There are so many different translations of Miyamoto Musashi’s ‘Go Rin No Sho’ by so many different scholars and martial artists. Currently I am reading a recently released biography of Musashi that includes a translation of this ground-breaking work. I am curious if anyone who has read reproductions of the original Japanese text would be able to recommend an English translation that best captures its spirit and simplicity.

Very Nice! I like the new website layout. I have hosted a few wordpress sites and designed a few templates. I really like the way it works. I hope that this new system will help you do more for your students. I’m on spring break now and need to work on my Japanese vocabulary and grammar. What are some good resources for improving these things? Flash cards are helpful, but what should I use to help me learn new words? Thank you for your help and congratulations with the new site!

I want to thank NACOS, particularly Michiko sensei and Shuzo sensei. I learned so much in such a brief period of time and best of all, I enjoyed learning Japanese. I am also so grateful that I can continue to learn and be a part of the NACOS community even though my official class sessions are over. Perhaps NACOS could set up an Amazon.com wishlist so that students like me could donate materials, books or other resources that would help NACOS teach.

Here are some phrases that I would love to be able to say in Japanese: 

 "The park is very peaceful. It revives my spirit."

"In the words of the ancients, one should make his decisions within the space of seven breaths."
- Hagakure

(Thank you Shuzo sensei for reccommending the Hagakure! I bought a copy from Amazon and enjoy it very much. I am about halfway through. I read it slowly because after I read a few sections I stop to think about what I have read.)

I do not watch much TV but after downloading the pilot episodes of Battlestar Galactica, I must say that I am hooked. The story begins 40 years after a massive war between humans and their "AI" machine offspring, the Cylons. The Cylons return after 4 quiet decades with a massive assault on the major human colonies and effectively wipe out all the military defenses. The characters, particularly commander Adama, are played and written extremely well for a television show. Currently I am downloading the rest of season 1 and cannot wait to continue the adventure. Any other BSG fans out there?

It was interesting to learn today that as a citizen of the United States of America I must pay taxes even if I am living outside of the country! From what I know about foreign tax policy, this is the exception rather than the norm. I also learned that congress this year sharply raised the taxes owed by American citizens living abroad. According to a New York Times article, some people went from owing $5,000 annually to $25,000 once the new law was passed. This is certainly something to keep in mind as I contemplate moving to a foreign country.
NYT Article
DISCLAIMER: IANAITL
(I am not an international tax lawyer)

The next generation of video game consoles have arrived, and I am quite excited to see what happens. Of the three "Next Gen" consoles it is Nintendo’s Wii that attracts my interest the most. The Wii controllers (called "Wii-motes" and "Nunchuks") use gyro-esque technology to let you play games by physically moving the controllers in 3 dimensional space. This is something I have always wanted to be able to do, and I think game developers feel the same way. Before I get a Wii gaming system, however, I need to make sure that it will work with the projector I bought this summer. I am sure it will since it uses different technology than the "Light Guns" that, unfortunately, don’t receive enough light from a projector to work.

I turned 21 on Tuesday and so far I am pleased with my new age. It has been a time of reflection for me as I take a look at where I’ve been, where I am and where I’m going. Many of my older friends have told me that they remember "growing" a lot between 20 and 21 and I now think that I agree with them. Recently I’ve been better able to maintain focus on my obligations and be responsible all while taking myself less seriously. I am hoping that this is a general trend in a positive direction for me.

I grew up on an ancient Hawaiian fishpond in Kaneohe. The pond was first constructed 600 years ago but was broken by a flood in the early 60s. In 1989 my father leased the pond from bishop estate and became responsible for it’s repair. It’s rather large for a pond with an area of 88 acres, and is home to both freshwater and saltwater ecologies. One of the most interesting things about this pond is how the fish are caught. In the ancient days, there were no nets or fences, the fish swam around in the pond freely. When it was time to harvest, the fishermen would wait for low tide and then raise boards built into the wall on the ocean side. This would drain water out of the wall. The boards would then be replaced and the fishermen would wait until the next high tide. When high tide came, the boards would once again be removed and water would rush into the pond. Fish, naturally wanting to swim upstream, would pack themselves against the mesh in the gates. Boards would be brought down behind hundreds of flopping fish and you could literally pick them up with your hands.

 
Chaos is the property of unpredictability. When something is chaotic, there is no way for us to predict what will happen at any point in the future. There are so many interesting ways of thinking about chaos and its opposite: order. The relationship between these two forces is fascinating. For me, chaos represents what we fundamentally cannot know. I think that the present moment is defined by the border between chaos and knowledge. I also think that chaos relates to spirituality and religion in many ways. Many of the first religions worshiped the sun, and I think this is because the sun had so much power, yet so little was understood about it. As humans, it is our instinct to revere any great power that we haven’t yet figured out. It is tricky, though, to draw the line between what is known and what is unknown. Many of us believe that almost every property of our physical universe can be scientifically categorized and explained (except gravity..we still don’t really know what that is). But there is always a boundary to our knowledge and on the other side of that boundary is chaos.

The image above is a picture of something called Cellular Automata. Cellular Automata is (at its most simple) made up of a row of white squares with a single black square and a few simple rules. By applying the rules to the first row (such as if a square is touching two black squares, turn black), you can get the second row. Most people think that if you start with simple conditions and apply simple rules, you should be able to predict what will happen. It’s just math, right? But there are some examples, however, where this is not the case. The picture above is cellular automata rule #30, and it is chaotic.

It is a time of exciting change for me and most of my friends. Many of us will graduate from college soon and we all must decide where to go and what to do. Even Shane, one of my friends who lives here on Oahu, recently quit his job and is trying to decide how he wants to approach his future. I will most likely accept the recent job offer from Hewlett-Packard, a computer engineering company. The job pays well and there are significant benefits along with a relocation package. Working as a software-engineer isn’t particularly exciting or challenging, but It will be nice to start my new independent lifestyle while working in a field I am confident in. One thing that I like about HP is the opportunity for variety and movement within the company. After two years I will be able to apply for a transfer to any devision or project that interests me. I can also move to other countries where HP has offices, like Japan, and that is a nice option to have.