Earl's News, Pics & Random Ramblings from Okinawa: Blog

Good deed for the day!! (not so GREAT WA WILDFLOWER BLOGGGGGG!!!!)

Sun, 05 Aug 2007 04:33:04 -0500

Spotted a cute Thorny Devil who in the middle of the road on the way home from the Kalbarri Park gorges today (August 5). Saw him just in time to avoid sqaushing him under Wombat's tires.
We stopped quickly and went ack to snap some pics and shoe him/her/it off the road.
damn!! ... they are so cute!! beautiful colours ike someone has painted it by hand, and quite soft to touch despite the tough look. pics coming...

Doing it Tough in WA! (THE GREAT WA WILDFLOWER TOUR BLOG)

Sun, 05 Aug 2007 04:03:32 -0500

G'day folks - coming at you now from Kalbarri, roughly half way up the WA coast. We are on the first leg of our WA wildflower yasumi (holiday).
Keep checking in here to see what we are up to over the next month or so.
I'll try to post stories and pics regularly.

Just to fill in some blanks quickly...
I got to Perth July 17 and started the hunt for the campervan to take us on our journey.
Found a nice Nissan Urvan pop-top camper that should do nicely.
Ayu & Tao arrived July 26. The girls christened the van 'Wombat' since he's a brownish colour and looks a bit like one and they are obsessed with wombats.
Had some wild weather in Perth area - rain storms and strong winds. Enough to scare Wombat and punch his lights out - high beam that is. Luckily that just turned out to be a hard to find in-line fuse.
Headed north to get out of the rain and cold. Lost the rain around Geraldton - but still cold at night.
Now in Kalbarri and enjoying beautiful blue sky days - nice for exploring the spectacular Murchison River gorges here. Nice pics on that site - though not mine. Will post some when I can.
Got a little fishing in too - nothing to worry the local fish about though!
Well - like I said... pics coming ASAP. Keep checking in from time to time to see where we are and what we are up to in WA.

Living in Typhoon Ginza (Typhoon Alley)

Thu, 12 Jul 2007 08:11:55 -0500

Well - busy busy getting ready to come home here - lots of the packing of the bags and the tossing outs of the junks.
Was figuring on Friday being my last work day, but it looks like school will be canceled tomorrow because typhoon MAN-YI will smack into Okinawa sometime between 3 and 9 am tomorrow. I guess thats what you get for living in typhoon ginza!

For those interested in these things - some links to the Japan Meteorological site
Animated satellite image =

Man-yi looks to be around the Category 4 size in the Oz system - which is pretty strong. Wind speed 95 knots (about 175kph) with gusts up to 135 knots which is about 250kph I believe?
Being in Typhoon Ginza means that Okinawa is frequently attacked by strong typhoons - usually multiple times every summer. Typhoon (= tropical cyclone) season runs from July to about October - but later storms have been occurring in recent years - I'm sure Al Gores onto that already.
Last year was rare - only a few typhoons came close. Two years before that (the 2004? season I think) Okinawa was hit by something like 8 typhoons in the season!!!!!!!!!!!!
Generally they start out in the NW Pacific near Guam and head north west; intensify and then head due north lashing through/near Okinawa or other of the Ryukyu islands. They then turn nor-nor-eastish and sweep along the whole of the Japanese Island group - generally losing power but dumping plenty of rain as they go.
Alternatively - they might miss Okinawa altogether and head through Taiwan and onto China.
This one looks like it will accept nothing less than a direct hit.
Hopefully it will be out of the way by Monday when I'm getting on the plane - though there's a fair chance it will be drowning Tokyo when I get there. Should be fun!
These typhoons are responsible for the concrete box/military bunker' type architecture which is the local modern classic here on Okinawa. Almost everything except cars and people are concrete!!
Well... better go drag the dogs and plants inside...
matta ne
Mr Earl.

NEWS - coming to Oz

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 11:21:53 -0500

The Latest News - luke warm off the press...
I'm back coming to Oz!! Actually we are all coming in July (summer holidays here) for a West Oz wildflower holiday, then Ayu & Tao will go back to Okinawa and I'll stay.
I'll be working towards setting up some kind of 'home-base' in Oz - possibly on the Sunny Coast - so there is somewhere to 'move to' for Ayu & Tao when they get around to it - which will tentatively be next year sometime I guess.
Ayu still has her business so I expect she'll be to'ing and fro'ing a fair bit.
As for me - I've been becoming a bit jaded with teaching english to the kiddies. Not that I don't love the kiddies - they are cute and crazy - but in some ways it's a bit of a dead end job really. English really is a 'tag-on' subject here - not taken too seriously by the education board etc. And I could never make a career of it - I need a bit more mental stimulation above the elementary school level I guess!!

So the plan is - we'll finish our wildflower trip in Broome in late August and I'll then head towards Townsville for a spell, & eventually back down to Brizzy area.
We have another vague plan to create/write a small cute Japanesish book (meaning lots of cute pics or drawings) of our WA wildflower expedition for the Japanese market. Seems like something J folks might like as they love pretty things and Australia - so we'll see what we can come up with. For a tech-savvy country the Japanese still consume a hell-of-a lot of books. especially manga.
So thats our/my news!! bit scary really since I'll be jobless again - but not aimless at least.
Meanwhile everyone is well here.
Ayu is currently in Tokyo/Osaka again for a week or so. She's doing some business seminar/study. So It's just me and the 2 shaggy dogs!!!!!!!! Dunno who'll feed the poor mutts when I come to Oz - cause Ayumi forgets all the time!!
Better go get some shuteye... take care y'all...
Eeeeeeeeee

Waiting for the monsoon - tsuyu.

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 10:58:46 -0500

Well - it's been a while since the last random entry.
Alot of that time I've spent watching the monsoon build and finally start dropping it's bucket loads of rain in the last week or so.
Okinawa isn't quite 'full-on' tropical in climate - though it's pretty damn close. Regularly around 34-35 C in summer with humidity up around 80 to 90+% - making it feel much hotter.
But before the full heat of summer comes 'Tsuyu'. The monsoon wet season here is pretty reliable - usually starting in late May or early June and lasting about a month as it slowly migrates north to mainland Japan.
There's something magical about watching the heavy grey monsoon clouds build and descend like a ?? big wet grey blanket! Not depressing at all - the air feels alive with electricity - and it probably is. Frogs and bugs in the trees outside the bedroom window go crazy, calling the rain, and sing me to sleep.
There were some false starts this year, but when the sky finally opened the water poured out, huge downpours for an hour or two, then backing off to a drizzle for a while before recommencing the downpour.
I love it - like a great cleansing of our grotty city-world. Nature reminding us... 'Now boys 'n girls - you know I can drown the lot of you if I get Nasty!!'...
....

Anyhoo - that's enough about the rain. Suffice to say - It reminds me of Townsville in the '70's and I like it!! :-)
... NEXT patient please!!!.....

Coming out as an Alien & the stupidest web-game ever..

Sat, 12 May 2007 08:30:04 -0500

Greetings Earthlings...
from your resident alien. Yes - that's right - the secret's out: I am an alien.
A fact I was reminded of the other day at Okinawa City Hall. In fact I have been an alien ever since I first came to Japan and they issued me with my very own 'Alien Registration' card! Before that, I had been living in complete ignorance of my cosmic status.
But actually, it all makes sense now!! All those pointless hours looking up at the sky wondering why it looked like 'home'. Holding back all those strange noises in my throat that don't sound like English (or Japanese!).
No, but seriously, all foreigners in Japan are bemused by the Japanese term 'Gaijin' or more correctly 'Gaikokujin' - which usually translates as 'alien' - though really meaning resident foreigner.
The intriguing question is why the Japanese authorities choose that particular translation instead of a less 'alienating' term?? Most likely they just couldn't be buggered to change it to something else because it would create a mountain of completely unnecessary paperwork that would have to be done despite it's uselessness because if there's one thing you can say about Japanese bureaucracy - they really love their useless paperwork - in triplicate!!
But for the most part, us aliens aren't bothered too much by the term - more of a novelty than a nuisance.
Not actually sure why any of that is particularly relevant just now - just another strange snippet of Life in Japan I guess??
Another strange snippet I came across just a few moments ago is... wait for it ... Nudist Trampolining (the stupid web-game) >> Go check it out and see what kind of moves you can pull off!! Of course the original stupidest web-game (according to me) which has now been usurped was the Penguin Baseball game ....
Still alot of fun - but not quite as bizarre as the Nudy Tramp game. Have fun peoples - till next time - mEeeee

Yonaha Da-ke

Sat, 31 Mar 2007 02:20:08 -0500

G'day all - Hard to believe it's March already!!
Seeing I'm in between school years - we (Ayumi, Tao, myself and 2 - yes 2!! dogs) went camping in the north of Okinawa for a couple of nights recently.
Was great to get out of the house and city and breathe some country air, wander around in the bush and eat flame cooked steaks and jacket spuds! - Well... I ate the BBQ steaks - the others just watched.
We camped near Yonaha Dake which is the tallest mountain on Okinawa at about 503m, and covered in a wet shrubby tangle of vegetation: tree ferns, vines, flowering shrubs, struggling pine trees.
Ayumi went crazy taking photos on her new Digital Cam - a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FX30 - which is a ripper of a camera though I think more optical zoom would be useful. It does have a great Macro-mode.
I'll post a few trip photos here when I get my act together.
Tao also found a real, true blue four-leafed clover on the edge of a patch of very healthy white clover - which is the 'true' shamrock variety. After searching for a while we found about 8 in total on the one plant. I hope to get back and collect some seeds of this plant one day.
Next day we visited Tanaga-gumi - a small pretty waterfall in the jungle near the east coast - getting bitten by the local insect pest 'buyo' in the process.
A buyo is a small midge like insect that gives a nasty bite much like Aussie sand flies but worse. The bites swell up and itch and ache for days afterwards. I just counted 25 bites - mostly on my legs and arms. What's more - both Ayumi and I now have strong headaches and uneasy stomaches - possibly due to some 'bu-you bug' passed on by the little blighters.
Last day was yesterday (Friday 30th) - we came back home via our favorite secret beach which was in fine form with plenty of sand and crystal clear water for a short swim. This beach is different every time we go there - with the sand shifting around depending on tides and typhoons to reveal or cover the hard limestone rock beneath. Ayu's new camera got another workout - the best pic of the trip I think is the close-up of a cute mud-skipper in a tidal pool.
Well, I'll get back to nursing my Buyo headache and catch you all next time - same Oki-channel, same Oki-place at some random time in the future.....Eeeeeeeeeeee

G'day to all. - Hisashiburi desu ne!!!

Fri, 16 Mar 2007 07:15:42 -0500

Bit of a Japanese lesson for you - that means 'Hey!!... long time no see!!'.

Well, My school year has ended and I now have 4 weeks break till the new school year starts. Beats me why School year starts in April in Japan - but it does...
'Next year' I'll be back at the same school - Takahara Elementary - with a few extra hours every week which is nice... Being a contracted ALT English teacher, I start late and finish early most school terms - so there are plenty of holidays - but NO pay at all during holidays - so that hurt the back pocket a bit.
Good to have plenty of time to do my own stuff... Plenty to do around here. House jobs and spring gardening needs.
Hopefully we can get away for a short camping trip to a quiet beach in the north of Okinawa when Tao finishes school. Plus lots of computer work...I want to start a website about Okinawan culture and nature.
ALMOST forgot - I uploaded some NEW PHOTOS of our house in Okinawa city in the 'photos' pages here http://www.evb-in-okinawa.zoomshare.com/1.shtml/Our%20Oki%20House

Other stuff... last year I swapped my computer system from Windows to Mepis Linux. Which is absolutely awesome and completely free!!...including virtually all the software you need & with a cool looking 3D desktop - Go check this out you-tube video of someones desktop (not mine). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWWRj84ahc0
take care all - E

Happy New Year !! - May it be a great one.

Sat, 20 Jan 2007 19:52:56 -0600

Well - G'day all and Happy New Year from Okinawa.
The 4 weeks in Oz have come and gone way too quickly and now it's time to think about heading back to school.
I got to catch up with many family and friends in Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and Townsville - and Ayumi & Tao got to meet them for the first time. That was all fantastic & we had a great time, but there are so many other friends we just couldn't find the time to track down and meet up with.
Ayu & Tao really love Brizzy and Sunny Coast area - especially Noosaville where we stayed for a few nights over New Year. Despite the popularity of Noosa Heads, Noosaville - just a few miles back up the river - remains sleepy and peaceful, thankfully with limited room for population expansion.
It had been a long time since I had spent any time there as a kid, & it's defintely somewhere we could settle, though I'd prefer a small property behind the coast. The $$$ required there are scary now though. Something to aim for I guess!!

Well, I hope all and sundry have a fantastic 2007 - May it bring good things to you all.
Remember:
Love Nature.
Love your People.
Love your life.

Summer X-mas in Oz !!

Thu, 21 Dec 2006 01:10:06 -0600

G'day all!!
Guess what? - Christmas holidays have come around, and we are heading to Oz this afternoon. Flying China Airlines from Naha - capital of Okinawa , to Taipei then on to Brisbane. Much quicker than flying via Tokyo or Osaka, and usually cheaper too.
The teachers at school were all jealous of my month long holiday, especially cause most Japanese teachers rarely get to use their paid holidays. Though they do get paid during school holidays, which I don't being part-time.
The kids were all amazed to learn that it's summer in Australia and Christmas will be very hot with lots of beach and Santa in 'beach sandals' (thongs/flip-flops) and sunglasses. Hopefully we can see Santa surfing on the gold coast and get a photo for the kids.'illumination' covering a large 'avenue park' every year. Followed by the snow festival in January. Be sure to check out the photos by clicking on the links above. Gotta go get on a plane to Oz!! Bye...