== Bernie's brain backup of April 2009 ==

Seeing beautiful things at such a high rate might make one's head spin.  In fact, this evening I've been
angerously close to faint for real at an [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onsen | Onsen]], which was really
scary because I had never lost consciousness before.  I had walked all day with very little food and drink,
which might have been part of the problem, but diving in thermal water for a long time has certainly
triggered it.  I'm such a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaijin gaijin]] who can't even take some hot water!

Photos for today:
 * Will upload later -- gomen nasai

=== April 15th - Roppongi ===

Compared to Tokyo, every other city I had visited before would seem dirty, old, boring and disorganized.
I can't find the words to describe my amazement walking around this amazing city full of wonders.

Photos for today (upload in progress, please be patient):
 * [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Tokyo/Shinjuku|Shinju-ku]] -- The district of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Metropolitan_Government_Building|Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building]].
 * [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Tokyo/Roppongi|Roppongi]] -- A rich district hosting modern art museums (Art Triangle) and night life ([[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roppongi|wikipedia]])
 * [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Tokyo/Pachinko|Pachinko]] -- Popular Japanese slot machines

=== April 14th - Arrival in Tokyo ===

{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Tokyo/SensojiTemple/00081.jpg|The way to the Sensoji temple in Asakusa|maxwidth=800}}

I couldn't resist grabbing a super-cheap round trip to japan, a place I've always wanted
to visit.  By "always", I mean: since when I was in kindergarten, watching great series
like [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel_Jeeg|SteelJeeg]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazinger_Z|MazingerZ]] on TV.
My dad accepted to accompany me in this trip even though he wasn't particularly fond of Japan. Until now, that is!

The first day was simply amazing, but I'm way to tired to tell a lot about it.
The [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Tokyo|many photos and videos]] that I'm still uploading will hopefully serve
documenting this long day appropriately.

NOTE: if you can't watch the videos embedded in the wiki, get yourself a recent browser featuring HTML5 or
send me a patch adding support for old-style HTML video embedding.

=== Negligent ===

Yes, I've neglected to update this blog for a few months.  This isn't because I had nothing
to talk about.  In fact, these months were quite intense, with a lot of notable events, including:

 * 2009 Jan: Visited the [[Pictures/vacation/EastCoast2008|East Coast]] with Silvia
 * 2009 Jan: Attended the [[Pictures/conf/XOCamp2009|XO Camp 2]]
 * 2009 Feb: Attended the [[Pictures/conf/Fosdem2009|Fosdem 2009]] with a few friends from Italy and SugarLabs colleagues
 * 2009 Feb: Visited
 [[Pictures/vacation/brussels_riga_stokholm_2009/Brussels | Brussels]],
 [[Pictures/vacation/brussels_riga_stokholm_2009/Riga | Riga]] and
 [[Pictures/vacation/brussels_riga_stokholm_2009 | Stockholm]] with Tommaso
 * 2009 Mar: Organized a small revival of [[SystemShockBBS]] with a few original users
 * 2009 Apr: Attended a meeting/miniconf in [[Pictures/conf/Bolzano2009|Bolzano]] with WalterBender

I am currently back in Florence, trying to find a way back in the US.