May 29, 2009 7:03 am –
Tei
To me, Second Life is a 3D version of the internet - a place to socialize, a place for creating and building, and a place for social studies. Ultimately these different aspects come together to form the next natural step - a place for business. I’ve touched upon part of the basics of Second Life in my post A Cursory Look at Second Life.
As I described previously, you can meet up with your friend across the world and go virtual-clubbing. But wait - what shall you do about your avatar’s clothes? What about your avatar’s hair? Interestingly, most people are emotionally attached to their avatar because it represents them. Take Sheado’s comment “when my pants don’t render fast enough I do feel a tinge of embarassment =D”. I agree with that - I feel my avatar is an extension of me.
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To me, Second Life is a 3D version of the internet - a place to socialize, a place for creating and building, and a place for social studies. Ultimately these different aspects come together to form the next natural step - a place for business. I’ve touched upon part of the basics of Second Life […]
May 21, 2009 9:15 am –
Tei
I went to Japan for vacation last month. Before then, I’ve never rode on a train before - I’ve never had the need to. So, I did some research on “how to” but didn’t really find any good instructions. Now that I’m back and I understand the JR Trains a bit more, I’ll try to explain how I traveled to Kyoto.
1. Get a JR Pass
Before leaving the country, I had to purchase a JR Pass voucher. The web site explains how much it costs and where to get it. For me, it meant going to my local Mitsuwa and talking to a travel agent. The agent should ask you when and where you plan to go in Japan (for me, it was Kobe and Tokyo, which is about 4 hours of travel in between) to help you determine which pass is better for you (and whether it’s worth it or not). The longer the distance traveled on the train, the more worth it it is to get the pass. I purchased the 14-day pass.
Upon entering the country, I remember I marked “sight-seeing” and “visiting relatives” and got the “temporary visitor” stamp on my passport. The Osaka Kansai airport happens to have a JR station right next to it. I think I went to the information counters in order to exchange the voucher to get the pass. Either way, most people are helpful and will direct you to the correct area. They will ask you when you will be using this pass because it will have an expiration date. After showing my passport, they verified the “temporary visitor” stamp, copied my passport # onto the pass (along with my name), and gave me the pass. Now, whenever you use the pass, you’re supposed to carry your passport with you so they can make sure you are you. They never asked to see my passport however - maybe I looked like a tourist. =)
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I went to Japan for vacation last month. Before then, I’ve never rode on a train before - I’ve never had the need to. So, I did some research on “how to” but didn’t really find any good instructions. Now that I’m back and I understand the JR Trains a bit more, I’ll try to […]
