Made in Japan, Outsourced Globally

After half a dozen sexual ennuendo-laden e-mails and a quarter score of phone tags, I finally managed to kidnap karma out of his coup. The boy is twice the size I remember him. His 17-year old cat died of cancer, and two 4-week old kittens are now in the house to compensate for the loss. We both lack leadership and sensibility of knowing where the "hip" places are in this old town - so we resort to the wise one for advise. We somehow end up at Borders. The guy working at the counter recognizes the Space Ghost T-shirt and grins.

There's something about a niche group of people you hang out with. You instantly dye a certain shade, blending into something familiar - yet does not tell the whole story of who you are. We talk of tranqualizine pets during transports, the engagement, apartment hunting (that you cannot make too much money sometimes), and evil evil RFID.

I never thought I would have friends with jobs I couldn't explain in one breath, but I can count on karma. Actually, he is a GUI designer for some leading-edge microchip fabrication software startup. The semiconductor industry is hitting a brick wall - as we speak - with everything becoming so nano- & micro-. So the technology being developed here is smoothing out the gap between design and output. China's definitely got the hots for such technology, and he says that there are European companies with piqued interest. They're getting loads of investments and if the company turns IPO, it could be a big breakthrough (and I would have a rich entrepreneur friend). I'm not an engineer, but it's just fascinating to see the overall effect this will have to the industry.

After Liz left us, we lollygagged around Borders - our favorite past time. We can't believe they actually have "Sex for Dummies". The boy picks up Tenacious D and I get Chungking Express for bargain price.

Sorry I'll miss the actual homecoming, but it's sure good to see you again.