View outside my Balcony 

Rare Nissan Skyline Bee R  

Pictures of Camp Arifjan

This photo is an old unclassified picture of Camp Arifjan


Camels in the Desert

Yellow Cherry Tomatoes 

Thoughts on Population Control

My duty at the hospital proved it to be a busy night in Labor and Delivery during the typhoon. Three babies were born while it was all going on. I heard that it was due to "the atmospheric pressure". Not sure, but there sure was a lot of babies being born. And many more pregnant women being admitted to the ward. Something I observed... There is a whole lot more babies being born than people dying at this hospital. In a way it is good, BUT in a way it is bad for the foreseeable future. Population is growing much too rapidly. :( Unless we plan on colonizing other planets, there's hardly any room left for these new people. I suggest that the Japanese need to figure out a way to build higher buildings or start building cities on the ocean, because what there is now just isn't cutting it. Imagine the population of half the United States all squished in a landmass the size of California and with 75% of it inhabitable.

Yes, you should be thinking, "Oh CRAP".

Well, here is my opinion and strictly my opinion. I think that in the U.S., couples should be taxed heavily for each child beyond two children for irresponsibility to mankind. I say two children for reason of being to replace oneself. The way of thinking: "procreation for the sake of procreation" is starting to become hazardous. The old days of people dying at young ages have stopped. Advances in healthcare, technologies and education have prolonged life.

It won't be long before California will build mass transportation systems rivaling that of the northeast like New York and Chicago. Cramming into these things are quite uncomfortable. The Japanese seems to have gotten used to it and are forced at a young age to accept this. I can't stand it, maybe because I grew up in a small town. But one thing is for sure, personal "bubbles" don't exist and privacy is a real luxury. We'll see what happens. The future will be here before you know it.

Aftermath of the Typhoon TCOR 1

I guess I was fortunate enough to sit through a typhoon and watch it punish anything in it's path. No deaths were reported, which shows how Japan locks itself down during these type of weather activities.

The ALL CLEAR was sounded off at 0600 and stepping outside the building revealed a shitty mess with leaves and brush scattered all over the place. All the trees have received a makeover and us humans have to clean up after their fresh haircut.

Typhoon is Coming! Typhoon is Coming!

Japan has been getting prepared for this typhoon that is supposed to hit us tomorrow for four days straight. It is now finally showing some strength with the rain and wind. After seeing the last typhoon, I wasn't impressed. Nothing got shifted around. We'll see tomorrow morning.

Update: 2340
I look out the window from the 3rd floor of the hospital... Wow, I can see the wind blowing the sea and pounding the waves one by one. It is so incredible! I've never seen the water so high before. The waves crashing into the land is higher than the trees!!! Cool. I would say they're probably 20ft splashes! Just because of wind... A doctor came up beside me and watched the waves. He too, was dazzled by the impact of nature. More to come later.

27AUG05 - Here is the satellite photo.

Nguyen and Huynh Twins

It is a strange coincidence that I have meet my twin in the field of Biomedical Repair. Another guy also called "when" (spelled Nguyen)has come over to our shop temporarily to work with us. For me it is a blessing since he is actually being helpful in our daily repairs. He works right along beside of me and helps me out with whatever needs fixing. My workload has halved! What a relief. I was able to finish everything today with a little time to spare.

He was born in Vietnam and has memories of throwing up on the side of the boat. His parents ended up fleeing the communists and somehow ended up in California where he grew up. He joined the Navy because he was tired of school. On the otherhand, I joined because I was tired of Arkansas! We both once shared the same dreams of becoming a doctor and after our experience with the medical field, we were both pretty glad that we didn't take the college route. We both love our job as BMETs and agree that it is by far, the greatest and most rewarding job in the medical field.

Pastries, the Japanese kind

For some reason, almost all the pastry shops in mainland Japan are inspired by the French. Lenotre Paris and Le Bon Pain are two huge franchises here. Where ever you see a French flag, you can almost guarantee that it is a bread store. Inside, there is all kinds of bread. Bread with curry (like a whole entire meal), cheese bread, garlic bread, sausage bread, just plain bread, etc... And it all looks so good. Shopping there is easy, just take a tray and tongs and load it up.

A link to Sushicam.com View of Yokohama's Train Station and West Gate

Me and Soco went back to that Taco Dario place in Yokohama's World Porters. The tacos weren't that bad although they used flour tortillas. I had a fish taco and Soco ate a chicken taco. The way the chicken was shreaded was real strange. Before ordering, we asked the Mexican lady if it was any good, her Spanish translated to, "Ehhhh... It's okay." And she was right.



Another link to Sushicam.com. Yokohama's Landmark Tower and surrounding areas.

We also went to an American style restaurant, California L.A.S.T. , I don't get why they call it that, but we had ceveche, guacamole, hamburgers and fries. And we sat right by a window which revealed the Yokohama pier and large farris wheel. Next to us was an annoying American trying to hook up with a Japanese lady. It seems to be very difficult since he has to speak to her with "baby talk" and "kindergarden English". I guess I can't blame a guy for trying.

Another trip to Fuji

I swear, God must have something against me, because every single time I go to Camp Fuji, it is a cloudy day. I can only see the base of the mountain, since it is always freak'in covered in clouds. I'm now getting used to speeding in the right places. The Japanese use cameras (flash photography) to enforce speeding. I assume that the Japanese police catch a lot of people because those darn cameras are hidden around blind corners. I think I have figured out where they are hidden from here to the Yoko-Yoko/Tomei Expressway interchange. I believe that if you can drive in Japan, you can drive anywhere. Narrow roads, blind corners, road signs that look like pictures with wierd scratch marks.... Everyone here says that most traffic accidents are caused by foreigners.

Yokohama Landmark Tower

7.2 in Magnitude, Japan Rocks!

I actually feel safe in Japan when an earthquake hits. Their buildings were designed for them which made riding the last one really fun.

Hacking the PSP

Classic Nissan Skyline at Yokosuka's Auto Show


I have tasked myself to hack into my PSP. I did a google search and thousands of links showed up... most of them being sites which wanted money. Damn them! Well, searching for some cool free stuff really isn't that difficult at all. You just have to download some programs which can convert what you already have on your computer and be able to put them on your PSP for example, MP3's and video. Otherwise, you can download free magazines by typing in the google browser, "PSP Magazines" and many links will show up. I'm only in the beginning and I can see how there will be a mass market for "PSP Porn", "PSP Wallstreet Journal" et cetera. It works kinda like a palm pilot without the stylus, except for the awesome ability to play good DVD quality music, movies and games.

Hooked on DVD Boxsets

Being in Japan, I'm not getting any cable or anything. I miss basic television programming. I miss watching the news. Even though, I get more time in my life right now, by not watching these programs, I feel trapped and blocked from the outside world. I don't really know what's going on, besides what is posted on the internet. But now, me and Soco have started getting boxsets of our favorite shows, The Simpsons, Scrubs, Bernie Mac, Arrested Development, etc. I think they are so much better than watching them on regular scheduled programming because you can watch them in order. I just rented a show called, "24" it is a suspense, thriller where each episode is an hour of a day in the life of the President of the United States. It is really exciting! Once I started watching it, I couldn't stop because I wanted to know what happened next. Rent or buy it today!

Silence has been Broken - Base Protest

Last night, the silence of the night has been broken up by thousands and thousands of protesters. Five days after the friendship festival on base. I couldn't understand what they were all yelling at. But, I assume they just want a refund from Anthony's Pizza, perhaps because it gave them diarrhea.

Japanese like all things Cute

Smart Car - Police Car Style

The commercials, the ads, everything sold in stores... all things must be small, cute and cuddly. Hello Kitty this, Good bye Kitty that. Cute is everywhere. Even garbage men will pick up stuffed dolls and decorate their garbage trucks with them. You'll see Hello Kitty or Winnie the Pooh in the passenger side.

Well, today I drove to Camp Fuji. Once again, it was cloudy and I couldn't see Mt. Fuji at all. I ate at the chow hall and it was pretty good. It is better than the mess hall at any Army base. I had salsbury steak, mashed potatoes, salad, Fanta lemon cola and I topped it off with a huge peach cobbler pie. YUM! Can't beat a full-course meal that only costs $3.50.

Friendship Day Festival

Entrance to the base

Nissan Skylines at the Classic Car show

The base opened up to the public yesterday. This event was CRAZY! It was packed and there was American food everywhere! I got myself some Texas BBQ. There were turkey legs, hotdogs and hamburgers. Lots of women were dressed in Kimonos. They even got to visit a Navy flagship, the USS Blueridge. There were shows, a car show, and food. They topped it off with a fireworks show that lasted what seemed like an hour. Interestingly though, there was a "Hello Kitty" firework which put out a huge kitty face in the sky. People filled the streets of Yokosuka when it was over. I have never seen so many people! There were millions of people, it was just packed! There were drummer shows at the Daiei Mall to entice the visitors to come visit. I could imagine that this event lasted til midnight.

Fireworks display can be seen from my balcony window.

New Couch was delivered

Yeah, I know it is a love seat, but it is pretty big. I didn't think it would fit.

The Need for Speed... without a car.

Kids at the 2005 World Expo



I was wondering if there was a legal speed limit on bicycles in Japan. When I ride my bike, I'm always passing everyone up. People always ride so freak'in slow. Either because my bike has many, many gears or they just like to pedal really slow. On base, there is a speed monitoring device and it tells you how fast you're going. I always zoom past those things and they always blink because I exceed the driving speed limit (around 22kph). Well, I'm counting my days until I go to Kuwait. My training is almost complete. I did some online survival, 9mm, basic first aid, media, and legal training. Lately, me and Soco have been checking out some Korean restaurants in the area and they're pretty good. They have these gas grills made into the table so that you can cook your meat how you would like it. There also this cold noodle dish that is served on ice that I really like. I like how the Japanese make Korean food. It always seem to fill me up.

Japanese Biomed Techs

When a service technician comes, they usually come in pairs. One is the translator and the other is the technician. It is funny watching them do their work, because like anime, they seem to over exaggerate, for example we would just say, "Give me a screwdriver." They say a bunch of jibberish, make wierd hand signals. Then the guy grabbing the screwdriver would hold it like a diamond with both hands, pass it on like a sacred jewel and bow. I find it quite interesting, but time consuming as well. It is like they are putting on an act, but their culture demands it.