I/Pro’s next board meeting was followed by a party at the SF Museum of Modern Art, sponsored by one of the East Coast investors. I loved gatherings at museums: one could drink and chat with associates, all the while viewing interesting and creative art. Not only that, she had arranged for this to be a […]
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This website is an extension of the book, Fastlane: My Japanese Roadster on the Information SuperHighway.
Understanding the Job
I was interested in a company that had a combination of access points into a house or business. One day Kano-san came into my office while I was reading their rather perplexing brochure. “Do you have any company information to send to Itochu?” “Yes, I think this one looks interesting. It has multiple protocol access […]
Boston Seafood
Every once in a while I’d get dragged along with Itochu managers to visit a company they were interested in. One day in April, Ito-san blew into the Santa Clara office on his way to Boston. He wanted Fukuhara-san and myself to accompany him to a company whose software CTC was evaluating for distribution in […]
Japanese Tour
“Jim-san, I have a favor to ask for you,” said Fukuhara-san. “A business partner of Itochu, ANA, has asked us to make a presentation to some of their executives visiting the U.S. They will be in San Francisco in two weeks. We would like you to talk to them about recent events in Silicon Valley […]
Hokkaido – Hawaii – Home
My flight didn’t leave until morning. After checking in with my hotel once again, I walked back to my favorite restaurant. Usually I chide myself for not exploring other dishes on a menu that is so new to me. Not this time: I enjoyed grilling and eating my crab and seafood as much as before. […]
Alt Hiring
Given the uncertainty of Itochu and the unsustainable situation at UMAX, I continued looking. I responded to an ad for a publishing company in Emeryville. Sybex had been publishing computer books and manuals for years; they had an opening for an Assistant Editor. I had returned to business school to pursue a greater knowledge of […]
Turn Right, Go Left
In my calming walks over to the open fields at Mission College, I noticed motorcycles on a trailer and cones carefully placed in the parking lot. On one of these occasions, I approached. “What do you have going on here?” Tom introduced himself and his motorcycle driving classes. “We spend several sessions right here; then […]
Land of Immigrants
I had an early flight out and had called for a car the day before. It beat trying to round up a cab in the morning rush hour. A young woman arrived at the appointed time in a van. I tossed my duffel ahead of me and jumped in, unsure if there would be others […]
Area 52: UFO in Vegas
Why not have a UFO Hotel in Las Vegas? They have everything else.
Winter Escape
Having arranged for my favorite perch aloft, I looked out the airplane window to see the northern coastline of Honshu, Japan’s main island, as it curved to an end. Hokkaido surfaced only a few miles further on. I tried to locate cities and towns but my geographic knowledge was lacking. Soon we turned inland, landing […]