <description>Back in Victoria, B.C. after a two month return home to Canada by land beginning in Mérida, Yucatán and continuing through Cuba, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, then all the way back up through Guatemala, México, the U.S. and finally across Western Canada.</description> + <description><p>Back in Victoria, B.C. after a two month return home to Canada by land beginning +in Mérida, Yucatán and continuing through Cuba, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, +then all the way back up through Guatemala, México, the U.S. and finally +across Western Canada.</p> +</description> </item> </channel> diff --git a/tags/cuba/index.xml b/tags/cuba/index.xml @@ -20,7 +20,60 @@ explorers and trading ships travelling to and from México. During the 17th and 18th centuries, its economy largely depended on trading contraband with pirates. The buildings are in incredibly good shape for their age, most of which are at least two centuries old. It’s not too tough to see why Trinidad is -now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.</p></description> +now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2002-03-21-trinidad-street.jpg" + alt="Street in Trinidad, Cuba"/> +</figure> + +<p>Trinidad is about five hours from Havana by bus, and as with everything in +Cuba, there are two buses: one for Cubans, with a several hour long line-up, +and one for people with dollars, with basically no wait at all. Upon pulling +into Trinidad the bus was swarmed by masses of locals offering a room in a casa +particular. We ended up being shown one house, but it had been freshly painted +that afternoon and the fumes were pretty rough, so we set out wandering down +the streets in the dark. By sheer chance, we ran into an old grandfather +carrying a bucket and pushing his bike up the rickety cobblestone streets and +when we asked him if he knew of any places to stay he said that in fact, we +could stay at his house. This is how our planned two-night stay in Trinidad +ended up turning into a week-long stay in paradise.</p> +<p>Roberto and Elda, their daughter Mercedes, her husband Eddy, and their +11-year-old son Saúl made our stay in Trinidad one of the most relaxing visits +we had to anywhere in our travels. We would have breakfast every morning in a +little courtyard off to the side of the house, spend the mornings wandering the +cobblestone streets in search of pizza, and the evenings falling asleep to the +sound of Cuban salsas, merengues, and cha cha chas drifting through the window +from La Casa de la Trova across the street.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2002-03-21-horse-cart.jpg" + alt="Horse-drawn cart driven by man and boy in Trinidad street"/> +</figure> + +<p>While most of the old town is centered around the main plaza, cathedral, and +clock tower, most of the action seemed to center around the plaza in the newer +part of town down the hill. Old men sitting on park benches sharing a bottle of +rum, school children eating peso ice cream, and the occasional black market +cigar salesman trying to pass off some cigars smuggled out of the local factory +all milled about the plaza in the hot, sticky heat. A bunch of us sat on our +park bench watching the old men on the bench across from us get progressively +more drunk from their homebrew, before eventually falling asleep. One thing +that anyone visiting Cuba can be assured of is eventually being offered a taste +of homemade rum. My guess is that neither the recipe nor the distilling of this +rum has changed much over the past few centuries, so you can be assured that +your experience will be as blindingly nerve-wracking as that of the colonial +sailors plying the waters of the Caribbean in the 1600s. Following the initial +jolt of fermented cane sugar hitting your stomach like a rock is the slow +nauseating feeling of vertigo creeping over your body; after that, a strange +queasiness, and finally recovery and swearing it off for life&hellip; or at least +the next day.</p> +<p>A few days into our stay in Trinidad, as we walked down a dark street off the +plaza, we heard music pouring out through a half-open gate. Peering inside we +were greeted with the sight of thirty or so people packed into a small dirt +courtyard, and a small band of grizzled 80-year-old men playing salsas on their +guitars and trumpets. People had pulled up some old wooden benches and were +serving mojitos made (I swear) straight rum, some sugar, and crushed mint. A +woman named Blanquita invited us in, offered us some mojitos and yanked us up +off the bench to teach us some salsa while chickens scuttled around our feet. +It was probably my most vivid memory of Cuba.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -32,7 +85,188 @@ now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.</p></description> <description><p>Havana is a city of contradictions. It’s simultaneously one of the most beautiful and most run down cities in the world. It’s hard to imagine how things could be any worse, or any better given the Cuba’s political past and -present.</p></description> +present.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2002-03-19-old-havana-street.jpg" + alt="Run-down street in Old Havana"/> +</figure> + +<p>Havana, along with the rest of Cuba, is the way it is almost purely because of +politics—some of the most complex politics on the planet. If you like history +or politics, Cuba is for you. Cuba’s troubled history begins long before the +Cuban Missile Crisis, or even before the Revolution of 1959. Ever since +Christopher Columbus set foot on the Isle of Cuba on October 29th, 1492, one +nation or another has been fighting over the country. For over half a +millennium now, politics have affected almost every aspect of life in Cuba. +It’s amazing that despite all this, Cuban culture is felt worldwide through its +music, dance, and artistry.</p> +<h3 id="fast-facts">Fast Facts</h3> +<p>Before we get started, here are a few quick facts to clear up a few common +misconceptions about Cuba:</p> +<ul> +<li>The US embargo was put in place on October 19th, 1960, two years before the +Cuban Missile Crisis. It was the result of the US Eisenhower Administration’s +plan to overthrow Castro. This was the result of Cuba nationalizing a lot of +property sold to the US by Cuba’s former dictator, Fulgencio Batista. In +1963, after the end of the Missile Crisis, the Kennedy Administration imposed +a travel ban on US citizens, preventing them from visiting Cuba. Here’s an +<a href="http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/funfacts/embargo.htm">Economic Embargo Timeline</a>, if you’re interested.</li> +<li>In 1959, a group of Cuban revolutionaries, including Fidel Castro and Che +Guevara, led a popular uprising to overthrow Fulgencio Batista, the +totalitarian dictator who led Cuba from 1934 to 1959. Under Batista, more +than a third of the land in Cuba was sold off to US interests. In several +cases, teachers who worked to alphabetize rural villages were tortured and +killed by Batista’s private police force, for fear that a literate population +of farmers would be more likely to favour local land ownership, and oppose +the dictator. Cuba is now a communist country, and Castro is the elected head +of state. Elections are supervised by international monitors. They work very +differently from other western electoral systems, however, since there is +only one party. Like Canadians, Cubans elect local representatives, who +select a party leader. In practise, Castro has been re-elected President by +party officials in every election since the Revolution. Here’s some more +information on <a href="http://dodgson.ucsd.edu/las/cuba/1990-2001.htm">elections in Cuba</a>.</li> +<li>Today, Cuba’s population is highly educated. The current literacy rate is +approximately 97%—the same as Canada’s. Before the revolution, the overall +literacy rate was 23.6%. Castro’s guerrilla manifesto of 1957 included an +immediate literacy and education campaign, with the slogan &lsquo;Revolution and +Education are the same thing.&rsquo;</li> +<li>It’s illegal to form a party other than the Communist Party, and people live +under fairly strict supervision by the government compared to most western +nations. The movement of Cubans is restricted by the government. The +Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs maintains a <a href="https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/cuba">fact page</a> +on Cuba, as does <a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/cu.html">the CIA</a> in the United States.</li> +<li>Cuba’s media is not entirely restricted, and Cubans can tune in to Miami and +Mexican radio stations. The national newspaper, Granma is published by the +Communist Party and is <a href="http://www.granma.cu/">available online</a> in several languages.</li> +</ul> +<p>I was going to include a quick whirlwind tour of the history of Cuba here. I +started on it, but by the time I got to the late 19th century it was already +ten paragraphs long. Instead, if you want an excellent point-form history, have +a look at <a href="http://www.historyofcuba.com/">A History of Cuba</a>. If you want something more in +depth, specifically focusing on US-Cuban relations, the multi-volume set <em>A +History of Cuba and its relations with The United States</em> by Philip S. Foner is +excellent.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2002-03-19-old-havana-door.jpg" + alt="Crumbling doorway in Old Havana"/> +</figure> + +<h3 id="arrival-in-havana">Arrival in Havana</h3> +<p>The flight to Cuba was probably the craziest flights I’ve ever experienced. We +boarded the ancient, Soviet-built Cubana Yak-42 jet in Cancún and took our +seats. The first thing we noticed as we sat down was that the safety +instruction cards were printed in Russian. The second, and more alarming thing +we noticed was that smoke was slowly filling the cabin. The flight attendants +assured people that it was just steam, and that it was totally normal. By the +time we landed in Cuba, The cabin was filled chest high and we couldn’t see our +knees anymore. We got off the plane as quickly as possible, were packed into a +rickety old East-German bus and carted off to immigration. Once in Havana, we +checked into Hotel Flamingo where we stayed for our first two days while we +explored Havana. Across the street were a bunch of featureless, utilitarian, +crumbling apartment buildings, which are apparently identical to the ones that +were built across the Communist Block countries during the Soviet era. You’re +surrounded on all sides by relics of the Soviet era: East German and Polish +buses, Russian radios and record players, and tons of North Korean equipment. +It’s fascinating to see a country that exists almost entirely apart from the +US. When it comes to the States, it’s as though time stopped in 1959. The only +Chevys and Buicks to be seen are 1950s models. All new cars are Ladas, Yugos, +Polski Fiats, or Chinese and North Korean imports. Supposedly push-by shootings +from Ladas aren’t as big a problem here as they are in Russia.</p> +<p>Old Havana La Habana Vieja is something amazing to see. Walking down the +streets of Old Havana, you’re surrounded by some of the most incredible +architecture you’ve ever witnessed. What’s even more incredible is that it’s +crumbling all around you. Ornate gargoyles and balconies have decayed and +collapsed with age; the paint is peeling, and everything is covered in a thick +layer of dirt and grime. Broken windows are everywhere, and yet people continue +to live in these buildings that elsewhere in the world would have long since +been condemned.</p> +<p>Another thing not to be missed in Havana is sitting in the park in front of the +Museo de la Revolución and eating freshly roasted peanuts out of a rolled up +newspaper. For one peso, you can buy salted peanuts from street vendors, rolled +up in an old copy of a page from <em>Granma</em>, and sit back and watch kids play +baseball in the street.</p> +<p>Baseball is everywhere in Cuba. You can’t turn around without seeing a game +going on. Baseball equipment, on the other hand, is hard to come by. This +doesn’t stop anyone from playing the game, however. A rock wrapped in rubber +bands makes a pretty decent baseball, and we saw a lot of kids who could hit +some amazing runs with a broom handle baseball bat. If you visit Cuba, +something that’ll make any kid’s day is a baseball. Pencils and pens make nice +gifts too.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2002-03-19-vintage-american-cars.jpg" + alt="Vintage American cars"/> +</figure> + +<h3 id="dollars-and-pesos">Dollars and Pesos</h3> +<p>There are two things that everyone who visits Cuba should do. The first is to +experience live Cuban music, which you can read about in the Trinidad section. +The second is to convert some dollars to Cuban Pesos. Cuba has three official +currencies: Cuban Pesos, US Dollars, and Cuban Convertible Pesos. The Cuban +Convertible Peso was introduced to reduce the dependency on actual US dollars, +but are worth exactly one dollar in Cuba, and exactly zero dollars off the +island. Cuban Pesos are a soft currency, and as such, have no practical value +as an exchangeable currency; however, exchanges do happen at wildly fluctuating +rates. We got 26 pesos to the dollar. Cuba has two economies that don’t +overlap even remotely. Hard-currency stores charge US prices in US dollars and +sell high-end items. Bottled water is about $1.00 a bottle, soap is $0.50 a +bar, and meat and cheese are similar in price to what they would be in Canada +or the US. However, Cubans are paid in pesos at a rate of about 200-400 pesos a +month — about 8 to 16 dollars. That makes a bottle of water worth somewhere +around 10% of your monthly paycheque. Try the math with your paycheque. Soft +currency shops sell local goods, such as fruit and vegetables, for pesos.</p> +<p>The reason you should convert some money is that finding a place to spend your +newly acquired pesos will force you to discover a whole part of Cuba you might +otherwise never have seen. Cubans buy things in soft currency at markets or +shops that sell in pesos. The items you can buy for pesos are universally +locally produced items such as locally farmed foods, small pizzas baked on the +street in oil drums converted to wood ovens, and some ice cream. A pizza, which +is basically a piece of bread with a little tomato sauce, some oil, and bit of +salt on it, sells for 3 pesos, which is about 12 cents US. The reason it’s so +cheap is that peso goods are subsidised by the work you do for the state. Basic +food staples such as beans and rice are part of your government supplied +rations, and can be obtained with your ration card at certain shops. When you +can find it, food sold on the street is usually in pesos. Food in paladares¹, +hotels, and touristy places is almost universally in dollars.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2002-03-19-camelo.jpg" + alt="Camelo bus"/> +</figure> + +<h3 id="the-rich-and-the-poor">The Rich and the Poor</h3> +<p>The one thing that struck us immediately was the uniformity of income in Cuba. +In México, there are two extremes: the extremely rich and the extremely poor. +The middle class is tiny compared to Canada, where the middle class is the +norm. In Cuba, almost everyone lives in something that is not exactly poverty, +but at the same time they have basically no buying power. They have what the +government gives them, and little else. The income difference between a street +sweeper and a specialist doctor is about $7 a month vs. $15 a month. No matter +how you cut it, the $8 difference doesn’t buy much. It’s hard to get imported +goods no matter what, and what you can get is often on the black market. +Although under communism employment is universal and housing is provided by the +state, there are still people who turn to begging because it can be far more +lucrative than work in a factory for $8 a month. As a result of the incredibly +tiny incomes in Cuba, jineteros² have become more numerous, and will follow you +wherever you go, trying to drag you to a restaurant or shop where you’ll spend +your money. A lot of people on the street beg for soap or toothpaste when the +police aren’t watching. One man told us he’d do anything, even get down on his +knees and beg if it would make a difference.</p> +<p>Given all this, was the trip to Cuba worth it? Without a doubt. We met some +absolutely wonderful people, and learned a ton about Cuban history and +politics. The government isn’t the oppressive dictatorship many people would +like to believe, and it’s certainly an improvement over Batista’s brutal +dictatorship; however, things could certainly be a lot better than they are, +and Castro isn’t exactly known for his spectacular record on civil liberties. +The Cubans we met were friendly and welcoming, not to mention incredibly good +dancers. When we ran into difficulty getting cash out of our Mexican bank +accounts due to the embargo, one family we stayed with offered to reduce our +room rate, and give us a cheap ride to the airport so we didn’t have to pay the +taxi fare. Falling asleep to live Cuban music every night was worth the trip +alone.</p> +<h3 id="glossary">Glossary</h3> +<ol> +<li><em>Paladar:</em> a small independent restaurant. One of the allowed forms of +capitalism in Cuba.</li> +<li><em>Jinetero:</em> Literally a &lsquo;jockey.&rsquo; Jineteros will approach you and offer to +show you a restaurant or store. In exchange, the restaurant charges you +extra for your meal and the jinetero gets to keep the surcharge.</li> +</ol> +</description> </item> </channel> diff --git a/tags/cycling/index.xml b/tags/cycling/index.xml @@ -19,7 +19,59 @@ spare time on my hands before baby number two is due, I decided I was going to get back into decent enough shape that I could pull one off. I&rsquo;ve been using mornings and weekends to get back into riding longer distances, and slowly building up toward the goal of 160 km by riding further and further up the Tama -river every weekend.</p></description> +river every weekend.</p> +<p>Five minutes looking at Google maps yesterday morning at 6 am convinced me that +Lake Okutama was exactly the necessary 80 km away, so without a minute to lose +I got dressed, headed out the door and rode north up the Tama river. Here&rsquo;s +the <a href="https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/18311395">activity report</a>.</p> +<p>The ride along the river is gorgeous, one of the few places in Tokyo you can +ride uninterrupted through a green belt that runs from the ocean at Haneda +airport all the way into the mountains in the northwest corner of Tokyo. The +bike path ends at the south Hamura dam, but by then it&rsquo;s pretty <a href="http://www.ehimeajet.com/inaka.php" title="Inaka: rural Japan">inaka</a>, +so you can continue by road from there without much worry about traffic. At +the north Hamura dam, I crossed over to the west side of the river, to pick up +Route 411 through the towns of Oume, Sawai, and Mitake before leaving the city +completely and starting the climb up into the mountains.</p> +<p>The trip on from Mitake is a long, slow ascent along a narrow, winding road +through small towns and villages while criss-crossing the river. Particularly +this time of year with the leaves changing colour, the trip is visually +spectactular, with the mountainsides lit up bright orange and red. Okutama is +the last major town before the final hill-climb up to the lake. At its +westernmost edge is the world-famous Tokyo <a href="http://web-japan.org/nipponia/nipponia19/en/feature/feature05.html" title="Conbini: Let's enjoy convenience store life!">Conbini</a> Shuten—the final +convenience store of Tokyo. Complete with latitude and longitude figures on its +sign out front, it is a site of pilgrimage for cyclists headed up to the lake +and the border of Tokyo and Yamanashi prefectures. Too bad it&rsquo;s a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_Yamazaki">Daily +Yamazaki</a> and not a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FamilyMart">Famima</a>, but either way it&rsquo;s got +<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocari_Sweat">Pocari Sweat</a>!</p> +<p>From the town of Okutama to the lake is a 13 km hill climb up through tunnel +after tunnel to the dam at the edge of the lake. My the one route change I&rsquo;ll +make the next time I do this is to go <em>around</em> the tunnels instead of <em>through</em> +them. I can&rsquo;t possibly imagine why someone felt the need to put (very +expensive) tunnels in on this road given that almost every single one can be +bypassed on the road. I can only assume that this has something to do with the +government trying to buy the powerful rural vote with thousands of unnecessary, +environment-destroying <a href="http://www.iwanami.co.jp/jpworld/text/publicworks01.html" title="The LDP and pork-barrel politics">construction projects</a> per year.</p> +<p>The good news is that once you hit the top, the views are spectacular, the +roads are flat, and you&rsquo;re back in <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68908288@N00/141327403/" title="Jidohanbaiki: Let's vending machine!">jidohanbaiki</a>-land where +Pocari Sweat and Aquarius are available in abundance! I&rsquo;d accidentally left my +cycle computer off for a 3km stretch out of Okutama, so I cycled 3 km down the +road to make up for it and be able to claim a <em>recorded</em> 160 km. I ran into a +German cyclist named Ludwig who&rsquo;d also ridden in from Tokyo; he had a +drool-worthy Canyan carbon-fibre bike, and interestingly, it turns out he&rsquo;s +part of the <a href="http://positivo-espresso.blogspot.com/">Positivo Espresso</a> cycling group whose blog I&rsquo;d +been reading for a couple months.</p> +<p>Ludvig continued on up towards Yamanashi-ken with the plan of packing up his +bike and taking the train back when he got as far as he wanted to go. Good +plan, and something I&rsquo;ll give a try next time. I turned my bike around for the +long trip back home. The best part of that trip was the 30 minute descent back +down out of the hills at car speed, before hitting Mitake, and heading back out +to the flat cycle path along the Tamagawa.</p> +<p>All in all, a pretty awesome day of cycling and a trip I&rsquo;d definitely do again. +While the trip included a nice hill-climb, it wasn&rsquo;t severe, and didn&rsquo;t last +more than 15 km. I&rsquo;ve included the GPS map—there are a couple errors where I&rsquo;d +accidentally switched it off for 3 km near Okutama, and for about 5 km near +Hamura on the way back.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -34,7 +86,156 @@ river every weekend.</p></description> <p>The plan was to travel from Osaka north to the Japan Sea, northeast along the coast to Joetsu, south through the alps to Nagano, then southeast all the way -to Tokyo — a total distance of close to 1200 km, entirely by bicycle.</p></description> +to Tokyo — a total distance of close to 1200 km, entirely by bicycle.</p> +<p>Unfortunately for me, disaster struck just over half-way, in the form of +150km/h winds and torrential downpours. Typhoon Number 10 ploughed straight +through Japan, following a track from the island of Shikoku through Nagano +before it died out, dumping up to 650mm of rain a day, and flooding out every +town and village in its path.</p> +<p>I arrived in Osaka the night of July 28th and promptly hauled my bike, +panniers, and tools through customs and immigration, across the airport, and +into a hotel. I’m not entirely sure how happy they were to have a +grotty-looking guy assembling his bike in his hotel room overnight, but no one +said anything, and I snuck out around 6am anyway.</p> +<p>It’s unbelievable just how slowly you start and stop when your bike is loaded +with 40kg of gear. Sort of the cycling equivalent of driving an 18-wheeler. The +weather was a scorching 36C, with the humidity hovering around 85%. Over the +first 70km from Osaka Itami Airport to downtown Kyoto, I consumed 8 litres of +Dakara, Boku, Miu, and the oh-so-deliciously named Poccari Sweat, crashed +twice, and got lost every 5 minutes. Took a break in Kyoto, stopping by to take +a look at Sanjuusan Gendo, take some pictures, and chat with Taxi drivers, the +police, and anyone else who wanted to know just what the hell I was doing.</p> +<p>Eventually, after a few more Poccari Sweats and some ramen for lunch, I jumped +on my bike and started the trek to Otsu. Half an hour later, winding my way +slowly uphill, along a narrow shoulder on a bridge 30m above a cemetary, I had +the first major close call of the ride. Fortunately, through a combination of +luck and skill, I deftly avoided flying over the railing and plummeting 30m to +my death. Unfortunately, I did so by launching myself headlong into a traffic +barrier, failing to release my toe-clips, breaking the seat right off the post, +and trashing both my leg and pannier on the pavement in the process. Pretty +sure my leg was broken, I lay there for a few minutes contemplating the +resounding success of my bike trip thusfar while the last of the Poccari Sweat +drained out of my water bottles into my shoes.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2003-08-17-fireworks-in-fukui.jpg" + alt="Fireworks in Fukui"/> +</figure> + +<p>Suffice to say that the rest of the day went uphill from there (both literally +and figuratively) and I arrived in Otsu, on the edge of lake Biwa, in one +piece. Annie met me at the JR train station, we ditched the bike in a parking +lot, and rode the train back to Kyoto, where we met up with the entire +complement of Shiga JET Programme teachers at The Hub, an Irish Pub in +Karamachi. After a few beers, some fish &amp; chips and edamame, Annie and Brent +hauled me back to their apartment in Imazu, where they (and I am forever +indebted to them for this) put me up for three days.</p> +<p>Although I didn’t get to go to SummerSonic in Osaka, I did get to pick up my +bike in Otsu, ride 95km back north to Imazu, and spend the evening at Imazu’s +Natsu-matsuri¹ with friends of Annie’s and Brent’s (Josh, Yo, and Hatsumi). +Natsu-matsuris involve many elements, but some of the most important factors +are: fireworks that put ours to shame, music and dancing, traditional Yukata², +and vast quantites of food and alcohol. After the festival, we dragged +ourselves to Bumblebee Twist, a local bar, and had a few more before eventually +hauling ourselves off to bed to recover.</p> +<p>The next day, we were all invited to a barbeque. The one thing that any +foreigner will immediately notice about a Japanese barbeque is that you can’t +just light the barbeque using zip-lights or lighter fluid. No&hellip; the correct +way to light a barbeque in Japan is for one person to heat the coals with a +torch while the rest stand around fanning the flames with uchiwas³ until the +barbeque, in a moment of glory, bursts into flames and the cooking begins. We +had music, more food, beer and Chu-hai (a sort of cider), snacks, and more +fireworks. It was totally great, even though I was beat over and over at some +kind of pirate game by a three-year-old.</p> +<p>The next morning, I said bye to Annie and Brent, then hurled myself off +northwards up the highway towards the north coast. For 30km, the road winds up +through the mountains over a narrow pass toward Tsuruga. In the scariest +downhill of the entire ride, I plummeted down the winding road, drafting behind +semi-trucks at 70km/h, flying in and out of tunnels and around hairpin turns +for the 8km down into Tsuruga.</p> +<p>Tsuruga sits on the ocean at the edge of the Sea of Japan, at the beginning of +the long road leading northeast to Fukui and Kanazawa. Unfortunately, it also +sits at the beginning of a 95km-long leg of straight uphill running along the +edge of a cliff with no shoulder. Fortunately, it’s some of the most beautiful +riding you could possibly hope for. Even more fortunately, midway through the +ride, as I sat at the side of the road huddling in a tiny corner of shade at +the edge of a cliff, two motorcyclists from Osaka pulled up and offered me +something to drink, a look at their road maps, and some encouragement in +Kansai-dialect. This was reinforced over and over throughout my ride by +children hanging out of car windows waving and shouting &ldquo;ganbare!&rdquo; at the top +of their lungs.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2003-08-17-lining-up-for-okonomiyaki.jpg" + alt="Lining up for okonomiyaki"/> +</figure> + +<p>Eventually, I wound my way up through the mountains to Fukui, where I almost +had to spend the night camped on a park-bench by the river. Just when I’d +almost given up hope of finding a hostel, someone walked up to me and in +perfect English, asked if I needed a place to stay for the night. Turns out her +family ran a hotel downtown, and she and her sister had spent several years +living in Australia. Their mom invited me in for tea and snacks after dinner +and we all stayed up late with their little boy, Ryu, yakking about travelling +and good Japanese food.</p> +<p>The next day it was off to Kanazawa, which it turns out has a lot in common +with Kyoto. While it’s much smaller, there were many beautiful old sections of +town. There are temples and shrines everywhere, Kanazawa Castle and Kenrokuen — +probably the most famous Japanese garden in the world. There’s also a crazy guy +dressed in a cape and John Lennon glasses who runs around dragging people to +convenience stores. Too embarassed not to buy an ice cream treat from the +shopkeeper, I grabbed some ice-cream mochi balls, borrowed the phone and set up +reservations for Nagano.</p> +<p>Because of the typhoon, I ended up doing the rest of the trip by train. I found +a bike shop and spent the day yammering away in pseudo-Japanese to the little +old grandma and grandpa who owned the shop. Turns out that he had done almost +the exact same bike trip about 40 years ago! He had also cycled across +Australia and much of the rest of Japan. Pretty amazing! If I hadn’t found +them, my bike would probably be lying in a crumpled heap in a landfill right +now. It took hours, be we did manage to pack everything into an unbelievably +small bag that I could haul onto the train with me.</p> +<p>From Kanazawa, I caught the train to Nagano, taking local lines and limited +express trains the whole way. Nagano was the site of the 1998 Winter Olympic +Games, but has since reverted to its pre-Olympic small-town feel. It was a +beautiful place to visit, hidden away in the Japanese alps, surrounded by +Japanese hot springs and ski hills. I can’t wait to visit in winter. Nagano’s +biggest feature is probably Zenkouji, a Buddhist Temple which houses the first +Buddhist images to come to Japan from the Asian mainland. Underneath the temple +is a pitch-black maze of tunnels that you can wander into, pushed along by wave +after wave of school-children on field trips, people on pilgrimmages, and +curious tourists. It’s almost impossible to tell just how fast you’re moving, +or how far you’ve gone&hellip; just disembodied voices in the dark. Eventually you +arrive at the “key to salvation”, which you can’t see, but you can feel. A few +shakes and rattles, then you’re swept away down the tunnels again.</p> +<p>From Nagano, I caught the Asama Shinkansen into Tokyo. At 280km/h the trip +takes just about two hours. The train tore through the edge of the hurricane at +breakneck speed and we were in Tokyo on schedule to the minute. You can’t help +but love the Japanese train system.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2003-08-17-akasaka.jpg" + alt="Akasaka at night"/> +</figure> + +<p>Met up with Yasuko in Tokyo, and we spent the week bumming around town and +catching all the sights: Akasaka, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Odaiba, the Tsukiji fish +market. Took a side trip to the art gallery a few hours away in Hakone +Prefecture where a mix of European and Japanese art is on display. There were +some absolutely amazing pieces of Japanese pottery in their collection. Back in +Tokyo, we had the chance to see a Kabuki play. I wasn’t entirely sure what to +expect, but it was great. The most striking thing is perhaps the movement. It +was absolutely incredible. I wish I were able to describe it, but the best I +can do is recommend that if you’re even in Tokyo, you go see a Kabuki play!</p> +<p>I returned home on August 17th. Ate breakfast, lunch and dinner in Tokyo, +jumped on the plane at 6pm and had another breakfast and lunch. Arrived back in +Canada 8 hours before I left, and had lunch and dinner again, for a total of +seven meals on the 17th. Not bad! It was a pretty wild and crazy trip, but it +was one of the best trips I’ve ever taken. I can’t wait to go back.</p> +<p>Thanks to everyone who put me up along the way! In particular, Annie &amp; Brent, +and Yasuko! You guys are the best!</p> +<h3 id="glossary">Glossary</h3> +<ol> +<li><em>Natsu-Matsuri:</em> every village’s traditional summer festival, usually in +early- to mid-August, near Obon, the Day of the Dead.</li> +<li><em>Yukata:</em> traditional light cotton kimonos that come in a variety of colours +and patterns.</li> +<li><em>Uchiwa:</em> Large, flat traditional Japanese fan.</li> +</ol> +</description> </item> </channel> diff --git a/tags/google/index.xml b/tags/google/index.xml @@ -14,7 +14,19 @@ <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2011/05/job-search-search-job/</guid> <description><p>After close to seven years with <a href="https://www.morganstanley.com">Morgan Stanley</a>, I&rsquo;ve turned in my badge -and exited the world of finance.</p></description> +and exited the world of finance. I first joined Morgan Stanley in Tokyo in 2004 +working in the Equities Technology group focusing on scalability in the trade +processing plant. Throughout my career at Morgan, I&rsquo;ve had the pleasure of +working alongside a lot of incredibly bright people on some very interesting and +challenging problems, mainly focusing on scalability, parallelism and system +architecture.</p> +<p>After being made the offer one sunny Kyoto morning, and giving it some serious +contemplation, I&rsquo;ve accepted a position with <a href="https://google.com">Google</a> in <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/gxWf">Mountain View, +California</a>. While there&rsquo;s no question I&rsquo;ll miss working with all the +people who made my time at Morgan Stanley such an awesome experience, I&rsquo;m +excited about joining Google, and looking forward to working on some tough and +interesting problems in a very unique environment.</p> +</description> </item> </channel> diff --git a/tags/howto/index.xml b/tags/howto/index.xml @@ -18,7 +18,103 @@ this time, I&rsquo;ve got a lot more stuff. One of those things is a Nissan that&rsquo;s been quietly living its life in Canada. Faced with the prospect of selling the car and buying a new one, I chose instead to import the one I know and love. Here is my story. But be forewarned, it is not for the faint of -heart.</p></description> +heart.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2011-05-10-futile.jpg" + alt="Scrawny kid vs sumo wrestler"/> +</figure> + +<p>To import a vehicle to the US from Canada, you need to undertake a series of +quests. These are detailed on the <a href="http://stnw.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/">NHTSA website</a> under the heading +<em>Vehicle Importation Guidelines (Canadian)</em>. As of May 2011, you need the +following items in increasing order of difficulty:</p> +<p><strong>[easy]</strong> The following information about your car:</p> +<ol> +<li>VIN</li> +<li>Make/Model/Year</li> +<li>Month/Year of manufacture</li> +<li>Registration &amp; ownership information</li> +</ol> +<p><strong>[easy]</strong> <a href="http://www.epa.gov/oms/imports/">EPA Form 3520-1</a>. You will likely be importing your +vehicle under <em>code EE: identical in all material respects to a US certified +version</em>.</p> +<p><strong>[easy]</strong> <a href="http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/">NHTSA Form HS-7</a>. You will most likely be importing your +vehicle under box 2B, for vehicles that complied with Canadian CMVSA +regulations at their time of manufacture and where the manufacturer attests +that, with a few exceptions, it meets US regulations; see final item.</p> +<p><strong>[medium]</strong> A letter on the manufacturer&rsquo;s letterhead from the Canadian +distributor, stating that there are no open recalls or service campaigns on the +vehicle. I&rsquo;m not sure if this is required, but Nissan Canada thought it would +be.</p> +<p><strong>[hard]</strong> A letter from the vehicle’s original manufacturer, on +the manufacturer’s letterhead identifying the vehicle by vehicle identification +number (VIN) and stating that the vehicle conforms to all applicable FMVSS +&ldquo;except for the labeling requirements of Standards Nos. 101 <em>Controls and +Displays</em> and 110 <em>Tire Selection and Rims</em> or 120 <em>Tire Selection and Rims for +Motor Vehicles other than Passenger Cars</em>, and/or the specifications of +Standard No. 108 <em>Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment</em>, +relating to daytime running lamps.&rdquo;</p> +<p>Items 1-3 are left as an exercise to the reader. I will focus here on items 4 +and 5 to save you the 14 hours of accumulated hold time and multiple phone +calls. Prepare yourself friend, for here begins a journey of hurt and +frustration, but you will prevail.</p> +<p>Let&rsquo;s start with item 4. I gave <a href="http://www.nissan.ca/common/footer/en/contact.html">Nissan Canada</a> a ring at +1-800-387-0122 and managed to make it through the phone navigation system to a +human operator. I told them I was importing a Canadian Nissan into the States +and needed a <em>Letter of Compliance</em>. After a bit of digging, they stated that +such letters are only provided by <em>Nissan North America,</em> but they would +instead mail out two other letters on Nissan letterhead:</p> +<ol> +<li>A letter stating the VIN and that the vehicle has no pending recalls or +service campaigns on it.</li> +<li>In place of a <em>Certificate of Origin</em> (which Nissan Canada does not +provide), a letter stating the VIN and that the vehicle was manufactured for +sale in the Canadian market and complied with all safety and emission +regulations at the time of manufacture.</li> +</ol> +<p>We&rsquo;re almost there, but your next and final mission is also the most +challenging: the <em>Letter of Compliance</em>. Call <a href="http://www.nissanusa.com/apps/contactus">Nissan North +America</a> Consumer Affairs Department at 1-800-647-7261. Navigate +through the phone system to an operator - get their name and extension. They +may ask for your VIN only to find it&rsquo;s not in their system. Canadian VINs are +not in their system. Some operators thought they were, others were sure they +weren&rsquo;t. They&rsquo;re not. Many operators tried and failed to find it. Ask them to +open a file, give them the vehicle information and your info and get the file +number. Use this number whenever you call.</p> +<p>Here are the five steps to success:</p> +<ol> +<li>Tell the operator that you&rsquo;re importing a Canadian Nissan vehicle to the US +and that you need a <em>Letter of Compliance</em> stating the VIN and that the +vehicle was built to conform to Canadian and United States EPA emissions +standards and all US Federal motor vehicle standards except for daytime +running light brightness. There is a very good chance they&rsquo;ve never heard of +this. Get them to talk to their supervisor, and their supervisor. Anyone. +Someone will know.</li> +<li>They will tell you that the vehicle needs to have its daytime running lights +disabled before they will issue the letter of compliance. All the government +rules seem to specifically exclude the daytime running lights, and the +letter they issue even states that the vehicle doesn&rsquo;t meet that standard, +but for whatever reason they want a copy of a work statement showing the +work was done. Remember to get the operator&rsquo;s name and extension and the +fax number for the work statement before you hang up.</li> +<li>Get the daytime running lights disabled. It&rsquo;s a setting change in the +on-board computer; your local dealer will do this in under 30 mins for $50 +or so. </li> +<li>Fax your the work statement and put your name, return fax number and a +request for the <em>Letter of Compliance</em> on the cover sheet. Phone Nissan +North America Consumer Affairs back. The phone navigation system will give +you hope that you can input an extension directly, only to find it only +accepts 5-digit extensions but your rep has a 6-digit extension. You&rsquo;ll end +up back in the queue. Ask whoever you get to put you through to your +previous rep, by extension. When you get through, say that you sent the fax +and request the letter. Ask them to phone you back when they&rsquo;ve faxed it.</li> +<li>You&rsquo;ll get the fax eventually - <em>check the information!</em> On my letter, the +year, model and VIN were all incorrect, though they got my name right. If +it&rsquo;s incorrect, try again.</li> +</ol> +<p>You now have everything you need to import your Nissan to the States. Good +luck my friends, I don&rsquo;t envy you, but know that I am with you and that victory +will someday be yours too.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -30,7 +126,98 @@ heart.</p></description> <description><p>If you&rsquo;re a Japanese speaker, one of the first things you do when you install a fresh Linux distribution is to install a decent <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_IME">Japanese IME</a>. Ubuntu defaults to <a href="https://sourceforge.jp/projects/anthy/news/">Anthy</a>, but I personally prefer <a href="https://code.google.com/p/mozc/">Mozc</a>, and -that&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m going to show you how to install here.</p></description> +that&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m going to show you how to install here.</p> +<p><em>Update (2011-05-01):</em> Found an older <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfgjTCXZ2-s">video tutorial</a> on YouTube +which provides an alternative (and potentially more comprehensive) solution for +Japanese support on 10.10 using ibus instead of uim, which is the better choice +for newer releases.</p> +<p><em>Update (2011-10-25):</em> The software installation part of this process got a +whole lot easier in Ubuntu releases after Natty, and as noted above, I&rsquo;d +recommend sticking with ibus over uim.</p> +<h3 id="japanese-input-basics">Japanese Input Basics</h3> +<p>Before we get going, let&rsquo;s understand a bit about how Japanese input works on +computers. Japanese comprises three main character sets: the two phonetic +character sets, hiragana and katakana at 50 characters each, plus many +thousands of Kanji, each with multiple readings. Clearly a full keyboard is +impractical, so a mapping is required.</p> +<p>Input happens in two steps. First, you input the text phonetically, then you +convert it to a mix of kanji and kana.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2011-04-22-henkan.png" + alt="Japanese IME completion menu"/> +</figure> + +<p>Over the years, two main mechanisms evolved to input kana. The first was common +on old <em>wapuro</em>, and assigns a kana to each key on the keyboard—e.g. where +the <em>A</em> key appears on a QWERTY keyboard, you&rsquo;ll find a ち. This is how our +grandparents hacked out articles for the local <em>shinbun</em>, but I suspect only a +few die-hard traditionalists still do this. The second and more common method +is literal <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wapuro">transliteration of roman characters into kana</a>. You +type <em>fujisan</em> and out comes ふじさん.</p> +<p>Once the phonetic kana have been input, you execute a conversion step wherein +the input is transformed into the appropriate mix of kanji and kana. Given the +large number of homonyms in Japanese, this step often involves disambiguating +your input by selecting the intended kanji. For example, the <em>mita</em> in <em>eiga wo +mita</em> (I watched a movie) is properly rendered as 観た whereas the <em>mita</em> in +<em>kuruma wo mita</em> (I saw a car) should be 見た, and in neither case is it <em>mita</em> +as in the place name <em>Mita-bashi</em> (Mita bridge) which is written 三田.</p> +<h3 id="some-implementation-details">Some Implementation Details</h3> +<p>Let&rsquo;s look at implementation. There are two main components used in inputting +Japanese text:</p> +<p>The GUI system (e.g. ibus, uim) is responsible for:</p> +<ol> +<li>Maintaining and switching the current input mode: +ローマ字、ひらがな、カタカナ、半額カタカナ.</li> +<li>Transliteration of character input into kana: <em>ku</em> into く, +<em>nekko</em> into ねっこ, <em>xtu</em> into っ.</li> +<li>Managing the text under edit (the underlined stuff) and the +drop-down list of transliterations.</li> +<li>Ancillary functions such as supplying a GUI for custom dictionary +management, kanji lookup by radical, etc.</li> +</ol> +<p>The transliteration engine (e.g. Anthy, Mozc) is responsible for transforming a +piece of input text, usually in kana form, into kanji: for example みる into +one of: 見る、観る、診る、視る. This involves:</p> +<ol> +<li>Breaking the input phrase into components.</li> +<li>Transforming each component into the appropriate best guess based on context +and historical input.</li> +<li>Supplying alternative transformations in case the best guess was incorrect.</li> +</ol> +<h3 id="why-mozc">Why Mozc?</h3> +<p>TL;DR: because it&rsquo;s better. Have a look at the conversion list up at the top of +this post. The input is <em>kinou</em>, for which there are two main conversion +candidates: 機能 (feature) and 昨日 (yesterday). Notice however, that it also +supplies several conversions for yesterday&rsquo;s date in various formats, including +「平成23年4月21日」 using <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_era_name">Japanese Era Name</a> rather than the +Western notation 2011. This is just one small improvement among dozens of +clever tricks it performs. If you&rsquo;re thinking this bears an uncanny resemblance +to tricks that <a href="https://www.google.com/intl/ja/ime/">Google&rsquo;s Japanese IME</a> supports, you&rsquo;re right: Mozc +originated from the same codebase.</p> +<h3 id="switching-to-mozc">Switching to Mozc</h3> +<p>So let&rsquo;s assume you&rsquo;re now convinced to abandon Anthy and switch to Mozc. +You&rsquo;ll need to make some changes. Here are the steps:</p> +<p>If you haven&rsquo;t yet done so, install some Japanese fonts from either Software +Centre or Synaptic. I&rsquo;d recommend grabbing the <em>ttf-takao</em> package.</p> +<p>Next up, we&rsquo;ll install and configure Mozc.</p> +<ol> +<li><strong>Install ibus-mozc:</strong> <code>sudo apt-get install ibus-mozc</code></li> +<li><strong>Restart the ibus daemon:</strong> <code>/usr/bin/ibus-daemon --xim -r -d</code></li> +<li><strong>Set your input method to mozc:</strong> +<ol> +<li>Open <em>Keyboard Input Methods</em> settings.</li> +<li>Select the <em>Input Method</em> tab.</li> +<li>From the <em>Select an input method</em> drop-down, select Japanese, then mozc from +the sub-menu.</li> +<li>Select <em>Japanese - Anthy</em> from the list, if it appears there, and click +<em>Remove</em>.</li> +</ol> +</li> +<li><strong>Optionally, remove Anthy from your system:</strong> <code>sudo apt-get autoremove anthy</code></li> +</ol> +<p>Log out, and back in. You should see an input method menu in the menu +bar at the top of the screen.</p> +<p>That&rsquo;s it, Mozcを楽しんでください！</p> +</description> </item> </channel> diff --git a/tags/iphone/index.xml b/tags/iphone/index.xml @@ -20,7 +20,41 @@ than a nomad. disappointed. While this phone has a slicker GUI than any other phone I&rsquo;ve seen, it&rsquo;s not so much the $499 US price-tag, but the stone-age functionality of the phone compared to what we have here in Japan that makes my jaw -drop.</p></description> +drop.</p> +<p>Here in Japan, 3 years ago in 2004, for 1 yen, I had the following in a +cellphone:</p> +<ul> +<li>3G download speeds of 50 Mb/s.</li> +<li>Two-way video-phone.</li> +<li>Built-in fingerprint scanner (for security checks).</li> +<li>MP3 player and download service.</li> +<li>Edy BitWallet (like Interac, except you swipe your finger on the +phone&rsquo;s scanner to accept the transaction).</li> +<li>Can be used as a <em>Suica</em> train pass.</li> +<li>Can buy movie tickets and scan in at the theatre, bypassing the +lineup.</li> +<li>Can wave it at vending machines for food and drinks.</li> +<li>Will figure out train routes, transfer locations and times, and +ticket prices.</li> +<li>Can scan barcodes which take you to websites – eg. scan at the bus +station to pull up the schedule or scan a magazine to order a +product.</li> +<li>MP3 player and download service.</li> +<li>Decent email (+ attachments), SMS, calendaring, notepad.</li> +<li>Automatic location triangulation (by determining which antennae are +nearby) and location-aware mapping, shopping/restaurant listings.</li> +<li>Interactive mapping of current location with zooming and scrolling.</li> +<li>Integrated graphical web-browser.</li> +<li>1 megapixel Camera, Video camera.</li> +<li>Display/graph your phone usage to the day.</li> +<li>Can write and deploy your own Java/C/C++ applets.</li> +</ul> +<p>If you go for a high-end phone with more than the above (e.g. built-in TV +tuner), you&rsquo;ll need to pay more than one yen, but the price range is normally +below ¥20,000 ($200 Canadian). In its current state, the iPhone won&rsquo;t sell in +Japan even if it&rsquo;s free; Apple is going to have to do some major work if it +wants to compete with even the bare-bones models on the market in Japan.</p> +</description> </item> </channel> diff --git a/tags/japan/index.xml b/tags/japan/index.xml @@ -15,7 +15,35 @@ <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2011/04/winter-sounds-in-japan/</guid> <description><p>There are a lot of uniquely Japanese sounds. But the two I&rsquo;m writing about today appear on cold winter nights, and echo eerily through the -dark, empty streets between dinner and bedtime.</p></description> +dark, empty streets between dinner and bedtime.</p> +<p>Japanese winters are cold. They&rsquo;re not -30C cold, but what they do have on +Canadian winters is how drafty Japanese houses tend to be, and the distinct +lack of central heating. All across the country the appearance of convenience +store oden and yaki-imo wagons mark the arrival of winter.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2011-04-25-yakiimo.jpg" + alt="Yaki-imo wagon"/> +</figure> + +<p>Yaki-imo are sweet potatoes roasted over flames in wood fired ovens in small +mobile carts or trucks. They&rsquo;re served up wrapped in newspaper, and are not +only delicious, but keep your hands warm too. But the most distinctive thing +about yaki-imo is that the sellers sing a very distinct <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P9yctE9_hQ">yaki-imo +song</a>. They typically make the rounds until just after dinner time, +and I always found their song a bit eerie drifting though the dark streets.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2011-04-25-hinoyoujin.jpg" + alt="Hi no Yōjin"/> +</figure> + +<p>Central heating is near non-existent in Japan, one result of which is the +<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotatsu">kotatsu</a>, but another is that kerosene and gas heaters are still +commonly used for heating. Every year, housefires result from people +forgetting to shut of their heaters before bed. As a reminder to shut off the +heaters, people walk through town late at night, carrying lanterns and clacking +wooden blocks together, calling out &ldquo;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFqRIKoVckA#t=20s">hi no yōjin</a>&rdquo;: be careful +with fire. The sound of the blocks typically carries for many blocks, and you +often hear their calls echoing through town, coming and going for up to half an +hour as you lay in bed.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -30,7 +58,59 @@ spare time on my hands before baby number two is due, I decided I was going to get back into decent enough shape that I could pull one off. I&rsquo;ve been using mornings and weekends to get back into riding longer distances, and slowly building up toward the goal of 160 km by riding further and further up the Tama -river every weekend.</p></description> +river every weekend.</p> +<p>Five minutes looking at Google maps yesterday morning at 6 am convinced me that +Lake Okutama was exactly the necessary 80 km away, so without a minute to lose +I got dressed, headed out the door and rode north up the Tama river. Here&rsquo;s +the <a href="https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/18311395">activity report</a>.</p> +<p>The ride along the river is gorgeous, one of the few places in Tokyo you can +ride uninterrupted through a green belt that runs from the ocean at Haneda +airport all the way into the mountains in the northwest corner of Tokyo. The +bike path ends at the south Hamura dam, but by then it&rsquo;s pretty <a href="http://www.ehimeajet.com/inaka.php" title="Inaka: rural Japan">inaka</a>, +so you can continue by road from there without much worry about traffic. At +the north Hamura dam, I crossed over to the west side of the river, to pick up +Route 411 through the towns of Oume, Sawai, and Mitake before leaving the city +completely and starting the climb up into the mountains.</p> +<p>The trip on from Mitake is a long, slow ascent along a narrow, winding road +through small towns and villages while criss-crossing the river. Particularly +this time of year with the leaves changing colour, the trip is visually +spectactular, with the mountainsides lit up bright orange and red. Okutama is +the last major town before the final hill-climb up to the lake. At its +westernmost edge is the world-famous Tokyo <a href="http://web-japan.org/nipponia/nipponia19/en/feature/feature05.html" title="Conbini: Let's enjoy convenience store life!">Conbini</a> Shuten—the final +convenience store of Tokyo. Complete with latitude and longitude figures on its +sign out front, it is a site of pilgrimage for cyclists headed up to the lake +and the border of Tokyo and Yamanashi prefectures. Too bad it&rsquo;s a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_Yamazaki">Daily +Yamazaki</a> and not a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FamilyMart">Famima</a>, but either way it&rsquo;s got +<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocari_Sweat">Pocari Sweat</a>!</p> +<p>From the town of Okutama to the lake is a 13 km hill climb up through tunnel +after tunnel to the dam at the edge of the lake. My the one route change I&rsquo;ll +make the next time I do this is to go <em>around</em> the tunnels instead of <em>through</em> +them. I can&rsquo;t possibly imagine why someone felt the need to put (very +expensive) tunnels in on this road given that almost every single one can be +bypassed on the road. I can only assume that this has something to do with the +government trying to buy the powerful rural vote with thousands of unnecessary, +environment-destroying <a href="http://www.iwanami.co.jp/jpworld/text/publicworks01.html" title="The LDP and pork-barrel politics">construction projects</a> per year.</p> +<p>The good news is that once you hit the top, the views are spectacular, the +roads are flat, and you&rsquo;re back in <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68908288@N00/141327403/" title="Jidohanbaiki: Let's vending machine!">jidohanbaiki</a>-land where +Pocari Sweat and Aquarius are available in abundance! I&rsquo;d accidentally left my +cycle computer off for a 3km stretch out of Okutama, so I cycled 3 km down the +road to make up for it and be able to claim a <em>recorded</em> 160 km. I ran into a +German cyclist named Ludwig who&rsquo;d also ridden in from Tokyo; he had a +drool-worthy Canyan carbon-fibre bike, and interestingly, it turns out he&rsquo;s +part of the <a href="http://positivo-espresso.blogspot.com/">Positivo Espresso</a> cycling group whose blog I&rsquo;d +been reading for a couple months.</p> +<p>Ludvig continued on up towards Yamanashi-ken with the plan of packing up his +bike and taking the train back when he got as far as he wanted to go. Good +plan, and something I&rsquo;ll give a try next time. I turned my bike around for the +long trip back home. The best part of that trip was the 30 minute descent back +down out of the hills at car speed, before hitting Mitake, and heading back out +to the flat cycle path along the Tamagawa.</p> +<p>All in all, a pretty awesome day of cycling and a trip I&rsquo;d definitely do again. +While the trip included a nice hill-climb, it wasn&rsquo;t severe, and didn&rsquo;t last +more than 15 km. I&rsquo;ve included the GPS map—there are a couple errors where I&rsquo;d +accidentally switched it off for 3 km near Okutama, and for about 5 km near +Hamura on the way back.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -41,7 +121,18 @@ river every weekend.</p></description> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2008/08/monkey-madness/</guid> <description><p>How many police does it take to catch a monkey in one of Tokyo&rsquo;s busiest train stations? Apparently a lot more than the <a href="https://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=1LbhEJ2NUxE">40 or so that -tried</a>.</p></description> +tried</a>.</p> +<p>The monkey was first spotted around 9:45am on top of the Tokyu Toyoko Line +schedule display, possibly one of the best choices for people-watching in +Shibuya Station, strategically positions between the exit of the Tokyu +department store and the entrance to one of Tokyo&rsquo;s busiest train lines.</p> +<p>It hung around for close to two hours while commuters, shoppers, news crews and +a posse of net-wielding cops showed up, before finally deciding to +<a href="https://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=AKFh-Wc7KSE">make a break for it</a>. Police never did catch the cheeky +monkey, and its current whereabouts are unknown.</p> +<p>Apparently this is the third incident of a monkey getting into a train station +in Tokyo in the last few weeks.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -57,7 +148,41 @@ than a nomad. disappointed. While this phone has a slicker GUI than any other phone I&rsquo;ve seen, it&rsquo;s not so much the $499 US price-tag, but the stone-age functionality of the phone compared to what we have here in Japan that makes my jaw -drop.</p></description> +drop.</p> +<p>Here in Japan, 3 years ago in 2004, for 1 yen, I had the following in a +cellphone:</p> +<ul> +<li>3G download speeds of 50 Mb/s.</li> +<li>Two-way video-phone.</li> +<li>Built-in fingerprint scanner (for security checks).</li> +<li>MP3 player and download service.</li> +<li>Edy BitWallet (like Interac, except you swipe your finger on the +phone&rsquo;s scanner to accept the transaction).</li> +<li>Can be used as a <em>Suica</em> train pass.</li> +<li>Can buy movie tickets and scan in at the theatre, bypassing the +lineup.</li> +<li>Can wave it at vending machines for food and drinks.</li> +<li>Will figure out train routes, transfer locations and times, and +ticket prices.</li> +<li>Can scan barcodes which take you to websites – eg. scan at the bus +station to pull up the schedule or scan a magazine to order a +product.</li> +<li>MP3 player and download service.</li> +<li>Decent email (+ attachments), SMS, calendaring, notepad.</li> +<li>Automatic location triangulation (by determining which antennae are +nearby) and location-aware mapping, shopping/restaurant listings.</li> +<li>Interactive mapping of current location with zooming and scrolling.</li> +<li>Integrated graphical web-browser.</li> +<li>1 megapixel Camera, Video camera.</li> +<li>Display/graph your phone usage to the day.</li> +<li>Can write and deploy your own Java/C/C++ applets.</li> +</ul> +<p>If you go for a high-end phone with more than the above (e.g. built-in TV +tuner), you&rsquo;ll need to pay more than one yen, but the price range is normally +below ¥20,000 ($200 Canadian). In its current state, the iPhone won&rsquo;t sell in +Japan even if it&rsquo;s free; Apple is going to have to do some major work if it +wants to compete with even the bare-bones models on the market in Japan.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -67,7 +192,16 @@ drop.</p></description> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2006/09/mystery-solved/</guid> <description><p>One of my biggest complaints about Japan has always been the complete and utter -lack of garbage bins in this city. There are none to be found.</p></description> +lack of garbage bins in this city. There are none to be found.</p> +<p>If you buy a (most likely seriously overpackaged) snack, you either have to +carry all the wrapping and leftovers around with you until you get home, or +toss it on the street. But the streets are impeccably clean here, which had led +me to believe that like me, the other 12 million people out for a walk this +afternoon, will be carrying their litter around in their backpacks and shopping +bags.</p> +<p>But it turns out this is not the case: an article in <a href="http://www.metropolis.co.jp/">Metropolis</a> +unveils the answer to <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190222191348/http://archive.metropolis.co.jp/tokyorantsravesarchive349/315/tokyorantsravesinc.htm">The Big Tokyo Trash Mystery</a>.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -82,7 +216,9 @@ Grill</a>, followed by a Canada Day barbeque at Yoyogi Park including hot dogs, yakitori, a massive Canadian Flag cake, and imported Canadian beer. By 6pm things, as started to wind down at the park, people started the long trek back to Shibuya and into the Maple Leaf, where it was standing room -only.</p></description> +only.</p> +<p>Some <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbracken/sets/72157594183420453/">pictures of the event</a>.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -95,7 +231,78 @@ only.</p></description> before moving to Mexico, in the summer of 2001. As you might imagine, I was not entirely expecting a clean bill of dental health. The fact that I had once again ignored my dentist&rsquo;s advice to floss daily was not improving my outlook -one bit.</p></description> +one bit.</p> +<p>So it was with some trepidation that I went to see Dr Nakasawa yesterday +afternoon at 3 o&rsquo;clock. I stepped into the office, swapped my shoes for +slippers, filled out some forms, and took a seat in the waiting room, +attempting to pass the time by reading ads in Japanese for Sonicare +toothbrushes.</p> +<p>Eventually, I heard the receptionist call out &lsquo;Bracken-san!&rsquo; The door swung +open, and I was escorted to a chair and told to have a seat and wait for a few +moments with nothing to do except stare at the assortment of torture +instruments laid out on the table in front of me.</p> +<p>Now, in Canada, this is the point where the hygenist comes in, cleans your +teeth, tells you what a poor job you&rsquo;ve done of brushing your teeth over the +last six months, asks you whether you&rsquo;ve actually bothered to floss even once +since the last time you came, then takes off and the dentist comes in and pokes +around. In Japan, it goes only slightly differently. The dentist comes straight +in, cleans your teeth, tells you what a poor job you&rsquo;ve done of brushing your +teeth, asks you whether you&rsquo;ve actually bothered to floss even once since you +last came in, then starts poking around. Normally, that is.</p> +<p><em>Chotto akete kudasai.</em> I opened my mouth. Dr Nakasawa looked around for a +moment, poking at things with his tools, then paused.</p> +<p><em>Kono chiryou wa Nihon de moraimashita?</em></p> +<p>&lsquo;No, didn&rsquo;t get &rsquo;em here. I got all my fillings in Canada.&rsquo;</p> +<p>Another pause. <em>Aah, Canada-jin desu ka? Daigakusei no jidai, Eigo o benkyou +shimashita kedo, mou hotondo wasurete-shimaimashita.</em></p> +<p>&lsquo;That&rsquo;s ok, I&rsquo;ll try my best in Japanese.&rsquo;</p> +<p>Dr Nakasawa takes another glance in my mouth, does a bit more poking and says +to the hygenist &lsquo;Number 14 looks like an A. 18 looks like a B. 31&hellip; is A-ish.&rsquo; +Dr Nakasawa sits back in his chair. Another pause.</p> +<p>&lsquo;These fillings&hellip; the grey ones,&rsquo; he says, &lsquo;how long ago did you get these?&rsquo;</p> +<p>&lsquo;I don&rsquo;t know, maybe when I was in middle-school. A long time ago. I haven&rsquo;t +had a filling in years.&rsquo;</p> +<p>&lsquo;They&rsquo;re really old. This one here looks like it&rsquo;s chipped away on the edge and +the tooth underneath has a little bit of discolouration that may well be a +cavity. We don&rsquo;t really do this style of filling in Japan anymore, but what I&rsquo;d +suggest — it&rsquo;s up to you — is that we remove these, check for cavities +underneath, do any cleanup you need, then replace them with modern fillings.&rsquo;</p> +<p>&lsquo;Sure, the last dentist I talked to mentioned these were getting pretty awful +too, so sure&hellip; sounds good. Let&rsquo;s do it.&rsquo;</p> +<p>&lsquo;Okay, I&rsquo;m particularly worried about this one here, so let&rsquo;s start with this +one.&rsquo;</p> +<p>&lsquo;Sounds good.&rsquo;</p> +<p>&lsquo;Would you like to book a time next week, or if you have time I could do it +today?&rsquo;</p> +<p>&lsquo;I&rsquo;ve got no plans for the rest of the day, let&rsquo;s just get it over with.&rsquo;</p> +<p>&lsquo;Alright. <em>Masui wa dou desu ka? Hitsuyou desu ka?</em>&rsquo;</p> +<p>Now here I want to remind you that although I can get by in day-to-day life and +carry on a conversation in Japanese, one of the unequivocal facts of gaijin +life is that there are some words you simply don&rsquo;t know, and to keep the flow +of conversation going, you skip them and pick up the general idea from context. +So when someone says to you &lsquo;What about <em>masui</em>? Would you like it?&rsquo; in a tone +that suggests that really, you probably wouldn&rsquo;t, your instinct tends to be to +say &rsquo;no, no.&rsquo;</p> +<p>One of the wonderful things about living in another country is that +occasionally you&rsquo;re pleasantly surprised by turn of events that leads to an +experience that you&rsquo;d almost certainly never have stumbled your way into back +home. These experiences often upend long-held, fundamental beliefs that you&rsquo;d +have never even thought to question in your life.</p> +<p>However, I am going to tell you right now that there is no question at all that +getting your teeth drilled with no freezing hurts almost exactly as much as +you&rsquo;d imagine it does.</p> +<p>The full meaning of Dr Nakasawa&rsquo;s question, and of what was about to transpire, +became crystal clear as he picked up the drill, looked me in the eyes and said +&lsquo;Open wide, and put your hand up if at any point you can&rsquo;t handle the pain.&rsquo; I +swear I detected just the slightest hint of a smile on his face as he said this +to me, but I didn&rsquo;t have long to think about it because it was it was at this +point that I began focussing my entire being on keeping my hands clamped in a +death grip on the armrests of the dental chair.</p> +<p>I walked out of the office that day with a shiny new hole in my tooth and a +temporary filling while they create the permanent one. I managed to do this +without once raising my hand, but Dr Nakasawa&rsquo;s lucky his chair has still got +its bloody armrests attached.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -106,7 +313,25 @@ one bit.</p></description> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2005/07/kekkon-shite-kuremasu-ka/</guid> <description><p>The big news is that Yasuko and I will be getting married in November at Shimogamo Shrine in Kyoto. For the desperately curious, I &lsquo;officially&rsquo; proposed -in February at <em>Souvenir</em>, a French restaurant down the street.</p></description> +in February at <em>Souvenir</em>, a French restaurant down the street.</p> +<p>In Japan, getting engaged isn&rsquo;t strictly just proposing. You&rsquo;re really not +truly engaged until you&rsquo;ve &lsquo;officially&rsquo; proposed, which means not just deciding +to get married, but getting together with the finacées parents and proposing to +them. A long time ago, one might typically say <em>O-jou-san o boku ni kudasai.</em> +&ldquo;Please give me your [honourable] daughter.&rdquo; I decided I&rsquo;d pass on that line.</p> +<p>In any case, after a few trips back and forth to Kyoto, we settled on a +Japanese ceremony just before noon, followed by a party with friends and family +at a restaurant. The <em>nijikai</em> party in Tokyo will be western-style, but we +haven’t even begun to think about when or where yet.</p> +<p>For those questioning the sanity of a November wedding, keep in mind that in +Japan, this is <em>kōyō</em> season, when all the leaves turn red and Japan is at its +most beautiful. As Fall and Spring are the two most beautiful seasons in Japan, +we were lucky to reserve when we did, back in April. Even then, some +restaurants we talked to were already booked solid until mid-December.</p> +<p>In any case, with the shrine and restaurant out of the way, all we have left to +figure out is wedding rings, kimonos, invitations, flowers, food, gifts, +speeches, photos, &hellip;</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -118,7 +343,18 @@ in February at <em>Souvenir</em>, a French restaurant down the stree <description><p>Last weekend, the temperature shot up to 23 degrees, and in the space of two days, the cherry blossom trees erupted into bloom. The Japanese take this opportunity to throw impromptu picnics, dinners, and random sake-drinking -events under <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_blossom">sakura</a> trees all across the country.</p></description> +events under <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_blossom">sakura</a> trees all across the country.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2005-04-09-sakura.jpg" + alt="Cherry blossoms near Naka-Meguro"/> +</figure> + +<p>The street behind my building is lined with sakura for as far as you can walk, +so it’s been packed with everyone in the neighbourhood until almost midnight +every night this week. With the cherry blossoms falling like snow since this +morning, the whole thing will be over with by early next week, so Yasuko and I +plan to get in one last hana-mi event tomorrow evening before heading back to +work on Monday.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -131,7 +367,15 @@ events under <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_blossom"&g something caught my eye. As the train flew along its raised track, whizzing past the rooftops of Gakugei-daigaku at 80 km/h, I swear I saw a guy standing on the roof of a building alongside the track, dressed in a red cape -and wearing a giant fish on his head, wailing away on a guitar.</p></description> +and wearing a giant fish on his head, wailing away on a guitar.</p> +<p>He was gone from my view before I was able to catch a second glance, though.</p> +<p><em>Update (2008-03-20):</em> I’m glad he’s <a href="http://jiyugaoka.keizai.biz/headline/171/">not just a figment of my imagination</a>.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2005-03-29-gakugeidai.jpg" + alt="Man with fish on head playing guitar"/> +</figure> + +<p><em>Update (2011-04-27):</em> Found a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DbvxgmEAtE">YouTube video</a>.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -147,7 +391,15 @@ and wearing a giant fish on his head, wailing away on a guitar.</p></descr <p>今年も宜しくお願いします！Jumped on the Nozomi Shinkansen from Shin-Yokohama station on the 31st to arrive in Kyoto two hours later. It was dumping snow from Nagoya onwards; and by the time we hit Kyoto, about 10 cm had -accumulated.</p></description> +accumulated.</p> +<p>After stopping by friends’ for the traditional osechi-ryouri and soba dinner, +Yasuko and I did hatsumoude at Yasaka shrine from 11 at night until 2 in the +morning in the midst of the blizzard.</p> +<p>Spent the next few days shopping in Kyoto, visiting more friends, and +re-visiting shrines and temples before heading back to Tokyo on the 3rd—though +on the return trip, I had to stand from Nagoya onwards since the trains were +booked to 120%.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -161,7 +413,12 @@ accumulated.</p></description> </figure> <p>I came into work to a nice surprise this morning. Sipping on hot green tea, we -all crowded around the windows to check out the view.</p></description> +all crowded around the windows to check out the view.</p> +<p>With the recent cold snap, the views this morning are incredibly clear. A +little less so when passed through the tiny lens of my cell-phone camera. To +see it in person, it really does dominate the horizon; and at over 100km away, +that’s a pretty big feat.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -174,7 +431,11 @@ all crowded around the windows to check out the view.</p></description> from the relative warmth of November and December to plummet sub-zero overnight. What started as a light flurry this morning has progressed to a full-out blizzard, and it’s still coming down like crazy as I write -this.</p></description> +this.</p> +<p>In unrelated news, I’m off to Kyoto for Oshogatsu from the 31st to the 3rd. +This time, I swear I’ll post pictures!</p> +<p>Hope everyone had a happy Christmas. See you in 2005!</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -184,7 +445,17 @@ this.</p></description> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2004/11/apartment-hunting/</guid> <description><p>Through a stroke of luck, I think I may have actually found a permanent place -to live in Jiyugaoka close to Toritsu Daigaku station.</p></description> +to live in Jiyugaoka close to Toritsu Daigaku station.</p> +<p>I have my current apartment in Ebisu until the 30th, so the plan is to move the +weekend of the 27th. In the meantime, to placate people asking for pictures, +here’s the view from my balcony here in Ebisu. The upside is that Ebisu is an +incredibly central location in Tokyo with a ton of great restaurants; the +downside is that tea costs 735 yen at the coffee shop across the way.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2004-11-04-balcony.jpg" + alt="Tokyo Tower viewed from Ebisu Garden Place"/> +</figure> + +</description> </item> <item> @@ -193,7 +464,11 @@ to live in Jiyugaoka close to Toritsu Daigaku station.</p></description> <pubDate>Wed, 15 Sep 2004 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2004/09/tokyo-ni-hikkoshi/</guid> - <description>After two years back in Canada and several trips back and forth to Japan, I’ve signed a full-time contract as a software developer with a firm in Tokyo and am permanently re-locating to Japan. I’ll post pictures as soon as I can get around to it.</description> + <description><p>After two years back in Canada and several trips back and forth to Japan, I’ve +signed a full-time contract as a software developer with a firm in Tokyo and am +permanently re-locating to Japan. I’ll post pictures as soon as I can get +around to it.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -206,7 +481,167 @@ to live in Jiyugaoka close to Toritsu Daigaku station.</p></description> in an effort to match my summer vacations with those of friends in Japan, ended up shuffling them back to August. Aside from the scorching heat, August is a fantastic time of year to visit. The heat this summer was more than a little -bit scorching though, it was the hottest summer in ten years.</p></description> +bit scorching though, it was the hottest summer in ten years.</p> +<p>It turned out, however, that I would have something more pressing than the +weather to keep my mind busy though. In the middle of the night, somewhere over +the Pacific ocean I woke up from my sleep in a cold sweat. My heart was +pounding. The airplane cabin was surprisingly silent; everyone around me had +dozed off to sleep and all that was left was the low drone of the jet engines +and the gentle hiss of the air vents. Slowly, I reached for the back pocket of +my backpack. My hands trembling, I unzipped it and slowly pulled it open. With +a huge sigh of relief, I pulled out my wallet. I hadn’t forgotten it at home +after all. Dropping it back in, I turned back toward the window and fell back +asleep. It wasn&rsquo;t until the next day in Osaka, as I opened my wallet to pay for +my hotel that I realised I’d forgotten my bank card at home.</p> +<p>This would not have been a problem, except that in a flash of brilliance, I had +decided to forgo the usual traveller’s cheques and use post office bank +machines to withdraw from my accounts back home. This had worked fantastically +last year and would save the hassle of cashing traveller’s cheques at a bank. +Fortunately I had a credit card on me. Unfortunately, Canadian credit cards +can’t be used to withdraw more than 20,000 yen a day, and then only at special +Visa bank machines which tend to be incredibly hard to find. Or, as I would +find out, impossible to find outside of Osaka or Tokyo. Fortunately I was able +to get hold of Mum on the phone relatively quickly, and she FedEx’ed the card +to Yasuko in Tokyo. By my math, I had just enough cash to buy Shinkansen +tickets to Shizuoka, then Tokyo. All I had to do was ensure that I reserved a +hotel in Shizuoka that accepted Canadian credit cards. No problem.</p> +<p>I spent the first night in the Umeda ward of Osaka, mostly because it’s so +close to Osaka station, and I was planning to catch the train first thing next +morning out through Kyoto, then Otsu, to Imazu-cho to meet Annie. Aside from +spending most of the next day in Osaka desperately seeking out Visa ATMs, I +can’t say I had that bad a time. Well, the weather was alright anyway.</p> +<p>Annie put me up for a few days in Imazu-cho, where I had the chance to meet up +with some friends from last year, and do a little exploring of nearby bits of +Shiga-ken. Caught the ferry out to Chikubushima, an island just 30 minutes out +from shore into Lake Biwa. The amazing thing about Chikubushima is the temples +and shrines you find in this remote location. The wood for the buildings did +not come from the island itself, but was ferried out by hand hundreds of years +ago. Chikubushima is one of several locations in Japan where the godess of +artistic inclinations, Benzaiten, is worshipped. Benzaiten, or Benten as she is +more often called, is the only female among the Shichifukujin¹ and is often +depicted as a woman carrying a lute. As she is a river godess, temples and +shrines dedicated to her often appear on lakes or near water.</p> +<p>After a few days in Imazu, I decided to head to Shizuoka. The best way to get +there was to catch local trains to Maibara station, on the other side of the +lake, then take the Shinkansen from there to Shizuoka. As I was running a +little late, I ended up sprinting through Imazu, suitcase in tow, to the train +station. With 100m to go, I saw the train pull into the station, so I threw it +into high gear. I quickly bought the 900 yen ticket from the ticket agent, who +told me to run for track 3, and remember to change trains at Nagahama station. +I sprinted up the stairs, and threw myself headlong through the train doors +seconds before they closed. 20 minutes later, the train driver called Nagahama +station over the crackly radio, and I hopped off. I was the only one. The train +pulled away, and I was left standing on the train platform with nothing but the +scorching heat and humidity, and the chirping of cicadas. It was then that I +read the station name: Nagahara. I’d misheard the name. There would surely be +another train in ten minutes though, so I staggered down the stairs and noticed +the utter lack of automatic ticket gates.</p> +<p>An old woman sat in the station-master’s booth. She looked up at me with a +half-surprised, half-worried expression and asked me for my ticket. I handed it +over. Noticing the apparent discrepancy in train fare she asked, “where are you +headed?” I answered “Maibara.” She said, “that’s on the other side of the lake. +You’re at Nagahara.” I said “I know. I’d meant to change at Nagahama…” at which +point she started laughing. ”The next train’s in three hours.” Three hours. I +asked when the next train to Oumi-Shiotsu station was. It was one station to +the north, at the junction of two train lines, so there’d be a much better +chance of catching an earlier train. She said ”That&rsquo;s the one. The next train +anywhere is three hours from now. There’s a bus in two though. Or I could call +a taxi, if that would help.” Maibara had to be at least 80km from here. No way +I could afford a taxi. But I could probably get a taxi to Oumi-Shiotsu, which I +did. And was laughed at some more over my mistake.</p> +<p>Turned out I wasn’t the only one. When I arrived at Oumi-Shiotsu, I was greeted +by three Japanese backpackers from Kyushu who’d apparently gotten off at +Nagahara the day before, and decided to stay the night at a nearby hotspring +and continue on to Maibara the next day. We sat for an hour, jumped on the +train, and eventually arrived at Nagahama, changed trains, and completed the +journey to Maibara. From there, it was the Kodama Shinkansen to Shizuoka.</p> +<p>I crashed the night in Shizuoka, then spent the next day exploring town. I +visited Sumpu-jou, a small castle in central Shizuoka, and Sumpu-jou Kouen, a +nearby park where I was invited in to try a whole series of green teas. +Shizuoka is famous for green tea, and as I had been the only foreigner that +week, I was treated to a detailed history of tea cultivation in the area, an +explanation of the many varieties and styles of green tea, and a pile of free +desserts! They asked if I had some spare time, as they’d love to take me on a +guided tour of the rest of the teahouse, and show me the private gardens in the +back. It was pretty spectacular.</p> +<p>After Sumpu-jou Kouen, I tried to find a bank machine that would allow me to do +a cash advance on my credit card, but finally gave up while I still had my +sanity. I bought a Shinkansen ticket for Tokyo with the plan to meet Setsuko at +Tennodai station at 9pm.</p> +<p>On the train, I met a professor with the Shimizu Univeristy Naval Engineering +school, and we ended up chatting the entire way to Tokyo. He was originally +from Kyoto, but had lived in Holland for years, and half-way through the +conversation, I discovered that he also spoke flawless English. He was +incredibly polite and put up with my fairly dodgy Japanese the entire way. It +was pretty good practice for me, though we did switch to English as the +conversation got into ship-building and a few other topics I knew nothing about +in Japanese.</p> +<p>In the end, I got to Ueno station a little bit early, stuffed my suitcase in a +locker, and ended up exploring the park for a few hours. I ended up doing a +huge survey on what I thought of Ueno Park, which was also great Japanese +practice, and I got a free pen out of the deal, to boot. I also discovered a +big festival going on at the far end of the park, near a temple that Yasuko and +I had visited last year. I wandered past the booths selling onigiri² and +kaki-kori³, listened to the music, took some pictures, and stopped by the +temple for a bit. It sits in the middle of a large pond full of blossoming +lotus flowers, and combined with the smell of incense wafting over the pond, it +makes for a very peaceful experience.</p> +<p>Eventually, I grabbed some onigiri and headed back to the train station to +catch the next train for Tennodai, in Chiba. Got there just in time, sat down +and waited on the platform for Setsuko, who arrived 5 minutes later. It was +crazy to see her again on the other side of the world. We headed off to the +supermarket, grabbed some food for dinner, and headed back to her apartment to +eat.</p> +<p>The next day, we did some shopping around Kashiwa station in Chiba, and I ended +up ordering a hand-made traditional futon. They measured me, we selected +fabrics and they said to come back in ten days to pick it up. Grabbed some +chinese food for lunch and some snacks, and did a bit more shopping. Eventually +we headed back, and I went to sleep. I remember being woken by an earthquake at +about 2am, but falling back asleep before it was even over. I can’t stay awake +for long on futons; they’re incredibly comfortable.</p> +<p>Yasuko and I arranged to meet at Shinagawa station early the next morning under +the big clock by the central ticket gates. It was great to see her again, and +we immediately bolted off to drop my gear at the apartment in Shinagawa she’d +rented and head out for lunch at an Italian place nearby. The rest of the week +was spent eating some of the most amazing sushi, soba, French, and Italian food +you can imagine, and checking out two huge fireworks festivals. Aside from all +the eating, we also visited art galleries in Ueno park, and did a bit of +shopping in Jiyuugaoka and Ginza. I got to visit Apple’s flagship Ginza store +which is a noble goal for any true Mac fanatic. Well, technically I also needed +a new AC adapter, since I’d accidentally destroyed mine earlier in the day.</p> +<p>After a week in Tokyo, it was off on a business trip to Oita, on Kyushu. I’d +never been to southern Japan before, and I was looking forward to meeting some +of my Japanese counterparts for work after many email conversations. Not only +did I get to visit a Japanese shipyard and see firsthand the incredible +precision with which they manufacture their vessels, but I also got to visit a +rural Japanese town, and meet Matsumoto-san and Kato-san, who treated me to +some of the most memorable karaoke of my life. After the business trip to +Nagasaki, we headed out for one last night together, with an amazing +traditional Kyushu-style sashimi and sushi dinner, and karaoke until two in the +morning.</p> +<p>For my final day in Japan, I was scheduled to fly out of Oita airport, arriving +at Tokyo Haneda airport at 12:15. At 5pm, my return flight to Canada departed +Tokyo Narita airport. In the intervening 3 hours, the brilliant plan was to +jump from train to train at breakneck pace and make it to Togoshi-ginza station +to meet Yasuko for lunch, then jump straight back on the train and make it out +to Narita just in time for my flight. I made every single train as the doors +were closing. Literally, with under two seconds to spare every time&hellip; but we +did have a fantastic Italian lunch, and make it to the airport with such +impeccable timing that by the time I arrived at the gate, everyone had boarded +but ten people. You can’t cut it much closer than that.</p> +<p>Once again, one of the most memorable trips of my life. The best part is that +I’ll be permanently moving back to Japan within a couple of months, so I’ll be +even closer to all the places I’ve been looking forward to visiting. Thanks to +everyone who put me up again this year: Annie, Setsuko, and Yasuko! I can’t +wait to be back.</p> +<h3 id="glossary">Glossary</h3> +<ol> +<li><em>Shichifukujin:</em> The seven gods of good luck.</li> +<li><em>Onigiri:</em> Rice balls, often stuffed with pickled plum or fish.</li> +<li><em>kaki-kori:</em> Shaved ice covered in flavoured syrup such as strawberry, +blueberry, or green tea.</li> +</ol> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -221,7 +656,156 @@ bit scorching though, it was the hottest summer in ten years.</p></descrip <p>The plan was to travel from Osaka north to the Japan Sea, northeast along the coast to Joetsu, south through the alps to Nagano, then southeast all the way -to Tokyo — a total distance of close to 1200 km, entirely by bicycle.</p></description> +to Tokyo — a total distance of close to 1200 km, entirely by bicycle.</p> +<p>Unfortunately for me, disaster struck just over half-way, in the form of +150km/h winds and torrential downpours. Typhoon Number 10 ploughed straight +through Japan, following a track from the island of Shikoku through Nagano +before it died out, dumping up to 650mm of rain a day, and flooding out every +town and village in its path.</p> +<p>I arrived in Osaka the night of July 28th and promptly hauled my bike, +panniers, and tools through customs and immigration, across the airport, and +into a hotel. I’m not entirely sure how happy they were to have a +grotty-looking guy assembling his bike in his hotel room overnight, but no one +said anything, and I snuck out around 6am anyway.</p> +<p>It’s unbelievable just how slowly you start and stop when your bike is loaded +with 40kg of gear. Sort of the cycling equivalent of driving an 18-wheeler. The +weather was a scorching 36C, with the humidity hovering around 85%. Over the +first 70km from Osaka Itami Airport to downtown Kyoto, I consumed 8 litres of +Dakara, Boku, Miu, and the oh-so-deliciously named Poccari Sweat, crashed +twice, and got lost every 5 minutes. Took a break in Kyoto, stopping by to take +a look at Sanjuusan Gendo, take some pictures, and chat with Taxi drivers, the +police, and anyone else who wanted to know just what the hell I was doing.</p> +<p>Eventually, after a few more Poccari Sweats and some ramen for lunch, I jumped +on my bike and started the trek to Otsu. Half an hour later, winding my way +slowly uphill, along a narrow shoulder on a bridge 30m above a cemetary, I had +the first major close call of the ride. Fortunately, through a combination of +luck and skill, I deftly avoided flying over the railing and plummeting 30m to +my death. Unfortunately, I did so by launching myself headlong into a traffic +barrier, failing to release my toe-clips, breaking the seat right off the post, +and trashing both my leg and pannier on the pavement in the process. Pretty +sure my leg was broken, I lay there for a few minutes contemplating the +resounding success of my bike trip thusfar while the last of the Poccari Sweat +drained out of my water bottles into my shoes.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2003-08-17-fireworks-in-fukui.jpg" + alt="Fireworks in Fukui"/> +</figure> + +<p>Suffice to say that the rest of the day went uphill from there (both literally +and figuratively) and I arrived in Otsu, on the edge of lake Biwa, in one +piece. Annie met me at the JR train station, we ditched the bike in a parking +lot, and rode the train back to Kyoto, where we met up with the entire +complement of Shiga JET Programme teachers at The Hub, an Irish Pub in +Karamachi. After a few beers, some fish &amp; chips and edamame, Annie and Brent +hauled me back to their apartment in Imazu, where they (and I am forever +indebted to them for this) put me up for three days.</p> +<p>Although I didn’t get to go to SummerSonic in Osaka, I did get to pick up my +bike in Otsu, ride 95km back north to Imazu, and spend the evening at Imazu’s +Natsu-matsuri¹ with friends of Annie’s and Brent’s (Josh, Yo, and Hatsumi). +Natsu-matsuris involve many elements, but some of the most important factors +are: fireworks that put ours to shame, music and dancing, traditional Yukata², +and vast quantites of food and alcohol. After the festival, we dragged +ourselves to Bumblebee Twist, a local bar, and had a few more before eventually +hauling ourselves off to bed to recover.</p> +<p>The next day, we were all invited to a barbeque. The one thing that any +foreigner will immediately notice about a Japanese barbeque is that you can’t +just light the barbeque using zip-lights or lighter fluid. No&hellip; the correct +way to light a barbeque in Japan is for one person to heat the coals with a +torch while the rest stand around fanning the flames with uchiwas³ until the +barbeque, in a moment of glory, bursts into flames and the cooking begins. We +had music, more food, beer and Chu-hai (a sort of cider), snacks, and more +fireworks. It was totally great, even though I was beat over and over at some +kind of pirate game by a three-year-old.</p> +<p>The next morning, I said bye to Annie and Brent, then hurled myself off +northwards up the highway towards the north coast. For 30km, the road winds up +through the mountains over a narrow pass toward Tsuruga. In the scariest +downhill of the entire ride, I plummeted down the winding road, drafting behind +semi-trucks at 70km/h, flying in and out of tunnels and around hairpin turns +for the 8km down into Tsuruga.</p> +<p>Tsuruga sits on the ocean at the edge of the Sea of Japan, at the beginning of +the long road leading northeast to Fukui and Kanazawa. Unfortunately, it also +sits at the beginning of a 95km-long leg of straight uphill running along the +edge of a cliff with no shoulder. Fortunately, it’s some of the most beautiful +riding you could possibly hope for. Even more fortunately, midway through the +ride, as I sat at the side of the road huddling in a tiny corner of shade at +the edge of a cliff, two motorcyclists from Osaka pulled up and offered me +something to drink, a look at their road maps, and some encouragement in +Kansai-dialect. This was reinforced over and over throughout my ride by +children hanging out of car windows waving and shouting &ldquo;ganbare!&rdquo; at the top +of their lungs.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2003-08-17-lining-up-for-okonomiyaki.jpg" + alt="Lining up for okonomiyaki"/> +</figure> + +<p>Eventually, I wound my way up through the mountains to Fukui, where I almost +had to spend the night camped on a park-bench by the river. Just when I’d +almost given up hope of finding a hostel, someone walked up to me and in +perfect English, asked if I needed a place to stay for the night. Turns out her +family ran a hotel downtown, and she and her sister had spent several years +living in Australia. Their mom invited me in for tea and snacks after dinner +and we all stayed up late with their little boy, Ryu, yakking about travelling +and good Japanese food.</p> +<p>The next day it was off to Kanazawa, which it turns out has a lot in common +with Kyoto. While it’s much smaller, there were many beautiful old sections of +town. There are temples and shrines everywhere, Kanazawa Castle and Kenrokuen — +probably the most famous Japanese garden in the world. There’s also a crazy guy +dressed in a cape and John Lennon glasses who runs around dragging people to +convenience stores. Too embarassed not to buy an ice cream treat from the +shopkeeper, I grabbed some ice-cream mochi balls, borrowed the phone and set up +reservations for Nagano.</p> +<p>Because of the typhoon, I ended up doing the rest of the trip by train. I found +a bike shop and spent the day yammering away in pseudo-Japanese to the little +old grandma and grandpa who owned the shop. Turns out that he had done almost +the exact same bike trip about 40 years ago! He had also cycled across +Australia and much of the rest of Japan. Pretty amazing! If I hadn’t found +them, my bike would probably be lying in a crumpled heap in a landfill right +now. It took hours, be we did manage to pack everything into an unbelievably +small bag that I could haul onto the train with me.</p> +<p>From Kanazawa, I caught the train to Nagano, taking local lines and limited +express trains the whole way. Nagano was the site of the 1998 Winter Olympic +Games, but has since reverted to its pre-Olympic small-town feel. It was a +beautiful place to visit, hidden away in the Japanese alps, surrounded by +Japanese hot springs and ski hills. I can’t wait to visit in winter. Nagano’s +biggest feature is probably Zenkouji, a Buddhist Temple which houses the first +Buddhist images to come to Japan from the Asian mainland. Underneath the temple +is a pitch-black maze of tunnels that you can wander into, pushed along by wave +after wave of school-children on field trips, people on pilgrimmages, and +curious tourists. It’s almost impossible to tell just how fast you’re moving, +or how far you’ve gone&hellip; just disembodied voices in the dark. Eventually you +arrive at the “key to salvation”, which you can’t see, but you can feel. A few +shakes and rattles, then you’re swept away down the tunnels again.</p> +<p>From Nagano, I caught the Asama Shinkansen into Tokyo. At 280km/h the trip +takes just about two hours. The train tore through the edge of the hurricane at +breakneck speed and we were in Tokyo on schedule to the minute. You can’t help +but love the Japanese train system.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2003-08-17-akasaka.jpg" + alt="Akasaka at night"/> +</figure> + +<p>Met up with Yasuko in Tokyo, and we spent the week bumming around town and +catching all the sights: Akasaka, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Odaiba, the Tsukiji fish +market. Took a side trip to the art gallery a few hours away in Hakone +Prefecture where a mix of European and Japanese art is on display. There were +some absolutely amazing pieces of Japanese pottery in their collection. Back in +Tokyo, we had the chance to see a Kabuki play. I wasn’t entirely sure what to +expect, but it was great. The most striking thing is perhaps the movement. It +was absolutely incredible. I wish I were able to describe it, but the best I +can do is recommend that if you’re even in Tokyo, you go see a Kabuki play!</p> +<p>I returned home on August 17th. Ate breakfast, lunch and dinner in Tokyo, +jumped on the plane at 6pm and had another breakfast and lunch. Arrived back in +Canada 8 hours before I left, and had lunch and dinner again, for a total of +seven meals on the 17th. Not bad! It was a pretty wild and crazy trip, but it +was one of the best trips I’ve ever taken. I can’t wait to go back.</p> +<p>Thanks to everyone who put me up along the way! In particular, Annie &amp; Brent, +and Yasuko! You guys are the best!</p> +<h3 id="glossary">Glossary</h3> +<ol> +<li><em>Natsu-Matsuri:</em> every village’s traditional summer festival, usually in +early- to mid-August, near Obon, the Day of the Dead.</li> +<li><em>Yukata:</em> traditional light cotton kimonos that come in a variety of colours +and patterns.</li> +<li><em>Uchiwa:</em> Large, flat traditional Japanese fan.</li> +</ol> +</description> </item> </channel> diff --git a/tags/japanese/index.xml b/tags/japanese/index.xml @@ -16,7 +16,98 @@ <description><p>If you&rsquo;re a Japanese speaker, one of the first things you do when you install a fresh Linux distribution is to install a decent <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_IME">Japanese IME</a>. Ubuntu defaults to <a href="https://sourceforge.jp/projects/anthy/news/">Anthy</a>, but I personally prefer <a href="https://code.google.com/p/mozc/">Mozc</a>, and -that&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m going to show you how to install here.</p></description> +that&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m going to show you how to install here.</p> +<p><em>Update (2011-05-01):</em> Found an older <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfgjTCXZ2-s">video tutorial</a> on YouTube +which provides an alternative (and potentially more comprehensive) solution for +Japanese support on 10.10 using ibus instead of uim, which is the better choice +for newer releases.</p> +<p><em>Update (2011-10-25):</em> The software installation part of this process got a +whole lot easier in Ubuntu releases after Natty, and as noted above, I&rsquo;d +recommend sticking with ibus over uim.</p> +<h3 id="japanese-input-basics">Japanese Input Basics</h3> +<p>Before we get going, let&rsquo;s understand a bit about how Japanese input works on +computers. Japanese comprises three main character sets: the two phonetic +character sets, hiragana and katakana at 50 characters each, plus many +thousands of Kanji, each with multiple readings. Clearly a full keyboard is +impractical, so a mapping is required.</p> +<p>Input happens in two steps. First, you input the text phonetically, then you +convert it to a mix of kanji and kana.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2011-04-22-henkan.png" + alt="Japanese IME completion menu"/> +</figure> + +<p>Over the years, two main mechanisms evolved to input kana. The first was common +on old <em>wapuro</em>, and assigns a kana to each key on the keyboard—e.g. where +the <em>A</em> key appears on a QWERTY keyboard, you&rsquo;ll find a ち. This is how our +grandparents hacked out articles for the local <em>shinbun</em>, but I suspect only a +few die-hard traditionalists still do this. The second and more common method +is literal <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wapuro">transliteration of roman characters into kana</a>. You +type <em>fujisan</em> and out comes ふじさん.</p> +<p>Once the phonetic kana have been input, you execute a conversion step wherein +the input is transformed into the appropriate mix of kanji and kana. Given the +large number of homonyms in Japanese, this step often involves disambiguating +your input by selecting the intended kanji. For example, the <em>mita</em> in <em>eiga wo +mita</em> (I watched a movie) is properly rendered as 観た whereas the <em>mita</em> in +<em>kuruma wo mita</em> (I saw a car) should be 見た, and in neither case is it <em>mita</em> +as in the place name <em>Mita-bashi</em> (Mita bridge) which is written 三田.</p> +<h3 id="some-implementation-details">Some Implementation Details</h3> +<p>Let&rsquo;s look at implementation. There are two main components used in inputting +Japanese text:</p> +<p>The GUI system (e.g. ibus, uim) is responsible for:</p> +<ol> +<li>Maintaining and switching the current input mode: +ローマ字、ひらがな、カタカナ、半額カタカナ.</li> +<li>Transliteration of character input into kana: <em>ku</em> into く, +<em>nekko</em> into ねっこ, <em>xtu</em> into っ.</li> +<li>Managing the text under edit (the underlined stuff) and the +drop-down list of transliterations.</li> +<li>Ancillary functions such as supplying a GUI for custom dictionary +management, kanji lookup by radical, etc.</li> +</ol> +<p>The transliteration engine (e.g. Anthy, Mozc) is responsible for transforming a +piece of input text, usually in kana form, into kanji: for example みる into +one of: 見る、観る、診る、視る. This involves:</p> +<ol> +<li>Breaking the input phrase into components.</li> +<li>Transforming each component into the appropriate best guess based on context +and historical input.</li> +<li>Supplying alternative transformations in case the best guess was incorrect.</li> +</ol> +<h3 id="why-mozc">Why Mozc?</h3> +<p>TL;DR: because it&rsquo;s better. Have a look at the conversion list up at the top of +this post. The input is <em>kinou</em>, for which there are two main conversion +candidates: 機能 (feature) and 昨日 (yesterday). Notice however, that it also +supplies several conversions for yesterday&rsquo;s date in various formats, including +「平成23年4月21日」 using <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_era_name">Japanese Era Name</a> rather than the +Western notation 2011. This is just one small improvement among dozens of +clever tricks it performs. If you&rsquo;re thinking this bears an uncanny resemblance +to tricks that <a href="https://www.google.com/intl/ja/ime/">Google&rsquo;s Japanese IME</a> supports, you&rsquo;re right: Mozc +originated from the same codebase.</p> +<h3 id="switching-to-mozc">Switching to Mozc</h3> +<p>So let&rsquo;s assume you&rsquo;re now convinced to abandon Anthy and switch to Mozc. +You&rsquo;ll need to make some changes. Here are the steps:</p> +<p>If you haven&rsquo;t yet done so, install some Japanese fonts from either Software +Centre or Synaptic. I&rsquo;d recommend grabbing the <em>ttf-takao</em> package.</p> +<p>Next up, we&rsquo;ll install and configure Mozc.</p> +<ol> +<li><strong>Install ibus-mozc:</strong> <code>sudo apt-get install ibus-mozc</code></li> +<li><strong>Restart the ibus daemon:</strong> <code>/usr/bin/ibus-daemon --xim -r -d</code></li> +<li><strong>Set your input method to mozc:</strong> +<ol> +<li>Open <em>Keyboard Input Methods</em> settings.</li> +<li>Select the <em>Input Method</em> tab.</li> +<li>From the <em>Select an input method</em> drop-down, select Japanese, then mozc from +the sub-menu.</li> +<li>Select <em>Japanese - Anthy</em> from the list, if it appears there, and click +<em>Remove</em>.</li> +</ol> +</li> +<li><strong>Optionally, remove Anthy from your system:</strong> <code>sudo apt-get autoremove anthy</code></li> +</ol> +<p>Log out, and back in. You should see an input method menu in the menu +bar at the top of the screen.</p> +<p>That&rsquo;s it, Mozcを楽しんでください！</p> +</description> </item> </channel> diff --git a/tags/linux/index.xml b/tags/linux/index.xml @@ -16,7 +16,98 @@ <description><p>If you&rsquo;re a Japanese speaker, one of the first things you do when you install a fresh Linux distribution is to install a decent <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_IME">Japanese IME</a>. Ubuntu defaults to <a href="https://sourceforge.jp/projects/anthy/news/">Anthy</a>, but I personally prefer <a href="https://code.google.com/p/mozc/">Mozc</a>, and -that&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m going to show you how to install here.</p></description> +that&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m going to show you how to install here.</p> +<p><em>Update (2011-05-01):</em> Found an older <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfgjTCXZ2-s">video tutorial</a> on YouTube +which provides an alternative (and potentially more comprehensive) solution for +Japanese support on 10.10 using ibus instead of uim, which is the better choice +for newer releases.</p> +<p><em>Update (2011-10-25):</em> The software installation part of this process got a +whole lot easier in Ubuntu releases after Natty, and as noted above, I&rsquo;d +recommend sticking with ibus over uim.</p> +<h3 id="japanese-input-basics">Japanese Input Basics</h3> +<p>Before we get going, let&rsquo;s understand a bit about how Japanese input works on +computers. Japanese comprises three main character sets: the two phonetic +character sets, hiragana and katakana at 50 characters each, plus many +thousands of Kanji, each with multiple readings. Clearly a full keyboard is +impractical, so a mapping is required.</p> +<p>Input happens in two steps. First, you input the text phonetically, then you +convert it to a mix of kanji and kana.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2011-04-22-henkan.png" + alt="Japanese IME completion menu"/> +</figure> + +<p>Over the years, two main mechanisms evolved to input kana. The first was common +on old <em>wapuro</em>, and assigns a kana to each key on the keyboard—e.g. where +the <em>A</em> key appears on a QWERTY keyboard, you&rsquo;ll find a ち. This is how our +grandparents hacked out articles for the local <em>shinbun</em>, but I suspect only a +few die-hard traditionalists still do this. The second and more common method +is literal <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wapuro">transliteration of roman characters into kana</a>. You +type <em>fujisan</em> and out comes ふじさん.</p> +<p>Once the phonetic kana have been input, you execute a conversion step wherein +the input is transformed into the appropriate mix of kanji and kana. Given the +large number of homonyms in Japanese, this step often involves disambiguating +your input by selecting the intended kanji. For example, the <em>mita</em> in <em>eiga wo +mita</em> (I watched a movie) is properly rendered as 観た whereas the <em>mita</em> in +<em>kuruma wo mita</em> (I saw a car) should be 見た, and in neither case is it <em>mita</em> +as in the place name <em>Mita-bashi</em> (Mita bridge) which is written 三田.</p> +<h3 id="some-implementation-details">Some Implementation Details</h3> +<p>Let&rsquo;s look at implementation. There are two main components used in inputting +Japanese text:</p> +<p>The GUI system (e.g. ibus, uim) is responsible for:</p> +<ol> +<li>Maintaining and switching the current input mode: +ローマ字、ひらがな、カタカナ、半額カタカナ.</li> +<li>Transliteration of character input into kana: <em>ku</em> into く, +<em>nekko</em> into ねっこ, <em>xtu</em> into っ.</li> +<li>Managing the text under edit (the underlined stuff) and the +drop-down list of transliterations.</li> +<li>Ancillary functions such as supplying a GUI for custom dictionary +management, kanji lookup by radical, etc.</li> +</ol> +<p>The transliteration engine (e.g. Anthy, Mozc) is responsible for transforming a +piece of input text, usually in kana form, into kanji: for example みる into +one of: 見る、観る、診る、視る. This involves:</p> +<ol> +<li>Breaking the input phrase into components.</li> +<li>Transforming each component into the appropriate best guess based on context +and historical input.</li> +<li>Supplying alternative transformations in case the best guess was incorrect.</li> +</ol> +<h3 id="why-mozc">Why Mozc?</h3> +<p>TL;DR: because it&rsquo;s better. Have a look at the conversion list up at the top of +this post. The input is <em>kinou</em>, for which there are two main conversion +candidates: 機能 (feature) and 昨日 (yesterday). Notice however, that it also +supplies several conversions for yesterday&rsquo;s date in various formats, including +「平成23年4月21日」 using <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_era_name">Japanese Era Name</a> rather than the +Western notation 2011. This is just one small improvement among dozens of +clever tricks it performs. If you&rsquo;re thinking this bears an uncanny resemblance +to tricks that <a href="https://www.google.com/intl/ja/ime/">Google&rsquo;s Japanese IME</a> supports, you&rsquo;re right: Mozc +originated from the same codebase.</p> +<h3 id="switching-to-mozc">Switching to Mozc</h3> +<p>So let&rsquo;s assume you&rsquo;re now convinced to abandon Anthy and switch to Mozc. +You&rsquo;ll need to make some changes. Here are the steps:</p> +<p>If you haven&rsquo;t yet done so, install some Japanese fonts from either Software +Centre or Synaptic. I&rsquo;d recommend grabbing the <em>ttf-takao</em> package.</p> +<p>Next up, we&rsquo;ll install and configure Mozc.</p> +<ol> +<li><strong>Install ibus-mozc:</strong> <code>sudo apt-get install ibus-mozc</code></li> +<li><strong>Restart the ibus daemon:</strong> <code>/usr/bin/ibus-daemon --xim -r -d</code></li> +<li><strong>Set your input method to mozc:</strong> +<ol> +<li>Open <em>Keyboard Input Methods</em> settings.</li> +<li>Select the <em>Input Method</em> tab.</li> +<li>From the <em>Select an input method</em> drop-down, select Japanese, then mozc from +the sub-menu.</li> +<li>Select <em>Japanese - Anthy</em> from the list, if it appears there, and click +<em>Remove</em>.</li> +</ol> +</li> +<li><strong>Optionally, remove Anthy from your system:</strong> <code>sudo apt-get autoremove anthy</code></li> +</ol> +<p>Log out, and back in. You should see an input method menu in the menu +bar at the top of the screen.</p> +<p>That&rsquo;s it, Mozcを楽しんでください！</p> +</description> </item> </channel> diff --git a/tags/meta/index.xml b/tags/meta/index.xml @@ -13,7 +13,77 @@ <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2020 14:55:23 -0700</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2020/05/thoughts-on-licences/</guid> - <description>Software licences are probably the single most boring aspect of software development, but it&rsquo;s important to carefully consider the terms under which the stuff I hack on is shared to ensure they&rsquo;re consistent with my values. Despite my general dislike for all things legalistic, the most unambiguous way to state those terms is through a licence. So a couple days ago, I tossed LICENSE files into any of my public repos that didn&rsquo;t already have one.</description> + <description><p>Software licences are probably the single most boring aspect of software +development, but it&rsquo;s important to carefully consider the terms under which the +stuff I hack on is shared to ensure they&rsquo;re consistent with my values. Despite +my general dislike for all things legalistic, the most unambiguous way to state +those terms is through a licence. So a couple days ago, I tossed LICENSE files +into any of my public <a href="https://chris.bracken.jp/code">repos</a> that didn&rsquo;t already have one.</p> +<p>So how did I settle on which licences to apply? Jump on into the DeLorean and +let&rsquo;s set the dial back to the late 1980s.</p> +<p>It&rsquo;s 1986 and I&rsquo;ve got a 1200 baud modem wired up to a beat-up 286 with a steel +case that would easily allow it to double as a boat anchor if needed. Armed +with a dot-matrix printout of local BBSes with names like Camelot, Tommy&rsquo;s +Holiday Camp, and Forbidden Night Castle, I fire up PC-Talk. A series of +<a href="https://www.windytan.com/2012/11/the-sound-of-dialup-pictured.html">high-pitched squeals and tones</a> fill the air, then text +flashes across the screen. I&rsquo;m online.</p> +<p>BBSes were a treasure trove of information, filled to the brim with zip archives +full of downloadable programs, source code, patches for existing programs, and +all manner of text files with names like <a href="https://insecure.org/stf/smashstack.html">Smashing The Stack For Fun And +Profit</a>. You could find everything from how to crack copy-protected +software, to details on phone phreaking, to how to make nitroglycerine from +commonly-available household items. It was through BBSes that I first downloaded +an I&rsquo;m sure <em>totally legitimate</em> copy of Borland Turbo C++ and took my first +baby steps writing <em>real</em> programs. No more BASIC for me.</p> +<p>This culture of open sharing in the online world has had a huge impact on me. +From those early experiences with BBSes to my first forays onto the Internet a +few years later, seeing people openly sharing code and patches and helping each +other solve problems over Usenet seemed almost revolutionary to me at the time. +In some ways, it still does. I feel lucky to have been a part of it from such an +early age.</p> +<p>The end result is that I try to publicly share all the work I do. So when it +came time to chuck licences on stuff, I sat down to work out a personals ad for +my ideal licence. Aside from enjoying long walks on the beach, it should:</p> +<ol> +<li>Allow free use, modification, and distribution both of the original +work and any derived works.</li> +<li>Require that people distributing the work or any derived work to +give appropriate credit.</li> +<li>Disallow suggesting that I in any way endorse any derived products +or whoever produces them.</li> +<li>Gently encourage a culture of open exchange and sharing of +information and techniques.</li> +<li>Be short, clear, and easy to understand.</li> +</ol> +<p>On the software side, there were lots of options, but the best matches in my +mind are the <a href="https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT">MIT</a> or <a href="https://opensource.org/licenses/BSD-3-Clause">BSD</a> licences. The 3-clause +&rsquo;new&rsquo; BSD licence has an advantage in that it required written permission from +the author to use their name in any endorsement/promotion of a derived work. +That happens to be what we already use for <a href="https://github.com/flutter/flutter">work</a>.</p> +<p>On the content side, I&rsquo;ve always posted my web site&rsquo;s content under a <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">Creative +Commons Attribution-ShareAlike</a> licence. But I don&rsquo;t believe that&rsquo;s +actually the ideal match based on my priorities. Why is it that I&rsquo;ve elected to +use a licence that requires that derived works also be licensed under the same +terms rather than under whatever terms someone feels like, so long as credit is +given? In the end I settled on the more permissive <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons +Attribution</a> licence.</p> +<p>This feels to me a bit like the difference between <a href="https://opensource.org/licenses/BSD-3-Clause">BSD</a> and +<a href="https://opensource.org/licenses/GPL-3.0">GPL</a> terms, where the latter requires that derived works also be +GPL-licensed. This &ldquo;viral&rdquo; nature has always rubbed me the wrong way: rather +than gently promoting a culture of sharing by example, it legally <em>requires</em> +sharing under the same terms whether or not you want to.</p> +<p>Personally, I&rsquo;d like for people to do the right thing and share their work for +everyone&rsquo;s benefit not because they <em>have</em> to, but because they <em>want</em> to. If +they don&rsquo;t want to, why should my reaction be to disallow their use of my work? +Isn&rsquo;t that contrary to my stated goals of sharing as much and as broadly as +possible?</p> +<p>While I <em>hope</em> that more people share more of their work, it doesn&rsquo;t bother me +if you don&rsquo;t. If anything I&rsquo;ve written is somehow useful to you, I&rsquo;m glad. Use +your knowledge to help others and make the world a better place, and if you can +find time to do so, share a bit with the rest of us.</p> +<p>Got thoughts and opinions on licences? Fire an email my way at +<a href="mailto:chris@bracken.jp">chris@bracken.jp</a>.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -24,7 +94,26 @@ <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2005/08/look-at-all-the-pretty-pictures/</guid> <description><p>So I moved my webpage and was all of a sudden faced with a deluge of emails from people who I never even knew read the thing. Among those emails was a -request from my amigo Chaffee requesting more pictures.</p></description> +request from my amigo Chaffee requesting more pictures. Seeing as I&rsquo;d always +wanted to play with the <a href="https://flickr.com/services/">Flickr API</a>, I requested an API Key and +started hacking away at some <a href="https://php.net">PHP</a>. The end result is that on the left side +of this page, you now get to see whatever happens to be the latest picture I&rsquo;ve +taken on my mobile phone.</p> +<p>The moment I take a picture with my cellphone, it gets emailed to the magical +servers at <a href="https://flickr.com">Flickr</a> and tagged with a title, some keywords, and a +description. The next time someone loads this page, a small PHP script in the +innards of this site makes a <a href="https://www.w3.org/TR/soap/">SOAP</a> request to Flickr&rsquo;s servers and +retrieves an <a href="https://www.w3.org/XML/">XML</a> response. This response is then parsed out and a URI to +the thumbnail image on Flickr&rsquo;s servers is generated which is then inserted +into this page. To improve performance a tiny bit, I avoid the overhead of the +SOAP call every time this page is loaded by caching the response for five +minutes and reading the cached XML if it&rsquo;s available.</p> +<p>For those of you who are into <a href="https://www.xml.com/pub/a/2002/12/18/dive-into-xml.html">RSS</a>, I&rsquo;ve added a <a href="feed://flickr.com/services/feeds/photos_public.gne?id=37996625178@N01&amp;format=atom_03">Flickr +feed</a> to my pictures in the HTML headers on this site.</p> +<p>My goal—and this is entirely for you, Chaffee—is to take at least one +picture a day, which is far more ambitious a schedule than my posting to this +page. We&rsquo;ll see how that works out.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -33,7 +122,11 @@ request from my amigo Chaffee requesting more pictures.</p></description> <pubDate>Tue, 01 Apr 2003 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2003/04/site-update/</guid> - <description>I finally got around to updating and re-organizing the site. It should render properly in everything from the latest browser to lynx or a text-based browser on a cell phone. All the reports from Mérida are now up, including links to photos at the top of each page. The trip home is still a work in progress.</description> + <description><p>I finally got around to updating and re-organizing the site. It should render +properly in everything from the latest browser to lynx or a text-based browser +on a cell phone. All the reports from Mérida are now up, including links to +photos at the top of each page. The trip home is still a work in progress.</p> +</description> </item> </channel> diff --git a/tags/mexico/index.xml b/tags/mexico/index.xml @@ -19,7 +19,89 @@ snacking on good Mexican food and the sound of shouting and laughter filled the air. After all the episodes of trouble, dengue fever, and trying to figure out what the hell was actually going on, it was easy to lose sight of just how great a country México is, and after Cuba, coming back to México felt like -coming home.</p></description> +coming home.</p> +<p>After arrival, the first challenge is getting from the airport to the Cancún +bus depot. The shuttle bus drivers&rsquo; union has a strangle-hold on travel from +the airport in Cancun. They charge 75 pesos per person one-way from the airport +via the major hotels along La Zona Hotelera to the station. If you happen to be +living on a wage of 50 pesos an hour, this is practically highway robbery. +However, it turns out that the shuttle bus drivers only have a monopoly on +travel from the airport; travel to the airport remains entirely unrestricted. +Those who take a few minutes to sit and relax out front of the airport for a +few minutes will notice that there is a clever way around this racket.</p> +<p>Following the example of the locals, we hauled our backpacks across the parking +lot, headed out the gates of the airport, and started down the highway in 36 +degree heat. Within moments a taxi skidded to a stop, and the driver, nervously +glancing out the rear window, motioned to us to get in.</p> +<p>We didn&rsquo;t. Instead, we stood at the window asking &ldquo;cuanto cuesta?&rdquo;, to which he +shouted &ldquo;no importa! vamos amigos!&rdquo;.</p> +<p>Still we didn&rsquo;t get in. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll pay 50 pesos&hellip; for the two of us.&rdquo;</p> +<p>Looking insulted, he replied &ldquo;Are you crazy?! I won&rsquo;t do it for less than 70 +pesos each!&rdquo;</p> +<p>Glancing back toward the airport we told him &ldquo;That&rsquo;s ridiculous, the bus is 75 +pesos, and besides we don&rsquo;t have that kind of money. We live in Merida; we&rsquo;re +not rich turistas norteamericanos.&rdquo;</p> +<p>A shuttle bus flew by honking its horn while the driver shook his fist at the +taxista.</p> +<p>&ldquo;Bueno! 110 pesos para los dos! Vamos!&rdquo;</p> +<p>At 110 pesos, we were still overpaying by Mérida standards, but given that we +were a 16km walk in scorching heat from the city, I was pretty sure we weren&rsquo;t +going to get much of a better deal.</p> +<p>At the bus depot, we bought tickets for Chetumal, 5 hours to the south, then +made a dive for the nearest yucatecan restaurant. After weeks of oil-drum +pizzas and roast ham &amp; cheese sandwiches in Cuba, I savoured every last bite of +my poc-chuc. We finished our horchata, then climbed into the bus for the trip +to Chetumal.</p> +<p>Confined by the jungle to the southeast corner of Quintana Roo state, and +squashed between the sea and the Belizean border, Chetumal is the last outpost +of civilisation before crossing into the jungle to the south. Until the end of +the 1970s, like much of pre-Cancun Quintana Roo, it was essentially a free zone +in relatively lawless territory. Trade with British Honduras (now Belize) was +the foundation of the local economy, and earned it the title of the territory +(now state) capital. The historical importance of trade gives the city a +distinct feel from colonial Merida. You can still spot the occasional +wood-frame house, and the city has a relatively modern atmosphere.</p> +<p>Previously named <em>Chactemal</em>, the city had served as a Mayan capital since +pre-Columbian times. The first Spanish missionaries arrived the 16th century, +and the Conquistadors followed soon after. By 1544, the city had fallen to the +Spaniards and the remaining Maya fled into Belize, leaving the city all but +abandoned for the next two centuries.</p> +<p>At the turn of the 20th century in 1898, Porfirio Diaz, then President of +Mexico, ordered the establishment of a port at the mouth of the Rio Hondo in +order to quell the flow of arms across the Belizean border and into the hands +of the Maya. To this end, the city of Payo Obispo was founded by Othon Blanco +with the help of Mexicans from the surrounding areas. The economy developed +quickly and the city grew into the territorial capital by 1915. In 1936, the +city renamed itself to Chetumal, which it remains to this day.</p> +<p>All along the waterfront of Chetumal is a gorgeous walkway. Unlike the +shimmering blue waters of the north-eastern coast of the Yucatan, the water +here was more reminiscent of the murky green ocean back home on Vancouver +Island. The locals are adamant that the water is horrifically ugly, but I +suppose when your bases for comparison are Playa del Carmen, Cozumel and +Cancun, that you can afford to be picky.</p> +<p>After sunset, as we wandered through the town, snacking on fresh tamales, we +were stopped by a couple of old men sitting in chairs on the sidewalk in front +of a saddle shop. They stopped us to ask where we were from and what brought us +to Chetumal. We explained we were taking a trip to see Guatemala and part of +Honduras before returning back to México.</p> +<p>&ldquo;Why do you want to go to Guatemala? It&rsquo;s a dangerous. It&rsquo;s poor. They have +nothing. Pickpockets are everywhere, and the people have no dignity left. Life +is cheap in Guatemala, they&rsquo;ve been surrounded by civil war and death for 30 +years. It&rsquo;s a beautiful country with a terrible history.&rdquo;</p> +<p>That night, we checked into an 80 peso hotel. The employees were huddled around +the television furiously debating México&rsquo;s loss to the USA in fútbol.</p> +<p>&ldquo;The giants defeated us midgets! Look at the size of their players. And the +Americans don&rsquo;t even care about fútbol! Can you believe this?! This is an +insult!&rdquo;</p> +<p>We tried to console them by mentioning that Mexico would be guarateed to put +Canada to shame. It was the best we could manage. It didn&rsquo;t help much.</p> +<p>They shut off the game, and we got to sleep early. Just after the stroke of +midnight I woke up and, in a final farewell to the bugs I had picked up in +Cuba, I threw up (in order) the dinner tamale, followed by the entire plate of +celebratory Poc Chuc I had eaten that afternoon. I felt surprisingly better, +and fell sound asleep excited about the next day&rsquo;s 12 hour trip down a narrow +dirt track road through the jungles of Belize and into northern Guatemala.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -29,7 +111,14 @@ coming home.</p></description> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2002/01/feliz-navidad/</guid> <description><p>Took a two week trip through southern México for Christmas. Starting in Mérida, -southwest into Campeche, Tabasco, Veracruz and then Chiapas.</p></description> +southwest into Campeche, Tabasco, Veracruz and then Chiapas. Stopped to visit +the Mayan ruins at Palenque, followed by some of the villages around San +Cristóbal de las Casas. From there, it was northeast back onto the Yucatán +peninsula, to Tulúm, then onwards north again to spend Christmas swimming in the +Caribbean on Isla Mujeres in 30 degree weather. After a few days, it was +westward again to Chichen Itzá and Valladolid before finally returning home to +Mérida.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -42,7 +131,112 @@ southwest into Campeche, Tabasco, Veracruz and then Chiapas.</p></descript Montejo) descended on the ceremonial centre of the Zací (Hawk) Maya, waging war on the <em>Cupules</em>, a group of Maya that hadn’t taken kindly to the Spanish conquistadors. When the battle was done and the town had been razed, he renamed -it Valladolid in honour of the Spanish city of the same name.</p></description> +it Valladolid in honour of the Spanish city of the same name. Today, Valladolid +is one of the most beautiful colonial cities in the Yucatán, with a mix of +Spanish and Maya influences. Maya from local pueblas and from the city sell +traditional <em>huipiles</em> near the plaza downtown. The city is still roughly +centered on the <em>Cenote Zací</em> that was the ceremonial centre of the original +Mayan settlement.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-27-cenote.jpg" + alt="View of Cenote Zací. Stalactites and vines hang from above. A few swimmers can be seen near the edge of the pool. A path leads upwards through the trees."/> +</figure> + +<p>The cenote is one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. To get to it, you hike +down a passage into a cavern, then wind your way down the side to get to water +level. The water is a deep turquoise colour, and is absolutely crystal clear. +In the shallow areas, you can easily see fallen stalactites lying 30 metres +below on the bottom. In the deep parts, you won’t see the bottom—it’s more than +100 metres deep. The same little blind fish that are present in the cenote at +Dzibilchaltún will nibble your toes in this cenote as well.</p> +<p>Above the cenote is a little zoo with spider monkeys, who spend most of their +afternoon playing with toys, and getting fed potato chips by laughing groups of +kids. What was more interesting, however, was that they had a raccoon in the +zoo. You don’t see them in México at all, and most people we asked didn’t know +what the Spanish word for it was, until an old man we ran into told us it was +<em>mapache</em>.</p> +<p>The main plaza of the city is gorgeous. With ornate lamp posts, hanging baskets +full of flowers, and beautiful hedges, it was the Yucatán’s answer to Victoria. +The streets downtown are kept immaculately clean by a crew of street cleaners +who run through the streets every morning at 5 am. The government of Spain has +apparently deemed Valladolid to be one of the most Spanish cities in the +Americas, and donates money to help in its preservation.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-27-cenote-top.jpg" + alt="View from above, looking down into Cenote Zací. Vines hang down to the water from above. A stone staircase leads up from the dark blue-green waters. A few scattered fallen leaves litter the surface of the water."/> +</figure> + +<p>Probably the most exciting thing that happened while we were there was the +rain. We had gone off in search of what is supposed to be an absolutely amazing +cathedral and graveyard somewhere in the southwestern part of the city. In +typical Mexican fashion, everyone we talked to was able to tell us in +approximately what direction it was, so we were able to slowly make our way +there stumbling randomly from one Vallisoletana to the next. We never did find +it, but not for any lack of determination, but because it started to rain. Now, +when I say rain, I don’t mean the rain we get in Victoria. I don’t even mean +Vancouver rain. To fully appreciate a Yucatecan rain storm, you really need to +experience one. Imagine the streets filling with water, then overflowing onto +the sidewalks until the whole city is two feet deep in rainwater. We did the +only thing we could do: jump into a corner store. The guys in the store reacted +the same way any other Mexicans all over the country would react: toss over a +couple chairs and invite us in to watch some TV. We bought some cookies and +juice and sat for 45 minutes or so, watching the water level in the street +outside rise closer and closer to the edge of the door before we finally +decided that we were going to make a break for it, only stopping once for a +slice of cheesecake in a bakery along the way back to the hotel.</p> +<p>Valladolid is also famous for the cenote at Dzitnup, about 10 km out of town. +While we never did make it there, we heard some amazing stories about it from +Nick, an Irishman from Cork we met in San Cristóbal de las Casas. What is so +incredible about it is that it’s at the bottom of a dark cavern, with a small +opening in the roof. At the right time of day, the sun shines through this +opening and into the turquoise waters of the cenote, making it apear as though +you’re bathing in light. The actual name of the cenote is <em>Kiken</em> which is +Yucatec Maya for &lsquo;pig,&rsquo; because the cenote was originally discovered by a farmer +whose his pig had fallen in through the hole in the roof.</p> +<p>Valladolid is also famous for its uprisings. What transpired in Valladolid in +June of 1910 helped to spark the Mexican Revolution that erupted in the rest of +the country that November when Francisco Madero flew across the border into +Piedras Negras, Coahuila. The revolution wasn’t over until 1920; but as they +say, the opening chapters were written in blood, here in Valladolid.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-27-truck.jpg" + alt="The rusted carcass of a truck parked on the side of the street. Painted across the front: Duele mas andar a pie (it hurts more to walk). On the bent and twisted remains of the bumper: Asi como me vez te veras (one day, you&#39;ll look like this too)."/><figcaption> + <h4>&#39;It hurts more to walk&#39;</h4> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Unhappy with Spanish control of a land they considered their own, a small band +of revolutionaries had worked together for months, planning the overthrow of +governor Moñoz Aristegui. On the night of June 3rd, 1910, all those committed +to the plan met in the Plaza de la Santa Lucia at midnight. Under the command +of Ruz Ponce and José Kantún, one group stormed the police quarter, killing the +guard outside and taking everyone else prisoner. Another group, led by Claudio +Alconcer and Atilano Albertos took the office of the Mexican Guard, killing the +Sergeant of the Guard, Facundo Gil. The governor, Felipe de Regil, asleep in +bed at the time, woke up to the sound of gunfire outside in the streets. He +immediately jumped out of bed and, a gun in each hand, ran into the street +firing on the revolutionaries. He fought bravely until the end, when he was +finally killed and left lying in the street.</p> +<p>At this point, there was no turning back for the insurgents. They now had the +support of nearly the entire city, and within three days had amassed an army of +no less than 1500 men, armed with guns and machetes. Most had no military +training. Local landowners provided weapons, ammunition and food.</p> +<p>In Mérida, this uprising had not gone unnoticed. While the locals were +preparing in Valladolid, the government had sent a column of 65 men eastward +with 300 guns, recruiting villagers along the way. Under the command of Colonel +Ignacio Lara, they marched easward to Tinum, 12 km outside of Valladolid, where +they waited for reinforcements to arrive. The cannons of Morelos arrived in +Valladolid on the 7th. On the 8th, Lara led his men to the outskirts of the +city, where, at dawn on the 9th of June, they began the assault on Valladolid. +A batallion of 600 federal troops arrived on the 10th. Poorly equiped, +untrained, and out of ammunition, the rebels fell under the three ferocious +onslaughts. The death tolls were high on both sides: more than 100 +revolutionaries and over 30 government soldiers had been killed. This was the +highest balance of deaths of any battle ever fought in México, and would remain +so until the Revolution began that November.</p> +<p>The leaders of the revolt were eventually rounded up, tried and sentenced to +death. In the courtyard of the Shrine of San Roque, Kantún, Albertos, and +Bonilla faced the firing squad. That November, Francisco Madero launched the +Mexican Revolution, and by the following April, 17000 people had taken up arms +against Porfirio Diaz and his government. The rest is <a href="http://history.acusd.edu/gen/projects/border/page01.html">history</a>.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -56,7 +250,81 @@ ruins at this site cover over 15 square kilometres, with <em>El Castillo&l taking up 0.4 hectares. At 83 metres in length, the Ball Court is the largest in Meso-America. The close proximity of the ruins to Cancún and the size of some of the structures have made these the most famous Mayan ruins in the -country.</p></description> +country.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-26-el-castillo.jpg" + alt="A view from the ground below the El Castillo pyramid at Chichen Itzá. Visitors climb the steep staircase leading up the centre of the face of the pyramid. A few people stand silhouetted at the top, looking down on the surrouding jungle."/> +</figure> + +<p>The image that most people associate with Chichen Itzá is <em>El Castillo</em>. The +pyramid rises more than 23 metres above the ground, with steep staircases up +all four sides, leading to a small building at the top. What’s so spectacular +about it is the fact that this pyramid is actually a huge Mayan calendar built +of stone. The four staircases leading to the top have 91 steps each, which +when added to the platform at the top, make 365. On the sides are 52 panels +representing the 52 years of the traditional Mayan calendar round. The pyramid +is composed of nine terraced platforms on either side of the two primary +staircases, for a total of 18, the number of months in the Mayan calendar. If +you’re still not convinced of the Mayans’ astronomical prowess, you can easily +convince yourself by visiting on either the spring or the fall equinox when, as +the sun rises over the jungle, the form of a giant serpent is projected onto +the sides of the two primary staircases, each of which has a giant stone +serpent head at its base. This illusion is created by the precise alignment of +the terraces in relation to position of the sun.</p> +<p>In a corner in the shade of one of the giant staircases leading up the side of +El Castillo is a door. Once or twice a day, the door is opened, and groups of +20 or so are allowed inside. A narrow passage leads to a steep staircase that +runs up the side of another pyramid inside El Castillo. It’s narrow, cramped, +hot and humid, not to mention dark, but the climb is worth it. Eventually, at +the top of the staircase, if you’re lucky or pushy enough, you can catch a +glimpse of a jewel-encrusted jaguar altar, used by the Maya for sacrifices.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-26-ball-court.jpg" + alt="The ball court at Chichen Itzá. Large, perfectly flat stone walls rise above the grass. Two stone hoops protrude, one from each wall, facing sideways. A crowd of people stands at the far end of the court."/> +</figure> + +<p>The Ball Court is another feat of engineering. The walls are each approximately +8 metres high, with structures at the top for viewing the game. At either end +of the court is an elaborate stone temple. But what is so amazing about the +Ball Court is its acoustics. A whisper at one end can be clearly heard at the +other end, 135 metres away. In fact, the sound reflection at the centre of the +court is so incredible, you can hear at least nine echos if you clap or shout.</p> +<p>The following excerpt, by one of the supervising archaeologists restoring the +ruins, describes the acoustics:</p> +<blockquote> +<p>Chi cheen Itsa’s famous &lsquo;Ball-court&rsquo; or Temple of the Maize cult offers the +visitor besides its mystery and impressive architecture, its marvellous +acoustics If a person standing under either ring claps his hands or yells, the +sound produced will be repeated several times gradually losing its volume, A +single revolver shot seems machine-gun fire. The sound waves travel with equal +force to East or West, day or night. disregarding the wind’s direction. Anyone +speaking in a normal voice from the &lsquo;Forum&rsquo; can be clearly heard in the &lsquo;Sacred +Tribune&rsquo; five hundred feet away or vice-versa. If a short sentence, for +example, &lsquo;Do you hear me?&rsquo; is pronounced it will be repeated word by word&hellip; +Parties from one extreme to the other can hold a conversation without raising +their voices.</p> +<p>This transmission of sound, as yet unexplained, has been discussed by +architects and archaeologists &hellip; Most of them used to consider it as fanciful +due to the ruined conditions of the structure but, on the contrary, we who have +engaged in its reconstruction know well that the sound volume, instead of +disappearing, has become stronger and clearer&hellip; Undoubtedly we must consider +this feat of acoustics as another noteworthy achievement of engineering +realized millenniums ago by the Maya technicians.</p> +<p><em>—Chi Cheen Itza by Manuel Cirerol Sansores, 1947</em></p> +</blockquote> +<p>Aside from the Ball Court and <em>El Castillo</em>, there are dozens of other sites of +interest. There are no less than three cenotes around the site, one of which +was filled with tens of thousands of artifacts, from neclaces and jewelry to +the bones of human and animal sacrifices. The Hall of the Thousand Pillars is +also incredible to walk through, with each pillar featuring unique carvings and +inscriptions; on some, traces of red and blue paint are still visible.</p> +<p>The site was originally populated by the Itzáes around 500 AD, and slowly built +up until 900 AD, at which point it was completely abandonned. No one knows why +the Itzáes left so abruptly, but it appears that the city was re-populated +about 100 years later, and then attacked by the Toltecs, a tribe known for its +brutality at war. Structures from the period between 1000 and 1300 AD show +marked Toltec influences, including numeral reliefs of Toltec gods, including +Quetzalcoatl, the plumed serpent. The city was abandonned once again around +1300, this time permanently.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -65,7 +333,35 @@ country.</p></description> <pubDate>Mon, 24 Dec 2001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/12/tulum-quintana-roo-mexico/</guid> - <description>Between San Cristóbal and Tulúm is a long, empty road. The overnight bus works beautifully for this trip, winding its way through the mountains, jungle and the vast plains of the Yucatán. The only major stop along the way is Escarcega, Campeche. By major, I mean a couple of comida corrida places, a papaya tree, and a dusty bus stop on a long, empty stretch of highway. By six in the morning, we were in Tulúm, a slightly bigger collection of restaurants and bus stops along a long, empty stretch of highway.</description> + <description><p>Between San Cristóbal and Tulúm is a long, empty road. The overnight bus works +beautifully for this trip, winding its way through the mountains, jungle and +the vast plains of the Yucatán. The only major stop along the way is Escarcega, +Campeche. By major, I mean a couple of comida corrida places, a papaya tree, +and a dusty bus stop on a long, empty stretch of highway. By six in the +morning, we were in Tulúm, a slightly bigger collection of restaurants and bus +stops along a long, empty stretch of highway. We grabbed a plate of +<em>huevos motuleños</em> and some coffee, which (I swear that I am not making this +up) was blue. Sort of an off-grey blue. It tasted like milk mixed with +dishwater.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-24-tulum.jpg" + alt="Mayan ruins sit on a bluff of rock covered with low scrub overlooking the Caribbean. Below, waves crash against the rocks."/> +</figure> + +<p>The best time to see the ruins is, without a doubt, sunrise. The ruins at +Tulúm, while not spectacular except for the two-metre rock wall surrounding the +site on three sides, have one of the best views you could possibly hope for. +The structures sit nestled amid the rolling green grass and white sandy +beaches, hovering over the turquoise Caribbean. As the sun rises, the whole +place is bathed in a warm orangey-red glow. Sitting on ruins watching the waves +is pretty relaxing.</p> +<p>Since Tulúm is so close to Playa del Carmen and Cancún, the number of visitors +is absoutely huge compared to a lot of other Mayan ruins, and especially given +the small size of these ruins. Because of that, most of the structures are +off-limits to the public, so you can’t climb up on them as you can at most +other sites. In the end, it’s nice to see that these ruins are being protected, +but Palenque, Uxmal and Chichen Itzá are a lot more fun. That said, if you look +hard enough, you will find a couple structures you can sit down on.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -81,7 +377,58 @@ winter. It’s cold, damp and cloudy. After months of scorching heat and humidity, I was in heaven. San Cristóbal makes an ideal base from which to do day-trips to the surrounding villages of San Juan Chamula and Zinacantán—indigenous villages comprising the Tzotzil and Tzeltal indigenous -groups respectively.</p></description> +groups respectively.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-21-plaza.jpg" + alt="The bright yellow façade of a catheral faces the main plaza in San Cristóbal de las Casas. Pedestrials mill about the square in groups."/> +</figure> + +<p>In town, we met a law student named Luís who took a group of us to the +villages. In San Juan Chamula, we first visited the shaman’s hut for the +village, where we learned about the mix of Catholicism and traditional beliefs +practised in the village. We then continued on to the village church which was +probably the highlight of the visit. Seeing the mix of beliefs being practised +there was incredible: everything from prayers to the Catholic saints to burning +incense to chicken sacrifices and ceremonial purgings. Photography isn’t +allowed in the church and out of respect to the Chamulans, we won’t describe +everything in detail on the web, but suffice to say that it was an incredibly +worthwhile visit.</p> +<p>Zinacantán is only a few kilometres away, but the villagers speak an entirely +different language, Tzeltal. Here, the church is much more traditional, +although most villagers still maintain strong ties to traditional indigenous +beliefs, such as worshipping the Earth Lord and placing a strong emphasis on +the interpretation of dreams. For a more detailed look at the beliefs and +culture of the people of Zinacantán, we’d suggest <em>Dreams and Stories from the +People of the Bat</em> by Robert Laughlin. This book is a collection of dreams and +their interpretations as told by the villagers of Zinacantán, as well as a +series of short stories passed from generation to generation in the village.</p> +<p>The town also produces many traditional handicrafts typical of Chiapas: +blankets, clothing, dolls, etc. The villagers take these to San Cristóbal to +sell them at the markets and on the street. The textiles are all made from +hand, from the thread, to hand-weaving and embroidering. Typically, a +medium-sized blanket takes two to three weeks to produce.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-21-beans.jpg" + alt="Dozens of varieties of dried beans in many colours arrayed for sale in bins and large sacks for sale at the market"/> +</figure> + +<p>Back in San Cristóbal, we spent a few days visiting the markets and wandering +around town trying out the local food before heading back north for Palenque +again. On our way out of town we noticed a small shanty-town suburb in a gravel +pit. On a big yellow arch, bold black letters declared the name of the colonia: +<em>Sal Si Puedes</em>, &lsquo;Get Out If You Can&rsquo;. Just past this is the massive military +encampment that has been in place since 1994 when the EZLN (Zapatista +Liberation Army) overthrew and occupied the town before being driven out by +reinforcements sent in, causing a bloodbath. There is a lot less tension now +than there was then, but the Zapatistas still have incredibly high support in +the villages just outside of town. The Mexican government under Vincente Fox +has been much more responsive to indigenous peoples than previous governments +have been, although in recent months this seems to be less and less the case. +There’s still a lot of work to do before the indigenous groups in Mexico are +able to live in conditions similar to the rest of the population. Most people +in the villages still lack food, clothing and (non-dirt) floors in their +houses, let alone running water and electricity. And although Chiapas produces +more electricity than any other state, less than half the population has +electricity in its home.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -94,7 +441,24 @@ groups respectively.</p></description> hour bus ride from Mérida. Although Chiapas has been a somewhat politically unstable state during the past 10 years, it is also home to some of the most incredible scenery, archaeological sites and indigenous culture in the -country.</p></description> +country.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-18-temple-of-inscriptions.jpg" + alt="The Mayan ruins of the Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque towering over a courtyard surrounded by jungle. A large staircase leads up the main face of the pyramid. Rain pours down in torrents."/> +</figure> + +<p>The town of Palenque sits only a few minutes by bike, foot or bus from the +ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Palenque. The ruins themselves extend over a +huge area and are composed of many smaller groups of structures situated around +plazas. The most impressive of these are probably the main plaza—which is +surrounded by the Temple of the Inscriptions and the palace/observatory +tower—and the Sun Temple Plaza.</p> +<p>The Temple of the Inscriptions is well-known for housing the sarcophagus and +jade death mask of Pakal, former ruler of the city. Unfortunately, it&rsquo;s no +longer possible to visit the inside of the Temple of the Inscriptions without a +research permit. In theory, that involves applications via your university and +submissions of your research to the government; in practice it involves 150 +pesos to the right people.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -105,7 +469,61 @@ country.</p></description> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/09/dzibilchaltun-yucatan-mexico/</guid> <description><p>About halfway between Mérida and Progresso lie the ruins of Dzibilchaltún, an important centre in the ancient world of the Maya. The name means &lsquo;The place -with writing on the stones.&rsquo;</p></description> +with writing on the stones.&rsquo;</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-09-11-munecas-door.jpg" + alt="View framed by the doorway of the of Templo de las Siete Muñecas looking out over the ruins of a stone building and four-sized stone stela on a raised platform. A path leads past the ruins, through the low jungle, and towards the horizon."/> +</figure> + +<p>Dzibilchaltún covers an area of about 16 square kilometres, in which there are +about 8400 structures. The central part of the site covers three square +kilometres, which includes several temples and pyramids, as well as a cenote of +unknown depth, one of the largest in the Yucatán. Many of the structures date +back as far as 500 B.C.</p> +<p>From downtown Mérida, you can catch a colectivo that stops down the road from +the temple. A 10 minute hike from there along a trail through the jungle gets +you to the entrance to the site, where they charge 50 pesos per person ($7.50 +CDN) to get in. The day we arrived, it was a scorching 40-something degrees, +with 100% humidity, so the fact that the small museum on the site was +air-conditionned was worth the price of admission in itself.</p> +<p>The site is divided into two parts, separated by a one kilometre long road. At +one end is the Temple of the Seven Dolls, named after seven ceramic dolls found +there as offerings to the gods. At the other end is a courtyard, a pyramid, a +ball court and the cenote, as well as an open chapel that was constructed +during the Colonial era, in the late 16th and early 17th century.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-09-11-munecas-outside.jpg" + alt="View of the Templo de las Siete Muñecas from the path. In the foreground, a hiker walks toward a large worn stela on a raised platform."/> +</figure> + +<p>The Temple of the Seven Dolls is probably the most interesting part of the +site. At least it was to us. At one time, the temple was adorned with plaster +friezes, molded to the shapes of intertwined serpents, hieroglyphs, and masks, +though these friezes are no longer on the structure itself. The building is +thought to have served as an astronomical observatory, and during the Vernal +and Autumnal Equinoxes, an interesting phenonmenon can be seen at sunrise. +During the Equinoxes, the sun is perfectly aligned such that the morning +sunlight passes directly between two sets of opposing doors on the temple, +casting the light down into the courtyard facing the structure. Many people +pile into Dzibilchaltún between 5:00 and 6:00 in the morning to witness the +sunrise, then run back out and pile into a bus to Chichen Itza to watch the +more spectacular effect of the sun casting light in the shape of a giant +serpent slithering up the side of the temple there in the afternoon. If you +don’t happen to be a teacher who has classes on these days, this is apparently +the thing to do.</p> +<p>The cenote on the other side of the site is open for swimming, if you don’t +mind thousands of little fish chasing you around the whole time. What’s +curious, of course, is that there are any fish at all in the cenotes, since +they’re fed by a series of deep, underwater channels of water that snake +beneath the entire peninsula. There are no rivers or streams connecting them on +the surface, so the fish have to descend to incredible depths (over 100 m) to +move between one cenote and the next. From what people have told us, the fish +that live in the cenotes are blind, which is kind of cool.</p> +<p>We hiked back out to the road after a few hours of wandering around, the sat +waiting for a colectivo to drive by and pick us up. For 30 minutes we sat +around, the air totally still and boiling hot, with only the sound of the +mosquitos and the cow in the field next to us. I’m not entirely sure what was +wrong with it, but the way it hollered made it sound demented and insane. I +honestly hope I never drink any milk from that one; no way that’s safe.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -122,7 +540,126 @@ with writing on the stones.&rsquo;</p></description> <p>Lo que tu eres, yo fui<br> Lo que yo soy, luego serás<br> <em>—Inscription on the pirate Mundaca’s Tomb</em></p> -</blockquote></description> +</blockquote> +<p>Many, many years ago, a pirate by the name of Fermin Antonio Mundaca de +Marechaja landed on Isla Mujeres and fell in love with a young lady whose name +has been long forgotten. Today, she is known only as <em>La Trigueña</em> (The +Brunette), the name by which he referred to her. In order to win her love, +Mundaca built an elaborate hacienda, erected archways and laid paths throughout +the gardens. He had trees and plants brought from all over the world to plant +in the gardens. Unfortunately, before he finished this masterpiece, she ran off +with another islander and got married. Today, his house lays in ruins in the +middle of what remains of his fortress. And if you look carefully, you can +faintly work out the words <em>La Trigueña</em> carved into the stone archway. Mundaca +eventually died of the plague in Mérida, but his small tomb can still be seen +among the headstones of the small cemetary near the north beach of town. +Adorned with an eerily grinning skull and crossbones, it bears no name, but +carries the inscription: &lsquo;As you are, I was. As I am, you will be.&rsquo;</p> +<p>With a couple weeks before school and work starts, we decided to visit Isla +Mujeres (lit. The Island of Women), a small island that sits about 11 km off +the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, in Quintana Roo. A few hours east of +Mérida, the island is surrounded by the turquoise, bathtub warm, crystal clear +waters of the Caribbean, and is the site of some spectacular snorkeling and +diving.</p> +<p>Isla Mujeres is tiny—about 8 km long and between 300 and 800 metres wide—and +has a population of 7000 residents. The main part of the town sits on the +north-west tip of the island, but there are some smaller <em>colonias</em> in the +central Salinas area, as well as on the south end. Although it was once a +fishing town, the main business today is tourism. Unlike Cancún, however, Isla +Mujeres has a much more relaxed, laid back pace of life, and it hasn’t yet +turned into a party town full of drunken gringos. The locals appear to want to +keep it this way, and the local San Francisco store stops selling alcohol at +8:30 or 9:00 in the evenings.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-09-06-sunset.jpg" + alt="In the distance, the silhouette of a lancha passes through the shimmering reflection of the setting sun&#39;s light on the ocean."/> +</figure> + +<p>From the downtown Cancún bus station, we grabbed the Route 13 bus north along +Avenida Tulum to the Puerto Juarez ferry terminal, then hopped on a boat for +the 30 minute ferry ride to the island. We spent the whole ride locked in a +psychological battle trying not to jump off into the gorgeous blue water; it +was sheer torture. Apparently we weren’t the only ones—as soon as the boat +pulled alongside the Isla Mujeres dock, one 40 year old passenger jumped +overboard and swam to shore.We spent the next few days wandering around the +island on foot. Like a lot of touristy places in Mexico, there are thousands of +people trying to sell you anything and everything on the street. Fortunately, +the city is small enough that all the hawkers seem to be packed into two blocks +along Avenida Hidalgo between Av. Abasolo and Av. Lopez Mateos. Unfortunately, +that’s the easiest way to get to the beach. Fortunately (yet again), it’s +easily bypassed by taking the scenic route.</p> +<p>The best times of day for the beach are sunrise and sunset. The boatloads of +tourists from Cancún aren’t there, and the beach is nearly empty. The water +stays warm 24 hours a day, and the sunsets and sunrises are spectacular. During +the afternoons, the beach is packed with people and the sun is intense enough +that if you don’t fork over the 60 pesos ($10 Canadian) for a beach umbrella, +you’ll fry like bacon, even with the SPF 50 they sell at the super market. +There’s a reason most Mexicans swim in shorts and a t-shirt.</p> +<p>There are a lot of other things to do on the island. One of the most +interesting is the Sea Turtle conservation park. This is the only facility in +Mexico dedicated to preserving endangered sea turtles, such as the Hawk’s Bill +Turtle, which grows to over 100 kg, and lives to around 120 years old. The sea +turtles have been hunted to near extinction because of world-wide demand from +for their meat and shells. At the conservation facility, the turtles are bred, +cared for, then released back into the wild. There are no railings on the +walkways above the huge walled off section of ocean where the largest of the +turtles swim, and according to the guy who showed us around, if you fall in, +&rsquo;te comen!&rsquo;, &rsquo;they eat you!'.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-09-06-skeletons.jpg" + alt="Four small hand-carved wooden skeleton toys playing musical instruments and wearing sombreros sit on the step of a storefront with their feet on the sidewalk. A small wooden armadillo wanders by."/> +</figure> + +<p>The ruins of Mundaca’s fortress are in the central part of the island, and if +you want to be eaten alive by mosquitos (there are Dengue Fever warnings all +over the place on the Yucatán Peninsula, by the way) it’s a great place to go. +No wonder the object of Mundaca’s affections ditched him for another man. Any +sensible pirate would have built his fortress on the beach or at least within +walking distance. Mundaca built his in the marshiest, grottiest, most densely +jungled part of the island. On the bright side there is, however, a sort of +small zoo in his gardens, with alligators, monkeys, a deer, and apparently a +jaguar, though we never got to see it, because the mosquitos drove us out +first. By the twentieth or thirtieth bite, we’d had more than enough of +Mundaca’s place.On the south side of the island, there’s Playa Garrafón, which +is part of a national park, but seems to have been recently turned into an +expensive tourist trap, complete with all-you-can-eat restaurants, zip lines, +&lsquo;underwater adventure&rsquo; and more construction, all for the low, ubeatable price +of $35 US a day! I believe they even translated that price into pesos +underneath in small type. We actually went next door, paid 20 pesos (about $2 +US) and had the whole beach to ourselves. We snorkeled around the wharf and a +small reef, then Pablo and Armando, who ran the place, took us out to a reef 15 +minutes out by boat, where we saw sharks, a sting ray, and a ton of live (and +dead) coral. Unfortunately, it seems like a million and one other people go out +to the same reef, and most don’t know how to swim. This means you’ll end up +spending an hour getting your head kicked in by screaming hoardes of +life-jacket wearing, water spitting drowners. I did get rammed in the legs by a +nurse shark though. It felt like sandpaper and was among the creepier +sensations I have experienced in my life.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-09-06-nativity-scene.jpg" + alt="The gazebo at the centre of the Isla Mujeres plaza decorated in an underwater-themed nativity scene. The virgin mary stands at the centre, her hands in prayer. Fishing nets filled with starfish, tropical fish, and multi-coloured Christmas lights surround the gazebo."/> +</figure> + +<p>There are also some Mayan ruins at the south tip of the island, though there’s +very little left of them. Most of the ruins have been hurled into the ocean by +various hurricanes, but what’s left sits on a small point overlooking the +crystal clear blue water. My favourite part was the hand painted sign that +reads &lsquo;IGUANAS-No los tire piedras-Cuidelas&rsquo;, &lsquo;Please do not throw rocks at +the iguanas-take care of them!&rsquo; Two English ladies who now live in Kentucky +were kind enough to pick us up on their rented golf cart and haul us back into +town, saving us a taxi ride/sunburn.During our stay on the island, we ran into +a small herd of beach cats. They appeared to be completely starving, which I’m +sure is all part of their little ploy to get food from unsuspecting tourists. +In fact, I’m sure that if a study were done, they’d probably find that this is +a behaviour that beach cats have evolved over centuries of tourism, sort of +like pigeons that pretend to be one-legged to get sympathy points from old +grannies in parks. In any case, these poor things ended up rounding up enough +sympathy to get some canned tuna… twice. Most of the time, though, I we watched +it digging holes on the beach, which I don’t really want to think about too +much. We also saw it kill and eat cockroaches, which no matter how disgusting +it is, I have to admit is actually sort of mezmerising.</p> +<p>All in all, it was a great vacation before everything gets crazy here. We hope +we’ll have time to go back at some point for another visit. The place to stay +is definitely the Hotel El Marcianito; the guy who runs it is totally friendly, +and gave us a ton of advice on places to see.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -139,7 +676,20 @@ a colectivo headed out in that direction. The one we found stopped by a bathing centre and the town of Chelem. Now right now I’m going to come straight out and say it: if someone ever tells you a story about the amazing beaches at Yucalpetén, just back away slowly and do not make any sudden -moves—the person you are talking to has probably escaped from an asylum.</p></description> +moves—the person you are talking to has probably escaped from an asylum.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-08-31-chelem.jpg" + alt="Main street of Chelem"/><figcaption> + <h4>The main street of Chelem?</h4> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>We wandered around for a few hours, but we never did find a beach in decent +condition. In the end we sat on a grass embankment close to the ocean, +observing what appeared to be the remains of a house that had been bulldozed +across the beach and into the ocean; there still were big chunks of concrete +wall strewn all over the place. It was sort of post-apocalyptic looking. On the +bright side, there was a nice cool breeze.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -152,7 +702,26 @@ moves—the person you are talking to has probably escaped from an asylum.</p gulf side of the peninsula, the water is still a beautiful turquoise-blue; it puts Canadian beaches to shame. On a hot weekend, Progreso makes a fun day trip. The wind keeps you cool, and as long as you keep ordering drinks, the -food comes free at the palapa huts on the beach.</p></description> +food comes free at the palapa huts on the beach.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-08-31-palapa.jpg" + alt="Three beach chairs sit in the shade of a palm-thatched palapa on the beach overlooking the ocean. A small &#39;lancha&#39; boat is pulled up on the beach. On the left, Progreso&#39;s long pier extends over the water towards the horizon."/> +</figure> + +<p>The one thing that is impossible to miss in Progreso is the pier. At its +original length of 6 km, it was the longest in all of México, and with its new +3 km extension for cruise ships, it’s now the longest in the world. The reason +for its size is that the Yucatán Peninsula is in essence a huge, flat limestone +shelf that continues to extend long past the waterfront. At 6 km out, the +water is still only 7 or 8 metres deep. As a result a 3 km extension was added +in 2001 to allow cruise ships to dock safely.</p> +<p>When we asked friends in Mérida about the beach in Progreso, they mostly told +us that it wasn’t that nice. When we got back, I told my class that in Canada +we put beaches like that in beer commercials. I guess when Cancún is only a few +hours drive away, you can afford to be picky. The only downside is that most of +the palm trees are tiny. The previous ones were all ripped out during Hurricane +Gilberto a few years ago. As a result there’s very little shade, so your only +option is to hide under a palapa.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -169,7 +738,47 @@ as transportation by some of its residents. The two big tourist attractions here are the ruins of Kinich-Kakmó, one of 12 Mayan temples that originally stood at the site of this town, and the Franciscan Monastery, one of the first in the New World, built from the stones of the largest Mayan temple in Izamal -after it was torn down by the Conquistadors.</p></description> +after it was torn down by the Conquistadors.</p> +<p>The Convento de San Antonio de Padua sits on one side of the Plaza Principal, a +block from the city’s bus station. Climbing up the ramp in front brings you to +a large flat terrace and the entrance to the buildings themselves. From there, +you can enter the chapel, visit the arboreum or climb up to the top levels of +the monastery. If you look carefully, some of the stones in the walls and +arches have Mayan designs on them—these were part of the temple that originally +stood at this location. Facing away from the monastery, you can see +Kinich-Kakmó towering over the jungle six or seven blocks away.</p> +<p>Kinich-Kakmó, which is about 200 m x 180 m, was built between 300 and 600 A.D. +and was recently restored. From the top levels, the temple provides a great +view of the city. Following a narrow dirt path around the back affords a +spectacular view of the surrounding jungle and the vast, Saskatchewan-like +flatness of the Yucatán peninsula. All over the place, big, lazy iguanas +sunbathe on the rock walls of the temple. Just beside the entrance, at the base +of the front side of the pyramid, is a great-smelling tortillería.</p> +<p>We ate at the Kinich-Kakmó Restaurant, and it was delicious though a little +pricey. We each had a Montejo beer and lime soup, followed by Poc-Chuc¹ and +Rellenos Negros², along with some fresh handmade tortillas. As with many +restaurants, homemade tortilla chips and salsas are served with the meal. The +total came to about 160 pesos, which is enough to buy you several days worth of +groceries at Wal-Mart or San Francisco in Mérida. The main dining area is +outdoors under a thatched Mayan style roof (and yes, lots of people still live +in traditional Mayan huts—some have corrugated metal roofs these days, but just +as many use the traditional palm fronds). The waiters even offer bug-spray if +you need it. Fortunately, due to some creative engineering by the staff, you +don’t need it. Clear plastic bags of water dangle by threads from the roof and, +in the words of the waiter, &lsquo;when the bug sees his reflection as he gets +closer, he sees himself reflected so big and ugly that it scares him away.&rsquo; It +seems to work—we didn’t see a single fly or mosquito during lunch, and there +were tons outside. Royal Thai in San Rafael, California does the same thing, so +there’s got to be something to it.</p> +<p>Unfortunately, I forgot to bring the memory card for the camera, so no +pictures, but it was well worth the trip.</p> +<h3 id="glossary">Glossary</h3> +<ol> +<li><em>Poc-Chuc:</em> A Yucatecan dish made with pork marinaded in orange juice.</li> +<li><em>Rellenos Negros:</em> A spicy, black Yucatecan soup made from beans, with +pieces of chicken and a hard boiled egg bathing in it.</li> +</ol> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -185,7 +794,53 @@ after it was torn down by the Conquistadors.</p></description> <p>In Mérida, most people sleep in hammocks. Walk down any residential street and look in the windows and you’ll see hammocks strung all over the room. What I’m getting at is that I finally caved in and bought a hammock. Now sit back and -listen, ’cause here’s my advice…</p></description> +listen, ’cause here’s my advice…</p> +<p>If you’re in Mérida, you’ll be approached every five minutes by someone wanting +to sell you a hammock off the street. Do not buy it! That man is crazy! The +quality of hammock you get from a wandering hammock guy is a mystery until you +try it out. And you’re not going to be trying it out until after you’ve paid +for it. Generally speaking, they’re pretty bad. Locals refer to them as +‘hospital hammocks’ because that’s where you end up if you use them. Go to a +hammock shop with a good reputation. If they can show you a photo album of them +and their grandparents chopping down sisal (henequen cactus), stripping the +fibre, and making hammocks, it’s a pretty safe bet that the hammocks are +good.So Julio Armando pulled out a few hammocks, strung them up, proudly +displays the threading to show there were no flaws, and got me to jump in and +take it for a spin. Hammocks come in lots of sizes: single, double, +matrimonial, and matrimonial especial. The difference is the number of pairs of +end threads. Matrimonial has about 150 pairs of end threads, whereas a single +has about 50 and a double has about 100. Keep in mind that these sizes were +designed for people of Mayan stature, which is a lot smaller than your typical +Canadian, or Mestizo Mexican.</p> +<p>Unfortunately, the walls in the apartment must be the only ones in the whole +city that doesn’t have hammock hooks! Even a lot of hotels in Mérida provide +hooks! I ran across the street to the Tlapalería¹ and using hand signals and +pantomime, bought exactly five metres of nylon rope. Using those engineering +skills I spent so much effort learning at UVic, and some knots I learned in Boy +Scouts, I rigged up a makeshift hammock hookup. Unfortunately, the only +available post to string a rope around was the chunk of wall between the +balcony door and the window, which meant that both the door and the window had +to be open to use it, and I had to pull the mosquito screen out of the window +anytime I wanted to use the hammock.</p> +<p>About Mérida’s weather: Maybe you people back home have looked at the +temperatures in Mérida and thought &lsquo;Wow! They spend the whole summer in the mid +to upper 30s! It’s just like Cancún!&rsquo; True, but it’s also insanely humid, which +means you’re covered in sweat 24 hours a day—imagine waking up sticky and +sweaty every morning; that’s why most people use hammocks. What’s more, unlike +Cancún, there are thunderstorms every afternoon between about four and seven. +You can set your watch by them. During these thunderstorms, it rains. A lot. So +much, in fact, that having the window or door open even a centimetre spells +certain doom. In short, the hammock is no longer up. Back to the drawing board.</p> +<p>A curious side note here. If you wander the streets of Mérida enough, you’ll +notice an inordinate number of people with one or both eyes missing. The reason +for this is quite interesting. Mérida is famous around the world for its +hammocks. And to make hammocks you need henequen fibre. The sisal cactus from +which you get it has very, very sharp, needle-like barbs. You get the point.</p> +<h3 id="glossary">Glossary</h3> +<ol> +<li><em>Tlapalería:</em> A sort of little roadside hardware store.</li> +</ol> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -200,7 +855,54 @@ twenty minute drive from the long strip of hotels between the lagoon and the ocean that the outside world refers to as Cancún. By the time the colectivo got to the bus station, it was 9 pm, so after checking out the schedule and booking tickets, there was just enough time to grab some dinner and get some sleep -before heading off to Mérida first thing the next morning.</p></description> +before heading off to Mérida first thing the next morning.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-08-17-cathedral.jpg" + alt="Façade of the Mérida cathedral in the evening light. Groups of pedestrians pass along the sidewalk in front as Volkswagen Beetles drive by."/> +</figure> + +<p>Sitting in a Mexican bus station is an activity in itself. Drenched in sweat +and surrounded by hundreds of other sweaty people carrying bags, backpacks, and +cardboard packages held together with twine, in heat and humidity well above +what any sane person would tolerate, you gain an appreciation of just how +patient a people the Mexicans are. Buses come and go as they please; to the +Mexican bus driver, the posted schedule is only a guideline. Buses are +notoriously late, and ours is no exception.</p> +<p>When it does arrive, the bags are loaded, everyone climbs into their seats and, +once the bus driver has got his drinks and snacks ready for the trip, he throws +it into reverse and we´re off. After a four hour ride through the Yucatecan +jungle, we arrived at the Fiesta Américana terminal in the north end of Mérida. +From there, we grabbed a taxi into town and unloaded everything at Hotel Mucuy, +on calle 57 between calle 56 and calle 58, where we stayed while we searched +for jobs and a place to live.</p> +<p>This might be a good time to explain the mysterious numbering system for the +addresses in Mérida. Odd numbered streets run east-west and even numbered +streets run north-south. For streets that run diagonally, the ones that run +from SE to NW are even, the rest are odd—usually. Another challenge is that +street addresses are not often consistent; number 499 might be three or four +blocks from 498. Because of this, addresses are usually given as a street +number and a cross street (for corner addresses) or a street number and the two +cross streets between which the address lies.</p> +<p>Mérida is the capital city of México’s Yucatán state and, centuries ago, was +the capital of the Mayan empire as well. When the Spanish conquistadors arrived +in the city in the mid-16th century, led by Francisco de Montejo, they +discovered the Mayan city of Tihó. Its temples and limestone architecture +reminded them enough of Mérida, Spain that they promptly renamed the city and +began dismantling the Mayan structures. While you won’t find any of the +original Mayan buildings remaining today, the cathedral in the Plaza Principal² +contains blocks from the Mayan temple that once stood in the same location.</p> +<p>In any case, the city today is gorgeous. Its narrow streets and colonial +architecture give it a traditional feel. Every Sunday, all the streets within +several blocks of the main plaza are shut down to vehicle traffic while +musicians play live music near the Plaza Principal, and people dance in the +streets.</p> +<h3 id="glossary">Glossary</h3> +<ol> +<li><em>Colectivo:</em> a communal taxi, usually a VW van, into which the driver packs +as many people as the laws of physics will allow. For example the last one +we used had 16 people stuffed into it.</li> +<li><em>Plaza Principal:</em> the main square found in almost every Mexican town.</li> +</ol> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -209,7 +911,11 @@ before heading off to Mérida first thing the next morning.</p></descripti <pubDate>Fri, 17 Aug 2001 11:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/08/hola-mexico/</guid> - <description>After a year and a half in San Francisco, California, we’ve moved to Mérida, Yucatán, México. So far so good! The heat is scorching, the humidity is sweltering, and the mosquitos are biting. But Mérida is a beautiful city, and the people are wonderful.</description> + <description><p>After a year and a half in San Francisco, California, we’ve moved to Mérida, +Yucatán, México. So far so good! The heat is scorching, the humidity is +sweltering, and the mosquitos are biting. But Mérida is a beautiful city, and +the people are wonderful.</p> +</description> </item> </channel> diff --git a/tags/morganstanley/index.xml b/tags/morganstanley/index.xml @@ -14,7 +14,19 @@ <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2011/05/job-search-search-job/</guid> <description><p>After close to seven years with <a href="https://www.morganstanley.com">Morgan Stanley</a>, I&rsquo;ve turned in my badge -and exited the world of finance.</p></description> +and exited the world of finance. I first joined Morgan Stanley in Tokyo in 2004 +working in the Equities Technology group focusing on scalability in the trade +processing plant. Throughout my career at Morgan, I&rsquo;ve had the pleasure of +working alongside a lot of incredibly bright people on some very interesting and +challenging problems, mainly focusing on scalability, parallelism and system +architecture.</p> +<p>After being made the offer one sunny Kyoto morning, and giving it some serious +contemplation, I&rsquo;ve accepted a position with <a href="https://google.com">Google</a> in <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/gxWf">Mountain View, +California</a>. While there&rsquo;s no question I&rsquo;ll miss working with all the +people who made my time at Morgan Stanley such an awesome experience, I&rsquo;m +excited about joining Google, and looking forward to working on some tough and +interesting problems in a very unique environment.</p> +</description> </item> </channel> diff --git a/tags/retro/index.xml b/tags/retro/index.xml @@ -18,7 +18,25 @@ II</a> turns 30. It was in production for 18 of those 30 years, which likely makes it the longest-selling personal computer of all time. It was the computer I wrote my first program on, and spent countless hours banging in and editing code from <em>Compute</em> magazine—including page after page of raw hex -code when a program included graphics.</p></description> +code when a program included graphics.</p> +<p>In tribute, I ran a Google search on PR#6 to see what turned up. For those who +don&rsquo;t know or don&rsquo;t remember, PR#6 was the command that kicked off the +bootloader code for slot 6, the drive controller. The search turned up two +relevant links: an <a href="http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=197&amp;coll=ap">Apple TechTip</a> on a simple copy-protection scheme, +and a fantastic <a href="http://diveintomark.org/archives/2006/08/22/c600g">blog entry</a> that covers a bit about the Apple +][&rsquo;s boot process, which brings back a lot of memories of old Shugart drives, +including the terrifying sound of a track 0 seek – a process wherein the drive +head was moved across the disk very quickly until it physically couldn&rsquo;t go any +further, resulting in a loud alarm-like buzz from the drive when it hit the +limit of its reach.</p> +<p>Anyway, in celebration of the Apple ][&rsquo;s 30th birthday, I recommend grabbing +your nearest <a href="https://www.scullinsteel.com/apple2/#dos33master">emulator</a>, and banging in a <code>call -151</code> for old time&rsquo;s +sake.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2007-06-06-happy_birthday.png" + alt="AppleSoft BASIC program"/> +</figure> + +</description> </item> </channel> diff --git a/tags/skiing/index.xml b/tags/skiing/index.xml @@ -13,7 +13,11 @@ <pubDate>Wed, 14 Apr 2004 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2004/04/end-of-season/</guid> - <description>Two last ski trips for the year. The first, at Mt. Washington, saw a beautiful attempt at a forward flip by Kevin, and Pippa ripping it up. For the second, I burned off on the 10 hour trek to Nelson, where Trav skiied until he dropped and I tried out the new Rossignol B2s.</description> + <description><p>Two last ski trips for the year. The first, at Mt. Washington, saw a beautiful +attempt at a forward flip by Kevin, and Pippa ripping it up. For the second, I +burned off on the 10 hour trek to Nelson, where Trav skiied until he dropped +and I tried out the new Rossignol B2s.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -22,7 +26,10 @@ <pubDate>Mon, 08 Mar 2004 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2004/03/mt-washington/</guid> - <description>Put a group of idiots together on skis and boards, and you’ve got a guaranteed recipe for a good time. Tom managed a sweet 360 and Matt successfully pulled off half a backflip.</description> + <description><p>Put a group of idiots together on skis and boards, and you’ve got a guaranteed +recipe for a good time. Tom managed a sweet 360 and Matt successfully pulled +off half a backflip.</p> +</description> </item> </channel> diff --git a/tags/software/index.xml b/tags/software/index.xml @@ -13,7 +13,77 @@ <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2020 14:55:23 -0700</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2020/05/thoughts-on-licences/</guid> - <description>Software licences are probably the single most boring aspect of software development, but it&rsquo;s important to carefully consider the terms under which the stuff I hack on is shared to ensure they&rsquo;re consistent with my values. Despite my general dislike for all things legalistic, the most unambiguous way to state those terms is through a licence. So a couple days ago, I tossed LICENSE files into any of my public repos that didn&rsquo;t already have one.</description> + <description><p>Software licences are probably the single most boring aspect of software +development, but it&rsquo;s important to carefully consider the terms under which the +stuff I hack on is shared to ensure they&rsquo;re consistent with my values. Despite +my general dislike for all things legalistic, the most unambiguous way to state +those terms is through a licence. So a couple days ago, I tossed LICENSE files +into any of my public <a href="https://chris.bracken.jp/code">repos</a> that didn&rsquo;t already have one.</p> +<p>So how did I settle on which licences to apply? Jump on into the DeLorean and +let&rsquo;s set the dial back to the late 1980s.</p> +<p>It&rsquo;s 1986 and I&rsquo;ve got a 1200 baud modem wired up to a beat-up 286 with a steel +case that would easily allow it to double as a boat anchor if needed. Armed +with a dot-matrix printout of local BBSes with names like Camelot, Tommy&rsquo;s +Holiday Camp, and Forbidden Night Castle, I fire up PC-Talk. A series of +<a href="https://www.windytan.com/2012/11/the-sound-of-dialup-pictured.html">high-pitched squeals and tones</a> fill the air, then text +flashes across the screen. I&rsquo;m online.</p> +<p>BBSes were a treasure trove of information, filled to the brim with zip archives +full of downloadable programs, source code, patches for existing programs, and +all manner of text files with names like <a href="https://insecure.org/stf/smashstack.html">Smashing The Stack For Fun And +Profit</a>. You could find everything from how to crack copy-protected +software, to details on phone phreaking, to how to make nitroglycerine from +commonly-available household items. It was through BBSes that I first downloaded +an I&rsquo;m sure <em>totally legitimate</em> copy of Borland Turbo C++ and took my first +baby steps writing <em>real</em> programs. No more BASIC for me.</p> +<p>This culture of open sharing in the online world has had a huge impact on me. +From those early experiences with BBSes to my first forays onto the Internet a +few years later, seeing people openly sharing code and patches and helping each +other solve problems over Usenet seemed almost revolutionary to me at the time. +In some ways, it still does. I feel lucky to have been a part of it from such an +early age.</p> +<p>The end result is that I try to publicly share all the work I do. So when it +came time to chuck licences on stuff, I sat down to work out a personals ad for +my ideal licence. Aside from enjoying long walks on the beach, it should:</p> +<ol> +<li>Allow free use, modification, and distribution both of the original +work and any derived works.</li> +<li>Require that people distributing the work or any derived work to +give appropriate credit.</li> +<li>Disallow suggesting that I in any way endorse any derived products +or whoever produces them.</li> +<li>Gently encourage a culture of open exchange and sharing of +information and techniques.</li> +<li>Be short, clear, and easy to understand.</li> +</ol> +<p>On the software side, there were lots of options, but the best matches in my +mind are the <a href="https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT">MIT</a> or <a href="https://opensource.org/licenses/BSD-3-Clause">BSD</a> licences. The 3-clause +&rsquo;new&rsquo; BSD licence has an advantage in that it required written permission from +the author to use their name in any endorsement/promotion of a derived work. +That happens to be what we already use for <a href="https://github.com/flutter/flutter">work</a>.</p> +<p>On the content side, I&rsquo;ve always posted my web site&rsquo;s content under a <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">Creative +Commons Attribution-ShareAlike</a> licence. But I don&rsquo;t believe that&rsquo;s +actually the ideal match based on my priorities. Why is it that I&rsquo;ve elected to +use a licence that requires that derived works also be licensed under the same +terms rather than under whatever terms someone feels like, so long as credit is +given? In the end I settled on the more permissive <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons +Attribution</a> licence.</p> +<p>This feels to me a bit like the difference between <a href="https://opensource.org/licenses/BSD-3-Clause">BSD</a> and +<a href="https://opensource.org/licenses/GPL-3.0">GPL</a> terms, where the latter requires that derived works also be +GPL-licensed. This &ldquo;viral&rdquo; nature has always rubbed me the wrong way: rather +than gently promoting a culture of sharing by example, it legally <em>requires</em> +sharing under the same terms whether or not you want to.</p> +<p>Personally, I&rsquo;d like for people to do the right thing and share their work for +everyone&rsquo;s benefit not because they <em>have</em> to, but because they <em>want</em> to. If +they don&rsquo;t want to, why should my reaction be to disallow their use of my work? +Isn&rsquo;t that contrary to my stated goals of sharing as much and as broadly as +possible?</p> +<p>While I <em>hope</em> that more people share more of their work, it doesn&rsquo;t bother me +if you don&rsquo;t. If anything I&rsquo;ve written is somehow useful to you, I&rsquo;m glad. Use +your knowledge to help others and make the world a better place, and if you can +find time to do so, share a bit with the rest of us.</p> +<p>Got thoughts and opinions on licences? Fire an email my way at +<a href="mailto:chris@bracken.jp">chris@bracken.jp</a>.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -22,8 +92,730 @@ <pubDate>Wed, 31 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2018/10/decoding-an-elf-binary/</guid> - <description>While recovering from some dentistry the other day I figured I&rsquo;d have a go at better understanding the ELF binary format. What better way to do that than to compile a small program and hand-decode the resulting binary with a hex editor and whatever ELF format spec I could find. -Overview Below, we&rsquo;ll use nasm to build a small assembly Hello World program to a 64-bit ELF object file, then link that into an ELF executable with GNU ld.</description> + <description><p>While recovering from some dentistry the other day I figured I&rsquo;d have a go at +better understanding the ELF binary format. What better way to do that than to +compile a small program and hand-decode the resulting binary with a hex editor +and whatever ELF format spec I could find.</p> +<h2 id="overview">Overview</h2> +<p>Below, we&rsquo;ll use <code>nasm</code> to build a small assembly Hello World program to a +64-bit ELF object file, then link that into an ELF executable with GNU <code>ld</code>. +Finally, we&rsquo;ll run the resulting object file and binary image through <code>xxd</code> and +hand-decode the resulting hex.</p> +<p>The code and instructions below work on FreeBSD 11 on x86_64 hardware. For +other operating systems, hardware, and toolchains, you&rsquo;re on your own! I&rsquo;d +imagine this should all work just fine on Linux. If I get bored one day, I may +redo this for Mach-O binaries on macOS.</p> +<h2 id="helloasm">hello.asm</h2> +<p>First we&rsquo;ll bang up a minimal Hello World program in assembly. In the <code>.data</code> +section, we add a null-terminated string, <code>hello</code>, and its length <code>hbytes</code>. In +the program text, we set up and execute the <code>write(stdout, hello, hbytes)</code> +syscall, then set up and execute an <code>exit(0)</code> syscall.</p> +<p>Note that 64-bit FreeBSD, macOS, and Linux all use the SysV AMD64 calling +convention. For calls against the kernel interface, the syscall number is +stored in <code>rax</code> and up to six parameters are passed, in order, in <code>rdi</code>, <code>rsi</code>, +<code>rdx</code>, <code>r10</code>, <code>r8</code>, <code>r9</code>. For user calls, replace <code>r10</code> with <code>rcx</code> in this +list, and pass further arguments on the stack. In all cases, the return value +is passed through <code>rax</code>. More details can be found in section A.2.1 of the +<a href="https://software.intel.com/sites/default/files/article/402129/mpx-linux64-abi.pdf">System V AMD64 ABI Reference</a>.</p> +<pre><code>; hello.asm + +%define stdin 0 +%define stdout 1 +%define stderr 2 +%define SYS_exit 1 +%define SYS_write 4 + +%macro system 1 + mov rax, %1 + syscall +%endmacro + +%macro sys.exit 0 + system SYS_exit +%endmacro + +%macro sys.write 0 + system SYS_write +%endmacro + +section .data + hello db 'Hello, World!', 0Ah + hbytes equ $-hello + +section .text +global _start +_start: + mov rdi, stdout + mov rsi, hello + mov rdx, hbytes + sys.write + + xor rdi,rdi + sys.exit +</code></pre> +<h2 id="compile-to-object-code">Compile to object code</h2> +<p>Next, we&rsquo;ll compile <code>hello.asm</code> to a 64-bit ELF object file using <code>nasm</code>:</p> +<pre><code>% nasm -f elf64 hello.asm +</code></pre> +<p>This emits <code>hello.o</code>, an 880-byte ELF-64 object file. Since we haven&rsquo;t yet run +this through the linker, addresses of global symbols (in this case, <code>hello</code>) +are not yet known and thus left with address 0x0 placeholders. We can see this +in the <code>movabs</code> instruction at offset 0x15 of the <code>.text</code> section below.</p> +<p>The relocation section (Section 6: <code>.rela.text</code>) contains an entry for each +symbolic reference that needs to be filled in by the linker. In this case +there&rsquo;s just a single entry for the symbol <code>hello</code> (which points to our hello +world string). The relocation table entry&rsquo;s <code>r_offset</code> indicates the address to +replace is at an offset of 0x7 into the section of the associated symbol table +entry. Its <code>r_info</code> (0x0000000200000001) encodes a relocation type in its lower +4 bytes (0x1: <code>R_AMD64_64</code>) and the associated symbol table entry in its upper +4 bytes (0x2, which, if we look it up in the symbol table is the <code>.text</code> +section). The <code>r_addend</code> field (0x0) specifies an additional adjustment to the +substituted symbol to be applied at link time; specifically, for the +<code>R_AMD64_64</code>, the final address is computed as S + A, where S is the +substituted symbol value (in our case, the address of <code>hello</code>) and A is the +addend (in our case, 0x0).</p> +<p>Without further ado, let&rsquo;s dump the object file:</p> +<pre><code>% xxd hello.o +</code></pre> +<p>With whatever ELF64 <a href="https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E19120-01/open.solaris/819-0690/index.html">linker &amp; loader guide</a> we can find at hand, +let&rsquo;s get decoding this thing:</p> +<h3 id="elf-header">ELF Header</h3> +<pre><code>|00000000: 7f45 4c46 0201 0100 0000 0000 0000 0000| .ELF............ +|00000010: 0100 3e00 0100 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ..&gt;............. +|00000020: 0000 0000 0000 0000 4000 0000 0000 0000| ........@....... +|00000030: 0000 0000 4000 0000 0000 4000 0700 0300| ....@.....@..... + +e_ident[EI_MAG0..EI_MAG3] 0x7f + ELF Magic +e_ident[EI_CLASS] 0x02 64-bit +e_ident[EI_DATA] 0x01 Little-endian +e_ident[EI_VERSION] 0x01 ELF v1 +e_ident[EI_OSABI] 0x00 System V +e_ident[EI_ABIVERSION] 0x00 Unused +e_ident[EI_PAD] 0x00000000000000 7 bytes unused padding +e_type 0x0001 ET_REL +e_machine 0x003e x86_64 +e_version 0x00000001 Version 1 +e_entry 0x0000000000000000 Entrypoint address (none) +e_phoff 0x0000000000000000 Program header table offset in image +e_shoff 0x0000000000000040 Section header table offset in image +e_flags 0x00000000 Architecture-dependent interpretation +e_ehsize 0x0040 Size of this ELF header (64B) +e_phentsize 0x0000 Size of program header table entry +e_phnum 0x0000 Number of program header table entries +e_shentsize 0x0040 Size of section header table entry (64B) +e_shnum 0x0007 Number of section header table entries +e_shstrndx 0x0003 Index of section header for .shstrtab +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-0-null">Section header table: Entry 0 (null)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000040: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000050: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000060: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000070: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x00000000 Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000000 SHT_NULL +sh_flags 0x0000000000000000 Section attributes +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x0000000000000000 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000000 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000000 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000000 Alignment +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-1-data">Section header table: Entry 1 (.data)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000080: 0100 0000 0100 0000 0300 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000090: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0002 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000000a0: 0e00 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000000b0: 0400 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x00000001 Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000001 SHT_PROGBITS +sh_flags 0x0000000000000003 SHF_WRITE | SHF_ALLOC +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x0000000000000200 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x000000000000000e Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000000 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000000 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000004 Alignment +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-2-text">Section header table: Entry 2 (.text)</h3> +<pre><code>|000000c0: 0700 0000 0100 0000 0600 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000000d0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 1002 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000000e0: 2500 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| %............... +|000000f0: 1000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x00000007 Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000001 SHT_PROGBITS +sh_flags 0x0000000000000006 SHF_ALLOC | SHF_EXECINSTR +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x0000000000000210 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x0000000000000025 Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000000 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000000 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000001 Alignment +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-3-shstrtab">Section header table: Entry 3 (.shstrtab)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000100: 0d00 0000 0300 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000110: 0000 0000 0000 0000 4002 0000 0000 0000| ........@....... +|00000120: 3200 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| 2............... +|00000130: 0100 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x0000000d Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000003 SHT_STRTAB +sh_flags 0x0000000000000000 Section attributes +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x0000000000000240 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x0000000000000032 Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000000 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000000 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000001 Alignment +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-4-symtab">Section header table: Entry 4 (.symtab)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000140: 1700 0000 0200 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000150: 0000 0000 0000 0000 8002 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000160: a800 0000 0000 0000 0500 0000 0600 0000| ................ +|00000170: 0800 0000 0000 0000 1800 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x00000017 Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000002 SHT_SYMTAB +sh_flags 0x0000000000000000 Section attributes +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x0000000000000280 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x00000000000000a8 Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000005 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000006 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000008 Alignment +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000018 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-5-strtab">Section header table: Entry 5 (.strtab)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000180: 1f00 0000 0300 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000190: 0000 0000 0000 0000 3003 0000 0000 0000| ........0....... +|000001a0: 1f00 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000001b0: 0100 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x0000001f Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000003 SHT_STRTAB +sh_flags 0x0000000000000000 Section attributes +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x0000000000000330 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x000000000000001f Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000000 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000000 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000001 Alignment +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-6-relatext">Section header table: Entry 6 (.rela.text)</h3> +<pre><code>|000001c0: 2700 0000 0400 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| '............... +|000001d0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 5003 0000 0000 0000| ........P....... +|000001e0: 1800 0000 0000 0000 0400 0000 0200 0000| ................ +|000001f0: 0800 0000 0000 0000 1800 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x00000027 Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000004 SHT_RELA +sh_flags 0x0000000000000000 Section attributes +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x0000000000000350 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x0000000000000018 Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000004 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000002 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000008 Alignment +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000018 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-1-data-sht_progbits-shf_write--shf_alloc">Section 1: .data (SHT_PROGBITS; SHF_WRITE | SHF_ALLOC)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000200: 4865 6c6c 6f2c 2057 6f72 6c64 210a 0000| Hello, World!... + +0x000000 'Hello, World!\n' +Zero-padding (2 bytes starting at 0x20e) +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-2-text-sht_progbits-shf_alloc--shf_execinstr">Section 2: .text (SHT_PROGBITS; SHF_ALLOC | SHF_EXECINSTR)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000210: bf01 0000 0048 be00 0000 0000 0000 00ba| .....H.......... +|00000220: 0e00 0000 b804 0000 000f 0548 31ff b801| ...........H1... +|00000230: 0000 000f 0500 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +0x00000010 mov edi, 0x1 +0x00000015 movabs rsi, 0x000000 (placeholder for db hello) +0x0000001f mov edx, 0xe +0x00000024 mov eax, 0x4 +0x00400029 syscall +0x0040002b xor rdi, rdi +0x0040002e mov eax, 0x1 +0x00400033 syscall +Zero-padding (11 bytes starting at 0x235) +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-3-shstrtab-sht_strtab">Section 3: .shstrtab (SHT_STRTAB;)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000240: 002e 6461 7461 002e 7465 7874 002e 7368| ..data..text..sh +|00000250: 7374 7274 6162 002e 7379 6d74 6162 002e| strtab..symtab.. +|00000260: 7374 7274 6162 002e 7265 6c61 2e74 6578| strtab..rela.tex +|00000270: 7400 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| t............... + +0x00000000: '' +0x00000001: '.data' +0x00000007: '.text' +0x0000000d: '.shstrtab' +0x00000017: '.symtab' +0x0000001f: '.strtab' +0x00000027: '.rela.text' +Zero-padding (14 bytes starting at 0x272) +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-4-symtab-sht_symtab">Section 4: .symtab&rsquo; (SHT_SYMTAB;)</h3> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-0">Symbol table entry 0</h4> +<pre><code>|00000280: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000290: 0000 0000 0000 0000 | ........ + +st_name 0x00000000 +st_info 0x00 +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0x0000 (SHN_UNDEF) +st_value 0x0000000000000000 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-1-helloasm">Symbol table entry 1 (hello.asm)</h4> +<pre><code>|00000298: 0100 0000 0400 f1ff| ........ +|000002a0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +st_name 0x00000001 +st_info 0x04 (STT_FILE) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0xfff1 (SHN_ABS) +st_value 0x0000000000000000 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-2">Symbol table entry 2</h4> +<pre><code>|000002b0: 0000 0000 0300 0100 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000002c0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 | ........ + +st_name 0x00000000 +st_info 0x03 (STT_OBJECT | STT_FUNC) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0x0001 (Section 1: .data) +st_value 0x0000000000000000 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-3">Symbol table entry 3</h4> +<pre><code>|000002c8: 0000 0000 0300 0200| ........ +|000002d0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +st_name 0x00000000 +st_info 0x03 (STT_OBJECT | STT_FUNC) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0x0002 (Section 2: .text) +st_value 0x0000000000000000 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-4-hello">Symbol table entry 4 (hello)</h4> +<pre><code>|000002e0: 0b00 0000 0000 0100 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000002f0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 | ........ + +st_name 0x0000000b +st_info 0x00 +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0x0001 (Section 1: .data) +st_value 0x0000000000000000 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h3 id="symbol-table-entry-5-hbytes">Symbol table entry 5 (hbytes)</h3> +<pre><code>|000002f8: 1100 0000 0000 f1ff| ........ +|00000300: 0e00 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +st_name 0x00000011 +st_info 0x00 +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0xfff1 (SHN_ABS) +st_value 0x000000000000000e +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-6-_start">Symbol table entry 6 (_start)</h4> +<pre><code>|00000310: 1800 0000 1000 0200 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000320: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +st_name 0x00000018 +st_info 0x01 (STT_OBJECT) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0x0002 (Section 2: .text) +st_value 0x0000000000000000 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +Zero-padding (8 bytes starting at 0x328) +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-5-strtab-sht_strtab">Section 5: .strtab (SHT_STRTAB;)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000330: 0068 656c 6c6f 2e61 736d 0068 656c 6c6f| .hello.asm.hello +|00000340: 0068 6279 7465 7300 5f73 7461 7274 0000| .hbytes._start.. + +0x00000000: '' +0x00000001: 'hello.asm' +0x0000000b: 'hello' +0x00000011: 'hbytes' +0x00000018: '_start' +Zero-padding (1 byte starting at 0x34f) +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-6-relatext-sht_rela">Section 6: .rela.text (SHT_RELA;)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000350: 0700 0000 0000 0000 0100 0000 0200 0000| ................ +|00000360: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +r_offset 0x0000000000000007 +r_info 0x0000000200000001 (Symbol table entry 2, type R_AMD64_64) +r_addend 0x0000000000000000 +Zero-padding (8 bytes starting at 0x368) +</code></pre> +<h2 id="link-to-executable-image">Link to executable image</h2> +<p>Next, let&rsquo;s link <code>hello.o</code> into a 64-bit ELF executable:</p> +<pre><code>% ld -o hello hello.o +</code></pre> +<p>This emits <code>hello</code>, a 951-byte ELF-64 executable image.</p> +<p>Since the linker has decided which segment each section maps into (if any) and +what the segment addresses are, addresses are now known for all (statically +linked) symbols, and address 0x0 placeholders have been replaced with actual +addresses. We can see this in the <code>mov</code> instruction at address 0x4000b5, which +now specifies an address of 0x6000d8.</p> +<p>Running the linked executable image through <code>xxd</code> as above and picking our +trusty linker &amp; loader guide back up, here we go again:</p> +<h3 id="elf-header-1">ELF Header</h3> +<pre><code>|00000000: 7f45 4c46 0201 0109 0000 0000 0000 0000| .ELF............ +|00000010: 0200 3e00 0100 0000 b000 4000 0000 0000| ..&gt;.......@..... +|00000020: 4000 0000 0000 0000 1001 0000 0000 0000| @............... +|00000030: 0000 0000 4000 3800 0200 4000 0600 0300| ....@.8...@..... + +e_ident[EI_MAG0..EI_MAG3] 0x7f + ELF Magic +e_ident[EI_CLASS] 0x02 64-bit +e_ident[EI_DATA] 0x01 Little-endian +e_ident[EI_VERSION] 0x01 ELF v1 +e_ident[EI_OSABI] 0x09 FreeBSD +e_ident[EI_ABIVERSION] 0x00 Unused +e_ident[EI_PAD] 0x0000000000 7 bytes unused padding +e_type 0x0002 ET_EXEC +e_machine 0x003e x86_64 +e_version 0x00000001 Version 1 +e_entry 0x00000000004000b0 Entrypoint addr +e_phoff 0x0000000000000040 Program header table offset in image +e_shoff 0x0000000000000110 Section header table offset in image +e_flags 0x00000000 Architecture-dependent interpretation +e_ehsize 0x0040 Size of this ELF header +e_phentsize 0x0038 Size of program header table entry +e_phnum 0x0002 Number of program header table entries +e_shentsize 0x0040 Size of section header table entry +e_shnum 0x0006 Number of section header table entries +e_shstrndx 0x0003 Index of section header for .shstrtab +</code></pre> +<h3 id="program-header-table-entry-0-pf_x--pf_r">Program header table: Entry 0 (PF_X | PF_R)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000040: 0100 0000 0500 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000050: 0000 4000 0000 0000 0000 4000 0000 0000| ..@.......@..... +|00000060: d500 0000 0000 0000 d500 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000070: 0000 2000 0000 0000 | .. ............. + +p_type 0x00000001 PT_LOAD +p_flags 0x00000005 PF_X | PF_R +p_offset 0x00000000 Offset of segment in file image +p_vaddr 0x0000000000400000 Virtual address of segment in memory +p_paddr 0x0000000000400000 Physical address of segment +p_filesz 0x00000000000000d5 Size in bytes of segment in file image +p_memsz 0x00000000000000d5 Size in bytes of segment in memory +p_align 0x0000000000200000 Alignment (2MB) +</code></pre> +<h3 id="program-header-table-entry-1-pf_w--pf_r">Program header table: Entry 1 (PF_W | PF_R)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000078: 0100 0000 0600 0000| ........ +|00000080: d800 0000 0000 0000 d800 6000 0000 0000| ..........`..... +|00000090: d800 6000 0000 0000 0e00 0000 0000 0000| ..`............. +|000000a0: 0e00 0000 0000 0000 0000 2000 0000 0000| .......... ..... + +p_type 0x00000001 PT_LOAD +p_flags 0x00000006 PF_W | PF_R +p_offset 0x00000000000000d8 Offset of segment in file image +p_vaddr 0x00000000006000d8 Virtual address of segment in memory +p_paddr 0x00000000006000d8 Physical address of segment +p_filesz 0x000000000000000e Size in bytes of segment in file image +p_memsz 0x000000000000000e Size in bytes of segment in memory +p_align 0x0000000000200000 Alignment (2MB) +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-1-text-sht_progbits-shf_alloc--shf_execinstr">Section 1: .text (SHT_PROGBITS; SHF_ALLOC | SHF_EXECINSTR)</h3> +<pre><code>|000000b0: bf01 0000 0048 bed8 0060 0000 0000 00ba| .....H...`...... +|000000c0: 0e00 0000 b804 0000 000f 0548 31ff b801| ...........H1... +|000000d0: 0000 000f 05 | ..... + +0x4000b0 mov edi, 0x1 +0x4000b5 movabs rsi, 0x6000d8 +0x4000bf mov edx, 0xe +0x4000c4 mov eax, 0x4 +0x4000c9 syscall +0x4000cb xor rdi, rdi +0x4000ce mov eax, 0x1 +0x4000d3 syscall +Zero-padding (5 bytes starting at 0x000000d5) +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-2-data-sht_progbits-shf_write--shf_alloc">Section 2: .data (SHT_PROGBITS; SHF_WRITE | SHF_ALLOC)</h3> +<pre><code>|000000d8: 4865 6c6c 6f2c 2057| Hello, W +|000000e0: 6f72 6c64 210a | orld!. + +0x6000d8 'Hello, World!\n' +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-3-shstrtab-sht_strtab-1">Section 3: .shstrtab (SHT_STRTAB;)</h3> +<pre><code>|000000e6: 002e 7379 6d74 6162 002e| ..symtab.. +|000000f0: 7374 7274 6162 002e 7368 7374 7274 6162| strtab..shstrtab +|00000100: 002e 7465 7874 002e 6461 7461 0000 0000| ..text..data. + +0x00000000: '' +0x00000001: '.symtab' +0x00000009: '.strtab' +0x00000011: '.shstrtab' +0x0000001b: '.text' +0x00000021: '.data' +Zero-padding (3 bytes starting at 0x0000010d) +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-0-null-1">Section header table: Entry 0 (null)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000110: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000120: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000130: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000140: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x00000000 Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000000 SHT_NULL +sh_flags 0x0000000000000000 Section attributes +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x0000000000000000 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000000 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000000 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000000 Alignment +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-1-text">Section header table: Entry 1 (.text)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000150: 1b00 0000 0100 0000 0600 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000160: b000 4000 0000 0000 b000 0000 0000 0000| ..@............. +|00000170: 2500 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| %............... +|00000180: 1000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x0000001b Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000001 SHT_PROGBITS +sh_flags 0x00000006 SHF_ALLOC | SHF_EXECINSTR +sh_addr 0x00000000004000b0 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x00000000000000b0 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x0000000000000025 Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000000 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000000 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000010 Alignment (2B) +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-2-data">Section header table: Entry 2 (.data)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000190: 2100 0000 0100 0000 0300 0000 0000 0000| !............... +|000001a0: d800 6000 0000 0000 d800 0000 0000 0000| ..`............. +|000001b0: 0e00 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000001c0: 0400 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x00000021 Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000001 SHT_PROGBITS +sh_flags 0x0000000000000003 SHF_WRITE | SHF_ALLOC +sh_addr 0x00000000006000d8 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x00000000000000d8 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x000000000000000e Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000000 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000000 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000004 Alignment (4B) +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-3-shstrtab-1">Section header table: Entry 3 (.shstrtab)</h3> +<pre><code>|000001d0: 1100 0000 0300 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000001e0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 e600 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000001f0: 2700 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| '............... +|00000200: 0100 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x00000011 Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000003 SHT_STRTAB +sh_flags 0x00000000 No flags +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x00000000000000e6 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x0000000000000027 Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000000 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000000 Extra info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000001 Alignment (1B) +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-4-symtab-1">Section header table: Entry 4 (.symtab)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000210: 0100 0000 0200 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000220: 0000 0000 0000 0000 9002 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000230: f000 0000 0000 0000 0500 0000 0600 0000| ................ +|00000240: 0800 0000 0000 0000 1800 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x00000001 Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000002 SHT_SYMTAB +sh_flags 0x00000000 No flags +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x0000000000000290 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x00000000000000f0 Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000005 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000006 Flags +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000008 Alignment (8B) +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000018 Size in bytes of each entry (24B) +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-header-table-entry-5-strtab-1">Section header table: Entry 5 (.strtab)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000250: 0900 0000 0300 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000260: 0000 0000 0000 0000 8003 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|00000270: 3700 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| 7............... +|00000280: 0100 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +sh_name 0x00000009 Offset into .shstrtab +sh_type 0x00000003 SHT_STRTAB +sh_flags 0x0000000000000000 No flags +sh_addr 0x0000000000000000 Virtual address of section in memory +sh_offset 0x0000000000000380 Offset of section in file image +sh_size 0x0000000000000037 Size in bytes of section in file image +sh_link 0x00000000 Section index of associated section +sh_info 0x00000000 Extrac info about section +sh_addralign 0x0000000000000001 Alignment (1B) +sh_entsize 0x0000000000000000 Size in bytes of each entry +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-4-symtab-sht_symtab-1">Section 4: .symtab (SHT_SYMTAB;)</h3> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-0-1">Symbol table entry 0</h4> +<pre><code>|00000290: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ +|000002a0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 | ........ + +st_name 0x00000000 +st_info 0x00 +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0x0000 (SHN_UNDEF) +st_value 0x0000000000000000 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-1">Symbol table entry 1</h4> +<pre><code>|000002a8: 0000 0000 0300 0100| ........ +|000002b0: b000 4000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ..@............. + +st_name 0x00000000 +st_info 0x03 (STT_OBJECT | STT_FUNC) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0x0001 (Section 1: .text) +st_value 0x00000000004000b0 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-2-1">Symbol table entry 2</h4> +<pre><code>|000002c0: 0000 0000 0300 0200 d800 6000 0000 0000| ..........`..... +|000002d0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 | ........ + +st_name 0x00000000 +st_info 0x03 (STT_OBJECT | STT_FUNC) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0x0002 (Section 2: .data) +st_value 0x00000000006000d8 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-3-helloasm">Symbol table entry 3 (hello.asm)</h4> +<pre><code>|000002d0: 0100 0000 0400 f1ff| ........ +|000002e0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +st_name 0x00000001 +st_info 0x04 (STT_FILE) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0xfff1 (SHN_ABS) +st_value 0x0000000000000000 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-4-hello-1">Symbol table entry 4 (hello)</h4> +<pre><code>|000002f0: 0b00 0000 0000 0200 d800 6000 0000 0000| ..........`..... +|00000300: 0000 0000 0000 0000 | ................ + +st_name 0x0000000b +st_info 0x00 +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0x0002 (Section 2: .data) +st_value 0x00000000006000d8 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-5-hbytes-1">Symbol table entry 5 (hbytes)</h4> +<pre><code>|00000300: 1100 0000 0000 f1ff| ........ +|00000310: 0e00 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ................ + +st_name 0x00000011 +st_info 0x00 +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0xfff1 (SHN_ABS) +st_value 0x000000000000000e +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-6-_start-1">Symbol table entry 6 (_start)</h4> +<pre><code>|00000320: 1800 0000 1000 0100 b000 4000 0000 0000| ..........@..... +|00000330: 0000 0000 0000 0000 | ........ + +st_name 0x00000018 +st_info 0x10 (STB_GLOBAL) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0x0001 (Section 1: .text) +st_value 0x00000000004000b0 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-7-__bss_start">Symbol table entry 7 (__bss_start)</h4> +<pre><code>|00000330: 1f00 0000 1000 f1ff| ........ +|00000340: e600 6000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ..`............. + +st_name 0x0000001f +st_info 0x10 (STB_GLOBAL) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0xfff1 (SHN_ABS) +st_value 0x00000000006000e6 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-8-_edata">Symbol table entry 8 (_edata)</h4> +<pre><code>|00000350: 2b00 0000 1000 f1ff e600 6000 0000 0000| +.........`..... +|00000360: 0000 0000 0000 0000 | ........ + +st_name 0x0000002b +st_info 0x10 (STB_GLOBAL) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0xfff1 (SHN_ABS) +st_value 0x00000000006000e6 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h4 id="symbol-table-entry-9-_end">Symbol table entry 9 (_end)</h4> +<pre><code>|00000360: 3200 0000 1000 f1ff| 2....... +|00000370: e800 6000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000| ..`............. + +st_name 0x00000032 +st_info 0x10 (STB_GLOBAL) +st_other 0x00 +st_shndx 0xfff1 (SHN_ABS) +st_value 0x00000000006000e8 +st_size 0x0000000000000000 +</code></pre> +<h3 id="section-6-strtab-sht_strtab">Section 6: .strtab (SHT_STRTAB;)</h3> +<pre><code>|00000380: 0068 656c 6c6f 2e61 736d 0068 656c 6c6f| .hello.asm.hello +|00000390: 0068 6279 7465 7300 5f73 7461 7274 005f| .hbytes._start._ +|000003a0: 5f62 7373 5f73 7461 7274 005f 6564 6174| _bss_start._edat +|000003b0: 6100 5f65 6e64 00 | a._end. + +0x00000000: '' +0x00000001: 'hello.asm' +0x0000000b: 'hello' +0x00000011: 'hbytes' +0x00000018: '_start' +0x0000001f: '__bss_start' +0x0000002b: '_edata' +0x00000032: '_end' +</code></pre> +<h2 id="effect-of-stripping">Effect of stripping</h2> +<p>Running <code>strip</code> on the binary has the effect of dropping the <code>.symtab</code> and +<code>.strtab</code> sections along with their section headers and 16 bytes of data (the +section names <code>.symtab</code> and <code>.strtab</code>) from the <code>.shstrtab</code> section, reducing the +total binary size to 512 bytes.</p> +<h2 id="in-memory-process-image">In-memory process image</h2> +<p>FreeBSD uses a memory superpage size of 2MB (page size of 4kB) on x86_64. Since +attributes are set at the page level, read+execute program <code>.text</code> and +read+write <code>.data</code> are loaded into two separate segments on separate pages, as +laid-out by the linker.</p> +<p>On launch, the kernel maps the binary image into memory as specified in the +program header table:</p> +<ul> +<li>PHT Entry 0: The ELF header, program header table, and Section 1 (<code>.text</code>) +are mapped from offset 0x00 of the binary image (with length 0xd6 bytes) +into Segment 1 (readable, executable) at address 0x400000.</li> +<li>PHT Entry 1: Section 2 (<code>.data</code>) at offset 0xd8 of the binary image is +mapped into Segment 2 (readable, writeable) at address 0x6000d8 from offset +0xd8 with length 0x0e bytes.</li> +</ul> +<p>The program entrypoint is specified to be 0x4000b0, the start of the <code>.text</code> +section.</p> +<p>And that&rsquo;s it! Any corrections or comments are always welcome. Shoot me an +email at <a href="mailto:chris@bracken.jp">chris@bracken.jp</a>.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -35,7 +827,98 @@ Overview Below, we&rsquo;ll use nasm to build a small assembly Hello World p <description><p>If you&rsquo;re a Japanese speaker, one of the first things you do when you install a fresh Linux distribution is to install a decent <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_IME">Japanese IME</a>. Ubuntu defaults to <a href="https://sourceforge.jp/projects/anthy/news/">Anthy</a>, but I personally prefer <a href="https://code.google.com/p/mozc/">Mozc</a>, and -that&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m going to show you how to install here.</p></description> +that&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m going to show you how to install here.</p> +<p><em>Update (2011-05-01):</em> Found an older <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfgjTCXZ2-s">video tutorial</a> on YouTube +which provides an alternative (and potentially more comprehensive) solution for +Japanese support on 10.10 using ibus instead of uim, which is the better choice +for newer releases.</p> +<p><em>Update (2011-10-25):</em> The software installation part of this process got a +whole lot easier in Ubuntu releases after Natty, and as noted above, I&rsquo;d +recommend sticking with ibus over uim.</p> +<h3 id="japanese-input-basics">Japanese Input Basics</h3> +<p>Before we get going, let&rsquo;s understand a bit about how Japanese input works on +computers. Japanese comprises three main character sets: the two phonetic +character sets, hiragana and katakana at 50 characters each, plus many +thousands of Kanji, each with multiple readings. Clearly a full keyboard is +impractical, so a mapping is required.</p> +<p>Input happens in two steps. First, you input the text phonetically, then you +convert it to a mix of kanji and kana.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2011-04-22-henkan.png" + alt="Japanese IME completion menu"/> +</figure> + +<p>Over the years, two main mechanisms evolved to input kana. The first was common +on old <em>wapuro</em>, and assigns a kana to each key on the keyboard—e.g. where +the <em>A</em> key appears on a QWERTY keyboard, you&rsquo;ll find a ち. This is how our +grandparents hacked out articles for the local <em>shinbun</em>, but I suspect only a +few die-hard traditionalists still do this. The second and more common method +is literal <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wapuro">transliteration of roman characters into kana</a>. You +type <em>fujisan</em> and out comes ふじさん.</p> +<p>Once the phonetic kana have been input, you execute a conversion step wherein +the input is transformed into the appropriate mix of kanji and kana. Given the +large number of homonyms in Japanese, this step often involves disambiguating +your input by selecting the intended kanji. For example, the <em>mita</em> in <em>eiga wo +mita</em> (I watched a movie) is properly rendered as 観た whereas the <em>mita</em> in +<em>kuruma wo mita</em> (I saw a car) should be 見た, and in neither case is it <em>mita</em> +as in the place name <em>Mita-bashi</em> (Mita bridge) which is written 三田.</p> +<h3 id="some-implementation-details">Some Implementation Details</h3> +<p>Let&rsquo;s look at implementation. There are two main components used in inputting +Japanese text:</p> +<p>The GUI system (e.g. ibus, uim) is responsible for:</p> +<ol> +<li>Maintaining and switching the current input mode: +ローマ字、ひらがな、カタカナ、半額カタカナ.</li> +<li>Transliteration of character input into kana: <em>ku</em> into く, +<em>nekko</em> into ねっこ, <em>xtu</em> into っ.</li> +<li>Managing the text under edit (the underlined stuff) and the +drop-down list of transliterations.</li> +<li>Ancillary functions such as supplying a GUI for custom dictionary +management, kanji lookup by radical, etc.</li> +</ol> +<p>The transliteration engine (e.g. Anthy, Mozc) is responsible for transforming a +piece of input text, usually in kana form, into kanji: for example みる into +one of: 見る、観る、診る、視る. This involves:</p> +<ol> +<li>Breaking the input phrase into components.</li> +<li>Transforming each component into the appropriate best guess based on context +and historical input.</li> +<li>Supplying alternative transformations in case the best guess was incorrect.</li> +</ol> +<h3 id="why-mozc">Why Mozc?</h3> +<p>TL;DR: because it&rsquo;s better. Have a look at the conversion list up at the top of +this post. The input is <em>kinou</em>, for which there are two main conversion +candidates: 機能 (feature) and 昨日 (yesterday). Notice however, that it also +supplies several conversions for yesterday&rsquo;s date in various formats, including +「平成23年4月21日」 using <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_era_name">Japanese Era Name</a> rather than the +Western notation 2011. This is just one small improvement among dozens of +clever tricks it performs. If you&rsquo;re thinking this bears an uncanny resemblance +to tricks that <a href="https://www.google.com/intl/ja/ime/">Google&rsquo;s Japanese IME</a> supports, you&rsquo;re right: Mozc +originated from the same codebase.</p> +<h3 id="switching-to-mozc">Switching to Mozc</h3> +<p>So let&rsquo;s assume you&rsquo;re now convinced to abandon Anthy and switch to Mozc. +You&rsquo;ll need to make some changes. Here are the steps:</p> +<p>If you haven&rsquo;t yet done so, install some Japanese fonts from either Software +Centre or Synaptic. I&rsquo;d recommend grabbing the <em>ttf-takao</em> package.</p> +<p>Next up, we&rsquo;ll install and configure Mozc.</p> +<ol> +<li><strong>Install ibus-mozc:</strong> <code>sudo apt-get install ibus-mozc</code></li> +<li><strong>Restart the ibus daemon:</strong> <code>/usr/bin/ibus-daemon --xim -r -d</code></li> +<li><strong>Set your input method to mozc:</strong> +<ol> +<li>Open <em>Keyboard Input Methods</em> settings.</li> +<li>Select the <em>Input Method</em> tab.</li> +<li>From the <em>Select an input method</em> drop-down, select Japanese, then mozc from +the sub-menu.</li> +<li>Select <em>Japanese - Anthy</em> from the list, if it appears there, and click +<em>Remove</em>.</li> +</ol> +</li> +<li><strong>Optionally, remove Anthy from your system:</strong> <code>sudo apt-get autoremove anthy</code></li> +</ol> +<p>Log out, and back in. You should see an input method menu in the menu +bar at the top of the screen.</p> +<p>That&rsquo;s it, Mozcを楽しんでください！</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -50,7 +933,27 @@ got my money&rsquo;s worth out of it. After partnering with <a href=" started using their online feed-reader on and off, with mixed results. I like that it keeps my feeds in sync between my computers, and that I can browse articles at lunch, but the interface is still not on par -with NetNewsWire itself.</p></description> +with NetNewsWire itself.</p> +<p>While NewsGator&rsquo;s implementation was lacking, I really did like the idea of +dropping the desktop app altogether and going with a fully online solution, so +I started exploring other options. The obvious free alternative is <a href="http://www.google.com/reader/">Google +Reader</a>, and I have to say, I&rsquo;m impressed. While the +presentation isn&rsquo;t as customizable as NetNewsWire, the functionality that I use +is all there, and in fact, it has some extra search features that I miss on the +desktop. It was only when I launched NetNewsWire today and saw 290 unread +items, that it hit me I hadn&rsquo;t used it in almost a month. So while I look +forward to <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hicksdesign/210309912/">NetNewsWire 3</a>, I&rsquo;m sticking to Google Reader for the time +being.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2007-05-30-google-reader.png" + alt="Google reader graph of usage by hour of day"/> +</figure> + +<p>I also discovered that my prime news reading hours are apparently 6:30am to +7:30am and 9pm to 11pm, with a strange local maximum straggling out around +12:30am. I&rsquo;d be curious to compare this to <em>before</em> I had a baby that woke me +up around that time.</p> +<p><em>Update (2007-06-06):</em> NetNewsWire 3.0 is now out.</p> +</description> </item> </channel> diff --git a/tags/travel/index.xml b/tags/travel/index.xml @@ -13,8 +13,13 @@ <pubDate>Wed, 11 May 2005 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2005/05/bonjour-bon-vespre/</guid> - <description>Just how far can you travel in a week and a half? It turns out pretty far. Combining planes, trains, ships, and automobiles, Yasuko and I travelled, all told, roughly 22,100 km over the Golden Week holiday. -From Tokyo to Avignon, on to Marseille, then Arles and Nîmes, followed by Carcassonne, Perpignan, and Barcelona, before heading back to Paris and home to Tokyo in 12 days wasn&rsquo;t bad… Especially considering the car was a Fiat.</description> + <description><p>Just how far can you travel in a week and a half? It turns out pretty far. +Combining planes, trains, ships, and automobiles, Yasuko and I travelled, all +told, roughly 22,100 km over the Golden Week holiday.</p> +<p>From Tokyo to Avignon, on to Marseille, then Arles and Nîmes, followed by +Carcassonne, Perpignan, and Barcelona, before heading back to Paris and home to +Tokyo in 12 days wasn&rsquo;t bad… Especially considering the car was a Fiat.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -23,7 +28,9 @@ From Tokyo to Avignon, on to Marseille, then Arles and Nîmes, followed by Carca <pubDate>Thu, 09 Sep 2004 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2004/09/new-york-ny-usa/</guid> - <description>Flew out to New York for interviews with Tokyo via videoconference on the 9th and 10th. More details later, but I’ll post pictures now.</description> + <description><p>Flew out to New York for interviews with Tokyo via videoconference on the 9th +and 10th. More details later, but I’ll post pictures now.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -36,7 +43,167 @@ From Tokyo to Avignon, on to Marseille, then Arles and Nîmes, followed by Carca in an effort to match my summer vacations with those of friends in Japan, ended up shuffling them back to August. Aside from the scorching heat, August is a fantastic time of year to visit. The heat this summer was more than a little -bit scorching though, it was the hottest summer in ten years.</p></description> +bit scorching though, it was the hottest summer in ten years.</p> +<p>It turned out, however, that I would have something more pressing than the +weather to keep my mind busy though. In the middle of the night, somewhere over +the Pacific ocean I woke up from my sleep in a cold sweat. My heart was +pounding. The airplane cabin was surprisingly silent; everyone around me had +dozed off to sleep and all that was left was the low drone of the jet engines +and the gentle hiss of the air vents. Slowly, I reached for the back pocket of +my backpack. My hands trembling, I unzipped it and slowly pulled it open. With +a huge sigh of relief, I pulled out my wallet. I hadn’t forgotten it at home +after all. Dropping it back in, I turned back toward the window and fell back +asleep. It wasn&rsquo;t until the next day in Osaka, as I opened my wallet to pay for +my hotel that I realised I’d forgotten my bank card at home.</p> +<p>This would not have been a problem, except that in a flash of brilliance, I had +decided to forgo the usual traveller’s cheques and use post office bank +machines to withdraw from my accounts back home. This had worked fantastically +last year and would save the hassle of cashing traveller’s cheques at a bank. +Fortunately I had a credit card on me. Unfortunately, Canadian credit cards +can’t be used to withdraw more than 20,000 yen a day, and then only at special +Visa bank machines which tend to be incredibly hard to find. Or, as I would +find out, impossible to find outside of Osaka or Tokyo. Fortunately I was able +to get hold of Mum on the phone relatively quickly, and she FedEx’ed the card +to Yasuko in Tokyo. By my math, I had just enough cash to buy Shinkansen +tickets to Shizuoka, then Tokyo. All I had to do was ensure that I reserved a +hotel in Shizuoka that accepted Canadian credit cards. No problem.</p> +<p>I spent the first night in the Umeda ward of Osaka, mostly because it’s so +close to Osaka station, and I was planning to catch the train first thing next +morning out through Kyoto, then Otsu, to Imazu-cho to meet Annie. Aside from +spending most of the next day in Osaka desperately seeking out Visa ATMs, I +can’t say I had that bad a time. Well, the weather was alright anyway.</p> +<p>Annie put me up for a few days in Imazu-cho, where I had the chance to meet up +with some friends from last year, and do a little exploring of nearby bits of +Shiga-ken. Caught the ferry out to Chikubushima, an island just 30 minutes out +from shore into Lake Biwa. The amazing thing about Chikubushima is the temples +and shrines you find in this remote location. The wood for the buildings did +not come from the island itself, but was ferried out by hand hundreds of years +ago. Chikubushima is one of several locations in Japan where the godess of +artistic inclinations, Benzaiten, is worshipped. Benzaiten, or Benten as she is +more often called, is the only female among the Shichifukujin¹ and is often +depicted as a woman carrying a lute. As she is a river godess, temples and +shrines dedicated to her often appear on lakes or near water.</p> +<p>After a few days in Imazu, I decided to head to Shizuoka. The best way to get +there was to catch local trains to Maibara station, on the other side of the +lake, then take the Shinkansen from there to Shizuoka. As I was running a +little late, I ended up sprinting through Imazu, suitcase in tow, to the train +station. With 100m to go, I saw the train pull into the station, so I threw it +into high gear. I quickly bought the 900 yen ticket from the ticket agent, who +told me to run for track 3, and remember to change trains at Nagahama station. +I sprinted up the stairs, and threw myself headlong through the train doors +seconds before they closed. 20 minutes later, the train driver called Nagahama +station over the crackly radio, and I hopped off. I was the only one. The train +pulled away, and I was left standing on the train platform with nothing but the +scorching heat and humidity, and the chirping of cicadas. It was then that I +read the station name: Nagahara. I’d misheard the name. There would surely be +another train in ten minutes though, so I staggered down the stairs and noticed +the utter lack of automatic ticket gates.</p> +<p>An old woman sat in the station-master’s booth. She looked up at me with a +half-surprised, half-worried expression and asked me for my ticket. I handed it +over. Noticing the apparent discrepancy in train fare she asked, “where are you +headed?” I answered “Maibara.” She said, “that’s on the other side of the lake. +You’re at Nagahara.” I said “I know. I’d meant to change at Nagahama…” at which +point she started laughing. ”The next train’s in three hours.” Three hours. I +asked when the next train to Oumi-Shiotsu station was. It was one station to +the north, at the junction of two train lines, so there’d be a much better +chance of catching an earlier train. She said ”That&rsquo;s the one. The next train +anywhere is three hours from now. There’s a bus in two though. Or I could call +a taxi, if that would help.” Maibara had to be at least 80km from here. No way +I could afford a taxi. But I could probably get a taxi to Oumi-Shiotsu, which I +did. And was laughed at some more over my mistake.</p> +<p>Turned out I wasn’t the only one. When I arrived at Oumi-Shiotsu, I was greeted +by three Japanese backpackers from Kyushu who’d apparently gotten off at +Nagahara the day before, and decided to stay the night at a nearby hotspring +and continue on to Maibara the next day. We sat for an hour, jumped on the +train, and eventually arrived at Nagahama, changed trains, and completed the +journey to Maibara. From there, it was the Kodama Shinkansen to Shizuoka.</p> +<p>I crashed the night in Shizuoka, then spent the next day exploring town. I +visited Sumpu-jou, a small castle in central Shizuoka, and Sumpu-jou Kouen, a +nearby park where I was invited in to try a whole series of green teas. +Shizuoka is famous for green tea, and as I had been the only foreigner that +week, I was treated to a detailed history of tea cultivation in the area, an +explanation of the many varieties and styles of green tea, and a pile of free +desserts! They asked if I had some spare time, as they’d love to take me on a +guided tour of the rest of the teahouse, and show me the private gardens in the +back. It was pretty spectacular.</p> +<p>After Sumpu-jou Kouen, I tried to find a bank machine that would allow me to do +a cash advance on my credit card, but finally gave up while I still had my +sanity. I bought a Shinkansen ticket for Tokyo with the plan to meet Setsuko at +Tennodai station at 9pm.</p> +<p>On the train, I met a professor with the Shimizu Univeristy Naval Engineering +school, and we ended up chatting the entire way to Tokyo. He was originally +from Kyoto, but had lived in Holland for years, and half-way through the +conversation, I discovered that he also spoke flawless English. He was +incredibly polite and put up with my fairly dodgy Japanese the entire way. It +was pretty good practice for me, though we did switch to English as the +conversation got into ship-building and a few other topics I knew nothing about +in Japanese.</p> +<p>In the end, I got to Ueno station a little bit early, stuffed my suitcase in a +locker, and ended up exploring the park for a few hours. I ended up doing a +huge survey on what I thought of Ueno Park, which was also great Japanese +practice, and I got a free pen out of the deal, to boot. I also discovered a +big festival going on at the far end of the park, near a temple that Yasuko and +I had visited last year. I wandered past the booths selling onigiri² and +kaki-kori³, listened to the music, took some pictures, and stopped by the +temple for a bit. It sits in the middle of a large pond full of blossoming +lotus flowers, and combined with the smell of incense wafting over the pond, it +makes for a very peaceful experience.</p> +<p>Eventually, I grabbed some onigiri and headed back to the train station to +catch the next train for Tennodai, in Chiba. Got there just in time, sat down +and waited on the platform for Setsuko, who arrived 5 minutes later. It was +crazy to see her again on the other side of the world. We headed off to the +supermarket, grabbed some food for dinner, and headed back to her apartment to +eat.</p> +<p>The next day, we did some shopping around Kashiwa station in Chiba, and I ended +up ordering a hand-made traditional futon. They measured me, we selected +fabrics and they said to come back in ten days to pick it up. Grabbed some +chinese food for lunch and some snacks, and did a bit more shopping. Eventually +we headed back, and I went to sleep. I remember being woken by an earthquake at +about 2am, but falling back asleep before it was even over. I can’t stay awake +for long on futons; they’re incredibly comfortable.</p> +<p>Yasuko and I arranged to meet at Shinagawa station early the next morning under +the big clock by the central ticket gates. It was great to see her again, and +we immediately bolted off to drop my gear at the apartment in Shinagawa she’d +rented and head out for lunch at an Italian place nearby. The rest of the week +was spent eating some of the most amazing sushi, soba, French, and Italian food +you can imagine, and checking out two huge fireworks festivals. Aside from all +the eating, we also visited art galleries in Ueno park, and did a bit of +shopping in Jiyuugaoka and Ginza. I got to visit Apple’s flagship Ginza store +which is a noble goal for any true Mac fanatic. Well, technically I also needed +a new AC adapter, since I’d accidentally destroyed mine earlier in the day.</p> +<p>After a week in Tokyo, it was off on a business trip to Oita, on Kyushu. I’d +never been to southern Japan before, and I was looking forward to meeting some +of my Japanese counterparts for work after many email conversations. Not only +did I get to visit a Japanese shipyard and see firsthand the incredible +precision with which they manufacture their vessels, but I also got to visit a +rural Japanese town, and meet Matsumoto-san and Kato-san, who treated me to +some of the most memorable karaoke of my life. After the business trip to +Nagasaki, we headed out for one last night together, with an amazing +traditional Kyushu-style sashimi and sushi dinner, and karaoke until two in the +morning.</p> +<p>For my final day in Japan, I was scheduled to fly out of Oita airport, arriving +at Tokyo Haneda airport at 12:15. At 5pm, my return flight to Canada departed +Tokyo Narita airport. In the intervening 3 hours, the brilliant plan was to +jump from train to train at breakneck pace and make it to Togoshi-ginza station +to meet Yasuko for lunch, then jump straight back on the train and make it out +to Narita just in time for my flight. I made every single train as the doors +were closing. Literally, with under two seconds to spare every time&hellip; but we +did have a fantastic Italian lunch, and make it to the airport with such +impeccable timing that by the time I arrived at the gate, everyone had boarded +but ten people. You can’t cut it much closer than that.</p> +<p>Once again, one of the most memorable trips of my life. The best part is that +I’ll be permanently moving back to Japan within a couple of months, so I’ll be +even closer to all the places I’ve been looking forward to visiting. Thanks to +everyone who put me up again this year: Annie, Setsuko, and Yasuko! I can’t +wait to be back.</p> +<h3 id="glossary">Glossary</h3> +<ol> +<li><em>Shichifukujin:</em> The seven gods of good luck.</li> +<li><em>Onigiri:</em> Rice balls, often stuffed with pickled plum or fish.</li> +<li><em>kaki-kori:</em> Shaved ice covered in flavoured syrup such as strawberry, +blueberry, or green tea.</li> +</ol> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -51,7 +218,156 @@ bit scorching though, it was the hottest summer in ten years.</p></descrip <p>The plan was to travel from Osaka north to the Japan Sea, northeast along the coast to Joetsu, south through the alps to Nagano, then southeast all the way -to Tokyo — a total distance of close to 1200 km, entirely by bicycle.</p></description> +to Tokyo — a total distance of close to 1200 km, entirely by bicycle.</p> +<p>Unfortunately for me, disaster struck just over half-way, in the form of +150km/h winds and torrential downpours. Typhoon Number 10 ploughed straight +through Japan, following a track from the island of Shikoku through Nagano +before it died out, dumping up to 650mm of rain a day, and flooding out every +town and village in its path.</p> +<p>I arrived in Osaka the night of July 28th and promptly hauled my bike, +panniers, and tools through customs and immigration, across the airport, and +into a hotel. I’m not entirely sure how happy they were to have a +grotty-looking guy assembling his bike in his hotel room overnight, but no one +said anything, and I snuck out around 6am anyway.</p> +<p>It’s unbelievable just how slowly you start and stop when your bike is loaded +with 40kg of gear. Sort of the cycling equivalent of driving an 18-wheeler. The +weather was a scorching 36C, with the humidity hovering around 85%. Over the +first 70km from Osaka Itami Airport to downtown Kyoto, I consumed 8 litres of +Dakara, Boku, Miu, and the oh-so-deliciously named Poccari Sweat, crashed +twice, and got lost every 5 minutes. Took a break in Kyoto, stopping by to take +a look at Sanjuusan Gendo, take some pictures, and chat with Taxi drivers, the +police, and anyone else who wanted to know just what the hell I was doing.</p> +<p>Eventually, after a few more Poccari Sweats and some ramen for lunch, I jumped +on my bike and started the trek to Otsu. Half an hour later, winding my way +slowly uphill, along a narrow shoulder on a bridge 30m above a cemetary, I had +the first major close call of the ride. Fortunately, through a combination of +luck and skill, I deftly avoided flying over the railing and plummeting 30m to +my death. Unfortunately, I did so by launching myself headlong into a traffic +barrier, failing to release my toe-clips, breaking the seat right off the post, +and trashing both my leg and pannier on the pavement in the process. Pretty +sure my leg was broken, I lay there for a few minutes contemplating the +resounding success of my bike trip thusfar while the last of the Poccari Sweat +drained out of my water bottles into my shoes.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2003-08-17-fireworks-in-fukui.jpg" + alt="Fireworks in Fukui"/> +</figure> + +<p>Suffice to say that the rest of the day went uphill from there (both literally +and figuratively) and I arrived in Otsu, on the edge of lake Biwa, in one +piece. Annie met me at the JR train station, we ditched the bike in a parking +lot, and rode the train back to Kyoto, where we met up with the entire +complement of Shiga JET Programme teachers at The Hub, an Irish Pub in +Karamachi. After a few beers, some fish &amp; chips and edamame, Annie and Brent +hauled me back to their apartment in Imazu, where they (and I am forever +indebted to them for this) put me up for three days.</p> +<p>Although I didn’t get to go to SummerSonic in Osaka, I did get to pick up my +bike in Otsu, ride 95km back north to Imazu, and spend the evening at Imazu’s +Natsu-matsuri¹ with friends of Annie’s and Brent’s (Josh, Yo, and Hatsumi). +Natsu-matsuris involve many elements, but some of the most important factors +are: fireworks that put ours to shame, music and dancing, traditional Yukata², +and vast quantites of food and alcohol. After the festival, we dragged +ourselves to Bumblebee Twist, a local bar, and had a few more before eventually +hauling ourselves off to bed to recover.</p> +<p>The next day, we were all invited to a barbeque. The one thing that any +foreigner will immediately notice about a Japanese barbeque is that you can’t +just light the barbeque using zip-lights or lighter fluid. No&hellip; the correct +way to light a barbeque in Japan is for one person to heat the coals with a +torch while the rest stand around fanning the flames with uchiwas³ until the +barbeque, in a moment of glory, bursts into flames and the cooking begins. We +had music, more food, beer and Chu-hai (a sort of cider), snacks, and more +fireworks. It was totally great, even though I was beat over and over at some +kind of pirate game by a three-year-old.</p> +<p>The next morning, I said bye to Annie and Brent, then hurled myself off +northwards up the highway towards the north coast. For 30km, the road winds up +through the mountains over a narrow pass toward Tsuruga. In the scariest +downhill of the entire ride, I plummeted down the winding road, drafting behind +semi-trucks at 70km/h, flying in and out of tunnels and around hairpin turns +for the 8km down into Tsuruga.</p> +<p>Tsuruga sits on the ocean at the edge of the Sea of Japan, at the beginning of +the long road leading northeast to Fukui and Kanazawa. Unfortunately, it also +sits at the beginning of a 95km-long leg of straight uphill running along the +edge of a cliff with no shoulder. Fortunately, it’s some of the most beautiful +riding you could possibly hope for. Even more fortunately, midway through the +ride, as I sat at the side of the road huddling in a tiny corner of shade at +the edge of a cliff, two motorcyclists from Osaka pulled up and offered me +something to drink, a look at their road maps, and some encouragement in +Kansai-dialect. This was reinforced over and over throughout my ride by +children hanging out of car windows waving and shouting &ldquo;ganbare!&rdquo; at the top +of their lungs.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2003-08-17-lining-up-for-okonomiyaki.jpg" + alt="Lining up for okonomiyaki"/> +</figure> + +<p>Eventually, I wound my way up through the mountains to Fukui, where I almost +had to spend the night camped on a park-bench by the river. Just when I’d +almost given up hope of finding a hostel, someone walked up to me and in +perfect English, asked if I needed a place to stay for the night. Turns out her +family ran a hotel downtown, and she and her sister had spent several years +living in Australia. Their mom invited me in for tea and snacks after dinner +and we all stayed up late with their little boy, Ryu, yakking about travelling +and good Japanese food.</p> +<p>The next day it was off to Kanazawa, which it turns out has a lot in common +with Kyoto. While it’s much smaller, there were many beautiful old sections of +town. There are temples and shrines everywhere, Kanazawa Castle and Kenrokuen — +probably the most famous Japanese garden in the world. There’s also a crazy guy +dressed in a cape and John Lennon glasses who runs around dragging people to +convenience stores. Too embarassed not to buy an ice cream treat from the +shopkeeper, I grabbed some ice-cream mochi balls, borrowed the phone and set up +reservations for Nagano.</p> +<p>Because of the typhoon, I ended up doing the rest of the trip by train. I found +a bike shop and spent the day yammering away in pseudo-Japanese to the little +old grandma and grandpa who owned the shop. Turns out that he had done almost +the exact same bike trip about 40 years ago! He had also cycled across +Australia and much of the rest of Japan. Pretty amazing! If I hadn’t found +them, my bike would probably be lying in a crumpled heap in a landfill right +now. It took hours, be we did manage to pack everything into an unbelievably +small bag that I could haul onto the train with me.</p> +<p>From Kanazawa, I caught the train to Nagano, taking local lines and limited +express trains the whole way. Nagano was the site of the 1998 Winter Olympic +Games, but has since reverted to its pre-Olympic small-town feel. It was a +beautiful place to visit, hidden away in the Japanese alps, surrounded by +Japanese hot springs and ski hills. I can’t wait to visit in winter. Nagano’s +biggest feature is probably Zenkouji, a Buddhist Temple which houses the first +Buddhist images to come to Japan from the Asian mainland. Underneath the temple +is a pitch-black maze of tunnels that you can wander into, pushed along by wave +after wave of school-children on field trips, people on pilgrimmages, and +curious tourists. It’s almost impossible to tell just how fast you’re moving, +or how far you’ve gone&hellip; just disembodied voices in the dark. Eventually you +arrive at the “key to salvation”, which you can’t see, but you can feel. A few +shakes and rattles, then you’re swept away down the tunnels again.</p> +<p>From Nagano, I caught the Asama Shinkansen into Tokyo. At 280km/h the trip +takes just about two hours. The train tore through the edge of the hurricane at +breakneck speed and we were in Tokyo on schedule to the minute. You can’t help +but love the Japanese train system.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2003-08-17-akasaka.jpg" + alt="Akasaka at night"/> +</figure> + +<p>Met up with Yasuko in Tokyo, and we spent the week bumming around town and +catching all the sights: Akasaka, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Odaiba, the Tsukiji fish +market. Took a side trip to the art gallery a few hours away in Hakone +Prefecture where a mix of European and Japanese art is on display. There were +some absolutely amazing pieces of Japanese pottery in their collection. Back in +Tokyo, we had the chance to see a Kabuki play. I wasn’t entirely sure what to +expect, but it was great. The most striking thing is perhaps the movement. It +was absolutely incredible. I wish I were able to describe it, but the best I +can do is recommend that if you’re even in Tokyo, you go see a Kabuki play!</p> +<p>I returned home on August 17th. Ate breakfast, lunch and dinner in Tokyo, +jumped on the plane at 6pm and had another breakfast and lunch. Arrived back in +Canada 8 hours before I left, and had lunch and dinner again, for a total of +seven meals on the 17th. Not bad! It was a pretty wild and crazy trip, but it +was one of the best trips I’ve ever taken. I can’t wait to go back.</p> +<p>Thanks to everyone who put me up along the way! In particular, Annie &amp; Brent, +and Yasuko! You guys are the best!</p> +<h3 id="glossary">Glossary</h3> +<ol> +<li><em>Natsu-Matsuri:</em> every village’s traditional summer festival, usually in +early- to mid-August, near Obon, the Day of the Dead.</li> +<li><em>Yukata:</em> traditional light cotton kimonos that come in a variety of colours +and patterns.</li> +<li><em>Uchiwa:</em> Large, flat traditional Japanese fan.</li> +</ol> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -60,7 +376,11 @@ to Tokyo — a total distance of close to 1200 km, entirely by bicycle.</p> <pubDate>Sun, 26 May 2002 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2002/05/back-in-canada/</guid> - <description>Back in Victoria, B.C. after a two month return home to Canada by land beginning in Mérida, Yucatán and continuing through Cuba, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, then all the way back up through Guatemala, México, the U.S. and finally across Western Canada.</description> + <description><p>Back in Victoria, B.C. after a two month return home to Canada by land beginning +in Mérida, Yucatán and continuing through Cuba, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, +then all the way back up through Guatemala, México, the U.S. and finally +across Western Canada.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -75,7 +395,89 @@ snacking on good Mexican food and the sound of shouting and laughter filled the air. After all the episodes of trouble, dengue fever, and trying to figure out what the hell was actually going on, it was easy to lose sight of just how great a country México is, and after Cuba, coming back to México felt like -coming home.</p></description> +coming home.</p> +<p>After arrival, the first challenge is getting from the airport to the Cancún +bus depot. The shuttle bus drivers&rsquo; union has a strangle-hold on travel from +the airport in Cancun. They charge 75 pesos per person one-way from the airport +via the major hotels along La Zona Hotelera to the station. If you happen to be +living on a wage of 50 pesos an hour, this is practically highway robbery. +However, it turns out that the shuttle bus drivers only have a monopoly on +travel from the airport; travel to the airport remains entirely unrestricted. +Those who take a few minutes to sit and relax out front of the airport for a +few minutes will notice that there is a clever way around this racket.</p> +<p>Following the example of the locals, we hauled our backpacks across the parking +lot, headed out the gates of the airport, and started down the highway in 36 +degree heat. Within moments a taxi skidded to a stop, and the driver, nervously +glancing out the rear window, motioned to us to get in.</p> +<p>We didn&rsquo;t. Instead, we stood at the window asking &ldquo;cuanto cuesta?&rdquo;, to which he +shouted &ldquo;no importa! vamos amigos!&rdquo;.</p> +<p>Still we didn&rsquo;t get in. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll pay 50 pesos&hellip; for the two of us.&rdquo;</p> +<p>Looking insulted, he replied &ldquo;Are you crazy?! I won&rsquo;t do it for less than 70 +pesos each!&rdquo;</p> +<p>Glancing back toward the airport we told him &ldquo;That&rsquo;s ridiculous, the bus is 75 +pesos, and besides we don&rsquo;t have that kind of money. We live in Merida; we&rsquo;re +not rich turistas norteamericanos.&rdquo;</p> +<p>A shuttle bus flew by honking its horn while the driver shook his fist at the +taxista.</p> +<p>&ldquo;Bueno! 110 pesos para los dos! Vamos!&rdquo;</p> +<p>At 110 pesos, we were still overpaying by Mérida standards, but given that we +were a 16km walk in scorching heat from the city, I was pretty sure we weren&rsquo;t +going to get much of a better deal.</p> +<p>At the bus depot, we bought tickets for Chetumal, 5 hours to the south, then +made a dive for the nearest yucatecan restaurant. After weeks of oil-drum +pizzas and roast ham &amp; cheese sandwiches in Cuba, I savoured every last bite of +my poc-chuc. We finished our horchata, then climbed into the bus for the trip +to Chetumal.</p> +<p>Confined by the jungle to the southeast corner of Quintana Roo state, and +squashed between the sea and the Belizean border, Chetumal is the last outpost +of civilisation before crossing into the jungle to the south. Until the end of +the 1970s, like much of pre-Cancun Quintana Roo, it was essentially a free zone +in relatively lawless territory. Trade with British Honduras (now Belize) was +the foundation of the local economy, and earned it the title of the territory +(now state) capital. The historical importance of trade gives the city a +distinct feel from colonial Merida. You can still spot the occasional +wood-frame house, and the city has a relatively modern atmosphere.</p> +<p>Previously named <em>Chactemal</em>, the city had served as a Mayan capital since +pre-Columbian times. The first Spanish missionaries arrived the 16th century, +and the Conquistadors followed soon after. By 1544, the city had fallen to the +Spaniards and the remaining Maya fled into Belize, leaving the city all but +abandoned for the next two centuries.</p> +<p>At the turn of the 20th century in 1898, Porfirio Diaz, then President of +Mexico, ordered the establishment of a port at the mouth of the Rio Hondo in +order to quell the flow of arms across the Belizean border and into the hands +of the Maya. To this end, the city of Payo Obispo was founded by Othon Blanco +with the help of Mexicans from the surrounding areas. The economy developed +quickly and the city grew into the territorial capital by 1915. In 1936, the +city renamed itself to Chetumal, which it remains to this day.</p> +<p>All along the waterfront of Chetumal is a gorgeous walkway. Unlike the +shimmering blue waters of the north-eastern coast of the Yucatan, the water +here was more reminiscent of the murky green ocean back home on Vancouver +Island. The locals are adamant that the water is horrifically ugly, but I +suppose when your bases for comparison are Playa del Carmen, Cozumel and +Cancun, that you can afford to be picky.</p> +<p>After sunset, as we wandered through the town, snacking on fresh tamales, we +were stopped by a couple of old men sitting in chairs on the sidewalk in front +of a saddle shop. They stopped us to ask where we were from and what brought us +to Chetumal. We explained we were taking a trip to see Guatemala and part of +Honduras before returning back to México.</p> +<p>&ldquo;Why do you want to go to Guatemala? It&rsquo;s a dangerous. It&rsquo;s poor. They have +nothing. Pickpockets are everywhere, and the people have no dignity left. Life +is cheap in Guatemala, they&rsquo;ve been surrounded by civil war and death for 30 +years. It&rsquo;s a beautiful country with a terrible history.&rdquo;</p> +<p>That night, we checked into an 80 peso hotel. The employees were huddled around +the television furiously debating México&rsquo;s loss to the USA in fútbol.</p> +<p>&ldquo;The giants defeated us midgets! Look at the size of their players. And the +Americans don&rsquo;t even care about fútbol! Can you believe this?! This is an +insult!&rdquo;</p> +<p>We tried to console them by mentioning that Mexico would be guarateed to put +Canada to shame. It was the best we could manage. It didn&rsquo;t help much.</p> +<p>They shut off the game, and we got to sleep early. Just after the stroke of +midnight I woke up and, in a final farewell to the bugs I had picked up in +Cuba, I threw up (in order) the dinner tamale, followed by the entire plate of +celebratory Poc Chuc I had eaten that afternoon. I felt surprisingly better, +and fell sound asleep excited about the next day&rsquo;s 12 hour trip down a narrow +dirt track road through the jungles of Belize and into northern Guatemala.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -91,7 +493,60 @@ explorers and trading ships travelling to and from México. During the 17th and 18th centuries, its economy largely depended on trading contraband with pirates. The buildings are in incredibly good shape for their age, most of which are at least two centuries old. It’s not too tough to see why Trinidad is -now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.</p></description> +now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2002-03-21-trinidad-street.jpg" + alt="Street in Trinidad, Cuba"/> +</figure> + +<p>Trinidad is about five hours from Havana by bus, and as with everything in +Cuba, there are two buses: one for Cubans, with a several hour long line-up, +and one for people with dollars, with basically no wait at all. Upon pulling +into Trinidad the bus was swarmed by masses of locals offering a room in a casa +particular. We ended up being shown one house, but it had been freshly painted +that afternoon and the fumes were pretty rough, so we set out wandering down +the streets in the dark. By sheer chance, we ran into an old grandfather +carrying a bucket and pushing his bike up the rickety cobblestone streets and +when we asked him if he knew of any places to stay he said that in fact, we +could stay at his house. This is how our planned two-night stay in Trinidad +ended up turning into a week-long stay in paradise.</p> +<p>Roberto and Elda, their daughter Mercedes, her husband Eddy, and their +11-year-old son Saúl made our stay in Trinidad one of the most relaxing visits +we had to anywhere in our travels. We would have breakfast every morning in a +little courtyard off to the side of the house, spend the mornings wandering the +cobblestone streets in search of pizza, and the evenings falling asleep to the +sound of Cuban salsas, merengues, and cha cha chas drifting through the window +from La Casa de la Trova across the street.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2002-03-21-horse-cart.jpg" + alt="Horse-drawn cart driven by man and boy in Trinidad street"/> +</figure> + +<p>While most of the old town is centered around the main plaza, cathedral, and +clock tower, most of the action seemed to center around the plaza in the newer +part of town down the hill. Old men sitting on park benches sharing a bottle of +rum, school children eating peso ice cream, and the occasional black market +cigar salesman trying to pass off some cigars smuggled out of the local factory +all milled about the plaza in the hot, sticky heat. A bunch of us sat on our +park bench watching the old men on the bench across from us get progressively +more drunk from their homebrew, before eventually falling asleep. One thing +that anyone visiting Cuba can be assured of is eventually being offered a taste +of homemade rum. My guess is that neither the recipe nor the distilling of this +rum has changed much over the past few centuries, so you can be assured that +your experience will be as blindingly nerve-wracking as that of the colonial +sailors plying the waters of the Caribbean in the 1600s. Following the initial +jolt of fermented cane sugar hitting your stomach like a rock is the slow +nauseating feeling of vertigo creeping over your body; after that, a strange +queasiness, and finally recovery and swearing it off for life&hellip; or at least +the next day.</p> +<p>A few days into our stay in Trinidad, as we walked down a dark street off the +plaza, we heard music pouring out through a half-open gate. Peering inside we +were greeted with the sight of thirty or so people packed into a small dirt +courtyard, and a small band of grizzled 80-year-old men playing salsas on their +guitars and trumpets. People had pulled up some old wooden benches and were +serving mojitos made (I swear) straight rum, some sugar, and crushed mint. A +woman named Blanquita invited us in, offered us some mojitos and yanked us up +off the bench to teach us some salsa while chickens scuttled around our feet. +It was probably my most vivid memory of Cuba.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -103,7 +558,188 @@ now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.</p></description> <description><p>Havana is a city of contradictions. It’s simultaneously one of the most beautiful and most run down cities in the world. It’s hard to imagine how things could be any worse, or any better given the Cuba’s political past and -present.</p></description> +present.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2002-03-19-old-havana-street.jpg" + alt="Run-down street in Old Havana"/> +</figure> + +<p>Havana, along with the rest of Cuba, is the way it is almost purely because of +politics—some of the most complex politics on the planet. If you like history +or politics, Cuba is for you. Cuba’s troubled history begins long before the +Cuban Missile Crisis, or even before the Revolution of 1959. Ever since +Christopher Columbus set foot on the Isle of Cuba on October 29th, 1492, one +nation or another has been fighting over the country. For over half a +millennium now, politics have affected almost every aspect of life in Cuba. +It’s amazing that despite all this, Cuban culture is felt worldwide through its +music, dance, and artistry.</p> +<h3 id="fast-facts">Fast Facts</h3> +<p>Before we get started, here are a few quick facts to clear up a few common +misconceptions about Cuba:</p> +<ul> +<li>The US embargo was put in place on October 19th, 1960, two years before the +Cuban Missile Crisis. It was the result of the US Eisenhower Administration’s +plan to overthrow Castro. This was the result of Cuba nationalizing a lot of +property sold to the US by Cuba’s former dictator, Fulgencio Batista. In +1963, after the end of the Missile Crisis, the Kennedy Administration imposed +a travel ban on US citizens, preventing them from visiting Cuba. Here’s an +<a href="http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/funfacts/embargo.htm">Economic Embargo Timeline</a>, if you’re interested.</li> +<li>In 1959, a group of Cuban revolutionaries, including Fidel Castro and Che +Guevara, led a popular uprising to overthrow Fulgencio Batista, the +totalitarian dictator who led Cuba from 1934 to 1959. Under Batista, more +than a third of the land in Cuba was sold off to US interests. In several +cases, teachers who worked to alphabetize rural villages were tortured and +killed by Batista’s private police force, for fear that a literate population +of farmers would be more likely to favour local land ownership, and oppose +the dictator. Cuba is now a communist country, and Castro is the elected head +of state. Elections are supervised by international monitors. They work very +differently from other western electoral systems, however, since there is +only one party. Like Canadians, Cubans elect local representatives, who +select a party leader. In practise, Castro has been re-elected President by +party officials in every election since the Revolution. Here’s some more +information on <a href="http://dodgson.ucsd.edu/las/cuba/1990-2001.htm">elections in Cuba</a>.</li> +<li>Today, Cuba’s population is highly educated. The current literacy rate is +approximately 97%—the same as Canada’s. Before the revolution, the overall +literacy rate was 23.6%. Castro’s guerrilla manifesto of 1957 included an +immediate literacy and education campaign, with the slogan &lsquo;Revolution and +Education are the same thing.&rsquo;</li> +<li>It’s illegal to form a party other than the Communist Party, and people live +under fairly strict supervision by the government compared to most western +nations. The movement of Cubans is restricted by the government. The +Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs maintains a <a href="https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/cuba">fact page</a> +on Cuba, as does <a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/cu.html">the CIA</a> in the United States.</li> +<li>Cuba’s media is not entirely restricted, and Cubans can tune in to Miami and +Mexican radio stations. The national newspaper, Granma is published by the +Communist Party and is <a href="http://www.granma.cu/">available online</a> in several languages.</li> +</ul> +<p>I was going to include a quick whirlwind tour of the history of Cuba here. I +started on it, but by the time I got to the late 19th century it was already +ten paragraphs long. Instead, if you want an excellent point-form history, have +a look at <a href="http://www.historyofcuba.com/">A History of Cuba</a>. If you want something more in +depth, specifically focusing on US-Cuban relations, the multi-volume set <em>A +History of Cuba and its relations with The United States</em> by Philip S. Foner is +excellent.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2002-03-19-old-havana-door.jpg" + alt="Crumbling doorway in Old Havana"/> +</figure> + +<h3 id="arrival-in-havana">Arrival in Havana</h3> +<p>The flight to Cuba was probably the craziest flights I’ve ever experienced. We +boarded the ancient, Soviet-built Cubana Yak-42 jet in Cancún and took our +seats. The first thing we noticed as we sat down was that the safety +instruction cards were printed in Russian. The second, and more alarming thing +we noticed was that smoke was slowly filling the cabin. The flight attendants +assured people that it was just steam, and that it was totally normal. By the +time we landed in Cuba, The cabin was filled chest high and we couldn’t see our +knees anymore. We got off the plane as quickly as possible, were packed into a +rickety old East-German bus and carted off to immigration. Once in Havana, we +checked into Hotel Flamingo where we stayed for our first two days while we +explored Havana. Across the street were a bunch of featureless, utilitarian, +crumbling apartment buildings, which are apparently identical to the ones that +were built across the Communist Block countries during the Soviet era. You’re +surrounded on all sides by relics of the Soviet era: East German and Polish +buses, Russian radios and record players, and tons of North Korean equipment. +It’s fascinating to see a country that exists almost entirely apart from the +US. When it comes to the States, it’s as though time stopped in 1959. The only +Chevys and Buicks to be seen are 1950s models. All new cars are Ladas, Yugos, +Polski Fiats, or Chinese and North Korean imports. Supposedly push-by shootings +from Ladas aren’t as big a problem here as they are in Russia.</p> +<p>Old Havana La Habana Vieja is something amazing to see. Walking down the +streets of Old Havana, you’re surrounded by some of the most incredible +architecture you’ve ever witnessed. What’s even more incredible is that it’s +crumbling all around you. Ornate gargoyles and balconies have decayed and +collapsed with age; the paint is peeling, and everything is covered in a thick +layer of dirt and grime. Broken windows are everywhere, and yet people continue +to live in these buildings that elsewhere in the world would have long since +been condemned.</p> +<p>Another thing not to be missed in Havana is sitting in the park in front of the +Museo de la Revolución and eating freshly roasted peanuts out of a rolled up +newspaper. For one peso, you can buy salted peanuts from street vendors, rolled +up in an old copy of a page from <em>Granma</em>, and sit back and watch kids play +baseball in the street.</p> +<p>Baseball is everywhere in Cuba. You can’t turn around without seeing a game +going on. Baseball equipment, on the other hand, is hard to come by. This +doesn’t stop anyone from playing the game, however. A rock wrapped in rubber +bands makes a pretty decent baseball, and we saw a lot of kids who could hit +some amazing runs with a broom handle baseball bat. If you visit Cuba, +something that’ll make any kid’s day is a baseball. Pencils and pens make nice +gifts too.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2002-03-19-vintage-american-cars.jpg" + alt="Vintage American cars"/> +</figure> + +<h3 id="dollars-and-pesos">Dollars and Pesos</h3> +<p>There are two things that everyone who visits Cuba should do. The first is to +experience live Cuban music, which you can read about in the Trinidad section. +The second is to convert some dollars to Cuban Pesos. Cuba has three official +currencies: Cuban Pesos, US Dollars, and Cuban Convertible Pesos. The Cuban +Convertible Peso was introduced to reduce the dependency on actual US dollars, +but are worth exactly one dollar in Cuba, and exactly zero dollars off the +island. Cuban Pesos are a soft currency, and as such, have no practical value +as an exchangeable currency; however, exchanges do happen at wildly fluctuating +rates. We got 26 pesos to the dollar. Cuba has two economies that don’t +overlap even remotely. Hard-currency stores charge US prices in US dollars and +sell high-end items. Bottled water is about $1.00 a bottle, soap is $0.50 a +bar, and meat and cheese are similar in price to what they would be in Canada +or the US. However, Cubans are paid in pesos at a rate of about 200-400 pesos a +month — about 8 to 16 dollars. That makes a bottle of water worth somewhere +around 10% of your monthly paycheque. Try the math with your paycheque. Soft +currency shops sell local goods, such as fruit and vegetables, for pesos.</p> +<p>The reason you should convert some money is that finding a place to spend your +newly acquired pesos will force you to discover a whole part of Cuba you might +otherwise never have seen. Cubans buy things in soft currency at markets or +shops that sell in pesos. The items you can buy for pesos are universally +locally produced items such as locally farmed foods, small pizzas baked on the +street in oil drums converted to wood ovens, and some ice cream. A pizza, which +is basically a piece of bread with a little tomato sauce, some oil, and bit of +salt on it, sells for 3 pesos, which is about 12 cents US. The reason it’s so +cheap is that peso goods are subsidised by the work you do for the state. Basic +food staples such as beans and rice are part of your government supplied +rations, and can be obtained with your ration card at certain shops. When you +can find it, food sold on the street is usually in pesos. Food in paladares¹, +hotels, and touristy places is almost universally in dollars.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2002-03-19-camelo.jpg" + alt="Camelo bus"/> +</figure> + +<h3 id="the-rich-and-the-poor">The Rich and the Poor</h3> +<p>The one thing that struck us immediately was the uniformity of income in Cuba. +In México, there are two extremes: the extremely rich and the extremely poor. +The middle class is tiny compared to Canada, where the middle class is the +norm. In Cuba, almost everyone lives in something that is not exactly poverty, +but at the same time they have basically no buying power. They have what the +government gives them, and little else. The income difference between a street +sweeper and a specialist doctor is about $7 a month vs. $15 a month. No matter +how you cut it, the $8 difference doesn’t buy much. It’s hard to get imported +goods no matter what, and what you can get is often on the black market. +Although under communism employment is universal and housing is provided by the +state, there are still people who turn to begging because it can be far more +lucrative than work in a factory for $8 a month. As a result of the incredibly +tiny incomes in Cuba, jineteros² have become more numerous, and will follow you +wherever you go, trying to drag you to a restaurant or shop where you’ll spend +your money. A lot of people on the street beg for soap or toothpaste when the +police aren’t watching. One man told us he’d do anything, even get down on his +knees and beg if it would make a difference.</p> +<p>Given all this, was the trip to Cuba worth it? Without a doubt. We met some +absolutely wonderful people, and learned a ton about Cuban history and +politics. The government isn’t the oppressive dictatorship many people would +like to believe, and it’s certainly an improvement over Batista’s brutal +dictatorship; however, things could certainly be a lot better than they are, +and Castro isn’t exactly known for his spectacular record on civil liberties. +The Cubans we met were friendly and welcoming, not to mention incredibly good +dancers. When we ran into difficulty getting cash out of our Mexican bank +accounts due to the embargo, one family we stayed with offered to reduce our +room rate, and give us a cheap ride to the airport so we didn’t have to pay the +taxi fare. Falling asleep to live Cuban music every night was worth the trip +alone.</p> +<h3 id="glossary">Glossary</h3> +<ol> +<li><em>Paladar:</em> a small independent restaurant. One of the allowed forms of +capitalism in Cuba.</li> +<li><em>Jinetero:</em> Literally a &lsquo;jockey.&rsquo; Jineteros will approach you and offer to +show you a restaurant or store. In exchange, the restaurant charges you +extra for your meal and the jinetero gets to keep the surcharge.</li> +</ol> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -116,7 +752,112 @@ present.</p></description> Montejo) descended on the ceremonial centre of the Zací (Hawk) Maya, waging war on the <em>Cupules</em>, a group of Maya that hadn’t taken kindly to the Spanish conquistadors. When the battle was done and the town had been razed, he renamed -it Valladolid in honour of the Spanish city of the same name.</p></description> +it Valladolid in honour of the Spanish city of the same name. Today, Valladolid +is one of the most beautiful colonial cities in the Yucatán, with a mix of +Spanish and Maya influences. Maya from local pueblas and from the city sell +traditional <em>huipiles</em> near the plaza downtown. The city is still roughly +centered on the <em>Cenote Zací</em> that was the ceremonial centre of the original +Mayan settlement.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-27-cenote.jpg" + alt="View of Cenote Zací. Stalactites and vines hang from above. A few swimmers can be seen near the edge of the pool. A path leads upwards through the trees."/> +</figure> + +<p>The cenote is one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. To get to it, you hike +down a passage into a cavern, then wind your way down the side to get to water +level. The water is a deep turquoise colour, and is absolutely crystal clear. +In the shallow areas, you can easily see fallen stalactites lying 30 metres +below on the bottom. In the deep parts, you won’t see the bottom—it’s more than +100 metres deep. The same little blind fish that are present in the cenote at +Dzibilchaltún will nibble your toes in this cenote as well.</p> +<p>Above the cenote is a little zoo with spider monkeys, who spend most of their +afternoon playing with toys, and getting fed potato chips by laughing groups of +kids. What was more interesting, however, was that they had a raccoon in the +zoo. You don’t see them in México at all, and most people we asked didn’t know +what the Spanish word for it was, until an old man we ran into told us it was +<em>mapache</em>.</p> +<p>The main plaza of the city is gorgeous. With ornate lamp posts, hanging baskets +full of flowers, and beautiful hedges, it was the Yucatán’s answer to Victoria. +The streets downtown are kept immaculately clean by a crew of street cleaners +who run through the streets every morning at 5 am. The government of Spain has +apparently deemed Valladolid to be one of the most Spanish cities in the +Americas, and donates money to help in its preservation.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-27-cenote-top.jpg" + alt="View from above, looking down into Cenote Zací. Vines hang down to the water from above. A stone staircase leads up from the dark blue-green waters. A few scattered fallen leaves litter the surface of the water."/> +</figure> + +<p>Probably the most exciting thing that happened while we were there was the +rain. We had gone off in search of what is supposed to be an absolutely amazing +cathedral and graveyard somewhere in the southwestern part of the city. In +typical Mexican fashion, everyone we talked to was able to tell us in +approximately what direction it was, so we were able to slowly make our way +there stumbling randomly from one Vallisoletana to the next. We never did find +it, but not for any lack of determination, but because it started to rain. Now, +when I say rain, I don’t mean the rain we get in Victoria. I don’t even mean +Vancouver rain. To fully appreciate a Yucatecan rain storm, you really need to +experience one. Imagine the streets filling with water, then overflowing onto +the sidewalks until the whole city is two feet deep in rainwater. We did the +only thing we could do: jump into a corner store. The guys in the store reacted +the same way any other Mexicans all over the country would react: toss over a +couple chairs and invite us in to watch some TV. We bought some cookies and +juice and sat for 45 minutes or so, watching the water level in the street +outside rise closer and closer to the edge of the door before we finally +decided that we were going to make a break for it, only stopping once for a +slice of cheesecake in a bakery along the way back to the hotel.</p> +<p>Valladolid is also famous for the cenote at Dzitnup, about 10 km out of town. +While we never did make it there, we heard some amazing stories about it from +Nick, an Irishman from Cork we met in San Cristóbal de las Casas. What is so +incredible about it is that it’s at the bottom of a dark cavern, with a small +opening in the roof. At the right time of day, the sun shines through this +opening and into the turquoise waters of the cenote, making it apear as though +you’re bathing in light. The actual name of the cenote is <em>Kiken</em> which is +Yucatec Maya for &lsquo;pig,&rsquo; because the cenote was originally discovered by a farmer +whose his pig had fallen in through the hole in the roof.</p> +<p>Valladolid is also famous for its uprisings. What transpired in Valladolid in +June of 1910 helped to spark the Mexican Revolution that erupted in the rest of +the country that November when Francisco Madero flew across the border into +Piedras Negras, Coahuila. The revolution wasn’t over until 1920; but as they +say, the opening chapters were written in blood, here in Valladolid.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-27-truck.jpg" + alt="The rusted carcass of a truck parked on the side of the street. Painted across the front: Duele mas andar a pie (it hurts more to walk). On the bent and twisted remains of the bumper: Asi como me vez te veras (one day, you&#39;ll look like this too)."/><figcaption> + <h4>&#39;It hurts more to walk&#39;</h4> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Unhappy with Spanish control of a land they considered their own, a small band +of revolutionaries had worked together for months, planning the overthrow of +governor Moñoz Aristegui. On the night of June 3rd, 1910, all those committed +to the plan met in the Plaza de la Santa Lucia at midnight. Under the command +of Ruz Ponce and José Kantún, one group stormed the police quarter, killing the +guard outside and taking everyone else prisoner. Another group, led by Claudio +Alconcer and Atilano Albertos took the office of the Mexican Guard, killing the +Sergeant of the Guard, Facundo Gil. The governor, Felipe de Regil, asleep in +bed at the time, woke up to the sound of gunfire outside in the streets. He +immediately jumped out of bed and, a gun in each hand, ran into the street +firing on the revolutionaries. He fought bravely until the end, when he was +finally killed and left lying in the street.</p> +<p>At this point, there was no turning back for the insurgents. They now had the +support of nearly the entire city, and within three days had amassed an army of +no less than 1500 men, armed with guns and machetes. Most had no military +training. Local landowners provided weapons, ammunition and food.</p> +<p>In Mérida, this uprising had not gone unnoticed. While the locals were +preparing in Valladolid, the government had sent a column of 65 men eastward +with 300 guns, recruiting villagers along the way. Under the command of Colonel +Ignacio Lara, they marched easward to Tinum, 12 km outside of Valladolid, where +they waited for reinforcements to arrive. The cannons of Morelos arrived in +Valladolid on the 7th. On the 8th, Lara led his men to the outskirts of the +city, where, at dawn on the 9th of June, they began the assault on Valladolid. +A batallion of 600 federal troops arrived on the 10th. Poorly equiped, +untrained, and out of ammunition, the rebels fell under the three ferocious +onslaughts. The death tolls were high on both sides: more than 100 +revolutionaries and over 30 government soldiers had been killed. This was the +highest balance of deaths of any battle ever fought in México, and would remain +so until the Revolution began that November.</p> +<p>The leaders of the revolt were eventually rounded up, tried and sentenced to +death. In the courtyard of the Shrine of San Roque, Kantún, Albertos, and +Bonilla faced the firing squad. That November, Francisco Madero launched the +Mexican Revolution, and by the following April, 17000 people had taken up arms +against Porfirio Diaz and his government. The rest is <a href="http://history.acusd.edu/gen/projects/border/page01.html">history</a>.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -130,7 +871,81 @@ ruins at this site cover over 15 square kilometres, with <em>El Castillo&l taking up 0.4 hectares. At 83 metres in length, the Ball Court is the largest in Meso-America. The close proximity of the ruins to Cancún and the size of some of the structures have made these the most famous Mayan ruins in the -country.</p></description> +country.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-26-el-castillo.jpg" + alt="A view from the ground below the El Castillo pyramid at Chichen Itzá. Visitors climb the steep staircase leading up the centre of the face of the pyramid. A few people stand silhouetted at the top, looking down on the surrouding jungle."/> +</figure> + +<p>The image that most people associate with Chichen Itzá is <em>El Castillo</em>. The +pyramid rises more than 23 metres above the ground, with steep staircases up +all four sides, leading to a small building at the top. What’s so spectacular +about it is the fact that this pyramid is actually a huge Mayan calendar built +of stone. The four staircases leading to the top have 91 steps each, which +when added to the platform at the top, make 365. On the sides are 52 panels +representing the 52 years of the traditional Mayan calendar round. The pyramid +is composed of nine terraced platforms on either side of the two primary +staircases, for a total of 18, the number of months in the Mayan calendar. If +you’re still not convinced of the Mayans’ astronomical prowess, you can easily +convince yourself by visiting on either the spring or the fall equinox when, as +the sun rises over the jungle, the form of a giant serpent is projected onto +the sides of the two primary staircases, each of which has a giant stone +serpent head at its base. This illusion is created by the precise alignment of +the terraces in relation to position of the sun.</p> +<p>In a corner in the shade of one of the giant staircases leading up the side of +El Castillo is a door. Once or twice a day, the door is opened, and groups of +20 or so are allowed inside. A narrow passage leads to a steep staircase that +runs up the side of another pyramid inside El Castillo. It’s narrow, cramped, +hot and humid, not to mention dark, but the climb is worth it. Eventually, at +the top of the staircase, if you’re lucky or pushy enough, you can catch a +glimpse of a jewel-encrusted jaguar altar, used by the Maya for sacrifices.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-26-ball-court.jpg" + alt="The ball court at Chichen Itzá. Large, perfectly flat stone walls rise above the grass. Two stone hoops protrude, one from each wall, facing sideways. A crowd of people stands at the far end of the court."/> +</figure> + +<p>The Ball Court is another feat of engineering. The walls are each approximately +8 metres high, with structures at the top for viewing the game. At either end +of the court is an elaborate stone temple. But what is so amazing about the +Ball Court is its acoustics. A whisper at one end can be clearly heard at the +other end, 135 metres away. In fact, the sound reflection at the centre of the +court is so incredible, you can hear at least nine echos if you clap or shout.</p> +<p>The following excerpt, by one of the supervising archaeologists restoring the +ruins, describes the acoustics:</p> +<blockquote> +<p>Chi cheen Itsa’s famous &lsquo;Ball-court&rsquo; or Temple of the Maize cult offers the +visitor besides its mystery and impressive architecture, its marvellous +acoustics If a person standing under either ring claps his hands or yells, the +sound produced will be repeated several times gradually losing its volume, A +single revolver shot seems machine-gun fire. The sound waves travel with equal +force to East or West, day or night. disregarding the wind’s direction. Anyone +speaking in a normal voice from the &lsquo;Forum&rsquo; can be clearly heard in the &lsquo;Sacred +Tribune&rsquo; five hundred feet away or vice-versa. If a short sentence, for +example, &lsquo;Do you hear me?&rsquo; is pronounced it will be repeated word by word&hellip; +Parties from one extreme to the other can hold a conversation without raising +their voices.</p> +<p>This transmission of sound, as yet unexplained, has been discussed by +architects and archaeologists &hellip; Most of them used to consider it as fanciful +due to the ruined conditions of the structure but, on the contrary, we who have +engaged in its reconstruction know well that the sound volume, instead of +disappearing, has become stronger and clearer&hellip; Undoubtedly we must consider +this feat of acoustics as another noteworthy achievement of engineering +realized millenniums ago by the Maya technicians.</p> +<p><em>—Chi Cheen Itza by Manuel Cirerol Sansores, 1947</em></p> +</blockquote> +<p>Aside from the Ball Court and <em>El Castillo</em>, there are dozens of other sites of +interest. There are no less than three cenotes around the site, one of which +was filled with tens of thousands of artifacts, from neclaces and jewelry to +the bones of human and animal sacrifices. The Hall of the Thousand Pillars is +also incredible to walk through, with each pillar featuring unique carvings and +inscriptions; on some, traces of red and blue paint are still visible.</p> +<p>The site was originally populated by the Itzáes around 500 AD, and slowly built +up until 900 AD, at which point it was completely abandonned. No one knows why +the Itzáes left so abruptly, but it appears that the city was re-populated +about 100 years later, and then attacked by the Toltecs, a tribe known for its +brutality at war. Structures from the period between 1000 and 1300 AD show +marked Toltec influences, including numeral reliefs of Toltec gods, including +Quetzalcoatl, the plumed serpent. The city was abandonned once again around +1300, this time permanently.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -139,7 +954,35 @@ country.</p></description> <pubDate>Mon, 24 Dec 2001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/12/tulum-quintana-roo-mexico/</guid> - <description>Between San Cristóbal and Tulúm is a long, empty road. The overnight bus works beautifully for this trip, winding its way through the mountains, jungle and the vast plains of the Yucatán. The only major stop along the way is Escarcega, Campeche. By major, I mean a couple of comida corrida places, a papaya tree, and a dusty bus stop on a long, empty stretch of highway. By six in the morning, we were in Tulúm, a slightly bigger collection of restaurants and bus stops along a long, empty stretch of highway.</description> + <description><p>Between San Cristóbal and Tulúm is a long, empty road. The overnight bus works +beautifully for this trip, winding its way through the mountains, jungle and +the vast plains of the Yucatán. The only major stop along the way is Escarcega, +Campeche. By major, I mean a couple of comida corrida places, a papaya tree, +and a dusty bus stop on a long, empty stretch of highway. By six in the +morning, we were in Tulúm, a slightly bigger collection of restaurants and bus +stops along a long, empty stretch of highway. We grabbed a plate of +<em>huevos motuleños</em> and some coffee, which (I swear that I am not making this +up) was blue. Sort of an off-grey blue. It tasted like milk mixed with +dishwater.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-24-tulum.jpg" + alt="Mayan ruins sit on a bluff of rock covered with low scrub overlooking the Caribbean. Below, waves crash against the rocks."/> +</figure> + +<p>The best time to see the ruins is, without a doubt, sunrise. The ruins at +Tulúm, while not spectacular except for the two-metre rock wall surrounding the +site on three sides, have one of the best views you could possibly hope for. +The structures sit nestled amid the rolling green grass and white sandy +beaches, hovering over the turquoise Caribbean. As the sun rises, the whole +place is bathed in a warm orangey-red glow. Sitting on ruins watching the waves +is pretty relaxing.</p> +<p>Since Tulúm is so close to Playa del Carmen and Cancún, the number of visitors +is absoutely huge compared to a lot of other Mayan ruins, and especially given +the small size of these ruins. Because of that, most of the structures are +off-limits to the public, so you can’t climb up on them as you can at most +other sites. In the end, it’s nice to see that these ruins are being protected, +but Palenque, Uxmal and Chichen Itzá are a lot more fun. That said, if you look +hard enough, you will find a couple structures you can sit down on.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -155,7 +998,58 @@ winter. It’s cold, damp and cloudy. After months of scorching heat and humidity, I was in heaven. San Cristóbal makes an ideal base from which to do day-trips to the surrounding villages of San Juan Chamula and Zinacantán—indigenous villages comprising the Tzotzil and Tzeltal indigenous -groups respectively.</p></description> +groups respectively.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-21-plaza.jpg" + alt="The bright yellow façade of a catheral faces the main plaza in San Cristóbal de las Casas. Pedestrials mill about the square in groups."/> +</figure> + +<p>In town, we met a law student named Luís who took a group of us to the +villages. In San Juan Chamula, we first visited the shaman’s hut for the +village, where we learned about the mix of Catholicism and traditional beliefs +practised in the village. We then continued on to the village church which was +probably the highlight of the visit. Seeing the mix of beliefs being practised +there was incredible: everything from prayers to the Catholic saints to burning +incense to chicken sacrifices and ceremonial purgings. Photography isn’t +allowed in the church and out of respect to the Chamulans, we won’t describe +everything in detail on the web, but suffice to say that it was an incredibly +worthwhile visit.</p> +<p>Zinacantán is only a few kilometres away, but the villagers speak an entirely +different language, Tzeltal. Here, the church is much more traditional, +although most villagers still maintain strong ties to traditional indigenous +beliefs, such as worshipping the Earth Lord and placing a strong emphasis on +the interpretation of dreams. For a more detailed look at the beliefs and +culture of the people of Zinacantán, we’d suggest <em>Dreams and Stories from the +People of the Bat</em> by Robert Laughlin. This book is a collection of dreams and +their interpretations as told by the villagers of Zinacantán, as well as a +series of short stories passed from generation to generation in the village.</p> +<p>The town also produces many traditional handicrafts typical of Chiapas: +blankets, clothing, dolls, etc. The villagers take these to San Cristóbal to +sell them at the markets and on the street. The textiles are all made from +hand, from the thread, to hand-weaving and embroidering. Typically, a +medium-sized blanket takes two to three weeks to produce.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-21-beans.jpg" + alt="Dozens of varieties of dried beans in many colours arrayed for sale in bins and large sacks for sale at the market"/> +</figure> + +<p>Back in San Cristóbal, we spent a few days visiting the markets and wandering +around town trying out the local food before heading back north for Palenque +again. On our way out of town we noticed a small shanty-town suburb in a gravel +pit. On a big yellow arch, bold black letters declared the name of the colonia: +<em>Sal Si Puedes</em>, &lsquo;Get Out If You Can&rsquo;. Just past this is the massive military +encampment that has been in place since 1994 when the EZLN (Zapatista +Liberation Army) overthrew and occupied the town before being driven out by +reinforcements sent in, causing a bloodbath. There is a lot less tension now +than there was then, but the Zapatistas still have incredibly high support in +the villages just outside of town. The Mexican government under Vincente Fox +has been much more responsive to indigenous peoples than previous governments +have been, although in recent months this seems to be less and less the case. +There’s still a lot of work to do before the indigenous groups in Mexico are +able to live in conditions similar to the rest of the population. Most people +in the villages still lack food, clothing and (non-dirt) floors in their +houses, let alone running water and electricity. And although Chiapas produces +more electricity than any other state, less than half the population has +electricity in its home.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -168,7 +1062,24 @@ groups respectively.</p></description> hour bus ride from Mérida. Although Chiapas has been a somewhat politically unstable state during the past 10 years, it is also home to some of the most incredible scenery, archaeological sites and indigenous culture in the -country.</p></description> +country.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-12-18-temple-of-inscriptions.jpg" + alt="The Mayan ruins of the Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque towering over a courtyard surrounded by jungle. A large staircase leads up the main face of the pyramid. Rain pours down in torrents."/> +</figure> + +<p>The town of Palenque sits only a few minutes by bike, foot or bus from the +ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Palenque. The ruins themselves extend over a +huge area and are composed of many smaller groups of structures situated around +plazas. The most impressive of these are probably the main plaza—which is +surrounded by the Temple of the Inscriptions and the palace/observatory +tower—and the Sun Temple Plaza.</p> +<p>The Temple of the Inscriptions is well-known for housing the sarcophagus and +jade death mask of Pakal, former ruler of the city. Unfortunately, it&rsquo;s no +longer possible to visit the inside of the Temple of the Inscriptions without a +research permit. In theory, that involves applications via your university and +submissions of your research to the government; in practice it involves 150 +pesos to the right people.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -179,7 +1090,61 @@ country.</p></description> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/09/dzibilchaltun-yucatan-mexico/</guid> <description><p>About halfway between Mérida and Progresso lie the ruins of Dzibilchaltún, an important centre in the ancient world of the Maya. The name means &lsquo;The place -with writing on the stones.&rsquo;</p></description> +with writing on the stones.&rsquo;</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-09-11-munecas-door.jpg" + alt="View framed by the doorway of the of Templo de las Siete Muñecas looking out over the ruins of a stone building and four-sized stone stela on a raised platform. A path leads past the ruins, through the low jungle, and towards the horizon."/> +</figure> + +<p>Dzibilchaltún covers an area of about 16 square kilometres, in which there are +about 8400 structures. The central part of the site covers three square +kilometres, which includes several temples and pyramids, as well as a cenote of +unknown depth, one of the largest in the Yucatán. Many of the structures date +back as far as 500 B.C.</p> +<p>From downtown Mérida, you can catch a colectivo that stops down the road from +the temple. A 10 minute hike from there along a trail through the jungle gets +you to the entrance to the site, where they charge 50 pesos per person ($7.50 +CDN) to get in. The day we arrived, it was a scorching 40-something degrees, +with 100% humidity, so the fact that the small museum on the site was +air-conditionned was worth the price of admission in itself.</p> +<p>The site is divided into two parts, separated by a one kilometre long road. At +one end is the Temple of the Seven Dolls, named after seven ceramic dolls found +there as offerings to the gods. At the other end is a courtyard, a pyramid, a +ball court and the cenote, as well as an open chapel that was constructed +during the Colonial era, in the late 16th and early 17th century.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-09-11-munecas-outside.jpg" + alt="View of the Templo de las Siete Muñecas from the path. In the foreground, a hiker walks toward a large worn stela on a raised platform."/> +</figure> + +<p>The Temple of the Seven Dolls is probably the most interesting part of the +site. At least it was to us. At one time, the temple was adorned with plaster +friezes, molded to the shapes of intertwined serpents, hieroglyphs, and masks, +though these friezes are no longer on the structure itself. The building is +thought to have served as an astronomical observatory, and during the Vernal +and Autumnal Equinoxes, an interesting phenonmenon can be seen at sunrise. +During the Equinoxes, the sun is perfectly aligned such that the morning +sunlight passes directly between two sets of opposing doors on the temple, +casting the light down into the courtyard facing the structure. Many people +pile into Dzibilchaltún between 5:00 and 6:00 in the morning to witness the +sunrise, then run back out and pile into a bus to Chichen Itza to watch the +more spectacular effect of the sun casting light in the shape of a giant +serpent slithering up the side of the temple there in the afternoon. If you +don’t happen to be a teacher who has classes on these days, this is apparently +the thing to do.</p> +<p>The cenote on the other side of the site is open for swimming, if you don’t +mind thousands of little fish chasing you around the whole time. What’s +curious, of course, is that there are any fish at all in the cenotes, since +they’re fed by a series of deep, underwater channels of water that snake +beneath the entire peninsula. There are no rivers or streams connecting them on +the surface, so the fish have to descend to incredible depths (over 100 m) to +move between one cenote and the next. From what people have told us, the fish +that live in the cenotes are blind, which is kind of cool.</p> +<p>We hiked back out to the road after a few hours of wandering around, the sat +waiting for a colectivo to drive by and pick us up. For 30 minutes we sat +around, the air totally still and boiling hot, with only the sound of the +mosquitos and the cow in the field next to us. I’m not entirely sure what was +wrong with it, but the way it hollered made it sound demented and insane. I +honestly hope I never drink any milk from that one; no way that’s safe.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -196,7 +1161,126 @@ with writing on the stones.&rsquo;</p></description> <p>Lo que tu eres, yo fui<br> Lo que yo soy, luego serás<br> <em>—Inscription on the pirate Mundaca’s Tomb</em></p> -</blockquote></description> +</blockquote> +<p>Many, many years ago, a pirate by the name of Fermin Antonio Mundaca de +Marechaja landed on Isla Mujeres and fell in love with a young lady whose name +has been long forgotten. Today, she is known only as <em>La Trigueña</em> (The +Brunette), the name by which he referred to her. In order to win her love, +Mundaca built an elaborate hacienda, erected archways and laid paths throughout +the gardens. He had trees and plants brought from all over the world to plant +in the gardens. Unfortunately, before he finished this masterpiece, she ran off +with another islander and got married. Today, his house lays in ruins in the +middle of what remains of his fortress. And if you look carefully, you can +faintly work out the words <em>La Trigueña</em> carved into the stone archway. Mundaca +eventually died of the plague in Mérida, but his small tomb can still be seen +among the headstones of the small cemetary near the north beach of town. +Adorned with an eerily grinning skull and crossbones, it bears no name, but +carries the inscription: &lsquo;As you are, I was. As I am, you will be.&rsquo;</p> +<p>With a couple weeks before school and work starts, we decided to visit Isla +Mujeres (lit. The Island of Women), a small island that sits about 11 km off +the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, in Quintana Roo. A few hours east of +Mérida, the island is surrounded by the turquoise, bathtub warm, crystal clear +waters of the Caribbean, and is the site of some spectacular snorkeling and +diving.</p> +<p>Isla Mujeres is tiny—about 8 km long and between 300 and 800 metres wide—and +has a population of 7000 residents. The main part of the town sits on the +north-west tip of the island, but there are some smaller <em>colonias</em> in the +central Salinas area, as well as on the south end. Although it was once a +fishing town, the main business today is tourism. Unlike Cancún, however, Isla +Mujeres has a much more relaxed, laid back pace of life, and it hasn’t yet +turned into a party town full of drunken gringos. The locals appear to want to +keep it this way, and the local San Francisco store stops selling alcohol at +8:30 or 9:00 in the evenings.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-09-06-sunset.jpg" + alt="In the distance, the silhouette of a lancha passes through the shimmering reflection of the setting sun&#39;s light on the ocean."/> +</figure> + +<p>From the downtown Cancún bus station, we grabbed the Route 13 bus north along +Avenida Tulum to the Puerto Juarez ferry terminal, then hopped on a boat for +the 30 minute ferry ride to the island. We spent the whole ride locked in a +psychological battle trying not to jump off into the gorgeous blue water; it +was sheer torture. Apparently we weren’t the only ones—as soon as the boat +pulled alongside the Isla Mujeres dock, one 40 year old passenger jumped +overboard and swam to shore.We spent the next few days wandering around the +island on foot. Like a lot of touristy places in Mexico, there are thousands of +people trying to sell you anything and everything on the street. Fortunately, +the city is small enough that all the hawkers seem to be packed into two blocks +along Avenida Hidalgo between Av. Abasolo and Av. Lopez Mateos. Unfortunately, +that’s the easiest way to get to the beach. Fortunately (yet again), it’s +easily bypassed by taking the scenic route.</p> +<p>The best times of day for the beach are sunrise and sunset. The boatloads of +tourists from Cancún aren’t there, and the beach is nearly empty. The water +stays warm 24 hours a day, and the sunsets and sunrises are spectacular. During +the afternoons, the beach is packed with people and the sun is intense enough +that if you don’t fork over the 60 pesos ($10 Canadian) for a beach umbrella, +you’ll fry like bacon, even with the SPF 50 they sell at the super market. +There’s a reason most Mexicans swim in shorts and a t-shirt.</p> +<p>There are a lot of other things to do on the island. One of the most +interesting is the Sea Turtle conservation park. This is the only facility in +Mexico dedicated to preserving endangered sea turtles, such as the Hawk’s Bill +Turtle, which grows to over 100 kg, and lives to around 120 years old. The sea +turtles have been hunted to near extinction because of world-wide demand from +for their meat and shells. At the conservation facility, the turtles are bred, +cared for, then released back into the wild. There are no railings on the +walkways above the huge walled off section of ocean where the largest of the +turtles swim, and according to the guy who showed us around, if you fall in, +&rsquo;te comen!&rsquo;, &rsquo;they eat you!'.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-09-06-skeletons.jpg" + alt="Four small hand-carved wooden skeleton toys playing musical instruments and wearing sombreros sit on the step of a storefront with their feet on the sidewalk. A small wooden armadillo wanders by."/> +</figure> + +<p>The ruins of Mundaca’s fortress are in the central part of the island, and if +you want to be eaten alive by mosquitos (there are Dengue Fever warnings all +over the place on the Yucatán Peninsula, by the way) it’s a great place to go. +No wonder the object of Mundaca’s affections ditched him for another man. Any +sensible pirate would have built his fortress on the beach or at least within +walking distance. Mundaca built his in the marshiest, grottiest, most densely +jungled part of the island. On the bright side there is, however, a sort of +small zoo in his gardens, with alligators, monkeys, a deer, and apparently a +jaguar, though we never got to see it, because the mosquitos drove us out +first. By the twentieth or thirtieth bite, we’d had more than enough of +Mundaca’s place.On the south side of the island, there’s Playa Garrafón, which +is part of a national park, but seems to have been recently turned into an +expensive tourist trap, complete with all-you-can-eat restaurants, zip lines, +&lsquo;underwater adventure&rsquo; and more construction, all for the low, ubeatable price +of $35 US a day! I believe they even translated that price into pesos +underneath in small type. We actually went next door, paid 20 pesos (about $2 +US) and had the whole beach to ourselves. We snorkeled around the wharf and a +small reef, then Pablo and Armando, who ran the place, took us out to a reef 15 +minutes out by boat, where we saw sharks, a sting ray, and a ton of live (and +dead) coral. Unfortunately, it seems like a million and one other people go out +to the same reef, and most don’t know how to swim. This means you’ll end up +spending an hour getting your head kicked in by screaming hoardes of +life-jacket wearing, water spitting drowners. I did get rammed in the legs by a +nurse shark though. It felt like sandpaper and was among the creepier +sensations I have experienced in my life.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-09-06-nativity-scene.jpg" + alt="The gazebo at the centre of the Isla Mujeres plaza decorated in an underwater-themed nativity scene. The virgin mary stands at the centre, her hands in prayer. Fishing nets filled with starfish, tropical fish, and multi-coloured Christmas lights surround the gazebo."/> +</figure> + +<p>There are also some Mayan ruins at the south tip of the island, though there’s +very little left of them. Most of the ruins have been hurled into the ocean by +various hurricanes, but what’s left sits on a small point overlooking the +crystal clear blue water. My favourite part was the hand painted sign that +reads &lsquo;IGUANAS-No los tire piedras-Cuidelas&rsquo;, &lsquo;Please do not throw rocks at +the iguanas-take care of them!&rsquo; Two English ladies who now live in Kentucky +were kind enough to pick us up on their rented golf cart and haul us back into +town, saving us a taxi ride/sunburn.During our stay on the island, we ran into +a small herd of beach cats. They appeared to be completely starving, which I’m +sure is all part of their little ploy to get food from unsuspecting tourists. +In fact, I’m sure that if a study were done, they’d probably find that this is +a behaviour that beach cats have evolved over centuries of tourism, sort of +like pigeons that pretend to be one-legged to get sympathy points from old +grannies in parks. In any case, these poor things ended up rounding up enough +sympathy to get some canned tuna… twice. Most of the time, though, I we watched +it digging holes on the beach, which I don’t really want to think about too +much. We also saw it kill and eat cockroaches, which no matter how disgusting +it is, I have to admit is actually sort of mezmerising.</p> +<p>All in all, it was a great vacation before everything gets crazy here. We hope +we’ll have time to go back at some point for another visit. The place to stay +is definitely the Hotel El Marcianito; the guy who runs it is totally friendly, +and gave us a ton of advice on places to see.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -213,7 +1297,20 @@ a colectivo headed out in that direction. The one we found stopped by a bathing centre and the town of Chelem. Now right now I’m going to come straight out and say it: if someone ever tells you a story about the amazing beaches at Yucalpetén, just back away slowly and do not make any sudden -moves—the person you are talking to has probably escaped from an asylum.</p></description> +moves—the person you are talking to has probably escaped from an asylum.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-08-31-chelem.jpg" + alt="Main street of Chelem"/><figcaption> + <h4>The main street of Chelem?</h4> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>We wandered around for a few hours, but we never did find a beach in decent +condition. In the end we sat on a grass embankment close to the ocean, +observing what appeared to be the remains of a house that had been bulldozed +across the beach and into the ocean; there still were big chunks of concrete +wall strewn all over the place. It was sort of post-apocalyptic looking. On the +bright side, there was a nice cool breeze.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -226,7 +1323,26 @@ moves—the person you are talking to has probably escaped from an asylum.</p gulf side of the peninsula, the water is still a beautiful turquoise-blue; it puts Canadian beaches to shame. On a hot weekend, Progreso makes a fun day trip. The wind keeps you cool, and as long as you keep ordering drinks, the -food comes free at the palapa huts on the beach.</p></description> +food comes free at the palapa huts on the beach.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-08-31-palapa.jpg" + alt="Three beach chairs sit in the shade of a palm-thatched palapa on the beach overlooking the ocean. A small &#39;lancha&#39; boat is pulled up on the beach. On the left, Progreso&#39;s long pier extends over the water towards the horizon."/> +</figure> + +<p>The one thing that is impossible to miss in Progreso is the pier. At its +original length of 6 km, it was the longest in all of México, and with its new +3 km extension for cruise ships, it’s now the longest in the world. The reason +for its size is that the Yucatán Peninsula is in essence a huge, flat limestone +shelf that continues to extend long past the waterfront. At 6 km out, the +water is still only 7 or 8 metres deep. As a result a 3 km extension was added +in 2001 to allow cruise ships to dock safely.</p> +<p>When we asked friends in Mérida about the beach in Progreso, they mostly told +us that it wasn’t that nice. When we got back, I told my class that in Canada +we put beaches like that in beer commercials. I guess when Cancún is only a few +hours drive away, you can afford to be picky. The only downside is that most of +the palm trees are tiny. The previous ones were all ripped out during Hurricane +Gilberto a few years ago. As a result there’s very little shade, so your only +option is to hide under a palapa.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -243,7 +1359,47 @@ as transportation by some of its residents. The two big tourist attractions here are the ruins of Kinich-Kakmó, one of 12 Mayan temples that originally stood at the site of this town, and the Franciscan Monastery, one of the first in the New World, built from the stones of the largest Mayan temple in Izamal -after it was torn down by the Conquistadors.</p></description> +after it was torn down by the Conquistadors.</p> +<p>The Convento de San Antonio de Padua sits on one side of the Plaza Principal, a +block from the city’s bus station. Climbing up the ramp in front brings you to +a large flat terrace and the entrance to the buildings themselves. From there, +you can enter the chapel, visit the arboreum or climb up to the top levels of +the monastery. If you look carefully, some of the stones in the walls and +arches have Mayan designs on them—these were part of the temple that originally +stood at this location. Facing away from the monastery, you can see +Kinich-Kakmó towering over the jungle six or seven blocks away.</p> +<p>Kinich-Kakmó, which is about 200 m x 180 m, was built between 300 and 600 A.D. +and was recently restored. From the top levels, the temple provides a great +view of the city. Following a narrow dirt path around the back affords a +spectacular view of the surrounding jungle and the vast, Saskatchewan-like +flatness of the Yucatán peninsula. All over the place, big, lazy iguanas +sunbathe on the rock walls of the temple. Just beside the entrance, at the base +of the front side of the pyramid, is a great-smelling tortillería.</p> +<p>We ate at the Kinich-Kakmó Restaurant, and it was delicious though a little +pricey. We each had a Montejo beer and lime soup, followed by Poc-Chuc¹ and +Rellenos Negros², along with some fresh handmade tortillas. As with many +restaurants, homemade tortilla chips and salsas are served with the meal. The +total came to about 160 pesos, which is enough to buy you several days worth of +groceries at Wal-Mart or San Francisco in Mérida. The main dining area is +outdoors under a thatched Mayan style roof (and yes, lots of people still live +in traditional Mayan huts—some have corrugated metal roofs these days, but just +as many use the traditional palm fronds). The waiters even offer bug-spray if +you need it. Fortunately, due to some creative engineering by the staff, you +don’t need it. Clear plastic bags of water dangle by threads from the roof and, +in the words of the waiter, &lsquo;when the bug sees his reflection as he gets +closer, he sees himself reflected so big and ugly that it scares him away.&rsquo; It +seems to work—we didn’t see a single fly or mosquito during lunch, and there +were tons outside. Royal Thai in San Rafael, California does the same thing, so +there’s got to be something to it.</p> +<p>Unfortunately, I forgot to bring the memory card for the camera, so no +pictures, but it was well worth the trip.</p> +<h3 id="glossary">Glossary</h3> +<ol> +<li><em>Poc-Chuc:</em> A Yucatecan dish made with pork marinaded in orange juice.</li> +<li><em>Rellenos Negros:</em> A spicy, black Yucatecan soup made from beans, with +pieces of chicken and a hard boiled egg bathing in it.</li> +</ol> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -259,7 +1415,53 @@ after it was torn down by the Conquistadors.</p></description> <p>In Mérida, most people sleep in hammocks. Walk down any residential street and look in the windows and you’ll see hammocks strung all over the room. What I’m getting at is that I finally caved in and bought a hammock. Now sit back and -listen, ’cause here’s my advice…</p></description> +listen, ’cause here’s my advice…</p> +<p>If you’re in Mérida, you’ll be approached every five minutes by someone wanting +to sell you a hammock off the street. Do not buy it! That man is crazy! The +quality of hammock you get from a wandering hammock guy is a mystery until you +try it out. And you’re not going to be trying it out until after you’ve paid +for it. Generally speaking, they’re pretty bad. Locals refer to them as +‘hospital hammocks’ because that’s where you end up if you use them. Go to a +hammock shop with a good reputation. If they can show you a photo album of them +and their grandparents chopping down sisal (henequen cactus), stripping the +fibre, and making hammocks, it’s a pretty safe bet that the hammocks are +good.So Julio Armando pulled out a few hammocks, strung them up, proudly +displays the threading to show there were no flaws, and got me to jump in and +take it for a spin. Hammocks come in lots of sizes: single, double, +matrimonial, and matrimonial especial. The difference is the number of pairs of +end threads. Matrimonial has about 150 pairs of end threads, whereas a single +has about 50 and a double has about 100. Keep in mind that these sizes were +designed for people of Mayan stature, which is a lot smaller than your typical +Canadian, or Mestizo Mexican.</p> +<p>Unfortunately, the walls in the apartment must be the only ones in the whole +city that doesn’t have hammock hooks! Even a lot of hotels in Mérida provide +hooks! I ran across the street to the Tlapalería¹ and using hand signals and +pantomime, bought exactly five metres of nylon rope. Using those engineering +skills I spent so much effort learning at UVic, and some knots I learned in Boy +Scouts, I rigged up a makeshift hammock hookup. Unfortunately, the only +available post to string a rope around was the chunk of wall between the +balcony door and the window, which meant that both the door and the window had +to be open to use it, and I had to pull the mosquito screen out of the window +anytime I wanted to use the hammock.</p> +<p>About Mérida’s weather: Maybe you people back home have looked at the +temperatures in Mérida and thought &lsquo;Wow! They spend the whole summer in the mid +to upper 30s! It’s just like Cancún!&rsquo; True, but it’s also insanely humid, which +means you’re covered in sweat 24 hours a day—imagine waking up sticky and +sweaty every morning; that’s why most people use hammocks. What’s more, unlike +Cancún, there are thunderstorms every afternoon between about four and seven. +You can set your watch by them. During these thunderstorms, it rains. A lot. So +much, in fact, that having the window or door open even a centimetre spells +certain doom. In short, the hammock is no longer up. Back to the drawing board.</p> +<p>A curious side note here. If you wander the streets of Mérida enough, you’ll +notice an inordinate number of people with one or both eyes missing. The reason +for this is quite interesting. Mérida is famous around the world for its +hammocks. And to make hammocks you need henequen fibre. The sisal cactus from +which you get it has very, very sharp, needle-like barbs. You get the point.</p> +<h3 id="glossary">Glossary</h3> +<ol> +<li><em>Tlapalería:</em> A sort of little roadside hardware store.</li> +</ol> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -274,7 +1476,54 @@ twenty minute drive from the long strip of hotels between the lagoon and the ocean that the outside world refers to as Cancún. By the time the colectivo got to the bus station, it was 9 pm, so after checking out the schedule and booking tickets, there was just enough time to grab some dinner and get some sleep -before heading off to Mérida first thing the next morning.</p></description> +before heading off to Mérida first thing the next morning.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2001-08-17-cathedral.jpg" + alt="Façade of the Mérida cathedral in the evening light. Groups of pedestrians pass along the sidewalk in front as Volkswagen Beetles drive by."/> +</figure> + +<p>Sitting in a Mexican bus station is an activity in itself. Drenched in sweat +and surrounded by hundreds of other sweaty people carrying bags, backpacks, and +cardboard packages held together with twine, in heat and humidity well above +what any sane person would tolerate, you gain an appreciation of just how +patient a people the Mexicans are. Buses come and go as they please; to the +Mexican bus driver, the posted schedule is only a guideline. Buses are +notoriously late, and ours is no exception.</p> +<p>When it does arrive, the bags are loaded, everyone climbs into their seats and, +once the bus driver has got his drinks and snacks ready for the trip, he throws +it into reverse and we´re off. After a four hour ride through the Yucatecan +jungle, we arrived at the Fiesta Américana terminal in the north end of Mérida. +From there, we grabbed a taxi into town and unloaded everything at Hotel Mucuy, +on calle 57 between calle 56 and calle 58, where we stayed while we searched +for jobs and a place to live.</p> +<p>This might be a good time to explain the mysterious numbering system for the +addresses in Mérida. Odd numbered streets run east-west and even numbered +streets run north-south. For streets that run diagonally, the ones that run +from SE to NW are even, the rest are odd—usually. Another challenge is that +street addresses are not often consistent; number 499 might be three or four +blocks from 498. Because of this, addresses are usually given as a street +number and a cross street (for corner addresses) or a street number and the two +cross streets between which the address lies.</p> +<p>Mérida is the capital city of México’s Yucatán state and, centuries ago, was +the capital of the Mayan empire as well. When the Spanish conquistadors arrived +in the city in the mid-16th century, led by Francisco de Montejo, they +discovered the Mayan city of Tihó. Its temples and limestone architecture +reminded them enough of Mérida, Spain that they promptly renamed the city and +began dismantling the Mayan structures. While you won’t find any of the +original Mayan buildings remaining today, the cathedral in the Plaza Principal² +contains blocks from the Mayan temple that once stood in the same location.</p> +<p>In any case, the city today is gorgeous. Its narrow streets and colonial +architecture give it a traditional feel. Every Sunday, all the streets within +several blocks of the main plaza are shut down to vehicle traffic while +musicians play live music near the Plaza Principal, and people dance in the +streets.</p> +<h3 id="glossary">Glossary</h3> +<ol> +<li><em>Colectivo:</em> a communal taxi, usually a VW van, into which the driver packs +as many people as the laws of physics will allow. For example the last one +we used had 16 people stuffed into it.</li> +<li><em>Plaza Principal:</em> the main square found in almost every Mexican town.</li> +</ol> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -283,7 +1532,11 @@ before heading off to Mérida first thing the next morning.</p></descripti <pubDate>Fri, 17 Aug 2001 11:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2001/08/hola-mexico/</guid> - <description>After a year and a half in San Francisco, California, we’ve moved to Mérida, Yucatán, México. So far so good! The heat is scorching, the humidity is sweltering, and the mosquitos are biting. But Mérida is a beautiful city, and the people are wonderful.</description> + <description><p>After a year and a half in San Francisco, California, we’ve moved to Mérida, +Yucatán, México. So far so good! The heat is scorching, the humidity is +sweltering, and the mosquitos are biting. But Mérida is a beautiful city, and +the people are wonderful.</p> +</description> </item> </channel> diff --git a/tags/usa/index.xml b/tags/usa/index.xml @@ -18,7 +18,103 @@ this time, I&rsquo;ve got a lot more stuff. One of those things is a Nissan that&rsquo;s been quietly living its life in Canada. Faced with the prospect of selling the car and buying a new one, I chose instead to import the one I know and love. Here is my story. But be forewarned, it is not for the faint of -heart.</p></description> +heart.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2011-05-10-futile.jpg" + alt="Scrawny kid vs sumo wrestler"/> +</figure> + +<p>To import a vehicle to the US from Canada, you need to undertake a series of +quests. These are detailed on the <a href="http://stnw.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/">NHTSA website</a> under the heading +<em>Vehicle Importation Guidelines (Canadian)</em>. As of May 2011, you need the +following items in increasing order of difficulty:</p> +<p><strong>[easy]</strong> The following information about your car:</p> +<ol> +<li>VIN</li> +<li>Make/Model/Year</li> +<li>Month/Year of manufacture</li> +<li>Registration &amp; ownership information</li> +</ol> +<p><strong>[easy]</strong> <a href="http://www.epa.gov/oms/imports/">EPA Form 3520-1</a>. You will likely be importing your +vehicle under <em>code EE: identical in all material respects to a US certified +version</em>.</p> +<p><strong>[easy]</strong> <a href="http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/">NHTSA Form HS-7</a>. You will most likely be importing your +vehicle under box 2B, for vehicles that complied with Canadian CMVSA +regulations at their time of manufacture and where the manufacturer attests +that, with a few exceptions, it meets US regulations; see final item.</p> +<p><strong>[medium]</strong> A letter on the manufacturer&rsquo;s letterhead from the Canadian +distributor, stating that there are no open recalls or service campaigns on the +vehicle. I&rsquo;m not sure if this is required, but Nissan Canada thought it would +be.</p> +<p><strong>[hard]</strong> A letter from the vehicle’s original manufacturer, on +the manufacturer’s letterhead identifying the vehicle by vehicle identification +number (VIN) and stating that the vehicle conforms to all applicable FMVSS +&ldquo;except for the labeling requirements of Standards Nos. 101 <em>Controls and +Displays</em> and 110 <em>Tire Selection and Rims</em> or 120 <em>Tire Selection and Rims for +Motor Vehicles other than Passenger Cars</em>, and/or the specifications of +Standard No. 108 <em>Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment</em>, +relating to daytime running lamps.&rdquo;</p> +<p>Items 1-3 are left as an exercise to the reader. I will focus here on items 4 +and 5 to save you the 14 hours of accumulated hold time and multiple phone +calls. Prepare yourself friend, for here begins a journey of hurt and +frustration, but you will prevail.</p> +<p>Let&rsquo;s start with item 4. I gave <a href="http://www.nissan.ca/common/footer/en/contact.html">Nissan Canada</a> a ring at +1-800-387-0122 and managed to make it through the phone navigation system to a +human operator. I told them I was importing a Canadian Nissan into the States +and needed a <em>Letter of Compliance</em>. After a bit of digging, they stated that +such letters are only provided by <em>Nissan North America,</em> but they would +instead mail out two other letters on Nissan letterhead:</p> +<ol> +<li>A letter stating the VIN and that the vehicle has no pending recalls or +service campaigns on it.</li> +<li>In place of a <em>Certificate of Origin</em> (which Nissan Canada does not +provide), a letter stating the VIN and that the vehicle was manufactured for +sale in the Canadian market and complied with all safety and emission +regulations at the time of manufacture.</li> +</ol> +<p>We&rsquo;re almost there, but your next and final mission is also the most +challenging: the <em>Letter of Compliance</em>. Call <a href="http://www.nissanusa.com/apps/contactus">Nissan North +America</a> Consumer Affairs Department at 1-800-647-7261. Navigate +through the phone system to an operator - get their name and extension. They +may ask for your VIN only to find it&rsquo;s not in their system. Canadian VINs are +not in their system. Some operators thought they were, others were sure they +weren&rsquo;t. They&rsquo;re not. Many operators tried and failed to find it. Ask them to +open a file, give them the vehicle information and your info and get the file +number. Use this number whenever you call.</p> +<p>Here are the five steps to success:</p> +<ol> +<li>Tell the operator that you&rsquo;re importing a Canadian Nissan vehicle to the US +and that you need a <em>Letter of Compliance</em> stating the VIN and that the +vehicle was built to conform to Canadian and United States EPA emissions +standards and all US Federal motor vehicle standards except for daytime +running light brightness. There is a very good chance they&rsquo;ve never heard of +this. Get them to talk to their supervisor, and their supervisor. Anyone. +Someone will know.</li> +<li>They will tell you that the vehicle needs to have its daytime running lights +disabled before they will issue the letter of compliance. All the government +rules seem to specifically exclude the daytime running lights, and the +letter they issue even states that the vehicle doesn&rsquo;t meet that standard, +but for whatever reason they want a copy of a work statement showing the +work was done. Remember to get the operator&rsquo;s name and extension and the +fax number for the work statement before you hang up.</li> +<li>Get the daytime running lights disabled. It&rsquo;s a setting change in the +on-board computer; your local dealer will do this in under 30 mins for $50 +or so. </li> +<li>Fax your the work statement and put your name, return fax number and a +request for the <em>Letter of Compliance</em> on the cover sheet. Phone Nissan +North America Consumer Affairs back. The phone navigation system will give +you hope that you can input an extension directly, only to find it only +accepts 5-digit extensions but your rep has a 6-digit extension. You&rsquo;ll end +up back in the queue. Ask whoever you get to put you through to your +previous rep, by extension. When you get through, say that you sent the fax +and request the letter. Ask them to phone you back when they&rsquo;ve faxed it.</li> +<li>You&rsquo;ll get the fax eventually - <em>check the information!</em> On my letter, the +year, model and VIN were all incorrect, though they got my name right. If +it&rsquo;s incorrect, try again.</li> +</ol> +<p>You now have everything you need to import your Nissan to the States. Good +luck my friends, I don&rsquo;t envy you, but know that I am with you and that victory +will someday be yours too.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -27,7 +123,9 @@ heart.</p></description> <pubDate>Thu, 09 Sep 2004 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2004/09/new-york-ny-usa/</guid> - <description>Flew out to New York for interviews with Tokyo via videoconference on the 9th and 10th. More details later, but I’ll post pictures now.</description> + <description><p>Flew out to New York for interviews with Tokyo via videoconference on the 9th +and 10th. More details later, but I’ll post pictures now.</p> +</description> </item> </channel> diff --git a/tags/web/index.xml b/tags/web/index.xml @@ -19,7 +19,27 @@ got my money&rsquo;s worth out of it. After partnering with <a href=" started using their online feed-reader on and off, with mixed results. I like that it keeps my feeds in sync between my computers, and that I can browse articles at lunch, but the interface is still not on par -with NetNewsWire itself.</p></description> +with NetNewsWire itself.</p> +<p>While NewsGator&rsquo;s implementation was lacking, I really did like the idea of +dropping the desktop app altogether and going with a fully online solution, so +I started exploring other options. The obvious free alternative is <a href="http://www.google.com/reader/">Google +Reader</a>, and I have to say, I&rsquo;m impressed. While the +presentation isn&rsquo;t as customizable as NetNewsWire, the functionality that I use +is all there, and in fact, it has some extra search features that I miss on the +desktop. It was only when I launched NetNewsWire today and saw 290 unread +items, that it hit me I hadn&rsquo;t used it in almost a month. So while I look +forward to <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hicksdesign/210309912/">NetNewsWire 3</a>, I&rsquo;m sticking to Google Reader for the time +being.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2007-05-30-google-reader.png" + alt="Google reader graph of usage by hour of day"/> +</figure> + +<p>I also discovered that my prime news reading hours are apparently 6:30am to +7:30am and 9pm to 11pm, with a strange local maximum straggling out around +12:30am. I&rsquo;d be curious to compare this to <em>before</em> I had a baby that woke me +up around that time.</p> +<p><em>Update (2007-06-06):</em> NetNewsWire 3.0 is now out.</p> +</description> </item> </channel> diff --git a/tags/wtf/index.xml b/tags/wtf/index.xml @@ -15,7 +15,18 @@ <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2008/08/monkey-madness/</guid> <description><p>How many police does it take to catch a monkey in one of Tokyo&rsquo;s busiest train stations? Apparently a lot more than the <a href="https://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=1LbhEJ2NUxE">40 or so that -tried</a>.</p></description> +tried</a>.</p> +<p>The monkey was first spotted around 9:45am on top of the Tokyu Toyoko Line +schedule display, possibly one of the best choices for people-watching in +Shibuya Station, strategically positions between the exit of the Tokyu +department store and the entrance to one of Tokyo&rsquo;s busiest train lines.</p> +<p>It hung around for close to two hours while commuters, shoppers, news crews and +a posse of net-wielding cops showed up, before finally deciding to +<a href="https://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=AKFh-Wc7KSE">make a break for it</a>. Police never did catch the cheeky +monkey, and its current whereabouts are unknown.</p> +<p>Apparently this is the third incident of a monkey getting into a train station +in Tokyo in the last few weeks.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -24,7 +35,12 @@ tried</a>.</p></description> <pubDate>Mon, 26 Jun 2006 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <guid>https://chris.bracken.jp/2006/06/canadian-medical-research/</guid> - <description>Don&rsquo;t let anyone tell you that Canada never contributed groundbreaking research to the medical field. First, the discovery and isolation of insulin by researchers at the University of Toronto; now this paper published in the British Medical Journal, co-authored by a Grade 8 student from Hamilton, Ontario.</description> + <description><p>Don&rsquo;t let anyone tell you that Canada never contributed groundbreaking research +to the medical field. First, the discovery and isolation of insulin by +researchers at the University of Toronto; now <a href="http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/325/7378/1445" title="Ice cream evoked headaches: randomised trial of accelerated versus cautious ice cream eating regimen">this paper</a> published in the +British Medical Journal, co-authored by a Grade 8 student from Hamilton, +Ontario.</p> +</description> </item> <item> @@ -37,7 +53,15 @@ tried</a>.</p></description> something caught my eye. As the train flew along its raised track, whizzing past the rooftops of Gakugei-daigaku at 80 km/h, I swear I saw a guy standing on the roof of a building alongside the track, dressed in a red cape -and wearing a giant fish on his head, wailing away on a guitar.</p></description> +and wearing a giant fish on his head, wailing away on a guitar.</p> +<p>He was gone from my view before I was able to catch a second glance, though.</p> +<p><em>Update (2008-03-20):</em> I’m glad he’s <a href="http://jiyugaoka.keizai.biz/headline/171/">not just a figment of my imagination</a>.</p> +<figure><img src="https://chris.bracken.jp/post/2005-03-29-gakugeidai.jpg" + alt="Man with fish on head playing guitar"/> +</figure> + +<p><em>Update (2011-04-27):</em> Found a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DbvxgmEAtE">YouTube video</a>.</p> +</description> </item> </channel>