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Children's Peace Monument at Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima, August 1999

This web site was created to share my experiences and memories of Japan with my family and friends.  

It's been well over a year now.  I moved to Hiroshima in September of 1998 to help Ford develop the engine controls for the 2000MY Mazda 626.  I'm currently working on the 2001MY and 2002MY versions of that vehicle and others.  For the 4 years preceding this assignment, I helped to develop the electronic engine control system for the new Lincoln LS.  The Lincoln LS hit the showrooms back in June, 1999.   On November 24, 1999, the LS was awarded Motor Trend's Car of the Year!!  It has certainly been a thrill to see the  result of a lot of hard work finally go to market and become a huge success.  Perhaps you've seen the new Lincoln at a nearby dealer or on the road.  The entire first year's production capacity was sold out in just 2 1/2 months!  Looks like they underplanned that one.  The new 2000MY Mazda 626 completed it's Job#1 milestone a few months ago and is now on sale in the US.  The Mazda 626 is manufactured in Flat Rock, Michigan.   However, its engine control system is developed in a joint effort between Ford in Dearborn and Mazda in Hiroshima.  Our powertrain development group serves as the link between the two groups.  Mazda's world headquarters is in Hiroshima.  

Working for a Japanese customer and being 14 hours ahead of MI can be extremely challenging at times.  The experience has been very rewarding to say the least.   On most days, the little free time I have left is usually spent learning Japanese or traveling/exploring Hiroshima with my friends.  I'm also spending more time these days on this newfound web design hobby of mine.  Even so, I'm glad I've somehow managed to stay in reasonable shape by playing in a few tennis tournaments and exploring the nearby mountains on my bike.

This web site is mostly comprised of photographs taken with my Fuji MX-700 digital camera.  The web site is a bit photo intensive and hence may be a bit slow to load in some cases.  I've tried to settle on a happy balance of photo quality and load time.  I used Microsoft's FrontPage web site creation and management tool to create this site.  Please let me know if you come across any errors or bad links.

I always carry my digital camera with me in Japan so I'll always have new photos to add.  Come back every week or so to see new photos and features.  I've asked most of you for permission; however,  if you're not comfortable with your photo's appearance on my site, please let me know as soon as possible.  I'll completely understand and will remove it promptly.  

I hope you enjoy the photos I've compiled here.   Send me a note once in a while to let me know how things are in your part of the world.    I'd like to keep this site private for my family and friends.  Please don't post the URL to distribution lists. 

Thank you all so much for the nice comments and suggestions about my website.   I've enjoyed all the email my site has drawn.   Please continue to write and send suggestions.

Thanks so much for visiting.  Come back soon.

Take care,

Al

This web site was last updated on January 11, 2000.  Added to JapanInYourPalm domain on March 24, 2001.

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