You Name It, and Exercise Helps It

I need to start exercising again, especially after our Japan trip. So this article on the benefits of exercise helped motivate me to start.

“The single thing that comes close to a magic bullet, in terms of its strong and universal benefits, is exercise,” Frank Hu, epidemiologist at the Harvard School of Public Health, said in the Harvard Magazine.

In Sacramento

First time here in our State capitol. Arrived yesterday for some business meetings. Flying home later today.

Quote of the week

“I have friends in overalls whose friendship I would not swap for the favor of the kings of the world.”

– Thomas A. Edison

Apple Riding a 51% Jump in Mac Sales

The economic slowdown hasn’t yet affect Apple’s Mac sales, which were up 51% in the first quarter versus the same quarter last year.

SAN FRANCISCO — Signs of a consumer slowdown abound in the United States, but Apple customers appear not to have noticed.

Buoyed by unusually strong Macintosh sales, the company grew notably faster than the rest of the computer market worldwide in the first three months of the year. Steven P. Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, characterized the quarter as the strongest in Apple’s history.

“We’re not economists, so we don’t have any more insight than everyone else, but there were sure a lot of people in our stores last quarter,” Mr. Jobs said in an interview.

From The New York Times.

A Star at Toyota, a Believer at Ford

Jim Farley was a star executive at Toyota, rising to Group Vice President of marketing of the Lexus division at 45 years old.

Six months into that position, he was convinced to leave and join Ford, where his grandfather had worked during its glory days.

AT a dinner here at the Bellagio hotel about two weeks ago, the ballroom buzzed with 1,400 car dealers fired up for a turnaround at the Ford Motor Company. With fresh products coming and a new ad campaign in place, they were ready to celebrate an attempted comeback by the struggling Detroit automaker.

As the lights dimmed, Mr. Farley didn’t lead cheers or shout slogans. Instead, he spoke from the heart, revealing a depth of passion for Ford that turned the room dead silent.

He talked about his grandfather, who had gone to work for Henry Ford at the celebrated Rouge plant in 1914; about his first car, a vintage 1966 Mustang; and about the dealers and their families and their livelihoods.

Like a shy actor blossoming on stage, Mr. Farley became swept up in the emotional power of the moment. “I believe, in many ways, the future of Ford is the future of our country,” he said. “The work here is simply more important than the work I was doing at Toyota.” When he finished, the dealers rose for a standing ovation that left Mr. Farley momentarily stunned. After the applause died down, he savored the reaction.

“These people,” he said, “want to believe.”

I highly recommend reading the entire article, which was both interesting and inspiring. Click here.

Quote of the week

“Acquire worldly wisdom and adjust your behavior accordingly. If your new behavior gives you a little temporary unpopularity with your peer group … then to hell with them.”

– Charles T. Munger, Vice-Chairman, Berkeshire Hathaway

Final day

It’s 4:40pm Sunday and we’re all hanging out at the United Airlines business class lounge. Will be boarding in a few minutes, so will make this my last post from Japan. It was a great vacation with the family, and I think everyone’s going to catch up on some rest during the flight home.

Japan baseball

It’s late here in Tokyo, but wanted to post a few pictures from the SoftBank Hawks baseball game on April 10th in Fukuoka.

It was Michael and Carol’s idea to check out the game, and everyone had a great time.

Click all photos to enlarge…

Back in Tokyo

It’s Saturday afternoon and we just arrived in Tokyo. Was not able to post much this week since we were way out in the countryside and the hotels had no broadband access. So will try to catch up over the next day or two.

Since it’s our last dinner together, looking for somewhere nice at the Caretta Shiodome, which is nearby our hotel.

In Hiroshima

It’s 7:15am Sunday morning in Hiroshima and watching the third round of the Masters. Tiger is now in 4th place, 3 strokes behind the co-leaders.

We arrived here on Friday, and are staying at probably the nicest hotel during our trip, the Hotel Granvia Hiroshima. Pop was very excited when he got off the train, as this is a homecoming for him, having spent seven years of his youth in Hiroshima (from when he was 7 years old).

We spent most of Saturday with Pop’s cousin, Yoshinori Sawa, who was so friendly and hospitable as usual. His loud voice also reminded us of our bachan (grandmother).

On with the pictures (click to enlarge):

Hard work and discipline

After the first two rounds of the Masters, Tiger Woods is tied for 13th at one under par, though no one is counting him out yet.

Butch Harmon, Tigers’s former coach:

His work ethic on his golf swing, his work ethic in the gym, his mental toughness, his discipline, the way he budgets his time. On top of that, he probably has more talent than anybody that has ever played.

From Bloomberg.

Nagasaki pics

I’m late posting pictures, partly due to a new user interface in WordPress, and our day-to-day schedule. Here’s some shots from Nagasaki, which we visited on Monday and Tuesday this week:

Click images to enlarge…

Oura Catholic Church — Japan’s oldest wooden church, built by French missionaries in 1865.

Glover Garden — Named after a wealthy Scottish man named Thomas Glover, who came to Japan in 1859 at the age of 21. The Japanese government considers this an “important cultural asset.”

Chinatown — had lunch here; see next photos

Chanpon — Nagasaki’s famous (& ubiquitous) specialty at Kouzanrou restaurant. I prefer ramen, soba or udon.

(name tbd) Tonpourou (とんぽうろう) — Forgot the name of this, but a combination of Cliff’s cha-shu sandwich and a cha-shu ball. Really good!

Cha-han (fried rice) — Excellent!

Kirin draft beer (生ビール) — Nothing more to say…speaks for itself!

More pics to come in a later post.

In Nagasaki

It’s Wednesday morning now – we arrived in Nagasaki Monday afternoon. Nagasaki has a European trading history dating back to the 16th century. So you can see Christian influences throughout the city – and most of the street signs have English written under the Japanese.

We’re checking out of the hotel in a few minutes, so will continue this post from our next stop, Kumamoto.

In Tokyo

We arrived in Tokyo late afternoon today (it’s now Saturday evening). Everyone was tired and decided to stay in, but Sue and I went for a walk around Ginza for some fresh air and to stretch our legs after a long flight.

Sunday will be a busy day so will make this a quick post so we can get some sleep.

Btw the picture of sakura (cherry blossoms) was shot last week in Tokyo. The sakura bloomed early this year, but hopefully there’ll be some flowers left to see tomorrow.

iPhones replacing notebook PCs

According to a recent online survey by Rubicon Consulting, 28% of respondents “strongly agreed” that their iPhone is replacing their notebook computer.

The most popular iPhone data function is reading e-mail.

Read the CNet article.

Free is the future of business

An interesting article from last month’s issue of Wired magazine, “Free! Why $0.00 is the Future of Business.” It opens with this story about Gillette disposable razors:

At the age of 40, King Gillette was a frustrated inventor, a bitter anticapitalist, and a salesman of cork-lined bottle caps. It was 1895, and despite ideas, energy, and wealthy parents, he had little to show for his work.

One day, while he was shaving with a straight razor that was so worn it could no longer be sharpened, the idea came to him. What if the blade could be made of a thin metal strip? Rather than spending time maintaining the blades, men could simply discard them when they became dull.

A few years of metallurgy experimentation later, the disposable-blade safety razor was born.

But it didn’t take off immediately. In its first year, 1903, Gillette sold a total of 51 razors and 168 blades.