After over 24 hours of travel (I loose count after 24) I managed to check in and finally get some sleep. Today is my recovery day before I officially start tomorrow, when I’ll be working twelve hour days, seven days/week, up to 12 December. Then back to Tokyo for another business-based task. Just a reminder this isn’t a pleasure trip, but nevertheless quite interesting regardless.

Still, the view outside the hotel window can be interesting and a reminder that Osaka’s environment is different from Orlando’s and Chicago’s, even Tokyo’s further east. The view is looking south across a tributary of the Yodo River (I keep wanting to type Yoda), and the Hanshin Expressway Route 1 Loop if you want to look on Google maps (I had to).

I decided to do this in part to imitate John Scalzi, successful science fiction author and general raconteur, who while on The End of All Things book tour in August of this year photographed outside his bedroom window every morning because he was traveling between cities and book signings just about every day of the tour. The other part? Well, I have taken outside photos in the past, but just never called them out. I never knew they could be so… interesting.

Once again the Apple iPhone 6s+ backside camera is called upon to take the snap. This time the iPhone’s embedded camera software made the decision to use built-in HDR to pick up detail and compress the visual information so that it could be seen on an electronic Retina display. And it is appreciated, let me tell you. When I can take a photo with one iDevice and see it essentially the same across my iPad Air 2 and my Retina MBP, then I consider that a powerful statement about the use of Apple technology for creative purposes.