Studying: Noboru Nakamura "Introduction to TeraPad"

TeraPad is text editor program which was developed by Japanese programmer Susumu Terao specially for Japanese language inputting and editing, and along with other editors like Hidemaru and EmEditor is one of the most popular programs used in Japan for coding fixing...In my company I use it for HTML corrections and other daily operation work - and decided to examine it`s functions to speed up my workflow as I am still so slow in it all - even simplest tasks take me so much time ... Should say if you are attentive and curious enough you don` t need any books - just check all the menus and tabs..But anyway it did not take much time to read this book and it helped me to learn basic short-cuts and functions.... Now I am reading another cool book - smth like "Introduction to Web Analytics" in Japanese - really interesting! Almost pass my train stop when going home every night.....

Studying: Yoshinori Ikeya "WEB Design Usability"

Sometimes desperate, sometimes happy - I am still struggling in my new way - web design and IT industry.... Never thought I would do smth related to PC and to tell the truth sometimes felt that I made wrong choice...But every day now brings me so much new - new knowledge, new experience and I really enjoy discovering this whole new world. Usability and User Center design is one of the most interesting topics of web-design as they require skills from absolutely different disciplines: research, psychology, design and sometimes just sort of "sense" - ability to feel best balance of elements... This book which my manager lent me has a lot of clues and hints regarding layout, navigation, color scheme of web site from the usability point of view. A lot of examples, pictures and simple language make it a pleasant reading somewhere in cafe.

P.S. This week has started from introduction with Dreamweaver - everything is so new to me! Bought book on it and trying all these functions - really exciting and so simple (afraid I`ll have to fix all tags though, as code seems so dirty and overweight)..

Shikoku&Kansai Trip

When news in Russian net about "nuclear disaster" and absolute calm of Japanese TV just freaked me out - I decided to go anywhere just away from Tokyo that turned into mad city with disappearing bread, water, eggs, milk.....My friend called me and offered to go with him to Kansai and then to Tokushima City where his family lives. And that was my first trip in almost 3 years in Japan!

It was really nice and I felt so refresh and ready to phone attacks from my mother (" Are you OK?" "Don`t you think about coming back to Russia?" "How about radiation level today?"....and so on)

小便小僧 Manikin Piss ......in the middle of nowhere (Tokushima Prefecture)

In town called Komatsushima in Shikoku you can find sculptures, symbols, pictures, signs of "tanuki" (Japanese raccoon dog ) throughout the city

Osaka was so full of energy! Very positive people

....alive

and back in TYO

Movie: "Lupin the Third: Castle of Cagliostro" (1979)

Classis of Japanese anime - film directed by Hayao Miyazaki and the most famous of series about thief Lupin III. Old-fashioned adventure story