The first 18 years of my life was spent in Hawaii.  Just before starting college, I flew to stay with my brother in Oxnard to work for the summer at the Naval Civil Engineering Laboratory in Port Hueneme, California.  Oxnard is 60 miles north of Los Angeles. In September of 1958 my brother drove me to the Stanford Campus, located about 35 miles south of San Francisco.  I recall crossing from the west side to the East Bay area on Friday nights to the Garden of Allah, to dance and see entertainers like Bobby Preston and Marty Robbins.  After I graduated in 1962, over the past 62 years, I've returned to San Francisco at least 50 times. Mind you, I don't really like SFO weather.  It's almost always too cold for me.  Something enchanting about the fog, which comes and goes.  But bicycling to class at 7:30AM in the winter was not comfortable.  Stanford is a bit warmer than SFO, but still much too cold in the winter.  In fact, I remember on  21...

 Our trip to Sapporo has been a mitigated disaster.  Apparently, the weather destroyed the fall colors.  It was snowing when we arrived on Hokkaido and has continued to do so today.  So much so, that we will only walk a short distance near the Fairfield by Marriott for food.  Actually, it was worth the trip up to this island. Time  magazine this week featured on the cover Tadashi Yanai,  founder and leader of Uniqlo.  What is wrong with Japan?  Here is his take: But first, his life. Was born in Ube, Yamaguchi, a former coal town. Father had a tailor shop, and Tadashi was outstanding enough to go to and graduate from Waseda University.  He does say he hardly studied because there was a student walkout in Japan to protest against the government, and instead spent time traveling to the U.S. and U.K. where he got most of his ideas fo rchange.  Did graduate in Economics and Political Science. At the age of 34 opened his first Uniqlo stor...