The hazards of travel

The Precious.

El Cabrero is going to hit the road, or rather the sky, this Friday for a trip to Okinawa, the Holy Land of karate. I've been trying to prepare for it in more ways than one, but there are always the hazards and sorrows of travel.

Example #1: Separation from the Beloved. For nearly two weeks, I am not going to be able to see, touch or interact with the object of my affections. I am referring, of course to my iPhone. Data roaming charges overseas can be very expensive. I don't think I've ever gone without the Precious for that long before. This is gonna be tough.

Oh yeah, and I'm going to miss the Spousal Unit and all the other humans and critters as well.

Example #2. Time changes. I don't know about y'all, but I was thrown for a loop last week with the switch to daylight savings time. I can't imagine what an 11 hour difference is going to do. I'll probably just get functional when it's time to leave.

Example #3. My speech disorder. On the plus side, I know a lot of Japanese words. Unfortunately, these tend to be technical things like side thrust kick (yoko geri kekomi), shoulder throw (seionage), or triangle choke (sankaku jime) or else philosophical terms like no-mindedness (mushin). This could be a problem.

To make things worse, I have a weird speech disorder. Perhaps because I was late in learning a foreign language (I had to marry somebody to do it), my brain does weird stuff. Every time, for example, that I go to an ethnic restaurant, I find myself speaking Spanish regardless of what kind of restaurant it is. That works fine at Mi Pueblita or Tenampa but not so much at Sitar of India or Taste of Asia.

I have a feeling this trip is gonna do wonders for my Spanish...

POLITICAL CLIMATE CHANGE. The NY Times reports that cap and trade may be out as a way of dealing with climate change.

MICRO-LENDING has long been in the economic development mix in the developing world. It might be gaining a toehold in the US.

WHAT'S BEHIND THE RAGE? It might not be health care reform.

PSYCHOPATHS might have different brains.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED