Hara Model Railway Museum near JR Yokohama Station

Friend sent a link to Hara Model Railway Museum. Seems impressive! Will try to visit next trip.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hara_Model_Railway_Museum
http://www.hara-mrm.com/index.html   (Japanese only?)

Here is a small plain webpage for train displays near and around Nagoya. http://kikuko-nagoya.com/html/railroad.html
This is somewhat similar. http://www.kisekigo.com/jrmus/

Went to SC Maglev and Railway Park in Nagoya this spring http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCMaglev_and_Railway_Park
via Aonami line.
http://museum.jr-central.co.jp/en/access/

Visited the old transportation museum in Chiyoda in Tokyo in 2005. Tried to visit the new Tokyo transportation museum in 2009.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_Museum_(Saitama)
http://www.railway-museum.jp/en/information.html
BUT went on a Tuesday!

Dreamliner 787 Japan

Made trip to Japan to and from Boston via JAL Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_787_Dreamliner

Great to be able to get on at Boston and go directly to Japan. Increased cabin pressure, humidity and temperature made the trip much more comfortable than on earlier aircraft. Dreamliner was not as big as was expecting, but should have realized the size from the roughly 250 seats. Wing dynamics are interesting to watch as they bend up when in flight. Those sitting in the center will not be able to see the wing tips out the windows during flight.

JAL service was great as always. Personnel were extremely polite, helpful and accommodating. It is a refreshing change from what one finds on North American airlines.

The dimmable windows were interesting, but actually somewhat irritating because it seemed that one in a hundred were malfunctioning. That may not seem bad at first glance, but in full sunlight when passengers are trying to sleep it meant glaring beams of light from varoius locations in the aircraft. Was not really possible to tell if the windows were broken, or that passengers beside the windows were dense or obstinate, or what was going on. Manual shades mean manual actions (either social or technical) can be taken to address such issues.

LED colored "mood" lighting was interesting, but did not seem to add much to the flight experience. And seemed like the crew was eager to play with the feature - like bringing the lights up midway through the "nap" section of the flight to offfer snacks. Seemed past long-haul flights siuch snacks were served in dimness/dakrness to avoid disturbing the general somnolence.

Dreamliner looked and felt new. From the seat base up it presented as modern as any aircraft. But the struts and structures (and wiring and such) below seat level seemed oddly like a throwback to pre 1990's aircraft.

The JEN/Magic entertainment system has more fetaures and function and options than ever.
http://www.jal.co.jp/en/inflight/inter/jen/magic5/

Lots of movies and games, and even ebooks. Touch screen worked well, but unclear how robust that will be in longterm. BUT handheld controllers have gotten even smaller, and are hard for the age-vision challenged to use. Also, the three main buttons - light, attendant cancel, and attendant call - seemed to be in prime spots for being constantly bumped into, or available to small fingers to play with.

Pinterest - Social Photos

Recently saw Pinterest on the news.
http://pinterest.com/
Sadly cannot say found it on the web. High growth for idea.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinterest
Can help facilitate craft/make projects? 
http://pinterest.com/all/?category=diy_crafts

Found some nice images in a search for "Model Railroad".
http://pinterest.com/search/?q=model+railroad
http://pinterest.com/rkalan/outstanding-model-railroads/
http://pinterest.com/source/miniatur-wunderland.com/
http://pinterest.com/noisescientist/trains-trees-tunnels/

And of course there is the obligatory search for "cute".
http://pinterest.com/search/?q=cute

American Manufacturing

Article in the Atlantic on American manufacturing.
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/01/making-it-in-america/8844/

Knew manufacturung had changed, and even knew about details of machines, technology and communications. But the social and technical systemic re-arrangements were a revelation. Gets to low level reasons for changes that have high level effects in the overall economy. Without the personal stories, was like something would have stumbled across in Scientific American. But the personal stories made the piece flow.

Saving Money - Then and Now.

Thinking about how saved money in childhood in semi-rural Nova Scotia.
- burned wood (from wood lot).
- raised chickens (fed bread and leftovers).
- drove old car.
- gardened (potatoes, peas, tomatoes, strawberries).
- harvested field mushrooms.
- made maple syrup.
- passive solar (window warmth).
- insulated (straw, fiberglass, fabric window coverings and wall hangings).
- used old machinery for snow removal and yard care.
- used library.
- frugal with clothes and entertainment.

But spent money on lights, TV and telephone without much worry.

Today many things still apply in suburban environment, but it is different...
Save money by:
- efficient lighting (like LEDs)
- [burning wood is frowned upon due to smoke and CO2].
- wind/solar self sufficiency.
- insulate.
- drive new car and get new appliances which are more efficient and take less maintenance.
- use Internet (and still library!).
- take train and boats (mass transit).
- garden.
- raise small livestock, if ordinances and neighbours allow.
- manually mow lawn and remove snow for exercise (or at least use electric).
- frugal with entertainment and clothes.

But spend money on lights, Internet, TV and telephone without much worry.

Property/school taxes, water/trash bills and mortgage are significant costs in suburban home life.

Travel to and from AHR in Chicago

Interesting metering, dashboard and cloud showings at AHR... new devices/sensors/technologies too.

BUT report herein is about travel challenge for the day... to get all the way Home -> AHR -> Home without automobiles.

2:30 Up and tended to son/wife (sick) and prepared for travel.
4:50 Walk to Oak Grove.
5:15 First MBTA Orange Line train Oak Grove to State.
5:35 MBTA Blue Line State to Airport.
5:55 Airport shuttle 55 to Terminal B stop 3 AA.
6:05 No luggage. Had printed boarding pass. Through TSA.
6:15 At gate and get return boarding pass.
6:30 Boarding.
6:55 Flight departs - ginger ale - hour nap.
8:30 Flight arrives Chicago.
8:45 CTA Blue Line from O-Hare to Jefferson.
9:30 CTA Red Line from Jefferson to Cermak/Chinatown.
9:45 Walgreens for bottled water and walk to McCormick and AHR.
10:15 Arrive McCormick and get Exhibitor registration.
10:30 Walk AHR floor.
14:00 Granola bars - bottled water.
16:00 AHR ends.
16:10 Booth close up - bottled water.
16:30 Walk to Cermak.
16:45 CTA Red Line from Cermak to Jefferson.
16:55 CTA Blue Line from Jefferson to O'Hare.
17:40 Arrive O'Hare.
17:50 No luggage. Had printed boarding pass. Through TSA.
18:00 At gate and checked boarding pass - okay.
18:45 Boarding.
19:15 Flight departs - ginger ale - hour nap.
22:30 Flight arrives Boston.
22:40 Airport shuttle 55 to from Terminal B to MBTA.
22:50 MBTA Blue Line Airport to State.
23:10 MBTA Orange Line train State to Oak Grove.
23:30 Walk home.
23:50 Arrive home.

All completed with walking, mass transit and air flight.

Miniatures - Roadside America

Posting by Mark Frauenfelder about Roadside America in PA.
http://boingboing.net/2012/01/16/be-prepared-to-see-more-than-y.html
Tried to login and post comment using boingboing account, but something about "Real-time updating is paused. Logout Add New Comment Please wait..."

Great posting. Have been near there in PA and never realized. Minatures = wonderful.

Anyone been to Bekonscot? http://www.bekonscot.co.uk/
Legoland(s)? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legoland
Hidden gem found while visiting in-laws in MO... http://wfprr.com/
Anyone visited Romney Hythe & Dymchurch? http://www.rhdr.org.uk/
Kudos to Robert Little in comments to boingboing article for G&D reference http://www.gdlines.com/