Tabelogged: 風里
Tabelogged: 昇陽
Uwajima Ferry
Taking ferries in Japan is an entertaining diversion, especially as an American who didn't grow up around islands. We really enjoyed this three hour excursion as we traveled from one onsen town in Shikoku (Matsuyama) to another one in Kyushu (Beppu).
Also fun was the random Suzume film propwork created to promote the port's appearance as the main character traveled to Ehime.
I get that Apple needed to switch to the cheaper TSMC process and that's the real reason they're launching the M4 now, but as someone who just paid $5000 for an M2 Vision Pro and an M3 MacBook Air, it feels pretty shitty that a thousand dollar iPad is so much faster.
Tabelogged: キノピオ・カフェ
Tabelogged: がブリチキン。 難波4丁目店
Tabelogged: ＷＩＮＥ×鉄板料理 ば～る
Tabelogged: 道後舘
Tabelogged: 魚武
The onsen hotel we're staying at is equipped with four of these bad boys and as long as I've got this chair in my life I'm not sure I'll have need for human touch ever again panasonic.jp/massage/p-db/EP-MA88M.html
概要 リアルプロ EP-MA88M | マッサージチェア | Panasonic
Dogo onsen
Famed as the oldest onsen (hot springs) bath in Japan, it's relatively tiny and cramped by today's standards, but it was cool to check it off the bucket list. The little onsen town that's grown up around this main building were definitely worth a visit, especially if you're a fan of Studio Ghibli's "Spirited Away", as this onsen was apparently among their artistic inspirations.
If you go, I'd recommend staying where we did, at Dogokan (道後館) hotel.
Tabelogged: 亀の井ホテル 伊豆高原
Kamenoi - Izukougen
After visiting this onsen hotel in Izu last year, I decided to bring Becky this time and we had an absolutely wonderful time. Beautiful property, well-maintained. The staff really go above and beyond, too.
Gaburi Chicken (Namba)
I love the Gaburi chicken chain. I first stumbled on it in Tokyo, of all places, even though I'm pretty sure it's based in Nagoya. Order the chickent thigh ("momo") kara age until you're full. The 2 hour all-you-can-drink deal is pretty cheap, too
See my Tabelog check-in here.
やきとり番番
I was pretty impressed to find a decent yakitori place so close to Kabukicho's main drag that wasn't overrrun by tourists. The guy seated next to me had been coming to the same bar for 40 years.
Tabelog page (my review)
Apple MacBook Air 13-Inch M3 Review
I've been using the new MacBook Air since it launched last month and I'd been thinking about writing a full review of what it's like to live with it, but I'm lazy so I'll just piggy-back on Paul Thurrott's glowing review of the 15" model with the following modifications that only apply to the 13" version.
Additional review notes:
- Its screen is 2" less than 15"
- Its speakers are somewhat worse than the 15"
- Contrary to Paul's review, the microphone array held up surprisingly well in my testing—especially with Voice Isolation activated—and were far superior to the mics on the AirPods Pro 2
- At 2.7 pounds, the 13" M3 MacBook Air is 35% heavier than the discontinued 12" MacBook, a model that was originally released in 2015
Despite 9 years of technological advancement, Apple has regressed significantly on the only metric I care about in a portable computer: weight. Considering that the ARM transition was meant to provide significantly more thermal headroom and enable the design of new form factors, the fact that Apple was able to ship a 2-pound MacBook with a retina screen and Intel chip in 2015 but has thus far failed to ship an M-series Mac that weighs less than 2.7 pounds is simply bewildering.
Everything else about the computer is great.
Searls Score: 2.7 / 10
Battle Station
A number of readers have asked about my Vision Pro setup since writing about how I've forsaken my desk for an Eames chair.
Well, here it is. I ran the MagSafe charging cable for my MacBook Air along the left armrest and routed the USB-C cable that charges my Vision Pro battery up the back (which itself is affixed via a 3D-printed enclosure and velcro command strips).
At nearly three months in, I'm loving this setup. Went ahead and cancelled a longstanding to-do to find a more comfortable office chair than my Steelcase Leap, because I can't really see myself needing one anytime soon.
The Boathouse
Despite being known for their seafood, Boathouse's burger is exceptional considering how large their menu is and how many covers they turn a night. Most dedicated craft burger joints aren't half this good.
When the bartenders remember it, I like to order the long-since-removed cocktail S.S. Politician, which is a simple (and extremely whiskey-forward) manhattan made with:
- Jack Daniels Single Barrel
- Montenegro
- Cherry bitters
- Luxardo cherry
… and served to the brim of a martini glass that's tall enough to ride most roller coasters.